The new professionalism: The synthesis of professional and institutional development

Abstract This article explores some of the neglected and unintended consequences of recent legislation in England and Wales designed to reform both education in schools and teacher education. The two sets of reforms are rarely considered together, though they are linked. It is argued that there is emerging an associated shift in the values and practices of teachers, called the new professionalism. Nine forms of change are explored as its sources. It is suggested that at the heart of the philosophy of the new professionalism is a synthetic relation between professional and institutional development. The new professionalism is seen as a driving force towards what has been called the post-technocratic model of teacher education, one for which many teacher educators are currently not well prepared.