Transcript The structure, status and efficacy of initial teacher

THE STRUCTURE, STATUS AND
EFFICACY OF INITIAL TEACHER
TRAINING IN THE POST 16
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
AND TRAINING SECTOREUROPEAN COMPARISONS
By
Katrina Diamond
Jun 2013.
Why
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Why did I chose to do this?
Rationale for the 3 countries
The research question
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1.
But then….
Historically
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Guilds, journeymen and industrialisation
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Universities?
England
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“….instead of making them good servants in
agriculture and other laborious employments to which
their rank in society had destined them; instead of
teaching them the virtue of subordination… would
render them insolent to their superiors…[and ]if this Bill
were to pass into law, it would go to burthen the
country with a most enormous and incalculable
expense..”
(Gillard, 2011)
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CEDEFOP
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Finland
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Equality and economy transformation
“At the time of independence in 1917, education was
seen as a tool for maintaining national identity, literacy,
and political freedom”
(Chung, J, 2009)
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The Finnish Model from JAMK university of applied
sciences.
Germany
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Unlike England although Germany disbanded the
apprenticeship guilds in the early 19th Century,
they were reinstated in 1897 due to international
competition in industry and also due to a belief that
the traditional apprenticeship prepared the
trainees well for society. They still exist today.
The Wurzburg Experience from the Klara
Oppenheimer Berufschule.
Historic Perspectives on professions.
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Ancient professions
 The
priesthood, university teaching, law and
physicianship;
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Medieval Trade Occupations
 Surgery,
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Industrial era professions
 Typified
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dentistry and architecture;
by engineering
Groups emerging in the 20th Century.
 From
teacher to accountants and personnel managers.
(Lester, 2007)
Traits and characteristics of
professionalism
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Belfall;
An assessment process for entry to the profession
 A common body of knowledge
 A code of ethics
 A professional association
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Hoyle and John;
The possession and use of expert or specialist knowledge
 The exercise of autonomous thought and judgement
 Responsibility to clients and wider society through
“voluntaristic commitment to a set of principles.”
(Lester, 2007)
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Concepts of professionalism
“Of the main sociological perspectives on professions, structuralist or
functionalist approaches study the functions that professions perform, in
relation to society, so that for instance they can be seen as means of making
expertise available to the public good, and professional ethics as offering
safeguards against external pressures such as those of bureaucracy and
the market. (Hoyle, 1980)
Neo Weberian approaches such as the work of Larson focus on professionalism
as a “market project” and its effect in creating market or employment
rewards for those who achieve professional status
Marxist approaches focus more on professions in relation to power and class
relationships within society, while interactionist approaches, typified by the
Chicago school, are concerned with the interactions that occur within
practice situations and the meanings that these have in terms of wider
occupational or societal relationships.”
(Lester, 2009)
Comments?
Professionalism
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Autonomy
Agency
Subjectivity
But are we getting hung up on the notion of
professionalism –what do we want it to look like
and what do we hope it would do for us?
Class structure
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Germany
Finland
England.
Methodology for primary research
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England and policy decisions around Initial Teacher
training 2007- present day.
Visit to Finland
Visit to Germany.
Structure
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National
Regional
Local.
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How should Vet be structured?
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Convergence
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Should initial teacher training around pedagogy
and didactics be any different for secondary and
FE?
Thoughts on vocational pedagogy?
Finnish VET
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VET has many target groups; young people, adults and people in
working life who need upskilling or reskilling- VET is lifelong learning
VET is a tool to develop working life and promote employment
VET offers an open pathway to polytechnics and Universities
VET is attractive ( KEY!):44% of basic school leavers continue in IVET (
Now gone up to 51% )
IVET graduates : 68% enter the labour market and 9% continue with
higher education
IVET a drop out rate below 8%, a passing rate of approximately
60% (3 years nominal duration)
VET is good quality:
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VET providers are licensed by the Ministry of Education and Culture
Funding is partly based on the performance of the VET provider
Learning outcomes are evaluated on a regular basis.
VET Teachers in Finland
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80% of teacher teach vocational studies
20% of teachers are;
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Specialists in core subjects like languages, maths, science, arts and
social sciences
Special needs teachers
Guidance counsellors
Requirements for VET teachers are high
Masters/bachelor’s degree (depending on the particular VET
field)
Minimum three years work experience in the field
VET teacher education: one year of pedagogical studies(mostly
combined with teaching in a VET institution )in a vocational teacher
education institution
Approximately 75% of IVET teachers are formally qualified.
Challenges of VET
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Changing increasing and diversifying skills needs
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Matching VET to the skills of the labour market
Ageing population
Engaging the whole youth cohort in education- VET or academic
Skills development of those in working life or who are
unemployed
Engagement of employers
Developing incentives for employers to participate in the funding
of VET and in training the students
Changing and diversifying group of learners
New Learning methods and environments
Growing expectations and demands on education and training
Quality, skills needs, effectiveness and cost-efficiency.
Developing VET teachers professional
skills
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VET providers are responsible for VET teachers’ competence
development
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The government supports the continuing training of VET teachers
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Training priorities are established annually according to national VET
policy
TVET teachers are actively participating in developing VET
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Public funding for VET providers also caters to staff development costs
Primarily through the developmental activities of the VET providers
Via a pedagogical learning environment
Skills competition as a tool for developing VET
Work practice programmes for VET teachers
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Opportunity for VET teachers to upgrade their professional skills by
working in local companies
Work practice programmes are organised by VET providers in
cooperation with local companies
Work practice programmes have been financially supported by the
European Social Fund.
