tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/teachers-2978/articlesTeachers – The Conversation2024-03-25T12:34:09Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2246512024-03-25T12:34:09Z2024-03-25T12:34:09ZRural schools in South Africa can produce good exam results too: study shows what’s behind one success story<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580094/original/file-20240306-18-8y5hh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A child walking to school in the rural village of Qunu in South Africa.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jennifer Bruce/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Each weekday, hundreds of thousands of children and teenagers in South Africa’s rural areas (which make up <a href="https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/South-Africa/rural_population_percent/">just over 31%</a> of the country’s total area) make the journey to school. It’s often difficult. Poor road networks and a lack of easy access to transport make just <a href="https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/7b3fd97c-b13b-4d4c-bcf8-491d8b53c63f/content">getting to and from school a challenge</a>.</p>
<p>Many rural schools are dilapidated and poorly equipped. It’s very unusual for these schools to have <a href="http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0256-01002023000400011&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en">libraries, computer rooms or science laboratories</a>.</p>
<p>There has been some improvement in matric (school-leaving) exam results in the largely rural provinces. In 2016 the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo provinces, which are home to <a href="http://childrencount.uct.ac.za/indicator.php?domain=3&indicator=13">about 72% of rural South African children</a>, were <a href="https://businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle/148871/2016-matric-pass-rate-climbs-to-72-5/">ranked last</a> among all nine provinces. The most recent results, for the matric class of 2023, show progress in these underperforming areas: KwaZulu-Natal, for instance, <a href="https://schoolclick.co.za/matric-results-percentage/">was ranked second</a> out of the three rural provinces, with 86.3% of its matric candidates passing the final exam. </p>
<p>But despite some bright spots, there is a sense among experts and pundits that rural education needs to be <a href="https://www.investec.com/en_za/focus/future-impact/reimagining-education-in-rural-SA.html">entirely re-imagined</a>.</p>
<p>I am an education researcher with a particular interest in rural schooling. In <a href="https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/real/issue/80017/1264412">a recent research paper</a> I focused on a rural South African high school, interviewing the principal, a deputy principal, three heads of department (academic subjects) and one non-academic staff member.</p>
<p>Today the school consistently performs well in the annual matric exams. From 2020 to 2023, the percentage of the school’s matric pupils who passed the final exams was 66.7%, 92.1%, 81.3% and 88.6%, respectively. This is significantly higher than other schools in the same area. </p>
<p>The school is as poorly equipped as its nearby counterparts. It does not have good infrastructure. The pupils still have to travel, as others do, a long way on bad roads to get to school. Yet it is a star performer. </p>
<p>The secret to its success, my research found, is the resilience of its leadership team. Resilience in this instance relates to how the teachers and other staff are able to withstand the difficult challenges of lack of infrastructure and its learners’ poor socio-economic background to ensure academic success.</p>
<p>My findings suggest that rural school leaders must develop resilience in their pursuit for learners’ success. They must also strive to avoid total reliance on the government for support. The government must, by law, fund and maintain the education sector. But the reality is that this support isn’t always forthcoming.</p>
<p>This means that rural school leaders must be proactive and – as the school in my study has done – consider other possible avenues to solve their problems.</p>
<h2>The case study</h2>
<p>The school I studied <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-no-fee-school-system-cant-undo-inequality-178559">does not charge fees</a>. Its 737 learners come from various villages in the vicinity. (Though, as a result of the impressive matric pass rate, more people from other towns are also enrolling their children.) </p>
<p>Some years ago the principal, tired of constant delays in receiving government support, opted to explore alternative means of support. He began travelling to businesses in nearby towns to ask for assistance and found that the school’s remote location made it a tough sell. However, he persisted and was able to get some financial support from various businesses. This was used to buy textbooks and mathematical sets; some was set aside for maintaining or even restructuring school buildings. </p>
<p>The principal’s persistence and belief in the school’s ability to thrive was echoed by the teachers. He and the teachers began buying school uniforms and shoes, with their own money, to help pupils who couldn’t afford these basic essentials feel more comfortable and committed to their schooling. The staff also organised extra classes after school hours and on weekends to help pupils stay on top of the curriculum.</p>
<p>A few years ago teachers also began travelling to and from the school together in one minibus taxi. The road is terrible, and even the few teachers who owned cars didn’t want to risk the drive. The shared transport fostered harmony among the staff: they got to know each other, chatted about their lives and their pupils, and were able to ask their colleagues for advice in a relatively informal setting.</p>
<p>This shows that what ordinarily could be a form of disadvantage – a long, difficult commute to school – can be turned into an advantage. </p>
<p>All this illustrates what is possible when school leaders and teachers explore all possible means of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334569987_Successful_Leadership_in_Rural_Schools_Cultivating_Collaboration">collaborating</a> with one another to achieve success in their schools.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/poor-rural-schools-reveal-the-rewards-of-getting-the-basics-right-53320">Poor rural schools reveal the rewards of getting 'the basics' right</a>
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<h2>Building resilience</h2>
<p>My findings echo those of <a href="https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/publications/small-school-rural-community-study-study-report">a 2022 study</a> which found that leadership is especially critical to rural schools’ success – even in wealthier countries with decent infrastructure.</p>
<p>And this latest study underscores a point I and a colleague made in a 2019 <a href="https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.10520/EJC-16eb6f6e92">research paper</a>: that, with or without the desired infrastructure, having the right leadership in place can still ensure success for rural schools.</p>
<p>To do this, deserving rural school leaders must be recognised by the government and their peers, perhaps with awards for good performance. Platforms should be created where those rural school leaders who have turned their schools around for the better can share their successes, failures and lessons, as well as offering encouragement to others.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/resilience-gives-students-an-edge-in-rural-african-universities-164885">Resilience gives students an edge in rural African universities</a>
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<p>It is easy for rural teachers working in tough circumstances to focus on the immediate challenges and to become disheartened. By focusing on the bigger picture – their learners’ futures and potential to succeed – they will be able to build resilience and create the best possible learning environment.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224651/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chinaza Uleanya does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Rural school leaders must develop resilience in their pursuit for learners’ success.Chinaza Uleanya, Associate professor, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2162762024-03-22T01:24:48Z2024-03-22T01:24:48ZBefore the 1980s, Australian teachers could be banned for being gay. A new report wants to protect them at religious schools too<p>In 1976, Greg Weir was banned from teaching by the Queensland government because he was gay – and was then denied employment in New South Wales and Victoria for the same reason. Two years earlier, in 1974, New South Wales trainee teacher Penny Short was declared “medically unfit” to teach after publishing a lesbian poem.</p>
<p>This kind of discrimination in public schools has been outlawed, thanks (in part) to the activism of teachers like Weir and Short. From the 1980s, anti-discrimination laws made overt discrimination illegal in public schools. The exemptions to these laws for religious organisations in some states, however, <a href="https://equalityaustralia.org.au/un-expert-calls-out-discrimination-against-lgbt-people-in-australias-religious-schools-and-service-providers/">allow discrimination to continue</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=a90858e5-df4f-451b-b067-7d05fda6ef54&subId=663037#:%7E:text=b%20There%20is%20an%20exemption,or%20pregnancy%20in%20connection%20with%3A">Today</a>, in New South Wales, Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia, teachers in religious private schools can still lose their jobs if they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or queer, or if they are transgender or gender diverse. In New South Wales, nonreligious private schools also have the right to discriminate. </p>
<p>This week’s <a href="https://www.alrc.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ALRC-ADL-Final-Report-142.pdf">landmark Australian Law Reform Commission report</a> on religious education institutions and discrimination has called for laws to be clarified, so religious schools nationwide can’t fire or refuse to hire teachers on the basis of their sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status or pregnancy. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-major-report-recommends-more-protections-for-lgbtq-students-and-teachers-in-religious-schools-but-this-needs-parliaments-support-to-become-law-226309">A major report recommends more protections for LGBTQ+ students and teachers in religious schools. But this needs parliament's support to become law</a>
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<p>In our research on the histories of LGBTQ+ teacher employment, we have come across multiple, publicly known <a href="https://dehanz.net.au/entries/tennant-haysell-employment-of-same-sex-attracted-teachers-in-schools/">controversial sackings</a> in the 1970s, as well as the more insidious practices of moving out (or outed) gay and lesbian teachers to administrative roles, away from students. </p>
<p>The several cases brought to the attention of activists and the media might only be the tip of the iceberg of homophobic discrimination in that period. </p>
<p>These teachers’ stories can help us understand why hostility to LGBTQ+ teachers remains such an entrenched problem today. And they allow us to appreciate the brave ways queer teachers have campaigned to protect themselves from discrimination. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583601/original/file-20240322-21-s9qnw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a man talking into a microphone, in a shirt and trousers, with onlookers listening" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583601/original/file-20240322-21-s9qnw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583601/original/file-20240322-21-s9qnw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583601/original/file-20240322-21-s9qnw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583601/original/file-20240322-21-s9qnw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583601/original/file-20240322-21-s9qnw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583601/original/file-20240322-21-s9qnw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583601/original/file-20240322-21-s9qnw2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Greg Weir campaigned against his ban from teaching.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/1JkmX0VY/r378BWzXJwJbd">Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales and Courtesy SEARCH Foundation</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<h2>Banned for being gay</h2>
<p>In 1976, in the heat of Brisbane summer, Greg Weir made his way to the hall of his teaching college to find out what school he was posted to. Like all new teaching graduates on government-sponsored scholarships, he expected to learn where he would be teaching. But Greg wasn’t offered a teaching job, despite his scholarship. </p>
<p>The Queensland government had banned him from teaching because he was gay. </p>
<p>Following the Queensland Education Department’s refusal to employ him, Weir toured the country speaking on campuses and at lesbian and gay events, rallies and political events, auspiced by the Australian Union of Students. He took the Queensland government to court, but his case was ultimately withdrawn by 1984 because the Australian Union of Students ran out of money to fund it. </p>
<p>His visibility as an “out” activist placed him in the sights of the hard-right Queensland government, led by Joh Bjelke-Petersen’s Country Party and closely intertwined with new-right religious conservatives.</p>
<p>The Queensland Minister for Education made an <a href="https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/data/UQ_138735/UQ138735_OA.pdf?dsi_version=57aef43a02bb550484250016b0b99a34&Expires=1709091692&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJKNBJ4MJBJNC6NLQ&Signature=Y1yNejMZjEBsPeByR52c7SAMC865SFbIB5UZXCVW4zsz5edgCvrRNRE47i-54ABta1F8rhCmpors3ZWxi7lXLvjYtlEhxry0pDvtadN2xp5wz1u1QNNQHjvG0hYz6i2e6FophxGikexnaUUkF6n6qSizqGTS13BiS5kPNGSbgIA2bKNQFSJRXGHktea%7EZQmf0ErL10VPLxIZrZylxGgmMzvsuZ0O0mKDLVGJH3IPEbmvq5XMel2Ay8Djk8DlME56RGC5mtlqv8o14F43ZFSitx6VPsG%7Er-h1YCCs0UcSER0UMX-RPeESXf4VBz2r2HEdoOOP3YuIFTzR-jc3omkHgg__">unequivocal statement</a> in 1976 about Weir’s prospects for employment as a teacher: </p>
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<p>Student Teachers who participate in Homosexual and Lesbian groups should not assume they will be employed by the Education Department upon graduation from college. </p>
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<p>Before this, the names of all members of the Kelvin Grove CAE Homosexual and Lesbian group were published in government gazettes. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581175/original/file-20240312-16-2tr0gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581175/original/file-20240312-16-2tr0gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581175/original/file-20240312-16-2tr0gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581175/original/file-20240312-16-2tr0gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581175/original/file-20240312-16-2tr0gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581175/original/file-20240312-16-2tr0gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581175/original/file-20240312-16-2tr0gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581175/original/file-20240312-16-2tr0gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Greg Weir toured rallies and events around Australia after being banned from teaching for being gay.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/1JkmX0VY/GlDMbzy56V7eo">Mitchell Library State Library of New South Wales, courtesy SEARCH Foundation</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>Penny Short had already passed a required psychological check for teachers when she wrote a <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/230398098?browse=ndp%3Abrowse%2Ftitle%2FT%2Ftitle%2F1187%2F1974%2F04%2F10%2Fpage%2F24751615%2Farticle%2F230398098">lesbian love poem</a> for the Macquarie University student newspaper, Arena, published in 1974. She’d told the psychologist who assessed her she was in a relationship with a woman – and was told to stay in the closet. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-727195700/view?sectionId=nla.obj-728956062&partId=nla.obj-727242098">Short</a>, like Weir, was out and proud about her sexuality. After the poem was published, she was referred back to the psychologist and declared “medically unfit” to teach. </p>
<p>In the case of Weir, a nationwide “<a href="https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-829341667/view?sectionId=nla.obj-830018175&partId=nla.obj-829354990#page/n11/mode/1up">Let Greg Weir Teach</a>” campaign ran for over five years, from when Weir was banned from teaching. Weir also launched an unsuccessful legal case against the Queensland government. He was never able to take up a teaching job.</p>
<p>But Weir’s case made the issue of gay teachers central to the growing gay and lesbian movement.</p>
<p>Gay teacher and student activist groups (like <a href="https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-690923329/view?sectionId=nla.obj-710168422&partId=nla.obj-690995026">GAYTAS</a>, who campaigned for the rights of gay and lesbian teachers in schools and supported gay and lesbian students) were active in multiple states.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-kind-of-suffocating-queer-young-australians-speak-about-how-they-feel-at-school-and-what-they-think-of-politicians-187010">'It's kind of suffocating': queer young Australians speak about how they feel at school and what they think of politicians</a>
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<h2>LGBTQ+ teachers’ rights today</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581184/original/file-20240312-28-1g6fs1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581184/original/file-20240312-28-1g6fs1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581184/original/file-20240312-28-1g6fs1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581184/original/file-20240312-28-1g6fs1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581184/original/file-20240312-28-1g6fs1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581184/original/file-20240312-28-1g6fs1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581184/original/file-20240312-28-1g6fs1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581184/original/file-20240312-28-1g6fs1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Steph Lentz was sacked in 2021 for coming out as a lesbian.</span>
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<p>Late last year, teacher Steph Lentz released her <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780733342974/inout/">autobiography</a> detailing her experience of <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/i-lost-my-job-for-coming-out-as-gay-this-needs-to-change-20210812-p58i3b.html">being sacked</a> in 2021, after coming out as a lesbian at the Sydney religious school where she taught. Despite pro bono legal support from Equality Australia, there were no legal protections Lentz could call on in New South Wales. </p>
<p>The following year, in 2022, a Senate inquiry heard <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jan/21/teachers-sacked-for-being-gay-warn-religious-discrimination-bill-will-empower-similar-dismissals">testimony from multiple teachers</a> about their experience of being sacked by religious schools because of their sexuality. </p>
<p>The New South Wales parliament is set to debate an <a href="https://equalityaustralia.org.au/resources/nsw-lgbtiqa-equality-bill-explainer/#:%7E:text=In%20August%202023%20the%20LGBTIQA%2B,discriminated%20against%20the%20LGBTIQA%2B%20community">Equality Bill</a> that would (among many other reforms) remove the exemptions to anti-discrimination laws that allow religious and private schools to discriminate against these teachers on the grounds of religious belief. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/03/queensland-to-abolish-clause-used-to-discriminate-against-lgbtqi-people">Queensland</a> and <a href="https://www.starobserver.com.au/news/national-news/pflag-slams-wa-labor-government-over-delay-in-lgbt-law-reforms/227630">Western Australia</a> are also considering changes to their laws.</p>
<p>These employment disputes are connected to very public and controversial debates surrounding gender and sexuality in schools. </p>
<p>For instance, much of the debate surrounding the ultimately successful Marriage Equality postal vote focused on whether such rights might lead to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/australian-ad-draws-fire-linking-gay-marriage-boys-dresses-n797491">“boys wearing dresses”</a> in schools and to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/sep/03/scott-morrison-sends-his-children-to-private-school-to-avoid-skin-curling-sexuality-discussions#:%7E:text=The%20prime%20minister%20agreed%20with,talkback%20radio%20interview%20on%20Monday.">“skin curling”</a> conversations about gender – according to former Prime Minister Scott Morrison and broadcaster Alan Jones. </p>
<p>These Australian debates are occurring in the context of a global backlash against rights for trans and gender diverse people in particular, often focused on children, teachers and schools. As British sociologist <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0038026120934684">Sally Hines has argued</a>, contemporary anti-trans campaigns and laws resemble those targeted at lesbians and gays during the 1980s and 1990s.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/religion-would-take-my-life-two-women-testify-to-enduring-and-surviving-harm-in-evangelical-christian-communities-207146">'Religion would take my life': two women testify to enduring and surviving harm in evangelical Christian communities</a>
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<h2>Queer teachers, then and now</h2>
<p>Teachers are often positioned as role models for their students. Therefore, they are expected to exemplify good moral character. Teachers have the capacity to shape the future of the children they teach – and more generally, of the nation. </p>
<p>This means queer and transgender teachers are particularly vulnerable to accusations of trying to influence children. </p>
<p>For instance, in the 1970s and 1980s, those advocating against Greg Weir and other queer teachers argued out gay and lesbian teachers would expose students to moral indecency. They suggested gay teachers would challenge the bedrock social institution of the family, and ultimately lead students to a life of “perversion”. </p>
<p>These “moral rights” campaigners pitched their <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00049182.2017.1327786">cause as protecting children’s rights and interests</a>, suggesting any other position would place children at risk. </p>
<p>The teachers, including Greg Weir, who ran campaigns to defend their right to teach in the 1970s and 1980s, were connected to <a href="https://www.heritage.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0026/513890/History_Of_LGBTIQplus_Victoria.pdf">broader</a> <a href="https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/stories/coming-out-70s/introduction/1">gay liberation campaigns</a> and gay and lesbian groups organised inside teacher unions. They gathered at conferences like the national Homosexuals at Work in 1978.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581181/original/file-20240312-24-fz8013.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581181/original/file-20240312-24-fz8013.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581181/original/file-20240312-24-fz8013.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581181/original/file-20240312-24-fz8013.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581181/original/file-20240312-24-fz8013.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581181/original/file-20240312-24-fz8013.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581181/original/file-20240312-24-fz8013.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581181/original/file-20240312-24-fz8013.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The queer teachers who defend their right to teach in the 1970s and 80s were connected to broader gay and lesbian groups.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/1JkmX0VY/R67DkqOELRgA2">Mitchell Library State Library of New South Wales, courtesy SEARCH Foundation</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>These <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/27516629">teachers argued</a> bans on gay and lesbians teaching in schools would force teachers into the closet, and prevent students from understanding sexual and gender diversity. They argued normalising discrimination in a school setting legitimises this discrimination, and produces violence against LGBTQ+ people. They advocated for <a href="https://dehanz.net.au/entries/young-gay-proud-1978/">liberalising sex education</a> and normalising LGBTQ+ content in the curriculum. </p>
<p>They argued this awareness, rather than harming children, could help prevent harm.</p>
<p>The legacy of this history looms large for teachers. A recent <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10476210.2020.1709943">study of the experiences of LGBTIQ+ teachers</a> found they are still reluctant to be out in school settings: they are “haunted” by a history of education that equates their identities with “threats to children’s innocence”.</p>
<p>There is <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-legislation-should-ban-schools-from-discriminating-against-lgbtiq-students-and-teachers-104940">substantial evidence</a> of LGBTQ+ teachers experiencing alienation, isolation and exclusion at work in religious schools, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-schools-must-promote-lgbt-inclusive-education-23260">persistent reporting</a> of verbal and physical abuse directed at LGBTQ+ students in schools.</p>
<p>Returning to this history provides a way to understand how discrimination against <a href="https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/52775">LGBTQ+ teachers</a> continues to be justified through references to the rights of children, such as in debates over the the federal Religious Discrimination Act or the New South Wales Equality Bill. </p>
<p>These notions are not new – they just have a new focus. The new report from the Australian Law Reform Commission provides an opportunity to address the harm done to LGBTQ+ teachers and students by discriminatory laws.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Note that we refer specifically to discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, trans and gender diverse teachers and students, and do not refer to intersex people. This is because current laws to do not exempt intersex people from discrimination protection in religious or private schools. Learn more here in the <a href="https://www.alrc.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ALRC-ADL-Final-Report-142.pdf">ALRC report</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216276/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Archie Thomas is a member of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Gerrard receives funding from the Australian Research Council. She is also a member of the NTEU. </span></em></p>We don’t ban queer teachers in public schools anymore, but it’s still allowed in some religious private schools – which the new Law Reform Commission report wants to address. What can history teach us?Archie Thomas, Chancellor's Research Fellow, University of Technology SydneyJessica Gerrard, Associate Professor, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2234272024-03-12T12:28:48Z2024-03-12T12:28:48ZNational parks teach students about environmental issues in this course<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580259/original/file-20240306-31-8rw98h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C7%2C5259%2C2613&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">TK</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/scenes-from-maggie-valley-north-carolina-and-great-royalty-free-image/1346013285?phrase=great+smoky+mountains&adppopup=true">John Hudson Photography via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Text saying: Uncommon Courses, from The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/uncommon-courses-130908">Uncommon Courses</a> is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.</em> </p>
<h2>Title of course:</h2>
<p>Environmental Issues in National Parks</p>
<h2>What prompted the idea for the course?</h2>
<p>The University of Tennessee is a natural fit for this course, with the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm">Great Smoky Mountains National Park</a> and all the learning opportunities it offers being only a one-hour drive away. </p>
<p>Although I did not create this course, I jumped at the opportunity to serve as an instructor for it. Growing up as a Boy Scout, and later a merit badge counselor, I found a love for place-based education. I have always valued using the outdoors to teach about the theoretical concepts shared in the classroom.</p>
<h2>What does the course explore?</h2>
<p>Each week of the semester we discuss an ongoing environmental issue and then dive into an applied case study in a different national park. For example, in one week students learn about fire regimes, or patterns of wildfires over time. Then, in the next class, we discuss how the fire regimes in <a href="https://www.nps.gov/seki/index.htm">Sequoia National Park</a> in California naturally <a href="https://www.nps.gov/seki/learn/nature/fire_ecology_research.htm">maintain the ecosystem</a> of the sequoia groves there.</p>
<p>The highlight of the semester is an in-person field trip to Look Rock in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Here, my students and I meet a park ranger who teaches them about how trees sequester carbon from the atmosphere and how to measure it. The group also enjoys a hike to <a href="https://www.pigeonforge.com/great-smoky-mountains-national-park/look-rock/">Look Rock Tower</a> to learn more about the local area and see awesome views all around.</p>
<h2>Why is this course relevant now?</h2>
<p>Visitation numbers at national parks <a href="https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/news/24004.htm">continue to rise each year</a>. Most of my students have been to at least one or two national parks and are exposed to their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2023.100682">increasing presence on social media</a>.</p>
