Structure, Knowledge and Social Relationships in Teacher Education

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Abstract
This article is an analysis of teacher training institutions in Britain from the mid‐1950s to the present day. Over this period, such institutions have gone through three distinct phases, indicated by their changing nomenclature: teacher training college; college of education; institute of higher education. At each stage, the structure, culture, organisation of knowledge and typical modes of social interaction have been different. It is argued that these three stages correspond with Weber's three ideal types: ‘charismatic education'; ‘education of the cultivated man'; ‘specialised expert training’. By using this Weberian idea the analysis attempts to relate the micro‐issues of interpersonal interaction and students’ educational identities, through the middle range problem of institutional structure, to the wider macro‐forces which have influenced teacher education. The article is based substantially upon fieldwork conducted by the author between 1974 and 1977.

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