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Innovating in First Year Pre-service Teacher Education: “Buddy Up”

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Abstract

In response to the changing regulatory climate of initial teacher education, coupled with first year students’ needs to effectively transition to higher education, the School of Education at RMIT University reconceptualised its first year Bachelor of Education program to incorporate paired (buddied) placements as an integral component of a site-based professional experience model. This chapter presents an overview of this innovation, grounded in current literature about innovations in the pre-service teacher (PST) practicum and literature about transition into higher education. It presents research that examines PSTs’ perceptions of being ‘buddied’ and highlights the complexity and sometimes uncomfortable nature of innovation and change within initial teacher education.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Jennifer Elsden-Clifton, Kathy Jordan & Nicky Carr

Authors
  1. Jennifer Elsden-Clifton
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  2. Kathy Jordan
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  3. Nicky Carr
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennifer Elsden-Clifton .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education and Arts, Federation University Australia, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

    Robyn Brandenburg

  2. Faculty of Education and Arts, Federation University Australia, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

    Sharon McDonough

  3. Faculty of Education and Arts, Federation University Australia, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

    Jenene Burke

  4. Faculty of Education, Monash University, Berwick, Victoria, Australia

    Simone White

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Elsden-Clifton, J., Jordan, K., Carr, N. (2016). Innovating in First Year Pre-service Teacher Education: “Buddy Up”. In: Brandenburg, R., McDonough, S., Burke, J., White, S. (eds) Teacher Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0785-9_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0785-9_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-0784-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-0785-9

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