Changing identities and practices: transitioning from the role of supervisor to placement tutor in initial teacher education in Ireland

Abstract

His research interests include history of education, education policy and legislation and early childhood education. He has previously worked as a primary teacher, early childhood education researcher and inspector with the Department of Education and Skills.

Discourse and teacher identity in business-like education

“…Substantial amounts of Irish teachers see their professional identity as being grounded in their subject qualifications (Kiely in Gleeson et al., 2015), and in terms of ‘good’ teaching, they tend to rely heavily on traditional, didactic pedagogy and having strong subject-knowledge (Devine et al., 2013) and ‘subject expertise’ (Gleeson, 2012). Recent research on the professional identities of placement tutors on initial teacher education programmes in Ireland by Walsh and Dolan (2018: 7) also reveals that, for many, their professional identity is often linked to the subjects they once taught as classroom teachers. For some, especially in the early stages of their career as a placement tutor, they feel that the specific subject-based knowledge and practical advice that they accrued is a key aspect of their professional identity and is of significant value in their professional interactions with student teachers:I think subject specific knowledge is critical for the teacher, as is the methodology of teaching that subject.…”

Examining supervising field instructors’ reporting and assessment of technology use by pre-service teachers on school placement

“…We argue that the role of the supervising field instructor is pivotal in bridging the gap between the on-campus teacher education programme and the school placement. Given the centrality of the role, it is surprising that it has not been afforded greater attention to date, although, it is acknowledged that there is a paucity of research on teacher educators and supervising field instructors internationally even beyond the area of technology and education (Walsh & Dolan, 2018). Hence, it is perhaps not surprising that the supervising field instructors' attitudes towards technology has been a neglected area.…”