1. School of Education, University of Leeds
Professionalism, Professionality and Teacher Development seminar presented at the invitation of the Belgian Flemish Ministry of Education, University of Ghent, 20th May 2008
Dr Linda Evans
School of Education, University of Leeds

2. The job interview
You are chairing the interview panel for the appointment of the headteacher of a primary school in a Brussels suburb.
There are only two serious contenders:
Marie-Anne
Justine
They each have the same amount of experience.
They each have excellent references.
They each appear pleasant and amiable.
They each appear competent and professional.
They have each demonstrated good leadership skills.
Which one do you choose?

3. The deciding questions
In this school there is a very wide range of ability among the pupils.
How would you address that?
What kinds of classroom practice would you promote in order to deal with the problem?

4. Justine’s response
I think streaming works. And I think it …it’s the best solution to the problem. So I would introduce a policy of streaming children according to their ability…because, otherwise, it’s very difficult for the teachers to deal with. I mean, I’ve taught classes where there’s been a very wide ability range and it’s impossible to cope with … some of the children just can’t keep up with the work … so, I mean, it’s not fair on them and it’s not fair on the teacher either. So, yes – streaming is the answer.

5. Marie-Anne’s response
I would ensure that staff were trained on how to cater for children’s different needs. I’d perhaps do it myself – the training – because I’m experienced at catering for different abilities … different needs. I can tell you where any child in my class is on any book. But I feel I have to be doing that because, otherwise, you can’t have children working individually. And so, when teachers say, ‘Well, you can’t deal with kids individually’, I think you can deal with them individually, but it’s hard work, and it requires a lot of organisation…and so, that’s what irritates me when I hear people saying – well, not bothering about meeting a child’s individual needs. If you can’t meet the child’s individual needs …then that child might as well not be at school. …So, you’ve no choice. To be effective you’ve got to meet individual needs.

6. Accounting for the difference
Which teacher would you vote for?
Why?
What accounts for the difference between Justine and Marie-Anne?
professionality

7. What do we mean by ‘professionality’?
refers to the knowledge, skills and procedures which teachers use in their work
combines:
professional ideology
job-related values
vision
reflects what the individual believes education and teaching should involve
incorporates individuals’ predispositions towards, and levels of:
reflectivity
rationality
intellectualism (or intellectual curiosity).
influences perspectives
Whilst professionalism principally relates to ways, or even codes, of behaviour, professionality fundamentally relates more – though not exclusively - to ways, and levels, of thinking that underpins behaviour.

8. How may we define ‘professionality’?
Professionality is:
an ideologically-, attitudinally-, intellectually-, and epistemologically-based stance on the part of an individual, in relation to the practice of the profession to which s/he belongs, and which influences her/his professional practice.
Evans, L. (1999) Managing to Motivate: a guide for school leaders, London, Continuum, (p. 39)

9. Professionality orientation
Eric Hoyle, 1975
Restricted professionality
Skills derived from experience
Perspective limited to the immediate in time and place
Introspective with regard to methods
Value placed on autonomy
Infrequent reading of professional literature
Teaching seen as an intuitive activity
Extended professionality
Skills derived from a mediation between experience & theory
Perspective embracing the broader social context of education
Methods compared with those of colleagues and reports of practice
Value placed on professional collaboration
Regular reading of professional literature
Teaching seen as a rational activity

10. Developing teachers

11. ‘Extended’ or ‘restricted’ professional?
There’s nobody in that school with any vision - nobody with any educational philosophy. They don’t seem to realise what a curriculum really is. ...They’re two male members of staff - the head and the deputy - and they cannot see that that has implications for equal opportunities in the school! They seem to think that because we’ve got one girl who plays football, that’s it – everything is fine. And because the names on the registers aren’t separated into boys’ and girls’, they think everything’s working okay.
Helen, primary school teacher

12. ‘Extended’ or ‘restricted’ professional?
I feel that I’ve got my fulfilment back in teaching, a bit, through re-appraising how I teach certain things, and getting satisfaction out of teaching things better the second time around, and...just a simple thing, like...I get a lot of satisfaction when children understand a topic I’ve covered. This year I’ve had a re-think on how to teach decimals ... and something as simple as that gives me a lot of satisfaction, when I’ve tested them and found that they could do it ... and there’ve been quite a few experiences like that in the last couple of years, and I’ve got satisfaction out of it.
Mark, primary school teacher

13. ‘Extended’ or ‘restricted’ professional?
Teacher: I prefer streaming the children. It’s easier – makes my job a lot easier if I only have a certain, y’know, ability range to deal with … it’s what we’ve always done at this school, and it works, so, why bother changing it?
Interviewer: In what way does it work?
Teacher: Er … I dunno, really – it’s difficult to say. It just … well, it works. I mean, you can’t cater for every single child, can you?