<p>If this course was just titled Environmental Issues, I do not believe it would have the same kind of draw it has now. Typically, the course fills to capacity early on every semester.</p>
<p>Using the parks as teaching tools not only keeps students engaged and entertained in the class but also gives them real-life lessons about environmental issues. They get front-row seats in learning about how landscapes change and the physical factors that affect them, like climate, topography and vegetation.</p>
<h2>What’s a critical lesson from the course?</h2>
<p>I tell my students up front and repeatedly that the world is not black and white. Environmental issues are complex and difficult to solve. </p>
<p>For example, the bald eagle population in the U.S. fell drastically after World War II, and eventually they were <a href="https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/bald-eagle-fact-sheet.pdf">declared endangered</a>. This was a result of being poisoned by the insecticide DDT. </p>
<p>Upon quick reflection, it seems that <a href="https://www.epa.gov/caddis/case-ddt-revisiting-impairment">banning DDT</a> in the U.S. in 1972 was the obvious solution to save the bald eagle. Since then, there have also been <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/ddt-brief-history-and-status">international efforts to ban DDT</a> across the world for environmental reasons. But this leaves out the context that DDT kills mosquitoes, which spread the deadly disease malaria. In other parts of the world, DDT had saved an <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40924603?saml_data=eyJzYW1sVG9rZW4iOiI1NjIyYWQ5NC1iZDMzLTRjZTAtYWE3Ni0wZDEzZTliNzk3NjMiLCJlbWFpbCI6ImNjNjA4NEBueXUuZWR1IiwiaW5zdGl0dXRpb25JZHMiOlsiYWZiYWM5MTYtMmExMS00OWYwLTk4NzctMzNiMzUyYmE5OTUyIl19">estimated 500 million lives</a> from malaria by the 1970s. </p>
<p>This example shows the nuance that’s required when thinking about environmental issues and solutions. Sometimes there is not an obvious right answer, and students visibly struggle to address ethical questions like these. </p>
<h2>What materials does the course feature?</h2>
<p>I do not use a central textbook or provide specific assigned readings. Instead, students participate in group activities, enjoy illustrated lecture slideshows and YouTube videos and work with online resources.</p>
<p>One assignment has students use Google Earth to create a guided tour of a national park of their choice. They play the role of a park ranger through their written descriptions of tour stops. Students enjoy getting to choose which national park they would like to explore and highlight for visitors.</p>
<h2>What will the course prepare students to do?</h2>
<p>Upon completing the course, I want students to become critical visitors of national parks and protected areas. I want them to be aware of the role they play in what happens in those spaces and of the complexities of the issues there. Examples could include the <a href="https://theconversation.com/us-national-parks-are-crowded-and-so-are-many-national-forests-wildlife-refuges-battlefields-and-seashores-206566">continual overcrowding</a> of national parks, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-america-national-parks-are-more-than-scenic-theyre-sacred-but-they-were-created-at-a-cost-to-native-americans-215344">removal of Indigenous peoples</a> from these lands or the <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-the-worst-of-americas-jim-crow-era-black-intellectual-w-e-b-du-bois-found-inspiration-and-hope-in-national-parks-218680">history of Black discrimination in our parks</a>.</p>
<p>Whether grappling with strictly environmental issues or the larger political and social struggles related to the national parks, I want students to open their minds to new perspectives. In a way, this course is an intervention for students to understand that they can make a difference and help shape an ever-changing world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223427/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Seth is a member of the first cohort of the National Park Classroom Ranger program, led by James Fester. He also serves an a VIP (Volunteers-In-Parks) with the Education Branch of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.</span></em></p>Students are provided the opportunity to use America’s national parks as case studies for environmental issues and tough conversations in this course.Seth T. Kannarr, PhD Student in Geography, University of TennesseeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2203632024-02-01T22:06:59Z2024-02-01T22:06:59ZQuébec’s teacher strike offers lessons on the urgent need to support public education<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/quebecs-teacher-strike-offers-lessons-on-the-urgent-need-to-support-public-education" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The doors of <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/10184999/concerns-mounting-over-childrens-welfare-as-quebec-teachers-strike-drags-on/">around 800</a> Québec public schools were closed due to the strike action of <a href="https://www.lafae.qc.ca/public/file/communique-entente-principe-28dec2023.pdf">the Fédération autonome de l’enseignement</a> (FAE) from Nov. 23 through Jan. 8. </p>
<p>During this strike period, <a href="https://ici.radio-canada.ca/rci/en/news/2037932/common-front-and-quebec-reach-tentative-agreement-over-pay-for-public-sector-workers">368,000 students</a> missed 22 days of school while teachers also lost the same number of <a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-do-teachers-get-paid-when-they-go-on-strike-130158">days in pay</a>.</p>
<p>Additionally, teachers in unions represented by the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/common-front-voting-begins-1.7083702">Common Front</a> were on strike for 11 days. </p>
<p>The strikes impacted public school teachers, students and parents across Québec at multiple levels including primary, secondary and adult education. </p>
<p>The consequences both in the short- and long-term are potentially devastating. The strike offers lessons about the urgent need to support teachers and address issues in public education. </p>
<p>Failing to do so will continue to negatively affect teacher morale, burnout and attrition. It will also risk further corroding the critical role of public schooling in supporting our communities. </p>
<h2>Understanding demands, uplifting teacher voices</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.lafae.qc.ca/negociation-nationale">demands</a> of the FAE were extended beyond pay, including better recognition (including improved pension plans and parental rights), better family-work-life balance, better class composition, a reduction in the workload, new provisions regarding grievances and arbitration, better treatment of teachers with precarious status and a healthy workplace. </p>
<p>These demands cover finances, classroom practices and teacher well-being.</p>
<p>Given the current social and educational climate, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/end-of-topsy-turvy-school-year-5-education-issues-exposed-by-the-covid-19-pandemic-161145">post-pandemic educational challenges</a>, supporting teachers and policy changes is of the utmost importance. </p>
<p>Mitigating current challenges by accepting teacher demands is crucial because healthy and well-supported teachers are paramount for <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.689628">successful student learning</a>. </p>
<p>The role of teacher well-being is particularly critical due to the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2020.1797439">continuing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic</a> in Canada.</p>
<h2>Must change systemic problems</h2>
<p>The lack of resources and support that teachers receive can lead to several consequences, ranging from increased stress and exhaustion to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688231151787">burnout</a>.</p>
<p>While teachers are proven to be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2006.06.006">resilient</a> in the face of these challenges, the concept of resilience itself is a <a href="https://www.toronto.com/opinion/don-t-call-me-resilient----it-covers-up-systemic-racism/article_e79cedf4-c81e-5999-bff6-fee793feacbb.html">contested one</a>. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/listen-to-dont-call-me-resilient-our-podcast-about-race-149692">Listen to 'Don't Call Me Resilient': Our podcast about race</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<p>Teachers should not need to be resilient because of policies and practices that do not provide a healthy, positive working environment. </p>
<p>Asking teachers to endure sub-optimal working conditions shifts the burden of addressing structural and systemic issues away from governmental responsibility for public education reforms. </p>
<p>It also places an undue strain on the relationships between teachers, students and parents, whose interests should be aligned. There is a <a href="https://doi.org/10.53841/bpsecp.2012.29.4.8">clear relationship</a> between student and teacher well-being. When the well-being of teachers is prioritized, <a href="http://www.iier.org.au/iier29/turner2.pdf">students’ work and learning flourishes</a> in schools.</p>
<h2>Serious attrition rates</h2>
<p>The prolonged strike and the unwillingness of the government to address union demands in a timely manner may have further reduced teacher morale. It may also exacerbate the already high <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2014.900009">teacher attrition</a> rates in Québec. </p>
<p>In fact, it points to the lack of concern for teachers who cite <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2012.696044">psychological and interpersonal reasons</a> for leaving their roles. </p>
<p>Through policy and practice, teachers need to be valued as essential workers in education. Priority needs to be placed on not just bringing new professionals to the field, but keeping them. </p>
<h2>Consequences for students, families</h2>
<p>The prolonged strike will not just impact teacher morale: students will also bear the long-term consequences. </p>
<p>Students will have experienced learning loss, the stalling of academic gains, and social and psychological disruptions. </p>
<p>Although the Québec government has allocated <a href="https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/quebec-announces-300-million-catch-up-plan-for-students-after-weeks-of-strike-1.6717307">$300 million</a> on a catch-up plan designed to help students who have fallen behind with free tutoring and summer camps for high schoolers who are at risk of dropping out, the reverberations of the strike will last for years to come. </p>
<p>Studies have demonstrated that strike actions impact <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-06050-9">educational achievements</a> and even <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/703134#_i37">employment and labour market earnings</a>. </p>
<p>Parents and families, especially mothers, will be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2021.102679">impacted financially</a>.</p>
<h2>Uneven effects</h2>
<p>We must also consider larger connections between this educational labour issue and class struggles because the impacts of the strikes are certainly uneven. Hundreds of thousands of students in the public system will be racing to catch up on missed time while students in private schools <a href="https://montreal.citynews.ca/2024/01/07/quebec-teachers-hopeful-after-strikes/">did not miss</a> a day. </p>
<p>These students will compete on the same ministerial examinations and for places at <a href="https://www.cegepsquebec.ca/en/cegeps/presentation/what-is-a-cegep/">CEGEPs — colleges in Québec offering the first level of post-secondary education — which</a> have become increasingly competitive. </p>
<p>During the strike, parents and caregivers were forced to manage child care alongside their own daily responsibilities, and many did not have the financial means for private tutoring or other ways to supplement learning loss. </p>
<p>Teachers from various backgrounds and economic statuses were also unpaid during this time; an unexpected loss of income can drastically influence one’s livelihood.</p>
<h2>Deeper reflection needed</h2>
<p>The strike is indicative of deeply entrenched problems in Québec’s public schools and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/sask-teachers-federation-announces-full-day-rotating-strikes-1.7097861">reverberates with</a> <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/10105600/ontario-elementary-teachers-reach-contract-deal/">problems seen across</a> the country.</p>
<p>Now that these strike actions are over, an opening is created for deeper reflection and work on transforming education and restoring the teaching profession to one that is highly valued and respected. </p>
<p>The success of students, the education system and the future of our communities depend on the learning that children receive in schools today.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220363/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>R. Nanre Nafziger receives funding from Spencer Foundation, Russell Sage Foundation and McGill University.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Safeera Jaffer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The success of students, the education system and the future of our communities depend on the learning that children receive in schools today.Safeera Jaffer, Research Assistant, Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill UniversityR. Nanre Nafziger, Assistant Professor, African/Black Studies in Education, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2169702024-01-25T13:18:02Z2024-01-25T13:18:02ZThinking about work as a calling can be meaningful, but there can be unexpected downsides as well<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568740/original/file-20240110-17-o199g3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C8057%2C5408&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A sense of calling can provide workers a feeling of higher purpose in their jobs.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/emotional-woman-feels-happy-to-finish-working-on-royalty-free-image/1728919751?phrase=personally+rewarding+work&searchscope=image%2Cfilm&adppopup=true">megaflopp/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many Americans – especially young adults – want to do work that feels meaningful. Creating meaning for oneself may be especially important as fewer workplaces <a href="https://today.duke.edu/2023/03/managers-exploit-loyal-workers-over-less-committed-colleagues">provide good pay</a> and benefits to their employees. </p>
<p><a href="https://news.rice.edu/news/2023/religious-calling-job-can-motivate-employees-might-result-mistreatment-going-unaddressed">Those who are religious or spiritual</a> often want to connect their faith to their work through a sense of calling. But there can be unexpected downsides for those who do so. People who say they feel “called” report <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2336-z">better work and life satisfaction</a>, but they may also be less likely to address workplace problems or unfair treatment when it arises. </p>
<h2>Faith in workplaces</h2>
<p>As <a href="https://profiles.rice.edu/faculty/elaine-howard-ecklund">scholars</a> <a href="https://www.wheaton.edu/academics/faculty/denise-daniels/">who study</a> <a href="https://rplp.rice.edu/people/brenton-kalinowski">religion in the workplace</a>, we have found that about 1 in 5 American workers agree with the statement, “I see my work as a spiritual calling.” Most of those who see their work in this way link it to religious sensibilities and practices. </p>
<p>Even though faith can be deeply connected to work, there are few comprehensive studies on this topic. In 2018 and again in 2021, we gathered responses from across the United States on how people see their faith in relation to their work. </p>
<p>Over 15,000 people representing a cross section of American adults filled out our surveys. These respondents included individuals from many different faith traditions and also those who did not follow a religious tradition. We also conducted in-depth interviews with over 250 of our survey-takers. </p>
<p>We found that 53% of Americans who feel called to their work are “very satisfied” with their current job compared with <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11060287">39% of those who do not feel called</a>. </p>
<h2>Religious calling in work</h2>
<p>The “concept of calling” has roots in Christian history, where people felt called to serve the church. More recently, calling has been extended to a possibility for any person in any job that serves the world.</p>
<p>There is no widely agreed-upon definition of what a modern-day spiritual calling might entail. Business scholars <a href="https://hankamer.baylor.edu/person/mitchell-j-neubert">Mitchell Neubert</a> and <a href="https://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/175560.pdf">Katie Halbesleben</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2336-z">define it as</a> “a summons from God to approach work with a sense of purpose and a pursuit of excellence in work practices.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568746/original/file-20240110-27-l3svwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman seated on a chair, with two other coworkers, laughs while having a conversation." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568746/original/file-20240110-27-l3svwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568746/original/file-20240110-27-l3svwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568746/original/file-20240110-27-l3svwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568746/original/file-20240110-27-l3svwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568746/original/file-20240110-27-l3svwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568746/original/file-20240110-27-l3svwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568746/original/file-20240110-27-l3svwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Viewing work as a calling has a positive effect on mental health and well-being.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/businesswoman-laughing-with-coworkers-while-working-royalty-free-image/1129490276?phrase=joy+at+work">Thomas Barwick/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Findings that <a href="https://academic.oup.com/socrel/advance-article/doi/10.1093/socrel/srad010/7160374">relate calling to positive workplace outcomes</a> are consistent with previous research that shows viewing work as a calling has a positive effect on worker satisfaction, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027517706984">mental health</a> and well-being, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167899391010">feeling one’s talents are being well used</a>. As one respondent whom we interviewed told us, “I definitely feel more fulfilled in my work because of my faith, and vice versa. I feel like I’m being a better Christian by doing the work that I do …”</p>
<p>Yet, less is known about the specifics of how people see their work as a calling. Interviews we conducted found that a sense of calling provides workers with higher purpose in their work, especially when facing work that is either extremely challenging or mundane. </p>
<p>For example, teachers talked about dealing with the bureaucracy of state educational systems, and medical service workers discussed the daily grind of mopping floors and handling bodily waste. However, despite the challenges of their work, these people also acknowledged that they were able to get through the day-to-day aspects of their jobs because they felt spiritually called to their work.</p>
<h2>Being called to work has downsides</h2>
<p>There is reason to be cautious, however, in touting the advantages of viewing work as a calling without also considering the detrimental effects that can emerge. </p>
<p>For example, people who feel that God intended them to be in their current workplace or industry might be more disposed to stay in their current role regardless of <a href="https://news.rice.edu/news/2023/religious-calling-job-can-motivate-employees-might-result-mistreatment-going-unaddressed">unfair treatment</a> or working conditions that take advantage of them, such as being underpaid or overworked. Specifically, in previous work we found that people who do feel called to their work report higher job satisfaction – even when they are experiencing discrimination – than people who do not feel called to their work. </p>
<p>A sense of calling may make people less likely to initiate changes to problematic workplace situations. Indeed, as we found in our research, those who view their work as a calling but also perceive discrimination in the workplace report being less likely to speak up in these situations compared with those who do not attach the same meaning to their work. </p>
<p>This can be especially detrimental for those of racial and religious minority groups who are more likely to experience discrimination at work in the first place. As one woman who works in government told us, “It is difficult being an African American woman in my field, so my faith allows me to step back sometimes and remove myself from the situation.” </p>
<p>This also shows how religion may help individuals cope with discrimination at work, but sometimes in a way that could detract from actively seeking change.</p>
<h2>The double-edged sword</h2>
<p>Experiencing work as a calling can be a double-edged sword. Because those who feel called to their work <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12842">have a high level of commitment to their jobs</a>, they tend to be more likely to tolerate, endure or ignore work situations that are unreasonable, inequitable or even discriminatory. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young Black teacher, looking tired, at his desk in a classroom." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568747/original/file-20240110-27-2v3nml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568747/original/file-20240110-27-2v3nml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568747/original/file-20240110-27-2v3nml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568747/original/file-20240110-27-2v3nml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568747/original/file-20240110-27-2v3nml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568747/original/file-20240110-27-2v3nml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568747/original/file-20240110-27-2v3nml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Surveys have found that workers who believe in calling are more likely to tolerate exploitative situations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/tired-teacher-royalty-free-image/1134698169?phrase=overworked+teacher&adppopup=true">shironosov/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>According to organizational ethics scholars <a href="https://olin.wustl.edu/faculty/j-bunderson">Stuart Bunderson</a> and <a href="https://sorensencenter.byu.edu/directory/jeffery-thompson">Jeffery Thompson</a>, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/27749305">workers who feel called to their jobs are</a> “more likely to see their work as a moral duty, and to sacrifice pay, personal time and comfort for their work.” Thus, it can become easier for organizations to exploit these employees, whether they do so intentionally or unintentionally. </p>
<p>Having and being led by a sense of calling is also linked to financial stability. According to our data, 68% of people who do not feel called to their work agree that “the primary reason” they do the work is to make money. In comparison, 47% of those who experience a sense of calling view making money as their primary reason for working.</p>
<p>The discrepancy could also speak to gender, race and class privileges. In her research on the “passion principle” – the idea that Americans feel the need to follow their passion and choose jobs they find fascinating, intriguing or fulfilling – sociologist <a href="https://lsa.umich.edu/soc/people/faculty/erin-cech.html">Erin Cech</a> notes how the concept of pursuing paid work that one loves or feels called to can inadvertently foster <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520303232/the-trouble-with-passion">structural and cultural inequalities</a>. According to Cech, race and class can influence the freedom to choose their work. Not surprisingly, Cech found that white, upper-class men who did not need to worry about money as much enjoyed the most liberty to do so.</p>
<p>Our research also shows that when workers see their job as a spiritual calling, it can blind them to the difficulties others experience at work. They may be less able to empathize with those who feel stuck in their job because of money concerns, are unhappy or unfulfilled in their work, or are struggling to find a job. </p>
<p>Our surveys reveal that 60% of those who view their work as a calling agree that “anyone can find a good job if they try hard enough,” whereas only 49% of those who <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11060287">do not view their work as a calling concur</a>.</p>
<p>Based on these findings, we suggest that leaders in organizations can help cultivate a sense of calling in workers by helping them identify their particular gifts and interests and facilitate their development along these pathways. At the same time, they can and should encourage feedback that can lead to a healthier workplace for everyone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216970/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elaine Howard Ecklund receives funding from the Lilly Endowment Inc. a foundation that funds research on faith at work. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Denise Daniels receives funding from the Lilly Endowment Inc., a foundation that funds research on faith at work.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brenton Kalinowski does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many workers who see their work as a spiritual calling wind up tolerating unfair treatment and poor work conditions.Elaine Howard Ecklund, Professor of Sociology and Director of The Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance, Rice UniversityBrenton Kalinowski, PhD Candidate, Rice UniversityDenise Daniels, Hudson T. Harrison Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship, Wheaton College (Illinois)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2180172024-01-21T12:59:10Z2024-01-21T12:59:10ZAnti-racist, culturally responsive French immersion: Listening to racialized students is an important step towards equitable education<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562480/original/file-20231129-19-xh48rb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C12%2C4256%2C2765&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A study saw racialized students in Ontario French immersion programs write monologues and stories about their experiences, and also invited immersion stakeholders like teachers and parents to give feedback on
race and racism in Ontario immersion programs. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(CDC)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/anti-racist-culturally-responsive-french-immersion-listening-to-racialized-students-is-an-important-step-towards-equitable-education" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p><a href="https://education.macleans.ca/feature/just-say-non-the-problem-with-french-immersion/">Debates among researchers, educators and parents</a> continue about the successes and challenges with French immersion programs across English-speaking parts of Canada.</p>
<p>Programs are criticized for being elitist by some and praised for being exceptional by others. </p>
<p>My master’s research <a href="https://doi.org/10.37213/cjal.2023.32817">showed how Ontario and Toronto French immersion policies exacerbate inequities</a>, finding that program locations favoured middle-class students, curricula demonstrated a Eurocentric focus and colonial lens and program entry-points favoured established residents over newcomers.</p>
<p>My PhD work research has relied upon a collective creation research method known <a href="https://learninglandscapes.ca/index.php/learnland/article/view/1024/1040">as “playbuilding”</a> to propose ways French immersion programs can be more culturally responsive and anti-racist.</p>
<h2>Issues in French immersion</h2>
<p><a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781793612731/French-Immersion-Ideologies-in-Canada">Research about students in Alberta has shown</a> that language levels of French immersion graduates are low and many lack confidence in their French skills.</p>
<p>French immersion programs have been known to exclude many students, particularly those with <a href="https://www.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/0/docs/TDSB%20French%20Programs%20Review%20Mar082019.pdf">special education needs, multilingual learners, immigrants and lower-income students</a>. In the past, some immersion programs even <a href="https://www.peelschools.org/documents/Elementary-FI-Program-Review.pdf/Elementary-FI-Program-Review.pdf">required IQ testing for admission</a>. </p>
<p>With <a href="https://doi.org/10.37213/cjal.2023.32817">immersion programs in Toronto mainly found in white, middle-class areas</a>, it is unsurprising that white, middle-class students are the most present in Toronto programs.</p>
<p>In the Toronto District School Board, research about French immersion enrolment shows inequitable demographics have been <a href="https://www.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/0/docs/TDSB%20French%20Programs%20Review%20Mar082019.pdf">improving in terms of racial and multilingual representation of enrolled students</a>. However, it also shows programs remain dominated by white, middle-class, anglophone students with few learning exceptionalities. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A Black student seen sitting and reading between two white students." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566494/original/file-20231219-29-8mt8ha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566494/original/file-20231219-29-8mt8ha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566494/original/file-20231219-29-8mt8ha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566494/original/file-20231219-29-8mt8ha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566494/original/file-20231219-29-8mt8ha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566494/original/file-20231219-29-8mt8ha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566494/original/file-20231219-29-8mt8ha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">French immersion programs in the Toronto District School Board are still dominated by white students with few learning exceptionalities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Allison Shelley for EDUimages)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Documenting student experiences</h2>
