thus varying considerably in structure and effectiveness. The lack of any formalised
structure and the absence of any quality assurance framework have meant that some
students experience placement in schools where support structures are minimal
(Long et al. 2012 , p. 620).
Internationally, it is common for formal partnership arrangements to be developed between
higher education institutions and schools to provide structured support and a gradual
increase in classroom responsibility for student teachers. However, these arrangements vary
along a continuum from the school playing a host role (work placement model), to shared
responsibility between the school and higher education (collaborative model) to the school
providing the entire training (training school model). In Ireland, school/higher education
partnerships in ITE are typically at the work placement end of the continuum. (Conway
et al. 2009 , p. xviii)As Young et al. note
In an Irish context, schools accept student teachers on a voluntary basis and cooperating
teachers do not have a formal role in the supervision of student teachers, instead following
an‘informal support and guidance’role. While many cooperating teachers provide tutorial
assistance to student teachers allocated to their classes, a system of structured supervision
has yet to be formalised between the school and university. (Young et al. 2015 , p. 27)As such the school-university partnership model historically is reflective of a‘work
placement model’as opposed to a‘training school model’(Young et al. 2015 ).
Indeed a recent report into the landscape of ITE in Ireland registered surprise at the
rather informal relationship that exists between schools and university education
departments, in particular regarding the issue of school placement
The Review Panel was surprised that, on the whole, the responsibility forfinding place-
ments for students on teaching practice rested with the students themselves. Based on their
experience, the Panel is of the view that placements should be allocated by the ITE
provider, either in the university teacher training schools or other schools, on the basis of
partnerships between the provider and schools. (Sahlberg et al. 2012 , p. 22)Hence, cognisant of the need to provide a more structured framework for initial
teacher education and in particular for the generation of effective school-university
partnerships, the Council has called for the development of‘new and innovative
school placement models...developed using a partnership approach, whereby HEIs
and schools actively collaborate in the organisation of the school placement’
(Teaching Council2011a, p. 15). The cornerstone of the reform agenda is a more
sophisticated experience of the practicum which requires a more structured rela-
tionship between schools and university education departments. In order to advise,
guide and oversee the school-university dimension of all teacher education provi-
sion, the Teaching Council issued a set of guidelines for schools in 2011. The title
of the guide,Guidelines on School Placement,reflects a move from the narrower
concept of‘teaching practice’to‘school placement’which presupposes a deeper
and richer experience of school life on the part of the student teacher, and not
merely teaching experience. The guidelines note that
School placement is designed to give the student teacher an opportunity to learn about
teaching and learning, to gain practice in teaching, to apply educational theory in a variety170 T. O’Doherty and J. Harford