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1 Introduction

Background

1. In 1971 the General Teaching Council for Scotland set up a working party under the chairmanship of Mr J S Brunton to review arrangements for postgraduate teacher training in the secondary sector. The working party's report was published in 1972*. Its main conclusions were that the training arrangements as they existed at that time were not satisfactory and that they should be replanned to give trainee teachers a better preparation to meet the changing needs of the schools. The report recommended that the responsibility for training should be undertaken jointly by the colleges of education and the teaching profession; that the schools should assume a participatory role on a consistent national pattern; and that the probationary period of service should become an integral part of the whole training process.

2. The working party proposed a new system consisting of three related phases:

(a) Phase 1 (September to March) would be in college and under college direction. It would include professional studies and teaching practice, with organised and close liaison between colleges and schools, the latter having specially designated 'teacher regents' or 'tutors', who would be trained to effect the liaison.

(b) Phase 2 (April to March). During these twelve months the trainee would be employed in a school as a provisionally registered teacher; throughout this period he would be guided mainly by his principal subject teacher, but also professionally by the 'teacher regent' or 'tutor' acting in collaboration with a college of education representative; be would have a reduced teaching load, the balance of his time being taken up with directed private study, attendance at college for further study, and opportunities to broaden bis knowledge of an acquaintance with teaching generally.

(c) Phase 3 (April to June) would be spent either at a college or at a local training centre, in order to pursue specialised professional studies. This block of release would entail secondment on salary by the employing authority. A satisfactory report by the college and the school at the conclusion of this period would be accepted by the Council as conferring entitlement to final registration.

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3. The Council accepted the working party's report and submitted it to the Secretary of State with the recommendation that its proposals should be implemented.

4. The Secretary of State distributed the report to education authorities and to a range of interested bodies. Having considered the report's recommendations and the reactions of those consulted, he accepted the arguments advanced in favour of increased school involvement in the training and induction of teachers but he considered that the operation of the proposed three-phase sandwich pattern of training would raise both in the short and in the longer terms severe administrative problems even with an improved supply of teachers.

5. In the Secretary of State's view, however, the report had clearly demonstrated a need for closer involvement of experienced teachers in the training of student teachers and in their induction as probationers. He was aware of experimentation in several parts of the country with arrangements of various kinds involving colleges and schools in the provision of guidance to students and probationers. He suggested therefore that the Council and the Department should set up a joint working group to examine the findings of such schemes, in primary as well as in secondary education, and to make recommendations to the Secretary of Slate and to the Council on ways in which the arrangements for student teaching practice and the induction of probationers might be improved.

The Working Group

6. The Council agreed to the Secretary of State's suggestion and the joint Working Group was set up in January 1976 with the following remit:

'To identify and evaluate experimental work and recent developments in schools and colleges of education designed to improve the quality of student teaching practice and the arrangements for the induction of probationer teachers; and to consider in the light of the conclusions reached, and the resources available to education authorities and colleges of education the need for the introduction of a more structured relationship between schools and colleges and a clearer definition of their individual and joint responsibilities in the training and induction of young teachers; and to make recommendations'.

8. In tackling our remit, we initially set out to identify current practice and experimental work in teaching practice and induction in the teacher training institutions and schools of Scotland. We have taken 'induction' to mean the process whereby teachers at the beginning of their career are assisted by their employers and colleagues to arrive at full professional competence. We received written evidence from education authorities, schools and colleges of education and were able to supplement this material with many papers, reports and articles on current experimental work in the United Kingdom and abroad. In addition to studying

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this material we received and studied written evidence from associations, institutions, and education authorities, and took oral evidence from a large number of individuals. (Appendices 5 and 6 list those who submitted written and oral evidence to the Group). We also distributed three questionnaires-one to head teachers of primary schools, one to head teachers of secondary schools and one to colleges of education. These are reproduced in Appendix 7. The replies to the questionnaires were most helpful in informing us on a number of specific points with which we were concerned.

9. We thought it essential to have the opportunity to meet recently qualified teachers and to discuss with them their experience of teaching practice and induction. We met in all some seventy such teachers from many parts of Scotland.

10. We visited Callendar Park College of Education and the Department of Education in the University of Stirling, where we had the opportunity to study some of their methods of teacher training and to discuss with staff and former students aspects of current teacher training and induction.

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2 Teacher Training in Scotland

Existing arrangements for initial training of primary and secondary teachers*

11. Courses of initial teacher training in Scottish colleges of education are designed specifically for primary or for secondary teaching.

12. Intending primary school teachers can qualify by means of:

(a) a four-year Bachelor of Education (BEd) course, in which degree-level academic studies and professional training are taken concurrently (open to applicants with university entrance qualifications);

(b) a three-year course leading to a Diploma in Primary Education (open to applicants with appropriate passes in the Scottish Certificate of Education or the General Certificate of Education); or

(c) a one-year post-graduate course (open to holders of degrees or qualifications which are regarded as equivalent to a degree).

(a) a four- or five-year BEd course, in which degree-level academic studies and professional training are taken concurrently (open to applicants with university entrance qualifications);

(b) a three-year or four-year course leading to a college diploma in music, speech and drama, or technical education (open to applicants with appropriate passes in the Scottish Certificate of Education or the General Certificate of Education); or

(c) a one-year post-graduate course (open to holders of degrees, or of qualifications -for example in home economics, music or art-which are regarded as equivalent to a degree).

14. On successful completion of one of the courses described above a student is awarded either a Teaching Qualification (primary Education) or a Teaching Qualification (Secondary Education) by the college of education and is recom-

*Our remit did not include the training of teachers for further education. The training arrangements for the further education sector are different.

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mended by the college for provisional registration with the General Teaching Council for Scotland. (The registration of teachers is the responsibility of the Council in terms of the Teaching Council (Scotland) Act 1965, and the Schools (Scotland) Code 1956, as amended, requires all teachers in education authority and grant-aided primary, secondary and special schools in Scotland to be' registered with the Council.) Final registration is awarded by the Council after two years of probationary teaching service if reports by the probationer's head teacher indicate that the probationary service has been successfully completed.

The aims of initial teacher training and the induction of probationer teachers

15. We are in no doubt that the Brunton Working Party enunciated a number of principles which if implemented would go a long way to improve the quality of student teaching practice and the arrangements for the induction of probationer teachers.

16. We are convinced, for example, that the concept of training must be extended to cover the teacher's professional life from the time he enters college until his retirement. In particular we would wish to see initial training and probation regarded as a continuous process in which responsibility is shared by school and college staff.

17. This concept has consequences for the relationship between schools and colleges of education. The latter are clearly responsible for initial training-for the courses they run on their premises and the teaching practice they supervise. Responsibility for the efficient conduct of the probationary period must Test with the employing authorities, though its operation will be largely devolved to individual schools. Whatever the difficulties, attempts must be made to arrive at an agreed pattern for the whole period of training and probation, with everyone fully aware of the part played by everyone else in the process. The schools must know what the colleges have done, the colleges what the schools will do. Experienced teachers and advisers have a contribution to make in college courses, and college lecturers could provide help to probationers. But if the system is to work smoothly there must be no jealousies, no suspicions, no escalating frontier disputes. In Chapter 6 we suggest some arrangements to promote fruitful co-operation. We recognise that it will not be easy, but we believe it can be achieved.

18. The aims of initial training and induction, as we see them, are as follows:

(a) To assist the student to become an efficient, humane and professionally motivated teacher.

(b) To give him adequate equipment with which to teach. He must learn how to adapt his own education so that it may be presented to people who are less mature and who may be less intellectually inclined. If he is a secondary teacher, he must acquire some familiarity with subjects other than his own, especially those within the same general area of knowledge. Whatever sector he teaches in, he should command a wide and varied selection of teaching methods and the skill to cope with unexpected problems. In short he should be a balanced teacher.

(c) To help him to a firm understanding of the place of education in Scotland today and of his own place in the educational system.

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(d) To lead him to the conviction that he must continue to learn throughout his career; to foster, for example, an enduring interest in current educational developments and research.

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3 Existing Arrangements for Student Teaching Practice

20. In much of the evidence that we received, the present form of initial training was the subject of strongly expressed views. It has been both fiercely attacked and steadfastly defended. We feel that some of the adverse criticism levelled at the colleges is exaggerated and that too little recognition is given to the substantial improvements which have been achieved in recent years. This having been said, we feel compelled to acknowledge that an important residuum of justifiable criticism remains. In the following paragraphs, in examining the present arrangements for teaching practice, we draw attention to what we believe are weaknesses in initial training. Certain difficulties experienced by students on teaching practice and by young teachers in their probationary period are attributed by them to particular deficiencies in their college training. Strictly speaking, the college course is not within our remit; but because we believe that these deficiencies have to be made good before a signal improvement is possible in the quality of teaching practice and the induction of probationers, we feel justified in extending our review of teaching practice to a more general consideration of the function of pre-service training.

21. In their evidence the colleges indicated a wide variety of objectives for teaching practice. These included the following:

(a) To practice skills and develop competence.
(b) To develop confidence.
(c) To become familiar with the system and schools.
(d) To have the opportunity to discover the different rates of development and variations in ability within a class.
(e) To develop the capacity to plan.
(f) To use resources effectively.
(g) To develop professional attitudes.
(h) To assume fuller and finally sole responsibility.
(j) To develop satisfactory relationships with pupils.
(k) To have the opportunity to apply theory in the practical situation and to evaluate new methods.
(l) To observe experienced teachers at work.

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(m) To develop useful personal qualities.
(n) To become aware of the role of the teacher as a member of staff.
(o) To have experience of success.

23. Many of the probationers whom we interviewed further complained that the relevance of their theoretical studies to teaching conditions in the schools was not established. The need to narrow the gap between theory and practice during initial training and induction consistently presented itself in our deliberations. In our experience curricular studies in the colleges of education are well linked on the whole with the daily work of the schools, but the theoretical study of education and educational psychology continues to be less clearly related to classroom practice, despite substantial efforts by the colleges to improve the situation since the publication of the Brunton Report. In addition, many experienced teachers do not appear to be sufficiently aware of the theoretical background to classroom work to be able to help students and younger colleagues to forge the necessary links between theory and practice. Moreover, the successful completion of his college course tends to foster in the newly qualified teacher a healthy desire to put aside the role of apprentice and assume that of craftsman, and since theory is seen as the speciality of the colleges, he tends to react against the continuing study of theory. What he wants more than anything else is highly specific and practical advice on request.

