Teachers’ conceptions of teacher professionalism in England in 2003 and 2006

Theoretical and political perspectives on the nature of professionalism in teaching are abundant, but little is known about the views of teachers themselves. We asked primary and secondary school teachers in England what teacher professionalism means to them. We explored what teachers think about professionalism, on what dimensions their thinking varies, and how much it varies. We researched how successful the government had already been, and how successful it would be in the future, in changing teachers’ conceptions of professionalism. Two large‐scale national surveys were conducted, with a longitudinal element. We found that teachers’ thinking about their professionalism may be construed as consisting of an inner core of strong, shared beliefs and commitments; an intermediate set of coherent but contested components of professionalism; and an outer layer of disparate elements which are generally highly disputed and which remain unintegrated into broader ways of thinking.     

Connected Thinking

Tony Webster, former Director of Education in Tameside, describes the origins of the 'connected thinking project'. He goes on to list a number of key questions that were identified in relation to 'values education', 'thinking skills', 'emotional intelligence' and 'ICT'. The aims, form and contributions to a seminar which sought to identify areas for continuing work and further research are described. Several of those who contributed to the seminar have written papers for this special issue of the journal. Tony Webster concludes his paper by listing the research and other action deemed necessary to take the work forward.     

The Assessment of Special Educational Needs for Bilingual Children

Tony Cline, Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Luton and Chair of the Editorial Board of NASEN Journals, examines the challenges that face those involved in the assessment of the special educational needs of children for whom English is an additional language. He rejects some notions of the ideal that have stood in the way of achievable good practice and argues for a closer look at the learning environments in which children are placed.