‘Teaching Scotland’s Future’ TEACHING SCOTLAND’S FUTURE Professor Graham Donaldson CB University of Glasgow

Who am I? Former head of Scottish education inspectorate (HMIE) and Chief Professional Advisor on Education to Scottish Government Former President of Standing International Conference of Inspectorates (SICI) Author of ‘Teaching Scotland’s Future’ OECD international ‘expert’ – reviews of Australian and Portuguese education Honorary Professor University of Glasgow TEACHING SCOTLAND’S FUTURE

Powerful Drivers School education is one of the most important and contested policy areas for governments across the world. Evidence of relative performance internationally has become a key driver of policy. Human capital in the form of a highly educated population is seen as a key determinant of social justice and economic success. The pace and character of social, economic and technological change has profound implications for how we conceive education in the future. Ambitious and radical educational reform programme of Scottish Government TEACHING SCOTLAND’S FUTURE

International Trends in Educational Policy Central to broader government policy – innovation the norm Increased expectations – scope, relevance, standards Inputs to outcomes – data dominance International benchmarking Increased school autonomy Focus on teacher quality Multiple accountabilities Viral ideas

More = better 1957 Sputnik - Alphabet soup curriculum reform Standards movement - measurement mania School effectiveness Curriculum specification Professional conspiracies – competition & inspection Teachers Matter - “It’s the teacher, stupid” ????????? Storming the citadel?

TSF Remit To consider the best arrangements for the full continuum of teacher education in Scotland. The Review will consider initial teacher education, induction and professional development, and the interaction between them. TEACHING SCOTLAND’S FUTURE

Why now? Commitment to review of teacher education stemming from 2001 McCrone Review Implications for teachers arising from curriculum reform Ministerial aspirations and commitment International context TEACHING SCOTLAND’S FUTURE

Approach Form team Literature review Call for evidence Teacher survey Structured visits to providers and users Meetings with professional associations Experience elsewhere On-line discussions and events Other professional examples Individual discussions Report to address multiple audiences TEACHING SCOTLAND’S FUTURE

Treat as a relatively closed system? Fix problems OR Ask more fundamental questions? TEACHING SCOTLAND’S FUTURE

Fundamental Review Questions What kind of education do/will our young people need? What promotes necessary educational change? How much do teachers matter? What kind of teachers do we/will they need? What needs to happen? What about teacher education? TEACHING SCOTLAND’S FUTURE

Curriculum Reform Programme Broad, twenty-first century education (four capacities / outcomes-based general education between 3 and 15/Senior Phase) Deep learning and higher standards Target literacy and numeracy Engaging, imaginative and purposeful pedagogy Assess what we profess – wider achievement AND A new paradigm of governance and change TEACHING SCOTLAND’S FUTURE

Lessons from High-Performing Systems Clarity of purpose – values and curriculum High expectations of achievement Enabling all young people to achieve their potential Emphasis on early learning High quality teachers Culture of professional learning High quality leadership at all levels Outward looking – open to but not beguiled by innovation Intelligent accountability Reflective and self-evaluative

How much do Teachers Matter? Overall, the research results indicate that raising teacher quality is vital for improving student achievement, and is perhaps the policy direction most likely to lead to substantial gains in school performance.(OECD 2005) Students of the most effective teachers have learning gains four times greater than the learning gains of the least effective teachers (Sanders and Rivers 1996). Over 3 yrs, learning with a high performing teacher instead of a low performing teacher can make a 53 percentile difference (McKinsey 2007) TEACHING SCOTLAND’S FUTURE

William ‘Embedded Formative Assessment (2011) “We now know that the teacher is the most powerful influence on how much a student learns and that teachers can continue to make significant improvements in their practice throughout their entire careers”

Teachers Matter but… “For commitment to flourish and for teachers to be resilient and effective, they need a strong and enduring sense of efficacy…They need to work in schools in which leadership is supportive, clear, strong and passionately committed to maintaining the quality of their commitment.” Day et al ‘Teachers Matter’ OUP 2007 quoted in Hargreaves & Fullan ‘Professional Capital’ Routledge 2012

