AN INNOVATION IN TEACHER EDUCATION
Eve Coxon and Tanya Samu
Introduction
Until 1990, apart from a f e w graduate diploma courses in such things
as Guidance Counselling and Special Education, the University of
Auckland's (UOA) Department of Education's (now the School of
Education) emphasis had been on education as a "liberal arts"
discipline, contributing to Bachelor and Master of Arts and Doctor of
Philosophy degrees, rather than in terms of the professional
preparation/development of teachers. In 1 9 9 0 , the inception of a four-
year Bachelor of Education degree offered jointly with the Auckland
College of Education (ACE) and the establishment of a Masters of
Education degree, began a shift in emphasis. By 1996 we were
offering a Doctorate in Education (EdD), the MEd incorporated eight
specialty programmes designed to meet specific professional needs,
specialist Diploma courses catering for professional education had
increased to nine, and as well as the general BEd for primary teacher
trainees, specialist BEds in Music and Science were available.
The innovatory programmes discussed in this paper were not
generated just from within this general shift of emphasis to
professional education, however. By 1995 a serious (nation-wide but
most significantly in Auckland) shortage of teachers, particularly at
the primary level, was becoming obvious. The government response
was to seek ways 'to reduce barriers to teacher supply' (Jesson
1996). Proposals centred on increasing the numbers of teachers being
trained by funding providers other than Colleges of Education; and to
quicken the process of providing new teachers by funding compressed
courses in primary teacher education. In November, 1 9 9 5 , the
Minister of Education described the strategies developed as able 'to
remove any barriers to new providers' and encouraging 'innovation
and diversity in teacher education provision' (ibid) in order to rapidly
increase the pool of teachers. So funding for teacher education places
increased and new providers, for example polytechnics, were
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encouraged to bid for teacher education funding for compressed
primary and secondary courses. Also towards the end of 1995, the
ACE informed the UOA of its intention to progressively withdraw its
students from our joint BEd after 1 9 9 6 . This announcement, and the
consequent loss of a significant proportion of our undergraduate
student numbers and the Equivalent Full-Time Student (EFTS) funding
that follows them, had serious implications for the School of
Education.
In deciding on the "innovative" courses offered this year the School of
Education was not only concerned to replace some of the EFTS lost
as a consequence of the ACE's decision, however. It was also mindful
of the UOA strategic planning position for the University to make the
most of its premiere status among New Zealand universities by
moving in the direction of becoming more of a graduate university, by
increasing graduate/post-graduate courses and students.
We were aware of the fact that we were, to an extent, playing into
the hands of a government whose policies many of us were highly
critical of; who under the influence of economic rationalism present
education as a technocratic process, a branch of economic policy
rather than a mix of social, cultural and economic policy; whose o w n
restructurings had (perhaps deliberately) created a teacher shortage
crisis which enabled them to promote potentially cheaper teacher
e d u c a t i o n c o u r s e s t h a t c o u l d e v e n t u a l l y lead to t h e
deprofessionalisation of teachers. W e were familiar w i t h
developments elsewhere (USA, UK, Australia) which aimed at
reducing the costs of teacher training through competition between
institutions, reductions in the length and/or intensity of courses and
moves towards school-based "apprentice" type programmes, and the
critiques of those developments.
But we were also aware of the possibilities for teacher education in
New Zealand and especially in Auckland. While generally sympathetic
to schools and teachers (especially given the attacks of politicians,
media etc), we knew enough about what was happening in schools to
recognise that many groups of students, most notably Maori and
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Pacific Island students, were not experiencing the best possible
teaching and learning environments. We were concerned to offer
teacher education programmes that would enhance the quality and
uphold the social and cultural aspects of teaching and learning. Our
programmes also reflect the belief that the best means of defending
and promoting the profession of teaching, in a context which is highly
critical of schools and teachers, is to work in partnership with schools
and teachers.
What follows is a brief descriptive account of the "special features"
that characterise the t w o graduate diploma courses (primary and
secondary) offered, each of which compresses a three-semester
programme into one calendar year based on the school year - from
late January until mid-December. For the purposes of this paper, the
fourth special feature - social support - is described in terms of that
offered the Pasifika students undertaking the courses .
