Teacher professionalism and teacher identity through professional learning

This week I have been engaged in re-reading learning theories with the intention of underpinning my thinking about professional learning to help me co-create a resource to support teachers gather evidence of impact. This is where my thinking has got to so far.

Engaging with teacher professionalism and teacher identity will require a commitment to professional learning which will involve new learning or a revisiting of previous learning. This involves teachers developing new knowledge, skills, abilities and developing dispositions, while using literature to underpin their thinking.

Within learning for teachers, we have to consider how adults learn and how to support this learning. This raises questions about whether adult learning is different from children’s learning, and as such, should be structured differently. Knowles in his discussion of adult learning offers his principles of andragogy, which are based on various assumptions and are contested. Hartees’ (1984) critique of Knowles work discusses that adults are essentially self-directing, characterised by their experiences, and have a readiness to learn through a problem solving approach. This is added to by Mezirow’s (1997) research on adult learning, which shows that for adults to experience transformative learning, they must experience something different from children’s learning and become critically reflective of their own and others practice.

This begs the question of national bodies such as GTCS as to how can they support adult learning that is required to move the teaching profession to a research enriched profession? The answer will involve providing teachers with a range of opportunities in a variety of formats that offer rich, creative learning experiences that lead to mastery, which also challenges dispositional stances. This has to be accompanied by effective leadership that promotes teacher agency and can be defined as “the capacity of teachers to act purposefully and constructively to direct their professional growth and contribute to the growth of their colleagues” Calvert (1026:4). This supports the notion of practitioner enquiry being a professional learning activity where practitioners individually or collaboratively engage in enquiry into their own practice and then share findings locally or nationally. This has to be supported with structures of intelligent accountabilities within a positive professional learning environment that promotes a culture of continuous learning – life long learning.
Teacher professionalism and teacher identity is underpinned by the work of Dewey who argues for a scholarly approach to teacher education. This incorporates reflective practice where each learning experience is connected and reflected on holistically. Professional learning which is invoked by intrinsic motivation is more powerful than professional learning which is fostered upon teachers as it supports intellectual stimulation and growth and supports the teachers learning journey. Teachers as learners, like children, need to feel secure in their environment and feel confident in supporting the life-long learner within them. Teachers need to be guided by their thirst for knowledge and desire to learn, but take cognisance of their moral responsibility and the social justice agenda within the accountability framework of the learning community.

Each teacher should be supported to engage in appropriate, for them, professional learning in an environment and with the resources that supports their teacher journey. Sometimes that professional learning can be uncomfortable as we are programmed to ‘make sense of the world’ and sometimes professional learning disrupts our thinking. Teacher learning should be an active experience, typified by professional discussions and activities which involves gaining professional skills, knowledge, abilities through practitioner enquiry and professional learning.

Schools should try to create opportunities for professional learning in an environment that stimulates professional dialogue and encourages practitioner enquiry. Professional dialogue is an intensely social activity and through the internalisation of dialogue connections to ideas and thoughts ‘contributes to ‘sense making’ for each individual. So, sharing through verbalising is powerful as teachers make sense of their internal monologue and supports others to build on their knowledge and understanding.

For teachers, this means participatory modes of professional learning, creating a collaborative community of learners which involves all teachers within the community contributing what they can to building knowledge for the shared benefit for all, in an environment which celebrated difference.

Teacher Education and Retention

In ‘Teaching Scotland’ this week there is an article based on this post about teacher retention, here is the full post.

Teacher education and retention rates give an indication of the ‘health’ of the education system. If the number of students choosing teaching as a career is high and the attrition rates are low, then this shows a system which values its teachers as professionals and supports their career long professional learning.

From a study of Australian student teachers, those entering the profession are typically female, young, from less than affluent families’ backgrounds, with postgraduate career changers tending to be moving from a career with a similar occupational status as teaching. This is very similar to Scotland. For those student teachers in the study, teaching was not considered a fall-back career but a planned career choice even when there was strong social dissuasion as teaching. It was stated that teaching offers rewards that are not inherent in other occupations. These are linked to personal and social values which leads to higher job satisfaction.

The Australian study discusses that student teachers are motivated to choose teaching as a career based on motivators and values. The motivators being their ‘teaching ability’ related beliefs, personal utility values and positive prior experiences of teaching and learning. This is based on the intrinsic values of teaching, social utility values (making a difference) and personal utility values (job security). The values in the Professional Standards reflect the values of teaching and social utility values.

The Teacher Induction scheme is supported by research as support for early career teachers (ECT) is deemed essential as ECT develop a sense of ‘Who am I as a teacher?’ and ‘Who do I want to become?’ In education systems that support teacher professionalism, like Scotland, ECT are supported by a mentor, who can be both formal and informal. There is evidence that both are vital, as ETC need to develop a social network and have a social connectedness in order to ‘find themselves as teachers’. ECT need space to ask both instructional questions but also share thoughts and concerns with colleagues to develop as sense of belonging. School leaders should offer opportunities for all teachers to be connected through TLC’s and invest in staffrooms as social spaces to support the formation of casual networks. 

More market driven education systems of countries such as the USA and England, which invests little in teachers and PL show higher attrition rates.  The recently published report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, England (2016) states that the retention rate for primary trainees was between 58-68%. For secondary trainees, the retention rate was on average 37-44% for Teach First graduates and 59-62% for other routes. When the cost is also compared with other methods of teacher education in England, the Teach First model cost an average of £38,000 compared to other routes which are broadly on par with each other costing between £18, 000 - £23, 500 for secondary graduates. This market driven approach does not appear to be best value for public money.

