‘On the brink’ or ‘designing the future’? Where next for Lifelong Learning Initial Teacher Education?

Abstract

This article highlights and analyses the challenges immediately facing Lifelong Learning Initial Teacher Education (LL ITE) in the UK which have arisen as a result of the policies and actions of the UK Government. The context of the LL sector for teachers and teacher education is explored, and how this has led to a restrictive culture of teacher professionalism. Using research carried out by the author, the article profiles LL Teacher Educators, their working context and values, and their attempts to model a more expansive professionalism. Evidence of the recent achievements of LL ITE is analysed and the dangers to these achievements presented by recent government changes and proposals are highlighted. The article concludes that LL ITE is 'on the brink' in terms of survival, and proposes how LL Teacher Education can move forward into a more optimistic future.

Stakeholder Perceptions Regarding Level 3 `Digital Skills' Teaching: A Qualitative Case Study of Colleges in South West England.

“…The FE sector has been subject to continuous change over the last three decades (Norris and Adam, 2017), has historically had a lack of investment (Department for Education, 2021d), and has been described as overcomplicated, challenging, frustrating and full of inconsistencies (Crawley, 2012). However, colleges offer a wide variety of qualifications and are pivotal to addressing the DS gap (House of Lords, 2015), with both the government and key reviews stating that FE should be at the forefront of providing learners with the tools and opportunities required to progress into skilled employment (Augar et al, 2019;HM Treasury, 2020).…”

“…Therefore, DS CPD should cover all of these things (see Figure 4.1). This is echoed by Crawley (2012), and later by Moller and Crick (2018) (Passey, 2017). On the contrary, classifying the effectiveness of CPD depends on its intended purpose to begin with and this could be as preparation to implement reforms, or contributing to or changing educational policy (Kennedy, 2005).…”