ABSTRACT
Firstly Gert Biesta seeks to give an indication of why he thinks that teacher judgement is essential in education, and what kind of judgements teachers need to make. And he argues that three tendencies that are often presented as developments in the ongoing professionalisation of teaching treating students as customers; being accountable; and replacing subjective judgement with scientific evidence are actually undermining opportunities for teacher professionalism, rather than enhancing them. It is also visible in the transformation of the field of adult education into that of lifelong learning. The rise of the language of learning is the outcome of a range of loosely connected developments in the theory, policy and practice of education. In more technical terms this means that education is a teleological practice; that is, a practice constituted by a 'telos', the Greek word for the 'point' and purpose of a practice. This challenge lies at the heart of accountable teacher professionalism.
