The establishment of the General Teaching Council for England (GTC) in 2000 created a professional and regulatory body for teaching in England. Acting in the public interest, GTC is responsible for contributing to improving the standards of teaching and the quality of learning, and for maintaining and improving standards of professional conduct among teachers. The GTC commissioned RAND Europe in 2008 to undertake a literature review to inform its thinking and preparations as it develops proposals for a new accountability framework for teachers in England. The framework includes, but is not limited to, arrangements operated via the GTC. This report presents the findings of the literature review. (Methodology is appended. Contains 97 footnotes, 1 figure, 1 box and 2 tables.)