Problems of accountability in reinvented government: a case study of the Teacher Training Agency

This paper has as its focus the Teacher Training Agency (TTA), its structure and working practices. The Agency will be placed in context of the policy of ‘reinvented government’ which has been emerging in the UK over the last decade. Restructuring the organisational and administrative framework of public policy has given rise to issues concerning principles of accountability and representation. Such concerns are reflected in commentaries and evaluation of the TTA. In this sense, a central aim of the paper is to articulate the specifics of the TTA with the wider social policy literature which addresses the effects and democratic implications of public sector restructuring and the consequences for policy analysis.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Pat Mahony

Pat Mahony is Professor of Education at Roehampton Institute London. She has worked for many years in teacher education and is currently engaged in a number of research projects exploring the impact and significance of government policy. She has published widely in the areas of social justice and teacher education.

Ian Hextall

Ian Hextall, before taking early retirement and becoming Senior Research Associate at Roehampton, taught for many years in higher education, mostly at Goldsmiths College. His research and publications have been in the area of education policy, concentrating most recently on teacher education.