Teacher professional learning in a neoliberal age: Audit, professionalism and identity

Abstract

This paper examines the current shape of teacher professional learning, or in-service teacher education, in Australia. Increasingly, teacher professional learning is positioned as both a sure-fire solution to some of the intransigent educational problems of our time, as well as a policy problem in and of itself. In this paper I explore some of the dominant discourses surrounding teacher learning, such as those related to professional standards, teacher professionalism and teacher quality, which regard teacher learning predominantly as about skill acquisition and competency development. I argue that the civil society aspirations of the Melbourne Declaration will better be met by conceptualising teacher professional learning as 'identity work'. The paper concludes with some questions that might be used to guide thinking about teacher learning and development consistent with these aspirations.