<p>French immersion is a heavily researched program; however, <a href="https://doi.org/10.4000/glottopol.4039">research has largely ignored racial identity and racism</a>. </p>
<p>I invited French immersion stakeholders (like teachers, parents, staff and professors in teacher education programs) to engage with stories of racial minority students in Ontario French immersion programs, and my own experiences as a racialized French immersion teacher.</p>
<p>Firstly, my online study recruited two Black and one South Asian French immersion students from Ontario, aged 16–20. Over the course of two weeks, participants created monologues and wrote stories about their experiences as racial minority students in French immersion programs. Stories and monologues are <a href="https://mkunnas.wixsite.com/race-in-fi">available on our website</a>.</p>
<p>In the second stage of research, 39 French immersion stakeholders (students, teachers, parents, staff and professors in teacher education programs) viewed our website and responded to an online survey reacting to stories and suggestions for improving immersion. The findings from stage two support the findings from stage one.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A brown girl teen seen in discussion." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566682/original/file-20231219-29-bpakcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566682/original/file-20231219-29-bpakcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566682/original/file-20231219-29-bpakcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566682/original/file-20231219-29-bpakcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566682/original/file-20231219-29-bpakcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566682/original/file-20231219-29-bpakcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566682/original/file-20231219-29-bpakcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students wrote stories about their experiences as racial minority students in French immersion programs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Allison Shelley for EDU images)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Cultural learning and representation</h2>
<p>Cultural learning is required by the <a href="https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/fsl18-2013curr.pdf">French as a second language (including French immersion) curriculum</a>. Each grade focuses on different local or global cultures to help develop students’ intercultural competence. </p>
<p>For example, Grade 1 French immersion focuses on local francophone communities, Grade 8 focuses on France and Grade 10 focuses on French-speaking Africa and Asia. No matter the cultural focus, the curriculum calls for the inclusion of “diverse French speaking communities” in every grade.</p>
<p>Students in my study recounted that they did not learn about diverse French cultures. In some cases, they were not discussing culture at all. Students’ own cultures and races were also absent from their learning. </p>
<p>The representation in students’ learning was overwhelmingly white and European or Québécois. The lack of diversity is not representative of the curriculum or the reality of the French speaking world, which is <a href="http://observatoire.francophonie.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/LFDM-Synthese-Anglais.pdf">over 50 per cent people of colour</a>. </p>
<h2>Unchecked racism</h2>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-does-critical-race-theory-make-people-so-uncomfortable-176125">In a racially structured and racist society</a>, the presence of racism in immersion programs is hardly shocking. However, the participants revealed many instances where racism could have been interrupted and was not.</p>
<p>In general, participants’ schools had a culture of racism where racist acts and speech (committed by students, teachers and administrators) were allowed to continue unchecked. </p>
<p>In many cases, teachers were not willing to intervene when racist incidents occurred in their French classes. In one case, a teacher even let a student use a racist French term repeatedly. </p>
<p>A few participants expressed that some teachers and administrators interrupt racism. However, even these teachers were not integrating anti-racist teaching (that is, integrating diverse racial representations and empowering students to combat racism and oppression).</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/black-youth-yearn-for-black-teachers-to-disrupt-the-daily-silencing-of-their-experiences-177279">Black youth yearn for Black teachers to disrupt the daily silencing of their experiences</a>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566505/original/file-20231219-27-w516e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566505/original/file-20231219-27-w516e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566505/original/file-20231219-27-w516e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566505/original/file-20231219-27-w516e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566505/original/file-20231219-27-w516e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566505/original/file-20231219-27-w516e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566505/original/file-20231219-27-w516e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Educators have important roles in integrating diverse racial representations and empowering students to combat racism and oppression.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Allison Shelley for EDU Images)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Call for change</h2>
<p>Students should not be subjected to racism and should be learning about the diverse realities of the French-speaking world so they can see themselves as legitimate French speakers. </p>
<p>Listening to the voices of racial minority students in French immersion programs in dialogue with research documenting program inequities is an important step towards creating more inclusive French immersion programs and schools. </p>
<p>The preliminary findings of my study, in conjunction with earlier research documenting a Eurocentric focus and colonial lens in Ontario and Toronto immersion programs, point to the need for <a href="https://omlta.org/how-to-be-an-anti-racist-educator-series">supporting anti-racist</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FikFP9lnIcQ">culturally responsive teaching and intercultural awareness</a> to make programs more welcoming to all students.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218017/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marika Kunnas receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p>Listening to voices of racialized students in French immersion matters for creating more inclusive schooling.Marika Kunnas, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Education, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2190712024-01-18T13:29:28Z2024-01-18T13:29:28ZStudents do better and schools are more stable when teachers get mental health support<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568750/original/file-20240110-23-z8tb6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=43%2C21%2C7195%2C2387&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Teachers report worse well-being than the general population. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/tensed-school-teacher-sitting-in-classroom-royalty-free-image/1305187925?phrase=stress+teacher&adppopup=true">VectorFusionArt via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When it comes to mental health at school, typically the focus is on helping students, especially as they emerge from the pandemic with <a href="https://youthtruthsurvey.org/swiiv/">heightened levels of anxiety, stress and emotional need</a>. But as school officials seek to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1477878520988432">put resources toward student well-being</a>, another school population is possibly being overlooked: teachers.</p>
<p>Teachers are experiencing high levels of stress, anxiety and work-related trauma in the classroom – much of it stemming from <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00317217231212004">student behavioral problems</a>. The pandemic exacerbated this issue, impacting students and teachers alike.</p>
<p>According to 2022 data from the National Center for Education Statistics, 87% of public schools reported that the pandemic “<a href="https://nces.ed.gov/whatsnew/press_releases/07_06_2022.asp">negatively impacted student socioemotional development</a>.” Additional stressors from the pandemic, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12450">new levels of uncertainty, higher workloads and a more negative perception of teachers in society</a>, have also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12450">impacted teachers’ mental health</a> and well-being.</p>
<p>As teachers navigate the highs and lows of their profession, taking care of their emotional and mental well-being is essential. Research backs this up. Not only do teachers personally benefit from improved mental health, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2021.100411">their students do, too</a>. </p>
<p>As the author of a forthcoming paper about teacher experiences during the pandemic, I have identified four benefits of prioritizing teacher mental health that create a more stable and effective educational environment.</p>
<h2>Reduces burnout and turnover</h2>
<p>An undeniable link exists between teacher mental health and burnout and turnover, especially for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1052684619836823">early career teachers</a>. For young teachers in particular, a <a href="https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/the-elephant-in-the-classroom">workaholic culture</a> can contribute to the deterioration of their mental health. </p>
<p>The demanding nature of teaching, characterized by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2023.2196607">heavy workloads and high performance expectations</a>, can take a toll on all teachers. This is especially true for teachers of color, who are more likely to leave their schools, or the profession, due to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/105268461702700504">poor working conditions and a lack of support</a>. </p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://doi.org/10.7249/RRA1108-7">2023 State of the American Teacher Survey</a> by the Rand Corporation, 13% of respondents said their schools offered teachers no mental health or well-being supports. Furthermore, teachers report <a href="https://www.rand.org/education-and-labor/projects/state-of-the-american-teacher-and-the-american-principal.html">worse well-being than the general population</a>.</p>
<p>This is where schools can really make a difference in teacher retention. In schools with more positive leadership and support, including for mental health, <a href="https://doi.org/10.19030/cier.v12i1.10260">teachers are more likely to stay</a>. Examples of mental health supports include setting appropriate <a href="https://doi.org/10.4148/0146-9282.2175">work-life boundaries</a>, incorporating <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196%2F32312">self-care and stress management techniques</a> into the school day, and creating an open environment where <a href="HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.22329/JTL.V16I1.6856">mental health can be discussed</a> without stigma. </p>
<h2>Improves teaching effectiveness</h2>
<p>Teachers excel at their jobs when school leaders prioritize their mental well-being. Research has directly linked <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2021.1980416">teachers’ well-being with greater resilience</a>. For instance, the research found, when a teacher remains calm and solution-oriented in the face of challenging classroom situations, it creates a more positive environment and supportive atmosphere for students.</p>
<p>Teachers also burn out less when they’re <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2015.1034494">encouraged</a> to be <a href="https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2023/07/26/creativity-in-classroom-reduces-burnout-improves-teacher-student-wellbeing">creative in the classroom</a>. Creative activities allow for a greater level of connection between student and teacher – and satisfaction on the job.</p>
<p>Being creative and having a positive rapport with their teachers also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2023.101302">develops students’ competence</a> and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325248514_Effects_of_Teacher's_Behavior_on_Academic_Performance_of_Students">improves their academic performance</a>. A teacher with poor mental health, however, may have a hard time showing up for their students in such a positive way.</p>
<h2>Preserves institutional knowledge</h2>
<p>Reduced turnover has a profound impact on preserving <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/016146810710900301">institutional knowledge</a> – the collective understanding of how a school and its students work best. When experienced educators leave unexpectedly or earlier than planned, schools <a href="https://www.govtech.com/education/higher-ed/opinion-undervalue-institutional-knowledge-at-your-own-risk">lose a lot of valuable insight and expertise</a>. Reducing turnover enables schools to benefit from experienced teachers for longer periods of time.</p>
<p>When teachers remain at their schools, they contribute to the schools’ ongoing stability and the accumulation of best practices over time. </p>
<h2>Fosters a positive organizational culture</h2>
<p>Prioritizing the mental health of teachers is not just about personal well-being. It’s also about building a <a href="https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/usable-knowledge/18/07/what-makes-good-school-culture">positive and supportive organizational culture within schools</a>. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://icma.org/articles/pm-magazine/addressing-mental-and-emotional-wellness-through-organizational-culture">culture that prioritizes mental health and wellness</a> creates an environment where teachers feel acknowledged, understood and supported. This positive culture <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdw048">impacts the satisfaction and morale</a> of educators, which can in turn positively affect student learning. A supportive atmosphere <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdw048">encourages collaboration</a>, open communication and a shared dedication to the well-being of everyone within the academic community. </p>
<p>Recognizing and supporting the needs of teachers is crucial. It’s not just about problem-solving. It’s a smart investment in the long-term success and resilience of the entire educational community.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219071/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lee Ann Rawlins Williams does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Mental health for teachers carries critical benefits for students.Lee Ann Rawlins Williams, Clinical Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation and Human Services, University of North DakotaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2210952024-01-16T17:45:20Z2024-01-16T17:45:20ZSaskatchewan teacher strike: It’s about bargaining for the common good<p>For the first time in more than a decade and for only the <a href="https://leaderpost.com/news/saskatchewan/explainer-a-brief-history-of-teachers-strikes-in-saskatchewan">fourth time since 1973</a>, people in Saskatchewan are facing interruptions to schooling due to teacher labour unrest.</p>
<p>While a <a href="https://regina.ctvnews.ca/teachers-hit-the-picket-line-as-saskatchewan-deep-freeze-continues-1.6726764">Jan. 16 province-wide teachers’ strike</a> means only <a href="https://regina.ctvnews.ca/no-teacher-wanted-this-stf-president-says-5-day-strike-notice-was-about-giving-sask-parents-time-1.6723525">a single day</a> of job action, there is a real possibility strike actions could escalate over the next few weeks. </p>
<p>That’s particularly the case with 90 per cent of Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) members having participated in an October vote about job action against the government — and
<a href="https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/buckle-up-sask-teachers-union-votes-95-in-favour-of-potential-job-action-1.6619971">95 per cent of those voting teachers</a> backing job action. </p>
<p>The strike follows early December news that conciliation talks between the STF and the Government of Saskatchewan had broken off. </p>
<p>According to the teachers’ union, the <a href="https://www.stf.sk.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/12-13-2023_STF-Message-to-Saskatchewan-Parents-and-Students.pdf">central issues</a> in this dispute are <a href="https://leaderpost.com/news/saskatchewan/teachers-union-frustrated-with-province-not-addressing-growing-class-sizes">class size</a>, “classroom complexity” (<a href="https://leaderpost.com/news/what-is-classroom-complexity-and-why-does-it-matter-to-the-stf">the diversity of student needs in any one classroom,</a>), <a href="https://leaderpost.com/news/saskatchewan/stf-bargaining-update">related support for students</a>, <a href="https://leaderpost.com/news/stf-says-job-action-virtually-inevitable-after-failed-talks-with-province">workplace violence</a>, meaningful actions to <a href="https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/sask-teachers-union-province-at-odds-on-key-issues-as-contract-talks-languish-1.6672626">reconciliation education</a> and other in-class issues. </p>
<p>For their part, teachers have not made their wage demands public, suggesting that for them, wages are not the central issue in this round of bargaining.</p>
<p>Both <a href="https://x.com/evanbrayshow/status/1735045295543669098?s=20">conservative commentators</a> <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/10180136/saskatchewan-premier-scott-moe-state-of-education/">and the premier</a> have argued the bargaining table is not the place for teachers to negotiate concerns about classroom issues. </p>
<p>The province, focused on wages, has tabled an offer that keeps wages at below inflation <a href="https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/news-and-media/2023/june/29/government-trustee-bargaining-committee-tables-fair-deal-for-teachers">levels for the next three years</a>. </p>
<p>In other provinces, teachers’ unions have successfully argued that classroom size is directly related to workload, which has always been a collective bargaining matter. </p>
<p>Although bargaining is sometimes interpreted narrowly as a discussion over wages and benefits it is not, by its nature, limited to that. Bargaining can — and has — acted as a democratic tool to expand public resources to areas beyond workplace compensation.</p>
<h2>Bargaining classroom size</h2>
<p>In Ontario, the <a href="https://www.pssbp.ca/wp-content/uploads/Teachers-Meshed-Agreement-2019-2022-FINAL-emailed-for-signatures-March-1-2021-PDF.pdf">Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario</a> has negotiated that the boards and government provide ongoing classroom size data to the union in order to determine future classroom ratios. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://osstftoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/HotLinked-2019-2022-OSSTF-Collective-Agreement-Finalised-with-All-Signatures-1.pdf">Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation</a> has language on class size in its collective agreements with specific classroom ratios. </p>
<p>Similar negotiations have occurred in Québec over <a href="https://cpn.gouv.qc.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/03/CPNCA_APEQ_E5_CC-ang_consolide_2023-03-15_V2.pdf">workload issues</a>. </p>
<p>The British Columbia Teachers’ Federation won a <a href="https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/16241/index.do">dramatic ruling</a> before the Supreme Court of Canada in 2016. The court ruled the government’s decision to unilaterally prevent teachers <a href="https://canliiconnects.org/en/commentaries/44636">from bargaining classroom size and composition</a> was a violation of their constitutional rights to bargaining collectively. </p>
<p>The decision resulted in hiring hundreds of new teachers to address chronically underfunded classrooms in that province.</p>
<h2>Cuts to education</h2>
<p>The dispute in Saskatchewan did not come out of nowhere. </p>
<p>There has been a 10 per cent drop in <a href="https://www.stf.sk.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Education-in-Saskatchewan-Facts-and-Statistics_11-Oct-2023.pdf">per-student funding since 2012-2013</a>. </p>
<p>In 2017, the Saskatchewan Party government <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/saskatchewan-government-decides-not-to-amalgamate-school-boards-1.4035499">cut funding to public education</a> by $22 million from the previous fiscal year. In the same period, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/10027832/saskatoon-schools-enrolment-spikes/#">enrolments have risen to record numbers</a>. </p>
<p>These issues pushed teachers to a collective bargaining dispute in <a href="https://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/top-stories-of-2020-teachers-strike-avoided-as-pandemic-surged-into-saskatchewan">2019, but it was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic</a>. </p>
<h2>Staffing crises</h2>
<p>Post-pandemic, teacher morale and turnover have reached crisis levels. </p>
<p>Samantha Becotte, the STF’s president, noted there has been a general crisis in <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9940451/canada-teacher-shortage">education across the country</a> evident in teacher shortages, with <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9848620/saskatchewan-teachers-contract-talks/#">an attrition rate of about 40 per cent among educators in the first five years of their careers</a>.</p>
<p>Becotte’s comments align with research showing attrition rates have hovered <a href="https://archipel.uqam.ca/12263/1/2013_Karsenti%2C%20T%20et%20Collin%2C%20S_Education.pdf">at close to 50 per cent</a> over about the last decade. </p>
<p>Government underfunding has also led to creeping <a href="https://leaderpost.com/opinion/heather-ganshorn-medeana-moussa-beware-privatization-creep-in-education-system">privatization</a>. </p>
<p>Squeezed board budgets have meant an increase in fees to some Saskatoon and Regina parents <a href="https://leaderpost.com/news/saskatchewan/upped-lunch-hour-supervision-fees-for-sask-parents-as-school-resumes">for lunch-time supervision</a>.</p>
<p>These cuts have also resulted in <a href="https://www.stf.sk.ca/about-stf/news/bargaining-impasse-declared-teachers-to-hold-sanctions-vote/#">dramatic declines in classroom supports</a>. Numbers have dropped for many educational roles, including for <a href="https://pubsaskdev.blob.core.windows.net/pubsask-prod/90049/2022-23%252BEducation%252BSector%252BStaffing%252BProfile%252B-%252Bprov.pdf">educational assistants, English as an additional language teachers, counsellors, librarians, psychologists and other pathologists</a>. </p>
<h2>‘Parents rights’ issues</h2>
<p>On top of this, the government called a special session of the legislature in September 2023 to bring in a hastily drafted bill to <a href="https://theconversation.com/saskatchewan-naming-and-pronoun-policy-the-best-interests-of-children-must-guide-provincial-parental-consent-rules-212431">restrict the ability of transgender and gender-diverse children from</a> being able to identify with their preferred pronouns at school. </p>
<p>The government said this was an issue <a href="https://regina.ctvnews.ca/parents-bill-of-rights-officially-introduced-in-sask-legislature-beginning-pronoun-policy-s-push-into-law-1.6598701">of parents’ rights</a>. Yet many others interpreted it as an attack on the ability of teachers to provide necessary support and guidance to kids in a safe and supportive environment. </p>
<p>For some, it speaks to a hostile position of the government towards teachers, since the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/sask-name-pronoun-policy-new-school-year-1.6956559">STF has opposed the policy and pledged support for teachers who refuse to abide by it</a>.</p>
<h2>Bargaining as important tool</h2>
<p>Trying to prevent teachers from including issues surrounding unmet student needs in bargaining is to effectively leave the public in the dark on the conditions of our schools and render governments largely unaccountable. </p>
<p>The most important tool that all unionized workers have at their disposal is their ability to collectively bargain. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-teachers-union-activism-helped-shift-the-u-s-election-debate-on-education-147620">How teachers' union activism helped shift the U.S. election debate on education</a>
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<p>As researchers with the Center for Innovation in Worker Organization at Rutgers University have documented, unions across North America have leveraged broad public support to <a href="https://smlr.rutgers.edu/faculty-research-engagement/center-innovation-worker-organization-ciwo/bargaining-common-good">bargain for issues related to the common good</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://smlr.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/Documents/Centers/CIWO/ciwo_bcg-memo.pdf">Many of these campaigns</a> have been waged by teachers’ unions. Unions have bargained for many things, including linguistic and cultural resources for teachers, more diverse staffing, anti-racism education, green education — and importantly for teachers in Saskatchewan — smaller classroom sizes. </p>
<h2>Unions driving change</h2>
<p>Unions beyond the education sector <a href="https://archives.nupge.ca/sites/default/files/documents/New-Forms-of-Privatization-2016.pdf">in Canada</a> have <a href="https://cupe.ca/sites/cupe/files/bargaining_and_privatization_guide_en.pdf">made similar gains</a>. </p>
<p>For example, in 1981-1982, the <a href="http://www.justlabour.yorku.ca/volume19/pdfs/04_nichols_press.pdf">Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW)</a> waged a strike to extend paid maternity leave benefits to workers. CUPW’s success encouraged other unions to take a similar position and today public maternity/paternity leave is a universal <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-maternity-parental.html">public program</a>. </p>
<p>Unions and their members have real power when they use the tools available to them to seek real workplace and community change.</p>
<h2>Bargaining about trade-offs</h2>
<p>To be sure, bargaining is about trade-offs. Prioritizing issues related to what unions identify as key “common good” themes might mean that other issues cannot be highlighted. </p>
<p>Workers might forego larger wage increases for smaller classroom sizes or for increased resources for issues like reconciliation with Indigenous nations.</p>
<p>But that is a choice workers will democratically make through their union. In the case of Saskatchewan teachers, the numbers do not lie. While salaries and benefits will always be an issue, there is overwhelming teacher support for existing bargaining proposals. </p>
<p>We believe this democratic mandate is significant — and one that could lead to safer and more just educational experiences for workers and students across the province.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221095/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Enoch is a member of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charles Smith does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Chronically underfunded classrooms with fewer supports to meet student needs is a core issue for Saskatchewan teachers.Charles Smith, Associate Professor, Political Studies, University of SaskatchewanSimon Enoch, Adjunct professor, Department of Politics and International Studies, University of ReginaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2201242024-01-16T13:41:20Z2024-01-16T13:41:20ZWhat social robots can teach America’s students<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568716/original/file-20240110-29-vri22q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some researchers predict social robots will become common in K-12 classrooms.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/elementary-schoolboy-touching-robotic-hand-royalty-free-image/1280407754">selimaksan/E+ Collection/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>How would you feel if your child were being tutored by a robot?</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-8890(02)00373-1">Social robots</a> – robots that can talk and mimic and respond to human emotion – have been introduced into <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2021.100388">classrooms around the world</a>. Researchers have used them to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBDI6kjj4nI">read stories</a> to <a href="https://www.imda.gov.sg/resources/blog/blog-articles/archived/2016/04/pepper-spices-up-classroom-learning">preschool students in Singapore</a>, help 12-year-olds in Iran <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654318821286">learn English</a>, <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1109/HRI.2016.7451758">improve handwriting</a> among young children in Switzerland and teach students with autism in England <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-014-0250-2">appropriate physical distance</a> during social interactions.</p>
<p>Some experts believe these robots could become <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1126/scirobotics.aat5954">“as common as paper, whiteboards and computer tablets”</a> in schools. </p>
<p>Because social robots have a body, humans <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/2023/05/15/respond-social-robots/">react to them differently</a> than we do to a computer screen. Studies have shown that little children sometimes accept social robots as peers. For example, in the <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1109/HRI.2016.7451758">handwriting study</a>, a 5-year-old boy continued to send letters to the robot months after the interactions ended. </p>