Existing Patterns

24. Common to many courses of initial training are periods of unsupervised practice for entrants during the vacation before the beginning of the session; common to all courses are periods of supervised practice at all stages of the primary or the secondary school. In almost all colleges the first period of practice is confined to observation. In the primary diploma courses more time tends to be spent on teaching practice in the second and third year; most colleges leave at least one term in every year without teaching practice, and do not begin it until the second term of the first year: The demands of the universities greatly influence the teaching practice in the Bachelor of Education courses, where it is invariably in blocks. In all courses students have practice in more than one school. The norm for the postgraduate course is three; for diploma courses there may be as many as six or seven different schools, with most colleges preferring to send students to the same school in more than one period of teaching practice.

25. The normal allocations of time for teaching practice are set out below.

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26. We were impressed in taking evidence both by the importance attached to teaching practice and by the volume of comments stressing the inadequacy of the present arrangements. While we have been encouraged by the considerable body of successful work that has been carried out in recent years by schools and colleges working in partnership, we have also been depressed to hear repeatedly of a lack of effective liaison between schools and colleges, insufficient exchange of information and an absence of agreement on the respective roles of teachers and college tutors in the training process.

27. There is considerable variation in the quality of existing arrangements. The main features of the many examples which came to our attention are summarised below. For convenience we have separated those practices which we commend and those which we deprecate, even although this may give an impression of polarisation. In reality there was no situation which presented all the good features, but in no case was the picture totally black.

Good Practices

Under the best arrangements there are structured working relationships between the college and the school. Specific responsibility in the school for liaison with the college and for supervision of teaching practice is assigned to a member of the promoted staff, often called the regent, who ensures that all staff understand the aims and objectives of teaching practice and its relationship with the college course, and who is responsible for the general welfare of students and provides advice and support to them. The college tutor visits the school regularly, discusses students' progress (involving the student in his own assessment) and in partnership with the appropriate members of the school staff gives the students continuous support. Teaching practice arranged on these lines ensures that the students will have had some experience of success, will have acquired a measure of confidence, will have been helped to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and on return to college will be able to discuss these in the context of continuing training and development.

Bad Practices

These are, generally speaking, the converse of what has been outlined above. There is failure to achieve contact between school and college, and consequently a lack of mutual understanding and no shared knowledge of the objectives of teaching practices. Preparation for teaching practice is superficial. In the school no specific responsibility is allocated for the students' welfare; they are therefore given no welcome and no general explanation of school arrangements; and there is no co-ordination of effort and no supportive attitude among the school staff. The college tutors' visits are rare, short and for assessment only, with overemphasis on the 'crit lesson'. Experience such as this is frustrating and demoralising. There is a danger that the student will be led to believe that his college training is irrelevant and that he can discard it along with the theoretical

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framework which it provided. He finds it difficult to assimilate in any coherent form the various practical hints and suggestions which he receives from the teachers in the school.

Experimentation

29. Over the last few years there have been a number of experiments in teaching practice. We refer here to some of the more noteworthy of these.

30. Among the developments in the organisation of teaching practice we have given particular attention to the several regent schemes now in operation in Scotland. Five colleges of education participate in formal schemes; the other colleges, although not operating formal systems, have variously adopted the principal features of a regent scheme. All the colleges recognise the value of there being a senior member of the promoted staff in both primary and secondary schools who has specific responsibility for students in training. This responsibility includes the co-ordination and supervision of arrangements for teaching practice, liaison with the college, and the giving of advice, assistance and encouragement to students on teaching practice. (More detailed accounts of regent schemes and of a 'teacher-tutor' scheme are provided in Appendices 1,2 and 3; and a reference to an account of one such scheme conducted by Jordanhill College of Education is included in Appendix 8.)

31. We feel much encouraged by the amount and variety of experimental work which has been done in this area. In particular such schemes have significantly improved communications, especially between the colleges and the secondary schools. We hope that circumstances will permit the extension of the benefits of regent schemes to probationers also, and in Chapter 6 we make specific recommendations to this effect.

32. One development in the organisation of teaching practice in the primary school which we have particularly noted is the assignment of students in groups or teams to one class. We recognise that such arrangements may present logistical problems and that success can come only from full co-operation between the school and college staff concerned. Nevertheless, such developments allow students to concentrate initially on certain skills without being preoccupied by the need to organise learning experiences for a large number of pupils. They also provide an

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excellent opportunity for creative collaboration between colleges and schools, and we feel the approach has much to commend it.

33. A development which has created considerable interest in recent years is micro-teaching. It is available, in some form, in all teacher training institutions, but only the University of Stirling uses it as a fundamental component of its training course. In brief, micro-teaching provides the opportunity of a gradual approach to teaching practice by introducing the student to a simplified situation-usually a class of about five pupils, a lesson of ten minutes length, and the development of only one identified teaching skill per lesson. Feedback of information about the teaching performance from the micro-lesson is available through the use of television replay. Micro-teaching offers a student not only a highly structured and immediately comprehensible approach to the development of teaching skills, but also the means, once assimilated, to assess his performance and vary it according to the teaching situation. This relation of theory to practice is one of the most valuable achievements of micro-teaching. It appears to be most useful in isolating teaching skills and illustrating models of teaching behaviour; and it contributes to instilling a confident and professional approach to teaching in students. Although we believe that there are limitations to the application of micro-teaching-for example, by its nature, it tends to be orientated towards teacher performance, sometimes without sufficient corroboration of the effectiveness of that performance in terms of the learning experience of pupils-we believe that there is now sufficient evidence to demonstrate the value of this technique.

34. Students in some colleges have been introduced to interesting new approaches to the planning of lessons. At one extreme a careful analysis of behavioural objectives has helped lesson planning. At the other, experiments have encouraged students to develop a flexible approach, even to the extent of introducing open-ended lessons. Most students have been introduced to the concepts of interaction analysis in their psychological studies, but there is less evidence that they have been encouraged to make use of them in their teaching practice. The few experiments that have taken place have been in the secondary sector.

35. Assignments, to be completed on teaching practice, are playing an increasing part in training courses. Examples include studies of individual children and their learning difficulties, and examination of the guidance and administrative structures in individual schools. One interesting example is an area survey conducted by each art student in one college. During teaching practice, generally in a rural area, each student is required to produce a report, illustrated by himself, on his study of the physical and social environment in which the pupils live.

36. There is abundant evidence of the increasing use of sophisticated teaching aids. Several colleges have developed closed-circuit television, through which video-tapes can present real or simulated situations for analysis. Students have been encouraged to make their own aids, including films, cassettes, tape-recordings, loops and slides, and they have become increasingly adept at incorporating them in their lessons. We welcome such developments, and note with satisfaction that the substantial investment in technology in the colleges is paying dividends.

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4 Existing Arrangements for the Induction of Probationer Teachers

37. The main responsibility for the initial training of a teacher clearly lies with the colleges of education. At the probationary stage, responsibility for continued guidance and training is more divided. It is the duty of the education authority, the employer*, in maintaining an efficient teaching force, to think in terms of the career management of teachers from their first appointment onwards. This includes placing them in appropriate schools, preferably in consultation with head teachers. The head teacher bas a duty to exercise oversight of the work of probationers, and to assess their progress; and in some authorities this duty expressly extends to certain promoted staff. Other colleagues, as members of the teaching profession, have an obligation to ensure that a new member of the profession is given all the assistance and guidance be has a right to expect from established practitioners. Colleges of education have a continuing interest in the progress of their former students. Very often, however, the respective roles of all those concerned are not clearly understood, least of all by the probationer teacher.

38. Chance may put him in a school where his colleagues will transmit techniques and inspiration in a thoroughly professional way as part of his day-to-day contact with them. He may be under the guidance of a head teacher and promoted staff who have an established training policy. He may be employed by an education authority with a comprehensive induction programme for new recruits. On the other hand, he may land in a situation in which his colleagues are reluctant to seem to interfere, his school has no policy for the training of new staff, and the education authority has only a rudimentary induction programme or none at all. The probationer in a small school or in a remote school may have a reduced chance of professional advice: there is unlikely to be a range of colleagues or promoted staff with much time available to guide him, or readily accessible support from the education authority. Much guidance and training during the probationary period is haphazard and incidental. The result is that many probationers do not gain nearly as much in professional accomplishment from the two years of probationary service as they should.

39. We sought evidence on existing induction arrangements from education authorities, head teachers, colleges of education and probationers. The Brunton Working Party recognised that existing induction arrangements were not satisfactory, and partly in response to their urgings efforts have been made in various

*References to education authorities in their capacity as employers should be taken to apply also to the Managers of grant-aided schools.

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parts of the country to try out means of making the probationary period of a teacher's service more effective in contributing to his development as a teacher.

Education Authority Policy

40. Only one of the Scottish education authorities prescribes procedures for the induction of probationers within the school. The prevailing view is that this is primarily the responsibility of individual head teachers, with encouragement, and sometimes advice, from the authority. There is consequently wide variation in school-based induction arrangements across the country, not only from one authority to another but from school to school.

41. We were disappointed to note that several authorities make no special arrangements for the induction of probationers outwith the school. Others have introduced a variety of arrangements.

42. Some authorities arrange for a short period of in-service training at the beginning of the school session. In one authority, probationers are introduced to the school and staff by their principal teacher or another member of the promoted staff, and they also have a half-day meeting with the Director of Education in which the supporting services and resources of the Region are described, and such matters as salary and conditions of service are discussed. Some primary advisers hold one or two-day meetings (in some of which college of education staff may be involved) aimed at acquainting probationers with the authority's policy on a wide range of school matters. Some in-service courses in particular subjects are specifically aimed at probationer teachers. There are annual divisional conferences for primary assistant head teachers and courses for secondary school assistant head teachers, in both of which the induction of probationers is a major topic. One authority arranges a sequence of ten meetings for first year probationers teaching classes PI-PIV. These are arranged by the authority's Staff Tutor (Early Years); there is discussion of such matters as classroom organisation and approaches to reading and mathematics, and individual queries are answered. In addition the Staff Tutor pays regular visits to probationers teaching infant classes in small schools where there are no assistant head teachers.

