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Pre-Service Teacher Education in the Postmodern State

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Pre-Service Teacher Education in the Postmodern State PRE-SERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION IN THE POSTMODERN STATE Submitted by Dianne Margaret Cullen CTE (Mercy Teachers’ College), DipT Primary (Institute of Catholic Education), Grad Dip. Multicultural Education (Institute of Catholic Education), BEd (Latrobe), MEd (Latrobe) A thesis submitted in total fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Education, Faculty of Education Australian Catholic University Melbourne Campus Research Services Locked Bag 4115 Fitzroy, Victoria 3065 Australia July, 2012 i Declaration To the best of my knowledge and belief this thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma. No parts of this thesis have been submitted towards the award of any other degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution. No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of the thesis. All research procedures reported in the thesis received the approval of the relevant Ethics Committee (where required) or a relevant safety committee if the matter is referred to such a committee. Signature: Date: 5th February 2013 i Acknowledgements Many people walked with me on the journey that has spanned the life of this thesis. I leaned on these people and regularly they supported me. Hence I would like to acknowledge their support and thank them for the knowledge they shared. To Dr. John Hinkson whose ability to reflect deeply and critically on changes occurring in the contemporary world influenced my decision to choose postmodernity as the theoretical basis for this thesis. To Adjunct Professor Ron Toomey who generously gave of his time to guide me in framing the thesis and analysing the data. To Professor Philip Clarkson who always promptly returned my drafts, detected every missing comma and semi colon and who played a pivotal role in facilitating the completion of the study. Special thanks go to the three interviewees, Peter, Aldo and Nicola who agreed to take part in the life history research. It was their stories that brought life and originality to the thesis. My university colleagues have always been encouraging and I am grateful for their support. I must however, single out Jill Brown who willingly gave of her time to check the document, align the tables, fix the page breaks, check the references and solve all the computer problems. For those who are currently writing a thesis or about to embark on one, may I suggest you heed the words of Thomas A. Edison . “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” ii Dedication For my beautiful niece Claire who always took such an interest in the progress of this thesis. Alas she never lived to see it completed. iii Abstract Over the past thirty years more than one hundred teaching and teacher education inquiries have been published in Australia. Despite each of these documents having made recommendations for reform it has been claimed that change has been limited. Moreover, teacher educators have been criticised for lacking the ability to change. The author of this study challenged this assertion and sought to investigate its accuracy. To explore the claim of minimal change the researcher framed the study design around pre-service teacher education reforms. The following three questions underpinned the investigation. 1) What recommendations were made? 2) What recommendations were implemented? 3) Why were some recommendations implemented and others not? To find answers to the first question, three Commonwealth government inquiries into pre-service teacher education were examined for their recommendations. Once these were identified they were analysed using techniques associated with grounded theory. During this stage of the research, five themes emerged. In order to ascertain answers to the second question, university Handbooks and supplementary teacher education policies were examined for confirmation of change. To investigate the third question, three life histories were gathered from three teacher educators. As with the policy documents, the interview transcripts were analysed using grounded theory techniques and again five themes emerged. However, only one of the five life history themes corresponded with the five policy themes. Combining document and life history research offered the researcher an innovative and novel approach to identify barriers to change in teacher education. The findings of this study address the claim that change to pre-service education has been limited and adds to the existing body of literature centred on policy formation and implementation in teacher education. iv Table of Contents DECLARATION I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS II DEDICATION III ABSTRACT IV LIST OF TABLES X LIST OF FIGURES XI PUBLICATIONS BY CANDIDATE RELEVANT TO THE THESIS XII CHAPTER ONE 1 BACKGROUND TO RESEARCH 1 CHAPTER TWO 6 THE LITERATURE LENS 6 Introduction 6 Dissonance in perspectives on policy definitions, formation and analysis 8 Policy definitions. 