41
teachers as young professionals to find their own voice.
Given that
the PGCE allows entry to the professional community, that so few
have participated in discussions led by outside speakers, presumably
including practising professionals, is disturbing. The research
suggests what takes
the place of such activities which may be seen
as important preparatory activities for students about to enter the
teaching professionviz 53.5% of students report that they have
regular experience of teaching tips from their tutors, 68.9% report
regular experience of tutor led discussion and 39.9% report experience
of planning
lessons
and/or
Il
ɪaterials
for Teaching Practice (Table
5.14 P103).
There is little wrong with
such activities
in themselves
but teaching tips abstracted from the concrete situation may offer
little to the student beside the sense that someone else has a recipe
to avoid disaster that the student does not possess. Tutor led
discussion is likely to have been PGCE students’ familiar diet as
university graduates.
Such an emphasis may
inhibit the
students’
development of a personal professional stance which selects
analyses
and works upon
problems with the support and guidance of experts
in the field.
The researchers point to diversity with divergence here between
subjects and within subjects when there are different tutors. They
comment
Overall, however, these data do suggest a range of
diversity and a degree of variation in practice which
might require further comment, particularly in the
light of other tangential supporting evidence for
this diversity. (1982 P108)
Difference exists between departments concerning student participation
in decisions about topics to be discussed ”in one department 50%