14. ‘Extended’ or ‘restricted’ professional?
You’ve got to be absolutely on the ball yourself and you’ve got to have a system which is so good ... y’know, the sequence of how you’re going to do things...which schemes you’re going to use for which particular needs, and so on. And, also, not only is it a lot of work, but it means that you, yourself, have to keep very au fait with what’s available, and when something new is introduced into the school you’ve got to be able to appraise that and your supplementary material in the light of what’s going to be mainstream... . So I suppose, in a way, a lot of my satisfaction is not coming directly from teacher-child contact, it’s coming from, I suppose, in my way, being as organised as I can, being as aware of what’s available as I can, reading as much as I can, and finding out as much as I can about how to meet individual needs for children.
Amanda, primary school teacher

15. The importance of professionality
It influences teachers’:
perspectives
attitudes:
job satisfaction
morale
motivation
professional practice:
how they teach
how they interact with colleagues
their contribution to the organisation of the school or college

16. Developing teachers
Teacher development is the process whereby teachers’ professionality and/or professionalism may be considered to be enhanced.
Evans, L. (2002) ‘What is teacher development?’ Oxford Review of Education, 28 (1),

17. Enhancing teachers’ professionalism
Teacher development on a profession-wide scale
Imposed by the government
Ministry of Education
Educational reform
a teacher development initiative
attempts to change professionalism
‘New’ professionalism

18. Changing professionalism through imposed policy or reform
Problems:
The profession is not homogenous:
it represents a wide range of professionality orientations
Professionalism cannot be changed simply by someone in authority having a vision of a new or altered professionalism.

19. Understanding professionalism
Definition of professionalism:
Professionalism is: professionality-influenced practice that is consistent with commonly-held consensual delineations of a specific profession and that both contributes to and reflects perceptions of the profession’s purpose and status and the specific nature, range and levels of service provided by, and expertise prevalent within, the profession, as well as the general ethical code underpinning this practice.

20. Understanding professionalism
Professionalism has to be something that people (e.g. teachers) actually do.
It cannot simply be an idea or a vision in someone’s head (e.g. a policy maker).
There is a great deal of difference between an officially set-down version of professionalism and professionalism that is enacted by practitioners.
3 reified states of professionalism (Evans, 2008):
demanded or requested professionalism
prescribed professionalism
enacted professionalism
Evans, L. (2008) ‘Professionalism, professionality and the development of education professionals’, British Journal of Educational Studies, 56 (1), pp

21. How do we develop teachers?
Understanding teacher development:
Teachers are individuals.
Plans and policy aimed at teacher development must take account of that individuality.
A professionality-based approach
Promoting a profession of ‘extended’ professionality.

22. Professionality orientation
Eric Hoyle, 1975
Restricted professionality
Skills derived from experience
Perspective limited to the immediate in time and place
Introspective with regard to methods
Value placed on autonomy
Infrequent reading of professional literature
Teaching seen as an intuitive activity
Extended professionality
Skills derived from a mediation between experience & theory
Perspective embracing the broader social context of education
Methods compared with those of colleagues and reports of practice
Value placed on professional collaboration
Regular reading of professional literature
Teaching seen as a rational activity

23. Teacher Development: an ontological model (Evans, 2002)
Professional
Development
Functional
Development
Attitudinal
Development
the process whereby professional performance may be improved
the process whereby people’s attitudes to their work may be modified
Procedural
Change
Productive
Change
Intellectual
Change
Motivational
Change

24. Professional Development: an ontological model (Evans, 2008)
Intellectual
Development
Attitudinal
Development
Functional
Development
comprehensive
change
perceptional
change
processual
change
epistemological
change
evaluative
change
procedural
change
rationalistic
change
motivational
change
productive
change

26. The professional development process
Recognition of a ‘better way’ 2
Motivation to adopt the ‘better way’ 3
Adoption of the ‘better way’ 4
Evaluation and refinement of adopted alternative 5
Evaluation and refinement of adopted alternative 5
Recognition of work-related deficiency or imperfect situation 1
Recognition of new practice as an improvement 6
Linda Evans (2008) - work in progress