Strategic Board for Teacher Education: Meeting 29 Wednesday 15 May 2024: 10.00am – 11.30am

Appendix 1

Research Summary: Teacher Education, Professional Learning, and Professional Development

Conceptual idea 1: A teacher development framework is important in order to outline the expectations and entitlements for any teacher’s career-long professional learning and development.

Most European countries adopt frameworks describing a set of competences that teachers should possess or develop over their career. In practice, however, such frameworks vary in format, level of detail, value and use. The Council of the EU Conclusions on European teachers and trainers for the future were researched, debated and agreed in 2020, and invited Member States to explore possibilities for diversifying careers of teachers and trainers and developing national career frameworks to help fulfil their career aspirations and motivations, as well as their learning needs.

Researchers in the Netherlands created a framework that conceptualises teacher development as a deepening and extending of their role(s) and responsibilities. They argue that the framework can “contribute to a stronger common understanding of being a teacher as a dynamic profession and create a shared vocabulary to discuss and elaborate opportunities for teachers within such a framework.” However, they state that “a framework will only contribute to such a common understanding when it acts as a boundary object, bringing together actors in different activity systems through dialogue and a shared ownership and shared awareness that it is meaningful”.

Conceptual idea 2: Early Career Teaching should be understood as longer than the minimum years of ITE and Induction, and as part of an even longer continuum of development, supported by teacher education.

The importance of a coherent (i.e. not fragmented) continuum of teacher education is has been highlighted in different international policy documents for at least the last 30 years (for example Ireland, OECD, European Commission).

Attrition among early-career teachers is especially problematic, and has been recognised as the case for more than 20 years. This implies that teacher education support to all phases of teaching is important and particular attention to Early Career Teachers should see a return on investment.

Conceptual idea 3: Early Career Teaching and the continuum can be usefully understood as distinct, but linked, phases.

Taking the perspective of an individual teacher, research literature (from the Netherlands and Canada) suggests that a teacher’s perceptions and needs shift over different periods. Teaching practice and workload dominate first-year concerns, whereas professional identity dominates the concerns of second-year and third-year teachers. 4-5-year teachers become more concerned with working conditions, perhaps as they become more aware of the wider education system and their role in it.

The dynamic forming and shifting of a teacher’s professional identity (their pedagogy, positionality in relation to others, and broader or longer aims for education in their career) is a topic that researchers are currently paying close attention to. ‘Socialisation’ and teacher identification are known as key influencing factors in the early years of teaching and beyond, for example in the 2019 review of teacher retention in Wales.

Structural element 1: The current approach of Provisional and Full registration should be maintained for the coherence of standards and as formal recognition of the first phase of Initial Teacher Education. Different pathways are beneficial to candidate teachers in different circumstances.

The approach taken to standards development in Scotland is believed to align broadly with similar approaches in Australia and some other countries As one example of where qualification is now strongly preferred but historically problematic, Estonia has recently set a target to have 90% of teachers formally qualified by 2026, where a number of teachers have been employed without formal qualifications in the past.

The concurrent model of ITE (a four or five-year bachelor’s degree in education) is usually perceived as allowing a more integrated learning experience. The consecutive programmes (degree in any area plus diploma or certificate in education) are usually seen as offering a more flexible route to a teaching qualification as they allow the professional choice to be made at a later stage of tertiary education. As of 2020, more than half of European education systems offered both routes for lower secondary teachers. There is little evidence of retention benefits to shorter or immediate-employment routes. A new research report on the Teach First programme reveals lower numbers of teachers staying in the profession than those in other pathways.

For the sake of mobility – either receiving new and experienced teachers from abroad, or enabling Scottish-trained teachers to work abroad – it is important to have a clear process for the achievement and recognition of teaching qualifications. Many countries have this. England has created a new ‘international’ Qualified Teacher Status. No research is available yet on the England initiative.

Structural element 2: Teacher education within each phase should support the trio of 1) improving subject or topic knowledge, 2) developing professional and pedagogical competence, and 3) applying and evaluating these in practice.

Both quantitative and qualitative studies of teacher education have found that candidates feel better prepared and more efficacious, stay in the field longer, and have more positive impacts on student learning when their programmes are guided by well-defined standards and include:

a strong curriculum of both subject and pedagogical competence; extended and well-supported practical experiences; and the use of assessments and portfolios for evaluation, reflection and feedback.

Structural element 3: Building the capacity of middle and local level management of and support to Early Career Teachers should be part of the framework (e.g. mentor and school head competence; clear and coherent local authority roles and approaches).

Researchers in Iceland conducted an evaluation of a university mentoring course (30 ECTS credits). The researchers found that teachers were more competent after completing the course, with a deeper understanding of the theories behind mentoring that was reflected in their increased engagement in school improvement. Mentors in Austria are now required to complete formal training (30 ECTS credits university course) in order to carry out their work and results indicate that experiences of mentoring are mostly positive. Other school education systems (e.g. North Carolina from 2016, Singapore from 2006) have long-established formal mentor competence programmes.

A large and growing body of literature exists on the influence of school leaders on the professional development of teachers and what is commonly termed ‘transformative leadership’. Studies demonstrate the interplay between direct and indirect support from the school head and teacher self-efficacy and job satisfaction.

There appears to be little research on local authority support. In Denmark, municipalities rarely choose to form policies on teacher induction for their schools, and it is left to the local principals to decide if, and to what extent, they want to provide teacher induction. Researchers there observe that Early Career Teachers get far less support than they need and lack a basic understanding of the teaching policy of the municipality and the educational focal points of the local school.

