The purpose of the symposium will be to analyse major transformations 
occurring throughout the nation states of the EU and beyond in the 
structure, organisation, characteristics and control of teacher 
education and professional development. One of the purposes of the 
coorganizing  sub-networks is to provide a context in which researchers, 
practitioners and academics from diverse  European states can reflect 
upon such changes and sharpen our collective capacity to comprehend 
and, if necessary, influence developments. It is with this in mind 
that this symposium has been organised to explore some general issues 
raised by such transformations. 

Why should so much change be occurring now? What are the influences 
which may be generating such activity in so many diverse contexts? 

Is it possible to discern any general trends behind the variability of 
nation-state policies? Are there common strands underlying the 
different discourses and rhetorics, or is specificity all-important? 

In some countries 'professional status' has been a painfully achieved 
and jealously guarded designation for teachers. This is, however, by 
no means true for all member states of the EU. There are some for whom 
a movement towards 'professionalisation' is viewed as a regressive 
step. Can the policy and structural changes be viewed as processes of 
professionalisation, de-professionalisation, or re- professionalisation? 
What would be the criteria which would enable 
comparisons to be drawn across these changes in terms of their 
implications for teachers' work and status? 

What contribution have teachers and their representative organisations 
made to these policy transformations? Which were the other key 
constituents in the policy process? What does this reveal about 
patterns of educational governance and accountability? 

Nationally and internationally, comparable issues are being 
encountered more widely than in the field of education. Is it relevant 
and helpful to draw comparisons with workers in other public sector 
occupational groups? 

How valuable is it to think in terms of a European, or even global, 
paradigm emerging for teacher education and professional development? 
How would this intersect with questions of centralisation 
/decentralisation, federalism, harmonization and subsidiarity? 
 

Symposium Organisation 
Chair: Martin Lawn, Westhill College, Birmingham, UK 
Key Paper:  
        Pat Mahony and Ian Hextall, Roehampton Institute, London, UK: 
        "Transforming Professionalism: The Teacher Training Agency and  
        National Professional Qualifications in the UK" 

The paper can be viewed in your browser by clicking on the desired language (below): 
- In English 
- In French 
- In German 

The paper can be downloaded (PDF-format - you will need  ) by clicking on the desired language below: 
- In English 
- In French 
- In German

The paper will be presented on the subnetwork A symposium on Thursday 25 september, 15:00-18:00 

        The Teacher Training Agency (TTA) came into existence in England in 
September 1994. It represents a significant realignment of patterns of 
power and control in the governance of teacher education and professional 
development. It is now difficult to think of any stage of teaching or area 
of teacher education which falls outside parameters established by the TTA. 

        The establishment of the TTA also coincided with a general public 
policy trend for the government to establish agencies and non-departmental 
public bodies, popularly known as QUANGO's, to implement and administer 
whole areas of government policy, but outside the direct control of the 
central departments. 

        For the purposes of this symposium we are concentrating on the system 
of National Professional Qualifications which the Agency is introducing for 
the following career stages: newly qualified teachers; expert teachers; 
subject leaders; headteachers. We shall argue that these constitute a 
powerful intervention in the restructuring and recomposition of the work of 
teachers and of the teaching profession itself. 

Responses: 
Theo Sander, University of Osnabrück, Germany 
David Hartley,  University of Dundee, Scotland 
Jose Manuel Vez & Lourdes Montero, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain 
Jana Svecoca, Charles University,Prague,Czech Republic 
Maria Nagy, National Institute of Educational Research, Budapest, Hungary