43. One authority has recently adopted as its policy for all secondary schools a programme of induction first developed in its schools and promulgated by the local secondary head teachers' association. The policy document sets out comprehensively the respective responsibilities of assistant head teachers and principal teachers, and makes recommendations for an induction programme, indicating areas where probationers need support and guidance and suggesting how this can be carried out. (A more detailed account of the scheme operated by one of the schools is given in Appendix 1).

44. All authorities expect advisers to take a special interest in probationers, but in recent years the extent of the advisers' involvement with probationers has changed. At one time it was commonly assumed that one of the duties of advisers was the visiting of probationers in the schools, but it is evident that for a variety of reasons advisers have not been able to maintain frequent personal contact with every probationer within their area of responsibility. The tendency has been for the pastoral care of probationers to be increasingly recognised as the responsibility of promoted staff in the schools, with advisers adopting a supporting role. As their contact with individual probationers has declined, advisers' participation in group

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meetings for probationers outside schools has increased. Advisers arc instrumental in arranging probationer meetings, in-service courses, initial receptions, seminars, conferences and the provision of advice at teachers' centres. Our evidence leads us to expect that the role of advisers in the future is likely to be concerned more with co-ordinating probationer programmes on a regional or divisional basis than with individual probationers in their schools.

Role of Head Teachers and Promoted Staff

45. Head teachers have in the main accepted that their role in relation to newly qualified teachers is as much concerned with guidance and advice as with assessments for registration purposes. Methods of exercising this responsibility vary widely. In primary schools, traditionally head teachers and infant mistresses acted as supervisors of probationers; nowadays all assistant bead teachers are playing an increasingly significant part. In secondary schools, the principal teacher (subject) is generally regarded as having a key position and being capable of exerting the greatest influence on the progress of the probationer. In a few schools which have given us evidence in detail, a considerable programme of support has been successfully mounted; and such programmes have been most successful when the remit of the assistant head teachers has included work with student teachers as well as probationers, or indeed when guidance of probationers is seen as part of the total pattern of continuing teacher training. It is also clear that, especially in the first year, the probationer is most readily helped through the co-operation of his colleagues in the day-to-day work of the school. He is normally more ready to seek and to profit from their advice when he is working with pupils for whom he has a measure of responsibility and in whose welfare he has a professional interest.

Attitude of Colleges of Education

46. Until recently colleges of education have regarded induction as being a matter essentially for the schools and have been reluctant to venture into this field, except to the limited extent of offering assistance on request. Two colleges of education have, however, set up joint working parties with local teachers to study induction, and we have taken account of their conclusions in formulating our recommendations.

Views of Probationers

47. Generally speaking we were left with an impression of much goodwill but little structured effort to make the first two years of teaching a period of systematic initiation. This impression was borne out by the views of probationers themselves. They appreciated the help that was afforded them, but seemed to accept that they should 'stand on their own feet' and that progress depended on their own initiative. While we would not wish to see probationers become too dependent on a system organised for them, and we applaud the vigour with which many of them set about the task of becoming more professionally competent, we feel that there is a need for all concerned to consider how these two years might be more fruitfully spent.

Attitudes in the Profession

48. The views of probationers reflect to a certain extent two fundamentally opposed attitudes to probation within the teaching profession.

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49. The first of these attitudes-which we admit appears to have greater currency in the secondary school-sees probation essentially as a period for testing young teachers. It is assumed that a teacher is fully trained upon leaving college and that it is then incumbent upon him to prove his competence. Repeated requests for advice or assistance from probationers may be interpreted as evidence of weakness and are discouraged. It is not uncommon to find that probationers are given 'difficult classes'. This may be because the promoted staff concerned believe that the abler classes would be placed at risk by an inexperienced teacher, or it may be because it is felt that before a teacher aspires to the 'reward' of a 'good' class he must first prove his competence with the less academically inclined pupils. We understand this view, but do not subscribe to it.

50. The opposing view recognises that a probationer, upon completion of his initial training, is not a fully competent teacher, but is at a critical stage in the training process and may require, particularly at the outset, continuous advice, guidance and encouragement from his colleagues in the school situation. We believe that there is an increasing acceptance of this view among teachers and a greater willingness to participate in the professional training of their younger colleagues. We are confident that when participation in training becomes an acknowledged part of teachers' duties, the profession will be ready to offer its wholehearted co-operation.

51. There is a further consideration which we have noticed tends to inhibit frank discussion of teaching problems among teachers. The ability to keep control of the class is obviously essential, but weakness in this regard is often given undue prominence by teachers and probationers, and the latter are consequently reluctant to admit to failure in this respect or to seek guidance on it. We believe a more frank and open attitude is required if there is to be less stress and anxiety during the probationary period.

Induction Practices Elsewhere

52. We thought it essential to widen our survey, as far as was possible, beyond the bounds of Scotland and we were able to study the situation in England and Wales and on the Continent.

53. During the life of our Working Group pilot schemes for the induction of young teachers, sponsored by the Department of Education and Science, were started in Liverpool and Northumberland in 1974 and are still continuing. They were closely monitored and evaluated by local and external moderators. We were in touch with the progress of these schemes and we also received information about a number of unsponsored schemes set up by other local education authorities. We noted with interest the variety of approaches to the provision of support for the new teacher and were confirmed in our own view that the way to proceed is through flexible structures and general guidelines.

54. In spite of the wide variety in detail it is clear that the common and essential features of the English schemes are:

(a) a clearly formulated policy, known to and understood by all;
(b) a lightened teaching load for the probationer;
(c) a designated individual on the school staff ('the teacher-tutor') responsible for induction;

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(d) an internal school programme of help and guidance for probationers; and
(e) an external programme of in-service training.

56. We also investigated the position in certain European countries. We found a general acceptance of the need for help to be offered to 'beginning teachers' to bridge the gap between the sheltered and supportive environment of the training institution and the first experience of real responsibility. Many countries are attempting this through the work of probationary year supervisors, local inspectors and advisers. In some countries the new teacher works closely with a more experienced teacher-the 'teacher-methodist' or 'master teacher'. One characteristic of many European systems which impressed us, and which is closely related to induction, is the attitude to in-service training, which is accepted as an integral part of every teacher's career.

Features of the Scottish System

57. We recognise, of course, that no scheme can be translated without adaptation from one system to another. There are, however, a number of features which are distinctive to the Scottish system and which should facilitate the development of induction arrangements in Scotland. The more important of these in our view are:

(a) the General Teaching Council and its role in probation;
(b) the probation period of two years (as opposed to one year in England and Wales) which gives greater scope for planning and carrying out a programme in and out of school;
(c) the structure of promoted posts in schools, within which responsibility for induction can readily be allocated; and
(d) the separate training and qualification arrangements for primary and secondary teachers, and for subject teaching in secondary schools, which may simplify the identification of needs.

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5 General Conclusions

58. In the previous two chapters we have drawn attention to what we believe are weaknesses in the present pattern of initial training and induction, and we have examined recent developments in schools and colleges aimed at improving matters. We believe that there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate the value of much of this development, and that valid conclusions can be derived and applied more widely.

Student Teaching Practice

59. It is our belief that in general terms existing courses of initial teacher training are sound. We are convinced, however, that teacher training has failed so far to marry theory and practice satisfactorily; and it is unfortunately true that many students still regard their initial training as consisting of two separate and alternating experiences-their college course and their teaching practice.

60. In an attempt to counter this, the colleges have evolved a variety of techniques to enable students to apply theory in a realistic situation. Most often a 'sheltered' teaching situation is devised, perhaps limiting the size of teaching group, the amount of teaching time and the complexity of the content. The students might be asked to emphasise various skills-for example, questioning techniques, teacher movement and gesture, variation in presentation. In this way they are given a framework for analysing their own performance and that of other teachers, students and lecturers. The use of closed-circuit television can help in the process of analysing performance and we have seen interesting examples of this, Students and newly qualified teachers whom we interviewed felt that they had benefited from these structured and sheltered introductions to teaching. Not only were they able to get more out of observation during teaching practice, but in their own initial attempts with a full class, their experience with small groups and in the practice of specific skills enabled them to prepare for their teaching situations with a greater measure of confidence.

61. If teaching practice is to be more directly integrated into the college course, there must be proper arrangements for preparation and follow-up. Most colleges have a range of procedures for preparing students for teaching practice. The most common method, and in our view the most effective, is for the student to make a preliminary visit to the school. We are disappointed that this practice is not universal, as we believe it to be essential. We are concerned at what often appears to be the random assignment of students to schools, with a general injunction to

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observe and experiment. We feel that such casual arrangements are unacceptable. Tutors and teachers should have the opportunity to discuss the relationship of college work to school work, and they should also discuss and agree particular programmes of work to be carried out by students on teaching practice. Especially in their earlier teaching practices, students require quite explicit information on what they should be doing and specific instructions on how to go about it. This cannot be left to chance.

62. Sound arrangements are vital for following up experience gained on teaching practice; without them it can be sterile. Such follow-up occurs mainly at present through discussion with tutors; but students' reports, fact-finding sheets compiled by students on teaching practice, reviews of lesson plans, and organised seminars are also used. We have been told by a number of students, however, that their discussions with tutors were comparatively brief, and that they were left largely to follow up their own experience without special guidance. We believe that all colleges ought 10 have a clearly-stated policy on the follow-up to teaching practice.

63. One of the most sensitive issues, which attracts considerable criticism from students, teachers and college staff, is the assessment of students' performance on teaching practice, in particular through the 'crit lesson'. 10 itself the phrase 'crit lesson' is misleading. It may refer to a specific lesson with a specific class, carefully prepared by the student and used by the college tutor purely for purposes of assessment. This is the normal arrangement. It may also, however, refer to an assessment visit extending over a longer period and involving even a whole morning's work. Assessment is an essential part of the learning process: there must be some way of estimating whether students have reached a satisfactory level of efficiency or even shown some distinction. But at a time when there is keen competition for a limited number of teaching posts students are bound to regard with anxiety any occasion which helps to determine their 'teaching mark'.

