8.1 Introduction

In this study it was important for us to observe how college tutors delivered their lessons in the hope of understanding the intent and focus of instructional practices. Observing some tutors teaching, and interviewing them afterwards, provided rich insights into how the curriculum was being delivered and the meanings attached to particular practices. The intention was not to generalise about instructional practices in use in the colleges but to develop deep insight into the kinds of learning experience student teachers might encounter in their training. Nevertheless, they feel the portraits of instructional practices provide a fair picture of many tutor practices, given the constraints of classroom space and examination demands, which we discuss in more detail later.