The Schools Consortium
The Schools Consortium is a partnership between the UOA and
selected schools w i t h a common interest in initial teacher education,
which recognises the unique contribution of each institution to shared
responsibility for student teachers. It aims to educate teachers who
understand current educational issues and the theoretical basis of
effective teaching, and can apply this understanding in practical ways
Prior to the establishment of the consortium, 4 0 0 schools were
invited to send a representative to a meeting at which the intended
programmes were explained and 2 0 0 schools expressed interest in
them. The criteria by which the 29 schools eventually selected to
participate in the consortium were chosen included a range of
geographic and socio-economic locations, a variety of types of school
{eg state, integrated, private), the quality of their programmes and the
availability of a staff member who was willing and able to act as
mentor.
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Trained Mentors
The UOA model of teacher education highlights the crucial role of
mentors in sharing the task of educating student teachers and
implementing the university/school partnership. The mentor:
co-ordinates the school-based practicum component and
supports the associate teachers involved;
liaises w i t h university paper co-ordinators and the course
director and supports school-based research involving the
University;
is a professional "buddy" and support person for the student
teachers and assesses the student teachers' professional
practice.
Mentors are assumed to already be "expert teachers". However, to
become an accredited mentor for the UOA teacher education
programme, successful completion of t w o Masters or Diploma of
Teacher Education papers is required. Three themes run through the
t w o papers:
a pedagogy theme which enables mentors to assist students
to be explicit about the theoretical basis of their approaches to
teaching;
an assessment theme in which mentors and University staff
jointly develop a common set of criteria by which to assess
student teachers; and
the theme of the mentoring process itself which provides
mentors w i t h the skills to both support students and challenge
them, and to reflect on their o w n mentoring practice.
The content of the core papers is closely inter-related in ways which
demonstrate the dual role of the mentor as both supporter of student
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development and assessor of that development. Their focus on
theories of both effective teaching and effective mentoring is aimed at
resolving the potential conflict in this dual role.
Hands-on Training: The Practicum
Described as 'the core' of the diploma courses, what distinguishes the
practicum of the University of Auckland programmes from those
traditionally offered through the Colleges of Education (in addition to
the role of the school-based mentor) is the extent of time spent in the
schools. For those undertaking the primary diploma, three days a
week are spent in schools throughout the four-term year with a
separate placement each term; the first three placements cover a
range of schools and class levels and the fourth is according to the
student's choice of school-type and class level. Secondary diploma
students spend four days a week in school for the first three terms,
covering a range of schools over three placements. The aims of the
practicum are listed as follows:
To integrate theory and practice, putting theory into practice
and illuminating practice w i t h theory
To provide opportunities for student teachers to develop skills
in reflective practice
To provide classroom, school and community contexts for
student teacher learning
To involve schools in a partnership approach to the
development of the next generation of teachers
To provide a range of models of good teaching practice
For student teachers to have the opportunity to acquire
classroom competency
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Social Support : Pasifika Students
The main assumption upon which this model of teacher education
rests is that teachers are more than transmitters of knowledge, skills,
attitudes and values. This model seeks to overcome the traditional
theory/practice split by recognising t w o things : that teaching practice
is itself a theory-driven enterprise; and that quality teacher education
involves a continual dialogue between the theory that is implicit in
teachers' practice, and those more formal theories that provide
resources for the understanding and critique of that practice, The
claim to quality of this model of teacher education rests on the
important premise that the continual dialogue between theory and
practice can ultimately shape and transform both. The success and
effectiveness of this process relies heavily on the relationships that
students develop in the first instance with their mentors, and to a
lesser extent their school-based associate teachers and university-
based lecturers.
The mentor/student relationship is crucial. Mentors are expected to
act as guides, philosophers, and friends. In the role of "guide" a
mentor is required to place her/his professional wisdom, experience,
understanding and technique at the disposal of the teacher trainee. As
a "philosopher", the mentor, in a mutually enlightening way, enables
the trainees to reflect increasingly on their practice and extend their
knowledge of teaching. Finally, as " f r i e n d " , the mentor is to take on
the role of sympathetic critic w h o , while fully supportive and
sympathetic to the nature of the demands on the trainees, represents
and ensures the maintenance of professional standards and
expectations.
