What Makes A Good Teacher?
Edited by Amy Wevill and Edward Wild
Professor Anne Bamford OBE • Smita Bora • Tori Cadogan • Professor Neil Carmichael Christine Counsell • Clare Flintoff • Professor Barnaby Lenon CBE • Tracie Linehan Libby Nicholas • Will Orr-Ewing • Sir Anthony Seldon • Neil Strowger Professor Samantha Twiselton OBE • Karen Wespieser MBE
1 2 Contents
Preface 4 Professor Neil Carmichael, Senior Adviser, Wild Search and Chief Executive, UCEC
Introduction 5
The Characteristics of Good Teachers 7 Professor Barnaby Lenon CBE, Chairman, Independent Schools Council
The Four Important Qualities of a ‘Good’ Teacher 8 Libby Nicholas, Managing Director, Dukes Education
The Accomplished Teacher 12 Professor Anne Bamford OBE, Strategic Director of the Education and Skills, City of London
Teaching Changes Lives 14 Smita Bora, Education Consultant and Private Tutor
What Makes A Good Teacher – The Parent Perspective 16 Karen Wespieser MBE, Chief Operating Officer, Teacher Tapp and Parent Ping
What Makes Someone an Expert Teacher and Why Does It Matter? 19 Professor Samantha Twiselton OBE, Director of Sheffield Institute of Education
Teaching Is A Deeply Human Vocation 22 Clare Flintoff, Chief Executive, ASSET Education
What Makes A Great Teacher? ‘Barba Non Facit Philosophum’ 24 Neil Strowger, Chief Executive, Bohunt Education Trust
I Challenge All Teachers 27 Tracie Linehan, Chief Executive, BeyondAutism
Teachers of What? The Subject Dimension in Great Secondary Teaching 29 Christine Counsell, Independent Education Consultant
Three Ways Good Teachers Go Astray 31 Will Orr-Ewing, Founder and Director, Keystone Tutors
The Worst Teachers 34 Sir Anthony Seldon, Vice-Chancellor, The University of Buckingham
What Makes A Good School? 37 Tori Cadogan, Education Editor, Tatler
About the Authors 39
About Wild Search 44
About Partners 45
A Selection of Wild Research Publications 46
3 Preface Professor Neil Carmichael
Some seventy years ago, two unconnected nations – Finland and the Republic of Korea – emerged from a period of massive conflict and internal strife to make, essentially, the same decision about their future. The choice they made was simple, rational and strategic; to provide the best education for the one resource still available, their people.
At a stroke, teaching as a profession was placed at the heart of national life and the strong sense of trust in teachers that was soon embedded has never wavered. Today, both education systems have been widely applauded and emulated where possible. So, the first key requirement for having good teachers is to understand just how valuable they are and, obviously, all contributors to this publication would agree.
To be a teacher is to be a learner. The best teachers are those who are confident enough to create an environment where the love of learning is everywhere. This is where school leadership matters and why the autonomy of institutions can make the difference between ‘steady as she goes’ and exceptionally high standards. The maxim being, where the teacher thrives, the pupils can also thrive.
Andreas Schleicher, Director of Education and Skills at the OECD, builds on this point by noting schools can enjoy ‘independence’ within a variety of political and administrative systems, and cites the contrast between China and England where, in both cases, autonomy of schools is now encouraged.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau – the leading Enlightenment thinker in education – pointed to the need for ‘the attainment of fullest natural growth of the individual, leading to balanced, harmonious, useful and natural life’. This still embraces much of what we might understand as the outcome of great teaching. We see this in the pages ahead.
With the consequences of COVID still raging, the importance of the teacher is coming into sharper focus. As classrooms fill up again and the buzz of ideas returns, the power of knowledge and skills as orchestrated by the teacher will remind us all why the profession matters so much.
4 Introduction
The question What Makes a Good Teacher? is one which those in education – teachers, parents and students – should keep asking. The answers which this report provides come from a range of different perspectives in terms of the types of schools, age ranges and levels. All contributors share a belief that the quality of teaching and learning matters at every stage in the educational process. The question they answer has never been more relevant than in 2021, as we reach the end of a twelve month period in which schools, colleges and universities have had to adapt rapidly to online and blended learning and teachers have had to master new media and skills and take on responsibilities which they have never had to address before.
Challenge and change are often healthy and beneficial. It remains to be seen whether aspects of the challenges of 2020/1 have been beneficial or whether any of the changes will be made permanent. The qualities of resilience, determination and innovation have all been in demand amongst teachers and we are delighted that we have been able to bring together some reflections and insights from those who have been or are currently in the midst of these challenges.
The qualities of a good teacher are discussed in this report by Professor Barnaby Lenon CBE, chair of the ISC and former head of Harrow and Libby Nicholas, Managing Director of Dukes Education, among others. Depth of knowledge, the ability to see the bigger picture and to continually develop themselves are important qualities noted, as is patience and a drive that is neither financially nor ego driven. Human qualities and creating warm and supportive environments are important to Clare Flintoff who runs ASSET Education.
Neil Strowger, chief executive of the Bohunt Education Trust points to studies that demonstrate that aspirations are not only nice to have, but have real impact on outcomes. Smita Bora draws on her experiences of teaching in developing countries and as a state school head in one of the country’s most deprived areas to emphasise the importance of keeping an eye on the endpoint, providing children with the “passport to their future”.
Karen Wespieser shares the results of her Parent Ping study into what parents consider a good teacher to be, with interesting insights on how it differs for men and those who are also teachers. With her expertise in teacher training, Professor Samantha Twiselton OBE addresses how good teachers are created, and the stages they go through on that journey. The deep understanding of the fundamentals of teaching that are gained from experience within SEN teaching is discussed by Tracie Linehan, Chief Executive of BeyondAutism.
5 Flipping the question on its head and considering when good teaching goes bad Keystone Tutors founder Will Orr-Ewing and the educationalist, Anthony Seldon point to qualities such as low expectations, being over prescriptive or simply becoming tired and bored as those to watch out for.
The importance of being rooted in the subject being taught and constantly reengaging with it is highlighted by Christine Counsell. Aligned with this, Professor Anne Bamford OBE further points to the role of the school in developing good teachers by giving them the space to connect their subjects with real world experiences. Finally, Tatler’s education editor, Tori Cadogan addresses what makes a good school – the ability to attract, nourish and retain good teachers being critical.
We hope that you will find this report stimulating and rewarding. Whatever your interest, whether you are an experienced teacher, a new entrant to the profession, a student or a parent we are sure that there will be a contribution which you will enjoy reading.
6 The Characteristics of Good Teachers
Professor Barnaby Lenon CBE, Chairman, Independent Schools Council
1. Good subject knowledge. 2. Forceful enough character to maintain control. 3. But a warm person beneath the exterior. 4. A sense of humour the pupils really appreciate. 5. High expectations of every pupil. Ambitious for them all. 6. Very hard working. 7. Very organised. 8. A clear sense of what works and doesn’t work in the classroom.
9. Always patient. 10. Pupils look to them if they are in difficulty – and the teacher cares.
7 The Four Important Qualities of a ‘Good’ Teacher
Libby Nicholas, Managing Director, Dukes Education
Teaching is a serious and beautiful fine art - the responsibility to instil knowledge and in so doing, gifting understanding and changing lives is a huge responsibility and a great privilege. There are therefore, few employments more fulfilling. When we decide to enter the teaching profession, we know we are not seeking financial gain or an easy life, but rather we want to do a good life’s work. We believe our love, our empathy, our endless patience and our passion for knowledge and learning equips us, more so than our peers, to bear this moral responsibility and to make as much of a success of this art as we are humanly able.
Anyone who goes into education to make money will be disappointed. It is simply not suited to that end. But when one’s purpose is to do good, to perform alchemy and therefore magic (in the most modern sense of the word), then there is no more worthwhile profession. Teachers, quite simply, are magicians and as professionals our hearts are truly in our work.
The moral responsibility weighs heavily, teaching is often difficult and the hours are long. So, what type of person is best suited to this calling? The American scholar G Palmer, writing in his 1910 essay “The Ideal Teacher” argued that there are four characteristics needed and 110 years later, I think these remain wholly relevant today. They are a good place to start when trying to answer the complex question of ‘what makes a great teacher?’.
An aptitude for vicariousness
Palmer says that teachers must have “an aptitude for vicariousness”. What he means by this is that teachers do not primarily acquire knowledge but rather impart it which is a separate skill. Individuals who wish to acquire knowledge are best suited to an academic or scholarly pursuit whereas those of us who are able to take thoughts from our own minds and gift them to others in a way that is meaningful and enduring - they are the teachers. A teacher’s task is to make academics rather than be one.
Therefore, the first quality a teacher must have is what I call empathetic imagination. As teachers we must constantly go outside ourselves and enter the lives of those around us - the beginners, the unhappy, the obstinate and the eager - and find a way of empathising with them all so we can lodge knowledge in their minds in a way suited to their individual personality. At the start of Year 9, the English teacher who has exclaimed ‘Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo?’ more times than he cares to remember, has to re-ignite the
8 passion, excitement and newness he felt on his own first reading of ‘Romeo & Juliet’ and then impart these feelings to the thirty-two minds in his classroom. Not an easy task and one which demands great imagination, not to mention theatricality!
As teachers we work hard to make learning less hard for others. As Palmer writes, “in this profession anyone who will be great must be a nimble servant, his head full of others’ needs”. Interestingly, he believed that empathetic imagination could not be taught. He says, “There are persons who, with all good will, can never be teachers. Their business it is to pry into knowledge, to engage in action, to make money, or to pursue whatever other aim their powers dictate: but they do not readily think in terms of the other person. They should not, then, be teachers”.
