ABSTRACT

This paper seeks to compare and contrast the assumptions about knowledge and its acquisition which underpin approaches to teacher training that are school based, and approaches to vocational training that are competency based. How significant are the differences, and to what extent do they stem from the distinctive nature of teaching as an occupation, from different views about the nature of expertise in general or simply from different historical traditions? More importantly, perhaps, what can each learn from the other that might modify its aims or improve its effectiveness?