An article examined teachers' views on their professional autonomy. Despite the hegemony of neo-liberal policies, teachers in England often retained a loyalty to the concept of education as a liberal humanist project as opposed to that of a provider of human capital.
Source: Jon Berry, 'Teachers' professional autonomy in England: are neo-liberal approaches incontestable?', FORUM: for promoting 3-19 comprehensive education, Volume 54 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Nov
A new book said that teaching assistants could make a significant contribution to the way pupils learned and achieved: but schools needed to fundamentally rethink assistants' role and give them proper support.
Source: Anthony Russell, Rob Webster, and Peter Blatchford, Maximising the Impact of Teaching Assistants: Guidance for school leaders and teachers, Routledge
Links: Summary | IOE press release | Voice blog post
Date: 2012-Nov
A study found that there was a positive raw association in England between the level of school disadvantage and the turnover rate of teachers. This association diminished after controlling for school, pupil, and local teacher labour market characteristics: but it was not eliminated. The remaining association was largely accounted for by teacher characteristics, with the poorer schools hiring much younger teachers on average. This 'market equilibrium allocation' either derived from the preferences of young teachers or reflected the low market attractiveness of disadvantaged schools.
Source: Rebecca Allen, Simon Burgess, and Jennifer Mayo, The Teacher Labour Market, Teacher Turnover and Disadvantaged Schools: New evidence for England, Working Paper 12/294, Centre for Market and Public Organisation (University of Bristol)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Sep
A paper said that centralized setting of teachers' salaries in England had a negative impact on pupil learning, causing an average loss of one GCSE exam grade (at age 16) per pupil. In areas where private sector wages were high, centralized setting acted as a pay ceiling for teachers, causing difficulties in recruitment and retention, especially of higher-quality staff.
Source: Carol Propper and Jack Britton, Does Wage Regulation Harm Kids? Evidence from English schools, Working Paper 12/293, Centre for Market and Public Organisation (University of Bristol)
Links: Paper | CMPO press release | ATL press release | NASUWT press release | Voice blog post | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Aug
A think-tank report said that there were 'imminent risks' to the supply of good-quality teachers in England. It said that higher course fees might be behind a drop in the number of students entering initial teacher education in 2012, including in the primary sector – which was simultaneously seeing a surge in pupil numbers. Headteachers reported finding it harder to recruit teachers, and expressed concern about declining morale in the teaching profession.
Source: John Howson, The Future Teacher Workforce: Quality and quantity, Pearson Think Tank
Links: Report | Labour Party press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Aug
The government announced that academy schools would no longer be required to employ teachers who were professionally qualified. It described this as a 'minor change'.
Source: Press release 27 July 2012, Department for Education
Links: DE press release | ASCL press release | ATL press release | BHA press release | Institute of Education press release | NASUWT press release | NUT press release | BBC report (1) | BBC report (2) | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Jul
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on teacher recruitment and training. It said that it welcomed the report and endorsed the committee's strategy to attract top graduates into teaching.
Source: Great Teachers: Attracting, Training and Retaining the Best: Government Response to the Committee's Ninth Report of Session 2010–12, First Special Report (Session 2012–13), HC 524, House of Commons Education Select Committee, TSO
Links: Response | ATL press release | NAHT press release | NUT press release
Notes: MPs report (May 2012)
Date: 2012-Jul
A report by a committee of MPs highlighted research showing that even a year's exposure to a high-performing teacher had a lasting impact on pupils – building confidence, earnings, and well-being later in life. It said that the government should make the recruitment and development of the best teachers a top priority. There was a need to speed up improvements in teaching quality and the systems that supported it. Ongoing professional development for teachers had been neglected for far too long. The MPs recommended a new College of Teaching and an entitlement to professional development for all teaching staff. They also proposed radical reforms to the existing career structures for teachers, and a new National Teacher Sabbatical Scholarship programme, under which outstanding teachers could undertake a period of further research or employment in a related field to improve their practice.
Source: Great Teachers: Attracting, training and retaining the best, Ninth Report (Session 2010-12), HC 1515, House of Commons Education Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Oral and written evidence | ASCL press release | ATL press release | NAHT press release | NASUWT press release | NUT press release | Teach First press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-May
The chief inspector of schools in England criticized teachers who complained that their jobs were 'too stressful' and made excuses for poor performance. He suggested that head teachers, in particular, needed reminding what stress really was. He said: 'We need heads who know what a privileged position they are in now and who can use their new-found independence well – people who roll up their sleeves and get on with improving their schools, even in the most difficult circumstances. What we do not need are leaders in our schools whose first recourse is to blame someone else – whether it's Ofsted, the local education authority, the government or a whole host of other people.'
Source: Speech by Michael Wilshaw (Her Majesty s Chief Inspector of Schools), 10 May 2012
Links: Speech | BBC report | ATL press release | NUT press release | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-May
A study of developed (OECD) countries found that there was no clear link between performance pay for teachers and raising standards in schools.
Source: Does Performance-Based Pay Improve Teaching?, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Report | BBC report
Date: 2012-May
A study examined the scale and nature of allegations of abuse made against school teachers and non-teaching staff in schools in England, and the processes for handling these at the local authority and school level. The numbers of allegations made were relatively small in relation to those working in the sector as a whole. Qualitative information suggested that the number of allegations recorded annually was on a rising trend: but this was thought to be due to better recording and increased school referral of cases to local authorities.
Source: York Consulting LLP, Allegations of Abuse Against Teachers and Non-Teaching Staff, Research Report RR192, Department for Education
Date: 2012-Mar
A new book reported on a 5-year study that found that pupils who received the most support from teaching assistants consistently made less progress than similar pupils who received less support. Schools and policy-makers needed to make radical changes in the way teaching assistants were deployed in classrooms.
Source: Peter Blatchford, Anthony Russell, and Rob Webster, Reassessing the Impact of Teaching Assistants: How research changes practice and policy, Routledge
Links: Summary | IOE press release
Date: 2012-Jan
The coalition government published (following consultation) new arrangements for teacher and head teacher appraisals in maintained schools in England, and for dealing with underperforming teachers (to take effect from September 2012). Poorly performing teachers could be removed in about a term, rather than the year taken under existing arrangements.
Source: Teacher Appraisal and Capability: A model policy for schools, Department for Education
Links: Model | DE press release | Conservative Party press release | ASCL press release | ATL press release | Labour Party press release | NAHT press release | NASUWT press release | Guardian report | Public Finance report | Times Education Supplement report
Date: 2012-Jan
