The influence of an intentional sustained practicum in a low-decile primary school on pre-service teachers' knowledge of teaching priority learners

Abstract

New Zealand’s persistent problem of inequitable educational outcomes between different student groups has led to New Zealand being designated a high achievement-low equity country. A key policy lever in the quest to lift educational achievement for priority learners (identified by the Ministry of Education as Māori, Pasifika, students with special learning needs and those from low socio-economic communities) is improving teacher quality. Hence, there has been a renewed policy focus on improving the quality of initial teacher education. The context for this study is an innovative Master of Teaching primary programme that includes an extended practicum in low-decile schools with a high proportion of priority learners. This paper reports a qualitative study of how this practicum enhanced pre-service teachers’ knowledge of teaching, particularly the teaching of priority learners. A thematic analysis of post-practicum reflective statements written by two cohorts of Master of Teaching students immediately following their practicum (n=41 [25+16]) indicated four major themes – Difference, Diversity, Differentiation and Difficulty. Overall, the findings indicated that the extended, intentional placement in a low-decile school with a high proportion of priority learners appeared to broaden the pre-service teachers’ knowledge of teaching and disrupted their prior beliefs about such schools and their expectations of priority learners.