Transcript Document

Professionalism,
what professionalism?
Jim Crawley – Programme Leader,
Lifelong Learning
School of Education, Bath Spa University
17 July 2015
Professionalism,
what professionalism?
• Where are we now?
1. Lingfield interim report Easter 2012 – critical of ITE, regulations and progress made
since 2007; proposed deregulation and no or limited level of qualification, membership
of IfL becoming voluntary. Questions raised include:
• Are the Further Education Teachers’ Qualifications and CPD Regulations 2007 going to
be revoked from 1 September 2012?
• What should minimum expectations for training and qualifications be? By Sep 2012?
• What will happen now with QTLS?
2. Bursaries
• £1000.00, £1500 or £400.00 could be available; much less than schools; Limited
number available.
3. Recruitment
• PT in-service reducing; FT pre service holding up; HEIs withdrawing from / reducing
provision
17 July 2015
Professionalism,
what professionalism?
• The power of learning
“With three young children plus four step children to bring up, I felt I didn’t have
time for a career, but after having my third child I decided that it was now or
never and it’s a decision I have never regretted. I now feel like I can achieve
anything I set my mind to. I’m the first person in my family ever to apply for a
degree. It’s such a fantastic opportunity so grab it with both hands.”
Education is … “the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women
deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the
transformation of their world.” (Freire, 1972, p.38)
17 July 2015
Professionalism,
what professionalism?
• What defines your professionalism?
1. What would be your top two characteristics of a teaching professional?
2. What is the most professional thing you have done recently?
3. What is the least professional thing you have done recently?
17 July 2015
Professionalism,
what professionalism?
• Key characteristics of being a professional
– higher order expertise in the field
– code of practice and ethics
– required training
– membership of professional body
– public-sector values of service to the community
– pedagogical concern for the individual learner
– participation in a community of practice
– involvement in design, development and updating of their profession
– undertake regular professional development
– ‘ecologies’ of practice and ‘economies’ of practice
17 July 2015
Professionalism,
what professionalism?
• What is the context of the sector?
A diversity which makes it special, and life as a teacher is varied, demanding and often
rewarding, but the same diversity also makes the establishment of a clear, confident and
defined professional status a major challenge for individual teachers and for the sector as
a whole (Avis and Bathmaker 2006; Bathmaker and Avis 2005; Crawley 2010; Lucas
2004; Shain and Gleeson 1997; TLRP 2008).
Orr and Simmons (2010) argue that the LL Sector in England is now the most highlyregulated and centrally-directed education system in Europe.
‘Tutors … cannot create and sustain the conditions needed for students to become
lifelong learners if those conditions do not exist for the tutors themselves; and presently
they do not.’ Coffield (2008, p.19)
17 July 2015
Professionalism,
what professionalism?
• What do others think about professional teachers?
– Dual Professionalism - Robson (1998: 596)
Teachers who are already professionals in their specialist area (e.g. Accountancy, IT,
Engineering, Nursing) and are seeking to develop and combine that with teaching
expertise. Teachers can then use the benefits of both aspects of professionalism to
develop the identity of the ‘professional teacher’ in a more rounded and balanced way.
– Brilliant Teaching
Research about ‘brilliant teaching’ in the LLS, produced three overarching categories with
a total of 25 associated statements The overarching statements are that brilliant teachers
and trainers:
• have a good repertoire of teaching methods, experiment and reflect on what leads to
excellent outcomes for learners
• are real experts in their subject area
• keep up with change in the wider context (IfL 2010 :5,6)
17 July 2015
Professionalism,
what professionalism?
• What do teachers think about their professional situation?
- less than 50% of those working in the LLS would recommend their
organisation as a good place to work, and many state they do not feel valued or
cared for by their employer
- There is a lack of opportunities to contribute through a dialogue to the
management, development and organisation in the sector
- They wish to give something back to the community, and by doing so gain
significant job satisfaction from their work.
- They are ‘an altruistic workforce that is deeply proud of what it does’ (LSN
2008 p. 42).
(Avis and Bathmaker 2005; Coffield 2008; Crawley 2010; Fisher and Simmons
2010; LSDA 2001, 2, 2a: LSN 2008; Robson and Bailey 2009; TLRP 2008)
17 July 2015
Professionalism,
what professionalism?
• What could the future hold?
– More than the ‘dual professional’?
Are there opportunities for the ‘making and taking of professionalism’ despite the
managerialist and controlled environment within which we work? (Avis and Bathmaker
2009, and Avis, Wright, Fisher, Swindell & Locke 2011).