An accumulated wealth of knowledge
The second quality is an accumulated wealth of knowledge both within and outside our own specialism. Knowledge is inter-related, linked and dependent on experience in other spheres of learning. To understand literature one must know history, philosophy, religion, politics, and as much as possible of everything else. The way to engage a Year 11 boy in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ may not be through the words on the page, but through the politics and violence of Italy at that time. Teachers should have a broad background knowledge which may not appear in their teaching, but which enables them Knowledge is inter-related, to “move freely across the subject”. This is why it is crucial to be confident in subject linked and dependent on knowledge - so we can keep the pupils just experience in other spheres of beyond their understanding- knowing learning. there is more to achieve. Pupils learn when they are challenged because it demands deeper thinking to take place. Challenge may manifest itself in many ways; a well-designed activity, giving pupils responsibility for their own learning or simply a good question. However, challenge is not simply about making something harder. Pupils will find their challenge threshold, the point at which they are thinking and working hard, at a different point on a spectrum. Therefore, finding the appropriate level of challenge is as much about support, scaffolding, modelling and simplified explanation, as it is about making something more complex. Every pupil will progress at a different pace and find their challenge threshold at a different point. As teachers, it is our job to help them get there.
A-level concepts can be taught in Year 9 or lower, cross-subject links can be drawn and the pupil will gain a sense of assurance and confidence as the subject becomes more accessible. It is for this reason I have always encouraged teachers to teach across all year groups, across all phases. To teach maths in Year 3, the teacher should be a complete teacher of mathematics, not just for that year. It is also why I believe all schools should
9 be ‘all-through’ schools. Year 10s and Year 8s - and certainly the Year 11s - need to look up to Sixth Formers to see what they themselves can become. Most importantly, all senior teachers should teach Year 13- even if only for a secondment. There should be no artificial boundaries or limits to the I have always encouraged teaching of subjects. Teachers in Year 6 need to have taught Year 7 and, if possible, teachers to teach across all Year 9. We should try not to self-identify as year groups, across all phases. ‘primary’ or ‘secondary’, or, indeed, teachers of ‘geography’ or ‘physics’. We should see ourselves as ‘educators’ who have chosen to specialise rather than having it forced upon us. Great teachers quite simply know a lot - the great maths teachers know Keats and Frost and the great English teachers know Socrates and Sartre.
Invigorate life through learning
The third quality a teacher should have is the ability to “invigorate life through learning”. Much of what children learn is inevitably piece-meal (dare I say boring?) and has to be brought to life by the teacher. Seeing our own enthusiasm, energy and confidence, children will soon perceive and value those things which have enriched our own lives and will enrich their futures. This is why I do not believe computers and online learning will or should fully replace teachers. A great teacher will ‘unlock’ a child’s curiosity and electrify those who appear disinterested. This probably explains why we single out a particular teacher of our own as ‘life changing’ and ‘life giving’. What we didn’t realise at the time was that they, through their art, were unlocking the whole world to us.
Happy to be invisible
A great teacher must be content with being invisible. Although the profession has the most lasting impact on the lives of others, and even though it is teachers whom so many look back upon with fondness and gratitude, it is important that a teacher is self-less. The teacher is the conduit through which knowledge is imparted and to that end it is important that the focus is the knowledge rather than the teacher’s personality and performance. This does not mean that we don’t have important and meaningful relationships with our pupils, but more that we should not be too vocal about the art of teaching. Being a teacher is to disguise the art of teaching from those in our care. A great teacher will be loved, but pupils do not need to know why or how. A great teacher is not interested in ego and needs no affirmation.
I also believe that a great teacher has patience - not necessarily a quality which comes naturally to us all. It is impossible to be a great teacher if you are not a master of patience. We know that children are prone to behaviour which requires calm, understanding and tolerance and those who react spontaneously and emotionally to situations are simply
10 not suited to our profession. We have to master our own emotions before attempting to enter the classroom.
When I was asked to write something in response to this difficult question, I asked the people who matter most- the children in our schools. Rebecca in Year 6 said ‘a good teacher is kind, firm but funny’. Ben in Year 4 said ‘a good teacher makes me feel safe – I know where the line is’ and Lucy in Reception said ‘somebody who makes me smile and holds my hand when I need it.’ I think, as ever, the children are spot on- along with the qualities above they need us to be kind and to care.
It is likely that many of us in education feel that we are unable to reach the lofty heights of being a ‘great teacher’ – it is normal for us to doubt ourselves and our abilities simply because not one of these qualities can ever be fully attained. Once we are strong Teaching is a deeply personal in one the other will slip – our reach will art and one which connects always exceed our grasp. That is why with nearly all else in the professional curiosity and a commitment to continually develop our learning is so world. important. Teaching is a deeply personal art and one which connects with nearly all else in the world- as Palmer writes ‘Every mother is a teacher. The lawyer teaches the jury, the doctor teaches his patient. As teaching is the most universal of the professions, those are most fortunate who are able to devote their lives to its enriching study.’
11 The Accomplished Teacher
Professor Anne Bamford OBE, Strategic Director of Education and Skills, City of London
When I was working in teacher education, I wanted to isolate the qualities of being a good teacher. If I could distil this to some concentrated elements, initial teacher education could encapsulate these and produce amazing teachers for the future. Somewhat surprisingly, while there is a great deal of research focus on good learning, there is limited focus on good teaching. And yet we can all readily recall one. We can remember them in detail and recount stories of their antics. We have chosen our careers and lifelong vocations often as the result of a good teacher.
John Dewey in 1934 wrote of a good teacher as being someone of ‘heightened vitality’. He described them as being ‘active and alert’ and ‘in commerce with the world’. Kissick (1993) stated a similar view noting that accomplished teachers tended to be ‘susceptible to influences within a given society’. During the pandemic, teachers are under considerable pressure. Their wellbeing is at the forefront of concerns. In this context, it is timely to revisit and to celebrate the accomplished teachers who transform lives.
I have spent more than thirty years researching the qualities of accomplished teachers and have researched this around the world and visited many different learning environments and looked at teaching at all levels and across subjects. I have watched beginning teachers and highly experienced teachers and analysed what they do in the classroom, how they prepare, what they do on the weekend, how they speak about learning and children, and how they assess and measure impact. The outcome of all this research is that there are striking and almost universal similarities in the qualities of accomplished teachers.
Generally, their childhoods were quite imaginative. They did not have particularly good experiences of school themselves although they had at least one good teacher who enabled them to start loving learning. This moment of loving learning was often a significant experience. For example, a study field trip, being in a school play, a ‘crazy’ moment in a lesson, or going to a concert. Many accomplished teachers were quite naughty when they were at school themselves. For example, a common characteristic was that they had ‘stolen something from the teacher’s store cupboard.’ We could perhaps look to some of our more mischievous pupils as being the accomplished teachers of tomorrow!
Planning is more a web than a straight line. Accomplished teachers plan in a clustered and connected way and spend as much time reflecting and evaluating after they teach as planning beforehand. Accomplished teachers think about teaching all the time. They are avid collectors and can be caught on weekends and before and after school gathering 12 resources for potential future lessons – “I will gather these shells for the science lesson” or “I will cut out that article for the reading lesson”. Many teachers have so many collections that these fill their classrooms, office, cars, and homes.
Accomplished teachers are lifelong learners who are excited by learning and model good learning for the pupils. They are unafraid of textbooks, curriculum guides and Ofsted inspections with an informed understanding of children’s learning that enables them to go beyond these accountabilities. They value knowledge and skills but are equally focused on changing attitudes and connecting the pupils to real life. Accomplished teachers are risk takers and rebels, backed by deep and systematic assessment for learning and reflection which ensures success.
Accomplished teachers communicate with children not at them. They understand that children only learn well in a socially secure context and so they build positive relationships. Accomplished teachers physically get down to the eye level of the Accomplished teachers plan child to communicate and never stand in a clustered and connected over them. Good teachers tend to talk with the pupils much more than they think. way and spend as much time For example, they tend to talk with the reflecting and evaluating children for more than half of the lesson after they teach as planning whereas they predict on average that they speak for 15% of the lesson. beforehand.
If you have had the privilege to know a good teacher, their commitment and passion is obvious. The measurements show that they work on average three more hours per day than their scheduled work hours. Yet, as they deeply care about what they do, their estimates of extra time worked, tends to be far less than the actual time.
Developing and encouraging accomplished teachers is a crucial role for every school. Firstly, they should embrace greater risk-taking and interconnected learning. Use, for example, problem-based models that are individualised to the challenges that each teacher is facing. Encourage critical and reflective thinking rather than formula and dogma. Expose the teachers to significant experiences. Theatre trips, visits to an art gallery, the teachers’ talent quest or putting on a play challenge and extend teachers and build greater awareness. Encourage the teachers to have real world experiences. If they are scientists, allow them to reconnect to scientists working in laboratories. If they are artists, encourage them to make their own works. If English teachers, write poetry or a novel. Connections to their passion in life sustain teachers’ lifelong learning and wellbeing. Finally, schools should promote a positive learning community that is both supportive and engaging. Elliott Eisner wrote about the importance of balance in education, with the imagery that “a bird cannot fly without both wings.”Let the good teachers in our schools have their wings so that they can fly and be truly life changing. 13 Teaching Changes Lives
Smita Bora, Education Consultant and Private Tutor
What is a good teacher? Whenever I reflect on this question, I continue to be struck by the extent to which we seem to have overcomplicated teaching over the years and confused it with so many other aspects of schooling. One of the reasons I became a teacher was inspiration from children in developing countries who became doctors, engineers and pilots with nothing other than a good teacher and textbooks; their education often consisted of learning under a tree, or in buildings with no clean water, electricity or toilets.
