Collaboration in a Context of Accountability: Cultural Change in Teacher Educator Practice Across University Boundaries

In this chapter, we consider the impact of implementing the Graduate Teacher Performance Assessment (GTPA) on the work of teacher educators. The GTPA was developed as a reliable assessment of preservice teachers’ readiness to teach in response to a regulatory quality agenda in initial teacher education (ITE) in Australia. A unique characteristic of the GTPA instrument is the collective process of standard setting and moderation across a large number of institutions and across jurisdictions. Our study investigated the experiences of four teacher educators (the authors), involved in the development and implementation of the GTPA at two universities in Victoria, Australia. A collaborative autoethnographic methodology was used to explore the impacts of the GTPA on our professional learning and on the development of our ITE programs. Edwards’ concepts of relational agency and relational expertise provided a framework for data interpretation. Our key finding is that involvement with the GTPA has resulted in a stronger collaborative professional environment and an openness to sharing expertise among teacher educators and program leaders within collective members. As teacher educators, we have enhanced our professional growth and demonstrated how collaborative work enables more robust practices in initial teacher education.