The Master’s in Teaching and Learning: expanding utilitarianism in the continuing professional development of teachers in England

Abstract

The article focuses on the policy rhetoric of the Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL). This is a new degree being launched in the summer of 2010 aimed, initially, at teachers who have just joined the profession. The degree presages the aspiration for a Master's level teaching profession in England. Professional development as conceived in the MTL is continuous rather than continuing and permeating the vision is the language of 'personalisation'. Teachers will be accompanied on the journey by an 'in-school coach'. These notions suggest a highly tailored approach to continuing professional development (CPD), with careful attention to the identification of teachers' needs and close support from a colleague. The article argues that, contrary to this impression, the MTL marks a new and significant step in expanding the utilitarianism of the English education system. The MTL represents a deepening hold on education by the state and a growing scepticism about the value of higher education in the CPD of teachers. It also aspires to a changing culture in schools as the workplace becomes the locus for the CPD of teachers. As other authors have described, the national character of education systems in Europe and in the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and Asia reflect an increasing instrumentality. The MTL, then, can be seen as part of a global phenomenon; in this case the policy lever of CPD is employed to support performative and audit policy agendas via a rigid accountability system. The MTL also represents a particular form of neo-liberal governmentality where increasing centralisation is 'masked' by a 'simulacra of care'.

“It’s about Improving My Practice”: The Learner Experience of Real-Time Coaching

“…Critics of the neoliberal policies currently holding sway in education have counselled against the move towards content-based curricula focused on improving instructional practice, at times singling out programs such as Teach for America for particular criticism (Frankham & Hiett, 2011;Zeichner, 2010). We argue that the way forward is not an either/or proposition -methods to improve instructional practice can coexist alongside and within theoretical approaches (Hiebert & Morris, 2012).…”

Coaching of staff in schools: what can we learn from the new role of the Masters in Teaching and Learning in-school coach for schools and the higher education tutors working alongside them?

“…It has recently been argued that this level of prescription has led to a utilitarian approach to M-level study (Frankham and Hiett 2011). Others (e.g.…”

“…The MTL has been seen as providing the possibility for positive development in the professional development of teachers (UCET 2008) through the promotion of pedagogic partnership (Totterdell et al 2011). It has also been seen as a threat to other postgraduate professional development (PPD) funding (Seaborne 2010) and as an expansion of utilitarianism in teacher education (Frankham and Hiett 2011).…”

Economic ‘revelations’ and the metaphors of the meltdown: an educational deconstruction

“…A ‘bring‐back’ culture of reform often results—bring‐back times tables, spelling tests, O levels, ward sisters, bobbies on the beat, etc. The McKinsey report (Barber & Mourshed, ) well illustrates these kinds of reductive accounts of education, as Frankham and Hiett have recently argued (). This account attempts just such a deconstruction looking at contemporary economic discourses and the ways in which they address economic crisis, while inevitably being ‘economical with the truth’.…”