How research informs the ITTECT and NPQ curricula

This chapter introduces the core statutory framework that provides the foundational evidence base for ITE and ECT Training programmes in England, the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF) (DfE, 2024). It considers the research and evidence base that informs the content of the ITT and ECT curricula. It explores what high-quality ITT and ECT curricula, that encourage wider research informed approaches to teaching and learning, look like.



The statements within the ITTECF (DfE, 2024) setting out the foundational concepts of how trainees learn, and the pedagogical delivery are explored. The chapter then takes a more in-depth review of additional research, through the work of Clarke and Hollingsworth (2002). Analysis and exemplification materials demonstrate how using wider research in this field, beyond the ITTECF (DfE, 2024), can promote deeper learning. Finally, the chapter introduces a discussion on the benefits of developing research-led teaching and learning through communities of practice (CoPs) (Lave and Wenger, 1991). An example case study illuminates how impactful and effective continual professional development can be for practicing teachers, when delivered by research-informed academic experts.