This Special Issue of the Journal of In-service Education is the first special edition of any academic journal dedicated solely to union learning representatives (ULRs). It is also the final edition of the Journal under the title of Journal of In-service Education, as it will become Professional Development in Education from 2009.

ULRs are a recent phenomenon, having been established by the British trade union movement in the late 1990s. Their key role is to give advice and guidance to colleagues in relation to the professional development, learning and training opportunities available. The articles will show that ULRs are part of governmental initiatives to create lifelong learning societies with the aim of ensuring skilled and knowledgeable workforces that can compete in the global marketplace.

The special edition contains seven full academic articles and two viewpoint articles covering issues and developments relating to ULRs and Educational Ambassadors in the UK, New Zealand and Denmark.

Contents:

Editorial
Alex Alexandrou

Unions and Learning: An Historical Overview
Bert Clough

The Evolving Role of Union Learning Representatives
Sian Moore & Cilla Ross

Understanding the Role of Union Learning Representatives in Developing Distinctive Approaches to Union Learning
Steve Shelley

Challenging the Orthodoxy: Union Learning Representatives as Organic Intellectuals
Howard Stevenson

Learning Agreements and Socially Responsible Approaches to Professional and Human Resource Development in the United Kingdom
Emma Wallis

Partnership Out of Conflict: The Emerging Relationship of Teacher Learning Representatives and Local Authority Continuing Professional Development in the United Kingdom
Alex Alexandrou & Jim O’Brien

In-Service Learning in the Emergent Learning Representative Initiative in New Zealand
Bill Lee & Catherine Cassell

The New Zealand Learning Representatives Project: An Assessment of the Pilot Years
Donald Farr

Educational Ambassadors in the Danish Trade Union Movement
Michael Keil

Book Reviews