Reforming Teacher Education Policy under Labor Governments in Australia 1983—93

Abstract

The paper provides a broad examination of developments in Australian teacher education policies in the postwar period and of the political economy in which they were situated, with particular attention to the last decade when Labor governments have been in power. It argues that there has been a shift in Australia in the 1980s from a policy conception of the teacher as an ‘educated professional’ to that of ‘competent practitioner’, and a concomitant policy shift in teacher preparation from ‘professional education’ to ‘competent practice’. Underlying this shift has been an instrumental approach to education and teacher education in which both are seen as key elements of a broader program for microeconomic reform, the development of human capital for national investment, and the economic restructuring of the nation.