Project

The first phase of the project, from 2011 to 2016, focused on the question of whether the abridging of teacher training would have a negative impact on the development of future teachers. The hope was that that a new training concept could compensate for the shortened time in a meaningful way. Instead of learning only in schools, trainee teachers are also trained in special training centres, the 'Centres for Practical Teacher Training' (ZfsL). At these centres, they not only receive professional support, but are also encouraged in their personal and professional development. For example, they receive individual coaching, work in self-directed learning groups, set individual goals and record their progress in portfolios.

The first cohort of trainee teachers to be analysed had already completed the shortened service but without the newly introduced practice semester. The second phase of the project, which ran from 2018 to 2022, therefore looked more closely at the changed initial conditions and the long-term consequences of the reform.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic threw a spanner in the works for our project team. The pandemic drastically changed people's lives and raised new questions. At the same time, the restrictions made it difficult to compare the impact on the trainee teachers with that of previous cohorts – a key criterion in our day-to-day research. The Ministry of Schools and Education in North Rhine-Westphalia therefore decided to launch a third phase of the project (2023-2025) to evaluate the impact of the reform given normal conditions and in the long term.

How to Recognise Well-Qualified Teachers

Throughout all phases of the project, the desire to optimise the teacher preparation service in such a way that well-trained teachers enter the teaching profession has been paramount.

»The central question was: Which elements of training are conducive to the positive development of future teachers, and which are more of a hindrance? And, of course, what can be improved?«

But what makes a well-trained teacher? By professional competence, we mean the individual attributes needed to successfully perform the tasks specific to the teaching profession. It is a set of characteristics that are changeable and emerge over the course of training, for example through experience in the classroom, but also through the successful use of the training elements (learning opportunities) offered during the pre-service period. For teachers, a distinction is often made between knowledge, beliefs, motivation and self-regulatory skills.

Measuring and Reflecting on Teachers' Professional Development

Questionnaires have been developed for all aspects of professional competence making the constructs measurable and comparable. This also applies to professional behaviour, such as teaching. But we also ask trainee teachers how they feel: How do they feel during their traineeship? Which elements of the training have helped them to cope with the demands and which have not? What did they find particularly helpful and what areas could be improved?
In the current phase of the project, we have visited and interviewed more than 600 trainee teachers (in May 2023) during the first weeks of their preparatory service in different teacher training centres. Their trainers were also asked about their views and many of them responded to our online surveys.

The Reality of Training from the Teachers' Perspective

We then sought dialogue with the trainee teachers and their trainers at the ZfsL and in the schools. In five group discussions, we met with six to eight people each and discussed our questionnaire and the results. How did we proceed and what were the results of the first survey? We wanted to know what people had to say. Had we perhaps overlooked something important? 
Another important step in the project was to take a close look at the training situation on the ground. Some experiences could not be captured by questionnaires but only became clear in in-person discussions. In these conversations, we also asked the trainee teachers how they imagined the ideal pre-service training to be. In future workshops, we collaborated on positive visions for teacher education.

Future workshop with trainee teachers: What changes would they like to see?

At the end of their preparatory service, in September and October 2024, we interviewed the trainee teachers again. This time we used a questionnaire to record their experiences during their preparatory service and also to address the issues that had emerged in the focus groups and during the course of the project.
The data collected will be analysed and placed in the wider context of teacher research. Our project is part of a wider research landscape and needs to be understood in the context of other studies of the teaching profession. We are therefore making our data sets available to other researchers for further use.

The Preparatory Service in the Public Eye – New Questions During the Project

The Traineeship is not only looked at by educationalists, but also by the public and the media – often not in the most positive way. Issues affecting society, such as digitisation and teacher shortage, influence the discussion. As the project has progressed, new issues have emerged while others have become less important. In the current phase of the project, the focus is more on professional wellbeing and the pressure that trainee teachers experience at this important stage in their careers.

Part 3: Results