Initial teacher education in the panopticon

Abstract

The schools’ inspection regime in England has shifted in recent decades from a focus on external assessment of practice to a scrutiny of external data and schools’ self‐evaluation, culminating in a normative system based on self‐surveillance by school senior managers. This model of inspection (characteristic of the performative approach to public sector accountability) is now being extended to providers of initial teacher education, with providers using a standardised self‐evaluation template. A qualitative analysis of this template demonstrates its attempt to normalise and manage the development of initial teacher education programmes in order that they reflect political priorities rather than being based primarily on the professional knowledge and judgements. Further, the potential for a conflict of interests between the government agencies responsible for delivery and inspection is considered.

Keywords:

• teacher education
• inspection
• accountability
• performativity

Notes

1. The preferred official identification of initial teacher education is ‘Initial Teacher Training’ (ITT). Within this paper ITT is used when official documents are quoted. We use ‘Initial Teacher Education’ (ITE) in all other cases as we are dedicated to the principle of a wider concept of education as opposed to a narrower ‘instrumental’ ideal suggestive of ITT.