In these market driven education systems, the way teachers are prepared for the classroom also shows a lack of understanding of the complexity of learning and teaching, and instead develops teachers who have a narrow concept of teaching. This narrow view is enacted as the ability to raise test scores and does not embody successful teaching as the ability to incite curiosity, develop a love of learning or cultivate empathy and compassion for others. This narrow view also undermines the deeper and broader view of building human capital. As teachers in these systems are more about being in competition with each other than learning together, it creates a culture of individualism and does not support collaborative practice or building social capital. This is counterpoint to the aspiration of the Scottish education system which understands that partnership working and collaboration is the best way forward. However, partnership working and collaboration is not without its issues.

Scotland suffers not as much from teacher attrition or poor workforce planning but there is an issue with teacher geographical distribution across the country, leading to real problems with teacher numbers in some areas and some subjects in secondary schools. Typically, of the student teachers who start on an ITE course, 85% will graduate and then proceed into the Teacher Inductions Scheme. The retention rates of teachers from the Teacher Induction scheme has varied from the lowest of 73% in 2005 to the highest of 94% in 2015, the average retention rate over that last three years for the Teacher Induction Scheme is 89.6%. This is very good value for the public purse.  The investment made in our new teachers results in very high rates of retention, as the government representative from Saudi Arabia said after the Scottish system was explained “Ah.  I see now.  You grow your teachers.”

Recruitment campaigns to boost teacher numbers need to focus on a variety of factors and not settle for the easy option of promoting the social contribution and the opportunity to work with children. We have to be more explicit about the personal utility (job security/satisfaction) and intrinsic values that make teaching an option for a wide pool of graduates and career changers. Scotland provides access to high quality and teacher driven professional learning, reinforcing the view of teaching as a career, of teachers as professionals, and of teachers as life-long learners.

References

Allan, R. Bellfield, C. Greaves, E. Sharp, C. Walker, M. (2016) Long term costs and benefits of Different Initial Teaching Training Routes; Institute of Fiscal Studies; London

Richarson, P.W. & Watt, H.M.G. (2006) who chooses teaching and Why? Profiling characteristics and Motivations across three Australian Universities, Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 34:1, 27-56

Struyve, C. Daly, A. Van de Candelaere, M. Bieke De Fraine, Meredith, C. Hannes, K. De Fraine, B. (2016) ‘more than a mentor’, journal of professional capital and community, Vol 1 Issue 3, pp.198-218

Zeichner, K.7 Hollar, J (2016) “developing professional capital in teaching through initial teacher education”. Journal of Professional capital and community, Vol 1, Issue 2 pp.110-123

SCEL- enquire-connect-engage

Here are some reflections on the first SCEL enquire-connect-engage event which took place at Shawlands Academy. I was welcomed by a very bright, lovely and chatty S1 pupil who introduced herself and then escorted me to the area of the school where the event was taking place.

On entering the space, I met in very quick succession Lynne Jones (the organiser,@MissJOnes), Fearghal Kelly (of pedagoo fame and SCEL, @fearghal_SCEL), David Cameron (@realdavidcameron) and Dr Aileen Kennedy,(Edinburgh Univesity, @DrAileenK), with these people in the room you know there are going to be great conversations around professional learning and practitioner enquiry.

David Cameron was chairing the event and in his usual charismatic style welcomed us all. In setting the premise for the day, David stated that perhaps “we should stop talking about good or best practice but start talking about sustainable practice”. Fenwick (2016:81) states “quality improvement has now become an expectation of professional responsibility” and I think that David is calling for a change in emphasis in Scottish Education to a more ‘meaningful and manageable’ model of practice that can be maintained, sustained and enhanced day in and day out.

Dr Aileen Kennedy gave the keynote which, as usual when I hear Aileen speak, both resonates and challenges my thinking in equal measures. Aileen discussed the following four key questions:

·         What is/might be transformed in ‘transformative professional learning?

·         How can we better understand the potential impact of different forms of professional learning?

·         What about issues of motivation and accountability in relation to practitioner enquiry?

·         Practitioner enquiry – individual or collaborative?

For some teachers, enquiry may promote levels of critical reflection that are ‘transformative’. Transformative learning occurs when individuals have the opportunity and skills to really question and consider their underpinning beliefs, assumptions, values and practices. This goes beyond developing content knowledge and requires a criticality and questioning approach, and as such the process of transformative learning can be challenging and 'uncomfortable'. The gains from transformative learning however are worth the effort as it can lead to meaningful changes in practice which impact positively on pupil learning. Kennedy (2011) talks about professional learning as needing to be “both personally and contextually relevant” so situated in the teachers practice and something that is relevant to them and their learners. This professional learning may be formal, as in part of an agreed action of learning through the PRD process or informal as it occurs through the year. Thus, the PRD action plan can be considered a live document that can be added to and altered in line with the needs of the teacher and their learners. In fact, Kennedy (2011) cites Rhodes, Nevill & Allan (2005) who suggest that informal and unplanned collaborative CPD [professional learning] is a key part of the development of professional identity.

Through Aileen’s research, she produced a 3 stage continuum of professional learning moved from transmissive to transformative. Within the tranmissive mode Aileen suggests that the models of learning include training models, deficit models and cascade models. At the other end of the continuum is the transmissive mode which has only one model of learning in Aileen's model, which is collaborative professional inquiry models. The middle section of the continuum is entitled  ‘malleable’. This malleable section contains professional learning activities that have the capacity to be either transmissive or transformative depending on why, how and what of the activity. This stage contains activities such as award bearing models, standards based models, coaching/mentoring models, community of practice models. The malleability within these professional learning activities is desired outcome. Is it about “negotiating identity, managing transitions effectively, producing innovations or even critically questioning norms of practice” Fenwick (2106), so about my autonomy as a professional or is it about institutionalised discipline? For example, is coaching and mentoring for my own personal growth or is it aligned to produce externally derived desired behaviours?

I was pleased to hear Aileen say that “practice is shaped by values and beliefs” as I am a strong advocate for the premise that professional values underpin teacher professionalism and teacher identity. At the moment, I am working with partner organisations to produce a learning resource which support teachers to explore professional values in their local context and how this informs their practice and professional actions.

