Dr Abhinava Barthakur, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Centre for Change and Complexity in Learning at UniSA Education Futures, explains why context matters for students on placement.
School placements are a vital part of every teaching degree, giving student teachers real-world classroom experience. But whether that experience happens in a well-resourced school or one facing greater challenges can come down to luck – with each setting demanding a different set of skills.
Imagine this: a young student teacher, Emma, walks into her first day of placement at a school in a struggling neighbourhood. The classroom paint is peeling, supplies are scarce, and 25 lively students look up at her, each with their own unique needs. Emma quickly learns she must hold their attention, manage behaviour, and improvise lessons with limited resources. Every minute, she’s juggling between calming one student, keeping another student on task, all while sticking to a clear lesson structure so learning doesn’t descend into chaos. By the end of the day, she’s exhausted but wiser, realising that strong classroom management and well-planned routines are not optional but essential survival skills.
Now, picture Michael, another student teacher, beginning his placement at a well-funded school across town. His classroom is fully resourced with interactive whiteboards, ample textbooks, and a teacher’s aide. The students are on track or even ahead, and they expect engaging discussions and challenging projects. Michael’s biggest challenge isn’t keeping order but making complex content understandable and sparking deeper discussions. He spends his energy refining his subject knowledge and working with his mentor teacher to design creative lessons. Instead of worrying about disruptions, Michael focuses on innovative teaching and how to stretch high-achieving students even further.
What’s behind these differing experiences? A recent study by researchers at the University of South Australia shows that a school’s socioeconomic status (SES) influences the balance of most critical competencies. These two scenarios illustrate how different school settings can provide two distinctly different learning experiences for new teachers.
In lower-SES school placements, practical teaching skills carry more weight for a student teacher, whereas in higher-SES schools student teachers thrive by expanding their academic knowledge and engaging collaboratively with colleagues. It’s a finding that confirms what many seasoned educators have observed anecdotally: the context in which new teachers learn to teach can demand very different strengths.
Training for the real world
If teaching in different contexts calls for different skills, teacher training should reflect that. Currently, many education programs train teachers in general methods and theories, then send them into vastly different school settings; it is no wonder that a new teacher like Emma can feel blindsided by the gritty realities of a high-need classroom. Likewise, someone like Michael may feel underprepared to challenge high-achieving students if his training focused mainly on maintaining order. To give all future teachers the best chance for success, universities and training programs could tailor their pedagogy to prepare students for the specific settings they’re likely to work in, including offering specialised courses or workshops.
It would also be beneficial for pre-service teachers to experience a variety of school environments during their studies so they are prepared for diverse situations. Policymakers can encourage this approach by linking teacher training to real classroom needs. For instance, universities might require graduates to complete placements in both high- and low-SES schools, ensuring they’ve seen both worlds. Teacher education curricula could also be updated to balance strong classroom management skills with deep content mastery, reflecting what new teachers will need on day one.
New teachers should be prepared to walk into any classroom ready to teach. To achieve that, we need policy changes in teacher education that recognise the real-life differences that exist across different schools. Such changes would give future teachers like Emma and Michael a better chance of success, and when teachers succeed, students and communities all benefit.
