Subject knowledge enhancement courses a decade on: redefining professional knowledge in mathematics teacher education

The interplay between subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge, and the importance of both for the teacher, are widely acknowledged. This chapter examines the effect of a major policy initiative in England involving the introduction and embedding of government-funded pre-ITE subject knowledge enhancement courses (SKEs), with a focus upon mathematics. With reference to literature on subject knowledge in mathematics teaching, it is argued that the SKE occupies a key position in the mathematics education landscape and that this redefines our understandings of the nature of professional knowledge and the boundaries between training courses. Research demonstrates that SKEs have been successful in pre-ITE preparation, in that students who have followed an SKE route prior to teacher training have similar outcomes to those who have followed a traditional degree route. This chapter explores the argument that the existence and success of SKEs expose deficits in the traditional degree route to teacher training. The challenges posed by a rapidly shifting (im)balance between school-led and university-led teacher education could pose a threat to quality. In this context, arguments are laid out for the future of SKEs in ensuring that we continue to prepare teachers well for the demands of the classroom