Author(s)

Bruce Burnett, Jo Lampert

.

This paper outlines the Exceptional Teachers for Disadvantaged Schools (ETDS) project which began in June 2010 with the aim of developing and documenting an Australian university-based teacher education program specifically focusing on the preparation of high quality teachers for the disadvantaged school sector. ETDS constitutes a novel model of teacher education targeting disadvantaged schooling in that the selection of participating pre-service teachers has been based on their proven academic performance over the first 2 years of their 4-year Bachelor of Education degree. ETDS has established a modified curriculum that better supports the on-campus training of this cohort while also targeting the role of field experience within partner disadvantaged school settings. This paper offers a rationale for the model, unpacks its various phases and provides a justification of the model’s selection criteria based on high academic achievement.

Teacher Education, Teacher Quality, Disadvantaged Schools

Burnett, B. & Lampert, J. (2011). Teacher Education and the Targeting of Disadvantage. Creative Education, 2, 446-451. doi: 10.4236/ce.2011.25064.