In this article we seek to problematize the presence of the requirement within the teachers' standards (DfE, 2012), that they 'should not undermine fundamental British values' in the context of initial teacher education in England. The inclusion of this statement within the teachers' code of conduct has made its way from the counter-terrorism strategy, Prevent and raises questions about Britishness, values and the relationship between the state and the profession more generally. We argue that the inclusion of the phrase within a statutory document that regulates the profession is de facto a politicization of the profession by the state thereby instilling the expectation that teachers are state instruments of surveillance. The absence of any wider debate around the inclusion of the statement is also problematic as is the lack of training for pre-service and inservice teachers since it means this concept of fundamental British values is unchallenged and its insidious racialising implications are unrecognised by most teachers.
This paper presents ten teachers' perceptions of spirituality and considers how these can be categorized. A small research project, recently undertaken, is described. Teachers' stories are contextualised with biographical details, and are presented within a framework of four dimensions of Spirituality (the inner, the social and moral, the environmental and the transcendental) and Spirituality is de ned metaphorically as a hologram with four dimensions. I argue that by viewing spirituality in four broad dimensions the bland consensus de nition can be avoided resulting in rich ful lling opportunities for developing children's own unique and varied spiritualities.
There is limited research investigating models of partnering between University and Schools in initial teacher education (ITE). This project investigated, over a ten year period, how student teachers in an English University on a one year course, draw on theoretical models, introduced in university sessions, when planning for a 'creative week' placement in schools. Working within an interpretivist paradigm drawing on data from 52 student teachers, 10 teachers and 50 children this case study explored a model of teacher education provision. Findings illuminated factors which inhibited student teachers from planning engaging lessons which challenged their learners, including poor relationships between stakeholders, misunderstandings of the purpose of the placement and under developed knowledge and understandings of how to successfully draw on theoretical models to enhance learning, together with the challenges of limited time during a one year course. Findings also uncovered the extent to which student teachers were 'allowed' by some teachers, but not by others, to take risks in their practice, and the impact this has on student teachers' sense of autonomy and confidence. Implications of the research demonstrate how findings can impact on initial teacher education course design and partnering models between University and schools.
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