The Paradox of Alignment: Policy Convergence, Professional Development and Learning Opportunities in Initial Teacher Training in England

Recent reforms to Initial Teacher Training and Education (ITTE) in England have sought to standardise the provision across routes and contexts through the accreditation process, the introduction of the core content frameworks, and new quality requirements. These policy changes have led to an increasingly aligned ITTE landscape, in which school-based and HEI providers now work within similar structural and pedagogical parameters (Ellis and Childs, 2024). While such policy convergence is often viewed as constraining professional autonomy, the findings of my research suggests that this alignment also creates opportunities for enhanced collaboration, knowledge exchange, and professional development opportunities across the ITTE sector.
This presentation draws on findings from my doctoral research which examined the professional identities of both school and HEI-based teacher educators in England, and my own reflections on working in both contexts. The study included 17 semi-structured interviews with teacher educators based across both school and HEI contexts and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2022). Five core themes were generated, demonstrating how participants interpret national standards, construct professional legitimacy, and develop shared understandings of ‘quality’ in teacher education.
Findings in relation to the knowledge and skills required of teacher educators supports the view that there is a disparity between the demands of the role and the specific, accessible, professional development available for teacher educators (Cochran-Smith et al., 2020). Although opportunities for professional learning are highly regarded, access and engagement is varied between providers and ITTE contexts (White, Timmermans and Dickerson, 2022). Recent policy changes have homogenised ITTE programmes, potentially narrowing institutional diversity. Paradoxically, this standardisation has also opened up opportunities for greater dialogue and mutual learning between providers. Teacher educators described increased opportunities to collaborate on curriculum design, mentoring approaches, and professional development, often grounded in a shared vocabulary shaped by national policy. These collaborative practices illustrate a form of two-way knowledge exchange and importance of cross sector networking, regardless of the context of the provider (Patton and Parker, 2017).
This presentation considers the potential opportunities (along with potential challenges and tensions) arising from policy alignment. Although standardisation may seem to limit professional agency, it can also create new opportunities for collaboration and shared learning across ITTE providers. The presentation will focus on how teacher education can leverage these changes to build genuinely collaborative spaces for teacher educators in a post‑reaccreditation era