The second significant area of study identified in the literature review centres on
standards and competencies. The standards agenda in initial teacher training is
policy driven and the issue of politics in this arena will be explored in more detail in
the next chapter. When standardised competencies began to be introduced in ITT it
was an international trend. In the USA a closer scrutiny on teacher training had a
direct impact on teacher assessment and the introduction of standardised
assessments (Bell & Youngs, 2011); standards were introduced in Australia (Brooker
et al., 1998), Hong Kong (Tang, 2008) and many European countries (Foster, 2006).
In reviewing the literature in this area there are some researchers that welcome a
functional framework with criterion based standards (Brooker et al., 1998) whereas
many others discuss the significance of how the standards are implemented being a
key aspect to their success. Tang (2008) explains how in her research the standards
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a tool for professional dialogue. Delandshere & Arens, (2001) are more critical of a
uniform standards based approach and are concerned that the debate about
standards per se moved forward to a discussion about how they could be
implemented without a real professional debate about the relevance of the standards
in the teaching context. Martin & Cloke (2000) have similar concerns and question
whether standards which are attempting to be objective and rational can be used to
assess the dynamic process of teaching with all the contextual variables. Darling-
Hammond et al., (2010) offer the most in-depth and relevant research in their project
where they discuss the importance of ‘authentic assessments of teachers’ (Darling- Hammond and Snyder 2010, p. 525).
This aspect of authentic assessments taking place in school based experiences can
be illustrated by an explanation of a research study completed by Hewitt and Smith
(2007) examining the work placements of trainee teachers. Questionnaires of 143
second year teacher training students revealed some interesting results. Overall the
students were very satisfied with their school based experiences and the methods of
assessment used despite the fact that ten per cent of the cohort had an unsuccessful
experience. In this study students were assessed via lesson observations undertaken
weekly by the class teacher or the university based tutors and received verbal and
written feedback on the lesson taught. In addition students had weekly review
meetings and a final report written by their university tutor or class teacher. Case
studies in this research project provided further qualitative data on student
satisfaction which identified dialogue, in the formative assessment process, as a
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assessment as the purpose is clear and it has a direct impact on their career in
teaching (Hewitt & Smith, 2007).
Two international research studies will be analysed in more depth to provide greater
insight into the use of standards to assess trainee teachers. The first research to be
discussed was undertaken by Tang (2008). She conducted research in Hong Kong
about the professional standards used for assessing professional competency. Her
research involved collecting data from various stakeholders of school based
assessment through focus groups, individual interviews, and recording of post-
observation discussions about the role of a standards based progress map in
charting trainee teachers’ progress on teaching experiences. She concluded that the approach to the standards based assessment was crucial. Where the standards were
used as a policy mechanism about the quality of teaching the process was in danger
of being mechanistic and over simplified. On the other hand where the standards
were used as a basis for professional dialogue they were more effective in enabling
students in training to move forward in their development. She recommended that
trainee teachers were more involved in a dialogue and understanding about the
assessment process and how this can enable assessors and students to identify
aspects of quality teaching ‘…the appropriate use of assessment criteria; that is, as
conceptual reference for professional development rather than prescriptions of teaching behaviours’ (Tang, 2008, p. 28).
The significance of Tang’s study is the re-emergence of a theme threading through the literature review; that of the importance of dialogue in the assessment process
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The second research project conducted in California went beyond the focus of initial
teacher training and examined a structured portfolio assessment based upon the
Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT). PACT is a teacher
performance assessment designed to examine ‘the planning, instruction,
assessment, and reflection skills of student teachers against professional standards of practice’ (Darling-Hammond, 2006, p. 121).This study differs to Tang’s project in
that it began to identify the impact that in- service teachers had on the progress of
the children in their classes. This study moves to a significant area worthy of
investigation in a further study, namely, an examination of the impact the assessment
strategies used to assess trainees has on the children in their classes. Pupil progress
is an area that the current Ofsted framework is interested in linking to initial teacher
training and would be worthy of further investigation.