Teacher recruitment and retention are global challenges. To address the teacher shortage, recent literature reviews (Courtney, Austin and Zofaghari, 2023) highlight best practices from countries with PISA rankings significantly above the OECD average. Many of these recommendations have already been implemented in England. Examples include funding induction in shortage subjects (DfE,2024a) and mandating mentors undergo additional coaching to support preservice and early career teachers (DfE, 2021). Yet, there have been limited improvements in teacher retention.
To address this shortfall new routes to recruit internationally have been introduced. This panel discussion explores the opportunities and challenges of working with an increasingly international cohort of preservice teachers. Each paper presents a unique story of how we support international trainees nationally and abroad. When reviewing these examples in unison, they, for the first time, provide research-informed guidance for ensuring international preservice teachers can successfully secure QTS. This new study provides research-informed guidance on effectively implementing teacher education policy and curriculum development. The panel discussion concludes by exploring possible new research collaborations to inform educational policy and support the UK Government's ambitious aim to recruit an additional 6,500 teachers.
Paper 1 recruitment and onboarding
To support our international trainees on arrival in the UK, we run pre-registration courses to support acclimatisation. In this first case study, we ask the research question: What guidance is needed to help international trainees acclimatise to the UK? In answering this research question, we use the following data collection points
We combine content analysis with inductive coding of each data point to generate a detailed understanding of how to ensure that the guidance on acclimatisation is impactful and supports international preservice teachers in settling and developing a sense of belonging.
Paper 2 Supporting International Preservice Teachers in England
Working with international teachers in England compels us to reflect upon and refine our teaching practice. Many preservice teachers have prior classroom experience in their native countries. Supporting international teachers to apply their experience to the English school context mandates, we celebrate their existing pedagogic expertise (English, 2021). This research answers the following question "What guidance is needed to support international preservice teachers refine their teaching practice to meet the needs of the English school curriculum?" We present our findings from analysing curriculum documents, lesson observations and subsequent discussion, reflective journal entries and email communications. We split our findings into two distinct categories: support in pedagogic practice and pastoral support.
Paper 3 Developing an understanding of international ITT through the iQTS.
Although the DfE (2023) introduced the iQTS to 'make high-quality training accessible around the world', it would be inappropriate to believe we can replicate what we do in England in its entirety within international schools that adhere to their policies and practices. Therefore, supporting teachers in international contexts requires we reflect on how we adapt our research-informed practice to an international education system (Hidson, 2024). This paper explores how tutors at St Mary's University have led with an awareness that whilst ensuring the requirements of the Core Content Framework are met, critical analysis of western-centric research is necessary for international trainees to consider its place and relevance in their different contexts (Moncrieffe, Fakunle, Kustatscher and Rost 2024). As such, trainees receive professional development appropriate to their current and international context and meet the expectations of the Teachers' Standards in readiness for teaching in England, should they choose to.
Paper 4 Supporting preservice teachers in school placements.
The English school setting is one significant difference for international candidates (Worth and Tang, 2024). This paper focuses on the following research question: How do we support international preservice teachers acclimatise to English secondary schools? Two example actions were to provide bespoke training for mentors working with international preservice teachers alongside subject-specific guidance. We explore the impact of this training through focus group discussions with teacher educators and international preservice teachers. These data sets are analysed using inductive coding to identify the most appropriate tools to support international preservice teachers' acclimatise to the English school setting.
Paper 5 Recommendations for Education Policy
In this final panel discussion, we examine how we ensure the support we offer international teachers is timely and purposeful. One limitation of our research is that it excludes international teachers who have gained QTS through their existing international teaching qualifications. Therefore, we propose additional research to identify best practice across the sector and inform education policy.