The final question discussed by Aileen was about practitioner enquiry and an individual pursuit or a collaborative endeavour. Practitioner enquiry is usually undertaken within the practitioners own practice or in collaboration with others. Evaluation and reflective teaching are fundamental to practitioner enquiry and within collaborative enquiry the group shares a common research question which can then be ‘investigated’ through different lenses to enhance knowledge creation and dissemination within the group and beyond.  When a community becomes an enquiring community it opens up the possibility to challenge assumptions, to articulate values, to make their practice problematic and to form partnerships with academics to engage in theory and research to further enhance the life chances of their students. However, collaboration is almost seen as a power of good without any critical examination of whether it does lead to enhanced practice and shared learning. Fenwick (2016) states that “‘collaboration’ tends to be over-simplified in practice as a romanticised ideal of communication, and in policy as a universal governing imperative for professional work in public service”, this is augmented by Kennedy (2011) who states that “‘co-operation is not necessarily collaboration”.

In concluding, Aileen asked in undertaking practitioner enquiry, what would be your motivation? who do you share with? and who benefits? I think for teachers, regular engagement in practitioner enquiry supports professional growth by challenging or disrupting thinking. It helps to create a space to stop and look again at existing ways of working.

Having an enquiry as stance disposition is a powerful force in developing teachers’ agency and the enquiring professional demonstrates their commitment to engaging young people, their parents and the community in the education process. Through this, teachers recognize their accountability to learners and the collective responsibility of the profession, working together for the common purpose of improving outcomes for all and contributing in informed ways to “closing the attainment gap”. 

Fenwick, T. (2106) Professional Responsibility and Professionalism: A sociomaterial examination; Routledge

Kennedy, A. (2011) 'Collaborative continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers in Scotland: aspirations, opportunities and barriers' European Journal of Teacher Education, vol 34, no. 1, pp. 25-41.

Understanding Early Years

Early Years provision is an area I am interested in and have some personal but no professional experience of. I want to have a better understanding of the complexity of being a GTCS registered teacher in the Early Years especially in the current climate of austerity and the policy drivers of ‘closing the gap’. My thinking is moving to a position of prevention rather than cure, what can we do to prevent the ‘gap’ from forming? rather than trying to ‘close the gap’ once it is established. This week I was reading the EIS report ‘Sustain the Ambition’ which highlights some of the key messages from research commissioned by the EIS, on teachers in the Early Years and the final report which was published in January 2016, entitled “Sustaining the Ambition: the Contribution of GTCS Registered Teachers In Early Years”.

The report suggests, at present, that there is an inequality of provision for young children. The statutory position of Schools Scotland Code (2002), where a ratio of one teacher to twenty children per nursery class was laid out, has been replaced with legislation in which the local authority have to provide ‘access to a teacher’ for nursery children. This research states that only 12 out of 32 local authorities continues to employ full time teachers in each of their establishments. This reduces the impact teachers can have in helping to close the attainment gap at the earliest stage.

Children come into nursery from a wide range of family life experiences, there will be the most advantaged children who have had “language-rich and experience-rich environments”, to the most disadvantaged children from a background of poverty and vulnerability, who have parents who are themselves in need of support, encouragement and structure. The role of the nursery teacher and team then becomes crucial in the ‘closing the gap’ agenda because as the report states “for children to succeed, the family must have some success too”. So, teachers within the nursery sector have a “unique position to engage families and support” and they often work both formally and informally in educative ways to supporting parents as well as teaching the children.

Children now encounter many transition points in their lives, and their experience of the earliest transition points can have a considerable impact upon how they cope with change in the future. Nursery schools can make a strong contribution to transitions, from home to nursery and from nursery to primary school. The nursery teacher has a unique role to play in supporting this transition to support the children to develop skills to manage change and continue their learning journey.

While these pastoral transitions are important for children and families, the focus on learning and development is central. For the children, the learning that takes place in nursery establishments occur across many domains such as emotional, social, physical, creative, linguistic, spiritual and intellectual. These are the educational experiences on which future learning is based to build learning capacity, learning dispositions and build knowledge. Early levels cover the 3 to 6 years age range and provides the architecture for support, for children’s well-being and learning in a continuous way across the nursery and Early Years and early primary school settings. Nursery teachers work is informed by understanding the importance of, and undertaking ongoing professional learning to keep abreast of current educational thinking, understanding children’s thinking and holistic development, which enables them to provide appropriate educational challenges and individual support.

Curriculum for Excellence builds on Pre-birth to Three Guidance and aligns with ‘Getting it Right for Every Child’. Nursery teachers are responsible for observation, peer discussion, reading and self-reflection about teaching practice, and they bring a valuable knowledge of relevant learning and teaching theories and research to their work with children. Their pedagogy is informed by understanding that children need to explore, experiment, ponder and enquire, through play, and they have a critical role in observing, evaluating, recording, interpreting and then acting upon all they recognise to be significant to children’s learning, well-being and development.

The education system alone will not close the gap in attainment and outcomes that exist in too many of our children. Investing in high quality GTCS registered teachers in Early years is one solution to aligning the desire of CfE that learning through doing, like in nursery, should percolate into early primary, as this is perceived to be effective and produces independence and self-reliant learners.

So what now? For me, more reading to continue to improve my understanding, and more thinking and professional dialogue to find other solutions to help ‘close the attainment gap’.

Digital Literacy

Digital literacy is a term that is being used frequently across education, but what does this mean? To be digitally literate changes over time and across contexts as technology and situations vary, therefore digital literacies can be seen, as a set of teaching practices that are supported by changing technology. In a world where technology is readily available to most, being digitally literate also means being both a creator and consumer of digital content by having skills, knowledge, understanding, values and attitudes, which supports both of these roles. However, in the education system, there is not equity in availability of digital access which creates a social divide. To address this, digital access needs to focus both on the technology and the capability of people to interact with technology, and teachers need to recognise that different experiences of children in terms of digital access and competencies are key components to becoming a digital citizen. Being a digital citizen has been described as someone who uses the internet every day.

