PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY INTO EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR TEACHER PROFESSIONAL LEARNING SUBMISSION PREPARED BY CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS AUSTRALIA

Transcription

1 PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY INTO EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR TEACHER PROFESSIONAL LEARNING SUBMISSION PREPARED BY CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS AUSTRALIA JUNE 2007

2 Preamble Christian Schools Australia (CSA) represents over 150 Christian schools across Australia responsible for the education of approximately 50,000 students. (Over 6000 students and 450 teachers in Victoria). We are committed to educating young Australians from a Christian perspective. We aim for graduates to learn to know Christ and to live meaningful lives committed to excellence, community building and service to others reflecting their good character and hope for the future. CSA exists to support, enhance and further develop the work of member schools. This submission has been prepared in consultation with, and on behalf of, our 22 school campuses here in Victoria. Our membership includes large, mid size and small metropolitan and regional schools. CSA as an organisation supports and contributes to the ongoing professional learning of teachers in our sector in a number of ways. These include: Facilitating links and networks between schools that encourage the sharing of best practice Running various seminars and Conferences at both National and State levels Providing individual school professional development days in governance, administration and teaching/learning. Enabling and supporting professional fellowship networks for staff in member schools. These operate locally and nationally. They include Key Learning Area and subject networks, leadership networks and administrator networks. Web forums for staff, including teachers, are provided on the CSA website. Forging relationships with tertiary and other partner institutions and providing professional learning in conjunction with them Following are our responses to the key issues as outlined in the Inquiry s terms of reference. 2

3 a) The relationship between ongoing professional learning for teachers and teaching expertise What is teaching expertise? Certainly it is more than a set of skills that can be learned, practiced and mastered. Excellent teachers also possess professional characteristics that underpin and motivate their performance. These characteristics include the teacher s values, initiative, flexibility, confidence, respect for others, ability to work as a team, drive for improvement etc. Professional learning programs need to focus not only on teaching skills but also on these professional characteristics and the teacher s ability to use these to create positive learning environments. Teaching expertise is not about currency of the latest initiatives, it is about effectiveness in a context and being able to meet the needs of the children within that context. Professional learning does not automatically lead to teaching expertise. Unfortunately we note that some teachers, despite having successfully completed teaching qualifications, lack the very basic aptitude required for teaching. In service professional learning is unlikely to increase the capacity of these teachers. Therefore we strongly assert that the processes for pre-service teacher education need to be more rigorous and ensure that these students are re-directed to more appropriate career paths. Consequently, as well as addressing issues regarding the ongoing professional learning of teachers, the nature and effectiveness of pre-service teacher education also needs to be seriously examined. Areas that require consideration include: Aptitude testing before students are enrolled in teacher education Stronger links between institutions (particularly Universities) offering teacher education and schools Universities being required to have greater accountability for the quality of teachers they are producing Pre-service teachers do not have enough time in schools and in classrooms to develop the skills and understandings required. There needs to be more focus on the real workplace One year Grad Dip courses do not provide enough time for pre-service teachers to be adequately prepared We support a discipleship/mentor model where pre-service teachers have ongoing relationships with master-teacher and school. Under such a model mentors would have a high level of responsibility towards the student that goes beyond merely rating them at the end of a teaching placement. Christian Outreach College (Qld), Avondale College (NSW) and Bethlehem College (NZ) provide models of how close relationships between tertiary and secondary institutions can be of benefit to teacher development 3

4 b) Factors that will support high quality professional learning for teachers, including learning methods and environments for the development of professional knowledge, and the andragogy relevant to professional development of teachers. Needs to be applicable to the context of the teacher Needs to be clearly focussed on student outcomes Needs to come from the teachers own perceived needs rather than imposed from external sources Needs to be easily accessible The definition of best practice needs to be clearly defined for teachers. What does it actually look like? Teachers need time Best professional learning takes place in an environment in which a culture of ongoing learning has been established Most effective when professional learning takes place in the teacher s own school environment Teacher professional learning needs to be co-ordinated supported and encouraged within the school. Schools need a professional learning professional to oversee the process within the school and to provide support and guidance to staff. Access to experts. Having consultants coming into the school is preferable to teachers going out to consultants. These could be people from other sectors or from other schools. Needs to be sequential and ongoing Needs to be collaborative and collegial Needs to be linked to whole school goals Needs to involve self-reflection Needs to provide opportunity for active engagement by teachers Need to provide clear descriptors by which to measure skill and competence d) How best practice in ongoing professional learning for teachers can be delivered into schools and learning communities Delivered into schools is the wrong phrase to use. The Inquiry ought to be asking, What do schools need in order to create a learning environment culture that facilitates supports and encourages the ongoing professional learning of all staff? Professional Learning should not be seen as an ingredient that is poured in to schools. Rather, a culture of professional learning should bubble up from the very core of the school and spill out. The questions for Governments and educational authorities ought to be, What ingredients (resources) can we provide to facilitate this? and How will we know when it has been achieved/what will it look like? Effective professional learning programs (and therefore effective schools) require skilled leaders to drive them. These leaders need to be leaders in pedagogy as well as skilled in the implementation of change and improvement processes. Such people do exist already in many schools but lack the time release necessary to fulfil this 4

5 important leadership role. For other schools, no such person exists. Clearly there needs to be adequate funding (and training) to support Professional Learning Coordinators. Opportunities along the lines of the summer schools being offered by the Federal Government could be an appropriate way to develop and equip people for this role. Submitted by: Maria Varlet Executive Officer Vic/Tas Christian Schools Australia PO Box 336 Mentone On behalf of the following schools: Bairnsdale Christian Community School, Bairnsdale Ballarat Christian College, Ballarat Belgrave Heights Christian School, Belgrave Heights Creek Street Christian College, Bendigo Flinders Christian Community College, Tyabb Flinders Christian Community College, Carrum Downs Flinders Christian Community College, Latrobe City Heatherton Christian College, Heatherton Hillcrest Christian College, Clyde North Kerang Christian Community School, Kerang Lighthouse Christian College, Keysborough Lighthouse Christian College, Cranbourne Mildura Baptist College, Mildura Mount Carmel Christian School, Wodonga Northside Christian College, Bundoora Open House Christian School, Lalor Red Rock Christian College, Sunbury River City Christian College, Echuca Shepparton Christian Community School, Shepparton St Andrews Christian College, Burwood Victory Christian College, Bendigo Waverley Christian College, Wantirna 5