TEACHER EDUCATION AND TEACHER DEVELOPMENT IN A CONTEXT OF CHANGE

SerbiaNovember 2012

Professor Graham Donaldson CBUniversity of Glasgow

Propositions

Relentless drive to improve educational quality will continue

The twenty-first century learner is different

The twenty-first century teacher has to be different

We need new ways of approaching career-long learning

That requires a sophisticated concept of leadership

School improvement starts and ends in the classroom

Relentless Drive for

Educational

Improvement

School education is one of the most important and contested policy areas for governments across the world.

Evidence of relative performance internationally has become a key driver of policy.

Human capital in the form of a highly educated population is seen as a key determinant of social justice and economic success.

The pace and character of social, economic and technological change has profound implications for how we conceive education in the future.

States and individuals need high levels of education for future economic, social and personal wellbeing

Innovation is integral to educational quality - create the future not recreate the past

Models of governance and change need to be dynamic and promote alignment

↓RE-EXAMINE APPROACH TO AND RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN

TEACHING / LEADERSHIP / CURRICULUM / ACCOUNTABILITY

Successful 21st CenturyLearners

Deep knowledge

Strong core skills

Can change, adapt, transfer skills

Skills to access information, as well as retain it

Persistent, resilient, able to manage impulse

Have learned how to learn and want to learn

Strong interpersonal/ intrapersonal skills

Responsible, global citizens

Secure in their values

What do we mean by

‘quality’?

Qualifications?

Destinations?

Basics?

Wellbeing?

Capacity to learn?

Desire to learn?

Educated Person?

Lessons from High-Performing Systems

Clarity of purpose – values and curriculum

High expectations of achievement

Enabling all young people to achieve their potential

Emphasis on early learning

High quality teachers

Culture of professional learning

High quality leadership at all levels

Outward looking – open to but not beguiled by innovation

Intelligent accountability

Reflective and self-evaluative

Early focus on expansion of provision – more = better/strong teacher agency

1960s - Alphabet soup curriculum reform

Standards movement - measurement mania

School effectiveness

Curriculum specification

Professional conspiracies – competition & inspection

Teachers Matter - “It’s the teacher, stupid”

?????????

Fall and Rise of Teacher Agency?

It’s the teachers stupid!

• Overall, the research results indicate that raising teacher quality is vital for improving student achievement, and is perhaps the policy direction most likely to lead to substantial gains in school performance

• Students of the most effective teachers have learning gains four times greater than the learning gains of the least effective teachers ( Sanders and Rivers 1996)

Moving from being taught by an average teacher to one of high quality leads to an improvement which is roughly equivalent to the effect on learning of reducing class size by 10 students (Rivkin et al 2001)

Differences among teachers explain up to 23% of the variation in student test score performance that is potentially open to policy influence (Rockoff 2004)

Teachers Matter

The quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers

(McKinsey & Co 2007)

Teachers Matter but…

“For commitment to flourish and for teachers to be resilient and effective, they need a strong and enduring sense of efficacy…They need to work in schools in which leadership is supportive, clear, strong and passionately committed to maintaining the quality of their commitment.”

Day et al ‘Teachers Matter’ OUP 2007 quoted in Hargreaves & Fullan ‘Professional Capital’ Routledge 2012

Teachers and change

85 percent are resistant to change what works for them; ten percent are willing to change to be more efficient; and five percent are willing to try new innovations. Hence the moves to use accountability, government pressure, compulsion and the stick rarely change the conceptions or lens of teachers.

Hattie ‘Visible Learning ’ 2009 Routledge

And much teacher

knowledge is

Tacit

Intuitive

Situation bound

Chance

Wikman (Teacher Education Policy in Europe 2010)

We need teachers who -

have high-levels of expertise – subject, pedagogy and theory

have secure values – personal and professional accountability for the wellbeing of all young people

take prime responsibility for their own development

but also see themselves as and act as part of a team

see professional learning as an integral part of educational change

engage in well-planned and well-researched innovation

are outward-looking and seek partnerships

ANDSee themselves as having these values and

capacities

ANDAre seen by others to have these values and

capacities

How do we do it?

Select and develop high quality people

A continuum of teacher learning – framework of standardsintellectual integrityrelevantreflectivecollegiateresearch aware

Relentless focus on impact on young people’s learning.

Teacher Standards should-capture characteristics of high quality teacher

establish a common language of quality

provide a key reference point for teacher education – pre and post qualification

act as an incentive for career-long professional growth

provide a basis for evaluating progress

look credible to an experienced teacher

contribute to embedding innovation

help align policy and practice

If “the quality of education cannot exceed the quality of its teachers” then the prime task for leadership is to build the capacity of and maximise the impact of

those teachers, individually and collectively.

Leadership

Distributed – attitude not roles/not followership

Clear moral purpose/vision – social justice

Relentless pursuit of high quality

Respect for evidence

Continuous learning – lead learner

Communication/empathy

Outward looking

Capacity building

Policy frameworks for teacher evaluationMost countries (16/21) have policy frameworks for teacher

evaluation in placeCompletion of probation: 11/21Performance management: 13/21Registration: 6/21Reward schemes: 3/21

Where teacher evaluation is not regulated nationally, it may still occur informally at the local or school level

Forthcoming OECD Review 2012

Reference standards

All but two countries that have policy frameworks for teacher evaluation also have central standards to guide evaluation

For the completion of probation, most countries use central standards, sometimes complemented by description of duties / code of conduct

For performance management purposes, the use of school level rules, regulations or development plans as reference points for teacher evaluation is also common

For registration, central standards or particular registration standards; graduate profile in one country

Forthcoming OECD Review

Standards of professional competence

Dutch law defines 7 standards of professional competence for Dutch

teachers:

- pedagogically competent (safe learning environment)

- competent in terms of subject matter (contents and

didactics)

- competent in interpersonal relations

- organizationally competent

- competent in teamwork

- competent in cooperation with school environment (parents)

- competent in reflection and development

Standards in Netherlands

Basic skills:

The teacher clearly explains the subject matter

The teacher creates a task- oriented learning environment

Pupils are actively involved in the classroom activities Complex skills The teacher: tailors the lessons to various needs tailors the assignments to various needs tailors the available time to various needs monitors the progress of pupils systematically

Netherlands – Two categories of Skills

NetherlandsRick Steur SICI 2012

Central concept: The professional space for the teachers The use of professional space by the teachers

Summary of current policy context in Scotland

Supporting andchallenging

Improvement

Scottish Teacher Reform Programme

‘Teaching Scotland’s Future’ (Donaldson 2010)

Entry qualifications

New degrees – practicum reconceptualised

Continuum of professional learning – Standards

Professional review

Masters level profession

University engagement

Leadership college

Aligned policy

Strong partnership approach

ATEPIE PROJECT

Addressing the key issue – teacher capacity

Reference framework for teacher standards

Partnership across the region

Drawing on best international practice

Attention to dissemination

Inclusive development process

Big Messages for Policy

Build on the past but do not be imprisoned by tradition

Gearing and traction – focus on what matters

If it’s not happening in the classroom, it’s not happening (Elmore)

Teaching capacity – professional standards

School culture of aspiration, initiative, enquiry and impact on learning

Leadership focus on people and culture

Policy alignment