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STARTING FROM THE
TEACHER
FIRST THINGS FIRST
David Cameron
8th July 2014 Birmingham
Why it’s important
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The contribution of staff, especially teachers is the key
determinant of success in school
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"In the end, it is the teacher in his or her classroom who has to
interpret and bring about improvement.”
Fullan and Hargreaves
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"You cannot have students as continuous learners and effective
collaborators, without teachers having these same characteristics.”
Sarason (1990)
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There are at least four important ingredients for improving education.
The first are the professional skills of those who work with children.
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Research has shown that factors like national or regional policies are
less influential on pupils’ achievements than factors within each
school
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Of the school factors, the skills of staff came top.
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The most important of these was effective classroom management
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But what is the teacher’s role?
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Is it limited to tasks associated with teaching classes?
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Is it wider?
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What responsibilities lie with teachers?
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Scotland as a case study
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Scotland has attempted to formalise this through looking at teachers’
terms and conditions through two reports on teachers terms and
conditions and the Donaldson report on teacher training and
professional development
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The Gospel according to McCrone
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teaching assigned classes together with associated preparation and
correction
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developing the school curriculum
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assessing, recording and reporting on the work of pupils
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preparing pupils for examinations and assisting with their
administration
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providing advice and guidance to pupils on issues related to their
education
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promoting and safeguarding the health, welfare and safety of pupils
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working in partnership with parents, support staff and other
professionals
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undertaking appropriate and agreed continuing professional
development
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participating in issues related to school planning, raising achievement
and individual review
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contributing towards good order and the wider needs of the school
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All tasks conducted within set timescales with a 35 hour working
week, limits on class contact time and guaranteed time for
preparation and for professional development
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Why did they need another
report?
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Commitment to recognising teachers as professionals who should
have flexibility rather than rigidly defined terms and conditions
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Keen to give teachers more professional autonomy to make
decisions about how they spent their time
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Belief that progress would come better if driven by teachers
responding to what was happening in classrooms
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McCormac
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Curriculum for Excellence includes
changes in governance and culture as well as
more specific implications for content,
methods and assessment. It covers the entire
3-18 age group, providing opportunities to
build coherence and progression throughout a young person’s
educational journey.
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Therefore
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Teachers will work more closely together, learning from each other,
developing common understanding of standards and appropriate
assessment. Curriculum for Excellence also expects teachers,
individually and collectively, to shape the curriculum and to think
creatively about matching their teaching to the needs of the young
people and desired learning outcomes.
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The Donaldson Report also sees teachers as increasingly expert
practitioners whose professional practice and relationships are
rooted in strong values. The vision is of teachers who take
responsibility for their personal professional development and who
build their capacity to contribute to the collective understanding of the
teaching and learning process. It sees professional learning as an
integral part of educational change, acting as an essential part of
well-planned and well-researched innovation
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As both McCrone and Donaldson envisaged, we need a
reinvigorated professionalism in teaching within which the driving
force continues to be the best interests of young people. That
professionalism needs to be buttressed by contractual requirements
which provide consistency and fairness but also depends crucially on
all teachers embracing professional obligations which go beyond that
which can or should be embodied in a contract.
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In our view it is also critical that a teacher is not perceived as being a
lone figure with responsibility for their class or subject. On the
contrary, the modern teaching professional must be a contributing
team member delivering a wide- ranging curriculum tailored to the
needs of every pupil.
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Tackling social deprivation requires significant levels of care and
attention, and it is teachers who are in a position to observe,
identify and request assistance to help reduce impediments to
learning. While the teachers’ primary role is to teach, teachers
………currently identify and respond to the wider needs of their
pupils
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In addition to being a skilled professional in the classroom, the
modern teacher must have an awareness of a whole series of
policies and initiatives…….. A teacher ……. not only needs the
necessary skills and confidence to deliver a high quality education
programme, but must also have the capacity to interact with the
wider set of services responsible for the welfare of children.
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Our education system should have the capacity and flexibility to
deliver the outcomes identified within Curriculum for Excellence,
irrespective of the background of the pupil. In facilitating this
outcome our teachers should, in the words of the Donaldson
Report, embrace the concept of “extended professionalism” and be
able to go “well beyond recreating the best of current and past
practice” to ensure the best possible outcomes for learners.
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We are of the view that Annex B should be replaced by a set of
standards which support the objectives of Curriculum for
Excellence..…The standards should apply to all teachers working in
Scotland. We are aware that the General Teaching Council for
Scotland (GTCS) is now taking steps to revise the current set of
professional Standards ……….
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Donaldson
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the analysis of that evidence highlighted a number of key features of
good teachers. They should:
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be reflective, with critical and creative thinking skills;
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be committed to teaching as a vocation;
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be committed to the development and learning of each child;
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work in a range of partnerships to support the learning and
development of each young person;
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have a passion for learning and deep understanding of and
enthusiasm for their subject;
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have discernment to be able to put relevant theory into practice;
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share ideas and network with colleagues;
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be keen to participate in their own personal learning and
development.
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In short…….
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A demanding profession in terms of delivery.
development and student support
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No enhancement
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Streamlined structures
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“buttressed by contractual requirements”, but only really 2 “butresses
in terms of specified conditions
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Emphasis on professionalism and trust
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What is your view?
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Autonomous professional working on a basis of professionalism
and trust with few formal constraints?
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At risk of excessive workload and requiring the protection of
specified conditions?
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Simply responsible for teaching classes
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Is there a compromise?
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Definition of role negotiated locally, based on trust and
professionalism, but with specification based on school culture and
demands e.g greater definition of responsibility for delivering the
curriculum
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Developing the School Curriculum
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Teachers should accept responsibility for curriculum development
associated with classes that they are assigned to teach. Any
involvement in curriculum development for other areas should only
be as part of collegiate activity or professional development. It must
be undertaken by agreement and appropriate time must be allocated
to allow the task to be overtaken within established terms and
conditions.
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Use of professional standards to define role e.g.
The Standard for Full Registration in Scotland
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THANK YOU
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