Dr Carl Peters
Executive Dean, Faculty of Education and Social Sciences,
University of Wales, Newport
Framing the Future
 Recruiting the ‘right’ people into teaching
 Recruiting the ‘right number’ of people
 Making sure they have ‘a job’ at the end
 Making sure they are well prepared for the job
 Making sure they remain well prepared
 Doing all of these consistently all the time
 Working effectively together all the time
Recruiting the right people
“Recruit great people and train them well” (Barber)
“Attracting good people into teaching” and “Focussing
on the quality not quantity” (Whelan in Andrews)
Some evidence that qualification levels on entry
correlate with effectiveness as a teacher but
qualifications are not in themselves a sufficient
condition for being a good teacher (Donaldson)
Processes and criteria for selection including UCAS
points/degree class vary across providers
Insufficient attention paid to how well applicants might
build relationships with young people, their likely
professionalism and future potential
Lessons?
 Finland: national test of literacy and numeracy and
problem-solving followed by university test of
communication skills, motivation and academic
ability
 France: national competitive exam for entry to
profession
 S. Korea: applicants for Primary ITT must be in the top
5% of their academic cohort in the national college
entrance exam
Recruiting the right number
 “The high number of training places on offer has
failed to reinforce teaching status by making entry
challenging and opens up the opportunity for
schools to recruit cheaper NQTs rather than
experienced professionals” (Leighton Andrews)
 Modelling demand remains very challenging
 Pool of latent teachers means we must deal with
the employment aspects of ITET as a priority
Making sure they have a job
 Teacher qualifications should be seen as attractive in
business and industry (Donaldson citing situation in
Finland)
 We only suggest teaching as a career outcome
 Emphasise the employability aspects of ITET courses
Making sure they are well prepared
 Recognise WG priorities of literacy, numeracy and
dealing with disadvantage – all qualifying teachers to
be trained in literacy and numeracy.
 Donaldson showed that ITET providers were strong in:
classroom management; pedagogy; subject
development; planning and evaluation but weaker in:
ICT, safeguarding; ALN; assessment and behaviour
management.
 He felt that ITET must address underachievement,
literacy, numeracy, ALN, deep learning and
management of challenging behaviour
also
 He also suggests that trainee teachers found
placement, seminars, group study and lectures most
effective but felt that the use of distance/blended
learning and understanding of other related
disciplines was underdeveloped
 Placements must be more consistent and good with a
benchmark set to be a partner
 More time is needed for ITET
 University-based teacher educators should undertake
an agreed programme of CPD each year
Making sure they remain well prepared –
Induction (or it’s not all about ITET)
 “Continuous improvement of pedagogical skills and
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knowledge” (Barber)
“Investing in teachers’ professional knowledge and
skills” (Whelan)
Focus on literacy, numeracy and behaviour
management (Andrews)
Not seamless, not rigorous and too variable
There is a role for HEIs in induction (Donaldson)
Features of good induction (Howe 2006 in
Donaldson)
 Individual induction plans and funds
 Involvement of HEIs in the first year
 Reduced teaching workload
 Collaborative training ethos in schools
 Separation of support and assessment of induction
International lessons
 In Italy serving teachers are recruited as NQT
supervisors for 2-4 years with a halved teaching
commitment
 In Japan NQTs spend 2 days a week in one to one
coaching with a guidance teacher
 In Norway, ITET providers develop the local authority
induction programmes
EPD and CPD
 CPD to be linked to system wide needs: literacy and
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numeracy, and
CPD opportunities (sic) will include the opportunity
to gain the Master’s qualification (Andrews)
Master’s in Educational Practice
85% of funding now delegated to schools in Wales
Professional Learning Communities and HEIs
Consortia – Integrated Achievement Service and HEIs
International lessons
 In many highly scoring PISA countries only about 1/3
of the teachers’ working time is spent teaching pupils
 Finnish teachers have one afternoon a week to plan
together and across schools
 Many countries have communal offices to ensure and
encourage interaction between teachers
 Japan and China use lessons as research opportunities
for teachers to seek improvements to teaching
Some interesting figures
 Singapore and the Netherlands require teachers to
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undertake 100 hours of CPD per year
In Sweden 15 days a year is allocated for CPD per teacher
In Sweden teachers can get 20% of their week funded to
attend PG courses
In S. Korea teachers of 3 years standing can get 5 weeks
(180 hours) off for CPD leading to an Advanced Certificate
In Singapore, through the Teachers’ Network , teachers can
attend 100 hours of CPD per year on top of 20 hours each
week of observation and research
New Zealand funds 20% release time for new teachers and
10% for those in their second year
Concerns
 Exclusion of ITET and CPD providers from discussion
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and development
Lack of understanding of Master’s (and other CPD) by
key decision-makers
Dearth of experience in civil servants
Financial constraints of the time
Other priorities such as formation of consortia,
merger, UW, regionalisation etc.
What we know
 Clear direction from Minister (but lack of clarity
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around operation)
Consistency of message across UK
Needs a joined up approach between schools, local
authorities, WG and HEIs (note limited place of HEIs
in SEF though) – we need “Quaternary Level Reform”
We must raise the status of teaching and teachers
together
We probably don’t need any more flexibility in training
provision
What we can do
 Selection of trainee teachers: work towards a Wales-
wide set of criteria and standards including literacy
and numeracy tests, possibly psychometric tests but
not apply dogmatically
 Ensure stakeholders are aware of the generic benefits
of an ITET degree and the transferable skills therein
 Challenge assertion at CPD is “highly academic and
theoretical “ (Andrews)
and
 Ensure ITET is research-informed (TLRP etc)
 Rebalance curriculum to include areas seen as deficits –
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lobby for 18 month or 2 year PGCE
Engage in dialogue with consortia and schools around
partnership working for QTS, Induction, EPD and CPD
Develop a close link with the WG Standards Unit
Develop CPD programme for teacher educators with key
partners
Work with WG to revise Standards fro QTS, Induction etc.
Use UCET Cymru as driver of change and to gain greater
consistency of practice without losing Centre individuality
References
 Wei, R. C., Andree, A. and Darling-Hammond, L. (2009)
How nations invest in teachers: High achieving nations
treat their teachers as professionals, Educational
Leadership, 66 (5), 28-33.
 The Scottish Government (2011) Teaching Scotland’s Future
(the Donaldson Report), Report of a review of teacher
education in Scotland.
 The Scottish Government (2010) Literature review on
teacher education in the 21st Century, Appendix 3,
comparator education systems.
 Andrews, L. (2011) Teaching makes a difference, speech
given on 2nd February 2011 at the Reardon Smith Lecture
Theatre, Cardiff.