In order to improve the status of the teaching profession (A teacher out of their depth attempts policy)

After writing a blog around the difficulty of teacher representation and the four spheres of knowledge that seem unattainable for any one teacher (Politics – Policy – School – Classroom) to truly be across. I was contacted by Clare King (@clarelorelei), who has been called upon to make a submission to the ‘Inquiry into the Status of the Teaching Profession’, she has been contacting politicians and received positive responses particularly from Andrew Laming and Pasi Sahlberg. Below is my version of her submission, which will likely be different to the below. If anyone else is interested in writing their own ’10 policies to improve the status of the teaching profession’, have a go and let myself (@steven_kolber). In addition, if there are experts in any of these areas, feel free to let me know where I am (undoubtedly) incorrect, or off the mark.

                                                           Three guiding principles:

1.       Allow teachers time to allow for real engagement with all aspects of education and minimise standardisation, including testing.

2.       Empower teacher choice and autonomy around curriculum and their knowledge of their students and the content that will best improve them as individuals.

3.       Allow teachers time and conditions that allow them to emphasise those things central to their role, preparing for, teaching and engaging with their students. This means removing unnecessary administration and needless box-ticking drawn from a factory and industrial model of education.

10 Policies that may improve Education in Australia:

1.       ‘In Victoria the department of education has been working hard to minimise the amount of email communication delivered by them to principals and the roll out of the ‘Policy portal’ has meant that schools can by-and-large complete policy documents in line with the department within two pages. This level of streamlining and minimising of administrivia is something that should be continued and indeed moved downwards into the lesson preparation and reporting area of schooling. Teachers are not trained to be administrators and 'completers' of written registers, but people committed to transforming and improving the democratic outcomes of their students, the young Australian citizens.

2.       Drastically minimise summative assessments and benefit teacher-lead and dictated formative assessments that involve and prioritise ‘small-data’ (Sahlberg & Hasak, 2016) that has a greater impact on student learning and progress.

3.       Standardise the move away from ‘End of Semester’ reporting towards continuous and ongoing reporting. Retain the policies around reporting but focus on reporting on progressions rather than presuming a ‘years progress for a year’s instruction’. This could easily be supported by digital product, but only in a sense that empowers rather than disempowers teachers, allowing choice and modification by the professional, the teacher. ILPs to be made using positive-phrased Functional Behaviour assessments rather than deficit-based language and funding models.

4.       Australian Teaching Standards. Teachers to spend no more than 10 hours annually, collecting evidence and documenting that they have achieved accreditation against the Australian Teaching Standards? Short, sharp, visual student snap shots, dot point documentation is encouraged in Government policy for all schools. A focus on teacher collaboration, mentorship and human interaction rather than an undue focus on written and documented proof or quantitative data.

5.       A minimum of 15 minutes extra minutes per day of schooling must be spent by all students and staff members doing healthy practices; physical exercise (like a whole school morning walk or run around the grounds) playing for younger students and some creative or social activities. To teach the whole child and be consistent with research on student development and learning.

6.       Graduate Teachers are supported with two mentors and get to experience positive collaborative and co-teaching on a weekly basis. Graduate teachers are acknowledged and recognised as important contributors to the school community. Teachers signed on as mentors to be given a period time allowance per week to accurately mentor and support their mentee over the first two years of the graduate teacher’s career. Consistent with research on the large gains made during this period.

7.       Additional leadership roles for teachers involved in policy, political and global issue in education to improve the awareness of the teaching profession and its dynamism within the global setting. These roles within the profession to be made more aware of the global state of education to allow them to contribute to the policy and political direction of Australian education aligned with the existing strength and knowledge base within the academic sphere and that present within our robust Education unions.

8.       The construction of more schools and more teachers to staff them to address the boom in student-aged citizens. Parent choice and the creation of quasi-economies minimised with the expectation that the local public school is the best option for all students. Funding solutions considered and tweaked to achieve increased equity for students.

9.       Workforce planning addressed, and significant incentives attached to rural and remote teaching positions, especially around subject areas of high need. Early Career Teachers (ECTs) received mentoring supported with real funding that values and encourages growth in the profession and aims to minimise teacher attrition and turnover. Further, ECTs must be required to repeat teaching the same grade year for at least three years to allow a focus on improving practice rather than merely relearning content.

10.   Principal workload addressed and pay scales increased to keep pace with the current workload. Policies are passed to improve the safety of Principals to minimise violence perpetrated against them. Scholarships and training made available to Principals, Leaders (including middle leaders) and Teachers to improve agency and empower all levels of the system.

Sahlberg, P., & Hasak, J. (2016). Big data’was supposed to fix education. It didn’t. It’s time for ‘small data’. Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www. washingtonpost. com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/05/09/big-data-was-supposed-to-fix-education-it-didnt-its-time-for-small-data.

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