International Teacher Education Conference 2014 1

International Teacher Education Conference 2014
to recommendation for QTS and thereby qualify student teachers to work in schools, they do not carry the
academic qualification. This has led to concerns about the future of the profession and quality of teacher supply.
Not surprisingly, perhaps many educationalists have argued that the current Government’s education policy
reduces teacher education to simply training and undermines the education element of teacher education
programmes. Concern has been expressed that if teacher education is moved wholly into schools there will not
be as much opportunity for student teachers to become reflective practitioners and critically engage with the
different theories and ideas that underpin professional practice. There will be also fewer opportunities to
develop essential critical skills to support current and future professional practice. This will be especially the
case for those following the QTS or Assessment Only routes, though arguably pertinent also to the School Direct
PGCE route.
Hayes (2011) suggests that the direction of the Coalition Government’s education policy is a worrying trend for
those who think more than training is required for tomorrow’s teachers, whilst Surman (2011) sees this direction
in education policy as the ‘de-professionalisation’ of teaching and teachers. Hayes (2011:19) argues that
government agencies have reduced teacher education to ‘nothing more than training to meet the narrow
standards they approved’. Student teachers might well meet the standards for QTS, as is the professional
requirement, but they may not have the opportunity to develop the strong foundations necessary for teaching
now and in the future. Hayes believes we need an educated as well as a trained workforce.
Northcott (2011) argues that there seems to be a tension between theory and practice inherent in the Coalition
Government education policy with them clearly supporting a focus on practice. Reid and O’Donoghue
(2004:562) argue that the ‘skilled artisan’ approach ‘tends to draw a sharp distinction between theory and
practice, privileging the latter and by implication denigrating the former’.
Hobby (2011) considers that focussing on practical experience alone is dangerous and risks creating ‘fragile
professionals’ without the wider experience needed to adapt to different teaching contexts. Lawes (2011:24)
argues we need teachers who are educational thinkers in order to avoid a ‘conformist and compliant workforce’.
This echoes Durkheim’s view that it is critical that student teachers acquire a ‘critical self-consciousness’ to
avoid being:
doomed to a mindless and mechanical repetition of the principles and procedures which governed his
own education and education itself is condemned to a stifling and degenerate conservatism. (Durkheim,
1977:19)
Further to this Durkheim extolled the importance of new teachers knowing and understanding the history of the
education system and how it has evolved to its current state, whilst also having the skills to challenge it in the
light of contemporary social need.
Marshall (2011:28) concluded that ‘all future teachers require an education in education’ and that ‘training is
simply not good enough’. He suggests that this will ensure they ‘understand what education is, and are fully
aware of its cultural significance and complexity’. It can’t guarantee them becoming good teachers as they alone
are responsible for their practice but it will support the establishment of strong foundations for future
development.
1051