Teachers’ conceptions of teacher professionalism in England in 2003 and 2006

Theoretical and political perspectives on the nature of professionalism in teaching are abundant, but little is known about the views of teachers themselves. We asked primary and secondary school teachers in England what teacher professionalism means to them. We explored what teachers think about professionalism, on what dimensions their thinking varies, and how much it varies. We researched how successful the government had already been, and how successful it would be in the future, in changing teachers’ conceptions of professionalism. Two large‐scale national surveys were conducted, with a longitudinal element. We found that teachers’ thinking about their professionalism may be construed as consisting of an inner core of strong, shared beliefs and commitments; an intermediate set of coherent but contested components of professionalism; and an outer layer of disparate elements which are generally highly disputed and which remain unintegrated into broader ways of thinking.     

The evolution of school league tables in England 1992–2016: ‘Contextual value‐added’, ‘expected progress’ and ‘progress 8’

Since 1992, the UK Government has published so‐called ‘school league tables’ summarising the average General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) ‘attainment’ and ‘progress’ made by pupils in each state‐funded secondary school in England. While the headline measure of school attainment has remained the percentage of pupils achieving five or more good GCSEs, the headline measure of school progress has changed from ‘value‐added’ (2002–2005) to ‘contextual value‐added’ (2006–2010) to ‘expected progress’ (2011–2015) to ‘progress 8’ (2016–). This paper charts this evolution with a critical eye. First, we describe the headline measures of school progress. Second, we question the Government's justifications for scrapping contextual value‐added. Third, we argue that the current expected progress measure suffers from fundamental design flaws. Fourth, we examine the stability of school rankings across contextual value‐added and expected progress. Fifth, we discuss the extent to which progress 8 will address the weaknesses of expected progress. We conclude that all these progress measures and school league tables more generally should be viewed with far more scepticism and interpreted far more cautiously than they have often been to date.     

Curriculum,standards and professionalisation: The policy discourse on teacher professionalism in Singapore

In this article the author explores the policy discourse on teacher professionalism (TP) in Singapore. Various types of relevant policy texts are collected and analysed, considering the three different perspectives of TP discussed in the existing literature – the managerial view, the professional view and the transformative view. The author argues that the current discourse presents a hybrid notion of TP that integrates managerial and professional views to serve policymakers’ intentions, but this is a constrained view that may de-professionalise the teaching profession by narrowing TP to faithful alignment and effective implementation of the national curriculum.     

The power of the ‘object’ to influence teacher induction outcomes

In this paper we explore newly qualified New Zealand secondary teachers’ varied accounts of induction. We claim that multiple interpretations of objectives for induction programs are a significant source of this variation. With reference to an activity system framework, we identify four primary objects of induction that were represented in the induction accounts as follows: ‘orientation to learning about the context’, ‘fitting into the school’, ‘completing registration requirements’, and ‘becoming a professional inquirer’. Whilst teachers would be expected to experience all of these objects within their induction experiences, the balance and emphases of these objects within programs varied considerably.     

The teacher as reflexive professional: making visible the excluded discourse in teacher standards

In the current climate of accountability, political manoeuvring, changing curriculum, increasingly diverse student cohorts and community expectations, teachers, more than ever, need to develop the skills and abilities to be reflective and reflexive practitioners. This study examines national teacher professional standards from Australia and the UK to identify the extent to which reflexivity is embedded in key policy documents that are intended to guide the work of teachers in those countries. Using Margaret Archer's theories of reflexivity and morphogenesis, and methods of critical discourse analysis, we argue that these blueprints for teachers’ work exclude reflexivity as an essential and overarching discourse of teacher professionalism.     

Professional development,changes in teacher practice and improvements in Indigenous students’ educational performance: A case study from New Zealand

This paper considers the relationship between a professional development programme designed to bring about changes in teacher practice through iterative cycles of implementation and evaluation and associated changes in Indigenous students’ educational performance. The paper does this by documenting the outcomes of the implementation of the Te Kotahitanga research and development project between 2007 and 2009 in schools in the third and fourth phases of the project. Evidence shows that the professional development programme of Te Kotahitanga has been implemented consistently in Phase 3 schools since 2004 and in Phase 4 schools since 2007. Changes in teacher practice and associated improvements in Māori student outcomes were seen in Phase 3 schools between 2004 and 2006. The first question is, therefore, have these changes been maintained during the period 2007–9, that is, during the fourth to seventh years of the project’s implementation in these schools. If so, then what implications does this maintenance of practice have for sustainability? The second question is, have the changes that were seen in the Phase 3 schools in the first three years of the project’s implementation, 2004–2006, been replicated in the Phase 4 schools in their first three years of the project. If so, what implications does this have for determining the strength of the association between improved student performance and the implementation of the professional development programme. In other words does a repeated measure over two different groups of schools at different times indicate that changes in Māori student outcomes are strongly associated with changes in teacher practice, even if we cannot demonstrate a direct cause–effect relationship.     

