|
||||||||||
|
Second year teachers are confident in their abilities as effective teachers and believe that professional development opportunities are key to their continuing progress according to new research published today (26 June).
The findings are from phase four of the ‘Becoming a Teacher’ research, looking specifically at the experiences of second year teachers. The research, commissioned by Department for Children, Schools and Families, General Teaching Council for England and Training and Development Agency for Schools, was conducted by the Universities of Nottingham and Leeds and Ipsos MORI Social Research Institute.
The research shows that the vast majority (99 per cent) of second year teacher respondents to the survey strand of the research regarded themselves as either ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ effective. Many of the teachers who participated in case study interviews indicated that they felt more effective in their second year of teaching than they had in the previous year. When asked to consider their strengths as teachers the most common (unprompted) responses were; the ability to develop productive relationships with pupils (25 per cent) and good organisational skills (23 per cent).
Continuing professional development is seen as key to maintaining and building on second year success. Factors that enhanced professional development for second year teachers were highlighted as; good relationships within the school community, including support from colleagues (49 per cent), heads of departments (14 per cent), head teachers (10 per cent) and other teachers with similar experiences (10 per cent).
A large majority of survey respondents who had completed their induction during their first year of teaching (90 per cent) indicated that, during their second year of teaching, they had an opportunity to review and plan their professional development. Examples of formal professional training opportunities highlighted included; ‘training related to teaching and learning approaches’ and ‘subject-specific training.’ Many case study interviewees mentioned formal CPD activities which they felt had been of value to them during their second year of teaching. Teachers working in primary schools were more likely to report receiving formal professional development opportunities than those working in secondary schools.
The report emphasises the importance of continuing individually tailored CPD for new teachers beyond their first and second year so that no beginner teachers are left unsupported during their first few years. It also highlights that new teachers need to have autonomy over their choice of, and access to, formal CPD.
Factors that hindered professional development opportunities included lack of support from colleagues (17 per cent) and workload (15 per cent). However, nearly two thirds of respondents felt that nothing had hindered their professional development in the course of the year.
With regards to future professional development needs, the most frequent responses referred to; knowledge about teaching subjects (15 per cent), staff supervision/ management skills (13 per cent), subject co-ordination (9 per cent) and the ability to work with pupils with Special Education Needs (SEN) (9 per cent).
The report recommends that training and support needs to continue to be provided for second year teachers, not only in relation to workload and behaviour management, but also in respect of any additional roles and responsibilities.
Keith Bartley, Chief Executive of the General Teaching Council for England, said:
‘Professional development for all teachers, especially those in the early stages of their career, is extremely important. High quality professional development opportunities that are tailored to the individual teacher, their school and the context in which they teach bring benefits for teacher and pupil learning alike.
‘The GTC Teacher Learning Academy (TLA) helps teachers to develop their practice and at the same time gain professional recognition. The TLA helps early career teachers to build knowledge and confidence through practice-based enquiry and to be able to share their learning with others, both within and beyond their immediate environment.’
Jim Knight, Minister for Schools, said:
‘This is great news. OFSTED tell us that we have the best trained generation of teachers ever and feedback from the front line is that new teachers are happy with the support they get. We know that the quality of teaching is one of the biggest factors in determining how well a child does at school. We all remember our best teachers because they had such a major impact on our lives. But it’s vital that we continue to improve the training and support teachers get, especially in those first few years. There is always room for improvement and the feedback we get from surveys like this helps us to continue to improve the support and training new teachers get. Soon new teachers will be able to work towards a masters level qualification, raising the status of teaching across the board.’
Graham Holley, Chief Executive of the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) said:
‘It is gratifying to see that second year teachers are confident in their abilities as effective teachers, and that they believe professional development opportunities are key to their continuing in the profession. The TDA’s recently published guidance on early professional development shows clearly the benefits of support for teachers during this career phase.
‘We look forward to introducing the radical, new Masters in Teaching and Learning that will initially focus on teachers in the first five years of their careers. This will provide a structured, high quality, practice-based programme that will systematically meet teachers’ professional development needs.’
