EVALUATION OF THE PGCE PLUS

Directors: Geoff Lindsay and Mairi-Ann Cullen

With: Elisabeth Arweck and Stephen Cullen

PGCE Plus was an innovative approach to training teachers and meeting the needs of Gifted and Talented young people, initiated by NAGTY (National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth) and funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. PGCE Plus offered a 2-3 week summer course (at the Universities of Warwick and Canterbury Christ Church) to teachers just after they have completed the PGCE course. The PGCE Plus built and expanded on the PGCE by focusing on theoretical and practical aspects of teaching gifted and talented pupils. With PGCE Plus running in parallel to the NAGTY summer school, PGCE Plus participants had the opportunity to meet and work with gifted and talented young people. The pilot in 2004 focused on Mathematics, with Science added later.

CEDAR evaluated PGCE Plus over three years (2004-2006), by following three cohorts of PGCE Plus participants through attendance at the course and in their early teaching career. Data collection was through questionnaires and interviews (involving both PGCE Plus participants and PGCE Plus tutors and mentors) as well as document analysis (e.g. PGCE Plus course materials).

A report was presented to the Gatsby Foundation in 2007 and a paper is to appear in the British Journal of Inservice Education.

• Hartas, D., Lindsay, G., Arweck, E., & Cullen, S. (in press). The nature and outcomes of PGCE-Plus as a model for teacher professional development. Journal of Inservice Education.

PGCE Final Report