Training and Development Agency
The Impact of Trainee Teachers
on School Achievement
A review of research
Author
Steve Hurd
Centre for Research & Development in Teacher Education
The Open University
Adviser
Professor Hilary Constable
Acknowledgements
We are very grateful to Marion Jones of Liverpool John Moores University
and Michèle Dean of The Open University who have given valuable
feedback during the writing of this paper.
May 5, 2007
Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement
February 5, 2016
The Impact of Trainee Teachers
on School Achievement
Headlines

Most of the research on teacher education focuses on its
effectiveness rather than its impact of schools.

It is widely believed that school-based teacher education could have
an impact on:
o Test and examination results
o Inspection outcomes
o Other intermediate outcomes

Trainees can have a positive impact by boosting school resources in
financial terms, by providing more adult helpers in the classroom,
and by bringing new knowledge and skills.

The main negative effects relate to the impact on teachers’
workloads. This is accentuated when schools have to cope with a
trainee experiencing problems.

The majority of school coordinators and mentors, especially in
primary schools, believes that the presence of trainees improves the
climate of learning in the classroom.

A statistical comparison reveals that training-active schools achieve
higher test scores at both Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 than the
schools that are not involved in school-based training.

Statistical analysis shows that in secondary schools that host more
than 7 trainees per placement, additional trainees bring about
further gains in average Key Stage 3 scores, even after allowance
has been made for ability, social and school characteristics.

Lower numbers of trainees are associated with a half-point
depression of average Key Stage 3 results. This is likely to reflect
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Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement
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differences in the way trainees are managed in schools that are
reluctant participants in ITE.

Trainee numbers have no significant impact on GCSE and A-level
points or on Key Stage 3 to GCSE value added. This probably
reflects the fact that most teaching by secondary trainees is at Key
Stage 3 level.

Inspectors make comments on school-based ITE in only a small
proportion of their reports. When they do ITE is looked upon entirely
favourably.

There are many intermediate benefits from school participation in
ITE. These include opportunities for host teachers to reflect upon
and improve their own practice, a platform for professional learning
especially through links with HEI, and benefits in terms of teacher
retention and recruitment.

Priority areas for further research relate to:
o Managing weaker trainees;
o Total teaching hours and the mix of class contact;
o The allocation of trainees e.g. over-concentration on nonexamination classes;
o Selection of mentors with appropriate skills and experience.

