Conference deliberations: A challenge to APTE

1. Conference deliberations: A challenge to APTE Andrew Pollard

2. Panel: Where we are? • School Headteachers – an exciting and expansive time • HEI Providers – a worrying and destabilising time • But: overlaps in vision on theory/practice & on action research for professional development etc

3. Present system • Quality is high. ‘The best trained NQTs ever.’ (J. Carr) • Undergraduate programmes (comprehensive, primary, contracting) • PGCE (large scale, cost effective, flexible, targeting shortage subjects) • Employment based (established and expanding) • Great deal of partnership already!

4. Maggie Farrar, National College • Imagines: ‘Leadership’ achieving a ‘Self-improving School System’ (cf D. Hargreaves) • NCSL remit letter: ‘a fully school-led system’ • Steve Mumby: ‘a lifetime opportunity for school leaders to seize this agenda’ • A ‘new, middle tier’ of school networks, consortia, alliances, etc. rapidly emerging ....

5. Key elements for a self-improving school system: • Harnessing energy and moral purpose • Local solutions • Co-construction between schools • Practice of system leadership (D. Hargreaves)

6. Scale and speed • 500 Teaching Schools to be identified by 2014/15, • and each alliance of 30-50 schools, • and say 2 trainees placed per school = capacity for 50,000 placements • (average present output is 34,000 trainees)

7. Strategic partnerships with HEIs anticipated • Joint appointments of ‘Pracademics’? But to whom are they accountable? • What resources come in, and to which parties? What resources go out, and where? • What are the responsibilities of the parties? Who decides course aims and provision, recruitment and placements? Who receives and manages resources? Who guarantees quality? Who sorts out problems? Who makes awards? • What are the experiences of the trainees?

8. John Carr, TDA • A personal perspective on partnership • Change – ‘very unclear where we are going in terms of detail.’ ‘You know as much as I do.’ ‘We are not quite clear what Ministers want.’ ‘Many people are working in isolation not considering unintended consequences.’ ‘I subscribe to cock-up theory more than conspiracy theory.’

9. ‘The debate is over’ It’s not either theory or practice, but both. (cf. Lance Jones, 1923) ‘Not so much getting the balance right between theory and practice, but how to get the right interaction.’ (EC, 2010) [‘Reflection in Action’ (not ‘on action’) (Schon)]

10. University-school partnerships .... • Schools Direct (shortage staffing, small) • University Teaching Schools (innovation, few) • Teaching schools (large-scale system change – but ‘partnership is already embedded’ so this is ‘in no way a threat’.)

11. Controversy and debate • ‘Who leads, manages, owns and makes the key decisions’ ......... In a ‘school-led, self-improving system’? ‘Something we still need to work on?’ Providers have expertise (at present) and must still be accredited (at present). Schools have no statutory obligation to engage in teacher education and ‘feel no ownership for ITT’. But, the system will be school-led.

12. Questionable assumptions: • Outstanding schools > outstanding mentors? (satisfactory schools?) • Outstanding degrees > outstanding teachers? (inflexibility?) • Evidence for these policies?

13. Evaluation of Teaching School policy • H1 Training new teachers in schools will achieve improvements in knowledge, understanding, skills and practice in teaching and gains in learning outcomes for pupils. • H2 Training new teachers in schools will play to populist prejudices, recycle the inadequacies of the existing school system and lead to a decline in teaching quality.

14. Shared purposes? • Among professionals, relative congruence of underlying rationale for research-practice relationships and self-improvement processes and in relation to learning? ‘The debate is over.’ But are ‘training’ vs ‘education’ issues really understood? • Among government +, relatively weak understanding of learning and bureaucratic approach to provision (eg: teaching standards) Q: ‘Policy developments in ITE are driven by ideology without a sound understanding of learning’ – or knowledge of existing provision.

15. Is the policy coherent? • BIS (HE research and teaching policy) • DFE (school education policy) • NCSL • TDA • Schools • HEI providers • Students

16. Wordmaps • The Importance of Teaching, TDA Remit letter, DfE Consultation document • Big message: SCHOOLS • Non message: learning • On what educational principles is policy change based?

17. Activity systems and dilemmas

18. Sustainability Will universities remain in ITE? • Elite • Embedded • Between??

19. Association for Partnership in Teacher Education • An achievement in itself. Strong Executive. Valued annual conference. • Regional structure emerging • Being consulted by national bodies • Highly relevant to government objectives (bridging potential?) • Strong alliances with UCET, TEAN, etc

20. APTE professional development • School mentors • Professional exchange • Using the web • Lifelong learning • Leading learning • QA and partnership monitoring • Administering partnerships • GTP • Research methods

21. A first challenge to APTE • Can APTE, with others, describe, warrant, promote and accredit the unique expertise and added value of university staff in working with schools on teacher education?

22. A second challenge to APTE Can APTE find a strong, principled voice in seeking ‘workable solutions’? History and biography • Structures and action Strategic options • Conformity • Resistance • Negotiation • Mediation, engagement, dialogue (funding? control?) • Significance of educational principles and moral purpose.