Premium
Exploring difficulties in learning to teach English post‐16
Author(s) -
Butcher John
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
the curriculum journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.843
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 1469-3704
pISSN - 0958-5176
DOI - 10.1080/09585170302829
Subject(s) - mathematics education , certificate , feeling , psychology , pedagogy , sample (material) , qualitative research , computer science , sociology , social psychology , social science , chemistry , algorithm , chromatography
ABSTRACT This article investigates the experiences and training needs of student teachers as they learn to teach post‐16 English on a secondary Post Graduate Certificate in Education. A case‐study was conducted on a sample of Open University PGCE English students and mentors over a six‐month period. Five research instruments were developed and used iteratively to generate qualitative data. The study reveals significant problems, resulting in students feeling underprepared at the end of their 11–18 PGCE for the demands of post‐16 English teaching. The results illuminate the need for more effective models of learning to teach post‐16 English.