<p>As a professor of education, I study the different ways that <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=VCt87SkAAAAJ&hl=en">teachers around the world do their jobs</a>. To understand how social robots could affect teaching, graduate student Raisa Gray and I introduced a 4-foot-tall <a href="https://us.softbankrobotics.com/pepper">humanoid robot called “Pepper”</a> into a public elementary and middle school in the U.S. Our research <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12872">revealed many problems</a> with the current generation of social robots, making it unlikely that social robots will be running classrooms anytime soon.</p>
<h2>Not ready for prime time</h2>
<p>Much of the research on social robots in schools is done in <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12369-010-0069-4">very restricted ways</a>. Children and social robots are not allowed to freely interact with each other without the assistance, or intervention, of researchers. Only a few studies have used social robots in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2021.100388">real-life classroom settings</a>.</p>
<p>Also, robotic researchers often use <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-021-01202-3">“Wizard of Oz” techniques</a> in classroom settings. That means that a person is operating the robot remotely, giving the impression that the robot can <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJHyaD1psMc">really talk to humans</a>. </p>
<h2>Limited social skills</h2>
<p>Robots need quiet.</p>
<p>Any kind of background noise – class-change bells, loudspeaker announcements or other conversations – can disrupt the robot’s ability to follow a conversation. This is one of the major problems facing the integration of robots into schools. </p>
<p>It is extremely difficult for programmers to create software and hardware systems that can achieve what humans do unconsciously. For example, the current generation of social robots cannot interact with a small group and, for example, track multiple people’s facial expressions. If a person is talking to two other people about their favorite football team and one of the listeners frowns or rolls their eyes, a human will likely pick up on that.</p>
<p>A robot will not. </p>
<p>Also, unless a bar code or other identification device is used, today’s social robots cannot recognize individuals. This makes it very unlikely for them to have realistic social interactions. Facial recognition software is difficult to use in a room full of moving, shifting people, and also raises serious ethical questions about keeping students’ personal information safe. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568317/original/file-20240108-19-ynwsuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A child stands in front of Pepper the robot" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568317/original/file-20240108-19-ynwsuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568317/original/file-20240108-19-ynwsuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568317/original/file-20240108-19-ynwsuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568317/original/file-20240108-19-ynwsuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568317/original/file-20240108-19-ynwsuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568317/original/file-20240108-19-ynwsuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568317/original/file-20240108-19-ynwsuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students talked to the ‘Pepper’ robot as if it were a person.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/april-2018-hanover-germany-a-girl-speakng-with-the-robot-news-photo/978204290">Julian Stratenschulte/picture alliance via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Dialogue is preprogrammed</h2>
<p>To get the robot to perform, our students had to master the tutorials that came with the robot. Some students quickly figured out that the robot could respond only to certain basic routines.</p>
<p>For example, Pepper could respond to “How old are you?” but not “What age are you?” Other students kept trying to interact with the robot as if it were a person and got very frustrated with its nonhuman responses.</p>
<p>When a robot <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.12.030">fails to answer a question</a>, or responds in the wrong way, students realize the robot isn’t really understanding them and that the robot’s dialogue is preprogrammed. The robot can’t really make sense of the social context. </p>
<p>In our study, students learned to adapt to the robot.</p>
<p>One group of girls would stand around the robot while one kept petting its head. This caused the robot to do either its “I feel like a cat” or its “I’m ticklish today” routine. This seemed to delight the girls. They appeared content to have one person interact with the robot while others watched.</p>
<h2>Cannot move around classroom with ease</h2>
<p>Students who have seen YouTube videos of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmNaLtC6vkU">robotic dogs</a> that run and jump may be disappointed to realize that most social robots can’t move around a classroom with ease. The teachers in our study were disappointed that Pepper couldn’t bring them coffee. </p>
<p>These problems aren’t limited to school settings.</p>
<p>Service robots in some health care facilities have been programmed to deliver medicine, but this requires special sensors and programming. And while stores and restaurants are experimenting with <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/01/14/giant-food-stores-will-place-robotic-assistants-inside-locations-company-says/">delivery and cleaning robots</a>, when a grocery store in Scotland tried to use Pepper for customer interactions, the robot was <a href="https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/pepper-robot-grocery-store">fired after a week</a>.</p>
<h2>What social robots can teach kids</h2>
<p>While the social robots currently used in schools are finicky and limited in functions, they can still provide useful learning experiences. Students can use them to learn more about robotics, artificial intelligence and the complexity of real human behavior. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.actapress.com/PaperInfo.aspx?paperId=43268">As one researcher wrote</a>, “Robots act as a bridge in enabling students to understand humans.”</p>
<p>Struggling with a robot’s limitations gives students real insights into the complicated nature of human social interaction. The opportunity to work hands-on with a social robot shows students how difficult it is to program robots to mimic human behavior.</p>
<p>Social robots can also provide students with important learning opportunities about artificial intelligence. In Japan, Pepper is being used to <a href="https://www.softbankrobotics.com/jp/product/education/">introduce students to generative AI</a>. Students can link ChatGPT with Pepper’s physical presence to see how much AI improves Pepper’s communication and whether that makes it more lifelike. </p>
<p>As AI becomes a bigger part of our work and lives, educators need to prepare students to think critically about what it means to live and work with social machines. And with a real human teacher’s guidance and oversight, students can explore why we want to talk to robots as if they were people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220124/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gerald K. LeTendre receives funding from Harry L. Batschelet II Endowed Chair within the College of Education, The Pennsylvania State University</span></em></p>Social robots can be useful tools to help students learn about programming, but here’s why they won’t be replacing classroom teachers anytime soon.Gerald K. LeTendre, Professor of Educational Administration, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2159932024-01-08T19:16:50Z2024-01-08T19:16:50ZYear 9 is often seen as the ‘lost year’. Here’s what schools are trying to keep kids engaged<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563129/original/file-20231203-25-esyf9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C40%2C5472%2C3596&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/blur-abstract-background-examination-room-undergraduate-641504728">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Each year in Victoria, <a href="https://assets.ombudsman.vic.gov.au/assets/Reports/Parliamentary-Reports/1-PDF-Report-Files/Investigation-into-Victorian-government-school-expulsions.pdf">thousands of students</a> disengage from school between the start of Year 9 and the end of Year 12. </p>
<p>Many are <a href="https://assets.ombudsman.vic.gov.au/assets/Reports/Parliamentary-Reports/1-PDF-Report-Files/Investigation-into-Victorian-government-school-expulsions.pdf">expelled or suspended</a>. Others simply <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959475216302754?via%3Dihub">switch off in class</a>, skip lessons, or quit school to seek out different educational and training pathways.</p>
<p>Whatever the reason, many <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41297-023-00198-8">high school teachers</a> say something significant happens to school engagement levels <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF03216890">around Year 9</a>. </p>
<p>My <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41297-023-00198-8">research</a>, which involved working with Year 9 teachers in Victorian high schools, seeks to better understand what’s happening with student disengagement in this year level – and what can be done to change it.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/20-of-australian-students-dont-finish-high-school-non-mainstream-schools-have-a-lot-to-teach-us-about-helping-kids-stay-207021">20% of Australian students don't finish high school: non-mainstream schools have a lot to teach us about helping kids stay</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Lost, disengaged and ‘in never-never land’</h2>
<p>Year 9 (when a child typically turns 14 or 15) is a challenging year for a teenager, in part due to the maelstrom of puberty and adolescence. One Year 9 teacher told me students at this age see themselves</p>
<blockquote>
<p>as that in-between stage. ‘Am I a child? Am I an adult? What if I’m neither?’</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Students at this age often strongly feel they no longer fit in. These age appropriate but intense levels of introspection can make some students look at the repetitive and seemingly endless cycles of school tasks, tests and homework and wonder, “what’s the point?” As one research <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF03216890">paper</a> puts it:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In Australia, Year 9 is widely seen as a problem, a time when young people disengage from school; and when curriculum and student identity often fail to cohere with each other.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Year 9 teachers <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41297-023-00198-8">described</a> this year to me as “the lost year”, where students often drift off to “never-never land”. One even said it was traditionally seen as “a waste of a year”. </p>
<p>This suggests an opportunity for schools to design their Year 9 curriculum to help these students see the relevance of school.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563233/original/file-20231204-17-npgt90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A boy puts his head on a desk." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563233/original/file-20231204-17-npgt90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563233/original/file-20231204-17-npgt90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563233/original/file-20231204-17-npgt90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563233/original/file-20231204-17-npgt90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563233/original/file-20231204-17-npgt90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563233/original/file-20231204-17-npgt90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563233/original/file-20231204-17-npgt90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Year 9 (when a child typically turns 14 or 15) is a challenging year for a teenager.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/portrait-young-high-school-student-bored-200191565">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Specialist Year 9 programs</h2>
<p>Some schools have implemented specialist programs for Year 9. Some have large-scale residential programs, where students live and learn away from home for extended periods. Other programs focus on students learning about and through their local communities.</p>
<p>In Ballarat, where I am based, about half the high schools have a substantial Year 9 program. The structure varies. Sometimes it’s just a one-day-a-week program combining in-school and out-of-school learning experiences. Other programs are conducted entirely offsite over the course of a term.</p>
<p>One case study I <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41297-023-00198-8">explored</a> was a Year 9 program at a school in regional Victoria. About 70% of students at this school fall in the bottom and bottom-middle quartiles of the Australian distribution of socio-economic advantage.</p>
<p>In my paper, I gave this program (which the school developed) the pseudonym “Renewal”. In Renewal, several learning areas (English, health and humanities) are taught together by a single teacher. Students are in the program for six out of 20 periods per week. </p>
<p>Having one teacher assigned to each class for the entire Renewal program allows them to build rapport and connection. As one teacher told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Students have come to me, their Renewal teacher, before they’ve gone to their tutorial teacher, before they’ve gone to their house leader, and said: ‘I’m feeling extremely overwhelmed, I’m having anxiety problems, I don’t know why, it’s freaking me out.’ </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another told me the program allows students “to explore, investigate, ask questions about life issues that they wouldn’t normally ask a teacher.”</p>
<p>This rapport better positions the teacher to handle tricky issues with absenteeism, bullying and self-harm than teachers who see them less frequently.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563230/original/file-20231204-27-nzoi12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A boy in school uniform writes with a blue pen into an exercise book." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563230/original/file-20231204-27-nzoi12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563230/original/file-20231204-27-nzoi12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563230/original/file-20231204-27-nzoi12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563230/original/file-20231204-27-nzoi12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563230/original/file-20231204-27-nzoi12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563230/original/file-20231204-27-nzoi12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563230/original/file-20231204-27-nzoi12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some schools are trying a new approach in an effort to keep Year 9 kids engaged.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/man-student-reading-writing-exam-stress-683610508">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A different approach</h2>
<p>Renewal combines classroom-based activities with camps, excursions, guest speakers and other specialist programmes. One exercise, for example, involves dropping the students off in the local town centre, where they have to complete a series of tasks on a trail.</p>
<p>In the Renewal program, the careers unit and mock job interviews are done at the start of the year to support students to get part-time employment.</p>
<p>Students are given more agency than a traditional approach would allow. School work might be done, for example, via essay-writing, painting, drawing, in the form of a radio interview or other formats.</p>
<p>As one teacher told me:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The kids have more opportunity in regards to choosing their own destination […] to be able to find their own learning.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>One teacher described a task where students write “a persuasive letter to the council […] about a health issue in the community, that they wanted funding for.”</p>
<p>Another relayed how outdoor tasks “fires up a different part of their brain”, saying:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>One of the teachers created this map where they had to go around and imagine if they were to sleep rough where they could sleep.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Teachers themselves also learn from the Renewal program. One said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m much more flexible. It’s probably something I should be focusing on, to bring into my other classes. Just allow a bit more time for things.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Resonating with students’ lives</h2>
<p>Schools with specific approaches to Year 9 are hearing positive responses from students via surveys and other feedback. One teacher from the Renewal program even noticed how:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Getting up, in front of the class and presenting is a big deal for a lot of people […] I find with Renewal it’s easier for me to get people up than it is [even] for my Year 11 class.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The success of Year 9 programs hinges on a tailored curriculum that resonates with students’ lives, taught by teachers dedicated to fostering strong connections.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-would-like-to-go-to-university-flexi-school-students-share-their-goals-in-australia-first-survey-193396">'I would like to go to university': flexi school students share their goals in Australia-first survey</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215993/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Josh Ambrosy is on the board of Outdoors Victoria, the state not-for-profit peak body. He runs professional development sessions related to Year 9 programs and other middle years curricula.
</span></em></p>Year 9 teachers say students often drift off to ‘never-never land’. How can we do this tough but crucial year differently?Josh Ambrosy, Lecturer in Education, Federation University AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2177992024-01-04T20:02:40Z2024-01-04T20:02:40ZWhat do teachers do in the school holidays? They work, plan, and rest<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563566/original/file-20231205-23-ha900u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C3394%2C2280&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-typing-on-keyboard-378797668">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many people believe teaching is an easy job involving short days and long holidays. Anyone working in the profession, however, will tell you this is not the truth.</p>
<p>They will tell you teaching is a rewarding job, but that teachers are <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00131881.2021.2013126">stressed</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-19-4464-2_2">overworked</a>. This has been made worse by a severe teacher shortage in recent years.</p>
<p>In fact, teaching is <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-18/the-staffroom-busting-the-myths-about-teachers/8808678">almost never a 9am to 3pm job</a>; a lot of “invisible” work happens before school drop-off and after pick-up time. And the school holidays, while allowing some much-needed rest for teachers, can also be a busy time for them, as they prepare for the term and year ahead.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563810/original/file-20231206-21-5dfu85.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A teacher chats to a dad and his son during a parent-teacher interview." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563810/original/file-20231206-21-5dfu85.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563810/original/file-20231206-21-5dfu85.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563810/original/file-20231206-21-5dfu85.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563810/original/file-20231206-21-5dfu85.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563810/original/file-20231206-21-5dfu85.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563810/original/file-20231206-21-5dfu85.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563810/original/file-20231206-21-5dfu85.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teachers do lots of work, such as meeting parents, outside school hours.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/teacher-having-meeting-parent-schoolboy-2354102397">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-senate-inquiry-is-calling-for-a-new-behaviour-curriculum-to-try-and-tackle-classroom-disruptions-218695">A Senate inquiry is calling for a new 'behaviour curriculum' to try and tackle classroom disruptions</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>More than just teaching students</h2>
<p>Classrooms generally open around 8:30am and most teachers are at school well <a href="https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/education/what-teachers-really-six-week-1920872">before this time</a> to prepare for the day. They don’t get much of a rest throughout the school day – even their lunch “break” is often spent supervising children. </p>
<p>The job of a teacher involves much more than just teaching students. </p>
<p>After the school day, teachers can stay later to assist students who require extra help, and there are usually meetings several afternoons a week. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/give-hard-working-teachers-the-break-they-deserve-20091216-kxdx.html">Additional roles</a> are also expected at different times throughout the year. These include things like:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>coaching school sports teams</p></li>
<li><p>running and attending information nights</p></li>
<li><p>working on school camps</p></li>
<li><p>attending school fairs and discos</p></li>
<li><p>conducting parent-teacher interviews</p></li>
<li><p>organising and producing school concerts.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>After that, many teachers take student work home with them to <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/australian-teachers-work-longer-hours-than-those-in-most-oecd-countries-20190807-p52evu.html">mark at night and on weekends</a>, especially around report card season. </p>
<p>These non-teaching roles and responsibilities can all add up to teachers doing over 15 hours of <a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/victorian-teachers-losing-out-on-18b-in-wages-due-to-unpaid-overtime/news-story/072424998fea66ff67bf4f4876c2b9f8">unpaid overtime</a> each week, on top of the 37-40 hours of work their positions require. </p>
<p>Consequently, teachers are often <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0742051X23001051">exhausted</a> when the end of a term arrives. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563564/original/file-20231205-30-6idb0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A teacher rubs his eyes while looking tired." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563564/original/file-20231205-30-6idb0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563564/original/file-20231205-30-6idb0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563564/original/file-20231205-30-6idb0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563564/original/file-20231205-30-6idb0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563564/original/file-20231205-30-6idb0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563564/original/file-20231205-30-6idb0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563564/original/file-20231205-30-6idb0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teaching is almost never a 9am to 3pm job.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-male-teacher-classroom-2091957562">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Work over the holidays</h2>
<p>While most teachers have students in their classes for around 40 weeks a year, they are not just on holiday the rest of the time. Many teachers are busy beyond business hours and work during the holidays to meet the needs of children, parents, colleagues, leaders and system requirements. </p>
<p>Yes, teachers use this non-teaching time to rest and refresh themselves, but they also spend time doing all the tasks they don’t have time to do during the busy school terms.</p>
<p>This can include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/07/myth-of-teacher-summer-vacation/397535/">planning and preparing</a> for the term ahead</p></li>
<li><p>designing curriculum-aligned learning tasks at the appropriate level for 25-30 different children and developing the required resources (such as activity cards and assignments)</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-18/the-staffroom-busting-the-myths-about-teachers/8808678">marking</a> and providing feedback on student work</p></li>
<li><p>administrative tasks such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2017/aug/05/secret-teacher-working-holidays-devalues-profession">setting up and decorating classrooms</a>, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0022185618801396">paperwork</a> and writing student support referrals</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.academy.vic.gov.au/news/what-teachers-do-during-holidays">purchasing items</a> for the classroom</p></li>
<li><p>uploading data to various parent communication and reporting <a href="https://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/mind-body/wellbeing/what-5-teachers-are-actually-doing-on-their-6-week-holiday/news-story/3f5509e11e22ddc89c634dbd535a2742">platforms</a> </p></li>
<li><p>training and various <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-we-shorten-the-long-summer-break-from-school-maybe-not-92423">professional development</a> units</p></li>
<li><p>conducting <a href="https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/commentary-teachers-have-12-weeks-holiday-each-year-fact-or-myth-285781">extra-curricular activities</a> such as summer school, holiday sports camps, and school trips.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>These things are not easily done while you are also teaching and managing the behaviour of 25-30 students, so many get pushed to the holidays.</p>
<p>Enjoying things like being able to go to the bathroom whenever they want is also a welcome change!</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564057/original/file-20231206-19-81ncfp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A young Asian man looks at a computer at night time." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564057/original/file-20231206-19-81ncfp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564057/original/file-20231206-19-81ncfp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564057/original/file-20231206-19-81ncfp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564057/original/file-20231206-19-81ncfp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564057/original/file-20231206-19-81ncfp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564057/original/file-20231206-19-81ncfp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564057/original/file-20231206-19-81ncfp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many teachers catch up on work at night or during their holidays.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/serious-asian-young-man-using-computer-431901334">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Resting, recovering and catching up on life</h2>
<p>And similar to people in other professions, teachers use their holidays to rest, recover and decompress. They catch up on things like sleep and Netflix and gardening and dentist appointments, and maybe go on a holiday with their family. </p>
<p>It should be acknowledged teachers generally <a href="https://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/mind-body/wellbeing/what-5-teachers-are-actually-doing-on-their-6-week-holiday/news-story/3f5509e11e22ddc89c634dbd535a2742">don’t get a choice</a> when they take their leave. They often cannot afford to travel with their families as their holidays are in the most expensive and most crowded times of year.</p>
<p>So while teachers may appear to get more holidays than most other professions, the reality is they are not actually on holiday for all of this time. </p>
<p>It is more a mix of flexible work from home, school-based meetings and preparation for the following teaching term, and some holiday downtime to unwind in between tasks. </p>
<p>Research shows many people <a href="https://www.aitsl.edu.au/research/spotlights/teaching-a-valued-profession">deeply appreciate</a> teachers’ dedication to our school communities. </p>
<p>However, there is work to be done to change widespread and incorrect perceptions about their work hours or holidays, which misrepresents and devalues the work they do.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/thank-you-for-making-me-feel-smart-will-a-new-campaign-to-raise-the-status-of-teaching-work-217362">'Thank you for making me feel smart': will a new campaign to raise the status of teaching work?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217799/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While teachers may appear to get more holidays than most other professions, the reality is they are not actually on holiday for all of this time.Vaughan Cruickshank, Program Director – Health and Physical Education, Maths/Science, Faculty of Education, University of TasmaniaBrendon Hyndman, Senior Manager – Research, Innovation and Impact, Brisbane Catholic Education; Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct), Charles Sturt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2169442023-12-12T16:13:13Z2023-12-12T16:13:13ZMinimum service levels for teachers: government plan to restrict strikes further undermines a profession in crisis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564240/original/file-20231207-17-8t27e4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C155%2C5168%2C3290&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/stressed-science-teacher-trying-grade-homework-1586693281">Juice Flair/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As an academic, I teach teachers. The promise of teacher education is that graduates will enter a challenging but meaningful job. Personal, professional and financial security should be the safe ground from which they can navigate this diffucult terrain. </p>
<p>But I see my students’ anxiety about the complex issues they are set to encounter in the classroom, as well as insufficient pay and funding.