As a profession, we enjoy promoting the widest range of opportunities, in partnership with others, to all pupils in our care. As a former principal of a state school, in one of the most deprived wards in the country, it was always my aim to provide high-quality, extra-curricular opportunities on par with those available in private schools. Likewise, I have always been an advocate of working pastorally with families to promote well- being, health and social care. However, I would never classify this as part of being a good teacher. There are many other chances, outside the classroom, to bond with pupils and form positive relationships.
For me, secondary school teaching is about imparting knowledge, wisdom and learning within one’s subject area to provide children with a passport to their future. In the context of the most deprived schools, the Secondary school teaching minimum expectation must be to provide pupils with the same opportunity to achieve is about imparting the same qualifications as their private school knowledge, wisdom and counterparts. If a child wants to be a doctor learning within one’s and they cannot realise this ambition because of poor chemistry grades, this is tantamount subject area to provide to a crime. There is nothing more rewarding children with a passport to than seeing disadvantaged children sitting a their future. rigorous national or international examination - no special considerations, no dumbing down, no patronising alterations to the curriculum - and seeing the child’s reaction on results day when they have scored top grades.
The media, films and our imaginations often glamorise teaching; many of us tend to remember our most eccentric or ‘fun’ teachers, rather than those who ensured our qualifications reflected our academic abilities. Good teaching is when one never feels the need to digress from one’s subject. Regulation, bureaucracy and poor discipline in
14 schools sometimes serve as obstructions, combined with pressure to deliver so many other aspects of schooling during lessons; if we can find ways to enable teachers to just teach, this may reduce the current teacher exodus into private tutoring.
Good secondary school teachers, in my opinion: • understand the endpoint to their pupils’ academic journeys within their subject area and communicate this to pupils clearly; they know how to and show dedication towards taking their pupils with them throughout this journey, whatever it takes, intervening where necessary and celebrating milestones along the way. • organise delivery of the curriculum to help children prioritise the basics required to achieve this endpoint; there is not enough time to teach everything. • possess detailed subject knowledge and promote revision techniques from Year 7 so pupils are in the habit of being able to recall facts fluently in order to be able to apply this knowledge to more challenging contexts later. • are passionate about their subject area and enable ‘light-bulb moments’, thus removing the need to employ the latest technology, fad or gimmick; old-fashioned story-telling often works just as well. • maintain high expectations by creating a culture of challenge and competition - “I can teach you a bit more of this but it’s taking us into Grade 9 territory - hand’s up if you want to give it a go!” • help pupils to realise the importance of the high levels of literacy and numeracy required to be successful academically. • are honest about where a child ranks locally, nationally and internationally and the amount of effort and sacrifice necessary for academic success, including no shortcuts and the removal of distractions such as mobile phones and social media. • understand the importance of cumulative and synoptic assessment; a child may perform well in an end of topic test but, unless the child has had regular cumulative assessments based on the curriculum covered to date, it is difficult to extrapolate such assessments to a genuine prediction of ability at GCSE.
Teaching changes lives. Inside the classroom, good teachers translate this belief into the drive, determination and care required to facilitate a child’s academic potential. Outside the classroom, forging strong relationships enables teachers to influence a child’s well- being and their social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. In return, teaching becomes one of the most rewarding careers imaginable and I remain optimistic that it will continue to be so for years to come.
15 What Makes A Good Teacher – The Parent Perspective
Karen Wespieser MBE, Chief Operating Officer, Teacher Tapp and Parent Ping
What makes a good teacher is a subjective question. As this collection of essays demonstrates the definition of a ‘good teacher’ can be addressed from a variety of viewpoints. For this essay we look at the perspective of ‘consumers’ of education – parents and pupils. Using data collected by Parent Ping1 in the autumn of 2020 we take an evidenced approach to look at what parents think makes a good teacher.
What do the Teachers’ Standards look like to parents?
The starting point for this endeavour is the Teachers’ Standards - the minimum requirements for teachers’ practice and conduct in England2. Using these as a proxy for what the government thinks good teaching looks like, we created a version of each standard that focused on what they would look like from the person on the receiving end.
We asked parents about the Standards in three ways: first, we asked about their own experience of good teaching, asking them to reminisce back to their school days. Then we asked them which of the attributes they think it is important for a teacher to be good at. On these first two questions, parents could select as many attributes as they liked, but on the final question we said that they could only pick one and asked what type of teacher they would like to teach their children.
When analysing the data, we were able to look at a small number of different variables; are mums views different to dads? Do parents who are teachers hold different views to parents who work in other professions?
Plan and teach well-structured lessons (enjoyable lessons)
‘Enjoyable’ lessons were the most important thing to parents (who are not teachers) when they think back to their favourite teachers at school. Whilst it is not the top-ranking item when they reflect on what they want for their own kids, if asked to pick just one thing a teacher should be good at, for over half of this group of parents, it’s this.
Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils (learn a lot)
1 Asked on the 26th of October 2020 to 605 parents 2 Department for Education (2011, updated 2013) Teachers’ Standards: Guidance for school leaders, school staff and governing bodies
Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils (high expectations)
Whilst ‘high expectations’ wasn’t particularly important when parents were at school themselves, it is now massively important, particularly to parents who are teachers. If they could only choose one attribute, it would be this one. Whether this is because it’s not something you are aware of until the tables are turned, or whether this is simply the current educational zeitgeist, we can’t tell!
Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment (control the class well)
Having a teacher who could ‘control the class well’ had middling popularity in all questions. It was prized more highly by dads than mums, and by teacher-parents than others.
Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge (experts in their subject)
Having a teacher who is an expert in their subject wasn’t particularly highly prized amongst parents (and this isn’t skewed by parents of children in primary schools where teachers teach across a range of subjects - there was only a 10 percentage point gap between primary and secondary).
Fulfilling wider professional responsibilities (running a club or activity)
This was the attribute that was least important to every parent!
Liking children
We also slipped in one item that is not in the Teachers’ Standards – liking children! Whilst it was mid-ranked on most questions, it was more important among mums. For this group only, it was the third most important attribute a teacher can have.
So, what can we conclude?
Whilst a teacher who enables you to learn a lot (adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils) is perhaps synonymous with the definition of teaching, it is notable that when we reflect back on our own experiences, we often have greater recall of (and fondness for) enjoyable lessons (plan and teach well-structured lessons). Yet,
17 this needn’t be to the detriment of learning. There is a proven connection between our impressions or episodic memories (enjoyable lessons) which in turn steer our interests and drive a positive disposition towards a discipline of study and therefore learning3.
Teaching is never as one-dimensional as a single attribute, but a focus on enjoyable, well taught lessons seems, at least to those on the receiving end, to be key factors in what makes a good teacher.
Thinking back to your favourite teacher at school, what did you like about them?
They ran a club or activity
They liked me
They controlled the class well
I did well in their subject Their lessons were really enjoyable
They were experts in their subject
I learnt a lot from them
They set high expectations
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% No Qualified Teacher
3 For a more in-depth discussion of these issues see Evans, M. Making a Good Impression, Nov 2020
Professor Samantha Twiselton OBE, Director of Sheffield Institute of Education
What do we mean by ‘expert’ when it comes to teaching? This is not a straightforward question! There are helpful thoughts on this arising from a study that looked at expertise across a range of professions, including teaching. Sternberg and Horvath (1995) found that experts bear a ‘family resemblance’ to one another. Expert teachers may be different in some ways, but are sufficiently similar to be classified as such. They propose three main features that experts tend to have in common: knowledge, efficiency and insight.
It is not so much the amount of knowledge but how it is organised in the memory that matters. In general, experts are sensitive to the deep structures of the problems they solve – they group problems together according to underlying principles. These specify the essential elements of information and how they relate to each other and serve as guides to action - clearly very important in making quick decisions in busy classrooms. Experts are alert to the key concepts of the subjects they are teaching and how to make these meaningful and accessible to learners. In contrast, novices tend to focus on surface features.
The second key feature of expertise is efficiency. Experts do more in less time. They not only perform better than novices do but they do so with less effort. What was initially effort-full becomes with practice, effortless and automatic. This links to knowledge. If the expert has access to a store of meaningful patterns, corresponding to classroom situations, recognising and utilising them in problem solving situations requires less effort. Experts typically spend a greater proportion of time trying to understand the problem whereas novices spend more in trying out different solutions.
The third feature is insight. This links closely with efficiency in that experts reach solutions through seeing into a problem deeply. They distinguish information that is relevant from that which is irrelevant to: a) make the most efficient use of the time available and b) draw on the most useful areas of knowledge.
To summarise, the expert teacher is knowledgeable in a way that is accessible and organised and covers a range of domains including subject, pedagogy and context. They are able to perform many activities rapidly with little cognitive effort allowing them to invest more effort in the most impactful problem solving.
19 So how can teachers develop expertise and become more automatic in enough things to allow them to focus on those that will have most impact on learning? What helps and hinders this process? My own research (Twiselton, 2018) is of some help here. I investigated the types of knowledge and understanding that student teachers develop as they acquire knowledge and become more expert over the course of their Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes. I found that (partly dependent on how far The most outstanding through the programme they were) student quality that separated the teachers could be placed into one of three concept/skill builders from main categories (or points on a continuum) – task manager, curriculum deliverer or the other two categories concept/skill builder. The task managers (who was their ability to see the were likely to be near the beginning of ITE) ‘bigger picture’ and give viewed their role in the classroom in terms of task completion, order and business – without a rationale for what they explicit reference to children’s learning. The were attempting to do in curriculum deliverers did see themselves as terms of key principles and there to support learning, but only as dictated by an external source – a scheme, curriculum concepts. or lesson plan – and they struggled to give a rationale for why what was being taught mattered in any other terms. In contrast, the concept/skill builders (likely to be at or near the end of ITE) were aware of the wider and deeper areas of understanding and skill needed by pupils that underpinned their learning objectives. Of the three types, the concept/skill builders were much more likely to be able effectively, consistently and responsively to support learning. The most outstanding quality that separated the concept/skill builders from the other two categories was their ability to see the ‘bigger picture’ and give a rationale for what they were attempting to do in terms of key principles and concepts.
