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Also of concern to practitioners is knowledge of developments within
the course over time and here this is provided for beyond the confines
of the research itself. They are made available by a later account
of the Sussex course presented by course staff one of whom had been
a member of the research team (Lacey and Lamont 1978). The shifts
in focus illustrate the distinctiveness of the practitioner's concern
and insight.
It is the practitioners themselves who had to grapple
with the problems
revealed by the research and it is
that engagement
which produced an
account
for a professional audience of practititioners.
Professional knowledge is knowledge intimately related to action,
it arises from it, reflects it and enables its development. It is
with the requirements of professional knowledge firmly in mind that
critical findings of the research have been selected for discussion.
PGCE in the Process of Teacher Education
Recruitment to the PGCE
First the differentiation of the PGCE population which the research
indicates occurs along two major axes, the first social and institu-
tional and the second motivational.
The differentiation of the total
population of PGCE students along sex and social class lines was
shown quite clearly in the research of Patrick et al (19δ3) discussed
in Chapter One. That it was apparent in this earlier research suggests
the persistence of trends which, whilst arguably of considerable
significance for both the process of teacher education and its outcomes
are consistently ignored and unchallenged by those involved in teacher
education.
Lacey
that
professional socialisation
itself
was socially and institutionally
patterned and that understanding
of this
patterning could lead to institutional
changes and modifi-