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Claiming the Profession: Teacher Agency CONTENTS REGULARS 2019 Edition 2 • Volume 21 Australian College of Educators Editorial 4 2019 Edition 2 • Volume 21 Australian College of Educators Claiming the Profession: Teacher Agency CONTENTS REGULARS 2019 Edition 2 • Volume 21 Australian College of Educators Editorial 4 Claiming the ACE President’s column 8 Profession: Teacher Agency FEATURES A new look at improving teacher recruitment, engagement and retention 10 The Chartered College of Teaching: Raising the status of the teaching profession in England 14 Teachers in Singapore: What challenges do they face in the midst of education reform? 16 What matters in education: Flip the System Australia 20 Talking to and about teachers: Resisting deficit discourses 22 Just take a breath: The impact of mindfulness training for school principals 26 OPINION PAPERS Making Hope Practical: Post-Liberalism, Visible Thinking and the 21st Century Classroom 30 An Australian Teacher’s Experience of the United Kingdom 34 Improving the status of teaching and World Teachers’ Day 36 Three Horizons – Inspiring a Future for Educational Change 40 SPECIAL FEATURE A Profession and a College of Education (edited) 46 Celebrating the past: Shaping the Future 48 Teacher Quality: A Central Concern of the 1990s 50 Our archival collections 54 BOOK REVIEW Reclaiming Education: Renewing schools and universities in contemporary western culture 55 Professional Educator • 2019 Edition 2 • Volume 21 3 regimes, the commercialisation of education, the limited value placed on teachers and their expertise … the list goes on. In this edition of Professional Educator: Claiming the Profession – Teacher Agency we asked contributors to explore the complexities of being an educator, not only here in EDITORIAL Australia but internationally. We put forward a number of questions for our contributors to consider such as: Is it time for teachers, passionate, dedicated professionals, to reclaim the profession? Surely those who live and breathe education have something meaningful to contribute to the direction and nature of school education? So, what is Claiming the important in education? What are the real problems and what needs to be done? How can teachers bring their expertise to the table and be part of creating a better education system for our children and our society? We start this edition at the beginning. If we, as educators, seek to claim our profession Profession: then we must necessarily address how people enter our profession and build a Dr JR Darling - founder meaningful and fulfilling career. Unfortunately, there appears, at least anecdotally, to be evidence that in terms of being champions for our profession, we, as educators, sometimes fall short, with a focus more on the perceived negatives of being an educator Teacher Agency than the personal and professional satisfaction that this career choice brings. In her article, A new look at improving teacher recruitment, engagement and retention - Attracting able students into teaching - the challenges of recruitment and retention, Dr Julie Rimes FACE , FACEL, FAICD Editor Professor Joan Abbott-Chapman investigates more innovative approaches to both teacher and student engagement whilst highlighting the fact that teacher satisfaction and happiness do, actually matter! Joan draws on research that affirms the importance of the ‘virtuous cycle’ of teacher and student classroom enjoyment that ties student achievement and teacher enthusiasm and confidence. Throughout the 1950s teachers from across Australia were It is not only educators within the Australian context who are seeking ways to influence discussing the possibility and advisability of forming a professional and drive the education profession. This edition also includes contributions from overseas organisation. These discussions reached a point of action in late colleagues who explore how teacher agency is being pursued in different settings. 1958 when a group of respected teachers, most of whom had reached the highest professional standing within education, convened a Dame Alison Peacock in her article The Chartered College of Teaching: Raising the dinner at Wesley College in Victoria to more formally discuss the status of the teaching profession in England challenges the status quo driven by the establishment of a form of Institute of Teachers. The College was demands of the inspectorate and politicians. She advocates for an ‘insider’ led alternative formerly established at the Founders’ Convention held in May 1959 at approach to school improvement that ensures creativity and inclusion flourish. Alison Geelong Grammar School in Victoria. argues that there is an overwhelming need to build teachers’ confidence to think differently, to question and to embrace lifelong learning. Based on her experience as a A movement, so to speak, was taking root, led by teachers school-based educator, Alison is leading an organisation that unequivocally believes in who viewed their chosen profession as much more than the positive voice of educators being heard. “A movement, so to speak, simply a career. These leaders sought to proudly take was taking root, led by ownership of their profession and champion progress, Given the seemingly overwhelming focus of governments, the media and the general innovation and development to drive Australia’s education public on education performance as measured by national and international standards, teachers who viewed their forward. Dr Jason Tan’s article Teachers in Singapore: What challenges do they face in the midst of education reform? provides an interesting investigation into the challenges faced chosen profession as much This, I would argue was the beginning of teacher agency by educators in what is widely regarding as a high-performing education system such more than simply a career” in Australia. A movement whereby those with the greatest as Singapore. Jason explores the historical context which has given rise to Singapore’s knowledge, expertise and investment in the education current international standing and highlights the focus of the Singaporean Ministry of profession – that is educators, sought to collectively Education on the professionalisation of teaching. He goes on to explain the challenging influence and drive Australia’s education – its structure, position Singaporean teachers often find themselves in a ‘bridge’ between the Ministry practice and the policy that forms its foundations. The vehicle through which they chose of Education and other stakeholders such as parents and students in a dynamic and to do this was, of course, the Australia College of Education, as it was then known. constantly evolving education system. Some sixty years later there has been a lot of water under the bridge, as they say. Here in Australia, Deborah Netolicky, Jon Andrews and Cameron Paterson in their article Governments have come and gone, some more quickly that others, education policy has What Matters in Education: Flip the System Australia put forward the argument for a been developed, reviewed, re-developed; education practice has and continues to evolve fundamental shift, a flip, if you like, in the Australian education system that replaces based on research and practical experience. Throughout this, educators, and sadly that ‘top-down accountability with bottom-up support for teachers’. The authors explore is all too often its teachers have, I would argue, been the focus of escalating negative the current ‘state of play’ within the education system highlighting the seemingly public narratives about the underperformance of Australia’s education system. entrenched ‘holy grail’ of achieving a clinical relationship between inputs and outputs. In essence, the article argues that a ‘flipping of the system’ – empowering teachers to shape There now appears to be a growing disquiet throughout the teaching profession that the education profession, elevating the voices of those working in schools and delivering somewhere along the way Australian education has been hijacked – concerns regarding locally-produced solutions developed through collaborative expertise will build a top-down bureaucracy, increasing constraints on teachers’ professional autonomy, movement, a ‘collective roar’, as it were, that will result in an education system built on accountability driven workloads, collegiality dampening processes, standardised testing trust and agency driven by empowered teachers. 4 Professional Educator • 2019 Edition 2 • Volume 21 Professional Educator • 2019 Edition 2 • Volume 21 5 EDITORIAL Nick East is an Australian Educator who taken his skills and expertise as a teacher, across the world to practise in the United Kingdom. In his article An Australian Teacher’s Experience of the United Kingdom, Nick provides a personal (and at times brutally honest) perspective of being a part of the education system in the UK. At its core, the piece is a cautionary tale that highlights the absolute need for teachers’ skills, expertise, professionalism and knowledge to be not only respected but heard and included as a driving force in the development of educations systems, policies and practice around the world. Emeritus Professor and Fellow of the Australian College of Educators, Colin Power AM is an advocate and champion of the teaching profession. In his article Improving the status of teaching and World Teacher’s Day, he sets out the argument for education authorities to recognise and productively engage teaching professionals to elevate the status of teaching not only in Australia but internationally. Colin draws on the experiences and knowledge gained throughout his incredible career
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