To a large extent these categories reflect the different stages of development student teachers go through as they acquire more knowledge and experience and get to grips with different aspects of their practice. However, while there was undoubtedly a strong developmental element to the factors that determined which category a student teacher belonged to and how long they stayed in it, length of experience was by no means the only factor.
Student teachers’ progress towards being able to think and behave in a way that was nearer the notion of ‘expert’ described above was accelerated if they were working in a culture that required them to reflect on and articulate their practice and ideally to have a basis for comparison and critique with other methods and to engage with the evidence base that underpins them.
20 Teachers who were ‘delivering the curriculum’ without fully understanding what underlay, it appeared to have a grasp of the content but not of how the content is connected within the subject or the ways of knowing that are intrinsic to the subject. In order to develop deep and broad expertise In order to develop deep and teachers need time and space to reflect as well as very specific support in developing broad expertise teachers need practical skills (that become automatic) time and space to reflect as within the school setting. The immediacy well as very specific support in of the practical demands of teaching need to be interspaced with time for critical developing practical skills . structured reflection. Connections need to be made with the subject beyond the curriculum and the world beyond the classroom. Time and effort needs to be given to developing beliefs and values about the subject that will help give validity to the importance of these connections. This means engaging with the wider purposes of education and the place of the subject within the world. The professional learning culture of the school is key in facilitating this.
21 Teaching Is A Deeply Human Vocation
Clare Flintoff, Chief Executive, ASSET Education
From the moment of our birth (and probably before that moment) we begin to learn. We learn that when we cry we are fed or comforted (or not), that other humans react to our limited range of noises and movements and even that a smile makes other people happy. We are born with traits, abilities and talents but we have no idea what they are and who we are going to become. Our sense of self is limited to our own comfort and needs but we have an awareness of the impact we can have on others. That ‘becoming’ is steered, driven, encouraged, nurtured or hindered by the other humans around us and the experiences they provide for us. They are our early teachers and the job they do is crucial to our long term mental and physical health.
If we are to develop our full potential as human beings, the qualities and skills of those who we meet along the way and those we call our teachers will be life-changing. Much of what we learn will be as a result of our family - what they know, what they value, how they behave, what they believe. When we begin our formal education we have our first experience of adults whose vocation is to widen our horizons and teach us about language, mathematics, history, geography, science, art, music, etc, etc.
We are born needing to learn, but our learning can be limited or hindered unless our basic and psychological needs are met - we need to be fed and watered, to feel safe and secure, to develop relationships and have friends, to feel loved and valued. The best teachers will know the impact of these conditions on our motivation to learn and will seek to reduce the barriers, encouraging us to build self-esteem, celebrating our successes and giving us a feeling of accomplishment (based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, 1943 A Theory of Human Motivation).
Teaching is all about relationships and is an essentially human activity involving trust and mutual respect between teacher and learner.
As we get older we learn to learn in many different ways - computer programs, reading textbooks, through experience and by reflection. The more metacognitive we become the better we learn but without human interaction and input we are reliant on our own levels of curiosity and self-motivation. Pedagogy can only be enacted through human relationships. The good teacher will know which pedagogical strategy to choose but the impact of their teaching is dependent on how well they know their student.
Good teachers engender a love of learning in their students and they do that by creating emotionally warm, supportive working environments where collaboration is key. (Carl Rogers, Freedom to Learn, 1969) They transcend challenges because they are authentic, 22 giving something of themselves that makes learning irresistible with long term impact - how many career pathways are chosen as a result of relationships with teachers who made their subject come to life? Young people can spot the authentic from the fake with life changing consequences. The traditional, ‘Don’t smile until Christmas’ approach is an enigma in a human vocation such as teaching.
Great humans make great teachers. But being human means to be flawed - no one is perfect - everyone is unique, and we all have strengths. Really great, memorable teachers are often more flawed than most - they stand out, can be idiosyncratic, are often individualistic and opinionated especially when it comes to how they teach and the relationships they form with leaders. These teachers need to be in organisations that allow them to play to their strengths - where their autonomy is valued and they can thrive because they are respected and supported.
In reality teachers spend far too much valuable teaching time undoing previous learning, correcting misconceptions formed in the past and mistakes made as a result Good teachers engender a love of lessons learned wrongly - sometimes of learning in their students ones delivered by previous teachers and they do that by creating with short term vision. Great teachers will have a longer term perspective emotionally warm, supportive knowing that everything they say working environments where and do, the way they react, the beliefs collaboration is key. they hold, the words they use and the expectations they have are part of the learning experience for the student which will continue to build long after their influence has faded. They take any and every learning opportunity regardless of whether it’s on the curriculum or not.
We have no reliable assessment methods for identifying or evaluating great teachers despite our attempts to reduce what they do to fit lists of competency standards or formulae. We might try to analyse pupil outcomes and undertake learning walks in an attempt to distill the complicated human activity of teaching into something that we can report to governors. We mistakenly make judgements based on academic outcomes alone when social and emotional outcomes should be equally prized.
Ask a student how a good teacher makes them feel for a glimpse into the complicated human, relational and dynamic process that we know as great teaching.
23 What Makes A Great Teacher? ‘Barba Non Facit Philosophum’ Neil Strowger, Chief Executive, Bohunt Education Trust
Possibly not the ability to conduct a lateral flow test?
In almost 25 years of teaching, I realise I have not once paused to consider this question properly. How do you determine the criteria? What do you include and what is left out? Should this be an academic piece or anecdote and reminiscence? As you will determine in this thought piece, there are no hard and fast rules nor indeed answers to any of these questions. This essay is quite likely quixotic but will, mercifully, be free from ‘quinquagesimal steps to become a great teacher’.
As a keen, if rather wet behind the ears, new teacher in a rural and time-forgotten school in East Sussex, I distinctly remember the words of a wily old DT teacher - let’s call him Bill - “Neil if you want to make it to the top, all you need to do is walk briskly up and down the corridor brandishing a piece of paper. It matters not its content.” Unfortunately, the demise of the memorandum and its replacement with the inexorably enslaving electronic mail soon put paid to Bill’s sage words of advice. The answer will lie elsewhere.
Despite their ubiquity in ancient Greece, wearing a beard does not automatically make you a philosopher; great teachers are not physically determinable either. I take a certain pride, the sort that the passing of time permits, in the fact that I was once labelled dismissively as a ‘progressive’ headteacher by the Schools Minister in a speech following a high-profile BBC documentary series. If so, I find myself in excellent company: the peerless philosopher and defender of individual freedom, Jean-Paul Sartre, whose work is described by Burstow (1983)1 as “a possible grounding for student-centred education”. Sartre (usually clean shaven) is not an immediate ‘go to’ for liberal educators, his view of human relations being possibly too hostile, negative and restrictive. Huis clos anyone?
Enough digression and prevarication. Let us seek a further anchor point in answering the imponderable question, by reflecting on the greatest teachers we have had in our own lives and trying to unpick precisely what it was they did that had such an influence on us. Most likely, they did one, or both, of the following:
• They lit a fire in us – awakening a passion for a subject • They saw things in us we were not yet ready or able to see in ourselves
I would like to focus on the second of these. In 1963, Professor Robert Rosenthal conducted a now-famous experiment in which he had two groups of students test
1 Burstow, B (1983). Sartre: a possible foundation for educational theory. Journal of Philosophy of Education, Vol.17, No.2 24 standard laboratory rats. The rats had been separated into two ‘artificial’ groups, the first labelled ‘maze bright’ and the second, ‘maze dull’, and the students given time to interact with them2. Then, later in the day, they were asked to conduct ‘maze’ experiments, timing how long it took each group of rats to find their way out. The results were remarkable; the rats the students believed to be brighter significantly outperformed the ‘dull’ group on every metric. In fact, the ‘bright’ group were nearly twice as fast on average. In reality, there were no differences whatsoever between the groups of rats. The only differentiating factor had been the way the students had interacted with them throughout the day, the ‘bright’ rats were treated more warmly and gently.
This experiment was the beginning of research into a now well-established and understood psychological phenomenon, the Pygmalion Effect, whereby the expectations we have of others inform our actions towards them, which, in turn, affect their self- efficacy and own actions. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy that has been shown to be at work in all levels of social and professional interaction, and profoundly so in teacher expectations of children3.
More recently, the work of researchers like Christine Rubie-Davies has really started to get under the skin of this, illuminating the degree of impact expectations and beliefs of teachers have on students. Through this, two key factors emerge. First, whilst the impact of most teachers’ expectations is relatively small on students, some teachers have substantial expectation effects on learners. Second, teachers’ expectations seem to have a significant affect on their pedagogical approaches that, in turn, improve student progress.
That is to say, where teachers promote intrinsic motivation, create a warm socioemotional climate and provide similar and challenging materials to all students, they make increased progress4. And the reverse is also true; where teachers focus on performance and differentiate tasks heavily, revealing lower expectations of some, students make less progress5. The fascinating thing about this, to my mind, is the degree of impact. Whilst low-expectations teachers have a negative impact on student learning (-0.03> -0.2), it is nothing when compared to the positive impact high-expectations teachers can have (0.50>1.44)6.