The current environment of even more dramatic change for LLS teachers does offer some
chances to ‘ride the waves of change’ (Handy 1995: 44).
There is already a powerful commitment of teachers to their students, to making a
difference, and to creating ‘a learning context in which learners could flourish’ (Avis and
Bathmaker 2009, p.213).
Could this lead to a greater social purpose which will contribute to the greater social
good?
17 July 2015
Professionalism,
what professionalism?
• Transformative professionalism? (Sachs 2003)
At the centre of transformative professionalism is the need for an inward and outward
focus with teachers understanding themselves and the society in which they teach. (Keay
and Lloyd 2007 p. 6)
• For the LL sector it could include:
– working inclusively with your students to assist them towards fulfilment of their life
and career goals
– developing and maintaining mastery of your core teaching and specialist
expertise
– being actively critical
– engaging with the wider world of education and its communities of practice
– working collaboratively with colleagues and students
– developing and maintaining your own personal vision
– exploring new knowledge, understanding, appreciation and practical application
relating to teaching and learning
– using your personal experience and professional development to seek to
transform teaching, learning and the world we live in.
17 July 2015
Professionalism,
what professionalism?
They sentenced me to twenty years of OfSTED
For trying to change the system from within
I'm coming now, I'm coming to reward them
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin
With thanks to Leonard Cohen
Go forth and continue be transformative professionals!
WHAT MAKES A PROFESSIONAL TEACHER?
Jim Crawley – Bath Spa University
Website: - http://teachereducatoruk.wikispaces.com/
References
Bathmaker, A., and Avis, J. (2005) Becoming a lecturer in further education in England: the construction of
professional identity and the communities of practice. Journal of Education for Teaching Vol. 31, No. 1,
February 2005, pp. 47–62
Avis, J. & Bathmaker. A. (2006) The politics of care: emotional labour and trainee further education lecturers ,
Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 56:1, 05-20
Avis, J. and Bathmaker, A. (2009) Moving into practice: transitions from further education trainee teacher to
lecturer. Research in Post-Compulsory Education Vol. 14, No. 2, June 2009, 203–217
Avis, J., Wright, J., Fisher, P., Swindell S. & Locke, A. (2011): ‘Am I doing enough to help them?’ Learners, care
work and well‐being: Further Education trainee teachers, Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 16:1, 47-58
Bathmaker, A., and Avis, J. (2005) Becoming a lecturer in further education in England: the construction of
professional identity and the communities of practice. Journal of Education for Teaching Vol. 31, No. 1,
February 2005, pp. 47–62
Coffield, F. (2008) Just suppose teaching and learning became the first priority … London: Learning and Skills
Network
Crawley, J. (2010) In at the Deep End - A Survival Guide for Teachers in Post Compulsory Education (2nd Ed).
London: Routledge
Handy, C. (1995) The Age of Unreason. 3rd edition. London: Arrow.
Institute for Learning (2010) Brilliant teaching and training in FE and skills. A guide to effective CPD for
teachers, trainers and leaders. London: IfL
17 July 2015
WHAT MAKES A PROFESSIONAL TEACHER?
Jim Crawley – Bath Spa University
References - continued
Keay, J. and Lloyd, C. (2007) Professional Learning Communities. Paper to the AARE International
Education Research Conference. Ballarat (Aus) : Association for the Advancement of Research in
Education
Lifelong Learning UK (2007) New overarching professional standards for teachers, tutors and trainers
in the lifelong learning sector. Coventry: LLUK
Lucas, N. (2004) Teaching in Further Education: New Understandings for a Changing Context (Bedford
Way Paper). London: Institute of Education.
Orr, K. and Simmons, R. (2010) ‘Dual identities: the in-service teacher trainee experience in the English
further education sector’ Journal of vocational education and training , 62 (1), pp. 75-88.
Robson J. (1998) A Profession in Crisis. Journal of Vocational Education Vol: 50; No: 4. P.596-7.
Sachs, J. (2003) The Activist Teaching Profession, Buckingham: Open University Press.
Robson, J. and Bailey, B. (2009)''Bowing from the heart': an investigation into discourses of
professionalism and the work of caring for students in further education',British Educational Research
Journal,35:1,99 — 117
Shain, F. and Gleeson, D. (1999) Under new management: changing conceptions of teacher
professionalism and policy in the further education sector. J. Education Policy. 14(4), pp. 445 – 462.
TLRP (2008) Challenge and change in further education. A commentary by the Teaching and Learning
Research Programme. London: TLRP.
17 July 2015