There are many writers who have coined terms to describe children who have grown up with technology, Prensky (2001) uses the term digital native, while Tapscott (2009) called them the ‘net generation’ and ‘screenagers’. Brown and Czerniewicz (2010) used the terms generation X, Y and Z, other writers talk about the ‘app generation’. Regardless of the collective term used these children have grown up in a world where technology plays a large and important role in their lives. Children of this age are less ‘stuck’ and freely learn through the clever designs of devices that are intuitive and leads to learning without instruction. A good example of this is illustrated by The Hole in the Wall project (Mitra, 2007).

Teachers therefore, have to adapt and learn new pedagogies to support learning with technology. Teachers need to have a repertoire of communication strategies to engage children and support their learning. Literacy across the curriculum which is a responsibility for all, should include different types of literacies including digital literacy, indeed it is recommended that digital literacy should be included as an aspect in all subjects and not just in computer science.

Learning and teaching are complex, both tacit knowledge and practical wisdom are needed alongside a range of knowledges which Shulman (1986) outlines as;

·         Subject knowledge

·         Curriculum subject knowledge

·         General pedagogical knowledge

·         Pedagogical content knowledge

·         Knowledge related to learners and their characteristics

·         Knowledge of educational contexts

·         Educational philosophy including aims and values

The teacher’s technical pedagogical knowledge relates to the teacher’s general knowledge of how to use the affordance of the technology to a make the learning more effective. Simply having technology available does not mean it is having an impact on pupils’ achievement, where installed software is inappropriate or where teachers lack confidence and the IT capability to use it, technology may be of limited value. Teachers also need to recognise that not all initial attempts in teaching with technology will be a success, but reflection on the experience will ensure that digital literacy evolves along with a growing understanding to its pedagogical power.
The concept of digital citizenship suggests the boundaries are not physical but digital. Therefore, understanding digital citizenship involves understanding the nature of digital technology, within the broader context of the technological world and networked society of the digital age. The education of digital citizens involves developing confidence and capability with digital technology and the digital world.  This includes a focus on e-safety, ethical behaviour and digital rights, as well as responsibilities as part of developing good digital citizens, click here for a fuller explanation.

The use of technology has the ability to enable teachers to increase the value of the learning and increase the authenticity of the learning experience. One thing is true about learning with technology is that technology is constantly changing and as such should be seen as a tool to support learning if it is used well and thoughtfully.

Thoughts on equality inspired by Dr Arshad

This week I was lucky enough to attend The Stanley Nisbet Educational Colloquium Lecture which was delivered by Dr Rowena Arshad OBE, of the University of Edinburgh. The title of the lecture was “‘Race’ equality and Scottish School Education: Lessons from Research”.

In my new role, I am looking at creating a Professional Learning Package to support teachers to contribute to the equalities agenda, as equalities is an area that I think we (as teachers) often take for granted and assume that we are inclusive. Each time I have heard Dr Arshad speak, the same key point she makes disrupts my thinking. She says that

"to be truly inclusive we first must work out who and what we exclude, because only then can have complete inclusion"

We have Equalities legislation in place relating to race, gender, age, disability, religion or belief and sexual orientation. The Additional Support for Learning legislation states that there is a duty to provide additional support for learning when any child or young person needs support for whatever reason. This should promote equality and challenges all teachers and the education system to embrace and respond to the diversity of our learners, but is this truly working in practice? Dr Arshad uses her research into ‘race’ to discuss how equality is working in Scottish education.

The idea of ‘race’ is a contested term that doesn’t really have meaning, it could mean culture, it could mean ethnicity, it could mean skin colour, it could mean religion, it could mean so many things that in fact in this context, it has no agreed meaning. In Scotland, we view ourselves as being inclusive and not ‘racists’ and view racism as ‘elsewhere’ but that doesn’t mean it does not exist. Since in Scotland ‘race’ has never been an identifier of social organisation, we are uncomfortable and lack knowledge and confidence in discussing with young people issues of racism. However, as Dr Arshad says “by not acknowledging discrimination you are discriminating”. Is this attitude of ‘it’s not really a problem’ an appropriate way to deal with such a complex issue that does exist? Are we not letting down our young people if we don’t give them opportunities to talk about racism in school as a ‘safe places’ because teachers are fearful and anxious not to offend? If we are to support our young people to develop the skills to be global citizens and thrive in a global economy, do we not have a duty to discuss issues such as racism?

All of the Standards for teachers in Scotland begin with a section on professional values and personal commitment and the following statements can be found under the heading of social justice;  

I am committed to the principles of democracy and social justice through fair, transparent, inclusive and sustainable policies and practices in relation to; age, disability, gender and gender identity, race, ethnicity, religion and belief and sexual orientation.

I demonstrate a commitment to engaging learners in real world issues to enhance learning experiences and outcomes and to encourage learning our way to a better future.

These statements should be lived and breathed and evidenced in practice not platitudes on a page. Equality should be ubiquitous in the curriculum, in teachers practice, in the structures and frameworks in the education system.  In HGIOS 4, Inclusion and equality is a separate subsection of the Success and Achievements: QI: Ensuring well-being and equality and inclusion, should equality not pervade all of the indicators? The education system needs to challenge and surface inequalities by not adopting a ‘happy families’ approach where it is perceived that everything is alright, but seeking opportunities to challenge and discuss inequality in its many guises.

It would be accurate to say that most teachers are not confident in discussing ‘race’ issues as the somewhat homogenous nature of the teaching profession means that many have never encountered being the victim of racism. Teachers “need space for deep meaningful discussions” to develop their thoughts and abilities in structuring conversation with young people to facilitate discussions. We have to be braver and have conversations which move beyond discussing racism in terms of artefacts and beliefs, and move these conversations into the reality of being. For example, for a person with a particular religious belief, how does their religious identity complement or conflict with the ‘social norm’ and what may lead to them being excluded? How does this impact on their confidence, their self-esteem, their own perceived abilities?