8 Policy analysis 13 Dissonance in perspectives on macro forces shaping education policy change. 15 Globalisation 20 The new economy 26 Dissonance in perspectives on micro forces shaping pre-service teacher education policy 35 Changing models for teacher education 36 Changing reforms for pre-service teaching course. 39 Changes in control of teacher education 53 Conclusion 58 CHAPTER THREE 60 THE THEORETICAL LENS 60 Introduction 60 The purposes of theory 60 Critical theory 63 v Unpacking the terminology 66 Modernism in art 67 Modernism in architecture 69 Postmodermism in art 70 Postmodermism in architecture 74 Modernity/postmodernity terminology and concepts 81 Structural changes associated with postmodernity 82 Conclusion 89 CHAPTER FOUR 91 THE RESEARCH DESIGN 91 Introduction 91 Dissonance in perspectives on methodology 92 Dissonance in perspectives on research methodology 92 Dissonance in perspectives on the quantitative/ qualitative divide in education 95 Dissonance in perspectives on how to undertake policy analysis 97 The qualitative paradigm 100 Epistemological foundation 100 Theoretical perspective 101 Methodology 101 Research methods 102 Policy documents 102 University Handbooks 103 Document analysis 104 Life histories 104 Why use life history study? 106 Combining life history and other methodologies 109 Life history and theoretical perspectives 111 Dissonance within life history research 112 The three teacher educators 113 Interviews 115 Interview questions 116 Interview One 116 Interview Two 116 Interview Three 117 Dilemmas faced in the data collection phase 118 Other methodological issues 124 Reliability, validity and generalisability. 124 Reliability 125 Validity 125 Generalisability 127 Ethics 127 vi Conclusion 128 CHAPTER FIVE 129 THROUGH THE LENS OF THE DOCUMENTS 129 Introduction 129 Analysing the policy documents 133 Policy 1- Report of the National Inquiry into Teacher Education 134 Background to the report 134 Control of teacher education 136 Recruitment 138 Length of course. 140 Professional experience 140 Structure and content 140 Evidence of implementation - Handbook 1, 1983 141 Recruitment 141 Length of course 143 Professional experience 143 Structure and content 144 Policy 2 - Improving Teacher Education: Report of the Joint Review of Teacher Education 148 Background to report 148 Control of teacher education 150 Recruitment 151 Length of course 151 Professional experience 151 Structure and content 152 Evidence of implementation - Handbook 2 – 1989 153 Control of teacher education 153 Recruitment 153 Length of course 154 Professional experience 155 Structure and content of the course 155 Policy 3 - Top of the Class: Report on the inquiry into teacher education 157 Background to the report 157 Control of teacher education 158 Recruitment 160 Length of course 161 Professional experience 162 Structure and content 163 Evidence of implementation - Handbook 3 - 2010 163 Control of teacher education 163 Recruitment 164 Length of course 166 Professional experience 166 Structure and content of the course 166 An overview of the recommendations and their implementation 171 vii Control of Teacher Education 171 Recruitment 172 Length of course 173 Professional experience 173 Structure and content 174 Generating connections with the literature section of the thesis 175 Generating connections with the theoretical section of the thesis 176 Conclusion 176 CHAPTER SIX 178 THROUGH THE LENS OF LIFE HISTORIES DATA 178 Introduction 178 Interview data 179 Themes 181 Theme 1: Course content. 181 Interpreting the comments in terms of the literature 185 Interpreting the comments in terms of the theory 185 Theme 2: The nature of the institution 186 Interpreting the comments in terms of the literature 188 Interpreting the comments in terms of the theory 188 Theme 3: The nature of work. 189 Interpreting the comments in terms of the theory 192 Interpreting the comments in terms of the literature 195 Interpreting the comments in terms of the theory 195 Theme 5: The politicization of teacher education 195 Interpreting the comments in terms of the literature 199 Conclusion 201 CHAPTER SEVEN 202 FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 202 Introduction 202 A return to the beginning 202 Research questions 203 Summary of the investigation 204 Limitations of the research 206 Research questions and key findings 208 Findings from the policy data 209 Theme one: Control of teacher education: 209 What recommendations were made? 209
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