THE NEED FOR A STRONG EVIDENCE BASE FOR TEACHING, SCHOOL LEADERSHIP AND EDUCATIONAL CHANGE

Research ED Conference 21 st Sydney February 2015 Professor Stephen Dinham OAM Chair of Teacher Education | Director Learning and Teaching Melbourne Graduate School of Education

Overview

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Evidence for Teacher Education and Teaching Evidence for School Leadership Leadership for Educational Change

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1. Evidence for Teacher Education and Teaching

1. Evidence for Teacher Education and Teaching

• • Australian school students have demonstrated the quality of the Australian system by consistently performing near the top of international benchmarking studies, such as PISA, PIRLS and TIMSS.

Concerns however about this performance ‘slipping’ and with ‘low equity’ aspects, especially in respect of low SES students, with SES having a greater impact on student performance than in other similar OECD countries.

Australia: International Test Results (2012)

• • • TIMSS

Study

) – – – (

Trends in International Mathematics and Science

Year 4 Maths: 18 th Year 4 Science: 25 out of 50 “countries” th out of 50 “countries” Year 8 Maths & Science: 12 th out of 42 “countries” PIRLS – (

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study

Year 4 Reading: 27 th out of 45 “countries” ) PISA – (

Programme for International Student Assessment

[15 year olds] ) – – – Reading Literacy: =13 th Scientific Literacy: 16 th out of 52 “countries” out of 55 “countries” Mathematical Literacy: 19 th out of 53 “countries”

What About SES?

• • • SES and family background each have moderate/large effect sizes in respect of student achievement SES

is

– – about: Foundations/advantage Opportunity – – Support Role models and encouragement SES

is not

– – – Innate ability Social-biological determinism Potential about:

Reading Score 800 700 600 500 400 300

(PISA Aus

200 -2.5

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SES 0.5

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Reading Score 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 -2.5

-2.0

-1.5

-1.0

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SES 0.5

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SES and School Performance WA 2007 (numeracy, reading spelling, writing; grades 3,5,7)

Some Key Areas

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Content Knowledge is Seen by Some as Problematic The Lack of an Evidence Base for Teaching and Learning 3.

Expectations on Teachers and Schools are Unrealistic and Untenable A Degree of Specialisation is Needed in Primary Teaching 5.

Self-esteem Boosting and a Lack of Constructive, Developmental Feedback

1. Content Knowledge is Seen by Some as Problematic

• • Until the mid-1960s to 1970s , curricula in Australia tended to be centrally devised (at state or territory level) and content or knowledge centred, with frequent use of formal (in-school, some external) testing. • There was little recognition of individual differences in either students or school contexts and the notion of the development of values – let alone alternative values - was largely absent. However from the 1970s new curriculum documents de emphasised knowledge/content and were based upon the principle of ‘ school based curriculum development ’ within broader frameworks, rather than centrally devised and assessed prescriptive content.

1. Content Knowledge is Seen by Some as Problematic (cont’d)

• • • Unfortunately in education there is a tendency to formulate and advocate false dichotomies and the result in this instance was that content knowledge was seen by many as counter to the learning process . In primary education especially, this resulted in many cases in a largely ‘content free’ curriculum, particularly in the humanities where teachers had wide choice and little guidance. Learning processes, issues and activities tended to be privileged over knowledge and formal testing declined (at least for a time).

An example of this paradigm

• • • •

Students in groups [upper primary] had been asked to research an aspect of Australian history and present this by means of an animation created using a digital camera.

One group had chosen the First Fleet entering Sydney Harbour in January 1788. The small fleet of ships was being heroically led by Captain James Cook. Unfortunately for both the students and Captain Cook, he had been killed in 1779.

Was this error seen as significant? No, because ‘the most important thing’ was that the students had been ‘engaged in the process’. In this way,

means and ends have been confused, with activity and ‘engagement’ seen as more important than actual learning outcomes achieved

.

What’s wrong with factual knowledge?

Dinham (2008):

“Subject content knowledge has been portrayed by some as rote learning and recitation of facts, names, dates and places, and is seen as less worthy than critical thinking and the acknowledgement of multiple social realities. Learning to learn is seen as preferable to learning. Teacher-directed learning is seen as old-fashioned, even harmful, while student activity and choice is championed, regardless of what that activity or choice might entail”.

