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Archived Director's Messages
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DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE NO 6OCTOBER 2005October has been the month we have celebrated World Teachers' Day. It is an opportunity to realise again the positive impact excellent teachers have on learners. Mark Treadwell made the following observations in an article he titled Education in the 21st Century, The Second Education Paradigm, in describing the characteristics of effective teachers and schools:
Quite simply, good teaching and learning environments are inspired by intensely passionate and articulate teachers who are consumed by the vocation of teaching. . . And what motivates people to be teachers? Usually it is the teachers that taught them! Encourage your best and most passionate students to be teachers. (p.41, 2005)
The Council has issued its first newsletter ForTeachers, Mō Ngā Kaiwhakaako. In it are articles celebrating quality teaching. Two newsletters were sent to each school and a copy to early childhood centres. We recommend that one copy is posted onto the staffroom noticeboard so that everyone has a chance to read it. Congratulations to Irene Cooper who has been elected the new NZEI President for 2006. Regretfully this has meant that she has had to stand down from the Council. However, we would like to thank Irene for her outstanding service and contribution to the Council, particularly in her contribution in developing the Code of Ethics for New Zealand teachers.
In this message:
Teachers Council Election 2005:The results of the Council election of four professional representatives to join the governance Council was announced on 3 October 2005. The sector representatives were confirmed to represent their sectors for the next three years on the Council. The new members of Council are Jill Page, representing primary teachers, Steve Wood representing secondary teachers, Margaret Wilson representing early childhood teachers and Nola Hambleton was re-elected to represent principals.
First Issue of hard copy newsletter:The inaugural issue of our newsletter ForTeachers, Mō Ngā Kaiwhakaako was distributed to centres and schools early in October. Planning for this publication began earlier this year as part of our communication strategy to reach directly to teachers, professional leaders and stakeholder groups with news of the Teachers Council's activities and current professional focus. In this first issue, we featured the issues concerning our Early Childhood Education Advisory Group, and also we featured the 'professional learning community' being systematically developed by a secondary school. Optimum ways of supporting professional learning is one of the most important debates currently taking place in the teaching profession at all levels of the system. The newsletter was addressed to office managers and we want to make sure it was distributed to all head teachers and principals and also seen by teachers in staff rooms. If you did not see the newsletter (or if you wish to give us feedback on it) please email us at comms@teacherscouncil.govt.nz and we will send you another copy. The newsletter can also be viewed on our website, currently through the home page, at www.teacherscouncil.govt.nz. A second issue is planned for early December.
Registration:Limited Authority to Teach Most professional leaders are well aware of the purposes of and constraints on applying for a 'LAT' for a proposed staff member, but we continue to receive some requests that show misunderstandings about this policy. Undoubtedly there are some complicated issues or 'cases' involving LATs, such as those involving guidance counsellors in schools. We are currently analysing such issues and will be consulting with principals in schools, as it is the school sector that overwhelmingly uses LATs. Aside from such special circumstances, the guidelines for the use of LATs are very straight forward. LATs are issued for a specific period of time to a specific school/centre for a specific person to do a specific teaching role. A person holding a LAT cannot be permanently appointed to a teaching position. In cases where a LAT is being requested, the professional leader is required to provide the evidence of need, as outlined in the Teachers Council policy on LATs point 3.3. The policy can be viewed at http://www.teacherscouncil.govt.nz/policy/lats.stm It is a legal requirement that all teachers in schools in the general education system are registered. Teacher registration is important for maintaining and promoting standards of excellence in teaching and it assures teachers, parents, children and other members of the public of the high standards of the profession and that they can have confidence in the quality of their teachers because of this. Recognising that at times, to meet a particular need, a school may not be able to find a registered teacher to take on the prime responsibility of planning, teaching, assessing, evaluating and reporting for a specific group of students, there is the temporary option of a Limited Authority to Teach. A priority for the Teachers Council is to promote and protect the professional integrity and standing of the teachers in our centres and schools. The Council is therefore concerned that LATs should not be used as a way of circumventing the requirements for employing registered teachers. If a person has very good skills and qualities and would be a great teacher they should be supported and encouraged to become a registered teacher. Becoming a teacher is not possible for everyone who might wish it, but these days there are a variety of options for initial teacher education, including on-line programmes. We share with professional leaders your concern to ensure that the best possible person is in place for all parts of a programme and that, at times, a registered teacher cannot be obtained. We know you share with us, the concern to continue to work towards a fully trained and qualified teaching profession for all our learners.
