Executive Summary of An Ethic of Care - Effective Programmes for Beginning Teachers Report

The major outcomes of this project are distilled in the principles and models for induction programmes outlined in Section 8. This section summarises the key findings from the research, and presents recommendations endorsed by a workshop of key stakeholders in March 2002.

• Many young teachers find the transition from pre-service training into professional employment difficult. ‘Reality shock’ is a major part of the transition experience, with several contributing factors, including:
• the demands of the professional teaching role 
• overwhelming workload 
• physical and professional isolation 
• conflict between expectations and reality  
• difficult initial teaching assignments 
• inadequate induction.
• ‘Induction’ is the term most commonly used in the literature to denote support programmes for beginning teachers. In common usage it tends to be defined quite narrowly in terms of orientation to the workplace, and in practice, may often occur as an isolated process. This project adopted a longer-term view, in which ‘induction’ is seen as a critical phase within a continuum of professional learning, beginning with pre-service education and extending throughout the teaching career. It is defined as an extended process which aims to provide beginning teachers with:
• orientation to the profession and the organisation 
• personal and professional support 
• opportunities to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for effective teaching.
• The literature reveals a number of attributes of effective support programmes. These can be summarised as a set of ten key characteristics:
• Effective programmes serve several purposes, including orientation, personal and professional support,  professional  development and appraisal. 
• Effective programmes are multi-dimensional, addressing teachers’ personal, professional and pedagogical  needs. 
• Effective programmes acknowledge the strengths and potential contribution of beginning teachers. 
• Effective programmes adopt a differentiated approach, focused on individual needs and goals, rather than  standardised  content. 
• Support is sequenced to match beginning teachers’ changing developmental needs. 
• Provision of the support programme is coordinated between different levels of jurisdiction. 
• Effective programmes combine a range of strategies to serve different purposes and needs. 
• Assessment is managed so that it does not overwhelm, undermine or conflict with the provision of support. 
• Teaching loads and other responsibilities are allocated appropriately to suit beginning teachers’ skills and  experience. 
• Effective programmes depend on school (and district) cultures, which foster openness, collaboration and  help-seeking.
• The literature documents a wide range of strategies to address teachers’ orientation, support and development needs. Some of the strategies that feature in more recent induction literature include:
• providing essential information in flexible ways
• individual induction plans 
• induction support teams 
• mentoring 
• modelling good practice through observation 
• internal and external peer support 
• cluster groups 
• targeted professional development activities.
• The relationship between the supportive process of induction and the judgemental process of assessment for permanency is a hotly debated topic in the literature. The more common view is that the two processes should be separated because assessment is stressful, and promotes feelings of insecurity rather than trust. An alternative view emphasises the importance of critical feedback on performance, leading to review and improvement of practice. It is also argued that it is often not practicable to run separate processes; in any case, those who provide support to beginning teachers tend to be in the best position to provide valid assessments.
• Following the release of the National Project on the Quality of Teaching and Learning: Beginning Teacher Competency Framework in 1996, the role and potential uses of professional standards for teachers have received increasing attention throughout Australia. Their key function is to provide a framework to support a focused and coherent approach to professional development, but their use at school level is still in its infancy.

It would also seem that there is significant potential for using professional standards to build a bridge between the processes of support and assessment, at the very least by providing a common language for reflection about practice by teachers and mentors, and judgements about practice by administrators.

• Systems and districts make a significant contribution to beginning teacher induction. 39.7% of teachers said they had participated in systemic programmes, while 42.2% attended programmes organised by their district.
• There is significant variation between state and territory systems in relation to:
• the articulation of policy on induction 
• the amount and method of resource allocation 
• the level of direct involvement in induction programmes 
• the provision of support materials 
• the approach to evaluation.
• Several states provide funding for induction by reducing teaching loads, or offering centralised induction activities such as conferences. Victoria is the only state (in both Government and Catholic systems) that directly funds local delivery of induction programmes.
• In most Government systems, transfer policies and the priority given to ‘hard to staff’ schools ensure that the majority of vacancies occur in rural or remote areas. In many cases there are also incentive schemes in place to attract new applicants to these areas. Teachers entering the profession tend to be appointed to schools in non-metropolitan regions for a defined period in order to ‘build up points’; in return they gain priority for  transfer to preferred areas. Victoria is the exception, where most new vacancies in 2001- 2002 occurred in the growth corridors of the metropolitan regions.

