Abstract:

The paper will investigate how schoolteachers’, school leaders’ and college teachers’ involvement affects placement schools as professional learning communities. Norwegian teacher education is used as a case. The first part will build on a survey among schoolteachers and mentors at 111 placement schools all over Norway. It documents great variety in the level of engagement among school-leaders and schoolteachers. Interviews with mentors, school leaders and college teachers reveal how cooperation between colleges and placement schools, as well as the school leaders’ commitment, influences the quality of placement. The school leaders’ role proves to be important in developing the schools as professional learning communities, and they seem to have a significant impact on the work of the mentors. The data also show that there is a need for a more substantial cooperation between college teachers and mentors about the student teachers’ professional development as well as a need for a more systematic integration of learning in the two learning contexts.

Keywords:

Teacher education, Placement schools, Professional learning communities, Mentors, College teachers.