Tentative policy recommendations for improving the impact of
trainees on school achievement are:
o Reduce total class contact and the portion of whole-class
teaching;
o Explore ways to reduce the adverse impact of trainees
experiencing problems;
o Assess the school-based component of teacher education
within the school inspection;
o Urge the Dfes to collect data on trainee teachers as part of
PLASC data collection, in order to facilitate future research.
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1. Introduction
Current teacher training requires a significant and substantial input from
schools and not all school leaders are convinced that there is an overall
gain. For new schools to be recruited and for schools currently involved in
initial teacher education (ITE) to be retained the case for being involved in
training needs to be made and supported with evidence. This paper
reviews the literature currently available on this matter and attempts to
identify what is missing. The papers reviewed cover both primary and
secondary training, as well as undergraduate, postgraduate and Graduate
Training Programme (entirely school-based) models.
Whether or not having trainees makes schools better or worse is a genuine
issue and one that matters to school leaders, teachers, parents and
teacher trainers and above all to pupils. On the face of it there are aspects
that would seem to make them better. Trainees increase the number of
adult helpers in a school. They open up additional opportunities for
differentiated group work, learning away from school premises and other
teacher-intensive styles of learning. Trainees enrich schools with the
knowledge and skills they bring from a wide diversity of educational and
work experiences. Mentor interaction with trainees stimulates reflection
and improvements in their own classroom practice. School ITE
involvement also helps staff recruitment by providing an opportunity to
vet potential new recruits, especially in shortage areas.
On the other hand, there are aspects of school-based ITE that might
worsen school outcomes. Supporting trainees may increase staff
workloads and divert effort away from the needs of pupils. The problems
are accentuated when schools receive a weak trainee, but even good
trainees can make mistakes that adversely affect the climate of learning.
The sums schools receive from Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) for
hosting trainees are relatively modest. However, where it is used to
augment departmental budgets it can transform learning resource
provision for the benefit of all school students, whether exposed to trainee
teachers or not. Schools with larger numbers of trainees have more to
gain. Professional issues seminars, a standard feature of school-based
training, are delivered to larger groups of trainees with commensurate
staffing economies. There can also be benefits to departments that take
more than one trainee, as there are opportunities for shared preparation,
teaching and mutual ‘trainee to trainee’ support and evaluation of
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Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement
February 5, 2016
teaching performance. This can relieve pressure on the teacher-mentor
and facilitate livelier mentor tutorials.
As trainees move further into their period of school practice they take on
greater responsibility for whole-class teaching, which progressively frees
up teachers’ time for other activities, including devoting more time to
examination classes. In schools that have a long track record of
involvement with ITE, senior managers have become adept at regulating
the number and distribution of trainee teachers among departments in
order to prevent adverse effects on teacher work loads and student
learning.
In the following sections we review the research evidence. There are plenty
of anecdotal accounts and some research but it is less clear what it all
adds up to; the balance sheet is not clear and this is what this review is
about. The review was conducted in a relatively short time frame so we
have concentrated, almost exclusively, on British research revealed by
searches of the British Education Index (BEI) and Education Resources
Information Center (ERIC) databases for publications since 1992. Further
references were identified from within search result publications and from
direct searches of the main journals on teacher education, professional
development and educational research. The aim has been to draw together
sources of evidence on the impact of ITE on schools in order to inform
colleagues in schools, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and elsewhere
with an interest in teacher education. As a large proportion of the
literature on ITE focuses on its impact on continuing professional
development (CPD) this has been grouped separately from papers
outlining wider aspects of the costs and benefits to schools of ITE
involvement.
2. The overall impact of school-based ITE
The following articles contain research findings on the impact of ITE
involvement and the practice of hosting trainee teachers on schools. As
the papers do not separate easily into distinct focus issues they have been
arranged in date order. This shows clearly how the debate has developed.
Shaw (1992) attempted to measure the direct resource costs to schools of
being involved in ITE. He drew upon his personal experience as a head of
two large secondary schools; a national survey of initial teacher education
made by the Modes of Teacher Education team (Barrett, 1992) and the
results of a survey of senior teachers in 25 schools. Writing at the very
beginning of the new school-based model, he aggregated the time costs of
teachers’ involvement in ITE. The time commitments included attending
HEI-based training, briefing and observing trainees, meeting HEI tutors
during school visits, writing reports on trainees and dealing with
problems, plus associated secretarial time. When the cost of reprographics
and other materials was added, the total resource costs came to over
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£1,250 per trainee in 1992, more than many schools received from their
HEI partners. However, Shaw acknowledged that there were also
substantial benefits to schools that had to be weighed in the balance.
Tangible benefits came partly in the form of income for hosting trainees,
but to these must be added the non-financial resources and training
provided by partner HEIs. Respondents appreciated the fact that trainees
brought in wider benefits in the form of the latest curriculum
development, novel teaching methods and new subject knowledge.
However, intangible benefits such as higher job satisfaction and
professional development were regarded as even more important. Many
respondents noted that trainees bring enthusiasm and fresh ideas – they
are a “breath of fresh air”. Shaw concluded that, in tangible terms, costs
probably outweigh the benefits, but the intangible benefits more than
make up for this.
Bressoux (1996) conducted studies in France to assess the relative
effectiveness of beginning teachers in primary schools from all over France
in comparison with their more experienced colleagues. This is very
relevant to assessing the impact on classes of a trainee replacing a more
experience teacher during spells of whole-class teaching. The study by
Bressoux included 65 newly qualified teachers (NQTs) and 96 experienced
teachers with lengths of service ranging from 7 to 35 years. The study
found that the NQTs were often just as effective in the classroom as the
more experienced teacher they were replacing. The research compared the
effects of NQTs and experienced teachers on the performance of French
primary pupils in mathematics and language. The study used pupil-level
data. It found that, in mathematics, pupil test scores showed small but
significant gains when taught by experienced rather than newly qualified
teachers, although in language the differences were insignificant.
We cannot directly extrapolate from this to the effectiveness of a trainee
teacher in England, and it tells us nothing about the trajectory of
improvement of trainees over the course of their training. So, it would be
valuable to investigate whether the average effectiveness-gap of the broad
body of trainee teachers is similarly small and also how the effectiveness
of trainees differs between the upper and lower bands in general, and
between training partnerships in particular. This may help us to improve
the selection and induction of trainees.
Brooks and Barker (1997) also attempted to identify the tangible and
intangible effects of school-based ITE. Their study included headteachers,
school ITE coordinators (also called professional mentors), subject
mentors and other class teachers who came into contact with trainees.
Quantitative data was gathered by means of a questionnaire to 800
individuals in 200 schools drawn randomly from the partnership lists of
16 HEIs throughout England and Wales. The response rate was 51%.
There were also 24 interviews in 8 secondary schools in central England.
90% of respondents commented upon the time burden of supervising
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February 5, 2016
trainees – many said it diverted them from other essential commitments
and involved using break and after-school time. There were also concerns
from mentors about the demands made by trainees on colleagues, who
had no specific time allowance for supervision. The most frequently
mentioned other substantial tangible cost was reprographics. Many
respondents argued that payment from HEIs did not cover these extra
costs, though the study did not gather data on how ITE money was
distributed within schools, between central and subjects or departments.
It did say, however, that the time problems were accentuated when
mentors had to cope with a weak trainee.
Burton (1998) outlined the benefits to schools from working in
partnership with an HEI training provider in the delivery of ITE. The
evidence is drawn from her personal experience of one partnership and
