Edge Hill University
Professional Identity in Transition: expectations and experiences of moving from school teaching to university-based Initial Teacher Education
This contribution reports on research that aims to develop an understanding of the professional transition from early years teacher/school teacher/FE lecturer to HE lecturer, among those moving into ITE roles in a university Education faculty. The research has sought to better understand the push factors informing the decision to leave school or FE teaching, the pull factors that led to the decision to pursue a role in university-based Initial Teacher Education (ITE), and the experience of the transition between these related but very different professional roles.
Ten semi-structured interviews were undertaken with lecturers primarily involved in teaching on ITE programmes at one university in north-west England. Participants represented lecturers in early years, primary and secondary ITE in a range of subject specialisms and were predominantly within their first three years of the role in higher education.
This presentation focuses specifically on expectations relating to research in the shift to working in university-based ITE. These findings highlight the varying levels of understanding, assumptions, and aspirations that inform expectations of what it means to work in a university. In turn they raise questions about the status of research and researchers in ITE and the differing experiences of professional autonomy of those working in university-based ITE.