64. We recognise that, since assessment must be attempted, tension is bound to exist, and we welcome all efforts to reduce it and to promote fruitful co-operation among student, tutor and teacher. We believe, for example, that school reports which may cause less tension in the student-have a substantial contribution to make to an accurate assessment of a student's performance. We recommend that all colleges should not only take them into account, but examine the possibility of allocating a specific weighting for them in their assessment scheme. Such a practice would in our view go some way towards illuminating for all concerned the relationship between the teaching practice period and the college course as a whole.

65. Problems also arise from poor communication between schools and colleges. The ultimate responsibility for making arrangements for teaching practice must rest with the colleges, but if this practice is to be successful, it must be jointly planned by schools and colleges, there must be clear agreement on objectives and on the respective roles of teachers and college tutors, and there must be continuous and close co-operation between the two.

66. We have already stated our belief that the teaching profession, if invited to assume a more active part in teacher training, will accept this responsibility. There is a need for this invitation to be made explicit. We therefore recommend that education authorities should inform all head teachers and their staff that they are expected to co-operate with colleges of education in the training of students. We

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do not think it practicable to prescribe a uniform programme across the country, but it does appear necessary to formulate general guidelines.

67. If teaching practice is to provide the opportunity for the confirmation and development of work done previously in the college then students require the sympathetic guidance and assistance of practising teachers in the classroom. To render this assistance school staff have to know what knowledge and skills students have acquired from their college course and what experience the college staff wish the students to have in the school. We firmly believe that college staff must take the initiative in discussing with school staff the aims and objectives of teaching practice and the respective roles and responsibilities of teachers and tutors.

68. We have noted that the school tends to be regarded by students as a situation in which one learns principally from practical experience. Teachers themselves generally approach teaching in a pragmatic manner. The student, however, if he is not simply to imitate the example of practising teachers without understanding it, must have explained to him why one course of action is to be preferred to another. Most teachers would agree that their teaching reflects their understanding of pupils' motivations, learning processes and difficulties, and how pupils are likely to be influenced by the way they themselves behave, and many of them explain to students the considerations that inform and affect their decision-making. Such theoretical explanations, however, are usually given to students in an informal and idiosyncratic way which they find difficult to relate to their theoretical studies in college.

69. If improvements take place in communication between colleges and schools we hope not only that the college course will become more practically orientated but that teaching practice and induction will become more clearly and soundly based on theory. What we hope for then would be a course in which theory and practice are simultaneously and continuously developed in college and in school. The student's teaching should be informed in this way by a sound theoretical basis which has been reinforced by being tested and developed in a variety of situations.

70. If teachers are to participate effectively in this continuous process, it is evident that they must have the opportunity to discuss and agree with college staff how this is to be achieved. We therefore recommend that there should be regular meetings between school and college staff. School staff should be fully informed of what has been done in college in order to plan their work with students; similarly college staff have to know what will be done in the schools in order to plan their work with students. We also feel that when college courses are being planned school staff should be represented on the planning team. This should be on the basis of a system of collaboration understood by the profession and the colleges and agreed by education authorities, and we recommend that each college should devise such a system with the education authorities in its area. The improvements we hope for will not be achieved if the teachers consider themselves to be helpers rather than partners in a co-operative venture. We believe there are also benefits to be gained from the regular interchange of teachers and college lecturers. We recognise that there are serious logistical problems involved in the movement of staff between colleges and schools, but we should welcome experiment on these lines.

71. Only by such positive measures will the gaps between theory and practice and between colleges and schools be bridged. The colleges must not only take every opportunity to keep theory and practice in step, but must also demonstrate that

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this is happening. The schools, for their part, must assist the process by refraining from over-stressing the practical side of training at the expense of the theoretical.

Induction of Probationer Teachers

72. We deplore the sharp break which tends to exist between initial teacher training and probation. Various efforts have been made to reduce the sharpness of this break, for example, by the institution of a 'bridge' or transition course at the end of the college course after the examinations. Two colleges in particular have developed courses along these lines. One such course is referred to at Appendix 4. The better the collaboration between the schools and the colleges throughout the course the more likelihood there is of both co-operating in smoothing the transition. Whether or not the student has actually been appointed to a teaching post it is possible to make arrangements with a school for a brief induction course. Further improvement can be achieved by the involvement of the education authorities and by encouragement and assistance to bead teachers to make contact with new staff as soon as possible after they have been notified of their appointment.

73. In forming our conclusions on existing induction arrangements we came to appreciate that we were dealing with. a situation conspicuously different from teaching practice. In our consideration of teaching practice we had the advantage of examining an established pattern which has been extensively documented and debated, and within which a considerable volume of experimentation has been attempted from which it is possible to discern benefits. In the field of probationary service, there is no established pattern, much less debate and documentation, and a much smaller volume of experiment.

74. Many of the recommendations we have made in the context of teaching practice are equally applicable to induction. As teachers acquire experience in assisting students they become better equipped to assess the needs of probationers and to provide the assistance they require; We believe also that college lecturers have a significant contribution to make in the probationary period, particularly towards the end of it through courses arranged by the authority.

75. The evidence presented to us suggests that, in the first year of probation particularly, the probationer teacher wants highly specific and practical advice on request. Very often be wants advice early; very often he prefers to get it from the teacher next door. The 'completion' of his higher and professional education sometimes produces a reaction against immediate further contact with what he has just put behind him. He is keen to undertake the responsibility on his own; but some aspects of his work seem mysterious and difficult, and he magnifies the importance of some and under-estimates or discounts altogether the importance of others.

76. Although practical considerations must be expected to occupy the foreground during the probationary period, it is necessary for the newly qualified teacher to relate the opportune, the immediate and the practical to the theoretical and philosophical questions which underlie the teaching process. Moreover, if there is any one point at which theory and practice ought to be working most closely together, it is towards the end of the period of probation. Then, as the Brunton Report suggests, the young teacher can 'engage in serious reflection on his training and bring his theory to the bar of his experience for judgement'. He is also in a better position to appreciate the relevance of some of his previous theoretical study,

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especially his courses in education and educational psychology. If this is to be achieved, there must be people among those who guide him who are both competent in educational theory and convinced of its importance at that stage in his career; and active steps must be taken to help him in the task of drawing together the threads of theory and practice.

77. The earlier stages of probation should be very largely the responsibility of the school. Only the school staff is available for immediate informal consultation, to provide help with the sudden crisis, and to arrange regular and frequent discussions, workshop sessions, observation of other classes and so on. Much of this will be organised by the principal teacher (subject) in the secondary school, or by the assistant head teacher in the primary school, some of it outside class contact time.

78. The education authority should also during the first two or three terms be carrying out an induction programme involving small groups of probationers in talks with advisers about problems, in social gatherings, in information-gaining sessions with officials. This might amount to the equivalent of one week's training spread over the year.

79. By the beginning of the second year the probationer and the promoted staff concerned should have identified, through consultation, aspects of the curriculum - perhaps assessment, or the teaching of the less able - in which the probationer would benefit from further study. It would, of course, be necessary to establish priorities. At that point the regents, the education authority officials concerned and the college of education might map out a programme of training for probationers covering the equivalent of three weeks over the year, part of which might involve school-based individual assignments linked with attendance at a centre or a college. It is doubtful if a core element would be necessary, but it is obvious that unlimited choice could not be given and that certain aspects would be more popular than others. In some instances it might be considered appropriate for a probationer to join an in-service course for more experienced teachers.

80. Throughout the second year there should of course be regular guidance within the school. The extent and frequency of this would be a matter for the judgement of the promoted staff concerned.

81. Induction, as we became well aware in taking evidence, is a comparatively novel concept in Scottish teacher education. Indeed we were, on several occasions, asked to define induction by teachers from whom we intended to take evidence on the subject. Those induction schemes which do exist in Scotland are, generally speaking, at an early stage of development. We are in no doubt, however, of the necessity for induction. We are convinced that the establishment of a systematic induction scheme in every school would confer benefits not only on probationers but on the profession as a whole, and we see it as one of the most important management responsibilities of promoted staff.

82. In our evidence we have come repeatedly to recognise the value of having an identifiable person among the senior promoted staff in each school to provide help and encouragement to students and probationers, to oversee and co-ordinate the arrangements that are made for them, and to act as a link between school and college staff. In some schools the head teacher will wish to undertake this commitment himself; indeed, in small schools, he may be the only person available to do so. In referring to such a person we have found the term 'regent' to be useful, and

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have used it throughout this report; but we do not suggest that it should be universally applied. The tasks which a regent might undertake are set out in more detail in Chapter 6.

83. One point to which we constantly returned in all our discussions is that none of our recommendations can be successful unless adequate time is made available for all the staff concerned. We are not, however, recommending any specific allocation of time, since requirements will vary with circumstances. It is not enough in any case to give all concerned a few extra non-teaching periods. The time that is available, since it is a valuable commodity, must be prudently and effectively managed by those in authority and by the probationers themselves.

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6 Recommendations

84. In our examination of recent developments we found considerable improvements. We consider that further improvement is necessary, and make recommendations in this chapter for a more structured relationship between schools and colleges as well as a clearer definition of their individual and joint responsibilities in the training and induction of teachers.

85. Policies should be evolved at national, education authority*, college of education and school level which ensure that students on teaching practice and teachers in their probationary years have the benefit of a programme of professional guidance and training which utilises to the full the complementary skills and experience of college staff, school staff and the administrative and advisory staff of education authorities. A uniform programme across the country for both primary and secondary education would not be practicable, but certain guidelines can be suggested. It will be for colleges of education and education authorities to evolve patterns suited to their area, the types of school it contains, the staff available and the types of student and probationer to be catered for. A framework for such arrangements is suggested below.

Education Authorities

86. We recommend that all education authorities, as part of their responsibility for providing sound education in their areas, seek to achieve the highest possible standard of training for students on teaching practice in their schools and for probationer teachers in their service. To this end they should:

(a) Designate a member of their directorate staff to be responsible for:

(i) establishing systematic co-operation with colleges of education in providing schools for teaching practice and in maintaining a satisfactory working arrangement;
(ii) ensuring that there is an on-going induction and training programme for probationers in the authority's schools.

(b) Inform all head teachers and teachers that the education authority expects that all schools will co-operate as far as possible with colleges of education in training future members of the profession.

