ABSTRACT
In tackling the impossible task of predicting likely long term future developments at a time of such rapid and continuous change, the author has succeeded nevertheless in describing a vision which is both radical-utopian and realistic. Starting from the premise that the individual teacher is the pivot on which all educational reform must turn he argues that, as a result of technological change, teachers will enjoy ultimately freer and more flexible working conditions. He identifies three key areas in which teachers will need to have developed skills: learning and new technology, student-centred assessment, and working as a team member in order to enhance the quality of the client-customer relationships. The providers of staff development will need to involve teachers much more actively in the process of defining needs and traditional ‘top-down’ models will be seen to be neither effective nor appropriate. The definition of needs is not only the individual teacher’s prerogative for there are also collective needs as defined by the school, the LEA and central government. In this situation, the author sees negotiation as being at the heart of effective staff management policy in the future.
