On the Faultline Between the Profession and the State: The Ambiguous Role of Teacher Professional Bodies

Abstract

The New Zealand Teachers Council was established in 2002 to enhance the professional status of teachers. Though its responsibility for teacher registration and discipline makes it a gatekeeper to the profession, its status is problematic. Self-regulation is key to the professional status of doctors, lawyers and engineers, but the powers of teaching councils internationally are limited. Governments, increasingly prescriptive about curriculum, assessment and achievement, are reluctant to surrender power over standards and accountability to a teacher dominated body. The article examines the challenges for teaching councils across four countries, as they grapple with complex issues of professionalism and accountability in the contested ground between teachers and the State.