40
make a syllabus transmitted via the lecture hall pale into insignif-
icance .
The dislocation comes at the level of experience and of
pedagogy, not
in the inherent value of what
comes
from school
experience or from the PGCE course.
Thus the structures created in
the Alternative Course were to enable
integration and to facilitate
the
active
involvement
of students in the experience of
their own
learning.
Pedagogy in University
The findings presented by Patrick et al (1982) point to a quite
different practice and suggest that structural impediments exist
within the practice of PGCE that can subvert the best intentions
of practitioners. Undoubtedly within the practices of individual
courses that make up the PGCE in a particular university alternative
pedagogies exist but it is likely that their practical consequences
are limited by the pervasiveness of the total pedagogic and organisa-
tional
climate within which they exist.
This is indicated in the
research of Patrick et al by the concentration on topics and formal
content in the description of courses. They are ubiquitous in the
conventions of course descriptions but it is likely that the 'hidden
curriculuj
formed by the pedagogy
that students encounter is of
equal if not more significance for them as teachers. The
research gives information on this when it deals with student
activities in method departments (5-14 P103)∙ They point to the
lack of coverage of items such as discussions led
by
outside speakers
which is not experienced by 32.7% of students or by
fellow students
which is not experienced by 40.3%. This suggests a control of
proceedings by tutors which may sort ill with the necessity for