Yet as Willingham (2009) has commented:

“Data from the last thirty years lead to a conclusion that is not scientifically challengeable: thinking well requires knowing facts … The very processes that teachers care about most – critical thinking processes such as reasoning and problem solving term memory (not just found in the environment )”.

– are intimately intertwined with factual knowledge that is stored in long-

It’s all on the Internet - do we need teachers?

• • • • It is argued by some that the teacher as expert - the

‘sage on the stage’ -

is no longer needed but rather teachers should be facilitators of learning – the

‘guide by the side’

– and in any case why should students need to learn anything when virtually all of human knowledge is only a mouse click away

.

However because of this context, the

need for effective, knowledgeable teachers is greater than ever

in order to assist students to navigate the mass of material ‘out there’.

Further, it is not a matter of a teacher being an expert in either content or pedagogy. As Shulman (1986) pointed out long ago, teachers need to be masters of both through what he termed

pedagogic content knowledge.

2. The Lack of an Evidence Base for Teaching

and Learning

• • • • It is a given that teachers want their students to learn .

Anything that promises to aid in the achievement of this is therefore attractive. Unfortunately education is subject to the same sorts of fads and fashions untested strategy. as the rest of society but in the case of teaching, real harm can come from adopting an There are well developed protocols prior to the introduction of any new drug or treatment in medicine yet educators readily experiment upon students - a situation where lives are also at stake - with unproven (or even disproved) methods.

This is compounded by the fact that a scientific approach is rarely taken . Rather than changing one variable and measuring its impact, the tendency is to change a range of things simultaneously and hope for the best.

2. The Lack of an Evidence Base for Teaching

and Learning (cont’d)

• One such approach is ‘ discovery learning ’ and its allied concept, ‘ constructivism ’. It has become an ideology or article of faith for some that it is ‘better’ if students can discover and construct their own learning. Mayer (2004):

“The debate about discovery has been replayed many times in education, but each time, the research evidence has favoured a guided approach to learning. … Today’s proponents of discovery methods, who claim to draw their support from constructivist philosophy, are making inroads into educational practice. Yet a dispassionate review of the relevant research literatures shows that discovery-based practice is not as effective as guided discovery. An important role for psychologists is to show how educational practice can be guided by evidence and research-based theory rather than ever-shifting philosophical ideology”.

2. The Lack of an Evidence Base for Teaching

and Learning (cont’d)

• • However unguided discovery learning, problem based learning, inquiry and constructivism are popular with many teachers and are common strategies in primary classrooms, with students receiving little or no guidance.

• A variation is social constructivism where students work in small groups trying to discover what they need to know. Hattie (2009) found from extensive meta-analyses that problem based learning has an effect size of only 0.16, whereas direct instruction where the teacher is clear of his or her learning and teaching intentions and orchestrates the learning of the students accordingly, has an effect size of 0.59.

2. The Lack of an Evidence Base for Teaching

and Learning (cont’d)

• • Mayer concluded from his analysis

‘the formula constructivism = hands-on activity is a formula for educational disaster’

(2004).

This is not the full extent of the fads and fashions, however. There is a raft of other approaches for which a research evidence base is either lacking or non supportive. These include learning styles, neuro-linguistic programming, multiple intelligences, ‘thinking hats’, brain exercise, emotional intelligence, the ‘Mozart effect’, the so-called 21 st century curriculum and associated skills and ‘digital natives’ .

The Case of Learning Styles: Stahl (1999)

•

“I work with a lot of different schools and listen to a lot of teachers talk. Nowhere have I seen a greater conflict between ‘craft knowledge’ or what teachers know (or at least think they know) and ‘academic knowledge’ or what researchers know (or at least think they know) than in the area of learning styles . … The whole notion seems fairly intuitive. People are different. Certainly different people might learn differently from each other. It makes sense . …

However there is a distinct lack of empirical support for the existence of learning styles:

The reason researchers roll their eyes at learning styles is the

utter failure to find that assessing children’s learning styles and matching to instructional methods has any effect on their learning

”.

The Case of Learning Styles: Pashler et al (2008)

“Although the literature on learning styles is enormous, very few studies have even used an experimental methodology capable of testing the validity of learning styles applied to education. Moreover, of those that did use an appropriate method, several found results that flatly contradict the popular meshing hypothesis.