the findings of semi-structured interviews conducted by a colleague on the
first three years of partnership arrangements in the college’s
undergraduate teacher training programme. The author describes how
university tutors play a valuable role in training school-based mentors,
improving mentoring skills but also encouraging teachers to keep abreast
of developments within subject pedagogy and the wider professional role of
teachers.
Duquette (1998) conducted an interview-based study of 21 secondary
mentor teachers in the University of Ottawa’s training partnership in
Canada and reported the effects of school-based training from their
perspective. Positive comments emphasised the impact on mentors’
reflectivity:
helps me reflect on my own teaching. Student teachers challenge me to
continually look at and attempt to improve my own teaching (p.178).
On the other hand, the possibility of trainees diverting mentors’ efforts
from the classroom was also reported:
Takes too much time…- planning, instructing, supervising, conferencing,
disciplinary back-up, and providing resources (p.178).
Lee and Wilkes (1999) examined the impact of ITE on teaching and
learning in primary schools in England. They sent a questionnaire to 462
primary headteachers and conducted 60 semi-structured interviews. The
overwhelming majority (89.1%) of responding headteachers felt that
hosting trainees enhanced the learning environment in the school:
student teachers can have a positive impact in the classroom. (p. 249)
The few negative comments (10.9% of respondents) came either from
schools with small numbers of trainees, one or two, or were associated
with a recent experience of hosting a weak or problem trainee. A number
of interviewees remarked that trainee teachers quickly become
indistinguishable from other colleagues. In general and importantly, they
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February 5, 2016
found that the larger the number of trainees in a school the more likely
was the reaction to be positive. These findings are supported by a largescale quantitative study reported later in this review (Hurd 2007).
A majority of teachers enjoyed their role as mentors and saw it as part of
their professional responsibility to train the next generation of teachers.
The primary teachers said trainees provided invaluable help with practical
activities and support for individual learning needs. Some of the schools
involved in this study refused to take trainees when an Ofsted inspection
was due. 60% of respondents were worried that the presence of trainees
might have an adverse impact on their Ofsted inspection, although many
others felt that it would be advantageous. Many teachers said they would
not ask trainees to take classes when inspectors were present in school.
Lee and Wilkes found, in contradiction to this, that Ofsted reports often
comment positively upon the learning benefits from hosting trainee
teachers:
the partnership with ITE makes a significant contribution to the school,
enhancing the quality and range of teaching and learning in the classroom.
(p.256).
Trainees were reported to bring new knowledge which influenced
curriculum planning. Between a quarter and a third of schools included
ITE activity within the school’s Development Plan, and aimed to monitor
its impact. ITE was felt to enhance professional development, increase job
satisfaction and improve the school culture. The authors conclude that
ITE provides a long-term platform for professional learning and is a
valuable means to improve children’s learning.
Brooks (2000) examined in some detail the additional demands that ITE
makes on teachers’ time. A questionnaire was sent to a sample of 800
teachers from 200 secondary schools in 16 HEI’s training partnerships
distributed throughout England and Wales. In each school responses were
sought from the headteacher, the school’s ITE coordinator, a mentor and
one other classroom teacher without direct ITE responsibilities. The
questionnaire findings were followed up by school-based 24 interviews
with each of the four groups.
The author found that mentors were spending far more time than they
had been allotted on their timetables, if indeed they had been allocated
any dedicated time at all, for working with trainees. This additional time
inevitably came at the expense of “school time” that was needed for
normal teaching duties. She points out that mentor-teachers are expected
to take part in:
the planning and delivery of training programmes, in their evaluation and
development, and in the assessment of students’ fitness for the award of
Qualified Teacher Status. (Brooks, p. 99).
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This contrasts with their former role as “informal guide and friend” to
students on, what before 1992 was called, “teaching practice” (Brooks,
p.100). Brooks documents the demands made on secondary teachers who
have few free periods and primary class teachers who often, at the time,
had no non-contact time. The pressures, she says, are exacerbated when
mentors are periodically called upon to support trainees with unplanned
interventions; especially when these do not lend themselves to easy
resolution.
Hopper (2001) conducted a critical review of the literature to identify the
contribution the HEI tutor makes in training and supporting mentors in
schools. HEI-based training sessions for mentors are generally
supplemented by additional school-based training, where the HEI tutor
works alongside the mentor in joint observation and feedback on a
trainee’s lessons. She argues that this type of support is invaluable for
inexperienced mentors. The three-way sessions develop a common
understanding on the protocols for observing, listening, reporting on and
giving feedback to trainees. Such skills gained in how to mentor trainees
in a sensitive and perceptive manner are directly transferable to mentoring
school colleagues. She demonstrates that this is an important way in
which working with an HEI partner to support trainee teachers strongly
supports professional development and school improvement.
Coldron, Williams, Fathallah-Caillau & Stephenson (2003) set out to
address the problem that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) experience
in finding an adequate number of suitable training placements in schools.
They begin from the premise that many schools appear to believe that ITE
involvement is likely have an adverse impact on their Ofsted inspection,
consequently they tend to decline offers of trainees when Ofsted school
inspections are imminent. The researchers used three sources of evidence
in their study.
1. Ofsted written guidance to inspectors
They studied written guidance given to Ofsted inspectors in the primary
and secondary inspection handbooks (Ofsted 1999; Ofsted 1999), whose
only reference to ITE was the following:
Is there effective induction of staff new to the school and is the school, or has
it potential to be, an effective provider of initial teacher training? [Coldron,
p.2]
The researchers argue this demonstrates that Ofsted show no interest in
the impact of ITE on the school itself.
2. Ofsted reports on schools
They examined all 597 Ofsted reports written on schools in Yorkshire and
Humberside between September 2001 and March 2003. Only 23% of the
reports made any mention of ITE activity, and this was more likely in
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secondary school reports than primary ones. Even these comments were
superficial. 33% contained a simple statement that the school had good
links with outside organisations, including training providers. 27%
recorded as a fact that the school provided training places. 10%
acknowledged that student teachers had introduced new ideas. 10% noted
that trainees provided “an extra pair of hands”. Ofsted references to
school-based ITE were ‘overwhelmingly positive’. Not even a single negative
comment was found although, as the authors point out most of the
comments by inspectors were “bland or noted in passing” [p.7].
3. School staff views
Finally, the researchers conducted an attitude survey of senior managers
in 16 primary and secondary Beacon, Training and Specialist schools
across different HEI partnerships in the Yorkshire and Humberside region.
The views expressed by staff were quite different in nature from those of
inspectors. School staff were much more likely to emphasise the
contribution that ITE makes to professional development, such as
leadership and coaching skills; re-evaluating teachers’ own practice;
providing opportunities to meet and learn from the experiences of teachers
acting as mentors in other schools, through consortium meetings; and to
work with Higher Education colleagues on research and curriculum
development. They also identified gains for children within their schools
from seeing new faces and ideas, and from their regular teachers’ renewed
enthusiasm and effectiveness. ITE participation was seen to aid
recruitment of good teachers who had demonstrated their effectiveness on
school placements. Schools and departments also mentioned how they
had benefited from the extra income they received for supporting trainees.
They did mention some problems, such as the time and effort involved in
supporting weak trainees. The Graduate Training Programme came in for
particular criticism for the volume of paperwork it generated for schools.
However, in general, very much in line with Ofsted, school colleagues’
comments on the impact of ITE were overwhelmingly positive.
Ofsted (2003) investigated the impact of ITE on schools during their
evaluation of the first phase of the Training Schools programme. Training
Schools were established to:
Develop and disseminate good practice in initial teacher training (ITT), train
mentors and undertake relevant research. [p.4]
The first 54 Training Schools were accredited in September 2000 and
more have followed. 11 primary and 19 secondary Training Schools were
visited by Ofsted in order to prepare the report, which concluded that
Training Schools had been good for ITE:

