Managing Meat One: perceptions and anxieties of trainee teachers as they enter the Learning and Skills Sector for the first time

The notion that trainee teachers are anxious at the prospect of standing before their first class is as commonplace as it is understandable. This small-scale study, carried out with a group of aspiring Further Education (FE) lecturers on a Stage One Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programme in 2007, is the first of a series of three articles which promises to inform pedagogical practice in the context of ITE in the Learning and Skills Sector (LSS). Using a multimethod approach, the study examines trainees’ confidence and anxiety levels at the start of the course, evaluates their confidence levels following a ‘crash course’ in managing challenging behaviour and analyses the biographical features which may be perceived as influential in their confidence levels. Working within the concept of action research, the study seeks to identify ways in which the programme and trainee preparedness can be improved for current and future entrants to the teaching profession to the benefit of their learners. The findings of the study, in contrast to much of the available literature, advance an initial argument for better preparation of trainees prior to teaching placement, particularly so when young female trainees are preparing to teach at Entry level.