This study examines the way in which three Education Assistants (EAs) engaged with
an Initial Teacher Education (ITE) program at an Australian Higher Education
Institution (HEI). In order to assist the EAs to engage with the ITE program the
school in which they worked developed a series of intervention strategies. These
strategies combined to form what became known as the Christmas Island District
High School (CIDHS) Trainee Teacher Program. Through this program the EAs were
provided support in the various critical aspects of the ITE program.
Within an Australian context the EAs were from non-mainstream backgrounds. They
were mature age women who had disrupted educational backgrounds, spoke English
as a second language, and were living in a geographically remote location. Their
journey from Education Assistant to Teacher, via an ITE program and with the
support of the school, is the subject of this inquiry.
A grounded qualitative research methodology is used to investigate and analyse the
participation of the EAs from their points of view. The personal and grounded
experiences of the participants in this study are then supplemented by a review of the
international literature pertaining to non-mainstream participation in Higher
Education.
Specifically, the study examines significant aspects of an ITE program including:
Entrance via alternative access programs
Engagement with course theory and school practicums
Recognition for Prior Learning (RPL)
The implications of studying via distance mode
The role of mentors
The impact of funding structures and fees on non-mainstream students
As well as the pragmatic aspects of the program, this study also examines the critical
impact that various Discourses (Gee, 1999), and the ideologies that underpin them,
had on the ability of the participants to successfully make the transition from
Education Assistant to Teacher.
The dissertation ends with a series of recommendations for action for the HEI sector,
schools sectors and regulatory authorities. The aims are to add to the international
literature on non-mainstream participation in ITE and to aid in the development of
ITE programs that better address the needs of non-mainstream students.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/221700 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Aprice@cidhs.cx, Anne Price |
| Publisher | Murdoch University |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://www.murdoch.edu.au/goto/CopyrightNotice, Copyright Anne Price |
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