One of the effects of these policies is that rural and remote schools tend to have a higher staff turnover, a higher proportion of beginning teachers, and fewer experienced staff.

• There is no evidence of Government systems using policy or guidelines to influence the nature of initial teaching assignments for beginning teachers. This is generally seen as a school responsibility.

In the majority of jurisdictions, new teachers begin with the same teaching allocation as their more experienced colleagues. However, beginning teachers in South Australia and Tasmania receive a legislated 0.1 Full Time Equivalent, (SA), 2 hours (Tas) per week reduction in teaching load for their first year. The reduction is ‘paid’ to the school in the form of additional staffing, or funding. Schools are given discretion to decide how the load reduction is applied.

• All Government systems have processes of probation for beginning teachers lasting from six to twelve months. There is considerable variation across the country, and in some cases within the same state, in the extent to which probationary assessment procedures incorporate professional standards, or common reporting formats. Most systems intend that professional standards should be used as part of performance management to inform the professional learning of beginning teachers, but at this stage there is limited evidence of this occurring ‘on the ground’.
• Of 35 districts surveyed around Australia, all saw beginning teacher induction as primarily a school responsibility. However there was considerable variation, not only between states, but also between districts within the same state, in how districts viewed their role in the process. This covered a continuum from those who saw a very limited role for the District Office, leaving most of the activity to the schools, through to those who mounted comprehensive programmes, in support of school efforts.
• The most common strategy used by districts is a start-of-year induction workshop, which is designed to introduce teachers to the district, builds awareness of available support services, and how to access them. Where applicable, many district workshops include a specific focus on cultural awareness issues, to prepare teachers for working in schools with a large proportion of aboriginal students.

Districts with an active involvement in beginning teacher induction also commonly sponsor network meetings, and provide individual and small group support through curriculum service personnel.

• Interviews with personnel from Catholic Education Offices in each state revealed a marked concern to ensure appropriate placements for beginning teachers, and a preparedness to intervene in schools where necessary to safeguard the welfare of beginning teachers. Several of the interviewees spoke of the care taken to match the skills and preferences of teachers to school needs when determining school placements, and to check the support system and allocation of teaching assignments within the school.
• As in the Government sector, Victoria is the only state where the Catholic Education Office devolves funding for induction to the local level. Schools are required to outline their induction plans in order to receive a grant of $800 per graduate.
• Each state Catholic system offers a funded, start-of-year, one-day seminar to introduce beginning teachers to the culture of Catholic schooling, and to canvass a range of general professional issues. In most cases, these are followed by a range of specific purpose professional development workshops.
• Most Catholic systems provide basic induction resources for principals, and in some cases, teachers.
• The generally held view is that ‘the Independent sector is in no way a system’ (Holden, 2000). The allocation of teaching assignments and support processes for beginning teachers are a school-by-school proposition. This view was confirmed in interviews with officers from the Association of Independent Schools in each state, although some of the larger offices, such as Queensland and NSW, play a more active professional development role than others.

General findings

• In 1991 the Queensland Board of Teacher Registration published research that indicated that beginning teachers in that state had a less than 50:50 chance of accessing systematic support in their first year of teaching. This situation has only marginally improved a decade later, and applies Australia-wide.
• When asked in general terms about their level of satisfaction with the induction they had experienced, an average of 62.2% of teachers indicated they had received ‘reasonable’ or better support over their first year. However, more than one in three teachers were dissatisfied, with 37.8% claiming they had limited or no support.

A 62.2% satisfaction rate might be seen as a positive outcome, but the figure is somewhat misleading. When they were asked more specific questions about the areas in which they had received assistance, and the strategies employed, teachers’ responses indicated a lower level of support than the satisfaction rate implies.

• In comparison to the teachers, an average of 87.8% of supervisors (mainly principals and deputies) felt their programmes provided ‘reasonable’ or better support to the beginning teachers. Only 12.2% felt their programmes offered limited or no support.
• The survey results consistently indicate a marked discrepancy between teachers’ perceptions about the support they receive, and supervisors’ perceptions about what is provided. In every case, except for opinions about pre-service training, supervisors expressed a more positive view than teachers.
• The survey results and responses in focus group discussions indicate that beginning teachers value support in almost any form. In particular, there is a strong preference for support strategies which address teachers’ immediate, practical planning needs, and which provide avenues for personal support.

The least effective programmes were seen as those that assume that induction consists of little more than orientation to the school, and that this purpose is adequately served by providing information.

