In primary schools, the use of ability-grouping is currently increasing. Teachers and teacher educators are placed in the unenviable position of having to marry research evidence suggesting that ability-grouping is ineffectual with current policy advocating this approach. This book links theory, policy, and practice in a critical examination of ability-grouping practices and their implications in primary schools, with particular reference to primary mathematics. It provides an accessible text for teacher educators to support their students in engaging with the key debates and reflecting upon...

The concepts of status and professionalism are key issues in teaching and teacher education across the UK and internationally. While there is increasing recognition that high quality teachers are crucial, this coexists with a persistent culture of blaming and shaming them. Student teachers will live out their careers within this maelstrom, so there is a need to consider the place of their profession both locally and globally, and teacher educators can support them to make a realistic yet ambitious analysis. This book answers a fundamental need for teachers to position themselves in their...

Author Jim Crawley provides a call to action for post-compulsory teacher education professionals, both in the UK and internationally, to unite around key principles and practices. The professional, educational, and funding turbulence experienced by post-compulsory teacher education since 2008 is significant. Austerity financing and increasing government intervention have provided many new and difficult challenges. At the same time, evidence is building that the quality of teaching is the most important contributor to the quality of learning and achievement, and teacher education is...

This book provides a concise and comprehensive overview of the practice of coteaching, including its benefits and educational and social implications. Coteaching plays an important role in enhancing the experience and effectiveness of pre-service and in-service teachers during school experience at a time when teacher retention rates are a concern both in the UK and internationally. Traditional practice in school experience, generally comprising observation followed by complete take-over of classes, has not altered in more than a century, despite significant changes in the role of the teacher,...

Trainees and school-based practitioners in the UK are being encouraged to engage more with evidence-based teaching methods. Teachers are now more responsible for the outcomes of their own practice and are charged with sourcing 'best practice' solutions in their pedagogical approaches, while schools are moving more towards in-house professional development approaches that have a clear focus on raising standards in the classroom. This book focuses on how universities and primary schools can work together to lead, manage, and sustain a culture of teacher inquiry. It examines the role of the...

This book addresses key issues related to teaching pupils from disadvantaged and impoverished backgrounds and provides a valuable reference and pedagogical tool for teachers and teacher educators. Research has consistently shown that the most economically disadvantaged pupils have the poorest educational outcomes. Austerity government policies and pressures of performativity on schools may have exacerbated this inequality. Yet many teachers remain ill-informed about the effects of social disadvantage on students' learning and consequently are ill-prepared in appropriate teaching methods. The...

A critical review of initial teacher education partnerships, putting forward a set of principles necessary for the development of effective ITE partnership working.