Reconciling professional and political imperatives for teacher education in Northern Ireland in a changing global economy

With the ending of the political conflict and the signing of the Belfast Agreement in April 1998, Northern Ireland (NI) has its own Assembly (1999) with its own legislative policy-making powers. Politicians who are elected to the Assembly choose ministerial portfolios in proportion to their party strength based on the principle of power-sharing. Political devolution and power-sharing have created a new set of policy relationships which in many ways have frustrated efforts to achieve consensus on key policy decisons, since all major legislation requires cross-party support. Teacher education has been the subject of a prolonged review which concluded with the publication of a consultation document Teacher education in a climate of change: The way Forward (DE and DEL, 2010). While the purpose of the review was descroibed as being concerned with matters surrounding the closer integration of initial teacher education (ITE) with induction, early professional development (EPD) and continuing professional development (CPD), issues of rationalization, demographic trends and the cost of ITE were never far away.