Brown, Charmaine ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6471-9706 (2012) Friend or foe! The professionalisation agenda: Teacher educators in The Lifelong Learning Sector (LLS). Compass: The Journal of Learning and Teaching at the University of Greenwich, 3 (4). pp. 1-6. ISSN 2044-0073 (Print), 2044-0081 (Online) (doi:10.21100/compass.v3i4.59)

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Abstract

As a teacher educator I am affected by the professionalisation agenda which governs the reforms in Initial Teacher Training (ITT) in the Lifelong Learning Sector (LLS). The increased number of tasks I am now required to perform has increased significantly from 1990, when I first started training teachers on a range of post-compulsory teaching and professional training programmes. I am now required to meet a set of professional competencies and specific pedagogical skills (generic and specialist) that comply with national standards for teachers and trainers in the sector. This includes recording evidence of Professional Formation as part of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) to gain Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status (Institute for Learning, 2007). Institutions that deliver ITT programmes are now instrumental in ensuring that all teacher educators are equipped to train teachers to the required standards governed by the policy initiatives.

This paper discusses the paradox that, despite the discussions about professionalisation, many lecturers and teacher trainers interviewed as part of my small scale research in 2009 have experienced a significant deterioration in working conditions. They see the increase in administration as negative not positive and feel that they are being de-skilled. Lack of job security is also a major concern, as 90% of the research sample work part-time or on short-term or fixed term contracts. All interviewees concluded that the changes to the sector since incorporation (1992) have ‘proletariarised’ rather than professionaliaed their work status as teachers strive to meet externally set targets.

The next section gives an overview of a selection of policies relevant to the professionalisation agenda. Equipping Our Teachers For the Future (2004); Prosperity for All in the Global Economy: World Class Skills (2006); The Independent Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance (2009); and The Wolf Review (2011) are used as references for issues raised throughout this paper.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	professionalisation agenda, lls, fe, education policies
Subjects:	L Education > LB Theory and practice of education
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > School of Education (EDU)
Related URLs:	http://journals.gre.ac.uk/index.php/comp...
Last Modified:	06 Oct 2021 15:54
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/33328

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