To promote equality all young people, need to see themselves in the curriculum, in the education system and in society, to support the development of their own identity and support their aspiration whatever that may be. It is incumbent on the whole education system to address the needs of all, to promote and support equality for all.

Professionalism and Professional Learning

This week I have been doing some thinking about professional learning and how this is underpinned by teacher identity and values, and how these contribute to the professionalism of teachers, here are some thoughts;

First of all, I think we can all agree with Chapman who asserts that “the quality of teaching is a critical factor influencing students learning” (2012:387). So how do we as an education system, support teachers professional learning and provide a quality learning experience which influences both teachers as professionals and teachers daily practice?

Gewirtz (2009) discusses teacher learning occurring in three modes which are “participation, construction (social learning) and acquisition (deficit model), so teachers professional learning is complex as it is a mixture of pedagogy, subject knowledge and practice, and is also strongly influenced by values.

A teacher’s professionalism reflects professional learning and values, and can be considered an individual perspective. However, Mitchell (2013:388) argues that there is a tension in this concept of teacher professionalism being individual as it is also “consensually derived”. Thus, if an individual is being unprofessional then they are acting in ways that does not comply with the consensus.

There is an argument that professional learning focuses mainly on aspects of behaviours and rarely considers either the ‘lived experience’ or ‘meaning making’ and as it influences only surface level practice and does not help teachers to get underneath and deepen their knowledge and skills, it is ‘more new learning’ rather than ‘deepening learning’. Various authors have contributed to these differing ideas of professional learning, Guskey asserts that the goals of professional learning are defined by “change in the classroom practice of teachers, change in their attitudes and beliefs, and change in the learning outcomes of students”, and Mitchell (2013) discusses professional learning as “the process whereby an individual acquires or enhances the skills, knowledge and or attitudes for improved practice”, both contributing to the idea that professional learning is about ‘more new learning’. Day and Fraser are more aligned the deepening of learning through reflection and moral purpose, Day’s definition talks about “the process by which teachers review, renew and extend their commitment as change agents to the moral purposes of teaching” and Fraser (2007) contends that professional learning is about “broader changes that may take place over a longer period of time”.

Research can influence how teachers think about and engage in professional learning. Research can help to underpin practice but also challenge ideas and assumptions about practice and values. Engaging in and with research can supporting teachers to become agents of their own learning and help increase teacher professionalism, promoting professional autonomy to create and decide ‘my leaning needs’ and ‘my learning journey’. Therefore, professional learning undertaken by teachers should involve opportunities to work together and to ask questions of their own practice and indeed the practice of others, which needs to be promoted and supported. This is high on the agenda for Scottish education and must remain so, if we are to be true to the aspiration of being enquiring professionals.

Practitioner enquiry is a vehicle to support teachers to engage with theory, policy and practice within their own local environment and is congruent with the act of ‘becoming’. It should lead to deep transformative learning, which significantly informs and influences a professionals’ understanding, practice and impact on pupil experiences. Engaging in enquiry helps teachers to “‘let go’, unlearn, innovate and re-skill in cycles of professional learning throughout their career in response to changing circumstances”, Menter et al (2011) and Sachs (2003) argues that undertaking practitioner enquiry can “act as an important source of teacher and academic professional renewal and development”.

Engaging in research may take the form of a simple enquiry based on a few questions or may involve a more structured and systematic professional learning opportunity where the enquiry is more in-depth and rigorous in methodology, evidence of impact and analysis.

Other forms of professional learning can also support teachers to deepen their knowledge and improve their practice, and although attending a one-off event can be enjoyable and beneficial, unless this has impact on practice it is not the best use of a teacher’s precious time. Professional learning needs to challenge the ‘going on a course’ mentality and move to finding the learning and research that meet the professional learning needs of teachers and support their learning journeys.

Teacher professionalism and professional learning, asks teachers examine their own beliefs, assumptions and behaviours so they can contribute to equality and social justice for all learners. It asks teachers to continue to improve and deepen their knowledge, skills and abilities in ways that keeps their practice relevant, fresh and alive, and to balance accountability with professional autonomy. All of this is expected and more, from teachers who are in the main intrinsically motivated, dedicated, have an altruistic disposition and drive to make a difference to the young people of Scotland.

References

Menter, I Elliott, D Hulme, M. Lewin, J Lowden K. (2011) A Guide to Practitioner research in Education. SAGE publishing

Sachs (2003) The Activist Teaching profession: Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice

Volume 9, Issue 2, 2003

Mitchel, R. (2013) What is professional development, how does it occur in individuals and how may it be used by educational leaders and managers for the purpose of school improvement? Professional development in Education, 39:3, 387-400

Reflections on ‘The Global Fourth Way’

During my week of annual leave, I had time to delve into the ‘The Global Fourth Way’ by Hargreaves & Shirley (2012), below are some thoughts and observations from this.

The globalisation of education has led to extensive policy borrowing and transmission across continents. In their book ‘The Global Fourth Way’ Hargreaves and Shirley (2012) discuss the changing paradigms of education across the globe and build on their previous work in investigating the conditions and readiness of education systems to move forward and react to our 21^st century learners.

Global education has many influencers and as we are influenced by a global economy we are in danger of education moving from being a traditional and altruistic venture into what Diana Ravich calls “venture philanthropy”. This is where prominent individual who create education foundations “converged in support of reform strategies that mirrors their own experience in acquiring huge fortunes, such as competition, choice, deregulations, incentives, and other market driven approaches” (p2). This backward looking model also has a foothold in the aspirations of parents who have a nostalgic attachment to traditional schools and their familiarity. This is well meaning and brings much needed money into the system but the direction of travel can be regressive referencing at ‘what worked for me’ and trying to replicate this in a different time not taking into consideration changes and developments.

