Using the notion of travelling global policy, this paper discusses the ways in which teacher education in Scotland has responded to world-wide demands on school systems. It highlights the embedded practices which have resisted an unequivocal move to a market-based approach in initial teacher education and contrasts this with approaches to continuous professional development. It discusses the role of the General Teaching Council for Scotland as a possible bulwark against state control and as protector of standards. It concludes that, if the Council could become a more representative body, its already considerable influence as a policy player could be further enhanced.