The Bachelor of Learning Management (BLM) and capability: why we do not prepare teachers anymore

This paper explains the underlying logic of a four-year pre-service preparation program, the Bachelor of Learning Management (BLM). The program was designed for post-new economy knowledge workers in education and training. Its intent is to graduate work-place ready and futures-oriented 'learning managers' who have particular skill in achieving student learning outcomes, rather than 'teachers'. A professional 'business-to-business' arrangement between the teaching professiona and Central Queensland University's Faculty of Education and Creative Arts developed the BLM collaboratively in October 2000 and the program enrolled its first students in 2001. The BLM signals a definite shift of emphasis to that of the conventional B.Ed model of teacher education by its four knowledge domains: pedagogy, essential professional knowledge, futures and networks and partnerships. The paper describes how the BLM was developed, some of the major challenges to such an innovation and reviews the core concepts of 'learning management' and 'portal task'.