ABSTRACT
Primary teachers have been struggling with a period of immense pressure and change in the past decade. The pressures, largely associated with a time of substantial school restructuring, have been international and pervasive (Lieberman et al. 1991; Beare and Boyd 1993; Stringfield et al. 1996, Goodson and Hargreaves 1996). As a consequence of these pressures, changes have occurred in the nature of who the primary teachers are and the school contexts in which they work. In addition, there have been considerable changes in the range of responsibilities today’s primary teachers are required to fulfil, in the curriculum they have been asked to teach, and in the additional pressures and challenges they have been expected to endure and meet (Keeves 1987; Hughes et al. 1987; Woods 1995; Busher and Saran 1995). At the same time, their training and professional development have been less dramatically changed and in only a few areas have they been able to assist teachers in their need both to ‘keep up’ and to try to ‘stay on top’. It has become evident that there is a need to develop and enhance professional development, and to reconsider the defining characteristics of the profession, professionalism and professional development approaches (Hughes 1991; Goodson and Hargreaves 1996).