Almost three-quarters had taken more trainees.

Staff involvement in mentoring has increased.

The quality of school-based training had improved.
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
February 5, 2016
The Training Schools had begun to support other schools wishing to become
involved in school-based ITE.
The schools themselves had also benefited:

Teachers have become more reflective and analytical as a result of supporting
trainees to the benefit of their own teaching

Teachers have gained from the mentor training and other staff development
provided

Two-thirds of schools noted improvement in teacher recruitment and retention
and more than one-third noted an improvement in teacher morale

Schools had also benefited from an influx of additional resources.
Areas requiring attention by the schools were:

Evaluating the impact of ITE activity on teaching and learning

Integration of Training School objectives into general school development
planning

Disseminating the lessons learned to the wider ITE community.
Lewis (2004) reported on the impact of achieving Training School status
by a single school. He points out how the development built upon earlier
initiatives which had resulted in the school gaining both “Investor in
People” status (http://www.investorsinpeople.co.uk) and becoming a
Beacon School. He reports that ITE involvement had stimulated efforts to
formalise the accreditation of professional development through a schoolbased Masters programme and the creation of an active research culture.
Lopez-Real & Kwan (2005) studied the impact of mentoring on
professional development within the University of Hong Kong teacher
education school partnership, which is very modelled along British lines.
Over 70% of 279 respondents to their questionnaire claimed to have
benefited professionally from mentoring. The gains had arisen in four
main ways:

Learning through self-reflection (54% of respondents);

Learning from student teachers (39%);

Learning through mutual collaboration (18%);

Learning from university tutors (7%).
Brooks (2006) expressed concern that the Training Schools initiative was
driving a wedge between schools and HEIs. She presents, as an alternative
model, the case study of one Training School which worked closely with a
large regional HEI provider of ITE to design and implement a combined
research and development strategy. She argues that the resulting
“partnership within a partnership” model yields substantial benefits in
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raising the quality and improving the dissemination of resulting research
and professional development outcomes.
Hurd (2007) conducted a quantitative study of the impact of secondary
schools’ involvement in ITE on test and examination results. The data was
collected by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) during the
course of school inspections undertaken between September 2000 and
July 2003. It included 40% of the secondary schools in England. 960
schools were training-active in the year of their inspection. These schools
took an average of 7 trainees over the course of a year. The remaining 211
schools inspected had not taken any trainees in the year of their
inspection.
Statistical comparison of the two groups of schools showed that those with
trainees had significantly better average GCSE results and Key Stage 3
averages. However, the training-active schools recorded lower aggregate
Ofsted inspection grades. If, as is widely believed, HEIs apply quality
assurance standards in their choice of schools, then it is difficult to know
how they resolve the contradictory signals given by exam results and
Ofsted grades.
In order to control for possible selection bias in favour of high achieving
schools, the research also conducted multiple regression analyses on the
factors that determined test and examination results in training-active
schools. They revealed that, after controlling for various resource and
organisational factors in school performance, the number of trainees
taken by a school had no significant effect, positive or negative, on results
at A-level or in GCSE, or on the overall value-added between Key Stage 3
and GCSE level. This very likely reflects the fact that trainees are given
only limited access to final examination classes.
However, at Key Stage 3 level, where the teaching of the majority of
trainees is concentrated, there is a significant positive effect on
achievement in schools that have taken larger numbers of trainees. This
may be accounted for by the fact that schools that have made a
substantial commitment to ITE benefit from both the tangible and nontangible resource inputs that ITE-involvement brings. However, it is also
likely that a large ITE commitment is associated with the development of
more effective management and support systems.
In schools that took lower numbers of trainees, less than 6 per placement,
results at Key Stage 3 were very slightly depressed. It is possible that such
schools are reluctant participants in ITE and, as a result, mentoring may
be isolated from mainstream staff development activities and the
management and support structures might also be poorly developed.
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Hurd, Jones, McNamara & Craig (2007) combined evidence from:

the results of a questionnaire survey of 157 primary coordinators
and 263 mentor-teachers in the North-West of England in 2005;

a text search of inspection reports on Ofsted’s attitudes towards the
impact of ITE on teachers’ professional development;