Qualified teachers are leaving in large numbers as they find the workload overwhelming, and the pay lagging behind inflation.</p>
<p>Disputes over pay have <a href="https://theconversation.com/teachers-go-on-strike-the-challenges-facing-the-schools-sector-198944">led to teachers striking</a> – but workload has also been a contributing factor. </p>
<p>Now, the UK government plans to introduce <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/teachers-strike-gillian-keegan-minium-service-levels-b2454799.html">minimum service levels (MSLs)</a> for striking teachers. A consultation on the plan has been launched, with the aim of MSLs being in place for the <a href="https://twitter.com/GillianKeegan/status/1729465713960591696">next academic year</a>. </p>
<p>MSLs jeopardise public sector workers’ freedom to undertake full industrial action, by obliging them to still provide a minimum “service” to the public. <a href="https://schoolsweek.co.uk/minimum-service-level-proposals-everything-schools-need-to-know/">This means schools</a> could issue <a href="https://consult.education.gov.uk/industrial-action/minimum-service-levels-mls-in-education/supporting_documents/Minimum%20service%20levels%20in%20education%20consultation%20document.pdf">“work notices”</a> to require specific staff members to work during a strike period. </p>
<p>Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, has <a href="https://neu.org.uk/latest/press-releases/minimum-service-levels-talks-ended">called the move</a> “shameful”. It adds fuel to the historical flames of teacher discontent. It also further complicates the historically ambivalent position of teachers toward striking. </p>
<p>On the one hand, an unconditional, unrequited labour of love is exacted and extracted from teachers. If they place their workers’ rights first they are seen as <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/02/01/selfish-teachers-owe-children-apology/">selfish and harming students</a>. As with workers in other care-intensive – and often female-dominated – sectors, such as healthcare and social work, teachers’ demands for recognition and remuneration are downplayed by politicians and the public. </p>
<p>On the other hand, the productive work in all other sectors of the economy relies on teachers. By keeping children at school, they not only educate the future workforce, but also enable parents to engage fully in the present-day one.</p>
<h2>History of teaching unions</h2>
<p>In the nineteenth century, a formerly private and often clerical male profession became massively practised by women. Teaching became a vital part of the modern nation state’s effort to build society-wide institutions – but teachers had lower income and living standards than other educated professionals. This and their origin from and work among peasant and workers’ communities made unions a <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/12424649.pdf">logical form of self-organising</a>. </p>
<p>By the mid-20th century, UK teachers’ <a href="https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/100-years-unions">unions had gained important concessions</a> when it came to pay, benefits and recognition across the profession. Yet especially since 1980, strikes have been crushed and unions weakened through <a href="https://www.ier.org.uk/a-chronology-of-labour-law-1979-2023/">draconian anti-labour laws</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-consecutive-conservative-governments-destroyed-union-rights-a-timeline-of-the-uks-anti-strike-laws-since-the-1970s-198178">A sequence of laws</a> have further limited the definition of “lawful” industrial action and curtailed workers’ right to spontaneous collective organising. A high threshold to ballot for strikes was made mandatory, meaning that striking is lawful only upon a positive membership vote with a large turnout. The laws also prohibit solidarity action across sectors or among people working for different employers. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1729465705668436144"}"></div></p>
<p>Now, minimum service levels will further restrict teachers’ ability to use strikes to campaign for better pay and working conditions – at a time when the profession is facing serious challenges. </p>
<h2>Crisis in teaching</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/article-listing/teachers-know-reality-of-cost-of-living-crisis.html">cost of living crisis</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-35935868">intensification of workloads</a>, and <a href="https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/news/quarter-of-teachers-in-england-report-60-hour-working-week">extended working hours</a> have compromised the real pay and purchasing power behind teachers’ salaries, and their material working conditions.</p>
<p>The teaching profession also faces challenges that other “caring” professions encounter. New societal challenges and a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/aug/15/number-children-mental-health-crisis-record-high-england">growing mental health epidemic among children</a> require new skills and approaches. But funding and time for <a href="https://epi.org.uk/publications-and-research/the-cost-of-high-quality-professional-developmentfor-teachers/">professional development</a> is <a href="https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/scottish-government-cuts-funding-masters-level-cpd">scarce</a>. </p>
<p>The profession is also ever more stratified between those employed on secure well-paid contracts, and supply teachers on short-term fixed duration contracts with little personal or workplace stability. Teachers’ unions now attempt to accommodate workers from across an increasingly stratified and fragmented professional field. Conflicting workers’ interests are easy targets for divide-and-rule tactics.</p>
<p>Mechanisms like MSLs can only go so far to hold back a flood of discontent. Decent pay and better funding for schools is imperative – rather than attempts to discredit teachers’ strikes as harming students. To give milk and honey, teachers need bread and butter.</p>
<p>The global pandemic lockdowns reminded us of the extent to which teachers’ work is crucial, not only for children to thrive, but also for our economic stability. Teachers form the backbone of productive work and of invisible emotional labour. </p>
<p>But despite their own financial and personal struggles, teachers are being pressured to become shock absorbers of a financial crisis and a <a href="https://tribunemag.co.uk/2023/03/schools-just-want-to-have-funds">mental health epidemic</a> not adequately addressed by crumbling and acutely underfunded welfare services.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216944/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mariya Ivancheva does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Productive work in all other sectors of the economy relies on teachers.Mariya Ivancheva, Senior Lecturer, Strathclyde Institute of Education, University of Strathclyde Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2182102023-12-08T13:35:36Z2023-12-08T13:35:36ZAI can teach math teachers how to improve student skills<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562997/original/file-20231201-30-e0xduy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=30%2C0%2C5081%2C3415&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Will AI play a bigger professional development role for schoolteachers?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/teacher-at-chalkboard-calling-on-student-royalty-free-image/532640510?phrase=math+teacher&adppopup=true">Dann Tardif via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When middle school math teachers completed an online professional development program that uses artificial intelligence to improve their math knowledge and teaching skills, their students’ math performance improved.</p>
<p>My colleagues and I developed this online professional development program, which relies on a virtual facilitator that can – among other things – present problems to the teacher around teaching math and provide feedback on the teacher’s answers.</p>
<p>Our goal was to enhance teachers’ mastery of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2022.103696">knowledge and skills required to teach math effectively</a>. These include understanding why the mathematical rules and procedures taught in school work. The program also focuses on common struggles students have as they learn a particular math concept, and how to use instructional tools and strategies to help them overcome these struggles. </p>
<p>We then <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2023.104963">conducted an experiment</a> in which 53 middle school math teachers were randomly assigned to either this AI-based professional development or no additional training. On average, teachers spent 11 hours to complete the program. We then gave 1,727 of their students a math test. While students of these two groups of teachers started off with no difference in their math performance, the students taught by teachers who completed the program increased their mathematics performance by 0.18 of a standard deviation more on average. This is a statistically significant gain that is equal to the average math performance difference between sixth and seventh graders in the study.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://ies.ed.gov/funding/grantsearch/details.asp?ID=2183">project was funded</a> by the Institute of Education Sciences, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Computer screen posing a math problem" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562001/original/file-20231127-15-qneocj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562001/original/file-20231127-15-qneocj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562001/original/file-20231127-15-qneocj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562001/original/file-20231127-15-qneocj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562001/original/file-20231127-15-qneocj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562001/original/file-20231127-15-qneocj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562001/original/file-20231127-15-qneocj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sample activity from the program.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">University of Southern California</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>This study demonstrates the potential for using AI technologies to create effective, widely accessible professional development for teachers. This is important because teachers often have limited access to high-quality professional development programs to improve their knowledge and teaching skills. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2019.1614967">Time conflicts</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38844-7_4">living in rural areas</a> that are far from in-person professional development programs can prevent teachers from receiving the support they need. </p>
<p>Additionally, many existing in-person professional development programs for teachers have been shown to enhance participants’ teaching knowledge and practices but to have <a href="https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/southwest/pdf/rel_2007033.pdf">little impact on student achievement</a>.</p>
<p>Effective professional development programs include opportunities for teachers to solve problems, analyze students’ work and observe teaching practices. Teachers also receive real-time support from the program facilitators. This is often a challenge for asynchronous online programs. </p>
<p>Our program addresses the limitations of asynchronous programs because the AI-supported virtual facilitator acts as a human instructor. It gives teachers authentic teaching activities to work on, asks questions to gauge their understanding and provides real-time feedback and guidance.</p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>Advancements in AI technologies will allow researchers to develop more interactive, personalized learning environments for teachers. For example, the language processing systems used in generative AI programs such as ChatGPT can improve the ability of these programs to analyze teachers’ responses more accurately and provide more personalized learning opportunities. Also, AI technologies can be used to develop new learning materials so that programs similar to ours can be developed faster.</p>
<p>More importantly, AI-based professional development programs can collect rich, real-time interaction data. Such data makes it possible to investigate how learning from professional development occurs and therefore how programs can be made more effective. Despite <a href="https://tntp.org/assets/documents/TNTP-Mirage_2015.pdf">billions of dollars</a> being spent each year on professional development for teachers, research suggests that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2019.1681998">how teachers learn through professional development</a> is not yet well understood.</p>
<p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take on interesting academic work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218210/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yasemin Copur-Gencturk receives funding from the IES and NSF. </span></em></p>New research suggests artificial intelligence can make professional development programs more accessible and effective.Yasemin Copur-Gencturk, Associate Professor of Education, University of Southern CaliforniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2186952023-12-02T08:33:02Z2023-12-02T08:33:02ZA Senate inquiry is calling for a new ‘behaviour curriculum’ to try and tackle classroom disruptions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563060/original/file-20231202-15-ishvmm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C25%2C5760%2C3785&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/close-up-photo-of-color-pencil-yt5e_nZ7CZ8">Markus Spiske/ Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A Senate inquiry <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportsen/RB000063/toc_pdf/TheissueofincreasingdisruptioninAustralianschoolclassrooms.pdf">has found</a> Australian students need specific lessons in how to behave. </p>
<p>The inquiry, which has been looking at “increasing disruption in Australian school classrooms,” said education authorities should introduce a “behaviour curriculum”. </p>
<p>What else did the inquiry find? And what did it miss? </p>
<h2>What is this inquiry?</h2>
<p>The inquiry is being conducted by a Senate education committee, chaired by Liberal senator Matt O'Sullivan. It was set up in November 2022, following concerns about the levels of disruptive behaviour in Australian school classrooms. This has included evidence about both primary and secondary schools and government and non-government schools. </p>
<p>Australia has been slipping in the OECD’s “<a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/f05bb3ee-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/f05bb3ee-en">disciplinary climate index</a>”. Australian classrooms currently among the world’s most disorderly. On top of this, the percentage of surveyed Australian teachers feeling unsafe at work <a href="https://bridges.monash.edu/articles/report/Australian_Teachers_Perceptions_of_their_Work_in_2022/21212891">has increased</a> from 18.9% in 2019 to 24.5% in 2022. </p>
<p>There is obvious concern disruptive behaviour in schools is disadvantaging students and contributing to declining literacy and numeracy results in <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/education/alarm-bells-australian-students-record-worst-result-in-global-tests-20191203-p53gie.html">some international tests</a>. </p>
<p>On Friday the committee released <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportsen/RB000063/toc_pdf/TheissueofincreasingdisruptioninAustralianschoolclassrooms.pdf">an interim report</a> with nine main recommendations. A final report is due when federal parliament returns in February 2024. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-classrooms-are-among-the-least-favourable-for-discipline-in-the-oecd-heres-how-to-improve-student-behaviour-202946">Australian classrooms are among the 'least favourable' for discipline in the OECD. Here's how to improve student behaviour</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What is disruptive behaviour?</h2>
<p>The committee noted there is no “clear definition” of disruptive behaviour, but generally it varies from low-level disruptions to more challenging behaviours. Low-level disruptions (which are more common) can include: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>talking unnecessarily and calling out without permission</p></li>
<li><p>being slow to start work or follow instructions</p></li>
<li><p>showing a lack of respect for staff and other students</p></li>
<li><p>not bringing the right equipment </p></li>
<li><p>using mobile phones when they are not allowed. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>More challenging behaviours include destruction of property, verbal abuse or threats, physical assaults, leaving school grounds without permission, tantrums and substance abuse.</p>
<p>As one teacher told the committee: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] Staff have been hit. Staff have had furniture thrown at them; staff have had the windows next to their heads punched in. Staff are harassed. They have had their cars keyed. They have had their wallets stolen […].</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Why are we seeing this increase?</h2>
<p>While the committee notes the need for better data collection on this issue, Australian teachers are reporting an increase in disruptive student behaviour. They say this is making their jobs unreasonably stressful and prompting some to consider leaving the profession. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.waespaa.com.au">one group</a> representing the education support sector said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>People don’t want to keep working when they are always being hurt or are mentally exhausted, particularly when stress and mental health issues impacted other areas of their lives.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The committee heard there is likely to be a range of causes for these issues with disruptive behaviour influenced by student disability, socioeconomic factors and bullying or family trauma</p>
<p>Teachers are most concerned about low-level but frequent disruption, such as work avoidance. Although these behaviours are not dangerous, they occur so often they prevent teachers from teaching. Teachers report they don’t have the skills and training to tackle this behaviour. Meanwhile students are at risk of falling behind because their classes are constantly disrupted. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1554996892894896131"}"></div></p>
<h2>How are school’s coping?</h2>
<p>So-called “exclusionary disciplinary strategies” (such as suspensions and expulsions) are still commonly used in response to disruptive student behaviour.</p>
<p>This is a problem for two reasons. Firstly, students who are not at school are not learning. Secondly, students who are suspended or expelled are more likely to come from a disadvantaged background. </p>
<p>As the South Australian Commissioner for Children and Young People told the committee: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Exclusionary practices disproportionately impact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, children in out-of-[home] care, children living with disability and children experiencing poverty or homelessness.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>What did the report recommend?</h2>
<p>The report made nine recommendations, including:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>introducing a specific “behaviour curriculum” for schools - this would explicitly teach behaviour to help students understand their school’s behavioural expectations and values</p></li>
<li><p>providing more practical behaviour management training in teaching degrees </p></li>
<li><p>moving away from open plan classrooms (which can be noisy) to classroom designs that minimise distractions </p></li>
<li><p>clearer pathways for students to access medical, psychological, social or behavioural services if they need it.</p></li>
</ul>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1713741754682200491"}"></div></p>
<h2>What did the report get right?</h2>
<p>The report recognises the <a href="https://www.nifdi.org/resources/hempenstall-blog/405-literacy-and-behaviour.html">relationship</a> between students’ behaviour and their academic achievement. </p>
<p>There is solid evidence that <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/f05bb3ee-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/f05bb3ee-en">academic skills and behaviour</a> are linked. This means students with low academic skills are more likely to exhibit disruptive behaviour and students who display disruptive behaviour may be more likely to fall behind academically. </p>
<p>This connection has been shown to be <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42822-023-00149-y">strongest in literacy</a>. This is because students with <a href="https://www.edresearch.edu.au/resources/multi-tiered-system-supports-evidence-snapshot">low literacy skills</a> are continuously asked to use skills they do not have. </p>
<p>So, any measures to handle and protect against disruptive behaviour are welcome. </p>
<p>This can also help shift responses from reactive, punitive approaches to more educative ones, that hopefully keep students in classrooms and learning, rather than being sent home. </p>
<p>This can also also help address the <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8401484/act-will-hold-inquiry-into-literacy-and-numeracy-after-equity-gaps-widen/">widening gap</a> in achievement between advantaged and disadvantaged students. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/open-plan-classrooms-are-trendy-but-there-is-little-evidence-to-show-they-help-students-learn-199591">Open-plan classrooms are trendy but there is little evidence to show they help students learn</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What did the report miss?</h2>
<p>The recommendations largely focus on improving training and professional development for teachers and on national actions related to school reform. </p>
<p>However, effective behaviour management in schools requires a <a href="https://mtss4success.org/essential-components">supportive school system</a>. This means there is enough funding, time and resources for planning, support teams, collaboration with parents and other professionals, and teacher coaching and mentoring. </p>
<p>So far, the committee is largely silent on this issue. But teachers cannot be expected to simply manage this on their own. </p>
<p>There are also concerns about the framing of this inquiry. In a dissenting report, the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Education_and_Employment/DASC/Interim_Report/Australian_Greens_Dissenting_Report">Greens</a> argue:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This inquiry should have started with the question ‘why are these students coming into school today feeling distracted, unheard or frustrated?’. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>If we are going to genuinely improve behaviour and disruptions at school, we do need to move from “fixing the blame” toward “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Patrick-Friman/publication/349251900_There_is_no_such_thing_as_a_bad_boy_The_Circumstances_View_of_problem_behavior/links/603e237a299bf1e0784d5f06/There-is-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-boy-The-Circumstances-View-of-problem-behavior.pdf">fixing the problem</a>”. This means not fixating on just teachers or students, but looking at the broad context of schools and their communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218695/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erin Leif currently receives funding from the Victorian Department of Education, the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness, and Housing, and the Western Australia Department of Education. Erin Leif is a volunteer board member of the Association for Behaviour Analysis Australia, Autism Pathways, and Behaviour Support Practitioners Australia. </span></em></p>A Senate inquiry has found Australian students need specific instruction in how to behave.Erin Leif, Senior Lecturer, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2176872023-11-28T19:13:08Z2023-11-28T19:13:08ZWhat should I give my child’s teacher at the end of the year?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561803/original/file-20231127-25-xpm7i4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C44%2C5964%2C3916&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/happy-asian-student-with-teacher-in-classroom-5905609/">Katerina Holmes/Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As we approach the end of the school year, many families are thinking about what might be an appropriate gift to thank teachers. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, teachers are preparing for an inundation of scented candles, boxes of chocolates and pot plants as they head into a well-deserved summer break. </p>
<p>As a former high school teacher, I remember receiving plenty of these gifts. Most would sit in a drawer, or be quickly eaten and forgotten about. The pot plants often wilted. </p>
<p>If you are a cash-strapped parent or carer and wish to genuinely express thanks, how best can you do this, particularly in a cost-of-living crisis?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/thank-you-for-making-me-feel-smart-will-a-new-campaign-to-raise-the-status-of-teaching-work-217362">'Thank you for making me feel smart': will a new campaign to raise the status of teaching work?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Write something</h2>
<p>It may seem simple, but take a few minutes out of your day and write something meaningful to thank your child’s teachers. </p>
<p>Also encourage your child to write or draw something that tells their teacher what difference they have made in their year. Ask them what made their teacher special, funny, caring or kind? </p>
<p>It could be something like, because of their support your child no longer struggles with maths, or now loves to read every day. Perhaps they have more confidence speaking in front of others or just loved going to school each day.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A candle burns in a glass jar, next to Christmas cookies." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561795/original/file-20231127-17-45duri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561795/original/file-20231127-17-45duri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561795/original/file-20231127-17-45duri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561795/original/file-20231127-17-45duri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561795/original/file-20231127-17-45duri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561795/original/file-20231127-17-45duri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561795/original/file-20231127-17-45duri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teachers are used to getting lots of scented candles and chocolates as end-of-year gifts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-shot-of-a-lighted-candle-6101225/">Ronan Odintsov/Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Teachers want to know if they helped</h2>
<p>Teachers want to help young people and make a difference in their lives but this can be difficult to measure. Reports and test scores only reveal so much, they can show how someone has improved academically but this is only one part of positive changes teachers make. </p>
<p>As a new graduate I fondly remember getting a handwritten letter from a Year 9 student on the last day of term four. He was a difficult student. We were often locked in battle - he would call me out if I spelled a word wrong on the board or gave an incorrect fact about history. </p>
<p>Yet, at the end of the year he took the time to tell me what a great teacher I was and how he would miss me. Other teachers I spoke to have loved receiving personalised gifts, like hand-drawn pictures with quotes they would often say in class, delicious home-made cookies, letters of thanks, framed photos and messages that made them laugh. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A child sits on the floor, with coloured pencils and a notebook." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561799/original/file-20231127-17-a9lso1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561799/original/file-20231127-17-a9lso1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561799/original/file-20231127-17-a9lso1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561799/original/file-20231127-17-a9lso1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561799/original/file-20231127-17-a9lso1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561799/original/file-20231127-17-a9lso1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561799/original/file-20231127-17-a9lso1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Get your child to write or draw something for their teacher.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/crop-kid-sitting-on-floor-and-writing-in-notebook-3855553/">Sarah Dietz/ Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Refill a teacher’s cup</h2>
<p>We know teachers are under a huge amount of pressure and at the end of the year they need their cup to be refilled. </p>
