Responsibilities of subject mentors, professional mentors and link tutors in secondary physical education initial teacher education

Abstract

Legislative changes in England, most notably the publication of Initial teacher training (Secondary phase) (Circular 9/92) by the Department for Education (DfE, 1992), have resulted in the reorganisation of initial teacher education (ITE), including the introduction of school-based ITE. In school-based ITE, the responsibilities of higher education institution (HEI) and school-based staff have been reorganised and responsibility for mentoring of students in school has become key. Although there has been much research on the effectiveness of school-based ITE, and on the effectiveness of partnerships and of school-based mentors, there has been little research on whether perceptions of staff as to their own and others responsibilities are compatible and whether these match those identified in role descriptions for various staff involved with the course. The purpose of this study was to identify perceptions of which staff had major and which had supporting responsibility for specific aspects of ITE courses, for supporting students in their development as teachers and to meet the standards for the award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and to compare these perceptions (i) among staff and students, and (ii) with the responsibilities as identified in course documentation. Subject mentors, professional mentors, link tutors and students on four secondary physical education Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) courses answered a questionnaire identifying their perceptions of responsibilities for different aspects of the course. Course documentation that identified the responsibilities of the three groups of staff on the four courses included in the study was also considered. Results showed that perceptions of staff about their own and others responsibilities for different aspects of the course do not always match perceptions of other members of staff about responsibilities but perceptions of their own responsibilities generally match those identified in course documentation except in two specific areas; major responsibility for supporting students in their actual teaching in school and supporting students to reach the standards for further professional requirements. Results are considered in relation to implications for supporting students in their development as teachers. Implications for further research are also identified.