Partnership through placement: Scottish HEI-tutors views on collaboration with schools through the initial teacher education placement experience

Placement, the part of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) involving Pre-Service Teachers (PSTs) working in school, is a marked feature of ITE programmes that involve Higher Education Institution (HEI) input. In Scotland, placement is a feature of ITE, forms a major plank of the assessment of teaching quality and occurs in partnership arrangements between HEIs, schools and other organisations. As part of the Measuring Quality in Initial Teacher Education (MQuITE) research project, HEI-staff at the nine Scottish institutions offering ITE were surveyed for their views on a range of ITE matters. This paper discusses 150 respondents’ answers regarding placement within current partnership arrangements. Using positioning theory (cf) as the frame for thematic analysis and data highlighted concerns, but significant desire for continuing development of partnership as a mechanism to develop PSTs. The paper has international implications for systems that utilise placement within a standards-based approach to ITE partnership.