ABSTRACT
While diversifying Ireland’s relatively homogeneous teaching population has been a policy concern for over a decade, we know little about the experiences and motivations of those from under-represented groups in initial teacher education (ITE). The dearth of research in this area is particularly acute in relation to social class, even in the international context. In this chapter, we draw on data collected as part of the Programme for Access to Higher Education (PATH), Strand 1 (Equity of Access to ITE) Access to Post-primary Teaching (APT) Project, the research aspect of which examines the perspectives and experiences of ‘working class’ student teachers. Based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with 21 ‘working class’ student teachers, we examine their constructions of teaching as a ‘powerful role’, and the disillusionment they felt upon encountering deficit-based ‘teacher–teacher talk’ about ‘certain’ students during school placement. The findings are interrogated in the context of previous research, and we end with recommendations for policy, practice and future research.
