ABSTRACT
To say that teaching is going through a period of crisis is something of an understatement, and what is likely to emerge in the coming years is likely to differ in significant ways from teaching as it was characterized in the 1960s, a time that, according to Ozga (1988), signalled the ‘zenith’ of teachers’ professional autonomy. One way in which to gain some insights into this current crisis is to consider the manner in which the occupational culture of teaching is being reconstructed by a variety of agencies, including teachers themselves. In adopting this cultural lens, we hope to indicate that what on the surface appears to suggest radical changes in the relationships teachers have with other interest groups associated with the world of education could, in fact, be but another strand in the ongoing deprofessionalization and control of the teaching force.
