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Memorandum submitted by the National Foundation for Educational Research
New Inquiry into Teacher Training · NFER is · The paper is split into two parts. The first provides evidence from a number of research projects conducted by the NFER into ITT and CPD provision. The second looks at ITT and CPD from an assessment perspective, setting out the requirements on teachers and making a number of recommendations. · NFER was commissioned by the TDA to conduct research into the representativeness of the teaching profession and the retention of trainee teachers. More recently TDA commissioned research on how the use of support staff in schools affects performance and how high-quality leadership affects the take up of CPD. · The Research found that some groups were underrepresented and that more should be done to raise awareness of teaching as a profession amongst these groups. · The study into the use of Higher Level Teaching Assistants (HLTAs) found that the development of these staff was having a positive impact on the support available to pupil learning. · Finally, in part 1, research into the leadership of CPD in schools found that most schools link CPD to school improvement priorities and the development needs of individual staff or departments. They found that high-quality and visible leadership made a difference to the impact of CPD. · Based on these studies NFER recommends that: o Working with target groups to secure good quality training opportunities is important, and should not be focused on meeting targets; o The enhanced status of HLTAs means that there is a need for new entrants to the teaching profession to work closely with a wider range of professionals; o CPD leadership is crucial in establishing a professional career pathway for the school workforce. · There is an expectation across the education system that teachers will have a good understanding of a variety of assessment techniques and can use these appropriately. · Assessment is a complex process and NFER detailed two key dimensions: purpose and formality, in its earlier submission to the Children, Schools and Families Committee in its inquiry into testing. It also detailed what different aspects of assessment link to these dimensions and are required of teachers. · ITT and CPD provision must develop in teachers an understanding of the different facets of assessment, and how and when to use them. · NFER recommends that: o Greater emphasis should be placed on assessment in ITT and CPD courses; o Assessments across the system should be developed to make greater use of teacher professional judgements; o The CIEA should continue with its aim to develop at least one assessment expert within every school; o Assessment systems should be designed in such a way that they develop teacher assessment expertise. 1.1 The Children, Schools and Families Committee is to undertake an inquiry into Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for teachers. This submission by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) aims to provide evidence and recommendations that we hope will support the committee in its inquiry. The submission is split into two parts: the first part provides detail of recent research projects which give evidence on different aspects of ITT and CPD; the second part focuses on teacher use of assessment and makes recommendations based on this use for teacher professional development.
1.2 NFER is 2 Part 1: NFER Research Projects 2.1 Concerns from government about the representativeness of the teaching profession (in relation to the general population) and broader concerns about persistent under-recruitment to courses and the extent to which providers of teacher training courses could retain trainees more effectively than they were became apparent in 2006. These concerns led the TDA to sponsor a research project to help the Agency develop ways of supporting training providers to make better use of the available pool of teacher training recruits. More recently, the Foundation has worked with the TDA to unpick the ways in which support staff could affect school performance and the extent to which high-quality and visible leadership made a difference to the impact of continuing professional development in schools.
2.1.1 Evidence of the adequacy of current measures to improve the diversity of the teaching profession was reported in two systematic reviews of research literature. Edmonds et al. (2002) and Bielby et al. (2007) considered the recruitment and retention of three 'under-represented' groups: people from black and minority ethnic (BME) groups, people with disabilities and male primary teachers. The authors concluded that awareness of teaching as a potential career should be raised among these groups. Bielby et al. (2007) reported a shortage of well-organised schemes to encourage increased participation by people with disabilities and recommended that the TDA and ITT providers consider further development of strategies that encourage applicants to disclose their disability in an open and supportive culture. They should also build on school partnerships to ensure that people with disabilities are able to obtain work experience in classrooms before teacher training and access to appropriate school placements.
2.1.2 The research examined in the review revealed that students from BME groups were concerned about possible negative consequences of moves towards establishing targets or quotas to encourage people from BME groups to enter the profession. There were concerns that their credibility as teachers could be undermined and the quality of the selected teachers reduced for the sake of meeting quotas. The authors also recommended recruitment strategies be tailored for specific BME groups.
2.1.3 In relation to male primary teachers, the authors recommended to the TDA that ITT providers ought to explore ways of increasing awareness of gender issues in primary schools and developing strategies to counteract negative stereotypes of males in primary teaching such as those related to fears of paedophilia and homophobic attitudes. Schemes should be encouraged that provide opportunities for males to take part in work placements, enabling them to work alongside male primary school teachers.
