Studying the Effectiveness of Teacher Education (SETE)
The Studying the Effectiveness of Teacher Education (SETE) project is a longitudinal study investigating graduate teachers’ perception of the effectiveness of teacher education in preparing teachers for the variety of school settings in which they begin their teaching careers. It is following 2010 and 2011 graduate teachers in Victoria and Queensland during their first three to four years of teaching. The project aims to provide an evidentiary basis for policy decisions regarding teacher education and beginning teaching.
SETE is supported by a strong partnership involving the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT), the Queensland College of Teachers (QCT) the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD), the Queensland Department of Education, Training and Employment (QDETE), Deakin University’s School of Education in Victoria, and Griffith University’s School of Education and Professional Studies in Queensland. More recently, the project has been also supported by Victoria University and Monash University. This research was supported under the Australian Research Council’s Linkage Projects funding scheme (project LP110100003). Researchers are Diane Mayer (Sydney University), Brenton Doecke (Deakin University), Mary Dixon (Deakin University), Alex Kostogriz (Australian Catholic University), Andrea Allard (Deakin University), Simone White (Monash University), Bernadette Walker-Gibbs (Deakin University), Leonie Rowan (Griffith University), Richard Bates (Deakin University), Jodie Kline (Deakin University), and Phillipa Hodder (Deakin University).
The project is investigating the following questions:
- How well equipped are teacher education graduates to meet the requirements of the diverse settings in which they are employed?
- What characteristics of teacher education programs are most effective in preparing teachers to work in a variety of school settings?
- How does the teacher education course attended impact on graduate employment destination, pathways, and retention within the profession?
The research design employs a critical balance between large-scale quantitative research into teacher education programs and teacher effectiveness with a longitudinal in-depth qualitative study of effective professional practice. This mixed methods approach follows an iterative design where the survey and interview instruments are modified and enhanced in each round in order to best capture the needs of respondents and explore emergent understandings. Each collection of data during the research process is guided by an ongoing analysis that informs subsequent data collection methods.
There are four rounds of surveys of 2010 and 2011 graduate teachers, three rounds of surveys of these graduate teachers’ school principals, and up to five case study visits to 30 strategically selected schools in Victoria and Queensland employing 171 graduate teachers who have participated in interviews. A national mapping of initial teacher education programs has been completed, which enables graduate teacher responses to be considered in relation to the key dimensions of the programs they completed.
Reports, Presentations and Publications are ongoing. For more information and access to the Research Briefs please click here.