<p>Research <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00049441221086654">tells us</a> teachers can feel undervalued and their work can be <a href="https://theconversation.com/school-principals-are-reaching-crisis-point-pushed-to-the-edge-by-mounting-workloads-teacher-shortages-and-abuse-201777">highly stressful</a>. We also know increasing <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-25/public-school-teachers-increasingly-want-to-leave/103142210">numbers are not sure</a> if they want to remain in the profession . </p>
<p>As a community we can tell teachers we care for them and understand their work can be hard. Tell teachers they matter, they are doing important work, they have inspired your child to love learning and will be remembered. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-database-of-teachers-on-screen-shows-they-are-often-portrayed-as-rule-breakers-losers-or-villains-217917">A new database of teachers on screen shows they are often portrayed as rule breakers, losers or villains</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217687/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Saul Karnovsky does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Take a few minutes out of your day and write something meaningful to thank your child’s teacher.Saul Karnovsky, Senior Lecturer & Bachelor of Education (Secondary) Course Coordinator, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2169632023-11-21T16:54:07Z2023-11-21T16:54:07ZWhy are so many graduates shunning teaching? Pay – but not bonuses – could be the answer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560001/original/file-20231116-29-zj42q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6230%2C3502&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/horizontal-photo-diverse-employees-team-discussing-1449672428">fizkes/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is a <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england">persistent shortage</a> of teachers in England. Numbers of new recruits fail to meet targets, and too many teachers are leaving their jobs. It’s clear that more new teachers are needed – but apparently not enough people are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2019.1568535">choosing the profession</a>. </p>
<p>Much of the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03055698.2021.1915751">existing evidence</a> about why people become teachers is based only on the views of existing or prospective trainee teachers. This is interesting, but says nothing about why other people do not become teachers. And if we need to increase the number of applications to teacher training, it is the people who decide against teaching that matter.</p>
<p>These people are the subject of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03055698.2021.1915751">our research</a>. We asked 4,500 undergraduate students in 53 universities in England about their career decisions generally and whether they had thought about teaching. Our findings suggest that rather than putting money into bonuses for new teachers, the government should focus on improving the overall financial rewards of teaching.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/early-career-payments-guidance-for-teachers-and-schools">Incentive payments</a> are one of the main ways the government seeks to recruit people to teaching. They are currently offered to trainees and early career teachers in hard to recruit for subjects, such as maths and physics. </p>
<p>Understandably, these payments are attractive to people who have already decided they want to be teachers. But we do not know whether they have much pull for people who choose not to become teachers. We don’t know what it is that could lead people who might have considered and rejected the idea of becoming a teacher to think about this career path more seriously. </p>
<p>This lack of information could explain why a succession of policies and initiatives have not remedied the problem. In fact, when we asked all the students we surveyed – including those planning to be teachers – what drew them to a career, getting an introductory bonus was one of the least significant incentives. </p>
<p>For all of the students we surveyed, the biggest deterrent to teaching as a career was that teacher salaries are not high enough.</p>
<h2>Identifying potential teachers</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03055698.2021.1915751">We asked students</a> about their career choices, including whether they had ever considered teaching as a job and what they thought now. We also asked them about their parents’ jobs, their A-level or other pre-university qualification results, and the class of degree they expected to get. </p>
<p>A significant finding was that the students most likely to choose a career as a teacher were those who had somewhat lower prior results and lower expected degree awards than their peers. They were less likely to have a parent with a degree. </p>
<p>On the other hand, the students who were the highest academic achievers had the least interest in teaching. </p>
<p>Between the two groups – those intending to be teachers and those with no interest – was a third group. This was students who had considered teaching as a career option and then rejected it. </p>
<p>These students tend to study humanities, social science, sports science or languages subjects. They were, like those who planned to be teachers, motivated by interest in their subject and a chance to share their knowledge. </p>
<p>This group of students could make excellent teachers. But we found that their interest in teaching declines with every year at university. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Teacher with group of children at table" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560369/original/file-20231120-29-88l79t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560369/original/file-20231120-29-88l79t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560369/original/file-20231120-29-88l79t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560369/original/file-20231120-29-88l79t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560369/original/file-20231120-29-88l79t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560369/original/file-20231120-29-88l79t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560369/original/file-20231120-29-88l79t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Better pay over the course of a teaching career could lead more students to choose it as a profession.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/students-doing-creativity-project-their-teacher-2294917535">Jacob Lund/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We also found that the students who planned to become teachers were less concerned about pay and promotion prospects than other students. Instead, they were more interested in job security than other students, as well as the chance to give back to society. </p>
<p>Findings like this might suggest that while low pay may not matter too much to people who were set on being a teacher, it might be the factor putting other potential teachers off. </p>
<p>One sociology student who had considered teaching, only to decide against it, said: “It’s the pay as well … It’s not a nine to five. It’s like a nine to five, plus your weekends and plus hours afterwards.”</p>
<p>Our findings showed that career intentions are reportedly set for most students by the time they have chosen their subject at university. Once at university, incentives such as golden hellos, training salaries, or grants, make little difference. They are popular with intending teachers, of course, but do not appear to change the minds of students who have already decided on other careers. </p>
<p>This suggests any money available to try to attract teachers to the profession could be better used to increase salaries for teachers generally, rather than temporary incentives for some. </p>
<p>But perhaps the best use of such money would be in raising the occupational profile and prestige of teachers, undercut by decades of media and political criticism. Suggestions to pilot could be paid sabbatical breaks, and longer paid working hours but with lower student contact time. There must be others. </p>
<p>Exploring why some people choose not to be teachers means that policies can address the barriers to teaching, and also make teaching more attractive to under-represented groups – such as men and some ethnic minorities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216963/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Gorard receives funding from the ESRC to research teacher supply. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Beng Huat See receives funding from the ESRC</span></em></p>Our findings suggest that increasing teacher pay over their whole career would help.Stephen Gorard, Professor of Education and Public Policy, Durham UniversityBeng Huat See, Professor of Education Research, School of Education, Durham UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2173622023-11-09T19:10:24Z2023-11-09T19:10:24Z‘Thank you for making me feel smart’: will a new campaign to raise the status of teaching work?<p>Federal and state governments have <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/anthony-albanese/press-conference-launch-be-teacher-advertising-campaign">just launched</a> a A$10 million advertising campaign to “raise the status” of teachers in Australia and encourage people to consider a career in school education. </p>
<p>Called “Be That Teacher”, <a href="https://www.bethatteacher.gov.au">the campaign</a> features emotive stories from eight real teachers who have positively affected their students’ lives and futures.</p>
<p>For example, Mr Wang, a maths teacher from Victoria talks about how a Year 10 student wrote him a note to say “thank you for making me feel smart for once”. Mrs Kentwell, a primary teacher from Queensland, spoke about holding the hand of a young blind student in a running race, while other students cheered him on. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The rewarding feeling you get from teaching is something I’ve never felt from any other job. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The campaign, by ad agency Clemenger BBDO, is running across social media, television, cinema, billboards and at bus stops and train stations until next April.</p>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-970" class="tc-infographic" height="400px" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/970/faf81edb338798f7890c663e55b06ade2d9261b3/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Why do we need it?</h2>
<p>The campaign comes amid an ongoing teacher shortage crisis in Australia. Federal government <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/clare/teacher-workforce-shortages-issues-paper">modelling</a> has predicted a shortfall of more than 4,000 teachers by 2025. Last month, the New South Wales government <a href="https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/public-school-teacher-shortages">revealed</a> a 42% drop in casual teacher numbers meant 10,000 lessons in the state were going without a teacher each day. </p>
<p>We also know the number of students enrolling in teaching degrees <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/clare/interview-abc-afternoon-briefing-1">has dropped 12%</a> in the past ten years. Of those <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/clare/commonwealth-bank-teaching-awards-presented-schools-plus">who do enrol</a>, only 50% finish the degree and 20% of those who graduate leave the profession within three years. </p>
<p>Australian studies have also told us teachers <a href="https://theconversation.com/jason-clare-has-a-draft-plan-to-fix-the-teacher-shortage-what-needs-to-stay-and-what-should-change-193834">do not feel valued</a> by the community, are <a href="https://theconversation.com/they-phone-you-up-during-lunch-and-yell-at-you-why-teachers-say-dealing-with-parents-is-the-worst-part-of-their-job-191256">abused and disrespected by parents</a>, and receive <a href="https://theconversation.com/no-wonder-no-one-wants-to-be-a-teacher-world-first-study-looks-at-65-000-news-articles-about-australian-teachers-186210">poor media coverage</a>. </p>
<p>Is this campaign the answer? Can advertising help solve Australia’s teacher shortage?</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-wont-solve-the-teacher-shortage-until-we-answer-these-4-questions-203843">We won't solve the teacher shortage until we answer these 4 questions</a>
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<h2>Advertising can work</h2>
<p>There is evidence to show advertising can work. A clever way to demonstrate advertising’s value is to examine what happens in its absence. Our <a href="https://www.journalofadvertisingresearch.com/content/63/2/172">2023 study</a> showed, on average, brands experience a decline in sales when they stop advertising for more than one year.</p>
<p>But there are no certainties with advertising. So what increases the chance of a successful campaign? </p>
<p>Advertising <a href="https://www.journalofadvertisingresearch.com/content/61/3/247">works primarily</a> by creating and refreshing memories – in this case by establishing a link between “teaching” and “positive career option”. This heightens the chance teaching will come to someone’s mind when considering careers. The freshness of a memory (how recently they saw the ad) <a href="https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&u=unisa&id=GALE%7CA55533967&v=2.1&it=r&sid=bookmark-AONE&asid=0b6d994f">increases</a> the chances they will think of teaching.</p>
<p>This means the campaign should run while the shortage persists, to increase the chance it will be in potential students’ minds and particularly during the lead-up to university preference cut-off dates over the summer.</p>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-971" class="tc-infographic" height="400px" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/971/5234d229b05bea3bfa2eb0db2d206011da662797/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Do the ads themselves work?</h2>
<p>The campaign gets an A on several factors.</p>
<p>The videos are beautifully crafted, capturing attention by using human faces, voices and authentic storytelling. All these elements improve the chances of campaign success by evoking an emotional response, which <a href="https://www.journalofadvertisingresearch.com/content/57/1/53">heightens memory retention</a>.</p>
<p>The “Who will you inspire?” tagline used in the campaign is also both emotive and memorable.</p>
<h2>The branding needs more work</h2>
<p>Beyond the ads, the Be That Teacher website contains information about pursuing a teaching career (how to do it, available scholarships and support). While the campaign can create a memory or pique someone’s interest, this information will help people decide if teaching is the career for them. </p>
<p>Here, the branding aspect (or identity) of the campaign needs more work. Be That Teacher is new to Australians and it needs to be more prominent in the videos and still images to stand out and capture attention. </p>
<p>Introducing the line “Be That Teacher” visually at the beginning of the ads and adding a verbal mention, rather than just at the end, <a href="https://www.journalofadvertisingresearch.com/content/52/2/146">heightens the chance</a> it will be processed and remembered. This is crucial if the campaign is going to push people to the website.</p>
<h2>Of course we also need more than ads</h2>
<p>Recruitment and retention issues in education are not new. Teachers report feeling <a href="https://theconversation.com/teachers-stress-isnt-just-an-individual-thing-its-about-their-schools-too-183451">overworked</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-great-education-ministers-agree-the-teacher-shortage-is-a-problem-but-their-new-plan-ignores-the-root-causes-188660">underpaid</a> and overly burdened by <a href="https://theconversation.com/this-is-like-banging-our-heads-against-the-wall-why-a-move-to-outsource-lesson-planning-has-nsw-teachers-hopping-mad-188081">administrative tasks</a>. </p>
<p>These are all complex issues and clearly, advertising will not be the sole fix to the teacher shortage (nor are governments <a href="https://theconversation.com/jason-clare-has-a-draft-plan-to-fix-the-teacher-shortage-what-needs-to-stay-and-what-should-change-193834">suggesting it will be</a>). </p>
<p>But with teachers so essential to Australia’s future, every effort should be made to build and retain our teaching workforce. Good advertising like this campaign can help generate more interest in the profession and provide a <a href="https://marketingscience.info/marketing-theory-evidence-practice/">gentle nudge</a> towards improving the status of this vital career. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-we-retain-teachers-supporting-them-to-work-together-could-help-216076">How do we retain teachers? Supporting them to work together could help</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217362/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Virginia Beal does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Federal and state governments have launched a $10 million advertising campaign to encourage more people to consider a teaching career.Virginia Beal, Senior Marketing Scientist, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2171492023-11-09T10:00:42Z2023-11-09T10:00:42ZUK announces AI funding for teachers: how this technology could change the profession<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558339/original/file-20231108-29-v3awrs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6709%2C4466&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/eteaching-korean-middle-aged-man-teacher-2196464985">Prostock-studio/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>During the recent international <a href="https://www.aisafetysummit.gov.uk/">AI Safety Summit</a> held in the UK, the government announced a further <a href="https://schoolsweek.co.uk/oak-gets-another-2m-to-expand-ai-quizzes-and-lesson-planner/">£2 million to be invested in Oak National Academy</a> – a publicly funded classroom resource hub – to develop artificial intelligence tools to help reduce teachers’ workloads.</p>
<p>Generative AI, such as <a href="https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt">Open AI’s ChatGPT</a>, responds to prompts from users to produce content. It has become a hot topic in education. </p>
<p>While there isn’t much up-to-date research on how teachers are using AI, we know from our work with schools that teachers are experimenting with AI to create lesson plans, classroom resources and schemes of work. For example, a teacher might ask ChatGPT, “make me a lesson plan on river flooding in Tewkesbury for year seven”. Within seconds, a plan will be available containing learning objectives, materials, activities, homework, assessments and more. </p>
<p>Technology giants <a href="https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/education/google-for-education-iste-2023/">Google</a> and <a href="https://educationblog.microsoft.com/en-us/2023/06/collaborating-to-bring-ai-innovation-to-education">Microsoft</a>, as well as established education technology platforms such as <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/khan-labs">Khan Academy</a>, are promoting their AI offerings to schools.</p>
<p>Start-ups and smaller operations are also getting <a href="https://dataconomy.com/2023/10/16/best-ai-tools-for-teachers/">in on the action</a>, many of them promising time-saving tools that can take on much of the planning, thinking and feedback that happens before and after classes. </p>
<h2>Why is AI attractive?</h2>
<p>There are two influential factors explaining the take-up of AI by teachers.
One is workload. Burn-out and stress in the teaching profession is a key reason 41% of all teachers are <a href="https://neu.org.uk/latest/press-releases/state-education-recruitment-and-retention">planning to quit</a> within five years. </p>
<p>Having <a href="https://educationcopilot.com/">lesson plans</a>, handouts and student reports available in seconds is alluring. For government ministers who have long promised teachers <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/workload-reduction-taskforce">reduced workoads</a> and better working conditions, AI seems to offer a tangible and affordable answer.</p>
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<p>Teacher supply is also important. Headteachers are facing significant challenges finding <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-65726045">enough teachers</a>, as a result of increasing pupil numbers as well as teachers quitting and low numbers joining the profession. The idea of AI to support teachers leading classes in <a href="https://nfer.ac.uk/publications/teacher-supply-and-shortages-the-implications-of-teacher-supply-challenges-for-schools-and-pupils/">short-staffed subjects</a> may be particularly appealing. </p>
<p>AI-designed lessons could source expert content in fields such as mathematics or physics, two subjects with low recruitment numbers. These lessons could arguably be more pertinent and accurate than lessons that would otherwise be designed by <a href="https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/secondary/teacher-recruitment-non-specialist-teachers-schools">non-specialists</a>.</p>
<p>There are clear potential benefits in terms of time saving and access to subject-related content. But how these tools might affect the teaching profession more broadly needs to be considered.</p>
<h2>Devaluing teachers</h2>
<p>Teaching is widely recognised as an <a href="https://www.ucet.ac.uk/11675/ibte-position-statement-updated-february-2020">intellectual endeavour</a>. But lesson plans produced by generative AI have no educational or disciplinary expertise of their own. They simply build sequences of plausible content, working from material in the data sets they have been trained on, in conjunction with prompts from users. In this respect, they are <a href="https://helenbeetham.substack.com/p/ai-and-the-privatisation-of-everything">recycled expertise</a>. </p>
<p>Their use may weaken the place of scholarship in teaching. Teachers may find themselves acting as <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119355700.ch7">executive technicians</a> – circulating worksheets and managing behaviour – rather than considering deeper questions on what should be taught, how, and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-point-of-education-its-no-longer-just-about-getting-a-job-117897">moral concerns of education</a>. </p>
<p>What’s more, a move toward teachers as technicians is unlikely to attract high quality graduates – or make our education system the <a href="https://www.expressandstar.com/news/education/2020/01/20/williamson-our-education-can-be-the-envy-of-the-world/">envy of the world</a>.</p>
<p>In using AI to reduce teacher workload there is also a risk that the needs of specific groups of students, and their contexts, will be ignored. </p>
<p>Take curriculum and lesson design. Teachers consider a wide range of factors when <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1130099/A__guide_to_effective_practice_in_curriculum_planning__January_2023.pdf">developing a curriculum</a> and individual lessons within it. Ideally, they incorporate a strong sense of the subject knowledge and skills to be learned, as well as taking their particular class of students and the context of the lessons into account. This may well be lost in AI-produced lessons. </p>
<p>There is also the question of how teaching expertise is developed and maintained. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40593-023-00342-5">Generative AI models</a> have a tendency to make up new facts and sources, which is sometimes referred to as <a href="https://www.ibm.com/topics/ai-hallucinations">“hallucinating”</a>. The content they produce can also be <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2023-generative-ai-bias/">biased and discriminatory</a>. </p>
<p>This means that any content created by AI must be critically reviewed. But if the “thinking work” of lesson and curriculum planning is outsourced to AI tools, and “enacted” by enthusiastic but non-specialist teachers, no one is accountable for the quality, safety and relevance of these materials.</p>
<p>If AI becomes routine, teachers may not develop the skills needed to critically evaluate and adapt AI-generated lessons and activities for the students in front of them.</p>
<p>Someone (or something) else doing the educational thinking, with a “presenting person” in front of the students, may free teachers from the burden of planning and assessment. But we must think carefully before mathematics, physics, or any other subject we have deemed important and relevant to our existence and civilisation are reduced to a diluted and potentially misrepresented version. </p>
<p>If there is money from the government to invest in education, this should go directly to the <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16151-4_2">most important resource</a> in any classroom – the teacher.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217149/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There are clear potential time saving benefits. But how these tools might affect the teaching profession more broadly needs to be considered.Nicola Warren-Lee, Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Curriculum, University of BristolLyndsay Grant, Lecturer - Education and Digital Technologies, University of BristolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2157772023-11-03T12:44:21Z2023-11-03T12:44:21ZWe analyzed over 3.5 million written teacher comments about students and found racial bias<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556334/original/file-20231027-17-v7vc7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C51%2C8595%2C5704&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Teachers had more negative comments about Black boys than they did about other groups.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/boy-sitting-in-class-and-trying-to-read-board-royalty-free-image/1413457551?phrase=students+in+trouble+black&adppopup=true">aldomurillo/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take on interesting academic work.</em> </p>
<p>Written teacher comments about students can show implicit racial or ethnic and gender biases in school discipline, according to our recent <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X231189444">study</a>. </p>
<p>To identify these biases, we analyzed more than 3.5 million teacher comments about students from thousands of schools in the U.S. These comments were written in student office discipline referrals. Teacher comments were gathered from a web application used by schools to provide information such as when and where student discipline referrals occurred. When purchasing the application, schools can provide permission for their de-identified data to be used for research purposes.</p>
<p>Our study showed that teachers wrote more when describing behavior incidents of Black students compared with white students. They also used more negative emotions, words like “anger,” “hurt” and “disrespectful,” and used more verbs, such as “scraped,” “hit” and “spanked.” We found the opposite was true for Asian and Hispanic students compared with white students.</p>
<p>Further, we found that teachers used more words, negative emotions, verbs and impersonal pronouns when describing incidents for boys compared with girls.</p>
<p>Our research shows that written teacher comments about students vary by the students’ demographic backgrounds. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X20902816">Research</a> shows that certain types of words provide insights into what people are thinking, feeling and experiencing psychologically. For example, the use of impersonal pronouns, such as “it” and “this,” are terms related to depersonalization and can reflect greater psychological distance from one group to another.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>According to the <a href="https://ocrdata.ed.gov/resources/downloaddatafile">Office for Civil Rights</a>, Black students account for nearly 15% of total public student enrollment but 30% of students suspended in school and 38% of those suspended out of school in the U.S.</p>
<p>Boys also receive substantially more <a href="https://doi.org/10.17988/bedi-41-04-178-195.1">office discipline referrals</a> than girls, and Black girls are more likely to receive office discipline referrals than white girls.</p>
<p>These inequities in student discipline have both short-term and long-term negative consequences, such as poor student-teacher relationships and lower academic <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2014.12.001">achievement</a>. And these inequities are not <a href="https://www.civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-12-education/special-education/disabling-inequity-the-urgent-need-for-race-conscious-resource-remedies">narrowing</a>.</p>
<p>Strategies for identifying and addressing teacher biases have remained elusive. One reason is that some biases are harder to identify than others. Explicit biases are more overt and can include a teacher making offensive comments based on the race, gender or disability status of their students.</p>
<p>Implicit biases, on the other hand, are more subtle. Implicit biases are more likely to affect decisions when teachers feel the need to act quickly, such as sending students to the office, without considering the consequences of their decisions. For example, implicit bias could explain why students of color receive more office discipline referrals than white students for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000178">subjectively defined behaviors</a>, such as defiance, as opposed to stealing or property damage.</p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>Many schools are being more proactive about <a href="https://exceptionalchildren.org/webinar/equity-focused-pbis-approach-increasing-racial-equity-school-discipline">reducing disparities</a> in discipline that removes students from school.</p>