Moving to a more innovate way of being and learning requires change. Christensen et al put forward their theory of disrupting innovation which predicts that a “vast wave of innovation” will overtake schools, leading to a transformation in public education. They warn that this may include the termination of schooling as we know it, unless the education system can adapt to digital innovations and embrace alternative providers. The current thinking of subject silos is one of the inhibiting factor which may prevent a reinvention of schooling but there has to be a will to change from the ‘purity and hierarchy’ of subjects and manage the backlash which will inevitably come from any innovation that challenges this particularly at ‘life determining points’ for high achieving children.

The Third Way found in some countries, e.g. England and Canada, evidenced some gains in terms of teacher’s morale and student achievement. The Third Way emphasises a top down model where data, in the form of target setting, is championed. The extensive use of data usually goes hand in hand with the use of technologies to support the data driven education system. Hargreaves & Shirley give caution here as technology can quickly become ‘overextended, distracting, and self-defeating’ (p39) and ‘exacerbate an already excessive belief in or dependence on data’ (p39) as a mean of improvement.

This leads us onto the Fourth Way which can be characterised by an ‘inspiring and shared moral purpose to transform learning and achievement for all’, with targets being self-directed ‘not politically imposed’ (p9). A broad curriculum with a range of learning for all young people, where teachers develop the curriculum collaboratively are also in integral to the Fourth Way of educational change.  Alongside this is an aspiration of data to inform teacher inquiry and decision making within communities of learning, where leadership is ‘about developing and sustaining responsibility for innovating and changing together’ (p9) – collective responsibility

The issue of assessment and testing is one that is predominant in the discourse in Scotland at the moment as the National Improvement Framework is being actioned. An issue with high stakes testing is that it can lead to a distortion of learning and teaching as teacher can ‘teach to the test’. Assessment should be seen as a signpost for the learning that has happened and how well it has been taught. It is more about the progress in learning rather than the product of learning at a particular point in time. Hargreaves & Shirley frame this as “learning is the true purpose of schools and the point to testing and all assessment should be to support that learning, not diminish and distort it” (p182). In the Fourth Way testing is

‘prudent, not pervasive. It is part of the system but does not dominate or distort it”

 Hargreaves & Shirley define five principles of professionalism, which are

·         Professional capital

·         Strong professional associations

·         Collective responsibility

·         Teaching less to learn more

·         Mindful uses of technology

 Professional capital is the product of human capital, social capital and decisional capital. Valuing professionals begins with the signals of trust and respect sent from leaders and policy makers. Where professionals are highly respected and engage with the public, they can enact their social capital that has a positive influence on the lives of their colleagues and the young people they work with.

 The expectation of professional educators is in line with all professionals who are expected to undertake professional learning to upgrade their skills and knowledge, professional reflection on their own and the practice of others, professional enquiry through engaging with and in research. Hargreaves & Shirley go further as state that “being a professional means going far beyond what is in any written contract. If you are fixated on your contract then you have a job, not a profession” (p196).

All improvement should have impact on the pupil experience and outcome. As describes by UNESCO, learning should be about “know and learning to do” but also “learning to be, personally and spiritually, and learning to live together in community and society” (p189).

However, there are limitation in the cycle of improvement, described by Hargreaves & Shirley as the paradox of improvement which is “knowing you have to quit when you are still look like you’re ahead”. So know where you want improve, know how to improve and the impact of that improvement but be aware of when to quit and move on before you reach the attrition point, Hargreaves & Shirley state this as the need to “harmonise incremental improvements and disruptive innovations” (p27).

Reference

Hargreaves, A. & Shirley, D. (2012) The Global Fourth Way – The quest for Education Excellence: Sage Publications: London

Feilte, professionalism and professional learning

During the Teaching Council Ireland Learning Festival, Feilte, I was struck by the similarity between the conversation in Scottish education and education in Ireland. Hot topics for both nations are professionalism and professional learning.

Teacher confidence and professionalism is based on their knowledge, experiences, skills and abilities and is firmly rooted in the values, assumptions and beliefs they hold. So what are the small wins that motivate you and keep you in teaching and as a learner? 

While you ponder that simple yet profound question, think about your daily routines with your classes. What energy do you bring? Teachers are the catalyst for the learning that goes on in their room, they create the energy and vibe for learning. 

Where do you make a difference? Who have you supported to have a lightbulb moment? Who smiled at you, because you were the only person who said their name? Teachers cannot underestimate the 'power' they have to make a difference to a child's life.

At the heart of this is relationships. Developing relationships and knowing children is one of the most important factors in helping children learn. One of my core beliefs is "they don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care", so show them how much you care. This investment in children and young people is crucial and because you have invested time and energy, the children and young people have an increased investment in your relationship and become accountable for their own learning through that relationship.

Professionalism is underpinned by your values, assumptions and beliefs. In challenging your own assumptions, values and beliefs think about the 'white mask' that some children wear to fit in because they cannot see themselves reflected back through the curriculum or through the experience of education. Who are the 'invisibles' in your classroom? Who is wearing a 'white mask'? How are you displaying your assumptions about race, gender, sexual orientation, learning ability etc.? Do you need to stop and challenge your pedagogies and learn about yourself and how you project your values?  Do you understand diversity in all its guises so you can teach in an equitable way? Do you know and understand and use wisely, the influence you have in children's development?  And do you accept, understand and use wisely, your position as a role model?

Another aspect of professionalism that is profoundly impactful and requires time, space and energy is professional learning. Within the busyness of teaching, where do you find the time to try new things? To challenge your thinking? Or to develop your teaching practice? 

Time is a major issue for all teachers across the globe. There are competing demands such as administration tasks, preparation and correction and improvement planning which all consume large swathes of teacher’s non-contact time. Then teachers are expected to still have the energy to be creative and innovative in their practice.

