CONTRACTION AND MERGERS OF UNITED KINGDOM COLLEGES OF EDUCATION: SOME LOGISTIC COMMENTS

Contraction in Colleges of Education in Britain has been complicated by their role in catering for university overflow candidates. Evolution in the structures of higher education affected the chances of survival of non‐university institutions differentially. The Department of Education and Science exercised both direct and indirect powers to manage the situation in the teacher education sector; the colleges were put in the position of having to make changes in their internal structures and course patterns in a situation of considerable uncertainty, sharpened competition and reduced resources. Unit‐structured diversified courses, often certificated by non‐university bodies do not easily square with the traditional pattern of concurrent training.