analyses of quantitative data on the impact of ITE on primary school
results at Key Stage 2.
44% of teachers in the survey felt that ITE involvement had a positive
effect on learning and 71% said that it improved the climate of learning.
Between 27% and 37% judged there to be no impact on learning or the
climate of learning, and 20% believed ITE activity to have a negative effect
on learning. As regards the effect on test results at Key Stage 2, 71% of
teachers believed ITE involvement to have no overall effect, 25% believed
the effect to be positive, and a small minority of 4% believed that hosting
trainees depressed test scores.
The study made a statistical comparison of partner schools that hosted
trainees (training-active schools) with those with no trainees. It found that
training-active schools achieved significantly higher average test results at
Key Stage 2, higher test scores in English and mathematics and higher
Ofsted inspection grades than schools that took no trainees. This higher
performance in “training-active” schools occurred despite the fact that, as
a group, they had larger classes and lower learning expenditure per pupil
– factors normally associated with lower standards (Hurd et al. 2005).
While participation in ITE is clearly associated with higher school
performance, whether the school took larger or smaller number of trainees
did not seem to make a difference. This contrast with the secondary
school study by (Hurd 2007) may reflect the weaker discriminatory powers
of Key Stage 2 results in comparison with GCSE average point scores.
The research also conducted a text search of every primary school
inspection report written between 1999 and 2005. It revealed that, out of
13,202 reports, only 783 (fewer than 6%) made any mention of a school’s
involvement in ITE. ITE involvement was always commented upon
favourably by Ofsted inspectors. Not a single negative statement
concerning ITE was found in the reports. The hypothesis that ITE
involvement might have a negative impact on primary Ofsted results
seems, therefore, to be firmly refuted.
Appendix 1 summarises the research in this section and adds additional
anecdotal points concerning ITE impact on which, at the moment, there is
little or no published evidence.
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3. The Impact of ITE on Continuing Professional
Development
In much of the previously cited research there have been many allusions
to the way school-based ITE promotes professional development and,
through it, school improvement. In this section, we present the literature
that has explored this aspect of the benefits of school-based ITE for school
outcomes in greater detail.
Murnane & Phillips (1981) conducted an early, but influential study in
the United States, which examined the characteristics of effective teachers
in inner-city schools catering for ethnic African-Americans. The study
identified a non-linear relationship between teaching experience and
school-student outcomes. They found that average teacher effectiveness
increased in the first 8 years in the profession, declined for those in
teaching between 8 and 14 years, and thereafter increased, such that
those with more than 25 years experience were the most effective. This
pattern may be partly explained by the diversion of effort to family and
child rearing in mid-career and the fact that more effective teachers stay
longer in the profession. Its relevance here is that the study highlights an
important role for mid-career professional development for teachers in
reducing such mid-career dips in teacher effectiveness. In the context of
this review, the research that follows demonstrates that the professional
learning associated with mentoring trainee teachers can make a valuable
contribution.
Dadds (1997) has been highly critical of top-down approaches to
continuing professional development (CPD), which treat schools and
teachers as “empty-vessels” to be filled up using expertise from outside the
school. She argues that professional growth is a reflective process which
demands the capacity:
to ask questions, to analyse and interpret feedback,..(take part in) self-study,
change established practices in the light of new understanding, remain
interested and curious. (Dadds 1997, p. 37).
Engagement with trainees is fertile ground for fostering this sort of
reflection.
Brooks and Barker (1997) interviewed headteachers and issued a
questionnaire to ITE coordinators, mentors and other class teachers in
two schools, as part of a cost-benefit study of school-based training. The
research followed an American study by (Harris & Harris 1993) which
classified the impact of ITE on schools into tangible and intangible
components. Using this classification, Brooks and Braker concluded that
the tangible time costs of supporting trainee teachers were more than
compensated for by the positive intangible contribution to teachers’
professional development and the buzz and enjoyment that teachers gain
from mentoring trainees.
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Cunnah, Phillips & Richards (1997) conducted a study in South Wales
on the impact of ITE on the quality of learning and secondary teachers’
professional development. The researchers sent questionnaires to teachers
involved with ITE in 31 schools and conducted 10 pre and postquestionnaire interviews. The key findings were that teachers considered
mentoring trainees to be an essential part of their professional
development; it sharpened their management skills and became a focus
for research by teachers studying for higher degrees.
Field and Philpott (2000) report a study of the impact of ITE on 80
secondary partnership schools that hosted 300 trainee teachers each year
from Canterbury Christ Church University College. At the time, individual
schools were supporting the training of between 5 and 10 trainees a year
and a substantial number of departments had accommodated one or two
trainees each year for over 5 years. Over the period in question the HEIprovider had organised induction, training and support for mentors
through regular contact, seminars and formal training sessions. Almost
discounting these inputs, the authors claim that payments made to
schools by the HEI barely cover the actual costs of hosting trainees, so
they question monetary gain as major reason why schools participate in
school-based ITE. More plausible reasons, they suggest, are that teachers
actually enjoy mentoring, schools welcome the contribution that trainees
make to school life, and schools regard it as a professional duty to train
the next generation of teachers.
Field and Philpott administered two questionnaires. The first addressed
the impact on mentoring on teachers’ own practices and was distributed
to 300 subject mentors. The second focused on whole-school effects on
teaching and learning and went to 80 school coordinators/professional
mentors and 80 headteachers. They reach the following tentative
conclusions. Mentors perceive there to be benefits from hosting trainees.
Some measure this in terms of knowledge, skills and materials that
trainees bring into the school. Many report that supporting ITE improves
their own teaching and ability to improve the quality of learning for their
pupils/students. It also enhances their inter-personal skills and affects
their values and attitudes towards education. However, some mentors feel
undervalued by the school and perceived that involvement in ITE was not
likely to bring them promotion. The authors end by arguing that, given the
right supportive climate, mentoring could become a central focus for the
development of a new “learning culture” within schools.
It would be fair to say that school-based teacher training was never actually
intended as professional development…Even so teachers are beginning to
perceive that hosting a student and engaging with the mentoring process are
a possible source of personal and professional development. (Field and
Philpott, p. 131)
Field and Philpott adapt and apply the framework for school development
from Goddard and Leask (1992). This outlines the stages by which
14
Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement
February 5, 2016
mentoring becomes an accepted part of school practices and makes a full
contribution to professional development and school improvement (see
Table 1).
Table 1 Mentoring: Phases of development (Field & Philpott, 2000)
They conclude that:
The mentoring role is potentially one important dynamic in improving the
quality of teaching and learning. (p.135)
Boyd (2002) argues that the separation of mentoring from mainstream
school activity can prevent the gains to whole-school CPD from being
realised. The research is based upon a detailed study in his own school, a
medium-sized, coeducational comprehensive school with a mixed
catchment in terms of social class and ethnic origin, after 5 years of
15
Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement
February 5, 2016
involvement in an ITE partnership. The research involved administering
questionnaires to all staff in the school and the current group of 8
trainees, followed by semi-structured interviews with 25 selected staff
members (Boyd 2002). The school was attracted to ITE on the basis of the,
by then, widely adopted Oxford Internship Model (Benton 1990). Under
this scheme, trainees spent large parts of their training in schools
supported and guided by an experienced teacher-mentor, working with an
HEI tutor. He argues that teachers in his school were persuaded of the
benefits such a training partnership with an HEI institution would bring
for their professional development and for promoting a more collegiate
school culture (McIntyre & Hagger 1992). The income they would receive
from hosting trainees was not thought to be a significant factor in the
decision.
Boyd defines staff development as:
teachers’ learning which leads to improvements in children’s learning (p.
205).
An interview with one colleague asking about the impact of ITE
involvement produced the following response:
I think there are two effects really. Two obvious ones. The first is that
[mentors] and anyone who has to work with student teachers, has to reexamine their own practice. Not the least of which is sometimes they’ll
[trainees] sit at the back of your room…so I think it has an effect on that. It
makes you raise your game. It makes you analytical of it. It makes you
question what you do… and I think there is a secondary gain for a school like
ours that’s understaffed in that there are quite literally extra adult bodies
around the place… [p.208]
The questionnaire results showed overwhelming support for continuing
the school’s involvement with ITE. However, there was little evidence from
Boyd’s school that ITE involvement had improved dialogue between
teachers and especially across departments. It had not brought the
expected improvements in collegiality, as supporting trainees took place in
isolation, with few professional interactions with colleagues. Boyd argues
that this demonstrates that there is a need to strengthen the ownership of
the design of support for trainees by departments; and that the adoption,
by a school, of a central managerial model, can militate against the
development of collegiality and lessen the impact of ITE on day-to-day
practice.
Child and Merrill (2003) report on school ITE coordinators’ (professional
mentors) perceptions of the impact of ITE involvement on professional
development in 55 schools in the North-west of England. In a
questionnaire they asked the professional mentors to rank 50 statements
on a 5-point Likert scale (Likert 1932). 76% of respondents agreed that
any school not involved with ITE would be professionally disadvantaged.
98% agreed that trainees bring vitality to a school. 87% believed that ITE
would raise professional standards. 83% saw it as an important source of
16
Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement
February 5, 2016
new ideas. Over a half felt that ITE involvement promotes career
development. However, 83% expressed the personal judgement that
schools were probably under-rewarded financially for their contribution to
ITE. 78% wanted the professional learning to be supported by accredited
courses. 92% argued that skills gained in mentoring trainees were
transferable to other aspects of school work. Child and Merrill conclude
that ITE should be part of a school’s strategic plan for continuing
professional development and school improvement.
A good and effective school will not only ensure effective training for those
about to enter the profession, but it will also…enhance the skills of its staff
and raise the level of pupil achievement because the culture of the school will
be an empowering one in which all members of the community are learners.
[p. 322]
Hurd, Jones, McNamara & Craig (2007) report the findings of a
questionnaire survey of 157 primary coordinators and 263 mentorteachers conducted in the North-West of England in 2005. The survey
elicited responses to a set of value statements on the impact of ITE on
professional development and other aspects of schools, using a 5-point
Likert scale (Likert 1932) and gave teachers an opportunity to elaborate
their views in writing. The responses were analysed using an outcomebased model of CPD developed by Harland and Kinder (1997) (Harland &
Kinder 1997). It is clear that respondents believe overwhelmingly in the
positive benefits to their professional development. 80% of mentorteachers reported gains, and 73% of primary coordinators. Statistical
analysis revealed that the perceived gains were significantly higher
(p<0.05) in less-experienced coordinators in the role for under 5-years,
and in mentor teachers with under 10-years in the role.
They showed that school-based ITE is felt by mentors and coordinators in
schools to contribute to CPD at many different levels. It has provisionary
benefits such as introducing host teachers to new classroom activities and
curricula. Interaction with trainees and their HEI tutors challenges
teachers to reconsider their basic educational values and has the ability to
change a school’s institutional culture. Ultimately it can foster a paradigm
shift in thinking about classroom and general school practices. Together
these provide the essential conditions for change inducing professional
development and school improvement.
17
Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement
4.
February 5, 2016
Discussion
The main body of research into teacher education focuses on its
effectiveness and not on the effect that trainees have on schools. Having
said that, some of the research presented directly addresses the impact of
trainees on school achievement and there is much that has a direct
bearing on the issue. Here we group the research findings under three
headings:

Test and examination results;

Inspection outcomes;

Intermediate outcomes.
In the current competitive education market, schools tend to evaluate
their activities by the impact on school outcomes; school-based initial
teacher education is no exception. While they recognise a professional
responsibility to assist in training new teachers, and often derive
satisfaction from doing so, schools need to ensure that this activity does
not jeopardise overall achievement. A school’s position in test and
examination league tables and the judgements of inspectors have become
major public yardsticks of success. Yet, “good schooling” is multi-faceted
and encompasses the creation of a friendly and purposeful atmosphere;
support tailored to the diverse needs and aspirations of individual pupils
and management and professional development practices which bring out
the best in teachers.
a. Test and examination results
The volume of research measuring the impact of school-based training on
pupil or student outcomes in tests and examinations is small. Trainees
swell the number of adult helpers in schools and increase the pool of
knowledge and skills, so there should be a corresponding rise in
educational standards. This is especially so if trainees are all of good
quality and schools are free to employ them flexibly. However, despite
improvements in selection procedures, there will be a small proportion of
trainees that does not make the grade as teachers. There are also
constraints on how schools can employ trainees. For example, minimum
class contact requirements are often stipulated by HEIs. These can range
from less than 50% to as high as 85% of a normal teacher’s timetable.
Providers also often set high expectations regarding the proportion of
whole-class teaching. While such teaching is usually closely supervised,
the sheer volume of preparation required by trainees may at times lead to
short-cuts which compromise the quality of the educational experience for
pupils. There is, however, a dearth of hard evidence on this.
18
Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement
February 5, 2016
Lee and Wilkes (1999) found that many primary headteachers felt that the
participation of trainees improved the climate of learning. This is
supported by Hurd et al (2007), who report that 71% of school
coordinators and mentors believe the climate improves with the presence
of trainees. Furthermore, while many believed that Key Stage 2 outcomes
were unaffected by hosting trainees, a quarter of teachers judged that
hosting trainees raised Key Stage 2 results.
Isolating the quantitative effect of trainees on test and examination scores
is difficult due to the multiplicity of factors that have a bearing on
educational outcomes. School results depend upon the ability of pupils
and students and the educational capital they bring from their home and
social environment. They are also affected by the size and type of school,
its pupil/teacher ratio, the quality of teachers and the quantity and
quality of its resources. Equally important are the styles of management
and leadership. Some of these can be measured but others are not so
amenable to direct quantification.
Hurd (2007) carried out multi-variate analyses using whole-school data
from Ofsted inspections. A straight statistical comparison showed that
schools that were “training-active” (i.e. hosted trainees) achieved
significantly higher results at both Key Stage 3 and GCSE levels. There
was no impact at all on A-level results, which probably reflects the fact
that trainees have limited access to A-level classes; the bulk of their
experience being concentrated at Key Stage 3. Further analysis
demonstrated that schools hosting larger numbers of trainees (more than
6 or 7 per placement) gain a significant boost to their Key Stage 3 test
results. This is after allowance has been made for other factors such as
differences in ability, social and school characteristics. No such boost
occurs with GCSE or A-level results or with Key Stage 3 to GCSE value
added, where classes have much less exposure to trainees.
In contrast to the general picture, schools hosting low numbers of trainees
experienced a slight, but significant, dip in Key Stage 3 performance. Hurd
(2007) suggests that this might be accounted for by possible differences in
attitudes and organisation between schools that take a tentative approach
towards ITE involvement and those that make a wholehearted
commitment and adapt their support and management procedures
accordingly.
Since 2005 the Department for Education and Skills (Dfes) has had sole
responsibility for gathering official school statistics. A vast array of data is
now collected at the pupil level, which ought to have made it easier in
future to investigate the impact of trainees on test and exam results.
Unfortunately, while Ofsted is no longer permitted to gather its own data
on trainee numbers, neither does the Dfes, in a misguided effort to reduce
the administrative burden on schools. If future studies are to be
undertaken data will need to be collected by schools themselves, by some
other body such as the TDA, or else the Department for Education will
19
Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement
February 5, 2016
need to be persuaded of the policy benefits of capturing trainee numbers
in its annual school survey. The latter has to be the preferred option.
A similar quantitative study of ITE impact at primary level revealed that
training-active schools have significantly higher Key Stage 2 scores than
those with no trainees (Hurd et al. 2007). However, the results were
insensitive to the number of trainees they hosted. A particular problem at
this level is that the main indicator of educational output, Key Stage 2
results, discriminates poorly at the school level; the average Key Stage 2
points score of training-active schools is 27.5 with a standard deviation as
low as 1.8. Such a small variation makes it difficult to isolate the effects of
different factors in school performance.
The overall conclusion, on the basis of a small number of studies, is
encouraging. Teachers’ perceptions are that the effect of trainees on
standards is at worst neutral and at best positive. The quantitative
evidence indicates that, as a group, training-active schools get better
results at both primary and secondary levels and hosting extra trainees
(above 6 or 7 per placement) further enhances results at Key Stage 3 level.
There are, however, some important issues which must have an impact on
standards and on which we know little. For example, using whole school
data does not allow us to identify the impact of particular trainees on
individual pupils or students and classes, nor on whether particular
classes get high exposure to trainees and with what effects. This is
something that requires detailed monitoring at the school level, and there
is little evidence that this is taking place.
A related issue is the effect of different policies towards the management
of trainees. For example, what difference does it make if trainees have less
whole-class teaching, more time for lesson planning and more intensive
supervision of their preparation and lesson delivery? Do more pro-active
policies towards the early counselling out of failing trainees make a
difference? Should we start to focus more upon the quality of early
teaching experiences rather than upon their quantity?
b. Inspection outcomes
The prospect of an Ofsted inspection discourages many schools and
departments from accepting trainees. Common explanations are that
school managers and teachers need to focus their attention on preparing
for the inspection, so would either not be able to provide adequate support
for trainees or would find them a distraction. Some teachers clearly also
believe that the presence of trainees in the classroom may lead to adverse
comments and lower inspection grades.
However, the weight of evidence is that such fears are groundless. Studies
by Lee and Wilkes (1999) and Hurd et al. (2007) show that Ofsted
references to schools’ ITE involvement or the presence of trainees in the
20
Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement
February 5, 2016
classroom are, without exception, complimentary. Inspectors praise,
among other things, the new ideas brought in by trainees and the good
rapport they develop with pupils and students.
In apparent contradiction, quantitative evidence shows that ITE-active
secondary schools gain slightly lower Ofsted grades than schools that take
no trainees (Hurd 2007). The result is statistically significant and would
suggest that there may be a hidden bias among inspection teams against
school-based training. However, given the complete absence of negative
written comments within the inspection reports themselves, it could just
as easily be a statistical quirk. It is an area that warrants further
investigation.
Of greater concern is the absence of ITE references in the majority of
inspection reports (Hurd et al, 2007). Schools are naturally concerned
about their standing in the wider community and they have come to
expect Ofsted to reward with praise their particular strengths. Many
schools, whether Training Schools or not, make a strong commitment to
ITE. They take their training role seriously. However, if this effort goes
unrecognised then it could lead schools to divert their efforts away from
ITE and towards areas that are more positively rewarded.
The school-based component of ITE has hitherto been examined within
the inspections of HEI providers. As a result, Higher Education
Institutions are at times criticised for an element of teacher training over
which they have relatively little control. By the same token, praise for
work in schools goes to HEIs rather than to the individual schools. The
present system of inspection, therefore, is likely to have a perverse effect
on incentives in schools. It would be much fairer to all concerned if the
school-based component of teacher education were evaluated as part of
school inspections.
c. Intermediate outcomes
Research on school outcomes has identified the importance of “quality”,
especially the quality of teachers (Hanushek 2003; Hanushek & Rivkin
2004). There has been a wealth of research on the contribution of ITE to
professional development and, hence, to the improvement of teacher
quality. Much of the work has focused on how supporting and observing
training teachers in the classroom develops reflectivity (Duquette 1998)
and encourages teachers to improve their own practice to the benefit of
pupils and students (Coldron et al. 2003). Others have written about how
ITE forms a platform for professional learning (Lee & Wilkes 1999) and
how the learning is transferred to other colleagues within a school, so
contributing to the creation of a learning community (Ofsted 2003). The
gains from working in partnership with colleagues in Higher Education