Early Childhood Education:Funding subsidy and registration processes The Teachers Council is aware of the recent changes to the structure of the funding subsidy for early childhood services, with the funding level now able to be claimed based on the percentage of registered teachers that a service employs. Registration staff have been contacted in situations where a qualified teacher has accepted an offer of employment before applying for registration. Then, while the registration is being processed, there has been a delay before the employing service can claim the level of funding they had budgeted for. The great majority of applications for registration are processed within six weeks, but sometimes there are delays. The registration team are aware that if there are delays, that this may impact on the amount of funding available to an early childhood service. Delays in the registration process can occur for a number of reasons beyond the control of the Teachers Council. The most common cause for a delay in processing an application for registration, is where the form has not been fully completed. It is important that every question is answered fully; otherwise the applicant will be contacted and asked to supply the missing information. Such delays are avoidable by the applicants.
Delays can also occur where an applicant is required to provide an overseas police check (when an applicant has spent more than 12 months in the last ten years in an overseas country). The Teachers Council has no control over how long the vetting process takes, and it can vary considerably. Our advice to early childhood teachers is to apply for registration as soon as they are eligible. Graduate teachers can apply for registration once they have a letter of completion from their teacher education institution. Remember, registration is not dependent on an offer of employment.
Teacher EducationThis has been a busy year to date for the Council's Teacher Education Team. By the end of October the Council will have considered some 37 teacher education programmes for approval. Of these, ten have been for new programmes, mostly in early childhood teacher education. The new regulations affecting early childhood teachers that will require them to be qualified and registered has led to much activity, no more so than in the provision of programmes based in kaupapa Ma~ori. The merger of Auckland College of Education into the University of Auckland will also require a lot of input from the Council as we support the two institutions working to build a totally new qualification portfolio. In the immediate future, with all of the colleges of education either merged or discussing mergers, we will see a substantial increase in the number of teacher education graduations from the university sector. Research commissioned by the Teachers Council and the Ministry of Education is nearing completion and suggests that some 76% of all teacher education graduates will emerge from a university once the mergers are complete. Even in the early childhood sector, where there are a number of private training establishments, the proportion is close to 50%. It is not always realised that as well as conducting approvals and re-approvals of teacher education programmes (which we do in conjunction with the four quality assurance agencies) the Teachers Council works with providers in supporting and promoting systems of external monitoring. Every teacher education programme has appointed to it a monitor who will be a teacher educator from a comparable programme in another institution. This monitor has the role of working with the provider on an annual basis, interviewing staff, students and the education community and examining programme documentation. The purpose of this is to assure the Council, and the associated quality assurance agency, that the programme continues to operate effectively and that its graduates are quality teachers. It is interesting to note the positive relationship that so often builds up between the external monitor and the programme staff. In very many cases this relationship takes on all of the positive aspects of a "critical friend" where the external monitor is viewed as having a supportive and advisory role and their views are valued as important elements of ongoing programme improvement. Our thanks go out to all those teacher educators who give so generously in this work.
Policy developments and professional leadership:Strategic development In addition to the review of some key policy areas, the policy and strategy team have been developing discussion papers to inform the Council's strategic planning for the next few years. Key research reports have now been received, including the critical literature review of teaching standards, the reports of two initial teacher education research projects, and a research report on the status of teachers. The Council has also been part of on-going discussions that STA, the MOE and the teachers unions have been engaging in as part of their long-term work programmes around teachers' professional development and career paths. We have drawn on international literature and developments and been kept informed by current research initiatives in New Zealand as well as talking directly with stakeholders to gain their perspectives on key issues that the Teachers Council can influence.
Council members and staff believe that clarifying those key areas which the Teachers Council is best positioned to influence in terms of teaching and learning, is critical for prioritising our strategic goals for the future. Perhaps the most important of these, will be ensuring that beginning teachers have access to and support for the best possible continuation of their professional learning, right through to gaining the status of full registration.
In Conclusion:I welcome comment and feedback from you on any of these matters or other issues you may wish to raise with me. You may contact me at peter.lind@teacherscouncil.govt.nz. Best wishes for a successful final term of the year.
Dr Peter Lind This document can be downloaded in PDF format by right clicking here and choosing 'save target as'
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