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(c) Require and make it possible for bead teachers to make effective arrangements for liaison with colleges of education, for the reception and care of students in their schools and for the induction and training of probationer teachers on their staff.

(d) Include in the job descriptions of principal teachers (subject) and other appropriate staff in secondary schools, and those of promoted staff in primary schools, responsibility for the guidance of students on teaching practice and the guidance and training of probationer teachers.

(e) Wherever possible, avoid placing probationers in very small schools or departments; or arrange for probationers in such schools to have regular visits from advisers and staff tutors.

(f) Require and make it possible for head teachers to release probationers for training courses or seminars to the extent of the equivalent of one month over their two-year probation period.

(g) Make it possible for head teachers to give probationer teachers less than normal class contact time.

(h) Make it possible for head teachers to adjust the class contact time of promoted members of staff with responsibility for students and probationers to allow them to contribute to training.

Head Teachers

87. We recommend that, within the framework of education authority policy, head teachers of individual schools should:

(a) Designate a promoted member of staff to carry out the duties of regent as part of his job specification.

(b) Include in the job descriptions of principal teachers (subject) in secondary schools, and those of assistant head teachers in primary schools, the requirement that they give continuing professional guidance and training to students on teaching practice and to probationers.

(c) Arrange the timetables of probationers and their mentors to allow for consultations and inter-class visitation. In effect such arrangements would necessitate a lighter teaching load than normal for both probationers and mentors (the allowance for the mentor varying according to the number of probationers for whom he was responsible).

(d) Try to establish the kind of staff relationship in the school that would encourage experienced teachers to help new entrants to the profession.

88. We recommend that the regent should be the holder of a promoted post not lower than that of assistant head teacher. His duties should include:

(a) Receiving students and probationers and where possible making arrangements for preliminary visits to the school.

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(b) Briefing them on matters relating to the work of the school as a whole, for example the social background of the pupils, the curriculum, school facilities, organisation and administration, the guidance system, the school's relations with the community, inter-disciplinary activities, and the support services available in such areas as social work, health, community education, child guidance and library provision.

(c) Overseeing timetables to ensure that students have an appropriate balance of observation, supervised teaching and unsupervised teaching, and that probationers have an appropriate and reasonably balanced timetable and no disproportionate load of 'difficult' classes.

(d) Supervising the general development of students and probationers, for example, by arranging appropriate school-based seminars on such matters of general professional interest as the conduct and attitudes of teachers, pupil and classroom management, discipline, treatment of pupils with special problems.

(e) Making an appropriate contribution to the assessment of and reports on students and probationers.

(f) Advising other members of staff on matters concerned with students and probationers.

(g) Liaising with colleges of education to smooth the transition to school of students and probationers and to ensure that information about college courses and procedures is up to date.

89. The appointment of a regent must not be allowed to diminish the importance of the part to be played by those who have a direct responsibility for the work of a subject department in the secondary school or of particular stages in the primary school. We recommend that the duties of the principal teacher (subject) in secondary schools and those of the assistant head teacher in primary schools should include:

(a) Guidance to students and probationers on matters concerned with the day-to-day work of the classroom, for example, the curriculum and standards to be expected at each stage, classroom organisation and management including discipline, the preparation of lessons and assignments and the interpretation of schemes of work, the setting and marking of exercises and examinations and the assessment of pupils' progress, the selection of books and other materials and equipment, and the use of audio-visual aids and duplicating equipment.

(b) Reporting on the performance of students and probationers.

90. We recommend that colleges of education should:

(a) Designate a senior member of staff to be responsible for co-operation with education authorities in selecting schools for teaching practice and in maintaining a satisfactory working arrangement, including regular meetings of school and college staff. The decreasing number of students makes it possible for colleges of education to be more discriminating in selecting schools for teaching practice.

(b) Designate senior members of staff to be responsible for co-operation with schools accepting students on teaching practice.

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(c) Take the initiative in discussing with schools the aims and objectives of teaching practice and the respective roles and responsibilities of teachers and college tutors.

(d) As far as possible seek to arrange teaching practice with schools suited to the needs of the students and their stage of training.

(e) Provide the following information, as a matter of course, to the school to which they are sending a student on teaching practice:

name and marital status; age; address (for emergency use); course and stage of training; degree, diplomas etc., already held, with dates; other specialisms (for example, music); factual information about previous teaching practice, and/or about previous teaching experience; and any special needs.

(f) Arrange for students to have an opportunity to meet the members of staff they are to work with in schools before the period of teaching practice begins.

(g) Arrange for teachers to be represented on course-planning teams.

(h) Ensure that tutors, teachers and. students co-operate in arranging the details of students' programmes of work for teaching practice.

(j) Co-operate with head teachers in deciding what form of assessment of students should be provided by the school and take this assessment into account.

(k) Offer assistance to education authorities and schools in guiding and training probationers.

(l) Co-operate where possible in arrangements for interchange of staff with schools.

91. We recommend that professional organisations of teachers should regularly draw to the attention of their members their responsibility for guiding and training students and probationers.

The General Teaching Council for Scotland

92. We recommend that the General Teaching Council should:

(a) Encourage head teachers to give sympathetic guidance and support to probationers as well as providing assessments of their performance.

(b) In the event of a probationer's appearing to be unlikely to meet the standards required for final registration, request the head teacher to give him appropriate advice in good time.

93. All the ongoing experimental work by colleges, schools and education authorities which we have described in Chapters 3 and 4 has been of great value to us in that many of our recommendations are grounded on ideas and practices that have been tested in a variety of circumstances and have been modified in the light of experience. But the experimental work has also given us pause and made us more tentative in what we have said about some matters. Some of our recommendations do not therefore suggest definite solutions but rather indicate a range of possible or desirable options. Some indeed require further experimentation.

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94. We are in no doubt that if our proposals are accepted and implemented, close co-operation will be required between each college of education and its neighbouring education authorities and their schools, in the devising of appropriate procedures and programmes for the training and support of student and probationer teachers. We recommend that a number of these collaborative programmes should be carefully monitored. We would see advantage in this being done by a single research team so that a co-ordinated evaluation of a variety of approaches can be carried out.

School Staffing

95. The most important of our recommendations, particularly those relating to a lighter timetable for probationers and their mentors, have implications for school staffing. We have been told that these cannot be achieved forthwith. We are convinced, however, that there can be no significant improvement in teacher training and induction unless they are given the highest priority.

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7 Some Special Difficulties

96. Most of the difficulties and problems we encountered in tackling our remit could be dealt with in general terms, and we have endeavoured to take them into account in framing our recommendations. A few, however, require special mention. One or two extend in their influence beyond our remit; some will be surmounted only by further experiment.

97. It was obvious in much of the evidence presented to us that one of the major organisational difficulties faced by the colleges of education stems from the fact that a one-year course of initial training is not long enough for the present-day needs of graduate teachers. The comparative failure of the colleges to bring theory and practice meaningfully together is most evident in the one-year courses, particularly where several secondary subjects are being studied concurrently. We were impressed by the 'bridge' courses which one or two colleges offer at the end of the primary training course as a means of easing the transition from college to school; but these bridge courses are almost impossible to fit into the one-year course in its present overcrowded form.

98. We are precluded by our remit from making recommendations on the length of college courses, but we have recommended, with this difficulty in mind, that, within the two-year probationary period, every teacher should receive the equivalent of one month's in-service training. This arrangement, we believe, would help greatly to close the gap between theory and practice, and might ease the strain on initial training courses. The arrangement would also contribute opportunities for the collaboration between schools and colleges which we regard as essential.

99. Class organisation and management traditionally present difficulties to students and probationers. We consider that this is essentially a task to be tackled in the schools. It is argued by some that it is unreasonable to expect college tutors to provide instruction in this area, and that it is teaching practice that should provide the opportunity to observe models of effective teaching and to develop practical competence. Although this view may be held by some college staff, in our experience it is certainly not explicitly accepted by all school staff, Much more work needs to be done on this aspect of training.

100. In regarding this as a shared responsibility we take the same view as the Brunton Working Party of teacher education as a continuing process covering the teacher's professional life, from the day he enters college to the day he retires. At the same time we have sympathy with the author of the Note of Reservations in the

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Brunton Report* and for that reason we have eschewed too formal a structure of training during the probation period, recognising the formidable administrative and organisational difficulties this would entail. The form in which we have made our proposal for in-service training during the probationary period leaves the maximum flexibility for authorities seeking to put it into effect.

101. We also recognise that in primary schools organised as ours are in classes, there is a substantial and continuing difficulty in releasing teachers. We hope that in the near future the position will have eased sufficiently, through improved standards of staffing and the provision of relief teachers, to enable our recommendations to be fully implemented.

102. We have noted, too, the particular difficulty faced by small primary and secondary schools. For this reason we have recommended that authorities should, wherever possible, avoid placing probationers in very small schools or departments. If such placing cannot be avoided, we hope that regular visits can be arranged by advisers and staff tutors, and that relief teachers will be made available to allow probationers to be released for training.

103. Wc have not been unmindful in our deliberations of the impact that certain of our proposals could have on teachers' conditions of service as well as on staffing standards. The current agreement on conditions of service was evolved in a certain set of circumstances. Whatever the staffing standards, some changes in the teachers' contract would be necessary to accommodate some of our recommendations. But if the recommendations for a lighter teaching load for probationers and their mentors are approached positively and flexibly by all concerned, we are sure they can be implemented in a reasonable space of time.

Thomas Sneddon
Ian Flett
Mary CR Galbraith
Edward S Kelly
John McCallum
James Miller
James C Rankine
Helen JS Sandison
James Scotland
J Lockhart Whiteford

*See pages 49-50 of the Brunton Report.

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Appendix 1 An Account of a Secondary School-based Regent Scheme Provided by the High School of Stirling

1. The roll of the school is approximately 1350: staff numbers 87, of whom nine are probationers: current staff turnover is approximately 10% per annum (until 1975 it was over 20 %). Each session the school takes at least 40 students-from Jordanhill, Moray House, Physical Education and Home Economics Colleges, Stirling University, and River Falls, Wisconsin: and usually has one or two pre-training students from Aberdeen and Dundee.