Institutions on curriculum development and research have been
emphasised by (Coldron et al. 2003) and (Burton 1998). Finding ways to
refresh mid-career teachers’ interest and enthusiasm by providing new
21
Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement
February 5, 2016
challenges is an important management priority and mentoring trainees
and involvement in ITE more generally can help with this; much as
curriculum development did in the days before the national curriculum.
School-based ITE can similarly help to improve teacher retention (Coldron
et al. 2003; Ofsted 2003).
We have seen too that trainees can help to refresh host teachers’
knowledge and skills. This has been no more so than in the case of
information and communications technology (Hurd et al. 2007), but also
by introducing teachers to contemporary developments within their
subjects, new pedagogy and innovative curricula (Shaw 1992; Lee &
Wilkes 1999). ITE also affords schools opportunities to identify potential
recruits in areas of teacher shortage (Coldron et al. 2003).
Finally, we have seen that trainee teachers can bring a “breath of fresh
air” into the classroom; their enthusiasm and vivacity can invigorate the
classroom with consequent improvements in the quality of teaching and
learning (Lee & Wilkes 1999; Hurd et al. 2007).
If the above intermediate outcomes are realised then school improvement
and the higher order outcomes of better test and examination results and
Ofsted evaluations will surely follow. As the potential benefits of schoolbased ITE become more widely recognised they are initiating a move
towards a new “demand-led” model of teacher education (Hurd 2007). In
this model schools view initial teacher training as an integral part of
school improvement strategy. They actively seek partnerships with HEIs
and monitor training in relation to school goals. As this view takes over
then it is likely that many more schools will want a slice of the training
action.
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Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement
February 5, 2016
5. Areas for further research
Below are some areas that have a bearing on the impact of trainees on
school achievement and which warrant further research. The perceived
problem is presented in first, followed by lines of possible research.
a. Class contact.
Many teachers are reluctant to give up classes to trainees, as it
prevents them from getting to know their classes and establishing a
preferred pattern of working. The problem is exacerbated if trainees
are required to take too many lessons and have insufficient time for
preparation and to discuss lesson plans with the regular class
teacher ahead of the lessons.
What is the impact on variations in teaching loads on the
effectiveness of training? Is there evidence that very much lower
levels of class contact, emphasising the quality of early teaching
experiences rather than their quantity, might reduce adverse
impacts on schools and raise overall effectiveness? Should class
contact be 85%, 50% or 30%? What are the effects of altering the
balance of school experiences e.g. by changing the mix of wholeclass teaching, co-teaching and differentiated group work?
b. Allocation of trainees.
Teachers are reluctant to give up examination classes, especially at
final year GCSE and A-level, as they fear the impact on results. There
may be a disproportionate impact of trainees on particular classes,
e.g. through concentrating experience at one Key Stage.
There is a need for research at pupil-level on the impact of trainees
on particular classes and levels. This either requires cooperation
from the Dfes to include trainee teachers as a data field in their
pupil-level data collection or independent research programmes
conducted either in clusters of schools or organised nationally.
c. Trainee problems
Many teachers show concern about the disproportionate amount of
time and effort taken up by a relatively small number of weak
trainees and dealing with periodic class management problems by
otherwise satisfactory trainees..
What is the precise nature and frequency of problems with
individual trainees? How is the problem related to recruitment
practices? To what extent is this problem exacerbated by the design
of financial penalties for under-recruitment? What are the most
23
Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement
February 5, 2016
effective strategies for supporting trainees with problems? How
effective are the strategies for counselling out unsuitable trainees?
d. Selection of mentors
The effectiveness of day-to-day management of trainee teachers in
their preparation of lessons, their teaching programme and the
appropriate mix of whole-class, small group and co-teaching is likely
to have a substantial effect on the overall impact of trainees on a
school. Yet, there is a suspicion that trainees are sometimes allocated
mentors who are themselves in their first years of teaching.
There is a need to analyse the experience distribution of mentors
and the processes by which they are recruited within schools, and
to find out to what extent they have the appropriate personal and
professional qualities, experience and skills to enable them to be
effective.
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Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement
February 5, 2016
6. Tentative policy recommendations
We exist in an era where decision makers seek to develop evidence-based
practice. In areas, such as ITE, where evidence is incomplete, policy has to
combine what evidence exists with judgements drawn from experienced
practitioners. From the evidence of the research outlined and judgements
drawn from experience the following tentative recommendations are
offered with the aim of improving the outcomes for schools of ITE
involvement.
1. Reduce total class contact and the portion of whole-class
teaching
Hitherto there have been no firm central guidelines on the amount
of class contact and whole-class teaching undertaken by trainees on
school experience. There are large variations in expectations
between training providers and these often reflect historic practices
within each institution. At the top end, some trainees on final school
experiences are expected to cope with timetables which are 85% of
those of a normal full-time teacher, and a substantial portion of this
is taken up by whole class teaching. This puts trainees, who are
preparing topics for the first time, under enormous pressure. They
have to work excessively long hours to gather together material for
lessons and they often have little time to reflect on how best to
deliver the lesson and to consult with the mentor or class teacher.
This is bound to jeopardise standards in schools with little benefit to
the trainee. We should look to ways to improve the quality of early
teaching experiences and to reduce their quantity. At the same by
shifting the balance away from whole-class teaching trainees can
gain more time to work alongside and to learn from the work of
experienced teachers.
2. Explore ways to reduce the adverse impact of the small number
of weak trainees
Qualitative evidence from several studies suggests that the number
of weak trainees is small but their impact on teacher workload is
disproportionately high and their adverse effect on the classes they
meet could be substantial.
We need to investigate trainee recruitment to see if there is any
evidence that poorly recruiting departments are accepting trainees
they know to be “marginal” in order to avoid cash penalties. If this is
found to be so then the system of cash penalties for underrecruitment should be reviewed. For example, instead of being
applied for under-recruitment on an annual basis, a system of
rolling multi-annual targets should be considered.
25
Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement
February 5, 2016
When trainees show early signs that they are unlikely to gain
Qualified Teacher Status then fast-track procedures should be
introduced by partnerships to remove them from the training
programme.
Where otherwise suitable trainees show some early weaknesses
there should be a much greater willingness to reduce their class
contact time and the share of whole-class teaching. Additional
resources should be made available for additional tutor and mentor
support.
3. Assess the school-based component of teacher education within
the school inspection.
In order to align rewards with efforts Ofsted should be urged to
develop criteria for evaluating the school-based components of ITE
within school inspections.
There is strong evidence that school-based ITE affects school
performance. It contributes to professional learning and represents
a major “teaching” commitment in many schools. ITE affects school
management and the quality of teaching and learning and, as such,
warrants examination. Strong school support for ITE will be
rewarded with positive Ofsted evaluations. This will help to reinforce
school commitment to training.
4. Urge the Department for Education and Skills to collect data on
trainee teachers as part of the PLASC data collection.
This is essential for future research on trainee impact of school
achievement.
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Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement
February 5, 2016
7. References
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Bressoux, P. (1996) The effects of teachers’ training on pupils’
achievement: the case of elementary schools in France, School
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Brooks, V. (2000) School-based initial teacher training: squeezing a quart
into a pint pot or a square peg into a round hole?, Mentoring and
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Burton, D. (1998) The changing role of the university tutor within schoolbased initial teacher education: issues of role contingency and
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Dadds, M. (1997) Continuing professional development: nurturing the
expert within, British Journal of In-Service Education 23(1), 31-38.
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Duquette, C. (1998) Perceptions of mentor-teachers in school-based
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Hurd, S., Mangan, J. & Adnett, N. (2005) Are secondary schools spending
enough on books? , British Educational Research Journal 31(2), 239255.
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teaching and learning in the classroom? Views from some schools in
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Lewis, D. (2004) Continuing professional development through the Dfes
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377-390.
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Likert, R. (1932) A technique for the measurement of attitudes, Archives of
