Teaching standards and the promotion of quality teaching

Several countries have been developing teaching standards for the purpose of providing recognition and more attractive career pathways to teachers who attain these standards. These initiatives aim to lift the status of teaching as a profession and to provide stronger incentives for professional learning. This article describes the work of a project at the Australian Council for Educational Research, the ACER Portfolio Project, designed to develop methods whereby teachers can demonstrate how their practice meets the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers ( www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards ) at the ‘Highly Accomplished’ level and test them in schools for their validity and feasibility. The article describes how the Project developed an assessment framework that provided a representative sample of evidence about a teacher's practice covering the Standards, trialed portfolio tasks in schools with volunteer teachers and tested whether it was possible to train other teachers to assess their portfolio entries reliably and set standards for highly‐accomplished teaching.     

Science teachers' views of professional development

Seventy-five science teachers from schools across Australia were interviewed in 1991 as part of the Science Education Professional Development Project (SEPD), a Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET) funded Project of National Significance with a brief to develop a strategy to enhance the professional development of science teachers. At the time of interviewing there was considerable discussion about the implementation of a new classification, the Advanced Skilled Teacher. A major purpose of this Award Restructuring was to offer a career path for classroom teachers. In order to retain good science teachers and to encourage them to continue in the important role of classroom teaching it is crucial to understand and to meet their professional development needs. But what does it mean to develop and grow as a science teacher? What constitutes quality professional development? What do science teachers expect from professional development activities? This paper explores science teachers' expectations in relation to professional development and examines the implications for policy.     

Loose connections: The context of science teachers' work

This paper is based on an interview study with eighty science teachers in twelve secondary schools across Australia. The study was conducted as part of the Science Education Professional Development Project. The project's brief was to develop a national strategy for the professional development of science teachers and was commissioned by the Federal Government's Department of Employment, Education and Training. The aim of the interviews was to help define the problem that a national strategy needed to address and this paper reports on one theme that emerged from the interviews, the concept of “loose connections.” Loose connections reflects the weak sense of professional community we found among science teachers and their isolation from potentially beneficial influences on their work. The paper explores implications of loose connections for a national professional development strategy such as the need to strengthen areas of professional responsibility and links between professional development and career development.     

Factors affecting the impact of teacher education programmes on teacher preparedness: implications for accreditation policy1

The purpose of this study was to provide guidance to policy‐makers about the standards that might be appropriate for accrediting teacher education programmes. The study was commissioned by the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT), a statutory body established in 2001 by the Victorian state government with responsibility for the registration (licensing) of teachers and the accreditation of teacher education programmes.

The study investigated the characteristics of effective initial teacher education programmes, as reported by teachers who have just finished their first year of teaching. A survey instrument was distributed in 2004 to all registered teachers who had graduated from their teacher education programme in 2002, taught in 2003 and were now one month into their second year of teaching in 2004. In total, 1147 teachers returned completed questionnaires, from all universities in the state.

Teachers who reported that they were well prepared to meet the demands of their first year of teaching were more likely to have completed courses that gave them deep knowledge of the content they were expected to teach, and how students learned that content, as well as skill in: diagnosing students' existing levels of understanding of the content; planning activities that would promote further development of understanding; and assessing the extent to which development had taken place. The paper concludes with implications for accreditation policy.

On constate, à l'échelle internationale, un intérêt accru pour les procédures d'évaluation et d'accréditation des programmes de formation des maîtres. Le but de cette recherche est d'apporter des repères aux personnes chargées de la réglementation concernant les standards qui pourraient servir à l'accréditation de ces programmes de formation. Cette recherche est menée à la demande du Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT), une organisation chargée de l'accréditation des enseignants et des programmes de formation dans l'état de Victoria (Australie).

Cette recherche porte sur les caractéristiques des programmes de formation initiale efficients, tels que les perçoivent les enseignants qui viennent de terminer leur première année d'enseignement. En 2004, un questionnaire a été distribué à tous les enseignants accrédités, sortis diplômés de leur programme de formation en 2002, ayant enseigné en 2003 et qui en étaient au premier mois de leur deuxième année d'enseignement en 2004. En tout, 1147 enseignants diplômés de toutes les universités de l'état ont répondu au questionnaire.

L'analyse des réponses révèle des variations significatives concernant l'efficience des programmes. Les programmes efficients sont ceux qui donnent aux nouveaux enseignants une connaissance approfondie de ce qu'ils sont censés faire pour aider les élèves à apprendre ainsi que de la manière dont les élèves apprennent. Ces programmes donnent aux enseignant la capacité d'évaluer chez les élèves le niveau de leur compréhension du contenu enseigné. Ces programmes aident les enseignants à planifier des activités qui encouragent le développement des élèves et à mesurer l'amplitude de ce développement.

Les auteurs montrent dans cette présentation comment ces résultats peuvent guider le choix des standards utilisés lors de l'accréditation des programmes de formation des maîtres.

Ziel der Studie ist die Bereitstellung von Handlungsempfehlungen für politische Entscheidungsträger im Hinblick auf Standards, die zur Genehmigung von Lehramtsstudiengängen herangezogen werden können. Die Studie wurde vom Victorian Institut of Teaching (VIT) in Auftrag gegeben, welche im Jahr 2001 als eine Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts von der Regierung des Bundesstaats Victoria eingerichtet wurde und verantwortlich für die Zulassung (Lizenzierung) von Lehrern und die Genehmigung von Lehramtsstudiengängen ist.

