An article highlighted a greater willingness among new teachers to engage with both the language and the methods of government-led initiatives designed to establish and raise performance standards in teaching and learning.
Source: Anne Storey, 'Cultural shifts in teaching: new workforce, new professionalism?', Curriculum Journal, Volume 18 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Oct
The inspectorate for education and children's services examined the introduction and implementation of school workforce reform. Teachers' time and work were focused more directly on teaching and learning, and the substantial expansion of the wider workforce at all levels was allowing schools to extend the curriculum, provide more care, guidance and support for pupils, and use data more effectively to monitor pupils' progress.
Source: Reforming and Developing the School Workforce, HMI 070020, Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (07002 637833)
Links: Report | OFSTED press release | ATL press release | TDA press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Oct
Researchers examined the deployment and characteristics of all categories of support staff in primary, secondary, and special schools in England and Wales. Just over half of teachers said that support staff had led to a decrease in their workload.
Source: Peter Blatchford et al., Deployment and Impact of Support Staff in Schools, Research Report RR005, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2007-Jul
A think-tank report said that the teaching profession was in crisis. Government policy was causing shortages, wastage, and low standards. A shake-up was needed in the recruitment and employment structure.
Source: Bob Moon, David Burghes, Alan Smithers, John O?Leary and Chris Woodhead, Teaching Matters: The recruitment, employment and retention of teachers, Politeia (020 7240 5070)
Links: Politeia press release | NUT press release | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Jul
The sex equality watchdog in Scotland said that the full extent and nature of the work done by classroom assistants were unrecognized and undervalued.
Source: Valuable Assets: A general formal investigation into the role and status of classroom assistants in Scottish schools - final report, Equal Opportunities Commission Scotland (0845 601 5904)
Links: Report | Summary | EOC press release
Date: 2007-May
A think-tank report examined the sense of diminished professionalism reported by teachers, and what kind of teacher professionalism was needed in the future.
Source: John Craig and Catherine Fieschi, DIY Professionalism: Futures for teaching, Demos, available from Central Books (020 8986 5488)
Date: 2007-May
The education inspectorate in Wales said that moves to reduce teachers' workload had had a positive impact on staff morale: but it was too early to judge whether pupils were reaping the benefits.
Source: The Impact of Workforce Remodelling on Pupils' Learning and Raising Standards, HM Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales (029 2044 6446)
Links: Report | HMCIETW press release | NASUWT press release
Date: 2007-Mar
A study found that the risks of disclosing unseen disabilities and health conditions in the teaching, nursing, and social work professions were compounded by the stigma attached to them. Major shifts in attitudes and behaviour were needed in the workplace to overcome fears about disclosure. Disclosure of mental health conditions was particularly stigmatized, and considered to be a high-risk strategy that could lead to the exclusion of an individual from training or employment and affect progression in these professions.
Source: Nicky Stanley, Julie Ridley, Jill Manthorpe, Jessica Harris and Alan Hurst, Disclosing Disability: Disabled students and practitioners in social work, nursing and teaching, Disability Rights Commission (08457 622633)
Links: Report | DRC press release
Date: 2007-Mar
An article said that there was no evidence that the presence of teaching assistants, or any characteristic of them, had a measurable effect on pupil attainment at key stage 2 (age 11).
Source: Peter Blatchford, Anthony Russell, Paul Bassett, Penelope Brown and Clare Martin, 'The role and effects of teaching assistants in English primary schools (years 4 to 6) 2000-2003: results from the Class Size and Pupil-Adult Ratios (CSPAR) KS2 Project', British Educational Research Journal, Volume 33 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Feb
Researchers examined perceptions of the status of teachers and their profession; the factors that might influence perceptions; and how perceptions of teacher status could be improved.
Source: Linda Hargreaves et al., The Status of Teachers and the Teaching Profession in England: Views from inside and outside the profession - Final report of the teacher status project, Research Report 831A, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report | Brief | Evidence report
Date: 2007-Feb
An article examined the recruitment market for teachers from 1960 to 2002, using six graduate cohort datasets. Although there was no strong evidence that teachers were underpaid, the relative wages in teaching compared with alternative professions had a significant impact on the likelihood of graduates choosing to teach.
Source: Arnaud Chevalier, Peter Dolton and Steven McIntosh, 'Recruiting and retaining teachers in the UK: an analysis of graduate occupation choice from the 1960s to the 1990s', Economica, Volume 74 Issue 293
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Feb
The education inspectorate in Scotland said that reforms aimed at modernizing the teaching profession had resulted in reduced class contact time, new career structures, better professional development, and new management structures. The range and quality of support staff had improved, and classroom assistants were playing an increasingly positive role. But widespread impact on children's learning remained to be fully achieved.
Source: Teaching Scotland?s Children: A report on progress in implementing ?A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century?, HM Inspectorate of Education in Scotland (01506 600200)
Links: Report | SE press release | BBC report
Date: 2007-Jan
The education inspectorate said that the graduate teacher programme was successful in recruiting good candidates, especially in secondary shortage subjects. The overall quality of teaching by trainees on the programme was better in 2005-06, compared with the previous two years.
Source: An Employment-based Route into Teaching 2003-06: An overview of the inspection of the designated recommending bodies for the graduate teacher programme, HMI 2664, Office for Standards in Education (07002 637833)
Links: Report | OFSTED press release | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Jan
