THE UNIVERSITY OF HULL Prospects and Politics of Professional Power in England: an exploration of the state of teaching as a profession following the birth of the General Teaching Council for England being a Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Hull by Gary Peter Wilkinson, BA (Hons) (Lane), PGCE(MMU) April, 2010 Abstract This thesis examines the status of teaching as a profession following the establishment of the General Teaching Council for England in 2000. After developing a theoretical framework for analysing the concept of profession, and addressing some of the confusion which often arises from the different discourses of professionalism, the work focuses on the key issues of knowledge and power. An extended literature review includes analyses of the Training and Development Agency for Schools, the National College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Services and the General Teaching Council for England. The empirical component of the study presents data from a series of interviews with a number of people in senior positions in key education organisations which were conducted over a period stretching from June 2004 to January 2006. The thesis' main argument is that, because of political imperatives expressed through the policy interventions of successive governments, the logic of professionalism is being marginalised for teachers in England. Instead of serving the ideals of their profession, teachers in England find themselves working in an increasingly commercialized public sector and squeezed between the bureaucratic aspects of managerialist and market policies. Contents Page Abstract i Contents 2 Acknowledgements 7 List of Abbreviations and Acronyms 8 Introduction 10 Chapter 1: Professionalism Overview 18 Semantics of Professionalism 19 From Status to Occupational Professions 28 Profession as an Occupational Archetype 32 Professions as Power Projects 37 Professions as Mediators of Formal Knowledge 44 Two Challenges to Professionalism 54 (a) Shifting perceptions of professional knowledge 54 (b) Managerialism and Commercialization 57 Conclusion and Outlook 62 Coda 65 Chapter 2 Teacher Professionalism and Knowledge Overview 66 Sociologists on Teaching as a Profession 67 2 Educationalists on Teacher Professionalism 70 (i) Professionalisms without Disciplinary Knowledge 71 (ii) Disciplinary Knowledge Professionalisms 76 Some Other Perspectives on Teachers' Disciplinary Knowledge 82 The Politicization of Professional Knowledge 87 a) Initial Teacher Training 87 b) National College for School Leadership 100 Conclusion and Outlook 107 Chapter 3: Professional Power, Politics and the General Teaching Council for England Overview 111 Some Themes in the History of Organised Teachers 112 Overview of the General Teaching Council for England 121 i) Registration 123 ii) Discipline 127 iii) Code of Conduct 131 Composition and Structure of the GTC 134 Perceptions of the GTC 137 Conclusion and Outlook 141 Chapter 4: Commercialization and Professional Power Overview 142 Restructuring and Privatisation 144 Managerialism, McDonaldization and Micromanagement 152 Workforce Remodelling and Professional Jurisdictions 158 Conclusion and Outlook 163 Chapter 5: Research Design Overview 165 Research Aims and Questions 166 A Qualitative Approach 169 Research Instruments 172 Constructing the Interview Schedule 176 Ethics and Protocols 180 Analysis and Presentation of Data 185 Choosing and Accessing a Sample of'Policy Playing' Participants 189 1) Policy Players from Government Agencies 190 2) General Teaching Councils 190 3) Trade Unions and Teacher Training Representatives 191 4) Politicians 192 Dramatis Personae: Policy Player Portraits 193 Carol Adams: General Teaching Council 194 John Beattie: General Teaching Council 194 David Bell: Office for Standards in Education 195 Mick Brookes: National Association of Head Teachers 195 Michael Day: Teacher Training Agency 196 Peter Gilroy: Universities Council for the Education of Teachers 197 Chris Keates: National Union of Schoolmasters/ Union of Women Teachers 197 Matthew Maclver: General Teaching Council of Scotland 198 Geoff Southworth: National College for School Leadership 199 Chapter 6: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: The Problem of Teachers' Professional Knowledge Overview 200 A Brief Overview of Perceptions of Teachers' Knowledge Base 201 Three Types of Teachers' Professional Knowledge 204 a) Subject Knowledge 204 b) Pedagogy 207 c) Ecological Knowledge 212 The Possibility of Disciplinary Knowledge 219 i) Codification 219 ii) Research 224 iii) Universities 229 Politics of Teachers'Professional Knowledge 234 Chapter 7: XA Crowded Educational Universe': Perspectives on the GTC and Professional Power Overview 240 Some Thoughts from Scotland 241 