Fragmentation or focus? The precarious nature of initial teacher training within the english further education sector

ABSTRACT There has been an increased emphasis on how teacher quality impacts the effectiveness of student learning, and this has placed a greater focus on the effectiveness of teacher preparation programmes. Meanwhile, there has been a general neglect of the English further education (FE) sector both politically, and in academic research. Therefore, this paper considers the current position of initial teacher training (ITT) for the further education sector, amidst recent educational policy developments to improve the consistency and quality of the provision of teacher education. This paper first considers the political changes that have impacted this setting since New Labour came into power in 1997 and draws on reports of how teacher preparation programmes have evolved and been delivered during this time. It is argued that given the lack of cohesion of educational policy that has seemingly plagued the FE sector, this trend is likely to continue, but government rhetoric is certainly indicating that the new developments for initial teacher training may have a more lasting effect. However, this paper concludes that if the changes are to last, there are some key factors which must be considered, including that of political consensus and stability for the sector.