We conclude therefore, that at present, there is no

adequate evidence base to justify incorporating learning styles assessments into general educational

practice”.

The Case of Learning Styles: Scott (2010)

“Failure to find evidence for the utility of tailoring instruction to individuals’ learning styles has not prevented this term from being a perennial inclusion in discussions about and

recommendations on pedagogy. It also continues to influence what teachers do in their day-to-day work. Practitioners from preschool to university level attempt to apply the theory in classrooms, administering the unreliable tests, criticised by so many, to their students, using the results as a guide to classroom practice and encouraging or requiring students to apply the results to understanding, controlling and explaining their own learning”.

Multiple Intelligences: Howard Gardner

“I learned that an entire state in Australia had adapted an education programme based in part on MI theory. The more I learned about this programme, the less comfortable I was. … much of it was a mishmash of practices, with neither scientific foundation nor clinical warrant. Left-brain and right-brain contrasts, sensory learning styles, ‘neuro-linguistic programming’, and MI approaches commingled with dazzling promiscuity”.

(cited in

Demos

, 2004)

The Issue of ‘Neuromyths’

• Dekker and colleagues tested some of the ‘neuromyths’ held by teachers – which they define as beliefs ‘ loosely based on scientific facts ’ - and the possible effects of these on teachers and their teaching (2012):

“A large observational survey design was used to assess general knowledge of the brain and neuromyths. The sample comprised 242 primary and secondary school teachers who were interested in the neuroscience of learning. … Participants completed an online survey containing 32 statements about the brain and its influence on learning, of which 15 were neuromyths . … Results showed that on average, teachers believed 49% of the neuromyths,

particularly myths related to commercialized educational

programs”.

The Issue of ‘Neuromyths’

“These findings suggest that teachers who are enthusiastic about the possible application of neuroscience findings in the classroom find it difficult to distinguish pseudoscience from scientific facts. Possessing greater general knowledge about the brain does not appear to protect teachers from believing in neuromyths. This demonstrates the need for enhanced

interdisciplinary communication to reduce such

misunderstandings in the future and establish a successful collaboration between neuroscience and education”.

2. The Lack of an Evidence Base for Teaching

and Learning (cont’d)

• • • As Stahl noted above (1999), these approaches are intrinsically appealing but the fact is that learning is not so simple. Aside from wasting teachers’ and students’ time and schools’ money, the real cost of dabbling with such unsupported strategies is that students are not being taught what they need to know, coupled with the harm caused to them by arbitrary, invalid labelling and categorisation . Through such practices students can come to see their abilities as fixed or limited, something Dweck (2000) has termed ‘ entity thinking ’. This can powerfully constrain future learning . Those convinced that they have a natural, innate talent for something will be disappointed when they come to expect success without effort, whilst those who believe they don’t have a talent for something may be put off from even trying.

2. The Lack of an Evidence Base for Teaching

and Learning (cont’d)

• Hattie (2009) found that not labelling students has a (large) effect size of 0.61 for student learning yet categorisation is something approaches such as learning styles, thinking hats, multiple intelligences, personality types and so forth are predicated on . • A key point to consider: have students been asked what they think of all this, especially the use of categorisation ? Their answers will be instructive.

2. The Lack of an Evidence Base for Teaching

and Learning (cont’d)

Christodoulou (2014) has critiqued and refuted seven powerful myths about education that capture much of the above discussion: – – –

Facts prevent understanding Teacher-led instruction is passive The twenty-first century fundamentally changes everything

– –

You can always just look it up We should teach transferable skills

– –

Projects and activities are the best way to learn Teaching knowledge is indoctrination.

3. Expectations on Teachers and Schools are

Unrealistic and Untenable

• • Primary schooling has suffered more than secondary when it comes to the overcrowded curriculum . Every time there is a problem in society there is someone advocating that it should be addressed within the primary curriculum, which in turn must be addressed in pre-service teacher education courses. Rarely is anything taken away to balance what is imposed. The results are an overcrowded and at times unbalanced curriculum, both in schools and in pre-service teacher education courses , putting pressure on teachers, time and resources .

