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of assessing the personal and professional consequences of new modes
of working. New modes of working themselves bring to the fore
questions which need to be addressed in the developing practice.
Within the structure of the Alternative Course tutors become increas-
ingly
with
a much wider range
of their students
capacities
attitudes and beliefs
than was possible under predominantly different
forms
of organisation.
The ways of working developed frequently gave students realistic
access to experienced and expert practitioners in their own classrooms.
When students, teachers and university tutors can share and develop
their knowledge and experience from this base then university tutors
have as their particular focus the process of teacher education.
Whether at an initial or in-service level professional knowledge,
skills and attitudes are the desired outcomes and the assessment
of their achievement should belong to the profession as a whole
rather than to the limited segment represented by the university
tutor. The student’s own self-assessment should be central through-
out the whole process thus increasing personal and professional
responsibility and participation. It is only with such assumption
of responsibility and participation that new ways of working can
be developed and consolidated. Their justification lies in the con-
tribution to professional knowledge and practice that is likely to
be their continuing product.
To conceive of teacher education as involving a partnership of schools
and training institutions constitutes a radical departure from present
practice. It allows for a broadening of the meaning of professional
to encompass a range of behaviour, attitudes and values. Skill in