In my experience the best way to innovate practice is by talking with colleagues both from within and beyond your own school. Teachers are the best resource in education. Professional collaboration and sharing is one of the best ways to move forward and challenge your practice. When you share your learning it becomes more powerful to you and is also more credible to your colleagues than an 'outside expert' telling them that 'it will work'.

Professionalism also requires teachers to have a voice and to think critically about policy and their practice. Teachers voices matter. Teachers can be the agents of change for the education system if they take responsibility for their own professional learning and become solution orientated, to become better tomorrow than they were today. Teachers should plan for meaningful professional learning that enhances their practice. The better prepared teachers are, by having a purposeful focus for both their own learning and the pupils learning, the better chance of improving attainment for all learners.

Excellence and equity can be achieved through the creation of space and time for professional collaboration and teacher agency.  The creation of time requires a change in the focus of the education system to prioritise professional learning. This change accompanied by a cultural shift to professional collaboration becoming the norm will empower teachers to challenge and support each other's learning and be the agents of change. 

What is the purpose of education?

In the run up to the Scottish Learning Festival this week, I have been thinking a lot about professionalism and values and why these are so important. This then led me to the biggest question of all, which is, what is the purpose of education? How do values and professionalism tie in with the purposes of education? So here are some thoughts.

In discussing the purpose of education, there is often a narrow view about the products of education and the current theories of learning are insufficient to capture what education is about. Education can be described as multi-dimensional. The multi-dimensions that it serves are economic, social, spiritual, cultural and political aspects of individuals lives. Education for the masses was originally about promoting a literate society, which has evolved to a learned society where educators are being asked to prepare young people for their futures in a rapidly changing world and to enable them to compete in a global economy.  Politicians often discuss education in terms of economic capital, being a cornerstone of society and essential for developing life skills.

Key documents in Scottish Education such as those relating to the Scottish Attainment Challenge, the National Improvement Framework and Curriculum for Excellence all have as a central tenet that the purpose of education is to create a more successful country with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth. This is to ensure that all our children and young people are equipped through their education, to become successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens, the 4 capacities of Curriculum for Excellence.

According the Biesta (2010), the point of education is “not that students learn but that students learn something, that they learn for a reason, and that they learn it from someone”, [original emphasis]. This can be restated as students need to learn - content with purpose within a relationship. The purpose of education is multi-dimensional and Biesta (2010) has suggested three domains of purpose which are interdependent and these are;

·         Transmission

o   qualifications (the acquisition of knowledge, skills and dispositions)

·         Socialisation

o   traditions and ethical norms for their culture

·         Subjectification

o   impact on the student as their own person

Learning is more about developing skills and capacities to keep pace with the changing global economy. When we are born we have innate instinct that can keep us alive but our ability to learn and to continue learning is what makes us human. We learn to continue to feed our brains new experiences, creating new connections and to reinforce existing connections. However, most of what we learn before, during, and after attending schools is learned without its being taught to us. We learn more from independent study, play through interacting with others informally, sharing our learning and through trial and error.

The language of learning is insufficient for expressing what matters in education and has moved teachers and learning into the abstract of ‘supporting’ or ‘promoting’ learning, while discounting the ‘of what’ and ‘for what’ in the learning. ‘Learnification’ is a term coined by Biesta (2010) to describe the ‘new language for learning’ which has been created in the discourse. This ‘learnification’ has moved the language to everyone being described as ‘learners’, schools becoming ‘places of learning’ and adult education becoming ‘life-long learning’.

So the purpose of education can be considered from two different world views. The first, the formal world, which consists of schools, further and higher education, creating a standardised model of ‘21^st century learners’. The second, the informal world, where knowledge, information and skills are transmitted to the willing by the wise.

References

Biesta, G. (2015); What is education for? On Good Education, teacher Judgement, and Educational Professionalism: European Journal of education, Vol 50, No.1

http://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2012/08/15/what-is-the-purpose-of-education/#59e54d563566

http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_update/eu201207_infographic.pdf

http://www.ascd.org/publications/newsletters/education-update/jul12/vol54/num07/What-Is-the-Purpose-of-Education%C2%A2.aspx

http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/learningandteaching/thecurriculum/whatiscurriculumforexcellence/thepurposeofthecurriculum/

http://www.gtcs.org.uk/TeacherJourney/scotlands-education-system.aspx

http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0049/00491758.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-purpose-of-education

Research in the classroom - Reflections from ResearchED

At ResesarchED this weekend, teachers, academics and 'others' gathered to share, debate and present ideas around research in education, schools and classrooms. 

One of the sessions I attended was presented by James Murphy (@horatiospeaks) the title of which was 'Research design you can use in the classroom'. The title resonated with me, as I have been thinking a lot recently about enquiry and research, particularly with the #SCELenquire events coming up soon, here, for which I am doing the keynote for the Edinburgh event, but also leading a learning conversation at each of the other events.

At GTCS, we are strongly focused on teacher professionalism and teacher identity, and how to support teachers to engage with research to develop an ‘enquiry as stance’ disposition through undertaking practitioner enquiry and other activities. One of the issues with this aspiration, is how to make enquiry and research meaningful but manageable for teachers, so they can engage with research to inform their practice but also generate their own research. So off I went to James’s session to try to find out more about how to support teachers research in their classrooms.

James's session challenged the myths about the need for large scale research in classrooms and offered a discussion on single subject 'quasi-experimental' research design to support teachers to be consumers and creators of research. 

Large scale research like random control trials (RCT), I would suggest are not the way forward, as for teachers they have more limitations than benefits. Firstly, there would be an issue with scale. The sample size would not be practical i.e. the number of participants needed would be in the thousands, this is unmanageable both in terms of access to that number of participants but also the time involved in doing such research. Secondly, cost, both monetary and time, for RCT is prohibitive for teachers. Finally, the depth of analysis i.e. separating out the variables is very difficult, RCT usually reports on a whole programme, not one variable, making this type of research very difficult given the multiplicity of factors that influence people and learning.