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professional develop during mentoring, Journal of Education for
Teaching 31(1), 15-24.
McIntyre, D. & Hagger, H. (1992) Professional development through the
Oxford Internship Model, British Journal of Educational Studies
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Ofsted (1999) Handbook for inspecting primary and nursery schools
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Cambridge Journal of Education 22(3), 363-375.
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Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement
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Appendix: Summary of research evidence of ITE impact on schools
Income and staffing impact
Evidence
Commentary
Income from hosting trainees benefits the
school and departments.
(Hurd 2007) HEIs pay between £700 and
£1200 for each trainee’s school
experience placements. (Shaw 1992;
Coldron et al. 2003) and (Ofsted 2003)
note beneficial effects on school and
departments of additional, nonearmarked, income.
Part of the variation in fees paid by HEIs
to partner schools is explained by
differences in the provision of other
goods and services in kind e.g. some HEI
providers offer more staff development
support and training than others and
some provide classroom resources and
laptop computers to their mentors. A
fairly common formula in secondary
schools is for 80% of the income to go to
departments hosting trainees with the
remaining 20% retained for central
services, such as coordination and
secretarial support; but there are many
variations in this.
Overall cost of staff time and resources.
(Shaw 1992) estimated total staffing and
resource costs per trainee (including
secretarial, reprographic and other
physical resources) as £1,250 – less than
schools received from HEI training
providers but, according to the author,
balanced by substantial non-financial
benefits (below). (Brooks & Barker 1997)
found many mentors were concerned
about the time and reprographic costs
A common complaint from mentors and
school coordinators is that they are
allocated no, or insufficient, time on their
timetables for trainee support. Time
required for supervision, observation,
mentor tutorials, meeting HEI tutors,
quality assurance, trouble-shooting,
training and partnership meetings can be
substantial. There are, however,
offsetting gains for mentors and other
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Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement
February 5, 2016
but presents no hard evidence on this.
(Duquette 1998) also reports perceived
time costs. (Brooks 2000) finds evidence
that time is diverted from other school
activities, especially when problems
arise. (Coldron et al. 2003) mentioned
time costs (especially with Graduate
Training Programme) but said overall
impact is overwhelmingly positive.
(Ofsted 2003) note that Training Schools
have benefited greatly from an influx of
additional resources from their ITE
involvement.
teachers, when trainees take
responsibility for whole class teaching.
This releases time for mentors to
undertake other school activities.
Trainees are a valuable extra staffing
resource.
(Lee & Wilkes 1999) describe how
trainees provide an “extra pair of hands”
and create opportunities to widen the
range of classroom activities and increase
teaching intensity e.g. through
differentiated group work.
Many schools host trainees for up to 24
weeks of the year. A substantial number
of secondary schools take more than 10
trainees at a time and many primary
schools have four or more trainees at one
time. This is a substantial boost to the
amount of adult support in the school,
and represents a significant real resource
input.
School-based ITE activity aids teacher
retention
According to (Coldron et al. 2003)
working with trainees refreshes teachers’
enthusiasm for and commitment to
teaching. It provides a mid-career boost.
(Ofsted 2003) two-thirds of Training
Schools report improvements in
retention.
Nurturing young trainees allows teachers
to identify and recognise their own
professional skills and helps to improve
their self-image and commitment to the
teaching profession.
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Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement
February 5, 2016
Impact on Teaching & Learning
Evidence
Commentary
ITE helps teacher recruitment and
selection, especially in subjects with
teacher shortages
(Coldron et al. 2003) identify recruitment
benefits.
Extended periods of school experience
allow schools and departments to
evaluate the strengths of trainees and to
assess their complementarities with
existing staff. Recruitment of a tried and
tested trainee may be less risky than
employing an outside applicant on the
basis of interview only.
Trainees increase the pool of human
capital and introduce innovations.
(Coldron et al. 2003) find that trainees
bring new knowledge, “real-world”
experience, skills and enthusiasm.
School students benefit from new faces
and ideas. (Lopez-Real & Kwan 2005)
found in Hong Knong that 39% of
mentors claim to learn from trainees.
(Shaw 1992) itemises a wide range of
benefits gained by schools (including
access to new teaching materials,
teaching and learning strategies,
curriculum innovations).
In recent years many trainees have made
a major contribution to schools,
introducing specific ICT skills and
software; and innovative teaching
strategies acquired either from HEI
tutors or from their work experiences.
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Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement
February 5, 2016
Professional development
Evidence
Commentary
Trainees have a positive impact in the
classroom on teaching and learning.
(Lee & Wilkes 1999) report that many
primary headteachers believe that
trainees improve the climate of learning
in the classroom. (Hurd et al. 2007)
found that 71% of primary teachers felt
that ITE improved the climate of
learning. While 71% felt there was no
effect on Key Stage 2 outcomes, 25%
judged the effect to be positive.
The trainee brings a new face in the
classroom and classroom atmosphere
can become more dynamic, especially
when the trainee develops a good rapport
with the existing teacher. Opportunities
for differentiated work with groups and
individuals can have a positive impact on
learning.
Trainees may be less effective than regular
teachers, so they could set back learning
progress?
(Bressoux 1996) suggests there may be
little or no difference in effectiveness
between many NQTs and regular
teachers. (Lee & Wilkes 1999) report that
many primary heads found that trainees
were soon indistinguishable from
established colleagues.
Mentor development.
(Duquette 1998), (Ofsted 2003) report
growth of reflectivity among mentors and
benefits for their own teaching. This is
corroborated by (Lopez-Real & Kwan
2005) where 54% of mentors report rise
in reflectivity.(Coldron et al. 2003) found
that teachers were encouraged to reevaluate and improve their own practice.
33
Benefits can be enhanced by integrating
mentor training into whole-school CPD
plans, and making it an activity for all
teaching staff.
Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement
February 5, 2016
Development of teaching colleagues
(Ofsted 2003) argue that mentor training
and skill development are transferable to
supporting colleagues in school.
There is a synergy between mentoring in
ITE and coaching and mentoring Newly
Qualified Teachers and more experienced
colleagues.
Wider professional learning and
development.
(Lee & Wilkes 1999) argue that ITE is a
long-term platform for professional
learning. (Hopper 2001) found that HEI
link tutors and training sessions make a
major contribution to professional
development and school improvement.
Co-observations of trainees are
particularly valuable. (Coldron et al.
2003) found that schools stress CPD
gains and new enthusiasm from ITE.
(Lewis 2004) found that Training School
status encouraged a move to accredit
mentoring and CPD in general.
Increasingly the professional learning
from supporting trainees is being
formalised and consolidated by means of
accreditation programmes run by partner
HEIs.
HEI contact provides opportunities for
professional learning, development and
research collaboration
(Burton 1998) sets out the substantial
contribution that HEI training providers
make to professional development in
their partner schools, including training
courses, professional sharing of ideas,
other meetings and collaborative
research. (Brooks 2006) states that
Training Schools are more effective in
professional development and research
when they are formally linked an HEI.
ITE partnerships help to foster
collaborative action research which aims
to raise the quality of training
programmes and develop and evaluate
innovations in curricula and classroom
practices.
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Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement
February 5, 2016
ITE involvement has a positive effect on
test and examination results.
(Hurd 2007) found that secondary
schools that take trainees get higher Key
Stage 3 and GCSE results. Schools with
large numbers of trainees show
significant gains in Key Stage 3 results.
(Hurd et al. 2007) showed that primary
schools that host trainees gain
significantly higher overall Key Stage 2
results, and higher grade in English and
mathematics that those with no trainees.
The boost that ITE brings to staffing and
financial resources can be expected to
have positive effects on learning and
school student outcomes. There is a need
to investigate the impact of different
levels of class contact and whole-class
teaching by trainees. Could we achieve
further gains by reducing the quantity of
early teaching experiences and improving
their quality by pairing trainees and
asking mentors and class teachers to
have a greater oversight of lesson plans
before they are implemented?
ITE involvement has a positive effect on
Ofsted evaluations
(Lee & Wilkes 1999), (Hurd et al. 2007)
report Ofsted comments on ITE
involvement to be universally positive.
(Coldron et al. 2003) found the same.
(Hurd et al. 2007) found that while many
Ofsted reports made no mention of ITE,
those that did were wholly positive about
its impact on schools. (Hurd 2007) found
that secondary schools that are ITEactive have slightly lower Ofsted grades
than those with no trainees.
Given the effort and resources that many
schools devote to supporting trainee
teachers and the acceptance of this as a
legitimate “teaching activity”, a
persuasive case can be made for
inspecting the school-based component
of ITE within school Ofsted inspections.
This will incentivise schools and reward
those that support trainees well.
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Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement
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