RETAIN UK Project Team: Karen Walshe, Lindsay Hetherington, Nigel Skinner, Nick Givens, Keith Postlethwaite, Andrew Dean

The Project The EU-funded RETAIN project is a collaborative research project involving partners from five countries (Denmark, Belgium, Turkey, Spain and the UK) who have contrasting socio-economic-political contexts and differing teacher retention issues.

Project Aim Overall aim of the RETAIN Project is to help schools to create and develop an inclusive and creative environment which will improve the retention of high quality teachers.

Project Objectives S pecific objectives of the RETAIN project are: 1. To explore issues relating to teacher retention from international perspectives across the five partner countries 2. To develop and trial a set of tools designed to help school managers and teachers to create an inclusive and creative working environment

The Problem: Teacher Retention In the UK, teacher turnover remains high in comparison with other countries. Recent figures estimate that almost 40% of NQTs quit the profession within a year of qualifying (the exodus of new recruits has almost tripled in six years).

Retention problems affects secondary schools to a greater extent than primary schools Particular shortages in certain subject areas, notably Science and Mathematics, Teacher turnover is higher in disadvantaged urban schools More early career teachers leave the profession Regional differences in teacher retention with greater vacancy rates in London, the East of England and the South East. According to research…..

The solution? Research suggests that teacher resilience is key. There are a wide range of professional, social, emotional and motivational factors which impact on teachers’ sense of their own resilience. These include both personal and contextual ‘risk’ and ‘protective’ factors, summarised in the table on the following slide:

Teacher Resilience Factors: Research synthesis IndividualContextual Protective Altruism/vocation, Tenacity, Intrinsic motivation, Humour, Flexibility, Risk- taking, Self-efficacy, Agency, Problem- solving, Social competence, Active coping skills, Professional ambition, Self- reflection, Commitment to professional development, Good teaching skills, Confidence in teaching ability Supportive school culture / peer support, Supportive leadership, Mentor support, Good relationships with students, Social/family support, Quality of pre-service teacher education course Risk Lack of self-confidence, Difficulty asking for help, Conflict between personal beliefs and school practices Pupil disruption, Meeting needs of disadvantaged students, Lack of leadership support, Lack of resources, Poor relationships with parents, Isolation, Poor relationships with colleagues, Scrutiny/performance management culture, Lack of power over teaching decisions, Workload, Lack of mentoring, Lack of security, Insecure subject/curriculum knowledge

Research suggests that a supportive school culture that is ‘integrated’ in supporting both experienced and novice teachers is a contributing factor for teacher retention and the development of teacher resilience. Project set out to develop and trial a set of tools (toolkit) to support school leaders and teachers in developing an inclusive, creative, and integrative school culture.

COLLABORATIVE PROJECT WITH 25 SCHOOLS IN TOTAL The Project EACH PROJECT PARTNER WORKED WITH 5 SCHOOLS IN THEIR COUNTRY.

In order to develop effective tools that could be used within a range of national contexts, the project began by exploring teachers’ perceptions of reasons why teachers might choose to remain in or leave the teaching profession Step 2: Preliminary teacher survey

Participants a) Newly/Recently qualified teachers (N = 10) b) Senior Teachers (N = 21) c) School Managers (N = 4) Two community primary schools in Exeter Small rural primary school on the border of Devon/Somerset comprehensive school in Exeter 11 to 19 Church of England Academy in Somerset

Reasons for staying in the profession Love of job Sense of teaching as a vocation Good perks – salary; pension; holidays; job security Quality of support Sense of accomplishment e.g. seeing students’ progress – academically and holistically Variable nature of job Need to stay e.g. financial commitments Sense of responsibility for students

Reasons for leaving the profession Workload (excessive, unmanageable, unreasonable (impact on family life), unexpected (NQT) unrealistic, and inappropriate - focus on administration rather than teaching) Balancing act - keeping on top of planning, marking, assessing, reporting; Not knowing what to prioritise Focus on meeting standards/[unrealistic] targets (rather than on enjoyment of learning) Constant sense of accountability/observations/continuous monitoring/ Ofsted! Performance related pay Pressure from parents/government/governors