<p>These equity-focused approaches include strategies for teaching educators how to analyze their discipline data for patterns. The strategies also show educators how to better take student culture into account and to stop implicit biases before they occur.</p>
<p>For example, teachers could use activities such as a classroom teaching matrix – or chart – to help students and themselves see the similarities and differences between expectations at school versus at home. Such activities can help educators adapt their classroom expectations to make it easier for students to navigate varying classroom expectations for their behavior.</p>
<p>Research is ongoing to evaluate the effects of these equity-focused approaches on school and student outcomes. Ultimately, we hope these approaches will prevent disproportionate disciplinary practices from occurring and place the focus on designing effective, safe and supportive school environments for all students.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215777/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kent McIntosh receives funding from the U.S. Department of Education, including grant #R305A230399 from the Institute of Education Sciences.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Angus Kittelman, David Markowitz, and Maria Reina Santiago-Rosario do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Teachers use tougher language when describing the misbehavior of Black children, new research shows.Angus Kittelman, Assistant Professor of Special Education, University of Missouri-ColumbiaDavid Markowitz, Associate Professor of Communication, Michigan State UniversityKent McIntosh, Knight Chair of Special Education, University of OregonMaria Reina Santiago-Rosario, Research Associate, University of OregonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2160762023-11-01T19:24:03Z2023-11-01T19:24:03ZHow do we retain teachers? Supporting them to work together could help<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556029/original/file-20231026-21-cizo9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C9%2C5997%2C3980&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-and-a-woman-having-a-conversation-inside-a-classroom-8466770/">Anastasia Shuraeva/ Pexels </a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia is in the grips of a teacher shortage “crisis” <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/clare/speech-catholic-education-leaders-forum">according to</a> Education Minister Jason Clare. </p>
<p>Federal education department <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/clare/teacher-workforce-shortages-issues-paper">modelling</a> shows there will be a high school teacher shortfall of about 4,000 by 2025. Media <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-25/rural-teacher-shortage-hits-new-lows/100861556">reports suggest</a> shortages are already particularly bad in rural areas. </p>
<p>Clare <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/clare/speech-catholic-education-leaders-forum">says</a> one of the ways we will fix the shortage is by “increasing the number of people who stay on teaching”.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0742051X23002172">new study</a> shows increasing opportunities for teachers to work together may keep teachers in their jobs. </p>
<p>Our research illustrates collaboration between teachers is linked to greater job satisfaction, as well as other benefits for teachers working in rural schools. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-wont-solve-the-teacher-shortage-until-we-answer-these-4-questions-203843">We won't solve the teacher shortage until we answer these 4 questions</a>
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<h2>What does collaboration involve for teachers?</h2>
<p>Collaboration for teachers can include sharing teaching resources, discussing approaches to different classes and students and collaborating on common standards for student assessments. </p>
<p>But teachers often work in relative isolation of each other, as they are confined to their classrooms and assigned class groups. </p>
<p>According to a <a href="https://www.oecd.org/education/talis-2018-results-volume-ii-19cf08df-en.htm">2018 OECD</a> report, 28% of teachers around the world teach with another teacher in the same classroom at least once a month and 47% exchange teaching materials with others at least once a month. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/will-free-teaching-degrees-fix-the-teacher-shortage-its-more-complicated-than-that-213361">Will free teaching degrees fix the teacher shortage? It's more complicated than that</a>
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<h2>Our research</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0742051X23002172">Our research</a> investigated what work factors are most relevant to teachers’ wellbeing. We also looked at whether there was a difference between teachers working in rural or metropolitan areas.</p>
<p>We examined two teacher wellbeing outcomes: job satisfaction and work strain. Job satisfaction represents whether teachers are happy working at their current school. Work strain measures whether teachers believe their job negatively impacts their mental and physical health.</p>
<p>Our study used the OECD’s <a href="https://www.oecd.org/education/talis/">Teaching and Learning International Survey</a>. This is the largest international survey about teachers and their working conditions. We used the most recently available data from 2018. Our sample included 3,376 high school teachers working in 219 schools across Australia.</p>
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<h2>Collaboration is linked to job satisfaction</h2>
<p>Our research showed teachers who reported more frequent collaboration with their colleagues also reported greater job satisfaction. This was true for teachers working in both rural and metropolitan schools. </p>
<p>This indicates working together with colleagues may help teachers to feel more satisfied with their job, no matter where they work. The results suggest the more teachers work together, the greater their job satisfaction.</p>
<p>Collaboration may help teachers feel connected with their colleagues and build positive relationships. It may also help teachers feel more competent and supported as part of a team.</p>
<h2>Rural schools</h2>
<p>Our research also found more frequent collaboration appeared to have other benefits to teachers in rural schools. </p>
<p>Rural teachers who had concerns about the relevance of the professional development their school provided were more likely to report their job negatively impacted their mental and physical health (in other words, they had higher work strain). </p>
<p>This is perhaps because teachers may find their work more difficult when they do not receive relevant professional development (new skills, approaches and ideas). </p>
<p>In rural schools, professional development can be harder to access because of distance and the availability of relieving teaching staff. With these existing barriers, it may be particularly detrimental to their wellbeing if professional development is then considered to be irrelevant.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A seated man with an open notebook talks to a woman who is standing holding a tablet." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556034/original/file-20231026-15-3hp187.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556034/original/file-20231026-15-3hp187.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556034/original/file-20231026-15-3hp187.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556034/original/file-20231026-15-3hp187.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556034/original/file-20231026-15-3hp187.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556034/original/file-20231026-15-3hp187.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556034/original/file-20231026-15-3hp187.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Professional development can be harder to access in rural schools.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-discussing-project-with-colleague-in-office-5324915/">Anna Shvets/Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Collaboration and professional development concerns</h2>
<p>Interestingly, our analysis revealed the link between irrelevant professional development and work strain was not present for rural teachers who collaborated more frequently with their colleagues.</p>
<p>This suggests more frequent collaboration may protect against the effects of irrelevant professional development on work strain. It may be collaboration can provide teachers with <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0034654315627864">informal learning opportunities</a> that help them to do their jobs better and feel less stressed about work.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-students-in-rural-areas-are-not-behind-their-city-peers-because-of-socioeconomic-status-there-is-something-else-going-on-207007">Australian students in rural areas are not 'behind' their city peers because of socioeconomic status. There is something else going on</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How can teachers collaborate more?</h2>
<p>Our research suggests schools and school systems may want to encourage more collaboration, while also ensuring their staff are provided with relevant professional development. This could help teachers stay in their jobs. </p>
<p>To support teacher collaboration, international <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1747938X1500024X">research</a> says teachers need to work together in ways they find effective. This highlights the importance of listening to staff to understand their needs. </p>
<p>International <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13540602.2019.1639499">research</a> also suggests collaboration is most beneficial when teachers are given dedicated time at work to work together so it is built into their work hours, rather than an added extra. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-teacher-workforce-has-a-diversity-problem-heres-how-we-can-fix-it-214564">Australia's teacher workforce has a diversity problem. Here's how we can fix it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How do we encourage collaboration?</h2>
<p>Two evidence-based ways teachers can collaborate are <a href="https://epaa.asu.edu/index.php/epaa/article/view/5023">peer observations</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19415257.2023.2178480">mentoring</a>. </p>
<p>These are both approaches that can happen without major disruption to classes.</p>
<p>Peer observations <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0742051X21000214">involve</a> a group of teachers observing each other teaching and then meeting to discuss their thoughts. These peer observations are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0742051X17304225">designed to be supportive</a> and may help teachers gain a sense of professional community, boost morale and identify teaching practices that are particularly effective within their school’s context.</p>
<p>For teacher mentoring, teachers can be assigned a more senior or experienced member of the school to meet with and discuss their work experiences. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0742051X23002688">Research</a> shows it is important for mentors and mentees to feel as though they are both benefiting from the process. A mentee may benefit, for example, by thinking about their professional approaches in new ways, while mentors can also learn from listening to their mentee’s experiences. </p>
<p>In smaller and more remote schools, technology may be needed to help connect teachers with colleagues from other schools for both peer observations and mentoring.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216076/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Kingsford-Smith receives funding through a PhD scholarship from the University of New South Wales and the Australian Government. He also works part-time as a teacher for the NSW Department of Education. This research was conducted by Andrew in his capacity as a researcher. The views expressed in this article do not represent the views of the NSW Department of Education.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca J Collie receives funding from the NSW Department of Education.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hoa Nguyen and Tony Loughland do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research shows how collaboration between teachers is linked to greater job satisfaction.Andrew Kingsford-Smith, PhD Candidate in Educational Psychology, UNSW SydneyHoa Nguyen, Associate Professor, School of Education, UNSW SydneyRebecca J. Collie, Scientia Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, UNSW SydneyTony Loughland, Associate Professor in Education, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2152052023-10-26T12:40:49Z2023-10-26T12:40:49ZBack in the 1960s, the push for parental rights over school standards was not led by white conservatives but by Black and Latino parents<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555414/original/file-20231023-21-xoa3d5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=251%2C81%2C3944%2C2717&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, left, and then-Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin participate in a debate on Sept. 28, 2021.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/former-virginia-gov-terry-mcauliffe-and-republican-news-photo/1343655159?adppopup=true">Win McNamee/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A key issue underlying the 2023 Virginia election first drew statewide – and national – attention in a debate two years ago.</p>
<p>During a 2021 Virginia gubernatorial debate, Democratic candidate <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/07/politics/glenn-youngkin-parental-rights-education-strategy/index.html">Terry McAuliffe</a> made a critical mistake that led to his defeat by GOP challenger Glenn Youngkin.</p>
<p>Instead of acknowledging concerns that parents were having over school curriculum, McAuliffe dismissed them.</p>
<p>“I’m not going to let parents come into schools and actually take books out and make their own decision,” McAuliffe said during the debate. “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.”</p>
<p>McAuliffe’s remarks sparked a backlash among white conservatives who were incensed that their children were being forced to read books that touched on contentious topics such as racism and sexuality. </p>
<p>In fact, one of Youngkin’s <a href="https://slate.com/culture/2021/10/beloved-glenn-youngkin-ad-toni-morrison-book-banning.html">initial television ads</a> showed a white mother who was nearly brought to tears by her son’s anguish after reading about the horrors of slavery in Toni Morrison’s “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/27/us/politics/beloved-toni-morrison-virginia.html">Beloved</a>.” She said the book should not have been required high school reading. </p>
<p>But while Youngkin and other <a href="https://americanindependent.com/virginia-book-bans-siobhan-dunnavant-schuyler-vanvalkenburg/">GOP politicians</a> campaigning for offices from <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/virginia-school-board-extremist-candidates-1234829927/">local school boards</a> to <a href="https://www.virginiamercury.com/2023/10/11/in-henrico-virginia-senate-candidates-battle-over-banning-books-accusation/">state legislatures</a> in the 2023 cycle have hitched their political success to parental rights and banning books deemed offensive, they do not own those issues.</p>
<p>In fact, the very thing that parental rights advocates are fighting to exclude is the very thing that parental rights groups of the 1960s fought to have included: an accurate reflection of the role that Black people played in the shaping of American history and culture. </p>
<p>I know this because <a href="https://faculty.lawrence.edu/podairj/">I spent</a> a great deal of time studying one of the seminal parental rights movements in American public education for my book, “<a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300109405/the-strike-that-changed-new-york/">The Strike That Changed New York</a>.”</p>
<p>In that book, I detailed the 1968 struggle over community control of public schools in the predominantly Black and Latino neighborhood of Ocean Hill-Brownsville in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. There, as in Virginia, <a href="https://www.gothamcenter.org/blog/community-control-and-the-1968-teacher-strikes-in-nyc-at-50-a-roundtable">parents who felt shut out</a> by the public education system demanded to have their voices heard in determining school curricula. </p>
<p>But at Ocean Hill-Brownsville, it was Black and Latino parents who demanded their right to have a say in the education of their children. </p>
<h2>Inside the classrooms</h2>
<p>For decades, Black history had been a neglected topic in New York City schools. </p>
<p>In the 1960s, only a handful of textbooks on the Board of Education-approved list discussed the history of African Americans in significant detail. The lack of such material was widely blamed for the disappointing academic performance of Black and Latino students. </p>
<p>In an effort to help those students and improve test scores, New York City school officials launched an experiment to give the mostly minority parents more say in school matters by appointing them to school governing boards. As I note in <a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300109405/the-strike-that-changed-new-york/">my book</a>, the new governing boards immediately set out to move the history of Black Americans from the margins of the American experience to its epicenter.</p>
<p>Not everyone supported the changes to what was being taught in the classrooms. When the newly formed board composed of <a href="https://jacobin.com/2018/09/ocean-hill-brownsville-strikes-1968-united-federation-teachers">Ocean Hill-Brownsville parents</a> fired 13 teachers and six administrators for trying to block the changes, the United Federation of Teachers union organized several strikes to shut down the schools in a dispute over control of personnel, finances and curricula. </p>
<p>The strikes lasted for 36 school days and affected about 47,000 teachers and nearly 1 million students. The strike ended on Nov. 17 when the state took control of the Ocean Hill-Brownsville school district. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A group of Black men are standing together in front of a school building." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555418/original/file-20231023-32966-f48ze2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555418/original/file-20231023-32966-f48ze2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555418/original/file-20231023-32966-f48ze2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555418/original/file-20231023-32966-f48ze2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555418/original/file-20231023-32966-f48ze2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555418/original/file-20231023-32966-f48ze2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555418/original/file-20231023-32966-f48ze2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Members of the Ocean Hill-Brownsville local school governing board leave Brooklyn Junior High School 271 on Dec. 2, 1968.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/led-by-the-rev-c-herbert-oliver-members-of-the-ocean-hill-news-photo/515546496?adppopup=true">Bettmann/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Most of the jobs left vacant by striking union members were filled by a group of nonunionized “replacement” teachers sympathetic to the Ocean Hill-Brownsville parents.</p>
<p>In this racially charged atmosphere, local parents enjoyed an unprecedented opportunity to assert their rights. In the words of one school board representative, they sought to “supply the missing pieces of Black culture,” which would be “the well-spring from which all areas will flow, and counter the total focus in today’s curriculum on the European Anglo-Saxon experience.”</p>
<p>During <a href="https://www.npr.org/transcripts/803382499">the strike</a>, Ocean Hill-Brownsville parents worked with the teachers who had defied the union and staffed the schools to help implement an ambitious Black history curriculum. It included lessons on Black revolutionary leaders <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/07/19/1112040871/denmark-vesey-is-honored-his-slave-revolt-was-thwarted-and-he-was-executed">Denmark Vesey</a>, <a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/turners-revolt-nat-1831/">Nat Turner</a> and <a href="https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/malcolm-x">Malcolm X</a>. </p>
<p>Their recommendations would eventually influence the direction of curricula in the New York City public school system as a whole.</p>
<h2>A constant struggle</h2>
<p>This example of parental rights serves as a reminder to those who assume that white conservatives are the only active and involved parents trying to assert their rights.</p>
<p>Indeed, in Virginia itself, Black parents are still having an effect on what is taught in public schools. In one example, the <a href="https://richmond.com/news/local/education/new-draft-history-standards-reorient-framing-of-race-relations/article_4504a142-7775-546d-9ea0-3c4272436a00.html">Youngkin administration</a> proposed a set of revisions to the state’s Standards of Learning in history and social sciences that failed to mention Juneteenth and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. </p>
<p>Black politicians and parents <a href="https://www.virginiamercury.com/2022/11/17/missing-context-political-bias-some-of-critics-objections-to-virginias-new-history-standards/">criticized those revisions</a> as “white-washing,” and the changes were later <a href="https://richmond.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/board-of-education-rejects-youngkins-proposed-revisions-to-k-12-history-standards/article_ac6dbdb1-8632-5abd-97e4-39b978982b3f.html">rejected by the state Board of Education</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A classroom with Black students has large photographs of Black leaders and a map of Africa." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555411/original/file-20231023-19-euw8py.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555411/original/file-20231023-19-euw8py.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555411/original/file-20231023-19-euw8py.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555411/original/file-20231023-19-euw8py.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555411/original/file-20231023-19-euw8py.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555411/original/file-20231023-19-euw8py.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555411/original/file-20231023-19-euw8py.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Black students during a class at a school in Brooklyn’s Ocean Hill-Brownsville neighborhood in November 1968.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/school-boys-during-a-class-at-an-school-in-the-ocean-hill-news-photo/1429049619?adppopup=true">Anna Kaufman Moon/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In a further blow to conservatives, parental activists helped shepherd <a href="https://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-learning-assessment/k-12-standards-instruction/history-and-social-science/standards-of-learning">new, more historically inclusive</a> standards that were approved in April 2023. </p>
<p>The standards state unequivocally that “the institution of slavery was the cause of the Civil War.” In addition, they recognize “the indelible stain of slavery, segregation, and racism in the United States and around the world” and emphasize “the development of African American culture in America.”</p>
<p>Most important, at least to those who agree that parents should have an active role in the education of their children, the standards state that “parents should have access to all instructional materials utilized in any Virginia public school.”</p>
<p>The parental rights movement, then, in Virginia and elsewhere, is not solely the province of the right. As history has shown – and today’s debates over school curricula show – “parental rights” are for all parents.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215205/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jerald Podair does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With control over the Virginia Legislature at stake in the Nov. 7 election, the historic battle over what is taught in public schools remains a priority for both Democrats and Republicans.Jerald Podair, Professor of History, Lawrence UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2141292023-10-10T22:22:37Z2023-10-10T22:22:37ZReading disabilities are a human rights issue — Saskatchewan joins calls to address barriers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551855/original/file-20231003-23-co45y4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C352%2C7249%2C4219&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Inquiries into how reading is taught across Canada join efforts in other countries to ensure educators are supporting students' rights to effective reading instruction. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/reading-disabilities-are-a-human-rights-issue-saskatchewan-joins-calls-to-address-barriers" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>As fall school routines settle down, for many families whose children struggle with reading, it could mean another year of stress and financial burden as they navigate school systems to advocate for support.</p>
<p>Findings in the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission’s (SHRC) <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9977256/sask-human-rights-report-reading-disability-supports/">September 2023 report</a>, “<a href="https://saskatchewanhumanrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/EQUITABLE-EDUCATION-for-Students-Reading-Disabilities-Report-2023.pdf">Equitable Education for Students With Reading Disabilities in Saskatchewan’s K to 12 Schools: A Systemic Investigation Report</a>” capture the social and financial challenges faced by individuals and caregivers affected by dyslexia, and also the effects on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/dys.1531">mental health</a>. Families share difficulties they encounter in obtaining the necessary support and interventions in Saskatchewan school systems.</p>
<p>In 2020, the SHRC launched an investigation following a group complaint. Families of children diagnosed with <a href="https://dyslexiaida.org/dyslexia-at-a-glance/">dyslexia</a> alleged their children were discriminated against based on disability and were not provided access to equitable education. </p>
<p>The report summarizes <a href="https://www.ldac-acta.ca/downloads/pdf/advocacy/Education%20Implications%20-%20Moore%20Decision.pdf">legal precedents</a> outlining <a href="https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/canada/employment-social-development/migration/documents/documents/English/Statutes/Statutes/E0-2.pdf">government and school division</a> responsibilities relating to the education of students with disabilities, and calls for changes in teacher and student education. </p>
<h2>Multiple provinces investigating reading</h2>
<p>Saskatchewan isn’t the first province to consider children’s human rights and reading instruction. The Ontario Human Rights Commission released its “<a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/right-to-read-inquiry-report">Right to Read</a>” inquiry report in February 2022. An <a href="http://www.manitobahumanrights.ca/education/pdf/specialprojects/termsofreference.pdf">inquiry</a> in Manitoba is currently underway.</p>
<p>The Saskatchewan inquiry gained input from stakeholders including students, families, teachers, school administrators and other professionals via discussions, and also gathered input through surveys. One hundred and eighty-three people provided information through a parent/student survey and 293 people responded to a survey for educational and medical professionals. The inquiry also conducted a review of current research related to reading instruction.</p>
<p>The report identifies 17 recommendations for schools and school systems, the province’s education ministry and teacher education programs to consider, including issues related to classroom instruction, provincial curriculum and teacher preparation.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A school building." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Less than 70 per cent of Grade 3 students in Saskatchewan are reading at grade level.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Reading landscape in Saskatchewan</h2>
<p>It is estimated that <a href="http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/46482/1/13.Shane%20R.%20Jimerson.pdf#page=225">95 per cent of children</a> can develop word reading skills when provided with the right support. </p>
<p>Saskatchewan students consistently fall short. In the most <a href="https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/government-structure/ministries/education#annual-reports">recent annual report from the</a> <a href="https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/121656/formats/140952/download">Ministry of Education</a>, only 68 per cent of Grade 3 students are reading at grade level.
