ABSTRACT
The 'teacher as researcher' movement has largely developed during the last two decades, and it is certainly no coincidence that the Schools Council, the 'Professional Centre' concept and the 'Teachers' Centre' movement have emerged during the same period. The open flexible style of the Schools Council leadership was partly reflected in its established identity as a democratic non-government organization with an independent view of education. The term 'network' is probably one of the more practical, positive, and useful words to be added to the vocabulary of educational terminology in recent years. It is practical in the sense that it implies that partnership and communication between schools and other educational institutions should be the norm in this era of declining resources and increased social and political pressures. The creation of the Schools Council largely corresponded with the evolution of the Teachers' Centre movement and certainly in the initial stages the Council was apt to regard teachers' centres as its local 'agents'.
