Attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers are critical issues if we believe in this country, in its future, and that of its people.
Teachers reach their full potential in settings that provide appropriate support, sufficient challenge, and reward
Teachers matter and they can make a difference. So we owe it to the profession to take it seriously.
Countries across the globe are trying to improve education. Some are in the earlier stages of education development; others are striving to expand compulsory education; some are focusing to ensure basic skills are transmitted while others to ensure they can get enough teachers into their classrooms.
Some countries are seeking to prepare their students with the complex higher-order cognitive skills that the economy demands. In such countries the major focus is on strengthening the quality and effectiveness of the teacher workforce. Deliberate policy choices are required for this to take place.
One can argue that Malta has never invested so heavily in education as it has over the past few years – all this in a context of austerity facing other European countries.
While this is a move in the right direction the reforms undertaken may not have concentrated enough on attracting, preparing and supporting good teachers and nurturing teacher leadership talent in schools and colleges.
One can look at various examples of how high-performing and significantly improving nations are developing effective educators and the importance they give to attracting and recruiting teachers and teacher preparation.
Publications by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development regarding the quality of the teaching workforce, identify seven incentives that according to empirical evidence attract individuals into the teaching profession, namely: relative salaries, work-ing conditions, professionalism of teaching (such as certification standards, professional autonomy), flexibility of the job (such as leave benefits, part-time options, flexibility of schedule), job security, the structure of initial teacher education and the requirements to obtain a teaching qualification, and job satisfaction from working with students and seeing them develop.
Countries such as Finland have found that when they raised the standards for new teachers, they increased the status of teachers and actually received more applicants.
According to research conducted by Pasi Sahlberg in 2010, an important factor in attracting the most able young people into teaching in Finland is that teaching is considered an independent and respected profession. In Finland, teaching is now a highly sought-after career with only one in 10 applicants accepted.
In Singapore, strong academics are essential, along with a commitment to the profession and to serving the nation’s diverse students.
A 2010 study by Peng Ho revealed that trainees receive a stipend equivalent to 60 per cent of a teacher’s salary while in training, and commit to teaching for a minimum of three years. (This may put a different perspective to the stipends debate).
Singapore also actively recruits mid-career candidates, believing that their experience in the world of work is valuable to students.
In England, the government some years ago took steps to raise the status of the profession. According to research by Michael Barber and Mona Mourshed in 2007 this was done through a sophisticated advertising campaign that recruited new candidates, teacher award programmes on television, encouragement of alternate routes into teaching to compete with traditional university teacher training programmes, and bonuses for those who commit to teach in high-need communities. As a result, teaching went from the 92nd career choice to the top career choice within five years.
Given that teaching is still attractive in Malta, in our opinion this should encourage the Faculty of Education to raise the stakes for those wanting to join the teaching profession and thus potentially attract better quality students.
When teacher shortages occur, high-achieving nations have focused on recruiting teachers in innovative ways rather than by lowering the standards to get more teachers.
Following similar decisions taken years ago by many European countries, the University’s Faculty of Education should explore the possibility of moving towards a 3 + 2 model as propounded by the Bologna process. This would imply that the faculty would focus on running a professional Masters degree that would lead to a qualification that is recognised for teaching.
Here the discourse would definitely change, as the faculty would, in the main, be attracting more mature students. Students will be at a stage where they are making better informed decisions about their career and have the academic maturity to explore innovative methods of teaching and critically examine educational issues.
Relatively few international comparisons of teacher education have been conducted. However, we do know that some high-performing countries limit the number of candidates accepted into their teacher education programmes to get higher-quality applicants by asking for higher entry qualification requirements.
We are living in a context that continually makes new demands on teacher education programmes. No one should expect any initial teacher education programme to address all needs. Teaching and learning is a journey, and as such, a context where engagement needs to be sought and nurtured with different members of the community.
It is within such a context that the effectiveness of teachers needs to be addressed and improved. There is ample evidence to show that teachers reach their full potential in settings that provide appropriate support, sufficient challenge and reward.
The work environment is stimulating, collegial and effectively led; one where the senior management team values and support teachers; one where teachers are provided with the tools to effectively adapt to school realities and teaching repertoires to make the best out of students’ learning experiences; one where teachers have opportunities to develop their skills and take on new roles; one that has a structured and systematic induction process (already in place); and one that recognises and rewards teachers’ work.
As countries face the challenges of a global knowledge economy this requires them to develop higher levels of knowledge and new capacities in their students. High-achieving nations are focusing on simultaneously addressing a number of issues, namely, attracting high quality candidates into the teaching profession, improving and modernising teacher preparation, improving professional development policies and practices, and the recruitment and training of headteachers.
Prof. Bezzina and Mr Calleja are from the University’s Department of Education Studies and Department of Primary Education respectively.