Lessons Learned- Finnish Experience
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Professional VET teachers with a strong educational background,
working life experience and pedagogical teacher training are
essential for high quality VET
VET teachers competence development is the cornerstone of success
for
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Teachers participation in the development of VET
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VET institutions, VET teachers themselves, school leadership, public
administration, working life
Motivates- and enables – teachers to combine teaching and
development work, which gives teachers the possibility to develop their
professional skills and VET in tandem
Helps to increase the appreciation of the VET teachers’ profession
The development of teachers’ professional skills must be done in
close cooperation with the world of work
Adequate public funding for the continuing training of VET teachers is
important
(Dr Mika Tammilehto Director for Vocational Education and Training Vocational
Education Division Department for Education Policy, Finland.)
Germany- Historical Development
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Educational model is the domain of the federal states (Laender)
Institutionalisation of teacher training for vocational schools is closely connected with
the institutionalisation of the vocational schools themselves
First training programmes developed specifically for vocational schools appeared in
the mid 19th Century.
University training followed by a two year second stage of practical training in a
“studienseminaren”, culminating with a state exam.
Lateral entry to the preparatory stage is possible for certain skills shortages if the
candidates are highly qualified in their area.
Interestingly, students that have a “through infusion” of specialist subject knowledge
perform better with the acquisition of didactic skills, as opposed to those trainees
whose complete their studies ina teaching- student specific form only.
The creation and curriculum of a vocational education teachers degree was decided
upon by the Vocational and Business Pedagogy sections of the German Society for
Educational Sciences in 2003. The concept behind this model is that it is multi
faceted, and alongside the preparation for teaching, gives students the skills
needed to work in the areas of corporate and further education.
Main focuses of the Vocational
Teaching Degree
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Fundamentals of vocational and business
pedagogy;
The didactics of vocational education and further
education
Conditions and structures of vocational learning
Approaches and methods of quantitative and
qualitative vocational education research
Studies of teaching and instructional practices
A total of 30 weekly hours !
Challenges for the future
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Recurring recruitment problems
Educational courses for teachers at vocational schools exist as a rule, only for
professions which are quantitatively important and for which the Universities have
corresponding differentiated departments for example, Electrical engineering,
Business studies etc- no undergraduate educational courses exist for teachers who
teach professions such as bakers, butchers etc
The theory practice problem plays a central role;
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Which practice should serve as the central reference; the concrete teaching experience of
the teacher or the (future)vocational practice of the students the teachers will be teaching?
Which practical benefits of educational theories are visible to the students, and how far a
university education can fulfil the students expectations of receiving proven instruction for
their job;
Insufficiently developed subject-specific didactics being taught primarily by practitioners.
Limited co-operation between first and second stage training- either duplicating or
contradicting previous study.
Few students enrolled on vocational teaching degrees so separate classes cannot be runtimetable clashes result
A big discussion around the concept of “vocational fields” is ongoing, which some policists
believe should govern the education of teachers for vocational schools to broaden their
teaching remit around a specifiic field and create specialists occupational practice in all
their facets, so not “mechanical” engineering or “electrical” engineering.
Emerging themes and conclusions
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Structure and government intervention
Funding
Class structures
Status of vocational teachers raises as the efficacy and
status of VET raises - if it works and students get jobs then
status is raised along with the status of the teachers involved
Mandatory requirements to train and become qualified
affect perceptions of professionalism
VET is key and as long as England does not recognise this –
teacher training will not be given the recognition it deserves.
What are the challenges?
Challenges for England
The meaning of employer engagement is very fluid.
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Few countries have achieved strong employer engagement without an
equally strong apprenticeship system, which remains elusive in England and
Wales.
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In spite of the government’s declared intention to have much VET employerled, the delivery of the Leitch targets will require a very strong lead from
government.
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Policy structures are both more complex and more unstable than in most
other OECD countries, and this inhibits employer engagement.
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A demand-driven system may imply more of a market in providers. But
attempts to open up the market have been halting and the effects
uncertain.
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While there is a substantial base of data and analysis, it remains
fragmented, with inadequate attention to international experience.
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The current sharp economic downturn is imposing a number of pressures on
the skills system.
Discuss….
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Recommendations
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Priorities for employer engagement should be clearly defined and the rationale for seeking
that engagement should be set out by the governments of England and Wales. Evidence on
employer engagement should be further developed. Fragmented surveys should so far as
possible be consolidated and co-ordinated.
2. Given that complexity and volatility in the VET system hinder employer engagement, the
institutions of the VET system should be simplified and stabilised. We welcome and support the
proposals of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) in this respect. These
proposals need to be sustained and further developed.
3. As a way to engage employers so as to reach the skills targets identified in the Leitch
report, governments in England and Wales should explore measures including those designed
to reduce the cost of training, the establishment of a stronger evidence base to encourage
employer support for training, and, possibly, the use of compulsive measures including training
levies.
4. Attempts to foster employer engagement in England and Wales should be closely linked to
the development of the apprenticeship system.
5. Governments in England and Wales should take account of previous experience, including
international experience, when extending the market in VET provision. In particular users need
good information about the quality of different programmes and institutions.
6. England and Wales should take account of international evidence more routinely in its
policy-making process. Consider the establishment of a national VET institution to oversee VET
research and analysis.
OECD Directorate for Education, Education and Training Policy Division October 2009