A Registered Charity (No 275082) 9-11 Endsleigh Gardens, London WC1H 0EH T: 020 7621 6836 info@ucet.ac.uk

Promoting Quality in Teacher Education

Note of the meeting of the UCET Research & International Forum held on-line at 1.00pm on Tuesday 12 October 2021

Welcome, introductions and minutes of the previous meeting

Colleagues were welcomed to the meeting. The note of the meeting held on 11 May 2021 was agreed. On matters arising: the results of REF 2021 were expected to be published on 12 May 2022. It was agreed in the light of this that the date of the May 2022 meeting of the R&I forum would be changed to 23 May.

Discussion

A range of issues was discussed, including:

An update from JNR on non-R&I related issues, including: the announcement that day of financial incentives for ITE in 2022/23; the development of new requirements for publicly funded teaching qualifications for the FE and skills sector; the publication by UCET of advice for member institutions on the handling of increasingly hostile OfSTED inspections; and the restoration of funding from the Department of Education in Northern Ireland of funding for SCoTENs.

The key points from that morning’s symposium on: the implications for education research of the DfE review of the ITE Market in England, led by James Noble-Rogers, and student teachers’ views about the university’s research contribution to their professional development led by Gillian Peiser from LJMU.

Possible topics for future symposia were identified as: the ITE Market Review and policy landscape, including the role of the R&I forum in supporting to research base of teacher education; the implications of iQTS and the marketization of international teacher education; and, in May 2022, the results of the REF.

The outcome of the DfE’s consultation on the development of a new iQTS qualification which would be piloted in September 2022 and rolled out in full a year later. The iQTS qualification would be delivered by accredited English ITE providers and would be subject when appropriate to the same regulatory requirements as ITE in England. The same qualification would be used in respect of those teaching in international/UK overseas schools and for those teaching in domestic schools. Other international issues covered included recent guidance from DfE for international students; and the next ICET World Assembly to be held on 21-23 June 2022 at Bath Spa University. International updates from forum members covered: a collaborative research project being carried out by Huddersfield University and the Technical University of Dresden into the ECF in England and a comparable programme in parts of Germany; the November IPDA conference; and the recent establishment of IPDA Palestine.

Horizon scanning and reports from forum members, which included ongoing planning and preparation for the REF post-2021.

The findings of the BERA systematic scoping review of the structures and processes influencing education research within HEIs.

A report from the Equalities sub-group, including: the possibility of an OU programme to support prospective teachers from under-represented groups; an update on the development of an anti-racism framework and resources funded by the NEU; consideration of how to share the work of the Equalities sub-group; the scope to include EDI questions when interviewing for university staff; the collection and analysis of ITE recruitment data; and BERA’s call for evidence on the state of the discipline and the scope for UCET colleagues to contribute to work on the collection of data on ITE students and staff from under-represented groups.

Future R&I forum meetings

It was agreed that the January 2022 meeting would take place on-line, and that the May 2022 meeting would take place face to face.

Items for information

The following items were noted:

The agenda for the 2-3 November on-line UCET conference, registration for which was open at: www.ucet/conference

The UCET summer newsletter.

Any other business

None.

Date of next meeting

18 January 2022, via Zoom.