RICHARD BUSTIN, DIRECTOR OF PEDAGOGY, INNOVATION AND STAFF DEVELOPMENT AND HEAD OF GEOGRAPHY, LANCING COLLEGE, UK Introduction It is very easy to leave the grand thinking about curriculum – what we choose to teach our children in schools and why – to others, such as senior leaders, textbook writers and exam authorities. Yet knowing what we […]
JONATHAN KEAY, DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION AND DEPUTY CEO, CREATIVE LEARNING PARTNERSHIP TRUST, UK DI SWIFT, ASSOCIATE LECTURER IN PRIMARY EDUCATION, THE OPEN UNIVERSITY, UK Introduction The purpose of the Creative Learning Partnership Trust (CLPT) is to create transformational educative opportunities in a shared culture of collaboration. CLPT is determined to realise this expectation, not only for the […]
HUW HUMPHREYS, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON, UK Both as teacher and as school leader, I have interviewed large numbers of people for teaching roles. When asking the perennial ‘why did you choose to become a teacher?’ question, nobody reports being motivated by the need to fulfil the teachers’ standards (DfE, 2011). These standards, […]
NANSI ELLIS, FREELANCE POLICY CONSULTANT, UK Education policies can strengthen or weaken teacher agency – that is, teachers’ active contribution to shaping their work and their conditions (Priestley et al., 2015) – and teacher agency is key to professional identity. Teacher identity is an ‘important mediating factor in the implementation of educational policies’ (Müller and Cook, […]
SAM LOVATT, SENIOR LECTURER IN PRIMARY EDUCATION, ST MARY’S UNIVERSITY, UK JEMIMA DAVEY, SUBJECT LEAD FOR EDUCATION PARTNERSHIPS AND SENIOR LECTURER IN PRIMARY EDUCATION, ST MARY’S UNIVERSITY, UK Initial teacher training (ITT) is complex and challenging. Routes into teaching consist of two distinct but interrelated parts: centre-based training and school-based placements. For our students, centre-based training consists […]
LAURA PAGE, DIRECTOR AND SEND CONSULTANT, SCHOOLS SUPPORTED, UK Since the Plowden Report (1967) recommended teacher ‘aides’ in primary schools, the role of teaching assistants (TAs) has been consistently present but inconsistently understood. The counterintuitive finding of Blatchford et al.’s DISS (deployment and impact of support staff in schools) research (2009), indicating that increased time […]
DIANE WARNER AND ZOE CROMPTON, SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY, UK Context As senior lecturers organising school placements, we noticed that a disproportionate number of South Asian student teachers were failing or struggling while on placement. In this case study, we offer insights into the difficult experiences that these student teachers experienced during initial teacher […]
FOLA ADEKOLA, ASSISTANT HEADTEACHER, EDMONTON COUNTY SCHOOL, UK; DOCTORAL STUDENT, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON, UK I arrived in the UK in 2005, with a teaching degree from Nigeria, as an ambitious young woman who had graduated top of my class in the university and rarely doubted my competence or capabilities. I was relatively confident (or so I […]
ANNE-MARIE WHALEY, ASSISTANT HEADTEACHER, MALMESBURY SCHOOL, UK Introduction ‘That’s a personal question,’ I say, as I mentally sift through my scripted responses in case of a follow-up, and risk-assess the situation. In 2017, the NAHT told us to ‘come out to students if we want to’ and called for the support of school leaders. However, coming […]
ADAM KOHLBECK, CO-FOUNDER, EDUPULSE; DEPUTY HEADTEACHER, BIRKBECK PRIMARY SCHOOL, UK The United Kingdom has one of the youngest and least experienced teaching workforces in the developed world (OECD, 2020). This represents an experience loss not only for students but also for new teachers coming into the profession, with mentors necessarily taking on their roles earlier in […]
BECKY MANTON, SENIOR LECTURER AND PROGRAMME LEADER FOR BEd, UNIVERSITY OF DERBY, UK CHARLOTTE MOSEY, ASSISTANT HEAD OF DISCIPLINE PRIMARY ITT/E, UNIVERSITY OF DERBY, UK AMY THORNTON, SENIOR LECTURER AND SCIENCE SUBJECT LEADER, UNIVERSITY OF DERBY, UK This perspective piece is a response to the Chartered College of Teaching working paper ‘Revisiting the notion of teacher professionalism’ (Müller […]
DANIEL SUMNER, BECTON SCHOOL, UK Recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UN, 1948, preamble Teachers uphold public trust in the profession and maintain high standards […]
HAYLEY MURPHY, DIRECTOR OF TEACHING AND LEARNING, EVERSFIELD PREPARATORY SCHOOL, UK Teacher identities are shaped by the complex interplay between personal values, professional experiences and educational contexts. These identities are shaped as teachers interact with policies, colleagues, students and school cultures, influenced by accountability measures. Teachers navigate shifts in professionalism, adjusting their identities to accommodate changes […]
CRISTINA J ALVES MARTINS, HEAD OF CHEMISTRY AND HEAD OF SCIENCE FACULTY, ABBEY COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE, UK ANA ALVES, TEACHER LIBRARIAN, INSTITUTION SAINTE-MARIE ANTONY, FRANCE Teacher autonomy, defined here as ‘the freedom and internal ability for decision-making and action’ (Liu and Gao, 2023), is widely recognised as essential for fostering commitment (Collie et al., 2018), professional identity (Skinner […]
MATTHEW TRAGHEIM, LECTURER IN PRIMARY EDUCATION, OPEN UNIVERSITY, UK John Jerrim has previously explored whether teaching is bad for your health (Sims et al., 2021), the power of positive emotions on performance (Jerrim, 2022a) and patterns of relationships within test anxiety (Jerrim, 2022b). Each of these articles has sought to bring a more robust evidence base […]
ELÍAS VALDUEZA GARCÍA, DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGES, HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL HONG KONG, HONG KONG SAR Effective professional development (PD) plays a key role in developing teachers’ expertise, which is pivotal in improving the outcomes of our students (Sims et al., 2021). With this mantra in mind, I approach whole-school pedagogical PD events with optimism. While the ideas […]
AFSAN REDWAN, LEARNING EXCELLENCE COACH AND TEACHER EDUCATOR, THE BEDFORD COLLEGE GROUP, UK Reflecting on Inclusive Education for the 21st Century: Theory, Policy, and Practice (Graham, 2024), it became evident that while the Chartered College of Teaching’s (CCT) (2024) professional framework serves as a valuable guide for teacher professionalism, it does not fully encompass the unique […]
RACHELE NEWMAN, PRINCIPAL TEACHING FELLOW, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON, UK The profession There is no doubt that it is a tough time to be a teacher. It has been said that we are in the midst of a polycrisis (Mills, 2023), where seemingly unrelated crises in education – including challenging recruitment and retention, high workload, post-COVID recovery, […]
MEGAN GRIFFITHS, EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, OXFORD UNIVERSITY, UK Introduction Continuous professional development (CPD) is widely recognised as essential for improving classroom practice and student outcomes (McCormick, 2010; Cordingley, 2015; EEF, 2021) and is a statutory requirement (Kennedy, 2016). However, educators often undervalue CPD (Teacher Tapp, 2018). While research on student learning is well developed, less is understood […]
DEBBIE BOGARD, JAMES COLLICOTT AND SAMANTHA HUGHES, CITY AND ISLINGTON SIXTH FORM COLLEGE, UK Centring research within communities of practice Professional networks are a collaborative endeavour of teaching and learning communities of practice to undertake professional and personal development. An effective network allows agency for teachers to focus on their own interests, with the community […]