• Beginning teachers attending focus group discussions consistently underlined the fact that they appreciate year-long support. They indicated that they still require ongoing support even though they appeared to be ‘coping’ after the first few weeks.

However, it is clear from survey results that support is most intensive during the orientation phase of induction, where an average of 45.8% of teachers indicate they received particular forms of support, and declines markedly during the remainder of the beginning teacher’s first year, where the average falls to 33.1%. Beyond orientation, a clear majority of beginning teachers feel they are left to cope on their own in most of the key areas of teaching performance.

• In general, according to survey results, the teachers who feel most supported:
• are aged 20-24 
• work in primary schools 
• work in Victoria 
• work in the Catholic sector.

In addition, females consistently express a higher valuation of support than males.

• The strategies most valued by teachers for orientation to the school at the outset of their first appointment are:
• pre-commencement visits 
• identification of an initial support person 
• meetings with the principal or senior staff 
• use of an orientation booklet or resource package 
• telephone contact from the school.

Apart from meetings with the principal or senior staff, more than a third of beginning teachers suggest they do not experience these strategies.

• In the orientation phase, teachers most value information about:
• availability of curriculum materials and teaching resources 
• school rules and policies 
• how to access school facilities and equipment (eg photocopying) 
• expectations about teaching role and responsibilities 
• the school curriculum.

Apart from school rules and policies, well over a third of beginning teachers feel they do not receive this information.

• The strategies most valued by teachers during their first few weeks of teaching are:
• access to curriculum resources 
• cooperative planning with a team of teachers 
• meetings with appointed mentor 
• meetings with senior members of staff 
• meetings with principal or deputy 
• observing other teachers’ lessons 
• handbook for new teachers 
• peer support group meetings 
• reduced teaching load

According to teacher’s perceptions of the support they receive, the most valued strategies – curriculum resources, cooperative planning, mentoring - are not those that are most commonly provided. Only two strategies - meetings with the principal, and with senior staff - are experienced by more than 50% of teachers.

• Although not reflected in survey results, participants in focus groups highlighted meeting beginning teachers from other schools as a particularly valuable strategy. The teachers saw such meetings as providing a therapeutic opportunity to share common experience, and find reassurance in the fact that they were not the only ones experiencing difficulties in their first year. The external setting provided a level of ‘safety’ often not available inside school.
• Being observed by other staff was also ranked comparatively low in the survey, because of the intimidatory nature of the experience, and its association with assessment for probation, rather than developmental support. However, participants in focus groups were emphatic about the value of specific and constructive advice following observations, and very critical of half-hearted or perfunctory feedback.
•  The issues which teachers felt were essential to emphasise in support programmes are:
• managing student behaviour 
• catering for students with a range of learning needs 
• effective teaching and learning strategies 
• organising student learning 
• student assessment 
• communicating with parents 
• teaching strategies for particular content areas 
• inclusion of students with a disability 
• student motivation 
• record keeping 
• developing sequenced learning programmes 
• time management 
• lesson planning 
• managing stress

Behaviour management is the issue of greatest importance to beginning teachers, but only 50% indicated receiving support in this area. The figure drops to 30% or less for the other items on the list.

• Teachers’ ratings of the level of benefit of particular support strategies did not change substantially between the ‘establishment’ and ‘development’ phases. The key strategies for supporting beginning teachers are seen as beneficial at all stages of their first year.

Two strategies that fell substantially, in perceived benefit for the development phase, were the handbook for new teachers and a reduced teaching load. The one strategy that improved significantly in perceived benefit was attending professional conferences.

• As in the earlier stages, there is a significant mismatch between the strategies valued by teachers, and the strategies actually used. The most highly valued strategies – provision of curriculum resources and cooperative planning – are experienced by less than 50% of teachers. Other highly valued forms of support – observing other teachers’ lessons and peer support group meetings – are experienced by only a quarter of teachers. In contrast, one of the least valued approaches - seminars organised by District Office – is the sixth most commonly experienced strategy by teachers.
• According to supervisor responses, 82.6% of schools claim to use mentoring. However, just 39.9% of teachers indicated it as a strategy they had experienced, despite valuing it very highly.
• Supervisors were asked to describe their view of the role of the mentor, and the basis on which they matched mentors with particular beginning teachers. Their responses point to a conservative interpretation of mentoring, in which there is a stronger focus on the experienced teacher passing on knowledge and teaching strategies, than facilitating critical enquiry and reflection. This conclusion is supported by two other findings: only 31.8% of supervisors provide training for their mentors, while just 28.4% indicated that mentors were given time release to perform their role.
• As they did for support strategies, teachers’ ratings of the issues that may be emphasised in support programmes look very similar for the ‘establishment’ and ‘development’ phases. The same major items remain equally important at both stages. However, two items which increased in perceived importance were student assessment and report writing. The only items to decline significantly in importance were organising student learning, and lesson planning.

