Chapter 41
Research and the Undermining
of Teacher Education
Richard Pring
41.1 Introduction
Research is traditionally associated with universities—the sort of thing they do in
addition to teaching. But we should not lose sight of the fact that increasingly
research is conducted by institutions, independent of universities, established
specifically for that purpose, although often in association with university members
and contracting out some of its work to universities. In Britain, for example, the
National Foundation for Educational Research has conducted significant research
projects over many years. The Nuffield Foundation funds research activities in
universities, whose proposalsfit within the research interests established by the
Foundation—for example, one million pounds for the research leading to a major
report on 14–19 education and training.
But the influential McKinsey Report,How the World’s Most Improved School
Systems Keep Getting Better,has probably had more impact in recent years on
Government education policy and on classroom practice than any university based
research.
None the less, the importance of research as a central university activity, and the
urgency of obtaining research funding from outside bodies, have increased sig-
nificantly in the last few decades, both generally and specifically in university
education departments.
However, it was not always thus. What follows is a brief account of the evo-
lution of the significance of thefinancial importance of this research with particular
reference to its impact on educational studies and on the preparation of teachers.
Indeed, the concern raised by these developments is whether or not the preparation
of teachers should or will remain within the university sphere.
R. Pring (&)
Oxford University, Oxford, England, UK
e-mail: [email protected]
©Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017
M.A. Peters et al. (eds.),A Companion to Research in Teacher Education,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-4075-7_41
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