2.1.4 Two NFER studies provide evidence relating to whether current CPD provision for new teachers, experienced teachers and head teachers supports and enhances their practice in school and, if so, to what extent. This is important in the context of this investigation as newly qualified teachers and trainees have to work with a wider range of professionals than ever before and need to be encouraged to 'connect' with their own professional development from the point at which they enter the profession. One explored the impact of support staff achieving Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) status and the other investigated how CPD is led in schools.
2.1.5 The study of the deployment and impact of support staff who have
achieved HLTA status (Wilson et al, 2007) found both HLTAs and senior leaders
felt the HLTA role was having a positive impact on supporting pupil learning.
Researchers used two surveys: the first was completed by 1560 people with HLTA
status working in primary, secondary and special schools in
2.1.6 Almost three-quarters of senior leaders (73 per cent) indicated that the HLTA role had reduced teacher workload, at least to some extent. Almost three quarters (74 per cent) of HLTAs thought that achieving HLTA status had led to increased confidence and self-esteem. The authors conclude that the HLTA role has clearly grown and developed since it was introduced in 2003. HLTA status is offering recognition and valuable development opportunities to support staff as well as providing assistance to pupils, teachers and schools.
2.1.7 Robinson et al (2008) investigated how CPD is led in schools today, and how it is supported. A large-scale postal and on-line survey was conducted with a total of 1,509 CPD leaders in schools. Most schools evaluated the impact of CPD, and linked CPD to whole school priorities. It was also very common for respondents to link CPD to the individual needs of teachers and support staff and to the whole department's needs (85-plus percent respondents always or sometimes linked CPD to these types of need). Evaluation was most commonly made as part of the performance review/appraisal process for support staff; as part of the performance management process for teachers and in terms of impact on pupil's learning. It seems that many schools are responding to the significance of the new performance management arrangements and increasing links between CPD and whole school improvement.
2.2 Recommendations Based of NFER Research Projects 2.2.1 In relation to workforce diversity, the key findings concerned working with target groups and host schools and providers to secure good quality training opportunities whilst avoiding being focused upon meeting targets for participation: in short - ensuring that teaching in any phase was seen as a practical and desirable career choice for all.
2.2.2 With regard to school leadership and staff development, the enhanced status associated with the development of HLTA-status and the perceived effectiveness of the role means that there is a need (as the current qualified teacher status standards note) that new entrants to teaching have to be prepared to work closely and coherently with a wide range of professional roles on a regular basis.
2.2.3 As new teachers emerge into the workforce, the establishment of a professional career pathway in this increasingly complex school workforce is taking on greater and greater importance. Previous studies have pointed to the importance of 'early professional development' and the NFER work for the TDA confirms that CPD is increasingly seen as a matter to be taken and led seriously - practice which the report's authors concluded needed to be extended nationally. 3 Part 2: NFER Assessment Perspectives 3.1 Teacher Role in Assessment 3.1.1 A key area of NFER's work is assessment including: research into assessment processes and systems, assessment development, assessment piloting and assessment evaluation. We work with teachers extensively as part of this area, using teachers to review assessment materials, to trial assessments, and to input to the level setting processes. Assessment is also a key part of a teacher's day to day job. It is, therefore, interesting to note that in the Select Committee Announcement of this review there is little mention of assessment in any section.
3.1.2 There is an expectation across the education system that teachers will have a good understanding of a variety of assessment techniques, and be able to use these to collect information about the progress of their pupils. This information is used for many different purposes, including for reporting to parents and pupils. More formally, in the current national curriculum testing arrangements teacher assessments are reported alongside the test results at key stage 2. At key stage 1 nationally set tests are made available to teachers to support them in making teacher assessment judgements.
3.1.3 In all these assessments teachers require an understanding of the different national curriculum levels, how pupils make progress between the levels, and the different outcomes or behaviours that pupils will demonstrate that provide evidence of the level at which they are working.
3.1.4 In many cases teacher judgements about a pupil's level will have a significant impact on their educational experience: either by determining which ability stream a pupil will be allocated to, or deciding which tier test at key stage 3 or at GCSE a pupil should be entered for. At key stage 2 a new model of external assessment is being piloted: single level tests. In this system the teacher will be required to decide which level test a pupil should be entered for, and at which stage they are ready to sit for the test.
3.1.5 In addition to these more formal assessments for reporting purposes, teachers are increasingly being expected to use assessment for learning techniques within their day to day classroom practice. Whilst these techniques may generally be thought to be integral aspects of good teaching and learning, as much as of assessment, asking appropriate, open, probing questions, understanding what the response means in terms of pupil progress, supporting self- and peer- assessment, all require sophisticated assessment skills and understanding.