The SHRC report notes “because of marginalization and structural inequality,
racialized students, Indigenous students, Métis students, multilingual students and students from low-income backgrounds are at increased risk for reading difficulties.” The report calls for improvements to support all equity-deserving groups and consultation with Indigenous community members in education and learning.</p>
<p>Previous attempts to increase reading scores have been addressed by <a href="https://saskschoolboards.ca/wp-content/uploads/provincial-CYCLE-2-ESSP-Level-1-Matrix-and-A3-for-Web.pdf">the province</a>, however, provincial reading data remains relatively stable. </p>
<p>Current <a href="https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/120477/formats/139300/download">Saskatchewan provincial education plans</a> don’t include specific actions and goals related to early reading proficiency. </p>
<p>This is despite wide recognition that reading proficiency in the early years is strongly related to <a href="https://www.nichd.nih.gov/sites/default/files/publications/pubs/nrp/Documents/report.pdf">later achievement</a> and <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED518818.pdf">graduation rates,</a> and is a critical period for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/87565641.2003.9651913">early intervention</a> to prevent and address reading difficulties.</p>
<h2>Reading instruction</h2>
<p>The SHRC report outlines two perspectives on reading instruction. “<a href="http://pamelasnow.blogspot.com/2017/05/balanced-literacy-instructional.html">Balanced literacy</a>” is the type of instruction common to Saskatchewan classrooms, guided by the provincial curricula and <a href="https://saskatchewanreads.wordpress.com/acknowledgements/">companion documents</a>. </p>
<p>This approach influences the types of books students read, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2013.857970">assessments</a> used to monitor reading development and <a href="https://nicolejosephlaw.com/evidence-based-reading-instruction/">intervention programs</a>. </p>
<p>As the Saskatchewan report notes, the approach is about balancing “the importance of comprehending the meaning of written language … <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3314">with the acquisition of a range of skills and knowledges</a>.” These could include phonics lessons (how letters represent sounds). However, in practice, students are often taught that when they come to a word they don’t know they should guess, look at the picture, skip the word or think about what makes sense based on context.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A teacher seen with book and children." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Debates around best approaches to teaching reading have a long history.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>“<a href="https://dyslexialibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/file-manager/public/1/Spring%202019%20Final%20Moats%20p9-11.pdf">Structured literacy</a>” is an alternate approach. It <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059917750160">differs</a> from balanced literacy in that necessary skills for reading are taught explicitly. Students are introduced to these skills through a systematic progression from easier to more complex. </p>
<h2>Learning letter patterns</h2>
<p>This approach is recognized as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2014.906010">more effective</a> than balanced literacy, particularly for students who are struggling to develop reading skills. Students learn to read from texts that contain words made up of letter patterns they have been taught. Instead of guessing or skipping unknown words, they are encouraged to sound them out using their knowledge of the letter-sound connections.</p>
<p>The report says many educators surveyed “believed the implementation of a universal, province-wide, scientific approach to reading would be better for students as well as teachers.”</p>
<p>This refers to following the most recent <a href="https://www.thereadingleague.org/what-is-the-science-of-reading/">scientific evidence</a> guiding structured literacy approaches. As one educator quoted in the report notes, this approach <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/87565641.2003.9651913">limits the number of students</a> who will require additional support.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/reading-struggles-dont-wait-to-advocate-for-your-child-130986">Reading struggles? Don't wait to advocate for your child</a>
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<p>The call for Saskatchewan to embrace a structured literacy approach was one of the most common themes to emerge from the inquiry. </p>
<h2>Updating curricula</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100618772271">Debates</a> around reading instruction have a long history. Growing interest in how reading is taught has led to <a href="https://www.shankerinstitute.org/read">legislative changes</a> in some U.S. states. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.bushcenter.org/catalyst/how-to-improve-our-schools/how-mississippi-reformed-reading-instruction">Mississippi</a> passed the Literacy-Based Promotion Act in 2013. In the state, significant funding is used for teacher training on science-based reading instruction, literacy coaches, screening and early interventions and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/06/education/learning/mississippi-schools-literacy.html">results</a> show that reading scores in the state have improved significantly.</p>
<p>The Saskatchewan report suggests updating provincial curricula, echoing a recommendation in the OHRC Right to Read. </p>
<p>Ontario responded with a new <a href="https://www.dcp.edu.gov.on.ca/en/curriculum/elementary-language">language curriculum</a> and a <a href="https://onlit.org/">literacy hub</a> to support educators in adopting a new approach to reading instruction. </p>
<p><a href="https://curriculum.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/documents/resource-files/Six%20Pillars%20of%20Effective%20Reading%20Instruction.pdf">Nova Scotia</a>, <a href="https://curriculum.learnalberta.ca/curriculum/en/s/laneng">Alberta</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/dominic-cardy-literacy-reading-gene-ouellette-mount-allison-new-brunsiwck-1.6732875">New Brunswick</a> and the <a href="https://www.fnsb.ca/literacy">First Nation School Board</a> in Yukon are also embracing instructional practices to include explicit and systematic instruction of foundational skills.</p>
<h2>Teacher preparation</h2>
<p>The SHRC commits to engaging with stakeholders. These include the faculties of education at the University of Saskatchewan and University of Regina. </p>
<p>Recently, <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/raising-readers-writers-and-spellers/202309/elite-universities-call-for-change-in-reading#">two top universities for teacher education</a> respectively in the United States (Teachers College, Columbia University) and Australia (La Trobe University), moved away from decades of instruction based on the balanced literacy model to align programs with current research. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.dyslexiacanada.org/en/blog/dyslexia-canada-applauds-new-shrc-report-for-championing-equity-in-education">Advocates</a> support the recommendations proposed in the report and view them as an important step for students with dyslexia. </p>
<p>The SHRC suggests this is an initial stage in continued collaboration with stakeholders to further address issues related to the educational rights of children in Saskatchewan.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214129/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrea Fraser does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A report from the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission outlines government and school responsibilities for educating students with disabilities and calls for changes in reading instruction.Andrea Fraser, Assistant Professor Faculty of Education, Mount Saint Vincent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2145642023-10-08T19:27:01Z2023-10-08T19:27:01ZAustralia’s teacher workforce has a diversity problem. Here’s how we can fix it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552218/original/file-20231005-15-wt1ybu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C59%2C4962%2C3166&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s teaching workforce does not reflect the diversity of the Australian community, a situation that has far-reaching implications for our education system. </p>
<p>As we outline in our <a href="https://education.unimelb.edu.au/mgse-industry-reports/report-7-seeing-ourselves-at-school">new research</a>, published today, teachers are predominantly Australian-born, female, and non-Indigenous.</p>
<p>Most hail from middle-class backgrounds with urban upbringings, and are less likely to have disabilities. </p>
<p>So why is this lack of diversity a problem? And what can be done to help overcome it?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-a-plan-to-fix-its-school-teacher-shortage-will-it-work-196803">Australia has a plan to fix its school teacher shortage. Will it work?</a>
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<h2>Teacher shortages and student achievement</h2>
<p>Australia is in the midst of a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-30/pandemic-exposed-australia-teacher-shortage-students-schools/101886452">teacher shortage</a>, which is affecting schools in unequal ways. </p>
<p>Schools in rural, remote areas, and those with higher levels of <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/school-agreement/report/school-agreement.pdf">disadvantage</a> have been shown to bear the brunt of this issue.</p>
<p>Our research suggests diversifying the teaching workforce can help address attaining and retaining teachers in schools and strengthen student outcomes across the board.</p>
<h2>Diversity makes a difference</h2>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11115-021-00535-3">Research</a> shows teachers from minority groups, such as teachers of colour, can increase student achievement, especially for students from the same groups.</p>
<p><a href="https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=e064c83b3b8aefbb0e9b7d5d90c09faf96987df3">Evidence</a> also suggests teachers from minority groups often hold higher expectations for their minority students compared with <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-30813-012">majority teachers</a>. For example, Black teachers tend to have higher expectations than white teachers of Black students, and students respond to this with greater effort.</p>
<p>Teachers from minority groups can act as <a href="https://unimelbcloud-my.sharepoint.com/personal/agarner1_unimelb_edu_au/Documents/Jack%20Keating%20Policy%20paper%202023-/Conversation%20article/Griffin,%20A.%20(2018).%20Our%20stories,%20our%20struggles,%20our%20strengths.">role models</a> for people from similar backgrounds. </p>
<p>Teachers from minority groups can also act as <a href="https://journal.spera.asn.au/index.php/AIJRE/article/view/194">cultural “bridges”</a> to parents and students from these groups, fostering a sense of belonging and facilitating cultural understanding among students and colleagues.</p>
<p>Teachers from minority groups are also more likely to stay in hard-to-staff schools impacted the most during a staffing crisis. </p>
<p>For example, teachers from ethnic minorities are <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0741932517733047?journalCode=rsed">more likely</a> to teach and stay in schools with many minority students, and teachers from rural areas are more likely to teach and remain in <a href="https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/ruraleducator/vol43/iss3/1/">rural schools</a>.</p>
<p>So, how can we increase the diversity of the teaching workforce?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552219/original/file-20231005-22-vut37x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552219/original/file-20231005-22-vut37x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552219/original/file-20231005-22-vut37x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552219/original/file-20231005-22-vut37x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552219/original/file-20231005-22-vut37x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552219/original/file-20231005-22-vut37x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552219/original/file-20231005-22-vut37x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552219/original/file-20231005-22-vut37x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Scholarships can help meet the costs of studying to become a teacher.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Grow-your-own programs</h2>
<p>One approach we examined in our new report is known as a “grow-your-own program”, which focus on would-be teachers already working in schools. This is where would-be teachers are given financial assistance by governments, and other support such as a mentor or study groups. Upon finishing the program, they become fully qualified teachers in their local school. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED613183.pdf">research</a> shows grow-your-own programs can increase teacher diversity and address staffing shortages. They can support people already working in hard-to-staff schools, such as teacher aides, to undertake teaching qualifications. </p>
<p>By recruiting people who already have ongoing connections with the community, grow-your-own programs produce graduates likely to take up and retain teaching positions in these communities. </p>
<p>New South Wales is currently trialling a <a href="https://education.nsw.gov.au/teach-nsw/get-paid-to-study/grow-your-own/grow-your-own---teacher-training-program">similar program</a> targeting teacher aides. The Northern Territory and Queensland also have targeted grow-your-own programs for Indigenous people.</p>
<h2>Teacher residency programs</h2>
<p>Teacher residency programs bring candidates into schools from the beginning of their training, where they are closely mentored by experienced teachers. </p>
<p>Candidates teach actively from the start while completing their teaching qualification.</p>
<p>These programs are usually focused on increasing the supply of teachers, rather than increasing diversity. </p>
<p>But since they allow people to earn an income and train at the same time, they can remove <a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA256-1.html">barriers</a>, such as the costs of full-time study, for those from minority groups.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552220/original/file-20231005-15-2tfkbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552220/original/file-20231005-15-2tfkbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552220/original/file-20231005-15-2tfkbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552220/original/file-20231005-15-2tfkbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552220/original/file-20231005-15-2tfkbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552220/original/file-20231005-15-2tfkbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552220/original/file-20231005-15-2tfkbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552220/original/file-20231005-15-2tfkbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teacher residency programs bring candidates into schools from the beginning of their training.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Targeted scholarships for teacher trainees</h2>
<p>Scholarships can help meet the costs of studying to become a teacher, and have been used for decades, although mostly without an emphasis on teacher diversity. </p>
<p>Australian departments of education already offer scholarships targeted to Indigenous secondary and university students who want to become teachers, or who are in teacher training.</p>
<p>We know these scholarships <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/10/10/262">do work</a> to support people into teaching and could be targeted to other minority groups as well. </p>
<h2>Building bridges between VET and teacher training</h2>
<p>Vocational education and training (VET) courses can be easier and cheaper to access than university courses. </p>
<p>For some students they feel like less of a cultural and financial “leap” than going to university. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.publicservicedegrees.org/college-resources/increasing-teacher-diversity/">Building pathways</a> between VET and teacher education courses can help diversify the teaching workforce. <a href="https://www.vu.edu.au/courses/graduate-certificate-in-education-eted">Victoria University</a> and Charles Darwin University offer good examples in Australia.</p>
<h2>Overcoming barriers</h2>
<p>Those wishing to become teachers in Australia already face several barriers. </p>
<p>One is a test known as the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education (<a href="https://teacheredtest.acer.edu.au/">LANTITE</a>), which aspiring teachers must pass. </p>
<p>While it’s important our teachers have strong literacy and numeracy skills, some people from diverse backgrounds can find tests <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1996-12938-001">threatening</a> and underperform. We need to consider whether there are alternatives that are equally valid. </p>
<p>School context and culture is also important. Encouraging a person from a minority group into teaching won’t help if the structures and cultures in the workplace don’t support them and cater for diversity. </p>
<p>School leadership, parents and students need to recognise that staff diversity strengthens the school, and support minority staff appropriately.</p>
<p>We need to make sure schools are places where diverse teachers feel valued and can flourish. </p>
<p>Policymakers and schools must recognise teacher workforce diversity is a key component of school quality.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-teachtok-is-helping-teachers-connect-with-their-students-on-tiktok-202240">How 'TeachTok' is helping teachers connect with their students on TikTok</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214564/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Suzanne Rice received funding from the Jack Keating Scholarship Fund to complete this research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alice Garner was affiliated with the Victorian Department of Education between 2014 and 2019 when employed as a secondary school teacher. During this period she was a member of the Australian Education Union. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lorraine Graham does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australia’s teachers are predominantly Australian-born, female, and non-Indigenous. Most hail from middle-class backgrounds with urban upbringings, and are less likely to have disabilities.Suzanne Rice, Senior Lecturer, Education Policy and Leadership, The University of MelbourneAlice Garner, Honorary Research Fellow, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of MelbourneLorraine Graham, Professor of Learning Intervention, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2150212023-10-05T16:30:43Z2023-10-05T16:30:43ZAdvanced British Standard: A-level replacement will require more teachers – but bonuses may not be the way to get them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552340/original/file-20231005-23-k0ujdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C12%2C8509%2C5008&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/portrait-young-teacher-helping-student-during-1102460816">Jacob Lund/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced a new qualification to replace A-levels and T-levels. The planned <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/651d3c116a6955000d78b292/A_world-class_education_system_-_The_Advanced_British_Standard__print_ready_.pdf">Advanced British Standard</a> (ABS) will also come with more teaching time for students: an extra 195 hours over two years. </p>
<p>But there’s a problem. More teaching hours means more teachers – and the Department for Education <a href="https://theconversation.com/teachers-are-quitting-heres-what-could-be-done-to-get-them-to-stay-202654">is already struggling</a> to recruit new teachers and to keep current teachers in the profession.</p>
<p>Since 2010, experienced teachers in England have experienced a real terms reduction in salaries of <a href="https://ifs.org.uk/articles/what-has-happened-teacher-pay-england">up to 13%</a>. During the same period, average earnings across all sectors in Britain have increased by 2.5% in <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/averageweeklyearningsearn01">real terms</a>. This decline in the relative attractiveness of the teaching profession has had <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/120414/pdf/">serious implications</a> for teacher recruitment, retention and diversity.</p>
<p>With these challenges in mind, Sunak also <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-qualifications-to-deliver-world-class-education-for-all">announced</a> a tax-free bonus of up to £30,000 over the first five years of teachers’ careers in subjects with a particular teacher shortage. </p>
<p>This is a welcome boost – but does not go far enough. It risks alienating experienced teachers and does not address the factors that drive teachers’ decision to leave the profession.</p>
<h2>Undervaluing experienced teachers</h2>
<p>One issue with Sunak’s approach is that starting salaries are already competitive. It is the growth (or lack of growth) in teachers’ pay over their careers which causes their pay to fall behind comparable professions. </p>
<p>My <a href="https://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/files/misoc/reports/explainers/Does-it-pay-to-be-a-teacher.pdf">research suggests</a> that roughly three in ten teachers would be financially better off if they left teaching for another career. The announced bonus scheme isn’t going to substantively change this, but it will contribute to more experienced teachers feeling undervalued and underappreciated.</p>
<p>Experienced teachers are earning less than comparable professions, but they are also now facing a related pay cut compared with newer entrants. To many teachers, this will not seem fair. After all, it could be argued that it is the teachers who have remained committed to the profession who most deserve to be rewarded, not the new entrants.</p>
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<p>Using financial incentives to recruit maths and physics teachers intuitively makes sense – these graduates generally have high-paying alternative career options. But this year, the government has also <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/initial-teacher-training-census">missed targets</a> for subjects where graduates typically don’t have as financially strong alternative employment opportunities – such as modern foreign languages, English, and art and design. This suggests the challenges with recruitment and retention are not just about the money.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/teacher-recruitment-target-missed-in-england-why-people-dont-want-to-enter-or-stay-in-the-profession-196175">Teacher recruitment target missed in England – why people don't want to enter or stay in the profession</a>
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<p>Given the real difference that teachers make in their pupils’ lives, it is no surprise that teachers, historically, report <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2020/oct/teachers-among-happiest-professionals">higher wellbeing</a> than comparable professions. What’s more, teachers who leave the profession generally report no change, or even a decline, in <a href="https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/berj.3680?af=R">their wellbeing</a>. </p>
<p>However, since the pandemic, teacher wellbeing is lower than <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1148571/Working_lives_of_teachers_and_leaders_-_wave_1_-_core_report.pdf">comparable professions</a>. While the decline in pay is certainly contributing to this, other factors such as working hours, school leaders, Ofsted inspections and pupil behaviour have also played an important role. </p>
<p><a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4384928">My research</a> exploring the reasons why teachers leave the profession, published in a working paper for the Institute for Social and Economic Research and reviewed by colleagues, finds that reducing teacher working hours and improving the quality of school leaders would be the most effective strategies.</p>
<p>Only teachers in Japan have <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7222/">higher workloads</a> than primary teachers in England across the OECD group of countries. Over <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7222/">half of teachers</a> feel their workload is unmanageable. This is one of the key reasons why people leave teaching. I found that reducing working hours by five hours per week would be as effective in improving teacher retention as a 10% pay rise. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/651d3c116a6955000d78b292/A_world-class_education_system_-_The_Advanced_British_Standard__print_ready_.pdf">government’s proposal document</a> for the ABS states that teachers’ weekly workloads have already been reduced by five hours. But this data is from a 2019 survey. It does not consider how the pandemic may have <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2023/jul/high-work-intensity-makes-teachers-jobs-more-demanding-post-pandemic">worsened teachers’ job quality</a>, in particular compared with other professions. </p>
<p>In September 2023, the government <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/workload-reduction-taskforce">announced a taskforce</a> to reduce teacher working hours by a further five hours weekly. It remains to be seen what the measures proposed by this taskforce will be. </p>
<p>While any additional pay for teachers is welcome, Sunak’s approach reinforces the fact that current pay scales do not reward experience, which could create problems with the retention of more experienced teachers. In addition, the failure to address other important issues suggests this might be a short-term political gimmick, rather than a meaningful, teacher-led effort to improve the school workforce.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215021/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua Fullard is affiliated with the Research Centre on Micro-Social Change, University of Essex. He has received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council.</span></em></p>Bonuses for new teachers won’t fix the reasons people leave the profession.Joshua Fullard, Assistant Professor of Behavioural Science, Warwick Business School, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2136642023-09-21T13:27:45Z2023-09-21T13:27:45ZHow well you do at school depends on how much your teachers know: insights from 14 French-speaking countries in Africa<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548527/original/file-20230915-27043-8dgaeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Almost half of all sixth-grade students in Niger struggle to read a simple sentence.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Olympia De Maismont/AFP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Countries in sub-Saharan Africa have made remarkable progress towards reaching universal school enrolment in the past 25 years. Across the region, <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRM.TENR?locations=ZG">8 in 10 children</a> of primary school age are now enrolled in school, and in countries such as <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRM.TENR?locations=ZG-BJ">Benin</a> and <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRM.TENR?locations=ZG-MG">Madagascar</a> this figure stands at almost 10 in 10 children. </p>
<p>However, it is becoming increasingly clear that many children in the region are <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2018">learning very little in school</a>. This <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2017/09/26/world-bank-warns-of-learning-crisis-in-global-education">“learning crisis”</a> means that it will be difficult to reach the <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal4">United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal</a> of quality education for all by 2030.</p>
<p>Importantly, the learning crisis does not affect all countries equally. For example, a <a href="https://pasecconfemen.lmc-dev.fr/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/RapportPasec2019_Rev2022_WebOK.pdf">recent study</a> found that whereas almost half of all sixth-grade students (who are on average about 13 years old) in Niger have difficulties reading a simple sentence, only one in 10 sixth-grade students in neighbouring Burkina Faso has such problems. This raises the question of what explains these international learning gaps.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272775723000845">recent study</a>, my co-authors Natalie Irmert, Mohammad H. Sepahvand and I tried to answer this question. We hypothesised that differences in teacher quality between countries play a role. Using comparable data from 14 countries in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa, we found that differences in teachers’ subject knowledge – that is, teachers’ mastery of the material they are expected to teach in a given subject – explain more than a third of the international variation in student learning. </p>
<p>This implies that the very low levels of learning in some countries’ schools are to a large extent due to a lack of knowledgeable teachers.</p>
<h2>The research</h2>
<p>Our study was made possible by the recent release of data from the <a href="https://pasec.confemen.org/en/">PASEC 2019 assessment</a>. The assessment measured sixth-grade students’ reading and maths skills in 14 French-speaking African countries in a comparable way. Importantly for our purposes, it also measured the knowledge of these students’ teachers in the same two subjects. The assessment revealed very large differences in the average reading and maths skills of students between countries. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/collaboration-is-helping-teachers-in-rural-cameroon-fill-knowledge-gaps-101920">Collaboration is helping teachers in rural Cameroon fill knowledge gaps</a>
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<p>In our study, we examined whether these international differences in student skills were driven by gaps in teachers’ subject knowledge. We hypothesised that this might be the case based on <a href="https://economics.ucr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/4-15-22-Smith.pdf">previous research</a> from individual countries which shows that teacher quality is a key driver of learning.</p>
<p>Our results showed student skills and teachers’ subject knowledge were indeed positively correlated: better teacher knowledge tended to go hand in hand with better student skills. </p>
<p>However, this did not necessarily mean that teachers’ subject knowledge caused learning. For example, countries with more knowledgeable teachers might also invest more into school buildings. In this case, the positive correlation between teacher knowledge and student skills could simply reflect the better learning conditions due to improved school buildings.</p>
<h2>Explaining the differences</h2>
<p>To be sure that our correlation reflected a causal effect of teacher knowledge, we used a statistical trick: we compared each country’s student skills and teacher knowledge in reading to its student skills and teacher knowledge in maths. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/girls-thrive-with-women-teachers-a-study-in-francophone-africa-95297">Girls thrive with women teachers: a study in Francophone Africa</a>
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<p>This meant that we could keep all factors that did not differ between the two subjects, such as the quality of school buildings, constant. If better teachers’ knowledge in reading relative to maths tended to go hand in hand with better student skills in reading relative to maths, we could be certain that the effect of teacher knowledge was causal.</p>
<p>The figure below shows that this was indeed the case: for example, Burundi’s teachers scored relatively low on the reading test relative to the maths test, and consequently its students did worse in the reading assessment than in the maths assessment. In contrast, Gabon’s teachers were relatively more knowledgeable in reading, and therefore its students also performed better in the reading test. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548809/original/file-20230918-27-uajxga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548809/original/file-20230918-27-uajxga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548809/original/file-20230918-27-uajxga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548809/original/file-20230918-27-uajxga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548809/original/file-20230918-27-uajxga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548809/original/file-20230918-27-uajxga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548809/original/file-20230918-27-uajxga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548809/original/file-20230918-27-uajxga.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Teachers’ subject knowledge boosts student skills.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272775723000845">Authors supplied</a></span>
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<p>Overall, differences in teachers’ subject knowledge could explain a third of the differences in student learning between the 14 countries. Our data did not allow us to conclude which factors explain the remaining two thirds of these differences.</p>
<h2>Implications for policy</h2>
<p>Our results show that teacher quality, and especially teacher subject knowledge, is a crucial driver of cross-country differences in learning. This is an important insight for policymakers in sub-Saharan Africa who are trying to solve the “learning crisis”: it shows that there is a large payoff to recruiting more knowledgeable teachers.</p>
<p>Additionally, in-service training that improves the knowledge of already employed teachers could lead to large gains in student learning.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213664/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jan Bietenbeck receives funding from Jan Wallanders och Tom Hedelius stiftelse samt Tore Browaldhs stiftelse. </span></em></p>Overall, differences in teachers’ subject knowledge could explain a third of the differences in student learning between the 14 countries.Jan Bietenbeck, Associate Professor of Economics, Lund UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.