In practice, a significant factor that can affect some trainees'
effective participation in all aspects of our programme is that of ethnic
and cultural difference. This has had the potential for "arresting" the
continual dialogue between theory and practice upon which this
model of teacher education rests. Metge and Kinloch (1984) described
the potential outcomes of communication within a cross-cultural
context as 'talking past each other' - and given the ethnic
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composition of our students ( a combination of pakeha , Pacific
Islands, Chinese, Indo-Fijian, Indian, Maori and so on) in a situation
where mentors, associate teachers and university lecturers are
predominantly pakeha, this has indeed been a real "risk".
While mentors and associate teachers are anxious to help and support
students, they anticipate that students will articulate their needs and
concerns and have been concerned at the apparently reticent,
subdued attitudes of several students which has made engaging in
critical dialogue difficult. An example of one such student was a
young Samoan woman with a Masters degree and previous teaching
experience. From her perspective, her palagi mentor was a teaching
expert , an experienced authority to be respected. For this student,
that respect translated itself into passive, submissive obedience. She
waited for instructions - her mentor waited for questions. She feared
appearing inadequate and was therefore reluctant to take "risks" (
thereby avoiding creativity and innovation in her teaching), her mentor
wanted a degree of "trial and error" in order to have something of
substance to "dialogue" about. Developing the roles of guide,
philosopher and friend was jeopardised for a period of time because
close, personalised interactions were hindered by certain culturally-
based differences in expectations.
In anticipation of some of these challenges, and with a certain degree
of foresight, our programme has in place an additional mentor for
Pasifika students, a School of Education faculty member who is
herself Pasifika. This is someone who is able to more effectively take
on the roles of guide, philosopher and friend to such students because
she can empathise with the students concerned, and has the personal
and professional skills to bridge the unforeseen "gaps" that a
culturally and ethnically textured context can hold. An accurate way
to describe the relationship that such a mentor can develop is through
the Maori concept of tuakana/teina . This relates to the relationship
wherein older siblings teach younger siblings, and " w a l k " them
through important learning experiences, drawing on rapport, empathy,
knowledge and skills that they have gained through similar
experiences. An ideal Pasifika term to identify the role, is so'otaga - a
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bridge, between ethnic and cultural minority students and the
different aspects of the predominantly pakeha or palagi course. As
so'otaga, this mentor takes responsibility for the following:
the recruitment and retention of Pasifika students
mediation between students, associate teachers, mentors,
lecturers and the course Director
support visits to school ( formal and informal)
developing and maintaining a mutual support group
collaboration in heightening awareness of Pasifika perspectives
of schooling and education
professional and personal support to Pasifika students
As has already been stated, effective as well as continuous dialogue
between theory and practice relies heavily on the interactions
between students, their mentors, associate teachers and lecturers.
These relationships can be unintentionally constrained by the
dynamics of cross-cultural communication - or, more precisely,
culturally-based miscommunication and misunderstanding. This can
lead to distress and frustration, not to mention a sense of failure that
could cripple individual performance in any of the roles involved.
Hence the need for additional "bridges" of social and professional
support.
Conclusion
At the time of writing, all those involved in the courses described here
were generally positive about both their conception and
implementation - consortium schools in particular were appreciative of
their inclusion in the teacher education project and the nature of the
professional relationships developed through the university/school
collaboration. Also highlighted as a significantly positive feature of our
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programmes has been the quality of provision for Maori and Pasifika
students. However, despite these positive aspects of the programmes,
many School of Education faculty continue to express disquiet about
the "market discourse" which the university employs in both justifying
and promoting the move into professional teacher education
programmes. We are also mindful of the need to focus on
programmes that complement rather than compete w i t h those of our
College of Education colleagues. Plans for the immediate future,
therefore, revolve around expanding the numbers involved in the
graduate programmes, and developing the means by which teacher
education can more adequately address the needs of Maori and
Pasifika students in New Zealand schools.
References
Jesson, J . (1996) "Never Mind the Quality - Feel the W i d t h "
Possible directions in Teachers' Professional Education: a
pessimistic view. Paper presented at NZARE Conference,
Nelson, December 1 9 9 6 .
Metge, J . and Kinloch, P. (1978) Talking Past Each Other: Problems
of Cross-Cultural Communication. Wellington: Victoria
University Press.
School of Education (1997) Schools Consortium Practicum
Handbook. University of Auckland.
School of Education (1997) Approaches to Teaching and Mentoring:
Course Handbook. University of Auckland.
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