Conservatoires train musicians to high levels of proficiency in performance and other 'principal study' disciplines, but often, teaching is perceived as a second-class profession, and little is known about how music students learn to facilitate music making in others. Yet, conservatoires have a responsibility to contribute to the development of…

In the context of a decade of change and reform in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) policy making, we assess the impact of the substantial changes caused by COVID-19 affecting ITE from the perspectives of eight university providers in England. Whilst previous research has documented the impact of the first period of lockdown in the UK, initiated in…

This paper reports the findings from a small-scale collaborative autoethnographic study of two teacher educators' experience of leading Initial Teacher Training (ITT) programmes at a Higher Education Institution (HEI) in England during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected via narrative conversations between the two teacher educators such…

A significant issue in the teaching, learning and summative assessment of practical science is that the underpinning model of scientific methods is based on a fairly simplistic and linear account that does not represent how scientists actually do practical work. In this paper, we examine how science teachers in England and Wales view scientific…

This study of nine Primary School teachers of Religious Education (RE) analyses the benefits of their engagement in practitioner research (PR) and shows how that engagement can be sustained. We demonstrate the importance of enhancing the social dimension of learning through forming a community-of-practice (CoP) that enables participants to gain…

For national education systems, the goal of an effective teacher recruitment strategy is not simply to attract more applicants, but to attract high-quality applicants who are well suited to teaching and are likely to remain in the profession. The goal of this article is to examine teacher recruitment strategies in England and to propose new models…

Despite a well-documented and significant increase in the population of children in UK schools who speak language(s) beyond English at home, the national Newly Qualified Teacher survey regularly reports that new teachers do not feel confident or prepared to work effectively with 'EAL children'. Whilst understanding the experiences and exploring…

Teacher recruitment and retention concerns across the world remain a high priority to ensure the best possible education opportunities for children and young people. Related to recruitment and retention, but also important in its own right, is the wellbeing of early career teachers. This study investigated the wellbeing of early career teachers in…

The career pathways of two pre-service teachers on the point of entering the school workforce were investigated to inform debates on teacher retention. Narrative data were analysed to explore the orientations of two Millennials completing a university-led initial teacher education programme. The protean career concept sheds light on a mindset…

This paper examines the impact and implications on initial teacher education (ITE) of the crisis brought about by the COVID-19 lockdown of schools and universities from the perspectives of four university providers in England. The start of the pandemic meant that, in England, schools were closed to all but vulnerable pupils and the children of…

This study contributes to teacher educators' pedagogical content knowledge by drawing on phenomenography-variation theory to (i) research and describe qualitative differences in Beginner Teachers' conceptions of pupils' understandings of subject content and, (ii) provide evidence of the effectiveness of an instructional strategy that might be…

The article raises questions about how argumentation is situated in science and religious education. Argumentation is about the justification of claims with reasons and evidence. It is a way of reasoning in both science and religious studies. A current 3-year research and development project entitled "Oxford Argumentation in Religion and…

This paper presents the outcomes of an empirical investigation into the validity of Bryan Cunningham's thesis that the effectiveness of teacher mentoring is enhanced by a supportive institutional framework comprising eight 'architectural design features'. It draws upon analyses of data from a mixed methods study of mentoring in the English Further…