Researching Workplace Learning

Abstract

‘In England, as in the USA, the subject department acts as a basic social unit within secondary schools’ (Hennessy et al., 2005, p. 155). Research into school subject departments in schools is scarce (Visscher and Witziers, 2004), and the majority of research that exists is fairly old. Consequently, little has been written about how secondary school subject departments support the learning opportunities of student teachers. What becomes clear from much of the research literature is that school departments and their subcultures play significant roles in the lives of most secondary school teachers and consequently for student teachers when learning in them (Goodson and Ball, 1984; Grossman et al., 2000; Hodkinson and Hodkinson, 1997; Paechter, 1995; Wildy and Wallace, 2004; Childs et al., 2013). The importance of subject departments in the organisation of secondary schools has led some researchers to come to the conclusion that to affect change in the school environment one needs to work with departments (Harris, 2001; Siskin, 1994, 1997; Visscher and Witziers, 2004). This is also the case when considering the learning opportunities for student teachers (Ball, 1987; Butcher, 2000; Childs and McNicholl, 2007; Hodkinson and Hodkinson, 2005; Lacey, 1977).