ABSTRACT
In nineteenth-century England teachers were often seen to occupy a crucial role in the maintenance of social order but one which potentially they might abuse. The expansion of teacher education in the 1950s and 1960s also brought some limited enhancement of its status within higher education as a whole. Meanwhile, most of those training college courses themselves were extended from two years to three years in 1960 and, in the post-Robbins reforms, many students had the opportunity to remain for a further year to gain a Bachelor of Education degree. Central government influence on university based teacher education has remained, at least hitherto, far less obvious than that on the public sector. When looking at government policies as a means of achieving greater control over teacher education, such changes can be seen to have significant consequences. Utilized as a resource in reflection upon experience, they can help the teacher to explore the interplay between ideologies, structures and specific contextual practices.
