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‘Towards professional multilingualism?’ Reconceptualising the school coordinator role in initial teacher training
Author(s) -
Butcher John,
Mutton Trevor
Publication year - 2008
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 - 10.1080/09585170802357520
Subject(s) - multilingualism , professional development , pedagogy , bureaucracy , faculty development , sociology , teacher education , comparative case , medical education , psychology , political science , public relations , medicine , linguistics , philosophy , politics , law
This article explores the school coordinator role in initial teacher training (ITT) in England. Recognising that mentoring is fully embedded and highly researched in ITT, it argues the role of the coordinator, while integral to partnerships, is far less researched. This paper investigates tensions in the role, between managing programme‐wide quality assurance, teaching professional studies and developing school‐based mentors. These questions were explored through multi‐site case‐studies with four HEIs and their partner schools in four linked phases of data collection. Data analysis established a range of different conceptualisations of the role, with only limited evidence of a development role with their mentors. The authors argue for policies which establish a more coherent conceptualisation of the role, and an agreed nomenclature. A key recommendation is to free coordinators from bureaucratic demands on their time to enable them to exemplify a new ‘professional multilingualism’.