Teacher Education in Canada and Scotland: a response

TLDR: In this article, the authors argue that a proper understanding of the role of institutions involved in teacher education requires a fuller examination of the political context in which they operate than is attempted in the three preceding papers.

Abstract: This article argues that a proper understanding of the role of institutions involved in teacher education requires a fuller examination of the political context in which they operate than is attempted in the three preceding papers. It is suggested that teacher educators are often politically naive about the way they are controlled by government agencies. A detailed analysis of the General Teaching Council for Scotland is offered to support the view that educational ‘policy communities’ are established and manipulated as a way of managing consent. The establishment of so‐called ‘independent’ professional bodies is seen as an exercise in political control, bureaucratic expansionism and professional protectionism.