3. Expectations on Teachers and Schools are

Unrealistic and Untenable ( cont’d)

• • Some of the ‘extras’ that society seems unable or unwilling to deal with include sex and sexuality, drugs, healthy food, homophobia, racism, environmental concerns, body image, bullying, bicycle safety, bomb education, weed identification, boys’ education, driver education, dog education, career education, manners, crime detection, stranger danger, child abuse, depression and forced marriage , to cite but a fraction of those advocated over the past decade. It could be argued that each of these issues is significant but the cumulative effects are deleterious .

3. Expectations on Teachers and Schools are

Unrealistic and Untenable (cont’d)

• • As the school curriculum has become increasingly crowded with social ‘extras’, there has also been pressure imposed by greater external testing and reporting on the ‘basics’ . It has thus become more difficult to train, professionally develop and support teachers. As the breadth of teaching increases, inevitably, depth and effectiveness decreases . If it is deemed important that these issues are to be addressed during the school day, teachers and schools need the input and support of trained (para-) professionals to provide the specialised knowledge needed to fulfil these ‘ social welfare ’ expectations.

3. Expectations on Teachers and Schools are

Unrealistic and Untenable (cont’d)

• • The usual response is that there needs to be greater integration of these issues into the academic curriculum but something has to give; compromises and ‘watering down’ are inevitable. As it stands, the ‘ academic ’ and ‘ social welfare ’ workloads of the generalist primary teacher have made the role increasingly untenable , particularly in the context of greater external testing. There is a further layer impacting on teachers’ workloads and this concerns the increasing mandatory reporting and administrative burdens placed on teachers and schools.

4. A Degree of Specialisation is Needed in

Primary Teaching

• A point has been reached where if effective teaching and learning are to occur in the primary years, a degree of teacher specialisation needs to be introduced. This is increasingly common in the non-government sector but less so in government schools. • • Whenever this is mooted, a common reaction is dismay that primary schools could adopt the perceived worst aspects of high schools.

However there may be advantages in making the (upper) primary years more like secondary education. This could also make the primary-secondary transition less problematic, if in fact it is a problem (Dinham & Rowe, 2008).

4. A Degree of Specialisation is Needed in

Primary Teaching (cont’d)

• • • High schools today are generally more orderly – at least academically speaking - than primary schools, although secondary teachers also suffer the effects of loss of teaching time through additional activities, issues and mandatory ‘perspectives’. The primary school day is fragmented with numerous disruptions and changes of activity and these are more intrusive than in the typical high school where to some degree timetables and subject allocations afford protection against loss of time and focus. In primary schooling it is difficult to finish anything and being generalists, primary teachers struggle to master and cover all aspects of the curriculum

4. A Degree of Specialisation is Needed in

Primary Teaching (cont’d)

• • • Science is particularly problematic, as many reviews have demonstrated. Many primary teachers report they lack the knowledge and expertise to teach science effectively, resorting to ‘cookbook’ activities and thus science receives less attention and effective treatment in the typical school day than is intended or desirable. Maths or numeracy has also been highlighted as being problematic, with some primary teachers lacking a year 12 qualification in mathematics as well as confidence and competence in teaching the subject. Time devoted to preparation in maths and science content and pedagogy in primary pre-service teacher education is limited because of the necessity to cover all aspects of the primary curriculum, something compounded by the trend from four year undergraduate pre-service programs to two year graduate programs.

4. A Degree of Specialisation is Needed in

Primary Teaching (cont’d)

• • It is time the introduction of specialist maths and science primary teachers in (government) schools was seriously considered , especially given the shortages of secondary maths and science teachers (Productivity Commission, 2012, TEMAG, 2015). As maths and science specialist teachers enter primary teaching this will enable other generalist teachers to specialise more through being released from some of their present, subject-based responsibilities. Generalist teachers could also be supported through team-teaching with these subject specialists. Primary students may well welcome the variety and challenge resulting from greater teacher specialisation.