2. Of the four Assistant Rectors appointed in April 1973, one was designated Assistant Rector (Staff) with responsibility for oversight of all teacher education in the school, namely:

(a) supervision of students on teaching practice;
(b) guidance of probationer teachers; and
(c) development of in-service training of all teaching staff.

4. With reference to the part of his work with student teachers, the Assistant Rector (Staff):

(a) has devised 'Policy Notes on Student Teachers' for the guidance of all members of staff;
(b) conducts all correspondence with sending colleges;
(c) advises Principal Teachers on the time-table and other requirements of students in relation to their stage, etc.;
(d) meets all students and provides them with information about the school-its ethos, aims and organisation;
(e) introduces students to their respective departments and thereafter encourages them to participate for example by staffroom discussion, by visits to other departments;

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(f) discusses progress of student with Principal Teacher: noteworthy is the 'halfway' discussion when the student is advised of any particular problems in time for something to be done about them;
(g) discusses final assessment of student with Principal Teacher, and writes report for the college;
(h) makes arrangements for individual needs of students for example 'outside' visits, special interests; and
(j) arranges meetings of students: this is particularly useful when the school has representatives of several colleges simultaneously.

6. In dealing with probationer teachers, the Assistant Rector (Staff) always discusses any action with the Principal Teacher concerned, and acts in concert with him. He:

(a) arranges monthly meetings of probationer teachers: these are part instructional (eg about examination invigilation, the school discipline system), part discussion (dealing with difficulties, professional attitudes), part interchange of ideas;
(b) 'arranges' for 'casual' chats with probationers;
(c) gives advice-in consultation with Principal Teachers when it seems necessary; and
(d) alerts Principal Teacher and Rector to developing or possible problems.

(a) administer rebukes - that is the job of the Principal Teacher, or in serious cases, the Rector; or
(b) provide reports on probationers - that is the Rector's job, in consultation with the Principal Teacher, on whose advice the Rector largely depends in this respect.

8. Reports on probationers are written by the Rector. First year probationers are seen informally as often as possible: they have a formal meeting with the Rector halfway through the session, when any difficulties are discussed (and, of course,

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there are such discussions at any time the probationer, Principal Teacher or Rector feel it necessary). Each report to the General Teaching Council is shown to the probationer, and fully discussed. The Assistant Rector (Staff) is kept fully informed about those discussions: but his role is clearly seen as being supportive of the probationer-he is there to guide rather than to assess.

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Appendix 2 An Account of a Secondary Regent Scheme in Aberdeen

1. This experiment arose from the recommendations of a working party on secondary school teaching practice which was formed as a result of an in-service conference on 'Teacher Training and the Schools' sponsored jointly in 1970 by Aberdeen College of Education, Aberdeen City Education Authority and the Aberdeen Local Association of the Educational Institute of Scotland. The working party contained representatives of the College, the Education Authority, the schools and HM Inspectorate.

2. The working party, which was aware that the College had run a teacher-tutor experiment with six primary schools in 1970-71, and that agreement in principle had been obtained for a parallel secondary experiment, recommended that a limited experiment with teacher-regents should be undertaken at secondary level. After consultation with Directors of Education it was decided to conduct such an experiment in six secondary schools with the aim of examining possible ways in which (a) the schools could playa larger part in the training process and (b) links between the College and the schools could be strengthened.

3. The working party suggested that any person nominated as a teacher-regent should be a teacher of ability, should have an interest in student training, and should be available for consultation with students by arrangement. While recognising some danger of overlap between the role of the teacher-regent and that of principal teachers, members saw no reason to exaggerate this, and defined the main functions of a teacher-regent as being:

(a) to make students welcome in school as recruits to the teaching profession and to explain the philosophy of the school and provide them with insights into school organisation and policy;
(b) to have regular meetings with students in order to help them with particular problems and difficulties encountered in their contact with pupils;
(c) to promote liaison in the interest of students among the various departments in the school;
(d) to act as 'link man' between the school and the College in matters delegated by the head teacher;
(e) to ensure that students are notified of impending visits by College tutors; and (f) to encourage among students as complete an involvement as possible in the total life of the school.

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4. There was some difference of opinion about the status of the teacher-regent. Some head teachers felt that he must hold a promoted post, preferably that of depute or assistant head teacher; others felt that the personality of the teacher-regent was more important than his position. There were also some doubts about the role of regent in relation to principal teachers. But as variety in the experiment was thought to be essential these differences were not considered important.

5. An honorarium of £100 was paid to each of the six teacher-regents. This honorarium was for participation in the experiment; and it was agreed that no precedent would be set by it for any future system that might be introduced. There was some discussion of the adequacy of this sum, but it was accepted on the terms indicated.

6. Regents were given synopses of college courses so that they were aware of the work likely to have been covered by students before each teaching practice. The functions of the teacher-regent were fully discussed and although it was agreed that it was not possible to lay down a definite set of duties, the following emerged through experience and consensus:

(i) To consult with the appropriate College department(s).
(ii) To receive students on arrival in school, show them their accommodation, give them a general introduction on the application in school of matters already dealt with in College, and deal with any problems raised by students.
(iii) To arrange one or two days when students follow a pupil through his timetable with the intention of noting school organisation, observing the general impact of the school on pupils, and becoming aware of the desirability of avoiding undue 'subject-centredness'.
(iv) To arrange time-tables for students' teaching practice with the appropriate principal teachers and to ensure that copies are sent immediately to the College.
(v) To try to ensure in these time-tables:

(a) a reasonable overall provision of observation and teaching time (supervised and unsupervised);
(b) an adequate 'spread' of classes; and
(c) an adequate balance of subject time where qualifications are being sought in more than one subject.

(vi) To try to ensure that students have an opportunity to observe and teach sequences of lessons as well as single lessons.
(vii) To give some attention to non-teaching/non-classroom activities such as registration, records of work, links with other branches of the education service, counselling, year system, etc.
(viii) To discuss the performance of students with colleagues on the staff and with tutors from the College and; in conjunction with principal teachers, to be responsible to the head teacher for compiling reports on students.

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8. Comments on the teacher-regent experiment were favourable on the whole. Students appreciated the fact that someone was available to take a constructive interest in them and valued the insight which they received into the total working of schools.

9. The schools and the College agreed on the importance of the personality of the teacher-regent but there was varied opinion as to his status. Many believed that the teacher-regent had to be in a promoted post in order to have the necessary authority, while some expressed the view that the teacher-regent should, in order to have rapport with students, not be too far from his own college days. The need for non-teaching time to carry out regent duties and the desirability of in-service induction courses to prepare for this responsibility were pointed out. Schools appreciated the close and structured relationship with the College which the regent system brought about.

10. The College felt that links with the schools had been strengthened, that regents had been closely involved in teaching practice and that co-operation had been fostered. Tensions-eg between regents and principal teachers-were less marked than had been feared. The attitude towards the honorarium had changed to the point where it was requested that it be paid to the school rather than to the individual.

11. While some college lecturers sought a more structured approach, the director of the experiment was anxious to retain sufficient flexibility both in the level of appointment and in the range of duties to permit adaptation and evolution.

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Appendix 3 An Account of a Teacher-Tutor Scheme Conducted by Craigie College of Education

1. In session 1971/72 Craigie College of Education, with the approval of the Director of Education for Ayrshire, embarked on an experiment involving a small group of primary head teachers and assistant head teachers as members of the tutorial teams supervising students on teaching practice.

2. The organisation of teaching practice for the Craigie primary diploma course is as follows:

(a) During the three-year course, it is attempted to ensure that every student gains experience of working with infant, middle and upper primary classes. Head teachers support the college authorities in this by placing students in a particular part of their schools, eg first year students in PIII-V, second year students in Pv-Vll, third year students in PI-ill, and in the final practice in third year, where possible, in that part of the school in which the student has obtained or hopes to obtain his first post.

(b) Before each teaching practice the Principal Lecturer in Primary Education provides for all head teachers, tutors and students a 'suggested content' for the practice, ie a list of the experiences (eg in various subject areas) which are considered to be valuable for the student to have at that stage in his training. The 'suggested content' thus forms the basis for discussions among students, class teachers and tutors of the work to be done by the students in the schools. The 'suggested content' helps to ensure that the student is provided with opportunities to practise content and techniques previously encountered in the various college courses.

(c) For teaching practice purposes each year group of students is divided into four groups, each of which is supervised by a team of tutors for the duration of the diploma course. Each team of tutors is associated with a group of some thirty schools. Each teaching practice team consists of a team leader and about six tutors drawn from various subject departments.

(d) Teaching practices in the diploma course are organised mainly in blocks of four to six weeks. During each week of a practice the student has one day in college to enable him to meet with the Primary Education Department tutor of the team and his own tutor, to make use of the college resource facilities and, with his tutor's help, to prepare future work.

(e) At the present time, each head teacher and/or one of his assistant head teachers welcomes the student to his school, introduces him to the class teacher and the

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class with whom he will be working, and generally maintains a close interest in his welfare. At the end of the teaching practice, the head teacher submits a confidential report of a fairly general nature on the student.

4. The views of all teacher-tutors, college tutors and students who had participated in the scheme were sought and are summarised below.

5. The teacher-tutors found that the tutorial team meetings provided them with valuable insight into the nature of the work done in college, the needs of students in relation to college work, and the criteria used by college tutors in the assessment of students. The meetings were, in the words of one tutor, 'a very useful forum where information on everything to do with teaching practice could be asked for and obtained'. Consequently the teacher-tutors found that they were better able to evaluate student performance and provide criticism that was just and helpful. They agreed that the experiment had also helped them to deal with probationers, because of the insight they had gained into the needs of students. The experience had helped them 'to know how to talk to their probationers' and also to know what kind of briefing to provide at the beginning of a probationer's first year. Because the teacher-tutors were able to observe students continuously over a long period of practice, informal assessment could be carried out in a more relaxed situation.

6. Continuous assessment appeared at first to create some anxiety in the minds of the students, but after a good working relationship had developed this view altered. The large majority of the students came to emphasise the value of continuous assessment and stressed the importance of the teacher-tutor's knowledge of the class and its problems. Students appreciated that advice and help given in the classroom was specific and capable of immediate application; and they commended teacher-tutors for being always available for advice and very approachable. The informality of the situation removed the anxiety that normally attends formal visits from college tutors. This enabled students to approach their work in a more relaxed manner. At the same time, having a teacher-tutor at hand tended to make the students work harder over a longer period.

