ABSTRACT
Master’s-level accreditation of teachers’ professional development (PD) is a feature of some of the highest achieving education systems internationally. In aspiring to raise its international standing, the New Labour government in England launched a new, fully funded master’s-level degree for in-service teachers, the Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL), in 2010. In this paper we present a case study of the enactment of the East Midlands Masters in Teaching and Learning (EMMTL). The MTL is couched in the language of personalisation and support for teachers but can be viewed as part of an increased centralisation of state control of teachers’ PD, with an instrumental approach and emphasis on training linked to performativity agendas in the UK and internationally. In resistance to the national MTL Framework, the two HEIs involved in this case study sought to develop a regional approach that took personalisation seriously, built on strong HEI-school collaborative partnerships and put research and context-based practitioner enquiry at the forefront of the degree. The case study shows that it has been possible to retain the fundamental characteristics of master’s-level work in the EMMTL and support personalised PD that is valued by participants. Following the current Conservative-led coalition government’s decision to discontinue national funding, we draw from the case study implications for the development of master’s-level, practice-based programmes that have emancipatory potential for teachers in relation to complex political agendas both in the UK and globally.
