Challenging the 'New Professionalism': from managerialism to pedagogy?

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

The Use of a narrative approach to illuminate an individual learning need: implications for teachers’ professional development

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the current focus of teachers' continuing professional development in the area of special educational needs is competency-based. This focus reflects the government's policy view of special educational provision in schools, which is closely compatible with a ‘technical rational’ (technicist) approach to management (Habermas, 1974). Technicist approaches assume that what needs to be managed, the purposes to be achieved and the management process are clear, fixed and unproblematic. Personal experiences of those closely concerned with the special needs area in schools, especially of those involved with designing or receiving special provision, suggest a contrary view. The real world in schools is fraught with uncertainty, complexity and conflicting viewpoints. This article will illustrate how a technicist approach is inadequate to address management practices in special educational provision. It will go on to discuss ways in which practice in this area can most effectively be conceptualised from the perspective of a reflective practitioner (Schön, 1983, 1987