3.1.6 A current proposal for the future of testing at key stage 3 is the
introduction of a national monitoring system.
Although the details of such a system have yet to be decided, in many
contexts, such as in 3.2.1 The assessment process is a complex one with many different purposes, different formats and different reporting. In NFER's earlier submission to the Education Select Committee (on Testing and Assessment) we provided a model for considering the different types of assessment. In simple terms, we suggested that educational assessment serves two major purposes. Firstly, to provide immediate feedback to teachers and pupils, in order to facilitate the learning process. This is often termed formative assessment, but may also be referred to as diagnostic assessment or more recently as Assessment for Learning. Secondly, to provide information which summarises a particular phase of learning or education. This information may be for a variety of institutional uses such as monitoring progress, certification or selection, and it may be for a variety of users, such as parents, teachers, governmental bodies and the learners themselves. This type of purpose is termed summative assessment. Both these purposes are important in the educational system as a whole, but they have different requirements and different characteristics.
3.2.2 NFER also suggested a different categorisation in its submission, which cuts across the purposes category described above, that is between formal and informal processes of assessment. The distinction here is between, on the one hand, formal processes such as exams, tests and other assessments in which pupils encounter the same tasks in controlled and regulated conditions and, on the other hand, those less formal activities that form part of on-going teaching and learning. This second group would encompass question and answer, teacher observations, group discussion and practical activities together with classroom and homework writing and assignments.
3.2.3 Further information about the different types of assessment can be found in our previous submission to the Select Committee, available on the NFER website (http://www.nfer.ac.uk/about-nfer/departments/assessment-and-measurement/submission.cfm).
3.2.4 An important aspect of ITT or teacher CPD should be to develop an understanding of the different facets of assessment, and the skills and understanding to be able to use them at the appropriate time. This is a complex system, and ITT and CPD should aim to develop teachers who can cope with this complexity. 3.3 NFER Assessment Activities to Support Teachers 3.3.1 NFER works in a number of different ways to support teachers. For example we have developed e-assessment materials for use in key stage 1 and key stage 2, from which teachers can select appropriate tests to match teaching and learning needs during a course, and which then provide teachers with information about the strengths and weaknesses of groups of learners, that can be used to plan future teaching.
3.3.2 We have developed a number of free leaflets which we provide on our website explaining assessment in terms that teachers can relate to. These 'Getting to Grips' leaflets provide information to teachers on: · Starting out in assessment · Policy into practice · Assessment for learning · Self and peer assessment · Interpreting information from different sources · Moderation of assessment judgements · Making the most of assessment data · Assessment information and different audiences · Understanding assessment information (a leaflet for parents) · Understanding tests · Glossary of key assessment terms · Resources and useful web links. (http://www.nfer.ac.uk/research-areas/projects/sut/sut_home.cfm) 3.4 NFER Assessment Recommendations 3.4.1 Greater emphasis should be placed on the development, appropriate use, and reporting of assessments during ITT courses. 3.4.2 Specific CPD courses should be developed and funded to support teachers in their use of the full range of assessment. 3.4.3 Assessments throughout the educational system should place greater emphasis on the inclusion of teachers in their processes. Teachers can provide a longer term, more balanced view of pupil progress, than a paper and pencil test, and with appropriate training in terms of assessment methodologies and a shared understanding of the standards required at different stages, teacher assessment judgements should provide useful information for a variety of purposes. 3.4.4 The
Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors is aiming to develop one
assessment expert in each school in 3.4.5 New assessment systems should be designed in such a way as to develop teacher competence through the processes, for example moderation of pupil work as part of either an external assessment system, or as part of a teacher assessment system, can be used to develop an understanding of the standards required by pupils at different stages, and the kind of examples that can demonstrate achievement of those standards. February 2009 Bielby, G., Sharp, C., Shuayb, M., Teeman, D., Keys, W. and Benefield, P. (2007). Recruitment and Retention on Initial Teacher Training: a Systematic Review [GB - code RRR] Robinson,
M., Walker, M., Kinder, K. and Haines, B. (2008). Research
into the Role of CPD Leadership in Schools. Teeman, D., Lewis, K., Woodthorpe, A., Ridley, K. and Donahue, B. (2005). Characteristics of Unsuccessful Applicants to PGCE courses. [GB - code UPA]
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