Attending the IFTRA (International
Forum of Teacher Regulatory Authorities) conference this week in Dublin was an
interesting experience for me. The international flavour of the conference and
the sharing of expertise and practice was exciting, as we discussed how teachers
are regulated in various places including, Ontario, New Zealand, Australia, Netherlands,
South Africa, Eire and of course here in the UK, in Wales, Northern Ireland and
Scotland.
What was particularly
interesting for me was the high esteem GTCS is held across the world. Now
working with GTCS and being a teacher, I had not appreciated that Scotland are
world leaders in supporting the teaching profession, both as a regulatory body
and in professional learning. Other countries represented at the conference are
looking to Scotland as an example of excellent practice.
The conference held in
Dublin, was themed around Leadership in partnership – the professional role of
teachers. Professionalism is still a notion I am wrestling with and I believe
the GTCS along with the profession, have to define what this means for teachers
across Scotland through the Professional Standards, however, alongside
professionalism sits fitness-to-teach. Are we as teachers, professional (as in we display the desired behaviours and
dispositions) or are we each a professional
(as in we display the desired behaviours and dispositions but also are regulated
through professional standards), I would argue the second.
Teachers across the world
are held in high esteem by the public, however, policy makers are increasing
the things that schools need to deliver, not just curriculum but wider
achievement and societal issues to which education can contribute but not
cannot fix alone. In this world of the immediateness of social media and a more
connected world of complex decision making, students need to develop the skills
to survive and thrive in the global digital economy, and schools have been
placed at the centre of this, to support all of our young people across the
world to develop these skills.
Teacher professionalism
and teacher regulatory bodies must look back to learn from good practice and
equally things that didn’t have an impact. GTCS must also always be looking
forward to better support teachers to become more professional, to know,
articulate and display their core values and commitment to social justice, for
teacher to take ownership of their own learning and be life-long learner and
improve the life chances of young people.
We are at
a tipping point or watershed moment (OECD, 2105) with era change through a raft
of interconnected issues such as;
·
globalisation
·
technology
·
knowledge
society
·
employment
patterns
·
demographics
·
patterns
of family life
·
migration
and inter-culturalism
·
inclusive
schooling
·
gap
between rich and poor internationally
·
destructive
subcultures and youth
·
transparency
and accountability
At this
time we are also faced with a changing role of teacher professionalism, there
are attitudinal and cultural changes to be made around how teachers view
themselves, their own learning and work. The role of a regulatory body is not always
seen but is in place to promote public and professional confidence and
interests in education. Within this, there is a strategic role for GTCS, as
Professor John Coolahan puts it, GTCS has to be the “fulcrum of trust by
society and profession”. There is also a changing role for communication, partnership
working and leadership across the education system with an emphasis on supporting
teachers but the regulation element of the GTCS work must always be high on the
agenda.
This changing
role can be evidenced across education systems as teachers take on the notion
of being life-long learners and the GTCS supports teachers in this through PU.
As a profession there are standards which have to be met and adhered to in
terms of conduct and behaviour. There are also universal standards of practice which
support teachers learning journeys and enrich the professional discourse of
what we believe is a professional educator in Scotland.
Part of
this changing role is supported through ITE provision as we set expectations of
new teachers to develop the skills, abilities and disposition which will lead
to career long professional learning and the best outcomes for young people.
GTCS’s role in this is to accredit ITE programmes ensuring they have the
correct duration, rigour, delivery, use research and appropriate school
practice to support new teachers to develop into enquiring practitioners. This
is enhanced through partnership working with the local authorities and schools.
In Australia, all ITE programmes also have to demonstrate that their students
have impact on student outcomes, this is an interesting proposition but what
would this look like in student placements and into the probation year and how
can it be measured?
There are indirect influences
that should be taken into consideration in supporting the changing role of
teachers, as teachers are expected to move from individualism to working
collaboration in learning communities to support development planning. The role
of self-evaluations and professional learning of teachers within this also
influences the changing nature of teaching. The engagement of parents in
learning is at the forefront of the policy drivers as a means of making changes
to how teachers and young people learn together to improve outcomes for all.
Being both creators and consumers
of research will also support teachers to improve their professional status as
they begin to make research enriched decisions and improve their understanding
of learning to support young people achievements and attainment. There are
still some questions as to the self-funding or budget available from the government
to enhance teachers through Masters level accreditation and learning. Being both
creators and consumers of research is evident in GTCS’s professional standard in
enquiry into practice and supports the changing role of teachers and the aspiration
of enquiring profession.
Harry
Cayton, Chief Executive of the Professional Standards Authority, gave an
excellent keynote on regulation, discussing the impact and implication of the
Right-touch Regulation paper, here.
Regulation has to be centred on people and be a framework that connects the
teacher as a human being to the work they engage in on a daily basis. The
research finds that people are better regulated by those they work with every day,
based on values rather than a set of distance regulation and compliance, therefore
the values must be at the heart of the regulation. GTCS have made values the
core of the professional standards with the Professional Values and Personal Commitment
as the first section and underpins each standard. Teachers must be responsible for
their actions which are based on the shared values and thus become accountable
and develop resilience in their working life. It would be interesting research for
GTCS to find out how teacher resilience (buoyance) is developed and then GTCS
would be able to further support teachers in this area.
Standards
for teachers have to written for and with teachers so they are transparent and
can be adopted and embedded into the psyche of teachers. Doing this creates a
framework in which professionalism can flourish and organisations can be
excellent (excellence can be defined as the continuous performance of good
practice combined with continuous improvement).
The Right-tough
regulation document provides a framework for a solution orientated approach to regulation
which keeps it clear and simple, and focuses on only using the regulation to
achieve the desired effect – no more, no less. For teacher professionalism this
would involve creating more space and time for learning and teaching and the human
elements of the job, with a shared vision for the level of risk and a
regulatory system where professionalism can flourish.
So, as a
regulatory body, GTCS ensures that all teachers on the register are provided
with a framework of minimum standards through the Standards for Registration.
Within these Standards and the CoPAC document, which outline the behaviour and
conduct expected of a teacher in Scotland, GTCS ensures that all teachers are
of a benchmark standard across Scotland, ensuring quality of teaching and
learning for all young people. This carries with it the function to discipline
teachers who fall below this minimum standards for expected conduct and
behaviour. The second and growing element of the work of GTCS is supporting
teacher professionalism through professional update. This involves supporting
teachers to engage in using the standards to signpost their learning journey,
undertaking professional learning and enquiry into their own practice to improve
their skills, knowledge and abilities, sharing their finding through
professional dialogue with colleague both within their establishment and
beyond.
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