2 Rosenthal, R., & Fode, K. L. (1963). The effect of experimenter bias on the performance of the albino rat. Behavioral Science, 8(3), 183–189. 3 Rosenthal, R, and L. Jacobsen. (1968). Pygmalion in the classroom: teacher expectation and pupils’ intellec- tual development. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston 4 Rubie-Davies, C. M. (2015). Becoming a high expectation teacher: Raising the bar. London: Routledge 5 Weinstein, R. S. (2002). Reaching higher: The power of expectations in schooling. Cambridge, MA: Har- vard University Press. 6 Rubie-Davies, C.M; Hattie, J.; Hamilton, R. (2006), ‘Expecting the best for students: Teacher expectations and academic outcomes’ October 2006 British Journal of Educational Psychology 76(Pt 3):429-44 25 Of course, the mechanism through which the Pygmalion effect ultimately works is students’ self-efficacy, and teachers are not the most significant influencer of these. Work by the educational researcher Graham Nuthall has illuminated the far more significant impact peers and peer-culture has on learning. He opines,
“The concepts that students have of their own abilities and worth are constantly shaped by their classroom experiences, especially their interactions with other students… This process seems based, in turn, on a process of constant comparisons as students hear others talking in public and private contexts and judge whether or not they could have said the same things or answered the same questions.7”
Indeed, the impact of peer culture on learning is far more profound than the intended impact of management processes designed by the teacher. The most effective teachers seek to understand this and engage with these processes, to work within and to shape them as far as is possible. To achieve this, the best teachers strive to create climes of highest regard and respect; to model and script pro-social and positive, inquisitive, learning behaviours in all.
Carl Rogers’ concept of unconditional positive regard8 is well understood in education as a keystone of many great teachers’ practice - understood as ‘an attitude of grace’ that values students, no matter their failings. However, the very best teachers understand ‘regard’ does not go far enough and is often misunderstood. ‘Unconditional positive regard’ does not mean turning a blind eye when students do not meet our expectations because what we permit, we promote. Nor is it a soft ‘I believe in you – you will get there in the end’. It only transforms life chances when it becomes framed as ‘unconditional positive expectations’ – seeing things in students they don’t yet see in themselves; providing the care, challenge and support to enable our charges to see it, very specifically, in the ordinary and the extraordinary of their own school lives.
In one sense, great teachers are born rather than created. We either have fire in our bellies, a natural affinity for children and drive to change their life chances for the better, or we do not. It is hard, not to mention draining, to feign interest in others and children, the ultimate arbiters, will quickly find you out and reject your teachings however attractively packaged.
To conclude where we began, there is no blueprint to great teaching. Pedagogies will come into and out of fashion; their impact and efficacy celebrated, then discredited as the zeitgeist ineluctably, irresistibly evolves and moves on to the next big idea. What remains, regardless of prevailing pedagogy are the great teachers quietly making a difference, masterful classroom curators whose learners walk as giants. Facial hair (and paper-waving) optional. 7 Nuthall, G. (2007) The Hidden Lives of Learners, Wellington: NZCER Press, 94-95 8 Rogers, Carl R. “Client-centered Approach to Therapy”, in I. L. Kutash and A. Wolf (eds.), Psychotherapist’s Casebook: Theory and Technique in Practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass 26 I Challenge All Teachers Tracie Linehan, Chief Executive, BeyondAutism
In September 1990, aged just 18, I embarked on a pedagogical journey that launched my career as a teacher. I studied at the International Peto Institute in Budapest for four years; a place where children with motor learning difficulties (e.g. cerebral palsy and spina bifida) went to school. I learnt about child development and motivation to underpin my classroom practice. I learnt how to differentiate a lesson across multiple facets: environment, cognition, physical and sensory ability, speech, language and communication, social interaction and individual motivators. I learnt that my attitude and relationships within the classroom influenced the outcomes. I learnt about each individual child. Oh, and then I learnt about the curriculum! Also affiliated to Keele University I applied the principles of what I had learnt to complete Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in UK mainstream primary schools and a psychology degree. I learnt how to teach from the basis that all children have the ability to learn with the right to aspirational goals.
A six-year-old boy once told to me that he loved soldiers and tanks. I said, “How about joining the army when you’re older?”, his reply “I can’t”. “Why?” “Because Tracie, I have cerebral palsy”. We talked about the key skills he thought he’d need to join the army – marching, saluting, counting, commando crawling, dressing What makes a good teacher? A in uniform, reading and writing; society that expects all children and we broke each skill down into achievable goals. By the age of 10 to learn and exposure to the rich he was a confident boy with those diversity of that society. skills mastered: marching with a walker, dressed smartly in school uniform, achieving his academic goals – he had his future to look forward to.
Teaching children with additional needs and challenges is something that we all do every day, in every classroom across the UK; by removing barriers to learning, challenging the ordinary and smashing the glass ceiling that is “maximum potential”. Children labelled with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) require exceptional teaching and a fundamental belief in ability. School is not a holding pen until adulthood or a respite provision for parents, it is THE opportunity to influence the future, for all children. I have seen the brilliance of a teacher delivering complex art techniques to children with cerebral palsy and learning difficulties, whilst simultaneously teaching mathematical concepts, language and communication, watching the joy of discovery. This teacher’s energy was unrelenting; her planning ensured that every child achieved and that they were inspired. She understood each individual child in her class, she formed a connection and nurtured a relationship that fostered the trust needed for children to try, no matter what. 27 I challenge all teachers to teach in a special school – it’ll make them stop and think. It’ll make them think about the child first – what do they need from the teacher to achieve their goals? Try teaching the geography national curriculum to a class of children with visual impairment, autism, cerebral palsy and epilepsy; seeking GCSE achievements that enhance their choices. There are no easy solutions and there isn’t a one-size-fits all handbook. This is why an optional SEN module on a teacher training course woefully underserves the children in our schools.
What makes a good teacher? A society that expects all children to learn and exposure to the rich diversity of that society. With teacher training that is grounded in child development and offers the breadth of experience that challenges generalizations and assumptions for all teachers.
28 Teachers of What? The Subject Dimension in Great Secondary Teaching Christine Counsell, Independent Education Consultant
I led history teacher-training at the University of Cambridge for 19 years. Two-thirds of our trainees’ time was spent in school, and much of my time was spent working with their school-based history mentors, collaborating in shaping a fully integrated programme. Rarely did we speak of training trainees to teach. We were training trainees to teach history. Our discussions around how well a trainee had told a story, challenged a pupil or modelled a process concerned, first, the historical nature of that story, process or challenge and, second, its exact role in fostering the pupils’ unfolding historical knowledge and accomplishments.
A specialist subject teacher is not a mere conduit, but a mediator. The teacher mediates the discipline or practice to which the school subject refers. Such mediation requires sustained renewal of a relationship with the subject. A music teacher who neither played, sang nor enjoyed music would be unthinkable. A history teacher who has read no historical scholarship since they were 22 is a history teacher frozen in time. Moreover, each has a locus of professional authority beyond the school – the community of subject teachers who wrestle with the responsibility of that mediation, continuously defining, developing and debating what, exactly, is being taught, and how.
All this makes me want to run away from the generic question, ‘What makes a good teacher?’ Of course, there is research on generic attributes and techniques, from thorough modelling, to retrieval practice, to the role of feedback, to all the obvious points regarding empathy or resilience. Yet all of these could be present and pupils still poorly taught. For when observing the very finest performance of the most impressive trainees, or diagnosing deficit and prescribing remedy, none of these generic principles got me anywhere close.
I did refer, often, to one generic duo that sat above others: clarity and thoroughness. It is true that little escapes them. Obviating all possible confusions with blistering clarity and being unstintingly thorough in ensuring that pupils both grasp or retain – these are non-negotiables. But clear about what? Thorough in ensuring what? This proceeds from somewhere else, and that somewhere is the trainee teachers’ relationship with the subject matter being taught.
Trying to capture the exact role of subject is fraught with difficulty, however. Research citing the impact of subject knowledge is not much help, for it must rely on blunt proxies. And the role of subject goes far beyond breadth and depth of apposite subject knowledge to such things as subject passion and subject-specific curricular thinking. So how do we approach the actual role that these play in unlocking the finest practice? What follows is 29 a brief attempt at capturing three functions.
First, subject sensitivity gives teachers judgement about when to isolate and when to integrate. Each move of the teacher, from choosing and arranging components across a lesson to the numerous judgements made in-the-moment, comes down to isolation or integration. This goes beyond the truism that subject matter needs breaking down and reassembling. A history lesson that collapses into a recitation of isolated facts or principles and does not skilfully ‘point’ to the wider story or argument is one that has lost connection with the subject’s forms of accounting. Strong history teaching skilfully sustains the presence of an account (an argument about causes, a debate about perspective, a narrative of surprising twist) even as the components are being isolated for attention. The music teacher drills or interests pupils in a single cadence, while sustaining the echo or building desire for the symphony. In brilliant teaching, one sees this neverending play of isolation and integration, holding the pupil on the journey. The great subject teacher’s lesson, like every stage of a great novel, implies a totality, even when that totality is out of view.
Second, subject sensitivity transforms teachers’ noticing. It enables the teacher to attach They inspire the next generation significance appropriately to what pupils say, write or do. As the secondary years to know the old thoroughly, in advance, so does the openness of pupil order to embrace the new. activity. A teacher without experience in subject-rooted judgement cannot discern the difference between a well-argued relationship and a mere link, an appropriate variation on a theme and a misunderstanding of that theme.