Teachers and change 85 percent are resistant to change what works for them; ten percent are willing to change to be more efficient; and five percent are willing to try new innovations. Hence the moves to use accountability, government pressure, compulsion and the stick rarely change the conceptions or lens of teachers. Hattie ‘Visible Learning ’ 2009 Routledge

And much teacher knowledge is Tacit Intuitive Situation bound Chance Wikman (Teacher Education Policy in Europe 2010)

What kind of teachers matter for sustained success? Versatile teachers who - have high-levels of expertise – subject, pedagogy and theory have secure values – personal and professional accountability for the wellbeing of all young people take prime responsibility for their own development use and contribute to the collective understanding of successful teaching and learning see professional learning as an integral part of educational change engage in well-planned and well-researched innovation. TEACHING SCOTLAND’S FUTURE

SPECIFIC TEACHER EDUCATION ISSUES Cultural dissonance - train / educate Belief, evidence and impact Weak partnerships Monotechnic inside polytechnic? Perception of higher quality NQTs but concerns about aspects of students’ abilities/capacities ‘Quart into pint pot’ problem Rigour and depth – particularly CPD Leadership TEACHING SCOTLAND’S FUTURE

Key Themes in Report School education can realise the high aspirations Scotland has for its young people through supporting and strengthening, firstly, the quality of teaching, and secondly, the quality of leadership. Teaching should be recognised as both complex and challenging, requiring the highest standards of professional competence and commitment. Leadership is based on fundamental values and habits of mind which must be acquired and fostered from entry into the teaching profession. The nature, pace and extent of change in the future will require professional learning to be more the engine than the disseminator of innovation TEACHING SCOTLAND’S FUTURE

Key Themes (2) The imperatives which gave rise to Curriculum for Excellence still remain powerful and the future well being of Scotland is dependent in large measure on its potential being realised. That has profound and, as yet, not fully addressed implications for the teaching profession and its leadership. Career-long teacher education, which is currently too fragmented and often haphazard, should be at the heart of this process, with implications for its philosophy, quality, coherence, efficiency and impact. TEACHING SCOTLAND’S FUTURE

Intended Results Reinvigoration of professionalism and a re- conceptualisation of teacher education. Rigorous and broadly-based selection of students applying to enter teacher education Concurrent undergraduate degree courses which are both vocationally and academically challenging and which engage students with the wider university Efficient use of time – before, during and after initial teacher education – Early Phase Aligned assessment of students’ progress. TEACHING SCOTLAND’S FUTURE

Intended Results (2) Practical experience set in a much more reflective and inquiring culture Make optimum use of ICT for professional learning. A coherent approach to teacher education which is underpinned by a framework of standards which signpost the ways in which professional capacity should grow progressively across a career. Development of leadership qualities from the start and throughout a career. TEACHING SCOTLAND’S FUTURE

Intended Results (3) A new concept of partnership among universities, local authorities, schools, national agencies and other services which embraces selection, course content and assessment Teacher educators should be directly engaged with practice –theory/research/practice not separate A professional culture within which Masters-level study is the norm A national and local infrastructure which sets, promotes and evaluates teacher education in ways which relate both current practice and innovation to their beneficial impact on learning. TEACHING SCOTLAND’S FUTURE

So far Teaching Scotland’s Future published Jan Recommendations All recommendations accepted in whole or in part by Scottish Government Very wide and continuing stakeholder acceptance Structure and timeline for implementation established – National Partnership Group Report Oct2012 Significant developments by GTCS, Education Scotland, universities, and individual authorities/schools Implementation Board Dec 2012

Three pillars of reform in Scotland Curriculum for Excellence Teaching Scotland’s Future Advancing Professionalism in Teaching

Big Messages Build on the past but do not be imprisoned by it Ducks in a row – teaching/leadership/curriculum/accountability Focus on strong teacher professionalism - values and expectations Build from the start and expect and support career-long professional growth More professional engagement in educational change - flexibility Leadership focus on people Relevant and challenging professional development