National Standards in Teacher Education—why don’t we have any?

Both nationally and internationally, teacher education is coming under scrutiny front governments and bureaucrats. There is a popular view that once again educators have got it wrong and strong action is now needed to provide the kind of teacher education that can support the objectives of governments in areas such as industry restructuring and improving international economic competitiveness. In Australia, strong pressures are being exerted on the political, industrial and labour market fronts to reform teacher education. This paper reviews efforts that have been made to date and advocates the regulation of the profession by the profession as the only means by which teaching can be given the kind of Status that will be necessary to protect it from outside interference.