Crossing the Primary and Secondary School Divide in Teacher Preparation

“I Sorta Felt Like I was out in the Middle of the Ocean”: Novice Teachers’ Transition to the Classroom

“…I The structure, duration and award nomenclature for teaching degrees has undergone significant change and, as a requirement of accreditation, teaching programs now contain specific knowledge and skills including curriculum theory, teaching and learning strategies and theories, classroom management, as well as mandatory study in areas such as literacy, teaching students from a non-English speaking background, Indigenous education, and inclusive education, and a specific number of teacher practicum days (Knipe, 2012). Despite these changes there are still concerns from beginning teachers regarding the learning experienced as part of their teacher preparation program.…”

Innovation in Course Design

“…There are a significant range of individual differences in the emotional and behavioural development of young people that manifest themselves in various ways, including interpersonal conflict and risk-taking behaviour, biological changes and emotional behaviours (Hollenstein & Logheed, 2013). Teachers qualified to teach across primary and secondary students are well placed to understand the changes experienced by young children and adolescents and are well positioned to provide a rich and supportive learning environment for all children no matter what age group or developmental differences that may be present in a group of young people (Knipe, 2015(Knipe, , 2012.…”

“…The configuration and duration for teaching courses has changed significantly from the practitioner based model (particularly for early childhood and primary programs) to courses that include theories of teaching and learning, classroom management strategies, approaches to teaching children from diverse backgrounds, assessment and reporting, working with parents, curriculum and discipline knowledge (Barcan 1995;Campbell & Proctor 2014;Knipe 2015Knipe , 2012Williams, Deer, Meyenn & Taylor, 1995). All state and territory governments have introduced professional programs standards and graduate teaching standards as a tool for assessing initial teacher education programs following the establishment of a national framework for accrediting teacher education programs by the (AITSL, 2011).…”

“…The national program standards for teacher education also tend to mirror the age-based criteria of a primary or a secondary initial teacher education course (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), 2015;Reid, 2011), although the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, including those for graduate teachers, are generic in nature. The introduction and expansion of different school models and structures, such as middle schools, 1 Foundation to Year 9 or 10 or 12, flexible learning schools, senior colleges catering for Year 11 and Year 12 (and sometimes Year 10), has distorted the historic divisions of primary and secondary school education (Knipe, 2015;Knipe, 2012).…”

“…In light of the on-going world-wide criticism regarding university-based initial teacher education (Cochran-Smith, 2004;Darling-Hammond, 2000;Grossman, 2008;Parkes, 2013) perhaps it is time for universities to re-think the approach to teacher education and develop more flexible course structures which remove the age-based divisions of early childhood/primary and secondary and introduce teacher education programs that qualify graduates to teach across both school sectors (Knipe, 2015;Knipe, 2012). This article argues for greater flexibility and innovation in the design of initial teacher education courses in order to produce teachers with generic teaching skills and who are able to teach from Foundation to Year 12.…”