Education as a Field of Study in a University: challenge, critique, dialogue, debate

This paper sets out to explore some of the deeper issues which lie behind current doubts and concerns about the future of teacher education in the light of developing policies for the system in England and Wales. It does so, first, by outlining a view of a university as a centre for the free, open and independent pursuit of knowledge, and thus as an essential ingredient of a free and democratic society. Second, it argues for a concept of the study of education as the application of that kind of free, open and independent enquiry both to its theory and its practice. Finally, it suggests that this view of a university and the study of education within it are both in jeopardy from the effects and, indeed, the intentions of current policies and practices. While the emphasis is inevitably on policies and practices in England and Wales, the argument has a far wider reference, since increasingly such approaches to teacher education can be seen being replicated elsewhere, and the issues raised are of crucial concern to anyone who is committed to the free, open and independent pursuit of knowledge in a democratic context.