Teacher training its reorganisation

The dissolution of the colleges of education now appears inevitable. The James Report on the education and training of teachers, discussed in this journal in May 1972, revealed that the present academic schemes for teacher training were not adequate for the needs of the seventies. It recommended drastic changes in the form and content of the curricula for training. The White Paper EDUCATION: A FRAMEWORK FOR EXPANSION (1973) forecast the reduction of the demand for training places by 1981 at around 40–50 000. It presaged the need for major organisational changes. These twin reports are the scenario for a reorganisation which cannot be long delayed. It will have a lasting impact on the quality and quantity of teacher training in the future and on the institutional arrangements of higher education.