Third, the subject-rooted teacher displays assurance in conveying a subject’s distinctive quest for truth. This is not just about that part of a subject curriculum we often call the disciplinary dimension (where pupils learn rules of argument and interpretation, the conditions for valid claims, or how knowledge continues to be revised by scholar, scientist or social practice). It colours every communication with a degree of certainty or uncertainty. This is the world of judgement, sometimes of creativity, where it certainly isn’t the case that ‘anything goes’, but rather where teachers’ very mode of expression connects pupils with a long tradition of enquiry and invention, where pupils learn that for knowledge to change, both artist and scientist must be museum curator and inventor combined.
A great subject teacher is a teacher in whose hands the future of the subject is safe. Their calling sits above their immediate performance. Guardians of a hallowed tradition, they must communicate the weight of responsibility of renewing that tradition. In every breath, they inspire the next generation to know the old thoroughly, in order to embrace the new.
30 Three Ways Good Teachers Go Astray Will Orr-Ewing, Founder and Director, Keystone Tutors
I owe my livelihood to good teachers, and sometimes feel as though I owe them my life too. Two teachers (English; History) awoke me from deep intellectual slumber, made the world come alive for me and, in doing so, radically altered my life’s trajectory. I owe them a gratitude I shall never be able to express.
Alas, I promised this report’s editor something polemical. So whilst I would love to expand on the debt we owe to teachers, I instead want to contribute to the definition of what makes a good teacher by stepping into the question’s shadow and suggesting three ways good teachers go bad.
1. They have low expectations
Too few teachers believe in the educational project they are a part of. We often hear that teaching is a vocation but what are they called to do? Called to “narrow the attainment gap”? To fight inequality? To build resilience and mental wellbeing? To turn out model citizens and model 21st Century employees? These are the sorts of goals teachers tend to avow but, noble though they sound, they are not the chief purpose of education, which is to teach children to know and to love knowledge. “Install them in a very rich and glorious kingdom”, Charlotte Mason said, “lay before them a feast exquisitely served.”
This is not a comment on the wretched knowledge vs skills debate, but an acknowledgement on the relationship between knowledge and living. Mason goes on,
“The question is not just, -- how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education -- but how much does he care? and about how many orders of things does he care? In fact, how large is the room in which he finds his feet set? and, therefore, how full is the life he has before him?”
Too many teachers have lost faith in the attractive power of knowledge, and so they do not trust children to encounter ideas themselves and for their own sake. They rely on the soulless metrics of the report (“Sasha’s attitude to learning is now ‘above expectation’”) or the exam to deliver motive power; they receive spasmodic effort from the student in reply but little vital or vitalising knowledge. They forget that knowledge should be its own reward. The result is that, while most children enjoy school today, they do not enjoy knowledge.
2. They get in the way
Few professionals work as hard as teachers do. Teaching attracts the conscientious, and 31 then encourages them to sacrifice weekends, evenings and holidays as a badge of honour. The tragedy is that much of this strenuous hard work undermines the very project they should be engaged in - that of allowing children to acquaint themselves with ideas and knowledge for themselves.
What do I mean? The work that teachers put into their lesson plans so that every minute is meticulously accounted for. The work that they put into their resources for students, the precis-ing, bullet-pointing, note-taking, powerpoint-creating. ( My A level teacher so despaired at having a class of students brought up on years of spoon feeding that he turned all his pre-preared notes into fill-in-the-blanks!) The work that teachers put into explaining, summarising, explicating, revising, pointing out all the connections. Still the most common feature of a lesson is the questionnaire or oral comprehension, in which no sooner has a topic been introduced than the teacher is testing to see whether it has been grasped.
Here’s Mason again:
“But the mind requires its food and leave to carry on those quiet processes of digestion and assimilation which it must accomplish for itself. The child with capacity, which implies depth, is stupified by a long rigmarole on the lines of, —”If John’s father is Tom’s son, what relation is Tom to John?” The shallow child guesses the riddle and scores; and it is by the use of tests of this kind that we turn out young people sharp as needles but with no power of reflection, no intelligent interests, nothing but the aptness of the city gamin.”
By rarely allowing children to do the thinking for themselves, teachers allow children’s natural powers to atrophy (“use it or lose it” in Daniel Willingham’s frightening phrase). As a result, we currently have a generation who exhibit a worrying amount of “learned helplessness” when it comes to intellectual matters. Teachers are taught to use Vygotsky’s scaffolding but what does scaffolding to but intercede between the viewer and the beautiful building it covers? Yes, teachers should be a presence in the classroom, warming a class’s enthusiasm or correcting misconceptions, but they have to restrain themselves too, knowing when to be inactive as much as when to intercede.
3. They use artificial materials
We are used to giving teenagers a hard time but they have my sympathies when I look at the material (now often called ‘content’ as if learning were a Netflix show) that they meet at school. Not too long ago we learnt that the top selling authors in the UK were J K Rowling, Dan Brown, John Grisham and… Richard Parsons. For the uninitiated, he is the owner of the dry, mirthless CGP Revision Guides that are the staple diet of teenage exam preparation. Teachers remain in thrall to such publications and their lesser cousins, the printed out worksheet from TES, the intricately assembled PowerPoint slide, the
32 online study guide. To this ‘content’ is often added an unromantic supplementary folder containing exam specifications, previous years’ exam reports and a slew of assessment rubrics.
What is wrong with these? Mainly that, in line with what I’ve already said, children are not introduced to the ideas themselves but have them presented only in pre-digested form. They are being fed on pap, which devitalisises and demotivates when it should nourish and sustain, never connecting with a child’s natural curiosity. With the rise of remote learning this year, my worry is that we shall be seeing much more of this pap. It will be ever more appealing on the surface - lectures from leading thinkers beamed into schools; videos with high-production value - but because it has been pre-filleted and pre-filtered, it will never be known.
My three concerns are intertwined, all aimed at the problem of not trusting children to feed on ideas and knowledge directly, as written in books (not textbooks). I see that they all deploy the metaphor of foodstuff too, so will end with another, from who else but Mason:
“It is as though one required a child to produce for inspection at its various stages of assimilation the food he consumed for his dinner; we see at once how the digestive processes would be hindered, how, in a word, the child would cease to be fed.”
One consolation in all this is that independent school teachers tend to be more tempted to intervene than the state’s. So how about we welcome a return to health next year by finding an educational Jamie Oliver who will chuck out the junk food in our classrooms and usher in an era of intellectual nourishment for the nation’s children?
33 The Worst Teachers
Sir Anthony Seldon, Historian and Educationalist
So often, we can only understand something as ‘good’ by understanding what bad feels like. Otherwise, we are living in a Lala land of make-believe. To understand what good teachers are, we need an idea of the opposite. We must also be honest about the times when we ourselves had bad aspects of our own teaching performance. Bad teaching is not just done by the bad guys “out there”. We all have that potential. To know it, and to be honest about it, is the sovereign path to being free of it.
Because I’m not talking about bad teachers in this piece as much as bad teaching. Something we can all do. The worst teachers simply do it more often and more shamelessly than us. They are not wholly different to us. If we are not careful, we could become one of them.
To help me in this exercise, I am enlisting the help of 10 animals, whose names, oddly, all begin with “S”. They exemplify features of the bad teacher lurking within us all. Be aware. Beware.
Seals are such delightful creatures, aren’t they? We get rather breathless with excitement when we spot them. But watch closely in the water, and they’re always ducking in and out of view. Like bad teaching. We can all have off days, when we’ve had bad news, feel down or weary. But bad teaching happens when it overwhelms us and we disappear. Good teachers are fighters. They do not succumb. However great the adversity. Like Covid. Because ultimately, it’s about the kids, and however bad it might be for us, it’s worse for them.
Sheep are notorious for not showing individual judgement, they panic, baa loudly, and go along with the crowd. Teachers are always prey to the latest conventional thinking, or diktats about what the Department or OFSTED says, or why some say the SLT is rubbish. Bad teachers accept uncritically what they hear: discriminating teachers sift information, evaluate it, and make their own independent judgements about whether what they’re being asked to do anything is reasonable and right, and chimes with their values.
Squirrels really do hide away their goodies, because they don’t want to share them. So does bad teaching: it hordes and doesn’t share with colleagues. Shame on it.
Sharks don’t often attack humans, for all the headlines when they do. But they inspire great fear in all of us nevertheless, and prevent us from doing good things, like swimming in the ocean, because we are afraid. Bad teachers have the same effect. Sharks don’t know 34 the fear they inspire, but bad teachers do. The worst thing one of my colleagues ever said to me was that some people were afraid of me. Good teachers never use fear: they achieve respect and have influence in other ways. I was ashamed of myself.
Sloths are arboreal neotropical Xenarthran mammals. So now you know. They are very slow and very low energy. Teaching is an energetic business. I’ve never met a good teacher or seen good teaching that isn’t suffused with energy and vitality.
Skunks squirt very offensive smelling liquid out of their anal glands (sorry about that). Bad teachers and bad teaching leaves a bad smell in students, who 50 years and more later can still recall those teachers with venom, because they have poisoned part of their life. Good teachers leave a sweet smell with a perfume that endures a lifetime.
Snakes can be found in schools in every continent on Earth, apart from Antarctica, and some islands, including Ireland. They slink about, and the most dangerous poison their prey, as bad teaching poisons a school. They operate often alone. They are narcissists. They are there now in schools, in Antarctica and in Ireland, and everywhere. The temptation to succumb to the habits exemplified by bad Swans swim and move elegantly, teaching is there every day. By mate for life, and look beautiful. But get close to them, and they hiss and understanding more about these scream and flap at you. Good teachers characteristics, we can guard may or may not look, and move, ourselves. elegantly. But students know they can approach them and they will be friendly and welcoming. Bad teachers don’t let people get close. They neither like nor rejoice in children. They probably don’t like themselves much either.