4. A Degree of Specialisation is Needed in

Primary Teaching (cont’d)

• • • Under such an arrangement, primary school students (and teachers) would have the benefit of working with someone with a greater depth of knowledge, both content and pedagogic , and hopefully passion for their specialisation, which would provide a firmer foundation for student success in the primary years of schooling and in later secondary education. It has been demonstrated how important primary students’ attitudes towards maths and science are in predicting later achievement in these subjects. Problems such as teaching in these subjects. low secondary engagement and achievement in maths and science, reluctance of senior secondary students to take the higher and more difficult courses in maths and science, the decline in participation in undergraduate maths and science subjects and courses and the shortages of applicants to maths and science , have their origins in the teaching primary students receive

This is a cycle that needs to be broken.

Note: One Response (MGSE, UoM)

• • The University of Melbourne has introduced specialisations in maths or science primary teacher education from 2014. Selected candidates will still be generalists but will complete at least 25 per cent of their two year Master of Teaching in either maths or science primary teaching. Subjects will be designed and delivered through close cooperation of education academics with science and maths faculties and departments (see also

Reconceptualising Maths and Science Teacher Education Programs

(

ReMSTEP

) http://remstep.org.au/

5. Self-esteem Boosting and a Lack of

Constructive, Developmental Feedback

• • • Research shows that student self-esteem or self-concept can have moderate or greater effects on student learning .

Some teachers have been convinced therefore that if self-esteem can be boosted to higher levels this will result in enhanced learning. Conversely it is thought that any form of criticism, correction or failure will harm self-esteem and thus learning and should therefore be avoided. The downside of this is that students can gain a confused and/or inflated view of their capacities which can lead to entity thinking (Dweck, 2000).

5. Self-esteem Boosting and a Lack of

Constructive, Developmental Feedback (cont’d)

• The best way to legitimately boost self-esteem is for students to receive regular constructive, developmental feedback , something known to have one of the most powerful effects on learning. • If students can see and feel themselves achieving, even in small increments, this can then lead to an increase in self concept which sets up a cycle for further improvement . • • Empty, inauthentic, unwarranted praise ultimately hampers both learning and self-esteem .

Unwarranted self-esteem boosting works against building perseverance and resilience in primary age children, qualities necessary to meet later challenges in schooling and life.

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2. Evidence for School Leadership

Leadership for Teacher Learning

“ … leadership is the ‘big enabler’ in successful schools. You can have good teaching without having a good school, but you can’t have a good school without good leadership … professional learning is the lever that helps leaders create the conditions in which teachers can teach effectively and students can learn.”

(Dinham, 2010)

The Need for Educational Leaders to Understand and Support Clinical Practice

• • Marzano, Waters and McNulty found (2005):

A highly effective school leader can have a dramatic influence on the overall academic achievement of students. ... a meta-analysis of 35 years of research indicates that school leadership has a substantial effect on student achievement and provides guidance for experienced and aspiring principals alike.

Yet Hallinger (2005) observed that despite interest in instructional leadership - leadership of and for teaching and learning - arising from research into effective schools going back as far as the late 1970s (2005):

During the mid-1990s, however, attention shifted somewhat away from effective schools and instructional leadership. Interest in these topics was displaced by concepts such as school restructuring and transformational leadership.

The Need for Educational Leaders to Understand and Support Clinical Practice

• However findings from international research have caused a re examination of the worth of instructional leadership. Robinson, Lloyd and Rowe concluded from their work on the impact of various leadership approaches (2008):

The comparison between instructional and transformational leadership showed that the impact [on student outcomes] of the former is three to four times that of the latter. The reason is that transformational leadership is more focused on the relationship between leaders and followers than on the educational work of school leadership, and the quality of these relationships is not predictive of the quality of student outcomes. Educational leadership involves not only building collegial teams, a loyal and cohesive staff, and sharing an inspirational vision. It also involves focusing such relationships on some very specific pedagogical work, and the leadership practices involved are better captured by measures of instructional leadership than of transformational leadership.

Instructional Leadership for Clinical Practice

• • While original conceptions of instructional leadership focussed predominantly on the principal, the notion of distributed leadership – the leadership practices and effects of others in formal leadership positions in schools.

• Attention is increasingly turning to the

impact

of teaching and leadership on student outcomes along with teacher leadership – has become prominent.

Hattie found (2009):

School leaders who focus on students’ achievement and instructional strategies are the most effective … It is leaders who place more attention on teaching and focused achievement domains … who have the higher effects.