7. The college tutors found that as the teacher-tutors were already known to them and as a good working relationship existed, there were no serious disagreements between them. The greatest impact on student performance was observed in those schools where the aims and methods of the college and the teacher-tutors were in harmony. There were no significant differences between the ratings of teacher-tutors

[page 38]

and college tutors. The assessments of each group of tutors tended to confirm and support those of the other.

8. Certain consistent themes are apparent from the views expressed and the following conclusions are based on them:

(a) Once the head teachers and assistant head teachers had become attuned to their role as teacher-tutors and could approach it in a more relaxed manner, it is clear that this added dimension within the teaching practice contributed greatly to its value.

(b) The teacher-tutors in this experiment all had many years of experience both as teachers and in promoted posts in primary schools. They insisted that, if there were the possibility of the appointment of more teacher-tutors, considerable experience of the primary school would be essential for the success of the venture.

(c) All teacher-tutors expressed some astonishment at the amount of time demanded by work of this nature. This reinforced the view that it was preferable that the teacher-tutor be in a promoted post-but one which provided some non-teaching time. When, for instance, some of the assistant head teachers (early education) because of staffing difficulties had to teach full-time they found themselves torn between their duties as class teachers and as tutors.

(d) The students stressed the necessity for any tutor, whether from school or college, to be sympathetic and understanding. They responded to and worked better for the tutor who quickly set them at ease and whom they felt they could approach for assistance and guidance.

(e) The exercise was most valuable when the tutors could provide assistance based on a clear knowledge of the kind of work already done by the student in college within the area in question. The two days of introductory meetings were really too short to provide anything more than a superficial knowledge of this essential background. As a reinforcement, the team meetings proved to be most useful and throughout the experiment the desirability was demonstrated for close communication between college and schools on all aspects of college work relevant to the primary school.

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Appendix 4 An Account of Collaboration between Callendar Park College of Education and Advisers and Head Teachers in its Area

1. A working party consisting of members of staff of Callendar Park College of Education and advisers and head teachers in its area was set up by the College in 1972 with the following remit:

'To investigate some of the problems that arise in the supervision of student teaching practice in schools in the college area, and to consider ways in which greater co-operation between the college and the schools might meet some of these problems. Additionally, and subsequently, to consider possibilities of co-ordinating within the college area the supervision of students on teaching practice'.

(a) The need for agreed statements of aims and objectives and of evaluation procedures as a common frame of reference for tutors, schools and students.
(b) The importance of defining the responsibilities and inter-relationships of college tutors, promoted staff in schools and class teachers in order to achieve maximum tutor-school co-operation.
(c) The need for a free flow of information between schools and college conveyed as often as possible in face-to-face discussion.
(d) Acceptance of the general principle of open discussion of progress with students by both tutors and schools.

*'Towards a Fuller Co-ordination of Teaching Supervision. A report of the Schools-College Working Party set up to consider the possibility of increased partnership in the supervision of teaching practice in the College area. Part 1: The College Diploma Course. Department of Educational Studies, Callendar Park College of Education, October 1974'.

'Towards a Fuller Co-ordination of Teaching Practice Supervision. A report of the SchoolsCollege Working Party set up to consider the possibility of increased partnership in the supervision of teaching practice in the College area. Part 2: The Primary Certificate Course (Graduates). Department of Educational Studies, Callendar Park College of Education, October 1975'.

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4. It was then felt useful and logical to extend the study into the first probationary year in an effort to bridge the gap between the end of the college course and the beginning of the teacher's career and to allow both college and schools to make shared or complementary contributions to the growing experience of the student teacher.

5. For this part of the study the following new remit was agreed:

'Taking the expressed concern of the General Teaching Council and the Scottish Education Department in this matter very much to heart, the working party should endeavour to extend its recently completed study of schools-college co-operation by identifying problems associated with continuing that co-operation through the probationary years in schools. Subsequently, and consequently, it should endeavour to suggest possible means of solving such problems'.

7. The working party's report on this part of the study* set out the details of a programme designed to help the probationer in what were regarded as the critical periods in his early teaching experience. The programme included:

(a) in the final term of the college course, a course on 'transition to school';

(b) arrangements for initiation to school in the three-day period before pupils return;

(c) in the early months in school, planned support from the College, the Authority's advisory staff, and school staff; relevant out of school activities (visits etc); and attendance at a short college course for probationers, with participation by advisers and head teachers;

(d) during the remainder of the probationer's first session, some time free from class contact to allow attendance at courses on an area basis; and

(e) good communication among all concerned with the probationer.

*'Towards a Policy of Planned Induction to Schools During the Probationary Years. A report of the Schools-College Working Party set up to consider the possibility of increased partnership in the preparation of teachers for schools in the College area. Part 3: The First Probationary Year. Department of Educational Studies, Callendar Park College of Education, May 1977'.

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Appendix 5 Sources of Written Evidence

Aberdeen College of Education
Borders Regional Council
Callendar Park College of Education
Central Regional Council
Comhairle nan Eilean
Craigie College of Education
Craiglockhart College of Education
Dumfries and Galloway Regional Council
Dundee College of Education
Dunfermline College of Physical Education
Fife Regional Council
Grampian Regional Council
Hamilton College of Education
Highland Regional Council
Jordanhill College of Education
Lothian Regional Council
Moray House College of Education
Notre Dame College of Education
Orkney Islands Council
Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association
Strathclyde Regional Council
Tayside Regional Council
University of Stirling, Department of Education

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Appendix 6 Sources of Oral Evidence

Dr A Bain, Head of Department of Educational Studies, Callendar Park College of Education.
Mr CE Brown, Principal, Callendar Park College of Education.
Mr J Castellain, Adviser in Modern Languages, Tayside Regional Council.
Mrs BV Donald, Assistant Head Teacher, Dumbryden Primary School, Edinburgh.
Professor JH Duthie, Department of Education, University of Stirling.
Dr NDG Grant, Head of Department of Educational Studies, University of Edinburgh (now Professor of Education, University of Glasgow).
Dr DRA Keatch, Principal Lecturer, Methods Department, Dundee College of Education.
Miss J Low, Principal Adviser in Primary Education, Lothian Regional Council.
Mr RW McArthur, Assistant Principal, Jordanhill College of Education.
Mr D McIntyre, Senior lecturer, Department of Education, University of Stirling.
Dr G Macleod, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Education, University of Stirling.
Mr DF Millar, Senior Lecturer, Department of Educational Studies, Callendar Park College of Education.
Mr A Miller, Assistant Rector, The High School of Stirling.
Professor AT Morrison, Head of Department of Education, University of Stirling.
Mr RH Richardson, Assistant Principal, Jordanhill College of Education.
Mr GW Riddell, Vice-Principal, Jordanhill College of Education.

PROBATIONER TEACHERS

[page 43]

[page 44]

Appendix 7 Notes on the Questionnaires to Head Teachers of Primary Schools, to Head Teachers of Secondary Schools, and to Colleges of Education

1. For the questionnaire to head teachers of primary schools a random sample was selected of 6% of education authority schools with a roll of 20 or over. This produced a sample of 138 schools. The schools were divided into five bands, based upon the different school sizes for which Scottish Education Department Circular No. 819 recommends the appointment of promoted staff in addition to the head teacher. The number of schools selected in each band in the sample was proportional to the national number of staff in each band. The purpose of the questionnaire was to ascertain what arrangements existed in the schools for receiving students on teaching practice and for the induction of probationers; the questionnaire was also intended to elicit from head teachers their opinions on these arrangements and their views on what improvements could be made. -

2. For the questionnaire to head teachers of secondary schools the Group considered that it would be appropriate to select a sample considerably smaller than that chosen for the primary questionnaire. It was agreed to address this questionnaire to the Council members of the Headteachers' Association of Scotland, with the addition of a head teacher of a school from one of the islands education authorities. This produced a sample of 29 head teachers, responsible for a wide range of sizes of school. As in the case of the primary questionnaire, it was intended to obtain from head teachers not only information on existing arrangements for teaching practice and induction but also their views on these arrangements and possible improvements.

3. The questionnaires were completed and returned by 104 primary head teachers and 27 secondary head teachers. The Group acknowledge their indebtedness to the head teachers, whose detailed information and opinions helped members to form a comprehensive view of existing arrangements and the attitudes of the teaching profession to the training process. The Group also wish to express their gratitude to the Scottish Education Department's Statistics Division, for their assistance in selecting the sample of primary schools and advising on the framing of the questions for the primary questionnaire.

4. The questionnaire to colleges of education was addressed to all the Scottish colleges of education and to the Department of Education of the University of Stirling. The purpose of the questionnaire was to obtain information about the existing structure, content and aims of teaching practice, arrangements between schools and colleges, assessment, contact with probationers, and the views of college staff on existing arrangements and possible improvements. The questionnaire was

[page 45]

completed and returned by all the institutions to which it had been addressed. All the colleges and the University of Stirling went to considerable trouble to provide the Group with the most detailed and comprehensive information on all the matters referred to in the questionnaire. We would wish to thank these institutions not only for their assistance in replying to the questionnaire, but also for their repeated help and co-operation throughout the working life of the Group.

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Questionnaire to Head Teachers of Primary Schools

Teaching Practice

1. What is the current school roll?

2. Do students come to your school for teaching practice? (Yes/No)

3. If 'Yes', approximately how many students do you have each session?

4. With which college(s) do you have arrangements to receive students on teaching practice?

5. (a) Is there a member of staff with responsibility for the general supervision of teaching practice and/or liaison with colleges? (Yes/No) (If 'Yes', proceed to question 5(b), if 'No' proceed to question 6.)

(b) What are his/her special duties in this field?

(c) What post does he/she hold?

(d) What are IDs/her other responsibilities?

6. If the answer to question 5(a) is 'No', are special arrangements made for the supervision of teaching practice? If so please give details.

7. What arrangements are made in your school for welcoming students on teaching practice and for introducing them to the school?

8. Are there arrangements in your school for students to discuss general problems which they encounter in teaching practice? If so, which member(s) of staff is/are usually involved in such discussion?

