Spending some time working at the Scottish Government offices at
Victoria Quay has piqued my interest in policy. Some of the questions I have
asked Scottish Government colleagues are; Who creates policy? How is it
created? What research is it based on? How is it implemented, enacted? Is
policy quality assured? Basic questions I know but a starting point.
During the SERA conference in November I went along to hear Paul Adams
of the University of Strathclyde to further my knowledge on policy. Paul very
kindly gave me a reading list he uses with his M.Ed. candidates so I could do
reading, etc. on policy, as given I work full time I could not enrol in the
class. The reference on the reading list that has really resonated with me is
Paul’s own book entitled ‘Policy and Education’, this is well written and very
readable. In this post, I will use Paul’s book to briefly discuss the link
between policy, professionalism, and performativity as these are high on my personal
‘thinking about’ agenda at the moment.
‘Profession’ is a contested concept and is dependent on the political
stance and values of the viewer. Teachers tend to discuss their profession and
professionalism in terms of behaviour, conduct and standards they hold
alongside status given through public perception. However, teaching in the past
has been considered a quasi-profession, being given more accolade than some
jobs but not a true profession as it blends altruism with intellectual
engagement. The ‘golden age’ of teacher professionalism is considered to be the
50’s and 60’s, Hargreaves (2000) describes this as the period of the
‘autonomous professional’, where professional judgement was highly valued. Professional
judgement is back in focus as the NIF states that “consistent, well-moderated
teacher judgement” (p12) will be used to support pupils progress.
Both Day (2002) and Brennan (1996) argue that teachers as
‘professionals’ has been eroded by decentralisation and intensive government
scrutiny and that teachers are now part of ’managerial professionalism’, as
control has shifted away from professionals towards systems managers. So, improving
professionalism, through policy, which is linked to improving practice, may
come at the cost of a more technical approach for teachers and move away from
the autonomous stance of professionalization which increases teacher status.
The classical view of professionalism put forward by Robinson et al
(2004) has three dimensions; reasonability (altruism), autonomy and knowledge, an
alternative model is offered by Carr (1992) who defines four dimensions of
professionalism, which are;
•
procedural :
mastery of technical skills
•
deontic:
teaching being done for others in the light of professional judgement
•
supererogatory:
the way in which teachers carry their professional lives into their personal
lives
•
axiological:
the way in which teachers live their personal lives is as a role model.
Elliot (1991) discusses a model of new professionalism which considers
professionalism in relation to teachers making informed judgements and
decisions, while working in diverse situations and contexts. This leads to some
common threads, regardless of context, in; collaborative working, effective
communication to support understanding of different viewpoints, a holistic
approach as the basis of professional practice and reflection to support
professional judgement. As such, new professionalism is more concerned with
quality of service rather than status (Evans, 2008) and promotes the idea of the
professional as a reflective practitioner where professional learning is based
on context and collaborative approaches in
situ (Elliot, 1991). This type of reflective practice supports the
development of deeper understanding of both the teachers and pupils learning
and links with Hoyle’s (1974) term ‘extended Professionality’.
Neoliberal policies brought in by the Blair Government (1997) led to a
performance management system which positioned teachers as a ‘unit to be
managed’. Although Scotland has autonomy over education policy, there is
evidence of policy migration as Scotland too has moved to a more performativity
culture, where ‘commercialised professionalism’ which panders to profitability
and international competitiveness (Whitty, 2000) also gained some traction.
This created a rift in the teaching population as longer serving teachers
tended to have a more holistic vision, both for their professionalism and
pedagogy, whereas, newer teachers having not known anything different, seemed
more content with managerial and test-based education (Day, 2002). This rise of
performativity created unforeseen consequences as the caring role of a teacher
was reduced and it became a function of administration rather than the
altruistic and moral stance of the teacher, Noddings (2002) argues, ‘care
about’ (attainment) takes precedence over ‘care for’. This precedence of
attainment leads to test scores being used as the measure of ‘what teachers do
and how pupils achieve’ and the wider view of achievement is reduced. This
stance is premised on all pupils having an equal starting point, ignoring
social factors, and becomes a means of control by the government. This
diminishing professionalism where ‘best practice’ is shared as ‘the way to do
things’, regardless of context. We know that not all children have an equal
starting point and this is now being addressed in Scotland through the NIF as
stated on p3 “ensuring every child has the same opportunity to succeed, with a
particular focus on closing the poverty-related attainment gap” and through the
Scottish Attainment Challenge. More controversial is the intention of the
Scottish Government to continue the pursuit of national assessments which many
consider not the best way to show pupil progress.
Performativity also threatens teachers sense of agency and encourages
uncritical compliance. It reduces teachers time to connect with pupils thus
changing teacher identity to a more managerial model, which diminishes teachers
sense of motivation, efficacy, and job satisfaction. Mark Priestley, University
of Stirling, writes extensively on performativity and his must read blog can be
found here
In literature, professionalism is a contest proposition. In policy, it
is often used as a means of control leaning into a performativity,
accountability and managerial agenda. For me, teacher professionalism should
encompass the knowledge, skills and abilities, attributes and disposition that
supports teacher learning for improved pupil outcomes. This must also sit alongside
the moral imperative, the human face of teaching underpinned by values where
connection with learners are just as important as attainment data.
Reference
Adams, P. (2014) Policy and Education;
Routledge
