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Initial Teacher Education (ITE) plays a vital role in selecting and developing future teachers. Education systems benefit when ITE programs use diverse, context-specific methods to reliably, transparently, and equitably evaluate and nurture future teachers’ academic and professional attributes.

This research project employs a continuous view of assessing and confirming the key professional attributes for employment into NSW schools. The project is led by Dr. Tracy Durksen from the University of New South Wales, in partnership with the University of Oxford and the in the United Kingdom. The project is based on 10 years of research in the UK and Australia.

In our EnTeR project, entrants to ITE will complete the baseline assessment (“”) within the first month of their program, followed by “” professional learning modules throughout their first two years of study.

The project begins with a two-year study (2025-2026) aimed at examining the use of scenario-based methodologies with preservice teachers for the purposes of enhancing teacher readiness.

Research questions

• To what extent does the completion of T-Screen and T-Insight modules over time influence preservice teachers' social and emotional competencies for teaching?
• How do preservice teachers critically reflect on their readiness for teaching?
• What social and emotional knowledge, skills, and competencies for teaching are most important to education and community stakeholders?

uses a contextualised situational judgement test methodology–with real-life teaching scenarios developed with practising teachers–to provide a baseline for core professional attributes such as empathy, communication, and adaptability. T-Screen takes participants 30-40 minutes to complete and is hosted on TSP’s secure platform. It includes a mix of animated video and text scenarios and is phase-specific (primary and secondary versions are available). Participants can complete T-Screen anywhere and anytime, with ITE providers accessing data insights in real-time.

modules build the confidence and competence of future teachers using a scenario-based learning approach. In T-Insight, ITE students engage with context-relevant video and text teaching scenarios and receive expert feedback on their decision-making and judgement, all in a risk free and supportive online environment. Further data insights on their readiness and suitability for employment into NSW schools are available to participating ITE providers via TSP’s platform.

T-Screen and T-Insight have been trialled with over 100,000 participants in the UK and Australia, with published peer-reviewed research available on request.

Engagement with students and communities

ITE students will be invited to voluntarily participate in 1:1 interviews and engage in peer-to-peer discussions following T-Insight modules to build a strong community of reflective and supportive practitioners.

New scenario content developed during this project will focus on collaborating with local partners in NSW to reflect the schooling experiences of Aboriginal students and their communities, the interests of regional, rural, and remote schools, and teaching in early childhood education contexts.

This research is operating through a collaboration between �����Ʊ, University of Oxford, and the Teacher Success Platform and is being funded by Tracy Durksen’s �����Ʊ Scientia Research Fellowship.