In this blog post for Learning and Unlearning: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in the School of Education, Dr Sarah Anderson considers the complexity of the education policy sphere and the government's role in resolving external challenges for teachers and teacher educators, guiding systems change, and leveraging capital towards teaching as a profession. https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/309667/.

Anderson, S. K. (2023) Navigating the Reform Agenda: A Few Considerations for Government’s Role. [Website]

Education: a crucial public provision which receives a great deal of attention and regular debate, even in a comprehensive and well-designed system. Regular topics of contention continue to emerge regarding the preparation of teachers and their readiness to meet the responsibilities they encounter in classroom (Torres, 2023). Enquiries are brought forward regarding content of the national curriculum as well as the teacher education curriculum, scope of preparation programmes, entry requirements to university-based teacher education programmes, level of student completion, quality standards, evaluation methods, alignment with school practices, meeting the needs of all learners, and a seeming lack of clear consensus about precisely what the teaching profession entails. This article considers suitable roles for government through education reform: resolving external challenges for teachers and teacher educators, guiding systems change, and leveraging capital towards teaching as a profession.


First published: 15 February 2024