He added that the economic slowdown should be used as an opportunity to promote teaching as a profession and attract top graduates.

BBC: Trainee teachers re-sitting maths

In recent years, a number of fields have begun to wrestle with this problem, but none with such profound social consequences as the profession of teaching.

NEWYORKER: Most Likely to Succeed

For instance, half a year of student teaching strikes me as a huge and unnecessary barrier to entry into the teaching profession for many people who work in other fields already.

FORBES: Fact-Checking Joel Klein

The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said when he launched the education commission report this week that it should not be taken as a criticism of the teaching profession of today.

BBC: Kwame Kwei-Armah in his BBC One Casualty role

As I mentioned previously, making teaching a better profession will attract better people to teaching.

FORBES: The False Choices of Education Reform

The State of the Art sets out to indicate the key trends that characterise the situation of teachers and policies relating to teachers, in terms of pre-service teacher training, continuing training, the teaching career, and working conditions for those in the profession, as well as the key institutional processes involved in the creation and implementation of public policies in the sphere of teaching.

UNESCO: MEDIA SERVICES

As a self-declared "staunch supporter" of the teaching profession and local education authorities - but opponent of selection - Mr Willis had been moderately supportive of Labour policies.

BBC: Phil Willis: Education & Employment