Trainee teachers in voluntary teaching posts: roles, rights and responsibilities

Trainee teachers in voluntary teaching post have diverse experiences that shape their teaching journey. Structural contexts related to teaching employment landscapes, education policy, institutional cultures and circumstances in addition to the trainee teacher’s own characteristics, motivations and personal situations all interact to affect how teachers train.
Research funded by the Education and Training Consortium aimed to explore how trainees, course tutors and other stakeholders viewed the learning experience of trainee teachers in voluntary teaching posts. Fieldwork was undertaken from December 2014 – May 2015. Data was collected from a questionnaire completed by centre managers and 25 semi-structured interviews with centre staff, current Year 2 volunteer trainees and mentors, plus two focus groups of trainee teachers. Volunteer teaching posts can often be successful and offer valuable resources to both the trainee and affiliated institution. However, the balance between a trainee teacher’s learning experiences, their role, responsibilities and rights in their voluntary teaching post, and their developmental needs must be carefully managed as these can have important implications for a trainee’s professional identity and prospects of completing the course.