Are Middle Years Teacher Education Courses Justifiable?

Abstract

The recent growth of separate middle schools for young adolescents raises the question – do we now need separate teacher education programs in middle schooling? Or, can the staffing requirements of middle schools be met adequately by existing primary and secondary teacher education programs? This paper provides a contribution to answering these questions by discussing the rationale underlying a new graduate diploma in the middle years of schooling offered at Edith Cowan University. In doing so, the paper draws attention to the contested nature of innovations in teacher education and some uncertainty about what the future holds for them.