Instructional Leadership for Clinical Practice

• • Robinson, Lloyd and Rowe (2008) offered a similar view:

The more leaders focus their influence, their learning, and their relationships with teachers on the core business of teaching and learning, the greater their influence on student outcomes.

Barber et al. (2010) found:

High performing [‘top’ 15%] principals focus more on instructional leadership and developing teachers. They see their biggest challenges as improving teaching and curriculum, and they believe that their ability to coach others and support their development is the most important skill of a good school leader.

Instructional Leadership for Clinical Practice

• However penetrating the often closed classroom door remains a challenge for principals and other leaders. Wahlstrom and Louis have commented (2008):

In the current era of accountability, a principal’s responsibility for the quality of teachers’ work is simply a fact of life. How to achieve influence over work settings (classrooms) in which they rarely participate is a key dilemma.

Relative impact of leadership dimensions (Robinson et al, 2008) 0.31

0.42

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4. Promoting and Participating in learning and development 5. Ensuring an Orderly and Supportive

0.84

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Effect Size

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0.9

1 Viviane Robinson, The University of Auckland

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3. Evidence for Educational Change

3. Evidence for Educational Change

• Almost 20 years ago David Berliner and Bruce Biddle published

The Manufactured Crisis - Myths, Fraud, and the Attack on America's Public Schools

. In this they cited the ‘sweeping claims attacking the conduct and achievement of America’s public schools - claims that were contradicted by evidence we knew about’ (Berliner & Biddle, 1995: xi). • If anything, the attacks on America's public schools have intensified and have been mirrored on the other side of the Atlantic. • In Australia there is a tendency to be influenced by and copy the US and UK in many fields and education is no exception.

3. Evidence for Educational Change (cont’d)

• • Recently Berliner, Glass and Associates produced a successor to the Berliner and Biddle publication entitled

50 Myths and Lies that Threaten America's Public Schools – The Real Crisis in Education

(2014). In the interim between the two works the influence of student testing has grown significantly and a plethora of vested interests have moved into the education space for ideological, political and financial reasons. Over three decades later the myths identified by Berliner, Biddle and subsequent writers have assumed the status of ‘facts’ in the eyes of many (Sahlberg, 2014), with additional myths/’facts’ added to the mix in a continuous, cumulative fashion, thereby adding to the strength and acceptance of the movement which, as will be seen, is thus self-fulfilling.

3. Evidence for Educational Change (cont’d)

• With these developments, educational research and other evidence has been distorted, discounted or disregarded in favour of deregulation, privatisation, corporatisation and quick fix solutions to the supposed problems of teaching and the ‘crisis’ in schooling. • Educators have been either silent or silenced in debates and discussions about education.

Supposed Problems with Education

1.

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Public education is failing International testing is a true barometer of the decline in public schooling Private schools are better than public schools Government funded independent and for-profit schools are better than private schools Greater autonomy for public schools will lift performance [yet] Greater accountability will lift public school performance Money is not the answer - increased spending on public education has not resulted in improvement in student achievement

Supposed Problems with Education

8.

The teacher is the biggest influence on and is therefore responsible for student achievement 9.

Merit pay/payment by results is the solution to improving teacher quality 10.

Removing tenure and dismissing poor teachers will lead to greater student achievement 11.

Schools should be resourced on the basis of results 12.

The curriculum is a captive of the ‘left’ 13.

Schools are not producing the skills and capabilities required by industry 14.

21st century skills are not being taught in 21st century schools

Supposed Problems with Education

15.

Technology changes everything 16.

Teacher education is ineffective and the value of a teaching credential is questionable 17.

The effects of poverty are too difficult to overcome 18.

Educational research offers no solutions 19.

Non-educators should lead (public) schools 20.

Choice, competition, privatisation and the free market are the answers to almost any question about education.

Supposed Problems with Education

• • Each of the above have been found to be either unconfirmed or disproved by research evidence but that has not stopped people, vested interests and organisations from advocating for them. In fact, quite the opposite seems to have occurred, with responses to such measures contributing to further falls in public confidence, leading to pressure for more extreme change. Together these myths and beliefs have found expression in a number of powerful, related phenomena in Australian education centred upon mechanisms for alternative school establishment and funding, teacher quality, school governance and leadership, and school accountability .

Big Ideas and Developments in Australian/International Education

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2.

3.

4.

5.

