The professional development of teachers in Malta

It was with a great sense of pride, satisfaction and enthusiasm reading Emanuel Chetcuti's article "Schools' self-evaluation for improvement" (The Sunday Times, January 30). He is remembered by all involved in education circles in particular as an exemplary head of school who has recently retired. His article provides a breath of fresh air to educational discourse.

I came to know Mr Chetcuti when I was still starting my career in educational management back in the late 1980s, and since then we have respected each other professionally and now, if I may say so, as colleagues and friends. I am proud to say that back then I had started organising professional development sessions specifically focused for school leaders.

As a result of those early initiatives, later on as a headmaster myself, and now as a teaching practice co-ordinator/M.Ed (Leadership) course co-ordinator and school improvement consultant to schools, I practically know all heads personally. Quite a number of those I came across in my early days are now in retirement or nearing retirement.

While some are still actively engaged in social affairs, I am proud to say that the Faculty of Education recognises the expertise, the skills, aptitudes and values that these educators gave and can still give to others, including beginning teachers. Over the years, we have engaged them as tutors, as examiners and lecturers in our B.Ed. (Hons) programme. As a Faculty we believe in this engagement.

We also strongly believe that ties with schools need to be strengthened. We do have strong ties with schools, and as teaching practice co-ordinator I can truly say that heads and teachers (and the class students) make a lot of sacrifices to address the growing needs of our student teachers. They bend backwards to help us and we encounter on a regular basis situations where some schools take over 20 student teachers for every teaching practice session to accommodate our requests. Without them students will have no placement and would not be able to graduate as teachers.

When compared to other practices abroad, indeed placing hundreds of student teachers in our school is no joke, although this may be seen as a simple and straightforward logistical exercise by some. Despite difficulties, we try our utmost to work round a set of principles, including ethical ones, that the Faculty and the education authorities believe in.

At the same time, we have to acknowledge that the Education Division supports other initiatives such as requests to undertake research and projects in schools not only from our Faculty but also others.

Yet, I do believe that if some of these initiatives are tackled differently the benefits will not be one-sided but can lead to developments to the 'quality culture' that Mr Chetcuti so eloquently spoke about. It is this point that I wish to address.

As a Faculty we believe that for far too long we have seen the career path of a teacher being addressed at two levels: the pre-service and the continuing professional development (CPD) level. I choose the word 'level' appositely, as I feel that up to now we have tended to regard the pre-service and CPD as two separate activities. They are not.

We can note a mismatch between pre-service education and CPD. The Faculty of Education is the sole agent in Malta responsible for the pre-service education of teachers. On the other hand, CPD of teachers is of two kinds:

Professional education - this entails the widening and deepening of a teacher's theoretical and research perspectives by undertaking advanced studies either at the University of Malta or foreign universities (e.g. diploma, master's and doctoral degrees). The University also provides a variety of courses (e.g. certificate and diploma and master's programmes), aimed at enhancing the professional skills and aptitudes of participants.

Professional training - this is aimed at the development of teachers' knowledge and skills relating to daily work (e.g. INSET courses, seminars). The Education Division is the main agent as it provides teachers with varied opportunities to extend their skills and knowledge base in specific areas.

The Malta University Services, a business enterprise within the University structure, also offers training opportunities in specific areas throughout the school year. The involvement of quite a lot of educators in EU funded projects or training (e.g. Comenius 2) is also another rich avenue for CPD. (Alas, its impact on schools and teaching and learning in particular, are often left unexplored).

This model has certain shortcomings. First, there is no link between the pre-service and CPD of teachers. Once students graduate and are employed in the state or non-state sector they are entrusted with a full teaching load as from day one. It is left entirely in their hands to pursue PD opportunities. Teachers are not provided with support mechanisms at the school site that help them settle down and be gradually induced into the teaching profession. Thus the induction phase is currently non-existent in Malta.

Second, there are no organisational structures at the school-site that encourage and facilitate opportunities for immediate and sustained practice, classroom observation, collaboration, mentoring and peer coaching (Bezzina, 2002a).

This goes against quite a number of initiatives around the world. In fact, a major study conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows the initiatives that various countries are undertaking so that new teachers are provided with an entitlement of support and professional development especially in the initial year or years of their teaching career (Bezzina, 2005). Such schemes can provide us with valuable insights to improve our practice, especially in a context where Malta modelled its school development planning and quality assurance on Scottish practices. Let us not, as Mr Chetcuti rightly states, forget the context we are in.

The local context has to be our point of departure. But, we do desperately need to categorically state what type of schools we want. Are they going to be fully self-managing? If so, what does this mean? What will it bring about? How will it affect the different stakeholders? Will schools, through a board of governors or the heads themselves, be responsible for employing all personnel, of managing centrally-allocated finances, of generating particular funds, of being responsible for the CPD of its staff?

