ABSTRACT
The notion of partnership generated by recent educational policy indicates a determination to challenge the traditional role of higher education in the initial training of teachers. This has resulted in a rather truncated debate about partnership, focused primarily on the allocation of power and resources between schools and higher education, and has obscured the more fundamental shared core purpose of improving the quality of teaching and learning for children. Such a purpose may be implicit in policy requirements for a greater sharing of responsibility in the training process. However, the imperative to compete for limited resources and the underlying critique of present modes of training have distorted the debate. This has meant that the starting point for negotiations about partnership has been a lack of clarity about roles and responsibilities, leading to anxiety and distrust. This situation has also been exacerbated by the narrow view from recent Conservative governments, in particular, that partnership is occurring if resources are being transferred from higher education to schools.