Evidence‐based practice and teacher action‐research: a reflection on the nature and direction of ‘change’

This study was conceived as an opportunity to reflect on the place of action‐research in the contested landscape of educational change in the UK where increasing emphasis has been put on the use of evidence to drive reform. In the context of a government‐sponsored project in Scotland, this study looked at the impact of a scholarship initiative supporting classroom teachers to undertake action‐research projects on a topic of their own choice with the assistance of a mentor. Data collected from interviews with teachers and analysis of teacher action‐research reports pointed to a multi‐faceted concept of practice unfolding from individual inquiry and dialogical conversations with colleagues and university mentors. The study argues for further analysis of the use of action‐research as a means to develop teachers’ knowledge and to recover the value of collective and creative engagements in education to guide reform.     

‘Do you ride on elephants’ and ‘never tell them you're German’: the experiences of British Asian and black,and overseas student teachers in South‐east England

In this article we report on part of a small‐scale study into the experiences of 28 British‐born Asian and black, and overseas student teachers, who were following both Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and school‐based routes to qualified teacher status (QTS), in Sussex and Kent. The results indicate worrying degrees of racism, xenophobia and general ignorance in schools in South‐east England, a finding underscored by some recent interviews undertaken by a local council in the same region. The authors conclude that, in order to challenge this racism, xenophobia and ignorance, there is an urgent need to be proactive in undermining racism. This should include the full implementation of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act in all educational institutions and the endorsement of the Stephen Lawrence Enquiry (Macpherson) Report's recommendation for the amendment of the National Curriculum to provide an education which deals with racism awareness.     

Workplace conditions for successful teacher professional development: School principals’ beliefs and practices

Research has increasingly shown that school principals exercised a significant role in teacher professional development (TPD). Nevertheless, the insights into the particular influence they exert in this process and how it is exercised still need to be developed. This article focuses on what school principals consider important working conditions for TDP and which leadership practices they use to realise these conditions in their schools. Using a multiple case study design, including 20 semi‐strcutured interviews with primary school principals, the findings show that they consider both structural (sufficient time and evaluation of TDP interventions) and cultural (an open work climate and collaboration) conditions to be important for TDP. Additionally, school principals emphasise the significance of teachers’ learning attitudes, differentiation in professionnalisation efforts and knowledge sharing in their schools. Furthermore, the results highlight that they have trouble in realising these working conditions, especially those for internal learning activities (such as an open work climate). Based on the results, recommendations are made for further research and policy makers concerning the preparation and support that principals need to realise (internal) TDP in their schools.     

‘Diff‐ability’ not ‘disability’: right‐brained thinkers in a left‐brained education system

This article draws on critical disability studies, challenging the exclusion of right‐brained thinkers from an education system designed to privilege left‐brained thinkers. It focuses on individuals who are labelled dyspraxic, providing data from qualitative interviews with adults about childhood experiences in school and the impact on their emotional well‐being and peer relationships. Utilising Ornstein's pioneering research on the bilateral specialisation of the brain and hemispheric dominance in addition to a critical disability studies theoretical framework, this article innovatively argues that the fact that education in England continues to be delivered in a logical sequential form, even 40 years after Ornstein's work, is systemic discrimination in which dyspraxic children are constructed as ‘deviant’. The article concludes by arguing that individuals with dyspraxia should be seen as having a ‘diff‐ability’ in thinking style rather than a disability and therefore recommends both change and awareness‐raising at institutional level in the education system.     

