A New Professionalism? Becoming a Chartered Teacher - part I

Abstract

A national framework of continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers in Scotland has emerged since the McCrone Inquiry. The CPD Framework is intended to help teachers to identify and access relevant, high–quality development opportunities that enable them to realise their full potential. There is now a professional standard for each of the key stages of teacher development. The most recent is the Standard for Chartered Teacher (SCT). Access to the programme is open to all teachers at the top of the main salary grade who have maintained a CPD portfolio. The Chartered Teacher Programme, both academically validated, by universities, and professionally accredited, by the General Teaching Council for Scotland, has been available since August 2003. This article reviews the development of the SCT, locating it within the framework for CPD and focusing particularly on the key underpinning principles and examines how one Chartered Teacher Programme consortium progressed its proposals so that the Programme was available to commence. The reactions of the initial group of participants in the first year of the Programme are reviewed.