Are there economies of scale in ITE?

​In this short paper I outline some perspectives in answering the above question. It is not intended to present an argument either for or against large scale ITT provision, but to summarise some of the perspectives generated from research in this area.
Supply and demand. The mechanics of population distribution and density are reflected in the distribution of large-scale ITT providers, which tend to locate in area of high population density (such as urban areas). This is due to a number of factors:

• High demand in urban areas for teachers. Worth, De Lazzari, and Hillary (2017) illustrate how large urban areas such as London have different recruitment and retention patterns to other areas; high turnover leads to higher demand for teachers
• Wider reach – ITT providers in urban areas have closer geographical proximity to a larger number of schools with which they can generate effective partnerships, and therefore have a greater capacity to expand their provision. This means that HEI providers can offer complementary placement school experiences, rather than socialise students into one specific type of environment or approach.
• Recruitment of trainees – urban areas also provide more opportunity to recruit and attract applicants and trainees who wish to become teachers.

University-based providers tend to be larger than school-based providers and attract better qualified trainees. Despite their fixed regional location, DfE census data shows that the highest volume ITT providers are universities. 
According to the ITT Census data 2020/21[1]:

• the largest 48 ITT providers are all HEIs with trainee numbers varying from 1544 students to 276.
• The largest SCITT provider is TES Institute with 271 trainees.
• Of the 69 HEI providers, the average (mean) number of trainees is 450 (total 31,027)
• Of the 164 SCITT providers, the average (mean) number of trainees is 62 (total 10,152)

Regarding postgraduate provision:

• the 38 largest providers are HEIs varying from 1544 to 273 trainees.
• the largest PG SCITT provider is TES Institute with 276 PG trainees.

• 69 HEI’s provide PG provision, with an average (mean) of 363 PG trainees and a total of 25,081
• 164 SCITT providers have PG provision with an average of 62 students (total of 10,093 trainees).

Regarding undergraduate provision:

• the 43 largest providers are HEIs varying from 512 to 41 trainees.
• the largest UG SCITT provider is Bradford College with 32 trainees.

• 43 HEI’s provide UG provision, with an average (mean) of 43 UG trainees and a total of 5,946
• 4 SCITT providers have UG provision with an average of 15 students (total of 59 trainees).

HEIs are also more likely to attract trainees with a first class degree: total 5,602 – average of 81, across 69 providers (in comparison SCITTs: total of 2335 and on average of 14 across 164 providers).
HEIs are also more likely to attract trainees with an Upper Second degree: total 13,253 – average of 192, across 69 providers (in comparison SCITTs: total of 5,025 and on average of 31 across 164 providers).
However, the geographical distribution of providers shows that focussing on the scale of provision does centralise around urban areas. The four largest providers University College London, Sheffield Hallam University, Birmingham City University, The Manchester Metropolitan University, Edge Hill University (near Liverpool) are all based in major urban conurbations. Large urban areas also have more choice with more than one provider.
Research into the costs and benefits of ITE (Allen et al 2014) was unable to draw any conclusions about the long-term costs and benefits of different routes, such as varying retention rates, due to a lack of the necessary data. They were also unable to consider lower economies of scale in advertising, recruitment and training or the possible shortfall in supply of newly qualified teachers that may result from less centralised (typically university-based) training.
Preferences and assumptions of applicants. Across ITT, there is an assumption about quality and scale. For example, across Australia, the highest quality programmes are assumed to be those described as boutique (Fraser & Lefty, 2018). This is based on assumption that high quality ITT requires high levels of personalisation which is best achieved on small programmes, with a smaller range of dedicated partners and one-to-one supervision.  Applicants are often concerned that larger programmes will be “anonymous”, with poor levels of tutor interaction and without high quality personalised mentoring and support.
Labaree (2006), in his review of teacher education programmes across the US, highlights a paradoxical relationship between perceptions of prestige and professionalism and scale: that small scale elite programmes are viewed as more prestigious which makes teaching more attractive to better qualified graduates; large scale programmes could be seen as being easier to get into and so could be less likely to attract high achieving academic applicants.
Increased size = increased complexity.  West (2017) highlights the “power laws” connected with scale: that scaling up is not a linear process, and that large scale includes super-linear advantages (eg, large cities have more services than a linear scale would suggest) there are also sub-linear disadvantages (but there is also increased crime rate, but the increase in crime is lower than the increase in services).
Darling-Hammond and colleagues (2006, 2017; 2013) have highlighted that high-quality programmes require a shared vision and consistent implementation of that vision across all aspects of the programme and across all partners. Increased student numbers make this more challenging with the corresponding increases in the number of mentors, schools, and tutors.
Opportunities of large-scale provision Research into the practices of large-scale university-based provision internationally (Brooks, 2021) has highlighted that scale can provide certain opportunities:

• The opportunity for specialisation (in particular to recruit staff with specific expertise)
• Batching processes (some processes are able to be batched with specialist support: common examples would be procurement, admissions and enrolment, examination administration). These are largely administrative, but larger scale programmes can also afford to “buy in” well known speakers for larger groups of trainees.

In addition, to address the increase in scale, providers:

• Reviewed their grouping arrangements to ensure students felt part of smaller tutor/pastoral group and had adequate personalised supervision and mentoring
• Increased levels of bureaucracy pertaining to accountability and quality assurance to offset against the complexity of multiple stakeholders and partners.

University based providers also offer a range of social, health and learning facilities, such as access to wide range of library facilities and journal subscriptions, health, student welfare and support facilities including specialist disability support, and alumni opportunities for post-qualification social support.
 
References
Brooks, C. (2021). Initial Teacher Education at Scale: Quality Conundrums. London: Routledge.
Darling-Hammond, L. (2006). Powerful Teacher Education.: Lessons from Exemplary Programs. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.
Darling-Hammond, L. (2017). Teacher education around the world: What can we learn from international practice? European Journal of Teacher Education, 40(3), 291-309. doi:10.1080/02619768.2017.1315399
Darling-Hammond, L., & Lieberman, A. (2013). Teacher education around the world: Changing policies and practices. Abingdon: Routledge.
Fraser, J. W., & Lefty, L. (2018). Teaching teachers: Changing paths and enduring debates: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Labaree, D. F. (2006). The trouble with ed schools. New Haven: Yale University Press.
West, G. (2017). Scale. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
Worth, J., De Lazzari, G., & Hillary, J. (2017). Teacher Retention and Turnover Research: Interim Report. Slough: NFER.
 


[1] https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/initial-teacher-training-census/2020-21#releaseHeadlines-tables