Professional identities in transition : the perceptions of in-service trainee PCE teachers undertaking an initial PCE teacher-training course

A change in government policy and perception regarding the importance of the Post Compulsory Education (PCE) sector to the economy has led to an increase in the professionalisation of the sector as a whole. This in turn has led to changes in training for teachers who work in PCE - the latest of these changes took place in September 2007 and required all those working as teachers in the sector to acquire a licence to practice and work towards qualified teacher status (QTLS) through continuous professional development (CPD). This study focuses on in-service trainee teachers undertaking a PCE initial teacher-training course and explores the transition from trainee to professional teacher. Using participant produced drawings and stories, and follow-up interviews, trainee teachers voice their own interpretations and perceptions of teacher-training, teachers and teaching. In addition, interview data from four participants designated as experts (experienced teachers who were working, or had worked, on teacher-training programmes) were included to add insight into policy change from the teacher-educator viewpoint. The aim of this study was to highlight individual perceptions of a lived experience - how trainee teachers saw the role of teachers and experienced the teacher-training process. The acquisition of teaching qualifications was seen by the trainees in this study as an important progression in their professional development because they were an acknowledgement of professional competence. This was also seen as a necessary part of acquiring a teacher identity in that it raised the status of the trainees and recognised their professional approach to their practice. For some of the trainees accepting their capabilities to perform the teaching role was easier than accepting an identity change - they considered themselves to be works in progress. Data provided by the trainees also showed that personal qualities were as equally valuable in the development of a professional teacher an idea not given emphasis in the new teacher-training course