Women teachers still losing out on leadership says GTC
Tue, 05 Sep 2006 01:00:00

Putting family first is still keeping many women teachers out of leadership positions, according to a major survey published by the General Teaching Council for England (GTC) today (05 Sep 2006). The survey was carried out by the Institute for Policy Studies in Education (IPSE) at London Metropolitan University.

Female teachers are significantly more likely than men to say that factors in their private lives, such as deciding to prioritise child-care or caring for a relative, had limited their career development (26% of women compared with seven per cent of men). Of the part time teaching population – which is almost entirely female – (more than 97%) only one in five is in a promoted role*. And although women make up over two thirds of the overall teaching population, they are under-represented in senior posts in schools**.

“Whatever happened to job sharing for management posts?” says GTC Chief Executive Carol Adams. “Schools are not benefiting from the full talents and potential leadership skills of a significant number of women teachers and this may include missing the chance to develop future women heads.”

Every year the GTC surveys a representative sample of 10,000 qualified teachers drawn from its Register.  Teachers complete a detailed questionnaire on their current work role, career plans and views on teaching.  The GTC survey provides an authoritative profile of the teaching profession and its aspirations and views.

Despite many positive findings, the GTC says that decisive action is needed to tackle a number of issues that could develop into major recruitment or retention problems.

The age profile of the teaching profession is very unbalanced, the GTC warns, with over a third (34%) of head teachers planning to retire in the next five years.  Many schools are already having difficulty recruiting heads and the problems will intensify as there are not enough teachers planning to become heads to fill the gaps which will soon emerge.

“We would have a problem even if more teachers were actively planning to become head teachers” adds Carol Adams “because there are simply fewer teachers in the 34-49 age group.  This means that teachers will need to become heads earlier, or schools may need to share head teachers.  But still only four per cent of teachers are actively thinking about headship as a career move in the next five years.”

Although the picture looks better when the career plans of existing deputies and senior teachers are examined, with 27% envisaging becoming heads in the next five years, the head teacher recruitment problem is very real. The GTC believes that current efforts to address the issue must be intensified. This includes developing leadership skills and talent from an early stage and emphasising the collegial nature of leadership rather than the ‘superman’ image of the head who is responsible for everything.
 
Other key findings from this year’s survey include:

Schools will struggle to meet new legal duties to promote race, disability and sex equality, the GTC says, because 50% of teachers have had no training in aspects of equality. This would suggest that there is a need to relate new equality initiatives and requirements more closely to teachers’ classroom practice.

Teachers remain deeply hostile to two key aspects of government policy, academies and league tables. Asked which government initiatives are actually helping teachers to improve education on the ground, only three per cent of teachers cited academies and only 12% commended league tables. 

Teachers’ hostility to performance tables is well known and the reasons for it emerge clearly from this year’s survey.  Most teachers derive their motivation from focussing their attention on the individual child, rather than the school as a whole, and certainly not the school’s position in league tables.  Asked about their priorities for achievement, the overwhelming majority of teachers said “the personal achievement of every individual should be maximised.” Considering how to tackle underachievement, teachers tend to focus on motivation and the student as a whole, saying that ‘working to raise pupils’ self esteem and self confidence’ and ‘developing an inclusive school ethos in which all pupils and their achievements are valued’ are the most important strategies.

The GTC survey gives a wider picture of the profession than DfES statistics, because the sample includes part time and supply teachers. These groups, often over-looked and marginalised, are of great interest, since they play an important role in an increasingly flexible workforce. In terms of professional support, development and recognition, it appears that supply teachers fare worse than others. Only ten per cent say that their needs for professional development were fully met last year and many supply teachers feel that CPD is not applicable to them. They feel they have no input to school policies and little chance to innovate or teach the curriculum in a more flexible way to meet pupils’ needs.

Like supply teachers, part-time teachers are also older on average (84% over 40) than the teaching population as a whole (60% over 40). Although part-time working is a choice for many some did comment about limitations on career development. Comments made also suggest uncertainty about their planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) entitlement among this group.

Professional development needs have been met for an increasing number of teachers this year, although there are differences between groups of teachers. The more senior the teacher, the more likely they are to feel that their development needs have been met: head teachers, assistant heads and deputies indicate the highest level of satisfaction. (41% of deputy and assistant heads said there needs had been fully met, and 51% to some extent; 49% of heads said their needs were fully met and 47% to some extent). Primary women teachers are most likely to say their needs had been met, while women in secondary schools have the lowest levels of satisfaction in this area (85% of primary women teachers said their needs had been met fully or to some extent, 82% of primary men, 80% of secondary men teachers and 78% of secondary women). However there is an overall split between primary and secondary teachers, with secondary teachers generally less satisfied that their development needs have been met (85% of teachers in primary schools compared to 78% in secondaries said their needs had been met fully or to some extent).

Using information technology remains the area in which most teachers want to increase their skills. Teachers new to the profession are most likely to identify addressing underachievement, teaching gifted and talented pupils and those with special educational needs, raising aspirations and supporting literacy. New secondary teachers also cited behaviour management as an area where they wanted to increase their skills.

Almost three quarters of teachers say they are getting their full allocation of planning, preparation and assessment time, although the survey shows that at least one if five is not getting their full entitlement.  However in the main teachers are positive about this new initiative, with benefits including enabling teachers to target lessons better to children’s needs, to teach better by being better prepared and to achieve a better work life balance.

*Promoted posts are those where a teacher has additional responsibilities to class or subject teaching.

** Senior posts are heads, deputy heads and assistant heads. Latest DfES statistics (Statistical volume Statistics of education school workforce in England 2004 edition):

• 41% of men working in nursery and primary schools are in senior management posts compared with 17% cent of women
• 13% of men working in secondary schools are in senior management posts compared with six per cent of women
• 27% of men working in special schools and pupil referral units are working in senior management posts compared with 17% of women.