ABSTRACT
Following the 1944 Education Act there were fundamentally two routes to becoming a qualified teacher: the first was to gain a degree (not necessarily followed by a one-year PGCE course) and the second was to follow a two-year teachers’ certificate course. A shorter emergency training scheme for those who served in the armed forces was established; while many sound teachers with much experience were trained, the scheme was discontinued in 1951 and the two major routes remained. Teachers with degrees taught mostly in grammar schools or independent schools; those with teachers’ certificates (following the old elementary school tradition) taught in primary or secondary modern schools. The teachers’ certificate was regarded by many as a second class qualification. Two significant moves were made to change this position: firstly, the BEd degree was introduced, initially, as a one-year top-up for a three-year certificate course but eventually becoming a coherent four-year course; secondly, the PGCE was made compulsory for all graduates entering as teachers into all state schools. The principle of an all graduate profession was widely endorsed. The work of the CNAA contributed to the widening of provision of the BEd degree and the PGCE, beyond the traditional universities. In more recent years, the pattern of provision has widened further to include a relatively small number of two-year BEd degree and PGCE courses and most recently the Teacher Training Agency has introduced a Graduate Teacher Scheme and a Registered Teacher Scheme.
