Transcript Identifying Teacher Quality, theoretical backgrounds of a

Identifying Teacher Quality, theoretical
backgrounds of a reflection tool
Maria Flores, Gillian Hilton,
Katerina Kloneri, Elizabeth Nilsen, Marco Snoek
ATTE research and development group on the teacher
education curriculum
This paper
 Discusses how to engage teachers in defining teacher quality
rather than having ideas imposed upon them.
 Based on an international 3 year project ATEE RDC 19
sponsored by the EU 12 countries and 28 participants.
 Involved developing tools to aid teachers to reflect on
teacher quality and increase their ownership of professional
quality.
Teacher quality
 Of immense interest world wide the most important aspect
in student achievement (Darling-Hammond et al. 2005)
 High political priority e.g. OECD; EC, 2007
 Countries have followed the competency line or that of
teacher standards re pedagogy, knowledge skills etc. (Evans,
2002. Wong & Wong,1998)
 Many countries now have formal lists of competencies or
standards for teachers in training and also for their CPD
(TDA, 2007)
 Attempt here is to be objective but subjective judgements on
personal qualities such as moral or emotional characteristics,
personal interpersonal values etc. are more difficult to measure
 We need a shared understanding of teacher quality for all the
stakeholders
 Quality is a personal construct complex and multi-faceted
depending on the views of the teacher and the context in which
they find themselves
Teacher Quality and Professionalism
 Professionals have autonomy to define their own core standards so are
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teachers professionals if standards are imposed?
Imposed standards have led to some narrow instrumental versions of
teaching to more broad based ideas on professionalism
Professionalism must come from the workforce itself wanting to make
a difference (McCulloch, Helsby, Knight, 2000) not be imposed by
policy makers
Teacher professionalism must come from the teachers themselves not
be imposed from outside by policy makers
Imposition brings compliance or possibly activism but not ownership
and commitment to improve in a time of change and uncertainty.
Types of professionalism
 Hoyle (1974) describes two types of professionalism
restricted - classroom based experienced based
extended – involving the social context of education and
teachers collaborating and arguing using a theoretical basis to aid
discussion
We need to ensure quality in both kinds of professionalism
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Goodson & Hargreaves(1996) professionalism is what teachers
experience it as not what others say it should be
 Need for collaboration and co-operation between teachers
and stakeholders to meet the assumption that teachers
influence society
 Teachers must be involved in defining quality as the constant
changes, ambiguity and complex demands require proactive
responses
 But? Do all teachers demonstrate this professionalism in day
to day work in the classroom and beyond?
Teacher quality and reflection
 National instruments for measuring TQ seen as control on
teachers – but can be instruments for prof dev and change –
reflection is the key here
 Professionals have to share ‘norms’ in reflection as to what is
considered good practice - insight into oneself but also
reflect on the level reached in the ‘norms’ of the profession
 How? By discussing with colleagues and striving for quality
from within related to shared and internalised professional
standards created through professional discourse
The ITQ project
A 3 year international project
Funded by the EU Socrates programme
Aims to support teachers to develop their professional
quality through reflection by using a variety of tools
designed to aid reflection
Based in 6 assumptions
 Teachers are professionals –
 Reflection on professional quality is a stimulus for
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professional development
Ownership is a condition for learning and change
Quality is a personal contextual construct
Personal involvement in defining professional quality
stimulates ownership and therefore learning and change
Education asks for an interactive relation between policy
research and practice
The result?
 Empower teachers to participate in national and regional
debates on teacher quality
 Stimulate reflection on different aspects o teacher quality
 Stimulate collaborative learning of teachers – individual and
school development leading to a shared language
 Stimulate sensitivity to and understanding of concerns of
other stakeholders
Reflection tools
 From different sources and stimulating different learning
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styles
Outside sources e.g. formal documents research publications
national standards
Observations of classroom practice - videos/DVDs
Using shared experience – my most remarkable teacher diary
writing and exchanging these experiences
Creative and expressive activities role plays drawings
metaphors etc.
Use of the tools and evaluation
 All tools stimulate reflection on teacher quality and on
identification of indicators of teacher quality
 Used with pre service – in service and practising teachers
national projects on TQ and for looking at specific themes
 Tools are being evaluated and tested across Europe and in a
Comenius course later this year.
 Data has been collected through reflective journals of the
tool designers , questionnaires for tool testers and the test
organisers.
 A reflection by the tool testers on their perceptions of
teacher quality which will be compared with national
documents
 These evaluations will be used to improve the tools during
year 3 of the work
 The tools used and the results will be published on the
website and possibly become par of a book.
 Website - www.teacherqualitytoolbox.eu
Final thoughts
 We believe that helping teachers to reflect upon quality will –
Empower teachers to become more involved in defining quality
Help teachers at all levels to discuss professional quality in an
ongoing debate that will enhance practice
Ensure that stakeholders’ needs are considered
Help teachers to become more involved and have a voice in national
and European discussions on teacher quality
Raise the professionalism of the profession
We believe that involving teacher in this is more likely to have
success in raising quality than will externally proposed and
imposed standards
Thank you for your attention
Please visit the website and try out some of the tools
The ITQ group from ATEE RDC 19