Rethinking initial teacher education: preparing teachers for schools in low socio-economic communities in New Zealand

• Published in: Journal of education for teaching : JET 2016-08, Vol.42 (4), p.451-467
• Main Authors: Grudnoff, Lexie, Haigh, Mavis, Hill, Mary, Cochran-Smith, Marilyn, Ell, Fiona, Ludlow, Larry
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Achievement Gap; Children; disadvantaged learners; Disproportionate Representation; Equal Education; Equity; Ethnic Groups; Foreign Countries; Initial teacher education; International economic organizations; Learning; Learning Processes; Low Achievement; Pacific Islanders; Polynesian languages; Poverty; Practicums; Preservice Teacher Education; Preservice Teachers; primary school teaching; Program Effectiveness; Qualitative Research; Schools; Socioeconomic factors; Socioeconomic Status; Student attitudes; Student Surveys; Student Teacher Attitudes; Student teachers; Students; Teacher attitudes; Teacher education; Teacher Education Programs; Teachers; Teaching
• ISSN: 0260-7476; 1360-0540
• DOI: 10.1080/02607476.2016.1215552

Differential student achievement has particular significance in New Zealand as it has one of the largest gaps between high and low achievers among all OECD countries. Students from low socio-economic status (SES) communities, who are often Māori and Pasifika, are heavily over-represented in the low achieving group, while students from wealthier communities, mainly European and Asian, are over-represented in the high achieving group. This article reports a predominately qualitative study, which investigated student teacher perceptions of how their programme, specifically designed to put equity front and centre, prepared them for teaching in low SES communities. Overall, the findings indicated that the student teachers perceived their programme did prepare them to work in such contexts. However, the study also highlighted ways in which the programme could be strengthened, including the need for a more direct focus on the effects of poverty on children's learning, and the implications of this for teaching.