England, like many other countries internationally, is currently struggling to attract and retain teachers. In the 2024/5 cycle only 23,107 pre-service teachers were recruited against a target of 33,355 (Mclean & Worth, 2025) and 36% of teachers surveyed in 2023 were considering leaving the profession (NFER, 2024). As a response to this recruitment and retention crisis, the UK government developed a portfolio of frameworks for professional development - the ‘golden thread’ (DfE, 2022), designed to support teachers throughout their career in a linear fashion from pre-service teachers to school leaders. We argue that in their existing format, these policy assemblages provide inadequate opportunities for professional and intellectual development (Innes et al, 2025). Instead, they thwart alternative pedagogic thinking and encourage compliance by defining effective teaching through a narrow frame of ‘authorised’ practices (Dawes, 2022). We exemplify these issues through analysis of qualitative empirical data drawn from a research project conducted in the North West of England. Interviews with early career teachers in the English context revealed a lived experience of professional development characterized by repetitive activity, with little opportunity to reflect and a limited (and limiting) range of sources and resources identified as appropriate for developing practice. We also question whether the ‘golden thread’ of professional development exemplifies a growing global trend of professional development that serves as a ‘gilded cage’ (Vare & Oberholzer, 2022), stifling creativity and professional judgement. Finally, we offer alternative ways of thinking for teacher development that offers opportunities for intellectual growth.

Authors:
Elizabeth Gregory, University of Manchester, United Kingdom
Louisa Dawes, University of Manchester, United Kingdom

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Louisa Dawes is a senior lecturer at Manchester Institute of Education, University of Manchester. She is Director of Scholarship at the Institute. Her research interests are focus on equity in education and policy in teacher education in England.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/louisa-dawes-11242b33

Additional website of interest
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5061-8525

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