Beyond Cream, Off-White, and Beige: Finding Slippages in Accreditation for Innovation in Professional Experience

Developed in 2011 by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), the Accreditation Standards and Procedures outline the accred-itation requirements for Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programs. The professional experience features prominently within these requirements, specifically mandating conditions around assessment, the number of days of professional experience, and using practising teachers in program design and supervision arrangements. While introducing these standards and procedures raised concerns about standardisation within professional experience, it also provided a climate for opportunities. This chapter discusses how teacher educators found slippages in, between, and within accreditation requirements to innovate through the design of the Coaching Approach to Professional Experience (CAPE) Model. This chapter details how regulation requirements, supported by Third Space theory, provided the impetus to question long-held approaches to professional experience, elevated the priority of professional experience and partnerships, and provided scope for pre-service teacher agency.