The University Associates' Continuum of Practice
Abstract
This case study explored the work of university associates (UAs) within the Faculty of Education at a Canadian university from an interpretivist perspective. Data collected from semi-structured interviews with twelve UAs, artifacts, and documents generated insights about university associates’ roles and responsibilities with the intention to inform future field experience practice. In order to do this a conceptual framework based on a continuum of practice put forth by LeCornu and Ewing (2008) was utilized, which conceptualized a spectrum of pre-service teacher supervision spanning traditional to communal orientations. Five findings emerged from the data analysis: (a) University Associates, who were most frequently recruited from the ranks of retired teachers and school administrators, endeavoured to establish cooperative, managerial relationships with practicum hosting schools. (b) University Associates expressed a deep-seated commitment to fulfilling their roles. (c) University Associates reflectively determined best practice. (d) Collaboration within the practicum was evident although minimal due to hindrances. (e) University Associates with administrative experience expressed having an advantage working collaboratively. In light of these findings, collaborative practice should become a focused professional development initiative by the university for UAs within the practicum. Likewise, ongoing UA selection must consider the collaborative backgrounds of those participating in the practicum and opt for those with administrative experience when possible. As well, further investigation of the UA role would benefit from a multi-perspective stance, including the voices of pre-service teachers, mentor teachers, school coordinators and field experience directors.
Description
Keywords
Education--Teacher Training
Citation
Andrews Stobart, C. (2016). The University Associates' Continuum of Practice (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/28407