Dr Peter Lind & Carol Shand ACEL Conference Sydney Australia 1 October 2015 Issues of Teacher Competence

A qualitative, evaluative study of the investigations by the New Zealand Teachers Council’s competence assessors of complaints concerning the professional competence of 134 teachers between 2012 and We will 1.Provide a summary of the 134 cases 2.Examine 2 in-depth case studies to illustrate the complexity of each investigation

Teaching Sector SectorNumberPercentage Early Childhood3728% Primary5944% Secondary3224% Kura Kaupapa64%

Trigger NumberPercentage Teacher resigning12190% Termination of employment118% Subject of a complaint22%

Registration Status StatusNumberPercentage Provisional2619% Full10377% Subject to confirmation32% Unregistered21%

Teaching experience ExperienceNumberPercentage Low (< 5 years)2720% Medium (6 – 10 years)3627% High (11 years +)7153%

YearsNumberPercentage < 30 yrs86% yrs2116% yrs3224% yrs4937% 60 + yrs2418% Age of teachers

What is the impact on students’ learning of this teacher’s professional practice?

OutcomeNumberPercentage No further action2015% Agreement to conditions4534% Agreement to conditions & annotations on Register 3325% Imposed conditions11% Imposed conditions & annotations on Register2015% Cancellation of registration107% Awaiting outcome54% Council outcome

Emerging themes Ability to plan & implement an appropriate learning programme over a sustained period Effective management of learning environment Ability to promote student learning through effective appraisal Ability to build & maintain effective professional relationships with learners, parents & colleagues

Case study 1 teacher resigned after having undergone proceedings designed to support her to address significant competence concerns teacher resigned before Council received a mandatory report from the school teacher obtained a senior teaching position at another school

Concerns… Difficulty providing planning that showed clearly the programmes of work [had] been delivered… struggling with content… struggled to assess accurately the children’s achievements… term 2 reports incomplete not sent... term 3 reports still incomplete … teacher struggled on many occasions to teach effectively… children were becoming unruly... behaviour deteriorated further (Principal).

Response to concerns Regular meetings ‘tween teacher & principal focused on appropriate actions to rectify the concerns Professional development focused on numeracy & literacy Support from colleagues Progress reports & appraisals

Second position Teacher appointed to a senior position References focused on her character rather than teaching competence Similar issues arose to previous employment 20-week period of advice & guidance including mentoring in teaching techniques, behaviour management, planning & assessment, curriculum knowledge in literacy & maths

Outcome Case 1 There is an enormous yawning chasm between this teacher’s performance and the standards of competence expected...This is a rare example of a teacher who, even after extensive support, has no ability to critically reflect on her teaching practice… Perhaps professional leaders were overly influenced by her expertise in an area for which there was a paucity of trained & qualified teachers Te Reo Maori and tikanga (cultural understanding)

Case Study 2 Secondary school teacher with 8 years of successful practice Primarily taught junior high school classes Had team taught a senior high school class with a colleague for a 3-year period

Trigger for concern Relationship difficulties with her Head of Department (HOD) resulted in a letter to the Principal from the teacher Mediation between HOD and teacher occurred Concerns raised by the Principal about her support & cooperation with colleagues & effective communication No documentation of mediation & outcome provided by the school 10 weeks of support provided but again no detailed evidence of this by school

Further concerns 2 further complaints were documented Teacher was perceived as “aggressive & challenging” 3 criteria identified teacher had breached: inter-staff communication supporting & cooperating with colleagues reporting on student progress

Principal stated… “she was aware of the concerns from day one …she has a big personality and by her very presence intimidated a number of staff. I had suggested to her at various times that her personality was 'too big' for our school being a girls' school and that she would experience more success in a boys' school where there are many people of her physical stature and they are likely to be less 'sensitive'”.

Outcome: No evidence provided in regard to: communications between the teacher and principal about the concerns details of the support provided and professional development records of any communications with the teacher throughout the duration of the support and guidance plan identifying her progress the teacher’s letters to the principal outlining her concerns about colleagues the principal’s response to the teacher’s letters of concern minutes and communications about the mediation minutes or communications about meetings held between the teacher, union representative and principal, or any other party the teacher’s reports about her students’ progress observations and appraisals of the teacher.

Summary Teachers need to be provided with opportunity to become or return to a competent professional Verifiable evidence needs to be gathered about this journey Of 134 cases, only 7% of cases resulted in cancellation of registration

Some teachers simply entered the wrong profession, others have lost their will or ability to help students succeed (Futernick, 2010)