Perceptions of the Powers of the GTC in England 245 Perceptions of the GTC's Interpretation of its Role and Remit 253 Prospects and Aspirations 260 Conclusion 266 Chapter 8: Professional Autonomy and Power at the Workplace Overview 269 Perceptions of Bureaucratic Controls over Teachers' Work 272 Perceptions of Policing Mechanisms for Monitoring Teachers' Work 281 Professional Power and Workforce Remodelling 287 Discourses of Professionalism 293 i) The Competing Narratives of Professionalism and Markets 294 ii) Attributive Professionalism 300 Chapter 9: Some Concluding Themes Overview 305 Impressions and Illusions of Professionalism 310 The Failure of Disciplinary Knowledge and the Potential for Renewal 314 The General Teaching Council for England 318 Some Reflections for the Future 321 References 327 List of Appendices 368 Appendix 1 369 Appendix 2 370 Appendix 3 371 Acknowledgements Writing may be a solitary activity but I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to a great many people who have helped with this work in one way or another. This research would not have been possible had a number of very busy people not agreed to be interviewed about their work. I should therefore like to sincerely thank Carol Adams, John Beattie, David Bell, Mick Brookes, Michael Day, Peter Gilroy, Chris Keates, Matthew Maclver and Geoff Southworth who gave so generously of their time. A huge number of colleagues have provided encouragement and acted as a sounding-board as my arguments and thinking have taken shape throughout this project and I am grateful to all of them. Professor Mike Bottery, my supervisor, has offered intellectual, moral and practical support throughout and been a genuine source of inspiration. Mike is a talented teacher whose insightful advice and constructive criticism is always offered in a spirit of collegiality and generosity. A true professional if, indeed, it any longer makes sense to talk in such terms! Many friends have shown an interest in my work and been a great source of succour and I am grateful to all of them. I would particularly like to record my thanks to my friend David Mee whose grammatical fascism makes him a fine proof-reader. He has meticulously read and corrected all of my material and his assistance has undoubtedly improved this work. Finally, I would like to thank my family. My son, William, and my parents, Brenda and Peter, have offered unfailing and enthusiastic encouragement since I began this work. My wife, Alexandra, and my daughters, Ellen and Emmeline, have borne personal witness to the 'laborious low labour moans' of the birth of this thesis. Inevitably, at times, work of this duration and magnitude can take its toll on family life and occasionally lead to frustration and introspection. I hope that they know that their patience, unstinting support and love throughout have been very much appreciated. I owe them, big time. List of Abbreviations and Acronyms ATL Association of Teachers and Lecturers CPD Continuing Professional Development DCSF Department for Children, Schools and Families DfEE Department for Education and Employment DfES Department for Education and Skills GTC General Teaching Council for England GTCS General Teaching Council for Scotland GTTP Graduate Teacher Training Programme HLTA Higher Level Teaching Assistant ITT Initial Teacher Training LEA Local Education Authority NAHT National Association of Head Teachers NAS/UWT National Association of Schoolmasters/ Union of Women Teachers NCSL National College for School Leadership NUT National Union of Teachers OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OFSTED Office for Standards in Education PAT Professional Association of Teachers QCA Qualifications and Curriculum Authority QTS Qualified Teacher Status SHA Secondary Heads Association TES Times Educational Supplement TDA Training and Development Agency for Schools TTA Teacher Training Agency UCET Universities Council for the Education of Teachers UDE University Department of Education Introduction One late October morning in 2009 Professor David Nutt, a psychiatrist and internationally renowned neuropsychopharmacologist, received a letter from the Home Secretary, Alan Johnson. He was, he learned, to be dismissed from his post as the Chair of the government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, a body whose role is to advise the government on drugs policy, including the classification of illegal drugs based on the harm they cause. As an academic and scientist, Nutt had criticized the government's policy on drugs, in particular their position on the classification of cannabis, ecstasy and LSD. During his brief tenure as Chair, he had claimed, amongst other things, that the government were guilty of devaluing science, described the drug ecstasy