‘Fitting in’ or ‘standing out’: Working‐class students in UK higher education

Drawing on case studies of 27 working‐class students across four UK higher education institutions, this article attempts to develop a multilayered, sociological understanding of student identities that draws together social and academic aspects. Working with a concept of student identity that combines the more specific notion of learner identity with more general understandings of how students are positioned in relation to their discipline, their peer group and the wider university, the article examines the influence of widely differing academic places and spaces on student identities. Differences between institutions are conceptualised in terms of institutional habitus, and the article explores how the four different institutional habituses result in a range of experiences of fitting in and standing out in higher education. For some this involves combining a sense of belonging in both middle‐class higher education and working‐class homes, while others only partially absorb a sense of themselves as students.     

‘It's in the water here’: the development of a community‐focused literacy strategy

This paper considers the pioneering development of a community‐focused literacy initiative that began in Derbyshire, a county in the middle of England. Read On‐Write Away! (ROWA!) is viewed from the standpoint of its former director. The article describes the strategy in the context of national policy and other government initiatives in England, and gives a historical account of the project's inception and development.     

‘Download’: ‘Postcards Home’ Contemporary Art and New Technology in the Primary School

‘Postcards Home’ using photography, scanning, digital image manipulation, text and colour printing was the third ‘Download’ project devised by the education department of the Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, England. It was led by artist Laurie Long with teachers and pupils from Pooles Park primary school in Islington, an inner city borough in North London. Based on the production of a postcard featuring an image of personal significance, the children were involved in exploring and constructing their own and others' identities whilst developing their technology skills in creative ways. The project raises interesting questions about the applicability of contemporary art practices to the primary classroom. The research is based on participant observation and includes the voices of the artist and teachers involved.     

Professional development and the beginning teacher: issues of teacher autonomy and institutional conformity in the performance review process

This paper discusses some of the conditions that have facilitated the use of a customised virtual learning environment as part of a blended learning approach on a part‐time postgraduate initial teacher training programme for prospective primary school teachers. It is based on data gathered as part of a study of the impact of e‐learning on students following a part‐time flexible postgraduate route to Qualified Teacher Status. It concludes that the success of these particular virtual communities can be attributed to the balance, on the programme, between face‐to‐face and e‐learning together with the nature and structuring of the e‐learning tasks; the focus on professional learning with the immediacy of its application in the work‐place; its focus on independent and student‐led interaction; and the motivation and personal circumstances of the students involved.     

Expanding Higher Education in the UK: From ‘System Slowdown’ to ‘System Acceleration’

This paper sets out to explore the implications of current patterns of participation and attainment, particularly among 16–19 year‐olds, for the further expansion of higher education in the UK. It uses a range of recent statistics on participation and attainment to describe what is termed ‘system slowdown’. It then explores a basis for ‘system acceleration’ through the development of five possible routes into higher education both for 16–19 year‐olds and for adults. We conclude the paper by looking briefly at a number of inter‐related strategies the Government could adopt to encourage ‘system acceleration’. We suggest that unless the Government is prepared to consider policy changes of this type, it is unlikely to reach the higher education participation target it has set itself and may also jeopardise the basis for a sustainable lifelong learning system for the 21st century.     

Dyslexics in time machines and alternate realities: thought experiments on the existence of dyslexics, ‘dyslexia’ and ‘Lexism’

This article explores the possibility that ‘dyslexics’ can be thought of as being ‘othered’ and defined by the social norms and educational practices surrounding literacy; which can be termed ‘Lexism’. As such the author, Craig Collinson, a postgraduate academic support officer at Edge Hill University, presents ‘Lexism’ as a new concept that allows us to reconsider how dyslexics can be said to exist. In a persuasive and original article, Craig argues that dyslexics can be defined by the existence of Lexism rather than the more problematic concept of ‘dyslexia’. He seeks to achieve these ends through a series of thought experiments which suggest a different way of looking at what defines someone as dyslexic in order to suggest that when we talk of the inclusion or exclusion of dyslexic pupils we should be aware of the influence Lexism may have upon us.     

Being ‘nuff’ and ‘scudding class’: exploring girls’ and boys’ perceptions of popularity,gender and achievement in Antiguan secondary schools

This paper will report on the findings from classroom observations and focus group discussions conducted on the topic of popularity and fitting in at school with girls and boys from four government secondary schools in Antigua. The findings show that whilst boys did experience difficulties negotiating academic success and acceptable masculinities, the consensus was that popularity was associated with low achievement for both girls and boys. However, there was evidence that some girls were able to work hard and maintain better peer relations than other high achieving students, but that this ‘balancing’ required conformity to hetero‐feminine norms as well as the espousal of rigid views about what girls can and can't do. This suggests that real equality is far from being reached.