Poor public perception Breakdown of the profession (e.g. unqualified teachers) Lack of support; bullying from management; A lot of work not valued/rewarded Parents not understanding they need to do their part Prescriptive curriculum and lack of resources Class size (NQT), poor student behavior, apathetic students Fatigue

Key Factor = Stress The result of attempting to cope with workload Too many things outside of teacher’s own control Not wanting to let anyone down

DEVELOPED IN COLLABORATION WITH THE PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS The Toolbox

Tools designed to …  Be bottom-up rather than top-down development tools, requiring both a high degree of managerial engagement and a high degree of participation  Be open-ended processes rather than closed processes, and introduce changes through encouraging reflection and critical dialogue

Five Themes 1. Differentiation and inclusion - inclusive management, awareness raising practices, inclusive teaching skills 2. Co-construction, co-design and collaboration – developing a professional learning community 3. Collaboration with the external world particularly parents and their expectations. 4. Stress management to cope with new demands, new technologies, tests, curriculum goals and bureaucracy. 5. Professional identity - in increasingly results oriented and change dominated schools. environment.

Co-construction, Co-design & Collaboration Strong link between collaboration and positive school outcomes; high levels of motivation; and effective implementation of change. Research suggests that there are three key issues in teacher retention that collaborative working may help to address: 1. Teacher resilience 2. Innovation 3. Risk management

Tool 1: Framework for Collaborative Dialogue Rooted in Activity Theory – supporting teachers in exploring how they can take action for change in relation to a key issue/problem. Designed to scaffold collaborative conversations

Worked Example of the Framework for Collaborative Dialogue (FCD)

Tool 2: Lesson Study Supported by the FCD Supports teacher collaboration to address a key issue or develop an innovative and creative pedagogy A group of teachers (usually 2-3) undertake to collaboratively plan a lesson which one will teach whilst the other(s) observe. Fosters shared ownership of the lesson Enables critically reflective thinking about the impact of the teaching on pupils’ learning

What did we learn? Feedback suggests that when implemented as intended, the toolbox enabled schools to achieve what they set out to achieve, particularly in relation to: a) strengthening opportunities for collaborative work within the school b) encouraging staff to look at issues, difficulties and tensions with ‘fresh eyes’ c) providing opportunities for staff to feel ‘listened to’ d) identifying tools that would help to improve teacher retention

Tool 1: Framework for Collaborative Dialogue Helped to give a clear focus Enabled new ways of looking an issue Encouraged discussion - multiple voices rather than one dominant voice Particularly helpful when discussing issues where it is evident that staff will have quite differing opinions Gave opportunities for staff to lead the conversation rather than members of the Senior Leadership Team Resulted in a better (higher) quality of focused dialogue

Tool 2: Lesson Study Staff responded very positively to this tool Provides concrete opportunity for staff to collaborate and to share good practice Very supportive tool which provides teachers with a safe way to experiment with new ideas and take more risks in a non judgemental environment Promotes self-evaluation and reflection Resulted in noticeable improvement in pupils’ achievements

Challenges The key biggest challenge for schools was that of capacity, for example: 1. High turn-over of staff (particularly Headteachers) 2. High workloads and lack of time (and resilience) for teachers to engage with the project. 3. Danger that some teachers might see some of the tools (e.g. Lesson Study) as another management tool for monitoring them.

The Toolbox

THEMETOOLS 1 Differentiation and inclusion (Turkey) Inclusion Compass Reverse Mentoring 2 Co-construction, co-design and collaboration (UK) Framework for Collaborative Dialogue Lesson Study 3 Collaboration with the external world (Denmark) Inclusion Compass 4 Stress management (Barcelona) Role analysis Analysis of organisation’s role Vision World Cafe 5 Professional identity (Belgium) SWOT analysis ( characteristics of a good teacher) Situate oneself on a line (teacher identity) Changing / Evolving representations of the role of ‘teacher’ Edward de Bono’s six thinking hats