challenging the ‘new professionalism’: from managerialism to pedagogy?

Abstract

In recent years there have been changes made to the conceptualisation of continuing professional development for teachers in both the Scottish and English systems of education. These changes have been instigated by successive UK governments (and more recently, by the Scottish Executive), together with the General teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) and the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE). This paper argues that these changes have not provided a clear rationale for CPD, but instead have introduced tensions between the concept of teacher education and that of training. The need for a less confused understanding of CPD and its purposes is underlined, as is the need for school based approaches to continuing teacher education. Arguably, teacher education must move from technicist emphases to a model which integrates the social processes of change within society and schools with the individual development and empowerment of teachers.

Education in a multicultural environment: equity issues in teaching and learning in the school system in England

“…Researchers (Alexander 2005(Alexander , 2008Dunphy 2008;Edwards 2001;Boyle and Charles 2007;Patrick, Forde, and McPhee 2003;Wyse, McCreery, and Torrance 2007) have chronicled the sterility of the pedagogy that has emanated in England from 14 years of central government imposed policies designed to improve test scores under a debased definition of the term 'Standards'. To respond to the question 'teaching in a multicultural environmentwhat are the implications for teacher training?…”

Science learning centres and governmental policy for continuing professional development (CPD) in England

“…In this environment control is thus exercised over teachers' work practices through managerialist techniques that privilege performativity at the expense of professional responsibility and autonomy (Ball, 2001). Patrick et al (2003), in their persuasive article that challenges the new professionalism, argue that the culture in schools needs to shift to replace the Governmental policy for continuing professional development 89 dominance of managerialism (i.e. low-trust) with teachers' own personal commitment to professional learning.…”

“…In this paper, we examine the professional development culture in schools and of science teachers in particular in the context of 'new professionalism' (Nixon et al, 1997;Patrick et al, 2003). Specifically, we are concerned with the interactions of 86 K. Bishop and P. Denleg various government policies addressing the continuing professional development (CPD) of teachers and the impact they have on the nature and the uptake of CPD.…”

David, Mr Bear and Bernstein: searching for an equitable pedagogy through guided group work

“…Through this process teachers were reduced in their autonomy and were being pushed towards performativity (Patrick et al 2003), becoming more compliant in utilising centrally developed 'one size fits all' materials which, in the main, focused on the production of test performances at the expense of learning and child-centred pedagogy (Patrick et al 2003;Alexander 2005Alexander , 2008Brehony 2005;Wyse et al 2007). The Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) oversaw the arrangements for raising standards and it did so with the focus on explicit, direct, whole-class teaching.…”