In word and deed I am revealed – The subject as teacher in Further Education

This thesis centres on a research study into the lived experiences of beginning teachers in Further Education (FE) in England. The study is contextualised by initial teacher education (ITE) in FE. The theoretical concepts underpinning the study derive from Hannah Arendt’s (1958) theory of action. Arendt’s (1958) ‘The Human Condition’ is employed as a basis for discussion and exploration alongside Biesta’s (2013) work on the three domains for the purpose of education. It is widely researched that politically discursive practices and market principles undermine educational values and relationships (Ball 2003, 2016, Coffield 2017, Daley et al 2018). Initially it seems that policy based on marketisation, management and performativity leave no space for an autonomous self (Ball 2003, Daley et al 2018). By using Arendtian theory, this perspective will be explored. A narrative case study derived from a patchwork text approach (PWT) was employed to explore six full time, pre-service PGCE student teachers’ storied experiences of becoming a teacher in FE. The findings from the study illustrate that the participants’ stories identify rifts in the ability to negotiate their subjectification and their emergent pedagogical praxis. A variety of strategies are employed to mediate their worldly views and teaching practices whilst undertaking a PGCE course and during their first year in employment in FE. The study suggests that the beginning teachers value the PGCE classroom experience as a safe space for collaboration and exploration in making sense of the politically discursive nature of FE and their own emerging pedagogical praxis. The beginning teachers’ experience also shows how socialisation into FE, away from the condition of natality (the opportunity to begin a new through initiative), demands a greater expectation to perform according to policy based initiatives albeit through complex human interactions and relational contexts. This dynamic relationship impedes opportunities to negotiate and mediate own judgments informing and initiating subjective actions. Interestingly, the beginning teachers in this study also showed how they provide the condition of natality in their classrooms. It seems that these spaces, within the closed doors of the classroom, offer the opportunities for beginning teachers to appear as subjects of action in ‘word and deed’ (Arendt 1958).

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Doctorate in Education

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Wolverhampton

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Author dc:creator

• Wilde, Julie A.

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Smith, Rob
• Devlin, Linda

• beginning teachers in further education
• Arendt
• narrative and case study

Statement dc:rights

• Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Licence

• https://wlv.dspace7.openrepository.com/bitstreams/c6899242-9983-40e2-b964-874aaf62f23e/download