Teachers Matter: Models for Effective Teaching in Low SES Schools (Literature Review)) (original) (raw)
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Teachers matter: models for effective teaching in low SES schools
2015
A scoping project was undertaken in partnership between Social Ventures Australia (SVA) and the Australian Council of Deans of Education (ACDE), funded through the Office for Teaching and Learning (OLT). The two deliverables of the scoping project are: (1) an audit of current practices within Australian initial teacher education providers for preparing pre-service teachers to effectively teach in schools in disadvantaged and low [socioeconomic status] SES communities; and (2) a literature review of recent research relating to recruitment, development, support and retention of teachers in schools in low SES communities. This report synthesises the audit survey and literature review to provide a summary of the current landscape. The report highlights effective practices and cases of practice. It also identifies gaps in existing support as well as opportunities for further research and collaborative partnership to address such gaps.
The six papers in this special issue are all related, in one way or another, to the National Exceptional Teaching for Disadvantaged Schools program (NETDS). NETDS began in 2009 at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Australia, and with the support of philanthropy expanded to another six universities nationally. Although the papers in this issue are all related to NETDS, they are not necessarily about NETDS; rather, they reflect the range of scholarship taking place within this emerging network and provide a window on how teacher education for high poverty schools within mainstream Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programs can be done differently. Together, the papers draw on the scholarship of researchers who were already respected experts in the field of teacher education and high poverty schools prior to involving themselves in the program. The first five papers are written by scholars from the seven Australian universities who now deliver NETDS programs. The remaining paper is by researchers who are part of the extended international NETDS network, in this case, from Spain. Collectively, these papers represent a broad coalition of scholars with whom we collaborate and who are engaged with the NETDS program at both theoretical and practical levels. Importantly, all contributing authors share the common goal of shifting how teachers work with students who have been historically marginalised and disadvantaged.
2014
The international literature is clear that a professional school culture and supportive administrative arrangements are essential to the retention and development of quality teachers. In this paper the research and conceptual understandings underpinning this statement are elaborated, with discussions of the nature of quality teaching, teachers’ professional practice, and the general nature of the teaching profession. The findings from the literature are then outlined and the data on employment of recent initial teacher education graduates set out. The data shows that the large majority of graduates do not have the employment conditions that the literature indicates are necessary for effective retention and development of quality teachers. The paper concludes with suggestions for policy that could improve not only the retention and development of quality beginning teachers, but also improve the learning conditions of students and the work of the teaching profession as a whole.
There have been more than 100 reports focusing on the effectiveness of teacher education in Australia over the last thirty-five years with many positioning teacher education as flawed and in need of reform. These frequent criticisms have drawn attention to the difficulty teacher educators can experience when trying to interrupt or contest this representation: a situation not unique to Australia. In the United States, for example, Pam Grossman has suggested that those in teacher education “seem ill prepared to respond to critics who question the value of professional education for teachers with evidence of our effectiveness” (Grossman, 2008, p. 13). A key question facing teacher educators, therefore, concerns the kinds of research that will most effectively allow us to lead debates about teacher preparation. This paper outlines an approach to the conceptualization and conduct of research into the effectiveness of teacher education that seeks to move debates in new directions. Drawing upon the theoretical resources of Soja (1996) and Lefebre (1991) we outline the ways in which a spatial approach to conceptualizing teacher education influenced the design and conduct of a large scale, longitudinal project that investigated the question of the effectiveness of teacher education in Australia. In exploring the design features of this ARC Linkage grant the paper demonstrates how research changes when teacher education is conceptualised from a spatial point of view and illustrates the ways in which consideration of the conceived, perceived and lived spaces of teacher education can move research about effectiveness into new directions.
Education research and perspectives, 2018
Diversifying Ireland’s relatively homogeneous teaching population has been a policy concern for over a decade in the context of the rapid transformation of Irish society and schooling. This paper draws on the Access to Post-primary Teaching (APT) project, funded by the Higher Education Authority, which supports the participation of those from lower socio-economic groups in initial teacher education at one of the seven universities in the Republic of Ireland. The research component of the project involves an in-depth qualitative (interview-based) study examining APT participants’ perspectives and experiences relating to their education to date and their engagement in the Professional Master of Education programme. Data are analysed using grounded theory techniques including open and focused coding and categorising. The focus in this paper arises from an initial analysis of round one interviews with the first group of APT participants. An important category generated connects particip...
Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 2011
The problem of teacher retention has intensified in Australia, particularly in rural areas, with a number of studies suggesting that beginning teachers are not entering the profession with a commitment to remaining there. This paper reports on a study of 102 new teachers graduating from a rural campus of a major Australian university. Utilising a self devised survey over a 3 year period, graduate reflections were captured on what it meant for them to become a teacher. The research sought to determine graduates' goals and aspirations for working in the profession in both the long and the short term. Participants reported that while they were looking for stability and would like to remain in their current positions, they were hampered by the present contractual system which eroded any sense of permanence. It is argued that contractual employment disrupts the development of a sense of belonging to the profession and the building of meaningful connections between teachers and their schools, a factor that will require attention if retention issues within rural Australia are to be seriously addressed. Adams, G. (1996). Using a Cox regression model to examine voluntary teacher turnover.
2017
How can we ensure that all children have access to an effective teacher, regardless of their sector, home location, and educational trajectory? This chapter will make the case for attracting and retaining effective teachers, outline the challenges facing Australia to do so, and consider some potential policy responses. While overall education outcomes in Australia are relatively high (OECD, 2013), we face an ongoing issue in raising the outcomes of particular groups of students. Those from low socioeconomic backgrounds and those in rural and remote schools achieve at lower levels than their more privileged urban counterparts, both in terms of academic achievement (ACARA, 2014) and other outcomes such as years of education completed (Lamb et al., 2004). These poorer outcomes have long-term effects on students' life trajectories and incomes, and on Australia's economic and
Impact of support for preservice teachers placed in disadvantaged schools
Issues in Educational Research, 2019
One of the greatest challenges facing Australian school education is the disparity in quality of education across schools. One aspect of addressing this issue has been greater regulation and requirements to improve the quality of initial teacher education. Course accreditation standards in teacher education programs require secondary preservice teachers to have studied undergraduate units relevant to their specialist teaching area. Many of these secondary preservice teachers will have a professional practice experience in a disadvantaged school. However, issues around managing student behaviour and overcoming students' poor literacy skills can leave these preservice teachers floundering and unwilling to seek employment in these schools after graduation. In an effort to increase the number of teacher graduates choosing to seek employment in disadvantaged schools, this research examined the impact of a one-on-one subject specialist mentor and targeted workshop program for 54 prese...