Teaching in England Post-1988

There is insufficient research focusing on the perspective of teachers nearing the end of their working lives, and even less offering career length studies on the changes in England over the past few decades. 1988 saw the start of substantive policy shift with the Education Reform Act, and the following years have seen an unprecedented pace and rate of policy shifts. Joan Woodhouse explores the career-histories and reflections of teachers, and how their teaching practices and approach to their work were impacted by the ever-evolving landscape. The insights are critical to understanding this era of reform directly from those who have experienced and implemented the changes.Drawing on in-depth interviews with teachers, Teaching in England Post-1988 affords new understandings of an under-researched group, bringing to light experiences of implementing reform in schools. It raises questions about why, given the pressure they faced, teachers remained in the profession when so many of their peers had quit ahead of retirement age.Presenting a conceptual model explaining career-long teachers’ longevity, Teaching in England Post-1988 provides context to help current and future governments develop policy and strategies to reverse the trend of attrition, addressing the much-discussed teacher and headteacher shortage. This is also essential reading for educational researchers and teacher educators.

Accounts of change in education tend to focus on capturing how policy is developed at a system level. Teaching in England Post-1988 is important because it examines a 30-year period of unprecedented change in English schools through in-depth interviews which capture the lived experiences of some of the teachers who survived it. This enables it to offer a detailed, longitudinal perspective that remains all too rare, and new insights into how and why teachers maintain their commitment to teaching and schools in the face of increasing pressures and demands. As a result, it should be read carefully by everyone interested in the future of schools and of education more widely., Joan Woodhouse has applied her considerable experience as both a teacher and a teacher educator to bring to our attention the previously under-researched phenomenon of teacher retention. While other researchers and the mass media have focussed on the issue of early leavers, Woodhouse details the creativity and tenacity of those who have responded to ever shifting policies which have increased prescription and proscription, heralded the erosion of teachers’ autonomy and creativity, imposed longer working hours and increased workload, and facilitated changes in the culture of schooling and the nature of teaching. The essential question - why have these career-long teachers remained in the profession, when so many of their peers quit? - is addressed through enlightening and original accounts which offer deeper understanding of how this generation of teachers navigated the changes and sustained their commitment to teaching. ‘Vocation’, ‘wisdom’ and ‘agency’ are shown to be their essential characteristics, which provides a much-needed antidote to the doom and gloom image of teachers as burnt-out automatons often promulgated in public discourse. Career teachers should enjoy read this well-researched and well-written text in the knowledge that they are not alone in their dedication. Anyone considering teaching as a profession will find much to comfort them, and to arm them for the challenges they will face. Policy makers, who rarely seem informed by research which doesn’t fit their preconceptions, would particularly benefit from understanding the damage they have wrought and identifying potential remedial strategies by reading about the real experiences of dedicated professionals., This book could not be more timely: with teachers leaving the profession in droves, and teacher recruitment at an all time low, it is vital that we learn more about the experiences of those who have remained in the profession for some time. Dr Woodhouse is ideally placed to give this account, based on her long experience working with teachers, and as a former teacher herself. It will be useful to post grad and PGCE students and, from both theoretical and practical perspectives, represents a valuable contribution to the literature. , Joan Woodhouse has created a fascinating and innovative history of education from 1988 through the eyes of long serving teachers whose vision and wisdom has enabled them to have marathon careers in times when many teachers have left the profession. Her own wisdom and vision – which I’ve known for years since we taught together in the 1980s – make this a provocative and vital read for all who care about teaching and teacher supply.

Joan Woodhouse is currently Associate Professor of Education in the School of Education at the University of Leicester, UK. Joan has been teaching for over forty years in a range of middle and senior leadership roles, leading teams to translate policy into practice in school and university contexts.