Government funded independent and for-profit schools Greater school autonomy Deregulating education – the free market is the answer Moving teacher education to schools, new entrants to teacher education A growing presence for the publishers and big business

GERM

• • • The broad and powerful global developments outlined above that form part of what Sahlberg (2014) has labelled the ‘

Global Education Reform Movement

’ (GERM), are finding increased support and traction in Australia. Because of Australia’s close links with England and the USA and their historic influence, it is not surprising that the myths and beliefs underpinning these developments have been accepted almost without evidence or questioning in Australia. Central to these developments is the profound belief/’fact’ that public education in its traditional forms has failed and is in crisis. However these developments are not merely a reaction to this ‘manufactured crisis’, but are actively contributing to the further erosion of confidence in and the dismantling of public education in all three nations and beyond.

Crisis, what crisis?

• Ravitch (2014):

Public education is in a crisis only so far as society is and only so far as this new narrative of crisis has destabilised it. The solutions proposed by the self proclaimed reformers have not worked as promised. They have failed even by their own most highly valued measure, which is test scores. At the same time, the reformers’ solutions have had a destructive impact on education as a whole.

A Tsunami approaches

• • A tsunami comprises waves with very long wave lengths. Often these go unnoticed until it is too late to do anything about them. When they reach land great devastation can result. The ‘long wave’ changes to education outlined above need to be subjected to intense scrutiny before it is too late. If the profession remains silent and passive in the face of some of these developments it will have itself to blame, at least in part, for what might eventuate.

First, do no harm

• • It might appear naive but surely it is up to the proponents of major change to provide supporting evidence prior to its widespread introduction. It should not be left to others to disapprove or question these significant developments. In the medical sphere there are well-established protocols that need to be adhered to prior to the introduction of any new drug or treatment. No such protocols apply in education, an area in which lives are also at stake.

Thank You

Some References

Dinham, S.

‘Primary Schooling In Australia: Pseudo-Science Plus Extras Times Growing Inequality Equals Decline’, in Australian College of Educators (2014).

What Counts as Quality in Education?

Victoria: Australian College of Educators, pp. 8-15. Available at: http://www.austcolled.com.au/documents/item/80 Carlton South, Dinham , S. (2012). ‘Walking the Walk: The need for school leaders to embrace teaching as a clinical practice profession’, conference paper, ACER Research Conference 2012, Sydney, 27 rch_conference th August. Available at: http://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1137&context=resea Dinham, S. (2014). ‘The Worst of Both Worlds: How the US and UK are Influencing Education in Australia’, Walter Neal Oration, Australian College of Educators, Western Australian Branch, Perth, 28 th October. Available at: http://www.austcolled.com.au/documents/item/77 Dinham, S. (2013). ‘The Quality Teaching Movement in Australia Encounters Difficult Terrain: A Personal Perspective’,

Australian Journal of Education

, 57(2), pp. 91-106.

Dinham, S. (2013). ‘Connecting Instructional Leadership With Clinical Teaching Practice’,

Australian Journal of Education

, 57(3), pp. 220-231.

Some References

Dinham , S. (2012). ‘The Hijacking of the Quality Teaching Movement’,

Professional Educator

of PISA envy’, of-pisa-envy-9435 , 11(7), pp. 8-11.

Dinham, S. & Scott, C. (2012). ‘Our Asian Schooling Infatuation: the problem

The Conversation

, September. Available at: https://theconversation.edu.au/our-asian-schooling-infatuation-the-problem Dinham, S. (2008).

How to get your School Moving and Improving: An evidence-based approach

. Melbourne: ACER Press.

Dinham, S. & Rowe, K. (2008).

Teaching and Learning in Middle Schooling: A Review of the Literature

. Wellington, NZ: New Zealand Ministry of Education. Available at: http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/36281/913 _TL-MidSchool.pdf

McLean Davies, L.; Anderson, M.; Deans, J.; Dinham, S.; Griffin, P.; Kameniar, B.; Page, J.; Reid, C.; Rickards, F.; Tayler, C. and Tyler, D. (2013). ‘Masterly Preparation: Clinical practice in a graduate pre-service teacher education program’,

Journal of Education for Teaching

, 39(1), pp. 93-106.

© Copyright The University of Melbourne 2009