Salamanders like to dwell inside rotting logs. When placed on the fire, they tend to escape, which led to their association with flames. St Augustine spoke of their ability to put out fire on contact, because they’re so cold. Salamanders in schools don’t light fires in the hearts of the students. They extinguish them.
Shih Tzus are dogs. No more needs to be said about the association their name suggests. Teachers have great power over students: school leaders have great power over teachers; governors, local government leaders, Ofsted, union leaders and politicians have great power over school leaders. Power has to be used wisely, with discrimination, wisdom and, ultimately, love. The s**ts are those who abuse their power.
If one looks for common characteristics in bad teaching, given that that is what we’re talking about, rather than bad teachers, five factors stand out.
35 Entitlement gets into their being. Why is it that, at some of the best known and most celebrated schools, there are cadres of long-serving staff, mostly male, who have their own codes of speech and behaviour, resist change, spread cynicism, and think the world owes them a living. They can be iconic figures among students, often because of their swagger. They believe that the school revolves around them. That they are untouchable. The great teacher in contrast will ask themselves every day: “if my job were to be advertised today, would I be appointed to it?”
Boredom rots their soul. It’s so easy to let it happen when year after year, one teaches the same material to the same groups in the same way. Teaching that is boring though is shameful. Teachers who let themselves become bored, and the students will spot it four corridors away, no longer see individual students, with their needs and hopes and fears, but just a depersonalised student blob. They’ve lost the plot, without the self-respect to make them continually rethink and rework their teaching and their subject matter.
Self absorption is fatal. I have seen teachers who are so high on their own ego and the wonder of their personalities that they’ve lost all touch with reality. There are no longer teaching subjects: they are teaching themselves. There are no longer teaching children: they are teaching mini-mes.
Fatigue is so understandable. Each school week, term and year can be exhausting. September after September, the weariness can build up. It can get under the skin, into the veins, into the heart and soul. Teachers have a choice; indeed, they have a duty to look after their well-being, to ensure that the rest each weekend and school holiday, and don’t burn out. They renew themselves. To be exhausted is not a badge of honour, but a badge of defeat. Students deserve fresh teachers, whether they are 21 or 67.
Finally, pride. Now, this has a good and bad dimension. Not to be proud of teaching well, of one students, and school, is a huge shame. But pride goes wrong when it stops the teacher learning, because they’re too proud to learn. Every teacher should be learning afresh every day, just like their students. I always said that the mark of a great teacher is whether they are learning as much on their last day as on their very first. Great teachers do this: bad teachers lost the plot years before.
The temptation to succumb to the habits exemplified by bad teaching is there every day. By understanding more about these characteristics, we can guard ourselves. Good teachers share a humility and a desire to learn. I hardly ever came across somebody teaching badly who admitted that they were. Instead, they became intensely angry when it was pointed out. As angry indeed as a cornered spotted hyena.
36 What Makes A Good School?
Tori Cadogan, Broadcast Journalist, Educational Consultant and Education Editor, Tatler
Each year the Tatler Schools Guide whittles down the UK’s top independent schools to a shortlist of 250 of the very best educational establishments. It’s no easy task. Without giving away all our trade secrets, in collaboration with my trusted and highly experienced researchers, we visit over 80 schools a year amounting to 189 hours of inspections and travelling in the region of 2000 miles. Each school in consideration is sent a series of rather laborious questionnaires to complete and we end up with over 3000 responses to wade through and disseminate. While the statisticians would leave it with all the data, the facts and figures a school sends us is only a small part of the selection process. The happy truth is, that the 537,315 (ISC Census 2020) pupils attending the UK’s 1,374 ISC member schools are academically, socially, economically and culturally diverse and we are looking for a cross section of schools to reflect this. There is a school to suit every pupil - the tricky part is finding the perfect fit, which is where the Tatler Schools Guide comes in.
So what makes a school ‘good’ for your child?
First and foremost, it’s making the right choice. Even if you had the happiest time of your life at Eton, Wycombe Abbey or St Pauls, if your child isn’t a super bright, high achieving, all rounder it’s unlikely to be suitable for them. No amount of tutoring will change this and in fact, may even lead to issues down the road. And it’s not just academic fit that’s important. If your child is uber confident and social then a big school with a thousand odd pupils will be perfect, however many children will be daunted at this prospect. So it’s worth really having a think about what will work for your child. Talk to them and find out what makes them feel happy, confident and settled. A happy child flourishes, and once they reach the teen years, parents increasingly realise that nothing is as important as good mental health.
I see this time and time again, but what makes a good school for one child and their family does not necessarily make a good school for another. Especially at prep school level, your choice needs to suit the whole family and location is a key factor here. It doesn’t matter how fabulous a school is, if the commute is a total nightmare, then you’re all going to grow to resent it. So unless your child has very specific learning needs that require a specialist school, it is always worth trying to choose as local a school as possible. Alternatively consider boarding, where pupils can roll out of bed and be at their lessons with only a few hundred metres walk.
37 It is very easy to be wowed by incredible state of the art buildings, educational initiatives and high tech wizardry - all of which have their part to play. However, the most important investment any school can make is their teachers. Nothing beats a dedicated and engaging educational team. So try to see through the glitzy buildings, meet as many staff as possible and ask the children showing you round about their favourite teachers. A happy staff body ensures a happy school. This can not be reiterated enough. It’s also worth considering if there is on-site accommodation for staff or in an expensive city, are there good public transport links? Schools need to offer attractive packages to lure the best teachers and prohibitive commutes or zero available accommodation will be a deciding factor.
A headteacher, who’s a good match with the school, it’s ethos and it’s student body is absolutely crucial. They must be someone who engenders trust and their values should align with yours. In a small school the ethos of the Head can influence every aspect of daily life. However, at the big public schools a head is more akin to a CEO, overseeing not just the main school but also it’s prep, international and partner schools. Unless your child is an outlier one way or another, you are unlikely to come into contact with the head other than at speech days and carol concerts. This is no bad thing. The chain of command should be clearly explained and your child’s tutor, housemaster or form teacher will know your child best and so, be perfectly placed to solve most issues.
Counterintuitively, schools can seem to go in and out of fashion. Sometimes there is good reason for this - a head that isn’t the right fit, a series of expulsions, unresolved bullying or overspending on ambitious new buildings leaving cash flow issues. However, it’s really important to do your own research, visit the school and go with your gut instinct. A series of good results and Oxbridge acceptances, a few changes to the SMT or giving a new head time to settle can make the world of difference. It’s worth remembering that everyone’s experience of a school will be different and multifaceted. Also, any school that is providing a home to 800+ teenagers are going to have some interesting moments. If a school says it’s never had a student vape, drink or take drugs they’re just not looking in the right places! It’s not whether or not it happens, it’s how it’s dealt with when it does, that’s important. So try to ignore the gossip and supposition and trust your own judgement.
Pastoral care and wellbeing are essential. What is the school’s policy on mental health and do they actually walk the walk and not just talk the talk? School is for so much more than pure academics. It’s here that children learn to make friends, socialise, work together, play sport, evolve their creative talents, develop resilience and hopefully learn to enjoy educational enrichment. Happy, relaxed and engaged children gain so much more from school than pure academics, and selecting the right school for your child can give them the very best foundations to go out into the world.
38 About the Authors
Professor Anne Bamford OBE is Strategic Director of Education and Skills for the City of London. Anne has been recognized internationally for her research in creativity, lifelong learning and technology. She instigated the term, ‘fusion skills’ to describe the competencies needed for flourishing now and into the future. Through her research, she has pursued issues of innovation, social impact and equality and diversity. A world scholar for UNESCOs, Anne has conducted major national impact and evaluation studies for the governments of Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium, Iceland, Hong Kong, Ireland and Norway. Amongst her numerous articles and book chapters, Anne is author of the “Wow Factor: Global research compendium on the impact of the arts in education” which has been published in five languages and distributed in more than 40 countries.
Smita Bora is the Founder of Saraswati Education and a private tutor. She has worked in teaching for over 25 years and as a headteacher for over 10 years. As a former Principal of Westminster Academy, she achieved success in transforming the school, from failing to award-winning, through collaborating strategically with business and the community. Smita’s other roles have included serving as a Council Member for University College School, Trustee at Paddington Development Trust and Steering Group Chair at the Royal Society for Blind Children.
Tori Cadogan is Tatler’s Education Editor, a broadcast journalist and educational consultant. She writes and edits the annual Tatler Schools Guide and launched the Tatler Schools social media and online output. She offer parents bespoke 1:1 educational consultations via [email protected]. She has written and contributed to articles for The Telegraph, The Sunday Times, The Economist, Tatler Online and The Tatler Spa Guide. Prior to working at Conde Nast, she worked as a Senior Broadcast Journalist and Producer for BBC News.
39 Professor Neil Carmichael is Senior Adviser, Education and International at Wild Search and Chief Executive of UCEC, an organisation which facilitates educational exchange and cooperation between UK and China. Neil is an Honorary Professor of Politics and Education at the University of Nottingham and at UCL and holds several non executive positions including Chair of The Association of Dental Groups. Neil was Member of Parliament for Stroud (2010-17), serving on the Education Select Committee throughout this period and latterly as Chair.
Christine Counsell is an independent education consultant, working nationally and internationally. She serves on the Boards of the David Ross Education Trust, Ark Curriculum Plus and Now Teach. She is editor of the journal Teaching History. Formerly Director of Education at the Inspiration Trust, she previously led the history PGCE course at the University of Cambridge. Christine started her career as a history teacher, holding teaching and leadership positions in state schools before working as local authority adviser for history.