There were only two areas – managing student behaviour and report writing – in which more than 50% of teachers indicated receiving support. On the majority of issues, an average of 31% of teachers indicated support.

• A range of teacher satisfaction surveys conducted over the last decade point to continuing concerns about the quality of initial teacher training. Results from this project maintain the trend. Both teachers and supervisors were asked for a general assessment of how well teacher education courses prepare beginning teachers for their first year. In marked contrast to their respective answers on other parts of the survey where teachers were generally more negative, supervisors had a harsher opinion of pre-service training than teachers:
• 29.6% of supervisors felt teachers were prepared ‘well’ or ‘very well’, compared to 44.6% of teachers.
• 45.2% of supervisors felt teachers were ‘adequately’ prepared, compared to 36.1% of teachers. 
• 25.3% of supervisors felt teachers were ‘not very well’ or ‘poorly’ prepared, compared to 19.3% of teachers.
• When teachers and their supervisors were asked to rate the effectiveness of pre-service training in relation to a list of specific areas, the results were consistent with the most recent course satisfaction surveys undertaken in Victoria and Queensland.

Both groups felt that the strongest aspects of pre-service preparation related to the teaching process, reflected in items such as lesson planning, effective teaching and learning strategies, teaching strategies for particular content areas, and organising student learning.

Particular areas of concern for teachers included managing student behaviour, inclusion of students with a disability, communicating with parents and report writing. Catering for students with a range of learning needs appears to be less of a concern for teachers than in previous research, however it is a major concern for supervisors.

• The perennial demand for teacher education to become more practical in emphasis was strongly reflected in this project. When supervisors were asked to describe ways in which pre-service training could better prepare beginning teachers for the first year of teaching, 61.4% called for an extended practicum and/or internships, while 26.4% wanted a better link between theory and practice. The third most common suggestion (at 16.1%) was for a stronger emphasis on behaviour management.
• There is limited, but increasing evidence of growth in school-university partnerships, within the context of a professional learning continuum, uniting initial teacher training, induction and continuing professional development. This development was endorsed by survey respondents. While only 15.8% of teachers indicated that their Education faculties had contacted them during their first year, 61.6% of teachers and 57.0% of supervisors believed Education faculties should play a continuing role in the professional development of their graduates, through involvement in induction

Suggested roles included:

• following up to check satisfaction with the work environment 
• organising beginning teacher support networks 
• providing on-call assistance with specific teaching issues 
• gathering feedback to evaluate the relevance of teacher education courses 
• providing information about curriculum resources 
• providing professional development on new teaching strategies 
• offering counselling support - the chance to talk to someone outside the work environment.

The research findings were presented to a workshop of key stakeholders from every state and territory, in March 2002. Representing teachers, schools, districts, systems, all educational sectors, universities, professional associations and the Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training, the workshop participants discussed the implications of the research, and agreed that the Commonwealth give consideration to the following:

1. The Commonwealth consider funding further research into the extent of beginning teacher attrition in Australia, and the factors driving beginning teachers’ decisions to resign.
2. The Commonwealth consider funding a project, possibly through the Quality Teacher Programme, aimed at school leaders, focussing on the development and management of induction and support programmes for beginning teachers. 
3. The Commonwealth consider funding further research into the use of professional standards at system, district and school level as frameworks for professional learning, performance management, and formative and summative appraisal. 
4. The Commonwealth consider funding a range of pilot projects, managed by cross-sectoral committees at the state level, to trial and promote innovative partnership arrangements between universities and schools, aimed at supporting beginning teachers’ transition into the profession.
5. This report be distributed to all jurisdictions and made generally available via the Quality Teacher Programme website. 
6. This report be tabled with the MCEETYA Taskforce on Teacher Quality and Educational Leadership. 
7. A condensed version of this report, highlighting the principles to inform effective practice in supporting beginning teachers, be developed for publication, and distributed to all systems, District Offices and schools.