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Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Abstract

Soothed by what now seem the easy banalities of the spate of DES and HMI documents in the wake of the Great Debate, the curriculum of secondary schools in the United Kingdom seemed to be settling down. In 1982-1983 it was abruptly destabilised by unprecedented interventionist policies of the central authorities, the backwash from the activities of the Manpower Services' New Training Initiative, discontent with the traditional offering provoked by massive unemployment amongst leavers and the reemergence of pressure for vocationalism. Teacher education, both preservice and in-service had by then largely moved on from the traumas of boom and bust in the seventies, and had shaken down as a much smaller system, out of the limelight, its structures simplified and most of the weaker enterprises out of the market. It had begun to consolidate in reduced circumstances, with great incentives to think through its perennial problems (they are many!). We have learned once again that the best chance of serious staff development comes when big changes are imposed from outside, when the organisation, be it school, college or university faculty, has to take on new tasks and sharply revised priorities or else get out of the business. Following the elections of June 1983, there are clear indications that more institutions will be forced out of business, quite possibly including some universities.

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Link to publisher version (DOI)

10.14221/ajte.1983v8n2.3