Perceptions of pupil poverty: what do trainee teachers really think?

This study gained an understanding of trainee teachers' perceptions of poverty and the effects on primary school children. Previous research is limited but has suggested that trainees may hold stereotypical deficit views about children in poverty, which can negatively impact the learning and progress of such children. The study took place over a three-year period at a university in the East Midlands region of England. Participants were volunteers from three Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes. Qualitative data were collected from three snapshot focus group meetings with participants from each programme (n = 6; n = 5 and n = 7). These were followed by three focus group meetings with another group of trainees (n = 5), which were convened across their one-year course. The findings showed that the trainees often viewed poverty in terms of income and lack of material possessions. They expressed negative opinions couched in derogatory language, equating poverty with a lack of aspirations, care and supervision on the parents' part. However, there were indications of some shifts in perceptions during training. The findings suggest that it is important for ITE courses to offer trainees opportunities to facilitate the disruption of stereotypical beliefs by engaging meaningfully with issues of social justice.