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The General Teaching Council for England (GTC) annual survey 2007 asks 10 000 teachers about their views on and approaches to raising pupil achievement.
The survey questionnaire, which teachers received week beginning 12 February, asks teachers about priorities for pupil achievement in school, which policies are most effective in helping pupils to reach their potential and how best to tackle underachievement. The survey also examines the factors that promote achievement and the barriers to success. The results of the survey will be published in September 2007 and will inform the GTC’s work and the advice it gives to government.
Last year’s findings on achievement revealed that for the vast majority of teachers, maximising the individual achievement of every child was the main priority. However there were differences between groups of teachers, for example primary teachers were more likely to focus on the use of support staff in tackling underachievement, while secondary teachers prioritised the need for more vocational courses. The GTC now wants to look at achievement and underachievement in more depth and is asking teachers more about what they believe constitutes and should count as achievement and underachievement and what changes could be made to support achievement. The survey also includes questions about the level and kind of equalities training that teachers receive and continues from previous surveys to track teachers’ career aspirations and access to professional development.
The GTC commissions a large scale survey of registered teachers each year. The survey reports on teachers’ views on specific aspects of their work, the key challenges and their aspirations for the future. The results inform the organisation’s priorities, influence its policy and development work and track the experiences and views of the profession over time. The GTC shares its findings with government and a wide range of other education policy makers so that their decisions can draw on the opinions of practising teachers. This year’s survey is being carried out on behalf of the GTC by ORC International. Sarah Stephens, Policy Director at the GTC, said:
'It is vital that teachers’ views and experiences can inform the development of policies that affect teaching and learning. Last year’s GTC survey highlighted not only the importance that teachers attach to the opportunity for individual pupils to reach their potential, but the range of experience and views that come from teachers working in different kinds of circumstances and with pupils with differing needs. Teachers completing this year’s survey will provide extremely valuable further insight.'
Teachers’ responses to last year’s questionnaire have influenced the GTC’s work in a number of ways.
The survey revealed that just four per cent of teachers are aiming for headship in the next five years, adding weight to concerns about headship recruitment. The GTC is feeding in the survey findings to succession planning work being undertaken by the National College for School Leadership and will continue to support efforts to address this issue. It is also continuing to track this trend through future surveys.
Teachers’ positive feedback on the impact of assessment for learning has been used to promote the embedding of AfL in teaching and learning, while findings about the variability of access to CPD have fed into GTC advice to government stressing that it is critical for all teachers to be able to access CPD that is tailored to their needs. The survey also highlighted the need for a better understanding of teachers’ CPD needs, depending on their own situation, and the GTC’s Connect network for CPD leaders is now undertaking collaborative work with local authorities on this issue. Findings are being disseminated through the Connect newsletter. The GTC has also commissioned a study of how and by whom decisions are made in schools about CPD needs and priorities, which will be used to advise government on principles for improving CPD planning and improvement at school level.
Findings on personalised learning will be explored further at a teacher event later this year, and will also inform the development of the GTC’s advice on this topic. The survey also found that 50 per cent of teachers had had no training in any aspect of equality. The GTC believes that schools and teachers will need support to meet the requirements of new equality and diversity legislation, and will be holding a series of awareness raising seminars including colleagues from teacher associations, the DfES, TDA, QCA and Ofsted.
The GTC is using findings on teacher innovation – the survey found that 84 per cent of teachers felt able to innovate in their own classroom, and over half said that teachers could bring about change in their school - to inform further work on how best to support teacher innovation in schools.
Questionnaires for the 2007 survey need to be returned by Friday 27 April 2007. Teachers who receive the survey are also able to complete the questionnaire online.
