Governmental Professionalism: Re-Professionalising or De-Professionalising Teachers in England?

Abstract

This paper draws on recent work by John Clarke and Janet Newman and their colleagues to analyse a relatively coherent governmental project, spanning the decades of Conservative and New Labour government in England since 1979, that has sought to render teachers increasingly subservient to the state and agencies of the state. Under New Labour this has involved discourse and policies aimed at transforming teaching into a 'modernised profession'. It is suggested that this appropriation of both the concept and substance of professionalism involves an attempt to silence debate about competing conceptions of what it might be to be a professional or to act professionally. The overall process is thus arguably one of de-professionalisation in the guise of re-professionalisation.

Adult numeracy and the totally pedagogised society: PIAAC and other international surveys in the context of global educational policy on lifelong learning

“…This form of governing operates across the public/private divide, with new forms of management and through the production of "self-responsibilising" individuals (Rose, 1999). This involves governance by horizontal networks and partnerships of various kinds that operate simultaneously with hierarchical government forms (Beck, 2008;Rizvi & Lingard, 2010). …”

“…enforcing standards of provision, rather than directly providing key public services) (Rose, 1999)  marketisation of public services like education (Ball, 2008), and  audit (Power, 1999). In addition, central to the supranational agencies' efforts is the project of identity change, to shape the subjectivities of all types of "learners" (Rose, 1999;Beck, 1999Beck, , 2008Ball, 2005). This literature suggests that part of what is at stake in education reforms that are a dominant feature of contemporary societies worldwide is to create a compliant workforce that increasingly "governs itself" in desired ways, through acceptance of and involvement in newly created institutional frameworks.…”

European education policy initiatives and teacher education curriculum reforms in Greece

“…Beck and Young (2005;also see Beck 2008;) explore changes in teacher professionalism, analysing the processes of restructuring of their knowledge base and their identities in England. Their work contributes greatly to the development of a critical way to think about the teaching profession with reference to their position as agents in the PRF and as subjects in modern state governing (Bernstein 2001a;Beck 2008). Young and Beck (2005) applied the theoretical framework of Bernstein (2000, 52) to ''singulars'', ''regions'' and ''generic'' forms of curricula to describe the changes occurring in professional knowledge, and to explain the ''assault'' of the professions by state impositions.…”

Expatriate TESOL Teachers’ Perception of Professionalism: A Study in Saudi Context

“…They associate values of collaboration, teamwork, mentoring, partnership, and empowerment to teachers' professionalism. They feel that teachers need to change from semi-professional status to professional status through the process of professionalization (Beck, 2008) and advocate that the new-liberal reforms are actually a route to teachers' professionalization and modernization. They advocate that teachers need to be mentored, engaged in extensive collaboration with colleagues through teamwork, and with parents and society through a mechanism of educational partnership (A.…”

“…As teachers are the producers (using neo-liberal term) of education, thus the main thrust of the reforms was directed towards reformulating the way teachers worked (Evans, 2011). The aim of reformulation was to align the work of the teachers to the free-market culture of neo liberalism, by enhancing the quality of their product that is education in this case (Beck, 2008). The instrument of the reformulation was controlling the work of the teachers through managers and organizational standards of performance (Evetts, 2009b).…”