ABSTRACT
The question of ‘how’ to structure the professional developmental process is answered increasingly these days by the use of competences, target-setting and profiling. The DFE state that they are interested in developing the use of ‘profiling and competency-based approaches’ (AM 8/92). They also want to promote links between initial teacher training, induction and INSET, and see induction as included in appraisal. The image of a cradle to grave profiling system is hard to dispel. Obviously there are advantages in continuity: however the GTC (1992) point out that where there may be continuity with induction and appraisal, ‘much has still to be done to develop the continuum from the initial education and training of teachers'. They argue that training institutions’ profiles and records should be used by new teachers in induction record-keeping and that the institutions should continue shared responsibility into the induction year, or arrange for a more local institution to be involved. Presumably they envisage some kind of continued supervision of new teachers, perhaps in conjunction with a continuing profiling system. This would make some sense: it would be interesting to see how popular such a scheme might be with the new teachers themselves, and how the funding for this would be provided.
