A Role for Research in Initial Teacher Education Admissions - A Case Study from One Canadian University

Oct 15, 2026

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A research-focused argument examines how broad, ongoing studies can strengthen initial or pre-service teacher education (ITE) admissions. Using examples from a large Canadian university program, the work shows how anonymous surveys and confidential interviews with current pre-service teachers inform evaluation and refinement of admission practices. It also considers research on application raters’ perspectives and agreement, and explores how operational admission needs shape the research agenda while findings in turn reshape admissions processes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages23

Reading Time58 min

AccessFree to download

Admission Decisions

Academic criteria and other requirements

Research Contributions to Admissions

Usefulness of admission criteria and equity barriers

Context for Teacher Education

Ontario and program certification

A ROLE FOR RESEARCH IN INITIAL TEACHER EDUCATION ADMISSIONS: A CASE STUDY FROM ONE CANADIAN UNIVERSITY Dianne Thomson, Everton Cummings, Amanda K. Ferguson, Erica Miyuki Moizumi, Yael Sher, Xiaoyan Wang, Kathryn Broad, and Ruth A. Childs, OISE, University of Toronto This article argues for the importance of broad and on-going research to support initial or pre-service teacher education program admissions. Examples from a large initial teacher education program at one Canadian university illustrate the contributions of research to the evaluation and refinement of admission processes. These examples include anonymous surveys and confidential interviews of current pre-service teachers about their experiences of answering application questions about their social identity, how they decided to apply to and attend the program, and their expectations of teacher education and teaching. Research studies about the perspectives of and agreement among the application raters are also discussed. Finally, how the operational needs ofthe admission processes shape the research agenda and the emerging research findings in turn shape the admission processes is explored. We can think of the path to teaching as a series of decisions by aspiring teachers and the institutions that prepare them for teaching. The decision regarding which applicants to admit into an initial or pre-service teacher education program is critically important because it determines who has the possibility of becoming a teacher. However, this is only one of the decisions in the admission process. Applicants themselves must decide whether to apply to an initial teacher education (ITE) program. If accepted, they must decide whether to attend, and if they complete the program, whether to teach. These decisions are influenced by factors such as the employment opportunities for teachers, the needs of the schools that will employ the teachers, the curricula and instructional staff of the ITE programs, the priorities of the bodies overseeing teacher education, and the goals of ITE programs. In this article, we argue that an ITE program’s decisions about which applicants to admit should be informed by an understanding of the entire path to teaching and of the broader educational context. The admissions process must be responsive to the needs of the applicants, of the ITE program, of the teaching profession, and of the schools. It must also be based on critical examination not only of the decisions constituting the admissions process, but also of the assumptions underpinning those decisions (Brookfield, 1995; Childs, Broad, Gallagher-Mackay, Sher, Escayg, & McGrath, 2010) . Such explicit coherence, according to Cochran-Smith (2004), Darling-Hammond & Bransford (2005) and Feiman-Nemser (2003), is essential ifa program is to be relevant to wider societal needs. Research has an important role to play in helping programs critically examine admissions decisions and assumptions. For example, research can help ITE programs assess the usefulness of admission criteria (Caskey, Peterson & Temple, 2001), and help identify systemic barriers to equitable access to the teaching profession (Ryan, Pollock, & Antonelli, 2009) . Our intention isnot to propose a specific agenda of research to support ITE program admissions. Instead, we will illustrate the possible contributions of research using examples from a one-year consecutive (post-Bachelor’s degree) ITE program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto. We begin by describing how admission decisions are made at other ITE programs and the context of teacher education in Ontario. Admission Decisions In a recent review of teacher education programs across Canada, Crocker and Dibbon (2008) found that 11 of 40 ITE programs based their admission decisions on academic criteria alone (admission criteria for an additional 16 programs were not available) . Of the 29 programs that reported using o

FAQs

Why is ongoing research important for initial or pre-service teacher education admissions?

The article argues that admissions decisions should be supported by broad, ongoing research to evaluate and refine processes and assumptions, improving coherence with societal and educational needs.

What research methods are used to inform admission process evaluation in the case study?

Examples include anonymous surveys and confidential interviews of current pre-service teachers about experiences answering application questions, decisions to apply and attend, and expectations for teacher education and teaching.

How does operational demand in admissions influence the research agenda and outcomes?

The article explores the two-way relationship where admission operational needs shape what research is pursued, and emerging research findings then shape subsequent admission processes.

Oct 15, 2026

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