Die Studie untersuchte die Eigenschaften einer effektiven (Erst‐)Ausbildung, welche von Lehrern berichtet wurden, die gerade ihr erstes Jahr als Lehrer beendet hatten. Für die Erhebung im Jahr 2004 erhielten alle registrierten Lehrer einen Fragebogen, die ihre Ausbildung in 2002 abgeschlossen hatten, in 2003 unterrichtet hatten, und die zu dem Zeitpunkt der Erhebung den ersten Monat im zweiten Jahr als Lehrkraft absolviert hatten. Der Fragebogen wurde von 1147 Lehrern aller Universitäten im Bundesstaat ausgefüllt.

Lehrer, die berichteten, auf die Anforderungen im ersten Jahr als Lehrer gut vorbereitet zu sein, besuchten Kurse und Seminare, die ihnen ein vertieftes Wissen über die zu unterrichtenden Lehrinhalte und darüber, wie Schüler diese Inhalte lernen, vermittelten. Außerdem wurden in diesen Kursen und Seminaren Fähigkeiten erlernt zur Einschätzung von bereits bei Schülern vorhandenem Verständnis der Lehrinhalte, zur Planung von Aktivitäten für die weitere Entwicklung des Verständnisses und zur Bewertung des Ausmaßes dieser Entwicklung. Die Arbeit schließt mit Implikationen für die Zulassung von Lehramtsstudiengängen.

El propósito de este estudio consistió en proporcionar orientación a las instancias políticas acerca de los estándares que podrían ser apropiados para la acreditación de programas de formación de profesores. El estudio fue encargado por el Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT), una institución creada en 2001 por el gobierno del estado de Victoria con la responsabilidad de llevar a cabo el registro (licencia para enseñar) de los profesores y la acreditación de los programas de formación de profesorado.

En el estudio investigamos las características de los programas eficaces de formación inicial docente, desde el punto de vista de los profesores que habían finalizado su primer año de enseñanza. En el año 2004 se distribuyó un cuestionario a todos los profesores acreditados que habían finalizado su graduación como profesores en el año 2002, y que habían enseñando en 2003 y que se encontraban en ese momento en el primer mes de su segundo año como docentes. El cuestionario lo respondieron 1147 profesores de todas las universidades del estado.

Los profesores que afirmaron estar preparados para dar respuesta a las demandas de su primer año de enseñanza habían realizado cursos que les proporcionaron un conocimiento más elaborado de lo que de ellos se esperaba para que pudieran ayudar a los alumnos a aprender, asimismo conocían cómo aprenden los alumnos, así como poseían habilidades para diagnosticar los niveles previos de comprensión del contenido por parte de los alumnos, planificaban actividades que podrían promover un desarrollo de los alumnos y evaluaban en qué medida ese desarrollo tenía lugar. El artículo concluye con implicaciones para la política de acreditación.     

Reforming Teachers' Pay Systems: The Advanced Skills Teacher in Australia

Over the past five years, Australian education systems have attempted to establish a new career path for teachers called the Advanced Skills Teacher (AST) classification. The reform emanated from a historic and unique coming together of all teacher unions throughout the country to make a joint submission to the Industrial Relations Commission. Potentially, the AST constituted one of the most progressive educational initiatives ever adopted in Australia. In this article we review what happened in practice. Our findings point to a dilemma for those who might attempt to introduce professional career paths for teachers in the future. Fundamental improvements to teachers' pay systems and career structures undoubtedly depend on initiatives within the industrial relations arena. However, this arena proved to be an unsuitable context in which to develop the kind of teaching standards and performance assessments that are essential for career paths based on quality of practice. We concl ude that these tasks require instead the creation of stable, national, expert professional bodies that embrace all stakeholders.     

Keeping up: A dilemma for science teachers

This paper is based on interviews with seventy-five science teachers in twelve schools across Australia. The interviews were conducted as part of a D.E.E.T. Project of National Significance. The purpose of the project was to develop a strategy for the professional development of science teachers. The main purpose of our interviews was to listen to teachers' views on what such a strategy should try to achieve. We asked them to talk about conditions affecting the quality of their work, their attitudes to teaching, their professional development, their careers, the evaluation of teaching, and Award Restructuring. Through these interviews we came to understand how many science teachers are loosely connected with potentially valuable sources of support for their professional development. In this paper we focus on one group of “loose connections”; those between science teachers and scientists in other fields, research in science education, and their colleagues within science departments in schools. Specializations: Science education, reflective practice, teaching and learning. Specializations: Professional development, educational evaluation.     

Professional standards for the teaching of science: An exploratory study

The Science Education Professional Development (SEPD) Project was commissioned by the Commonwealth Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET) as part of its Projects of National Significance Program. Its brief was to develop a national strategy for enhancing the professional development of science teachers. This paper summarises one component of the Project's work, an exploration of the feasibility of establishing professional standards or expectations for teachers of science. The aim was to give clearer purpose and direction to professional development planning and to provide a more valid basis for evaluating science teachers for career development. Specializations: Teachers' work and policy, teacher development, educational evaluation, teacher evaluation, research on teaching.