This paper presents a critical overview of the way in which higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UK have had their research activity subject to review. There have been six such reviews to date, the first two carried out by the Universities Grants Committee and, from 1992, by its replacement, the four UK higher education (HE) funding bodies…

This article investigates the learning opportunities in school subject departments for student teachers when participating in a postgraduate certificate of education (PGCE) course in England. The paper draws upon data gathered from a year-long ethnographic study to explain why learning opportunities were different for student teachers in separate…

This article examines the relationship between confidence and risk in relation to the initial education and continuing professional development (CPD) of teachers. The context for this examination is the Lifelong Learning Sector (LLS) in England, which sits between secondary schools and universities, and the discussion is illustrated with data…

The paper considers data in one Higher Education Institution (HEI) from written reports and from interviews with trainee teachers and their teachers charged with the assessment of one training standard for secondary Initial Teacher Training in England: "Professional Values and Practice." It explores the extent to which four elements of…

This paper examines the value that secondary trainees on England's Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP) and those on a secondary Postgraduate Certificate in Education Programme attached to the university-based and school experience elements of their respective programmes. Indications emerging from the data suggest that all trainees value the school…

Summer 2009 saw the introduction in England of the Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL). Funded in full by the Training and Development Agency for Schools, the MTL aims to improve the quality of teaching and to raise standards in schools. In this paper we discuss what the MTL might mean both for in-service teacher education and initial teacher…