9. What sort of advance information do you receive from colleges about students coming to you for teaching practice?

10. Is this information adequate for your purpose? (Yes/No)

11. If not, what additional information would you find helpful?

12. Would you find it useful to have some guidance/advice from the sending College about the type of work to be attempted by students on teaching practice? (Yes/No)

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13. If the answer to question 12 was 'Yes', how far should this advice go?

(a) Should it include specific exercises to be attempted by the student? (yes/No) If 'Yes', please specify.

(b) Should it include information about any difficulties the student has previously encountered? (Yes/No)

14. In your view in what way can and/or should the college prepare students for teaching practice?

15. In reporting on the student's teaching practice, do you prefer: (a) completing a standard pro forma? (Yes/No)

(b) making a written report? (Yes/No)

(c) a combination of both? (Yes/No)

(d) some other method (please specify).

16. Which member(s) of staff is/are normally consulted in the preparation of such a report?

17. Should the school's report:

(a) be completely confidential between you and the college? (Yes/No)

(b) be shown to and discussed with the student? (Yes/No)

(c) be included as part of the student's assessment? (Yes/No)

Please give your reasons.

18. Have you any other comments on teaching practice?

Probation

19. What is the total number of teachers on the staff of your school? How many of these are (a) first year probationers, (b) probationers other than first year probationers?

20. (a) Is there a member of staff with responsibility for the general supervision of probationers? (Yes/No)

(b) If 'Yes', what are his/her special duties in this field?

(c) What post does he/she hold?

(d) What are his/her other responsibilities?

21. If the answer to question 20(a) is 'No', are special arrangements made for the supervision of probationers? If so, please give details.

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22. How are probation reports for the General Teaching Council compiled in your school?

23. Do you discuss progress with probationers (a) formally and/or (b) informally?

24. Are there any opportunities for probationers at your school to meet together (a) during school hours and/or (b) outside school hours to discuss problems which they may be encountering?

25. Have you any comments on how the quality of the probationary period might be improved?

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Questionnaire to Head Teachers of Secondary Schools

Teaching Practice

1. Do students come to your school for teaching practice? (Yes/No)

2. If 'Yes', approximately how many students do you have each session?

3. With which college{s) do you have arrangements to receive students on teaching practice?

4. Is there a member of staff with general responsibility for all supervision of teaching practice and/or liaison with colleges? If so, what are his/her special duties in this field? What is his/her grade and other responsibilities (eg Assistant Head Teacher (Administration)/Principal Teacher (English))?

5. If there is no member of staff with specific responsibility in this field, are special arrangements made? If so, please give details.

6. What arrangements are made in your school for welcoming students on teaching practice and for introducing them to the school?

7. Are there arrangements in your school for students to discuss general problems which they encounter on teaching practice? If so, which member(s) of staff is/are usually involved in such discussions?

8. Are responsibilities for students on teaching practice laid upon principal subject teachers? If so, please give examples.

9. If there is a member of staff with general responsibilities for teaching practice, what difficulties (if any) does he/she experience in his/her dealings with principal subject teachers?

10. What sort of advance information do you receive from colleges about students coming to you for teaching practice?

11. Is this information adequate for your purpose?

12. If not, what additional information would you find helpful?

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13. Would you find it useful to have some guidance/advice from the sending college about the type of work to be attempted by the student on teaching practice?

14. Should such work include specific exercises to be attempted by the student?

15. Should the advice include information about any difficulties the student has previously encountered?

16. In your view in what way can and/or should the college prepare students for teaching practice?

17. In reporting on the students' teaching practice, do you prefer:

(i) Completing a standard pro forma? (Yes/No)
(ii) Making a written report? (Yes/No)
(iii) A combination of both? (Yes/No)
(iv) Some other method (please specify).

19. Should the school's report:

(i) Be completely confidential between you and the college? (Yes/No)
(ii) Be shown to and discussed with the student? (iii) Be included as part of the student's assessment? (Yes/No) (Yes/No)

20. Have you any other comments on teaching practice?

Probation

21. What is the total number of teachers on the staff of your school? How many of these are (a) first year probationers, (b) probationers other than first year probationers?

22. Is there a member of staff with general responsibility for all probationers. If so, what are his/her duties concerning probationers? What are his/her grade and other responsibilities (of question 4)?

23. If there is no member of staff with general responsibility for all probationers are special arrangements made for probationers? If so, please give details.

24. Are responsibilities for probationers laid upon principal subject teachers? If so, please give examples.

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25. If there is a member of your staff with specific responsibilities for probationers, what difficulties (if any) does he/she experience in his/her dealings with principal subject teachers?

26. How are probation reports for the General Teaching Council compiled in your school?

27. Do you discuss progress with probationers (a) formally and/or (b) informally?

28. Are there opportunities for probationers at your school to meet together (a) during school hours and/or (b) outside school hours to discuss problems which they may be encountering?

29. Have you any comments on how the quality of the probationary period might be improved?

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Questionnaire to Colleges of Education

1. What types of school experience do you include under the general heading 'Teaching Practice'?

2. What aims do you have in mind for your programmes of teaching practice?

3. How many days are spent by your students on teaching practice during their course? How many schools does each student go to?

4. What is the pattern of teaching practice in each of your courses? What factors led you to fix this pattern ?

5. Apart from normal college methods classes, what preparation is given to your students before they commence their first spell of teaching practice? Are they, for example, given any specific assignments or questions to answer? If so, how are schools informed of these?

6. Are the assignments and questions (if any) followed up with (he students after their first spell of teaching practice?

7. Are similar preparations made (and followed up) before later periods of teaching practice?

8. Are arrangements made to match teaching practice assignments for students with the programmes of work of class teachers? What problems (if any) does this raise?

9. In your study of the practice of teaching do you make any use of interaction analysis, micro-teaching or other similar techniques?

10. What arrangements do you operate for co-operation with the schools over teaching practice?

11. In schools where your students undertake teaching practice, what arrangements are there for liaison between your college and

Head Teachers
'Teacher-regents' or equivalent
Principal subject teachers (secondary)
Assistant Head Teachers (primary)
Others

[page 53]

12. Do you have a 'teacher-regent' system? If so it will be helpful if you could describe its main features.

13. What are your arrangements for assessment of students' performance on teaching practice? Do the schools play any part in these? Do the schools submit written reports 011 students? If so, what use do you make of these reports?

14. Have you any comments to make on the effectiveness or otherwise of your arrangements for teaching practice?

15. Do any of the college staff have contact with probationer teachers in your area? if so, give details. Have you found this kind of contact profitable? If so, in what ways?

16. Are there any ways in which you feel that schools could playa greater part in the training and induction of young teachers?

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Appendix 8 Bibliography

In the course of our work we received and referred to a number of books, papers, reports and articles dealing with matters relevant to our remit which are listed below:

Aberdeen College of Education:

Report on Teacher-Regent Experiment 1971-1973, November 1973.

'Towards a National Policy for the Induction and In-Service Training of Teachers in Schools' May 1967.
'The Contribution of Colleges and Departments of Education to In-Service Education and Training' August 1976.

'Across the Great Divide'. Times Educational Supplement (Scotland), 18 February 1977.

'The Teacher Induction Pilot Schemes Project 1975 National Conference Report'.

'Teacher Education and Supply in Sweden'. British Journal of Teacher Education, October 1974.

'Towards a Policy of Planned Induction to Schools during the Probationary Years'-A report of the Schools-College Working Party set up to consider the possibility of increased partnership in the preparation of teachers for schools in the college area, May 1977.

'Teacher-Tutors: A Pilot Experiment', June 1974.

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Compton, J:

'Student Expectation and the PGCE'. British Journal of Teacher Education, January 1977.

'Teacher Education and Training'-A report by a Committee of Inquiry appointed by the Secretary of State for Education and Science, under the chairmanship of Lord James of Rusholme. HMSO 1972.

No. 68 'Probationary Teachers' January 1971.
No. 84 'Helping New Teachers: the Induction Year' March 1976.
No. 88 'In-service Training: The Role of Colleges and Departments' April 1977.
No. 89 'Teacher Induction: Pilot Schemes Progress' May 1977.

'The Training of Graduates for Secondary Education'. A report submitted to the Secretary of State for Scotland. HMSO 1972.

'Teacher Education in the USSR and Eastern Europe'. British Journal of Teacher Education, October 1975.

'Experiments in Induction: New Approaches to the Probationary Year'. British Journal of Teacher Education, January 1975.

'Professional Preparation'. Times Educational Supplement 22 March 1974.

'Report on Regent Experiment in Secondary Schools, June 1975. 'Report on Pilot Induction Programme for Probationers' 1975.

'Teaching Practice and School-College Liaison, June 1977.

'Partnership with schools'. British Journal of Teacher Education January 1976.

'Pilot Scheme for the Induction of New Teachers: Reports for First Year 1974/75'.
'Pilot Scheme for the Induction of New Teachers: Reports for Second Year 1975/76'.
'Pilot Scheme for the Induction of New Teachers 1974-77'. Report of the Liverpool Advisory Committee on In-Service Education July 1977.

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Mcintyre, D:

'School-College Collaboration in the Initial Professional Education of Teachers: An Analysis of what is Required' July 1976.

'The Expectations of the Role of the College Liaison Staff Member' July 1975.

'Educational Change and Teacher Education in the Netherlands'. British Journal of Teacher Education, October 1975.

'Primary School Regents Experiment'. A paper submitted to the General Teaching Council'S Visitation Committee, September 1974.

'A Survey of Teachers' opinions on the Primary Diploma Course in Scotland' July 1977.

'First Report on the Induction Project-Second Year 1975/76' September 1975.
'Induction Documents prepared for the Bristol National Evaluation Conference' September 1977.

'A Study of some Alternative Strategies in the Preparation of Teachers for the Primary School' April 1976.

'Secondary School Staffing' ('The Red Book') HMSO 1973.
'Truancy and Indiscipline in Schools in Scotland'. Report of a Committee of Inquiry appointed by the Secretary of State for Scotland, under the chairmanship of Professor DC Pack. HMSO 1977.

'Position Papers for the Teacher Induction Pilot Schemes National Evaluation Conference 1977'.

'Evaluation Report on the third year of the Northumberland pilot induction scheme' May 1977.

'The Implementation of an Integrated Approach to Teacher Training'. British Journal of Teacher Education, April 1975.