Will the Education Division change its role? What will the Division look like in say, five, ten years' time? What will happen in the interim? What will happen to our highly selective tripartite system? Will we ever see State and Church co-educational secondary schools? Will formative assessment take on a more meaningful and central role in the children's education? Are they going to be given particular responsibilities and the Education Division support and monitor/regulate practices?

These and more burning questions need to be raised and answered. If we do not, then we will never have a clear picture of where we where we are heading for. The role that each agency/ educator (at whatever level) has to play, and will the strategic planning that would then become meaningful for all stakeholders.

This ties in with the arguments raised about CPD. The time has come for us to move away from viewing teacher education as separate 'levels' and move into 'stages'. Teacher education is continuous and certification marks only the beginning of a career as a professional educator. Furthermore, researchers argue that pre-service teacher education must be linked with in-service education to challenge training assumptions.

Cochran-Smith (2001), for example, suggests that teacher education generally neglects to prepare "prospective teachers to negotiate the treacherous waters of proving themselves competent in first-time teaching positions while at the same time challenging some of the assumptions and actions that others take for granted" (p.180). A call for on-the-job guidance is an emerging theme in educational circles (and has been within the Faculty for now over a decade!) (Bezzina, 2002b).

We therefore need to start viewing a teacher's career path as moving across three stages: pre-service, induction and CPD. We also need to acknowledge the need for schools to have embedded in their philosophy and structures a system for induction. For this to take place we need people who are trained as mentors - people who have personal and professional skills and aptitudes to support others.

We also need to start acknowledging and accrediting the work being done in schools by educators and other modes of CPD that help individuals grow and improve their teaching etc. This helps to reinforce the principles behind lifelong learning but within a context where practices are monitored and impact on school culture and the teaching and learning evaluated. This is the 'quality culture' Mr Chetcuti speaks about.

I also link this to another issue raised by Mr Chetcuti who wrote: "B.Ed. students badly need to come to our schools with this notion of school development planning (SDP) so as to be equipped to participate fully in this healthy exercise...". I think we need more than that. I want to share with my entrusted colleague that I will be running a module on SDPs with our B.Ed. (Hons) primary cohort as from next year. I am sure that he will make a solid contribution in this module as he has done in others.

However, we do not only intend presenting the rationale, meaning and principles behind SDPs. Our aim is to directly involve students in working in schools with teachers in SDP initiatives. In fact, I have already spoken to a number of heads who are willing to support such an exercise. It should provide student teachers with firsthand experiences where it matters - the heart and soul of the school.

Teaching practice (of six weeks' duration) is too short a time for our students to truly get a feel of school life, let alone be engaged in the quality initiatives Mr Chetcuti describes. We need to have our students directly engaged in activities that will help them to appreciate what teaching is all about, to challenge and influence practices.

Teaching is definitely much more than imparting content knowledge to students who want that knowledge. It is much more complex and demanding. Many tend to neglect that teachers need to possess and develop particular attitudes, attributes, values and practices if they are going to have an impact on students as learners. This is the professional development that we all need. I am sure that we can all identify such qualities and characteristics in those teachers that make them beloved, respected and remembered.

We need to work collaboratively - the Faculty of Education, the Education Division and the Ministry of Education - to generate a community of reflective practitioners who critique teaching methods and actively work to improve learning environments. We also need to create a framework that would help to review, acknowledge and accredit the training that educators receive in various ways and in different contexts. Thinking about how to create more links among all teaching professionals is an important challenge whose time has come.

Dr Christopher Bezzina is a lecturer in the Department of Education Studies, Faculty of Education, at the University of Malta. He received his Ph.D. in educational leadership from Brunel University, UK. Over the past few years he has been appointed executive board member in leading European bodies, including The Association of Teacher Educators in Europe (ATEE), and the European Network of Teacher Education Policy (ENTEP). Recently he was appointed Executive Board member of the Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management. He has also served on various ministerial bodies over the years and last year was involved in research work on school improvement and decentralisation and deregulation of authority to the school site. His current research interests include site-based management, distributed leadership and the professional development of teachers and school leaders.

References

C. Bezzina (2002a): "Rethinking Teachers' Professional Development in Malta: agenda for the twenty-first century", Journal of In-Service Education, 28 (1), 57-78.

C. Bezzina (2002b): "Preparing a Model of Professional Development Schools in Malta". Curriculum and Teaching, 17 (2), 73-84.

C. Bezzina (2005): "Exploring Beginning Teachers' Perceptions of their Preparation and Professional Development in Malta. Paper presented at the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement", Breaking Boundaries: Radical Innovation in Education, Barcelona, January 2-5.

M. Cochran-Smith (2001): "Higher standards for prospective teachers: what's missing from the discourse?" Journal of Teacher Education, 52 (3), 179-181.