ABSTRACT
This chapter charts the history of English teacher training in England and examines current practices, considering the problem of ‘knowledge’ in English and how it is conceptualised in teacher-training courses. Formalised teacher training in England has its origins in religious societies in the 19th century. These training programmes included aspects that continue to feature in beginning teachers’ learning, including professional certification and a period of probation. Learning to be a teacher requires several different components and experiences to enable development. Often, this is conceptualised through distinguishing between different types of teacher knowledge. Subject knowledge as a starting point for ITE is most often framed as an ‘audit’, with beginning teachers required to self-evaluate where their knowledge ‘gaps’ are prior to the course in order to plug them. This deficit model tends to consist of lists of texts or authors currently taught as part of the English curriculum.