Clare Flintoffis Chief Executive Officer at ASSET, an Education Trust of 14 primary schools based in Suffolk. Formerly headteacher at St Helen’s Primary in Ipswich, one of the three founding schools, she has led the Trust since its formation in 2015. Her first headship, in west Suffolk, was followed by two years working as a Local Authority Adviser and School Improvement Partner. In 2013 St Helen’s became a lead school for initial teacher training and continues to train up to 15 new teachers every year. Clare sits on the strategic board for Suffolk and Norfolk SCITT and the Angles Maths Hub. She is a Local Leader in Education (LLE), an Ambassador for Suffolk New College and a Local Governor at Suffolk One.
Professor Barnaby Lenon CBE was brought up in south London and educated at Eltham College and Oxford University. He won the Cambridge University prize for Education, taught at Eton for 12 years, was deputy head of Highgate School, head master of Trinity School Croydon and head of Harrow (12 years). He has been a governor of twenty-two schools and is currently 40 a trustee of the ten independent and state schools in the King Edward’s Birmingham Foundation.
He is Professor of Education at the University of Buckingham, chairman of the Independent Schools’ Council, a trustee of the Yellow Submarine charity and a member of the Ofqual standards advisory group. He has recently published two books, Much Promise: successful schools in England and Other People’s Children: what happens to the academically least successful 50%? He is one of the most widely quoted educationalists in the media. In 2019 he was awarded a CBE for services to education.
Tracie Linehan is Chief Executive of BeyondAutism. She has a wealth of leadership and management experience within the field of special educational needs and disability; having experience of both charity and education, she worked for Scope for over 20 years, where she held two headships and ultimately rose to the position of Regional Director. Tracie was the Executive Head of the Autism Schools Trust where she led on setting up and developing a Free School and is currently CEO of BeyondAutism, with two outstanding independent special schools. She has extensive experience of developing early year’s provision, establishing outreach, and training services, providing strategic leadership to schools, and developing Post 19 and adult services.
Libby Nicholas is Managing Director of Dukes Education - a family of nurseries, prep, senior schools and colleges where she is responsible for nurseries and day schools.
Libby founded and was CEO of Astrea Academy Trust- a family of 27 schools across Yorkshire and Cambridge. Libby’s earlier roles include Deputy Director of Education at the Girls’ Day School Trust, and Regional Director of Education for the South & West at the Academies Enterprise Trust.
41 Will Orr-Ewing is Founder and Director of Keystone Tutors, which he set up in 2007. Will attended Harrow School before undertaking a degree in History at Oriel College, Oxford. After graduating he taught History at Fulham Prep School. Outside Keystone, Will has been a governor of two free schools and is an active participant in UK education debates, appearing on Newsnight, The Today Programme and at the Wellington Festival of Education. He has advocated for the professionalization of tutoring in leading UK newspapers, and has spoken on education at firms such as Credit Suisse and Freshfields. He has been a board member of The Tutors’ Association and is currently on the Board of the Harrow Association. Will also co-founded the SEN website dysTalk.
Sir Anthony Seldon is one of Britain’s leading contemporary historians, educationalists, commentators and political authors. He served as Vice-Chancellor of The University of Buckingham from 2015-2020. Before this, he was a transformative head for 20 years, first of Brighton College and then Wellington College. He is author or editor of over 40 books on contemporary history, including the inside books on the last four Prime Ministers and co-founded the Institute for Contemporary British History.
Neil Strowger is Trust Leader of the Bohunt Education Trust, a multi-academy trust comprising eight secondary schools across the South of England with over 10,000 students. He is also Headteacher of the Ofsted- rated Outstanding Bohunt School in Liphook, which was named Secondary and Overall School of the Year by the Times Educational Supplement. Shortlisted for Headteacher of the Year, Neil is a former member of the National Steering Group for Languages and is a practising Ofsted Inspector.
Professor Samantha Twiselton OBE is the Director of Sheffield Institute of Education at Sheffield Hallam University and Vice President (External) of the Chartered College of Teaching. She uses her research and practice in the progression of teacher expertise, and curriculum design to improve school embedded approaches to teacher development. Sam has been 42 involved in influencing Government policy on teacher education and is the Chair of the DfE ITT Framework Group, a member of the DfE Teacher Recruitment and Retention Advisory Group, the specialist NPQs Group, the Carter Review of ITT and Expert Behaviour Management Panel, and the OFSTED Curriculum Review Panel. She is a recent recipient of an OBE for services to Higher Education.
Karen Wespieser MBE is an education researcher, currently Chief Operating Officer at Teacher Tapp and Parent Ping. She has worked at the National Foundation for Education Research, the Centre for Education Economics and the BBC amongst others. Most recently, she was responsible for establishing the specialist curriculum for Oak National Academy.
Amy Wevill manages executive and non-executive searches, leads on roundtables and events and heads Wild Research, the publishing and advisory division of Wild Search. Amy has a background in international research and programming high-level events, most recently at Chatham House (The Royal Institute of International Affairs). Amy has a Public Policy MA from King’s College London and a History of Art BA from University College London. Amy has served as trustee of The Mill and supports young people with reading and writing through The Literacy Pirates.
Edward Wild established Wild Search in 2010 following his earlier career in executive search with two established businesses. He has advised a wide range of education organisations and charities since 2004 on appointments and strategic planning. Prior to that he was the Development Director of Hampton School and author of its history. Edward’s early career was pursued in education as a teacher within day schools and national and international charities as both a volunteer and a fundraising specialist. A trustee of a range of educational charities since 2003, he is currently a trustee of the Royal School of Church Music.
43 About Wild Search
Wild Search is an established, well-connected and innovative executive search and advisory company, specialising in education. Our team provides extensive sector knowledge and brings a formidable and constantly evolving network of contacts to every search.
With over a decade of experience, our market knowledge, network and the Wild Search community are constantly evolving through a combination of searches, reports and events. Our work has encompassed advising on the appointment of executive and non- executive appointments for a range of organisations, primarily in the education and charity sectors.
We have also worked with boards to develop new roles and secured shortlists for them.
We are firmly committed to providing strong methodology, a rigorous approach, thorough research, imaginative thinking, in addition to clear and candid advice. We combine transparency with a sharp focus on the key requirements for each client for every position. www.wildsearch.org
About Wild Research
Wild Research was formed in 2011 and has since published 30 reports. The majority of the reports focus on education, but others relate to charities, housing and development and the rural economy. In order to further our understanding of our clients’ needs and outlook, we seek to evolve and improve our knowledge of the issues they face and challenges that lie ahead.
By contacting and interviewing experts and practitioners in each field, we aim to improve our insight, share best practice and provide new perspectives.
Wild Research welcomes ideas for reports and commissions from clients to highlight new developments and challenges within a business or sector.
44 About Dukes Education
Dukes Education is a family of nurseries, schools, and colleges in the UK. Surrounding their schools, they also have a collection of complementary education offerings – day camps, summer schools, and university application consultancies. They thereby create a wrap-around experience for every family that joins them, not just in school time, but beyond the classroom as well. Being part of the Dukes family means shared experience and expertise, supporting each other to achieve the extraordinary. dukeseducation.com
About Keystone Tutors
Founded in 2007, Keystone is one of the UK’s leading providers of private tutoring and educational consultancy for families around the world. It is headquartered in London, with subsidiary offices in Hong Kong and Singapore. Its reputation is based off its track record of helping children win places at the most competitive UK schools and universities, or success in top UK exams such as 11+, IGCSE, IB and A Levels.
Read more about Keystone on its website or in its recent Good Schools Guide review. www.keystonetutors.com
About UCEC
UCEC is a British company located in London. With the help of the new cooperative relationship between UK and China in education as well as the good policy environment, the company aims to implement a comprehensive promotion strategy to facilitate basic educational exchanges and cooperation between UK and China. www.ucec-education.com
45 A Selection of Wild Research Publications
Advancing Autism: Working Together for Improved Outcomes (2020) ISBN: 978-1-8382757-0-9
Charting a New Chapter: How to Establish and Maintain a Portfolio Career (2020)
Exporting Educational Excellence: British Schools Overseas (2020) ISBN: 978-1-9998729-1-5
A Sum Greater than its Part: Making Education Groups Work (2019) ISBN: 978- 1-9998729-8-4
Studying Success: The Role of Books in Higher Education (2019) ISBN: 978-1- 9998729-7-7
Universities Challenged? Embedding Diversity, Empowering Institutions (2018) ISBN: 978-1-9998729-6-0
World Class Education: A Report on Educational Choices and Opportunities for High Net Worth families in the UK and beyond (2018) ISBN: 978-1-9998729- 5-3
Leading Women: The Life, Legacy and Inspiration of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (2017) ISBN: 978-1-9998729-2-2
Sharing Resources, Securing Success: Making Sure MATs & Education Groups Work (2017) ISBN: 978-0-9576966-8-6
Education: The Greatest British Export (2017) ISBN: 978-1-9998729-0-8
Building Better Boards: An Opportunity for Education (2015) ISBN: 978-0- 9576966-6-2
Standards, Freedom, Choice: Essays to Commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the 1988 Education Reform Act (2013) ISBN: 978-0-9576966-1-7
For copies of our publications, or if you are interested in commissioning a report please contact: [email protected]
All reports may be downloaded at: www.wildsearch.org/research
46 47 [email protected] | wildsearch.org | +44 (0)207 233 2115
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ISBN: 978-1-8382757-1-6 2021 48