As policies for national education become increasingly contested, professional development of teachers needs to include critical understanding of the political context within which they work. That was the rationale for my recent book: Politics and the Primary Teacher (Routledge 2012). This seminar is based on research undertaken in the UK on the role of primary teachers, but will also identify distinct developments in secondary schooling. Consideration will be given to curriculum, pedagogy, teacher status and local and central governance and administration of schools in both the primary and secondary sectors, including quality assurance
