Teaching on insecure foundations? Pre-service teachers in England’s perceptions of the wider curriculum subjects in primary schools

Subject marginalisation is an on-going concern across the primary education sector, particularly for the arts and humanities. This poses issues for pre-service teacher partnerships and for higher education institutions (HEIs) evaluating the role of subjects within their teacher training courses as they reform their curricula to prepare students to teach across diverse educational contexts. Through the interpretation of student voice, we disseminate a case study with primary initial teacher education (ITE) students that investigates learner perceptions of their training in under-represented foundation subjects. Emerging themes include tensions between university and school-based practices, and between curriculum models, together with the need to develop student adaptability and self-direction. The authors propose that if ITE students explore and take on the dispositions of changemakers, they will become equipped with the self-efficacy and adaptability needed to develop secure bases for teaching foundation subjects as they begin their careers.