Quasi-experimental research, to use James’s description can be used by teachers in classrooms to enquire into and inform practice. There can be limitations with this type of research as these enquiries can have limited transfer. There is also an issue with the sample size, as it can range from a few individuals to a whole class, so can it be valid research? I would argue that it is valid, if it is contextualised and informs the teachers’ practice to support improved outcomes for young people and children with whom they support. To increase validity and the possibility of transfer, it would be valuable to be able to replicate the intervention/strategy. It is the responsibility of the teacher when they share their enquiry to describe their intervention/strategy clearly enough, for replication for themselves and other teachers. The data collected may also be questioned as often enquiry in classrooms relies on qualitative data. Qualitative data can be interpreted differently depending on the researchers’ bias, so it may be of interest to other teachers but it needs to be understood that the impact is highly contextualised with these pupils, within that classroom, at that time. There is also a further caution in that the relational data generated may show correlation between the intervention and impact, but without further study it does not give causation. Correlation taken as causation, can be dangerous, so in sharing and reporting findings teachers must acknowledge the limitations of their enquiry. Another consideration when carrying out an enquiry is the ethical dimension. The removal of an intervention/strategy to have replication has ethical implications, if we have removed an intervention/strategy where we have some evidence that works, it would be unethical to remove this just to show correlation or causation, depending on the research question. Using control groups also has ethical implications, I suggest it would be unethical to prevent one group of pupils receiving an intervention/strategy, that has some evidence that works to show impact and causation. An alternative to this would be to use students as their own control, this allows isolation of the variable and the teachers to do a comparable study of pupils, before and after the intervention/strategy as evidence of impact.

To finish the session James offered a simple enquiry framework, see below.

I would add to this the literature review, which should underpin any enquiry. Once the enquiry question has been defined, the teacher should find out what is already known about this. If you are a GTCS registrant, you can access academic journals and ebooks through the GTCS website, here, to help you.

I was asked to say why I was attending ResearchED, I wrote,’ I want to learn about new ideas and methods to support teachers to become enquiring practitioners and research informed’, I think this session perhaps did not give me anything new, but made me ask more questions about how the GTCS can support teacher professionalism and teacher identity through helping teachers to engaging with research and enquiry.

Getting it right for girls

Last week the EIS launched a report entitled ‘Getting it right for Girls’. This report shares findings about misogynistic attitudes in education and offers advice on how we, as an education system, can address this.

Misogyny, defined as -dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women - is influenced by factors such as the home environment, advertisement and the media. We have only to look at the recent media coverage of the Olympics to see misogyny in action, here. It is also true that there is a disproportionately low level of participation of women in public life and female politicians (and other prominent female figures) are routinely subjected to sexist comments in the press and via other media sources. I really liked to recent article in the Metro, here, which discussed Teresa May’s husband in the terms that are usually reserved for the female partner of a prominent male public figure. This piece perfectly highlights misogynistic reporting by the media.

The Legal Context

Misogyny can vary from overt sexual bullying to casual sexual comments or failing to conform to gender ‘norms’, which is often trivialised as humorous. The 2010 Equality Act identifies gender as a protected characteristic and as such schools and colleges are bound by the terms of the Public Sector Equality Duty, part of the 2010 Equality Act to;

·         eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation

·         promote equality of opportunity

·         remove or minimise disadvantages to meet the needs of the people from protected groups

·         encourage participation of protected groups

Misogyny should be challenged throughout the education system to modify behaviour and attitudes.

Misogynistic attitudes and behaviour

There are many types of misogynistic behaviours and attitudes all of which should be challenged. Some are developed in the home environment and through entrenched views, some are societal prejudices which are allowed to perpetuate and some are cultural. The following list in not exhaustive but gives some ideas of the daily prejudices against women;

·        Common use of misogynistic language such as ‘girly’ or overt sexualised and derogatory language

·        Dismissive or contemptuous attitudes towards females

·        Objectification of women and the use of social media to target sexual innuendo at females – which can be describes as bullying

·        Mockery and derision when women or girls adopt non stereotypical gender roles – this can leave the victim feeling rejected and the psychological effect can be long lasting

·        A double standard which criticises young girls who are sexually active

·        Physical violence is an extreme but commonplace expression of misogynistic attitudes, such as;

o   Physical, sexual or psychological violence

o   Sexual harassment or intimidation

o   Commercial sexual exploitation

o   Dowry related violence

o   Female genital mutilation

o   Forced or child marriages

o   Honour crimes

Gender pay gap

The effect of misogynistic attitudes and behaviours can be a significant hindrance to personal and social development. Statistically men are commonly the perpetrators and women and children more commonly the victims. Allowing the perpetration of dismissive, contemptuous attitudes towards women to go unchallenged can contribute to the persistence of the associated gender pay gap. The report shares a table of the percentage of male and female teachers in different roles (p10), below.

It is very interesting that Secondary, all grades is 63:37 (female to male) but secondary head teachers is the opposite proportion of 39:61 (female to male).

Strategies

Changing attitudes and fostering community level intolerance and sanctions towards such misogynistic behaviour are required and all education establishments have a role to play in this.

Education establishments could;

·        Create a whole school policy with very precise language as to what is and is not acceptable

·        Have a school mission statement which safe guards against gender stereotyping

·        Have zero tolerance to misogynistic language and attitudes

·        Work with partners and support parents to tackle misogynistic language and attitudes

·        Considering how misogyny as gender stereotyping may impact on student subject choice and take steps to address this

·        Facilitate Equality and Diversity training for teachers which is linked to the values heralded in the Professional Standards and which underpins professionalism of teachers.

Misogyny has no place in the Scottish Education system or in society and is an issue that needs to be addressed. Education is well placed to move this agenda forward.  I recommend this report to you and you can access the whole report here.