The James Report

The brief of the committee of enquiry established under Lord James of Rusholme was to look into the existing arrangements for the education, training and probation of teachers in England and Wales, and to make recommendations. In particular, it was asked to examine:

• the content and organisation of courses to be provided;
• whether more intending teachers should be educated with other students;
• the role of the colleges of education, polytechnics and other further education institutions maintained by local education authorities, and the universities.

The subsequent James Report: Teacher Education and Training , published in January 1972, recommended major changes in the way teachers were trained. In particular, it recommended that (1) teacher training should be seen as falling into three consecutive 'cycles': the first - personal education, the second - pre-service training and induction, the third - in-service education and training; and (2) a new two-year qualification, the Diploma in Higher Education (DipHE), together with new three-year degrees based on and developed from it, should be introduced into the first cycle, initially in the colleges of education and the polytechnic departments of education.

The Government White Paper Education: A Framework for Expansion published in December 1972 was a 10-year programme promoting, amongst other things, a larger teaching force to further improve staffing standards in schools; a new initiative to improve the pre-service and in-service training of teachers following the James Report; and the development in higher education of a wider range of opportunities, including the introduction of the DipHE, for both students and institutions.