In Cyprus, the Ministry and Pedagogical Institute are centrally responsible for careers and professional learning; and in the Flemish system in Belgium, the organisation GO! takes responsibility for the delivery of education and ongoing professional learning. In contrast, Ireland lists 9 national organisations, plus regional offices, plus schools as supporting the continuum of teacher education. Norway has recently shifted responsibility to municipalities with the responsibility for education lying with the county governor. The state supports partnerships between municipalities and with local Higher Education institutions for teacher professional learning and provides funding. This functions by channelling state funds to the municipalities. In cooperation with universities and university colleges, the municipalities define and prioritise what they need, within the framework of national goals.

Structural element 4: Induction should comprise the key elements that support Early Career Teacher development: 1) high quality mentoring, 2) adapted working time and load, 3) access to structured professional learning courses, 4) collaboration and networking, and 5) simple mode for reflecting on and evidencing experiences.

Two recent reviews of multiple systems identified these key elements as contributing to what they perceive to be a positive induction experience. The idea of a ‘positive experience’ is concerned with meaningful teacher practice, self-efficacy, and job satisfaction. These key elements were also reinforced at a recent European project event with representatives of 11 countries (NB ‘adapted’ was preferred to ‘reduced’ workload).

Literature on teacher induction and professional development has strongly advocated for the importance of professional networks in supporting novice teachers’ induction process. While formal induction practices such as seminars or mentoring have also been described as effective (and there is a large body of literature on mentoring in particular) a collegial dynamic in the daily work practice around the novice is essential. This is seen as important for ‘second-career’ teachers in VET, amongst others.

A network of European researchers will soon publish a new volume of international case studies on mentoring and induction.

Structural element 5: The transition from Early Career phases to a fourth phase can be usefully characterised by different teacher education offers and accredited specialisms and qualifications that open different pathways and that can increase teacher motivation, support and recognition.

Representatives of European countries have agreed that opportunities related to different career choices within the teaching profession, offering multiple paths for professional progression, may increase motivation to access and remain in the profession, as well as motivation for lifelong learning. They may encourage teachers and trainers to remain dedicated to the profession, and committed to both their learners’ and their own learning during the course of their working life. Several European countries have similarly mapped different opportunities and types of roles for teachers during their career, and have embedded this offer in professional development frameworks and in national policies.

The importance of diversifying the career paths also potentially addresses working conditions and structural issues by enabling and encouraging teachers to share the responsibility of managing the school as a community. This may also be motivating.

Shifts in the understanding of key competences and the experience in the pandemic restrictions have placed more emphasis on social and emotional well-being and competence, physical health, and the potential of digital tools to change the learning process. The 2018 TALIS results highlight that teachers also need more capacity to support pupils’ special learning needs and teaching in multi-cultural and multi-lingual settings. Therefore, there are several areas in which schools and teachers may benefit from specialist professional learning, that are not necessarily promotion roles in a traditional sense of staff hierarchy.

Whilst not leading to a change in title or role, Ontario, Canada offers the opportunity for Additional Qualifications (courses taken at local institutions) to be added to one’s teaching certificate. In other systems, universities play a role in the further career progression of teachers by offer Master’s study to experienced teachers and school leaders in different countries. Latvia’s programme has been developed in co-operation with three partner universities, whilst the National MA Education in Wales is offered by seven universities.

Structural element 6: Maintaining, but also reinforcing, the Professional Review and Development (PRD) process as a regular entitlement and expectation would be a key factor in supporting teacher choice and reflection, coupled with an opportunity for career guidance.

In TALIS 2018, approximately two thirds of teachers reported that feedback received as part of some form of appraisal was useful for improving their work. Self-assessment was the least used method of information for providing feedback. The analysis suggests a positive relationship between having a national framework for teacher appraisal and teachers considering the feedback received to be helpful, although the quality and effectiveness of such processes is not automatic.

Research highlights the importance of school leaders in motivating and supporting the professional development of teachers. In 2024, a new survey of teacher employers in over 20 European countries has found that school heads desire professional learning in order to improve their own capacity to support staff, including new teachers.

Remit

Introduction

This remit seeks to outline where the SBTE (‘the Board’) sits within the education governance landscape and the areas that it will focus on via a strategic approach that drives impact and improved outcomes.

Governance

SBTE reports to the Scottish Education Council (SEC) which is chaired by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills.

New diagram to be inserted once updated.

A Board member will act as the point of contact between SBTE and SEC.

Overview

The Board’s overarching aim is to contribute to the shared vision for Scottish education of excellence and equity for all. The Board will aim to ensure that schools have access to a high-quality teacher profession that supports educational achievement for all our children and young people and work with employers to achieve this.

Strategic Aim

The Board will aim to ensure that teachers, probationer teachers and student teachers have teacher education and professional learning opportunities that enable them to successfully engage with the Professional Standards.

The Professional Standards for Scotland’s Teachers describe teacher professionalism in Scotland; teachers’ ‘way of being’.

Professional Standards for teachers in Scotland have multiple purposes:

• to create a shared language for teaching professionals;
• as a benchmark for professional competency;
• to develop and enhance professionalism;
• to support career-long professional growth;
• to provide a framework for Initial Teacher Education, probation and leadership pathways and programmes; and
• to ensure and enhance public trust and confidence in the teaching profession

The Standards:-

• have professional values at their heart,
• support and promote partnership, leadership, enquiry and professional learning

Strategic Areas within the Remit

The Board will aim to use a model of change process to:-

• ensure that initial teacher education supports student teachers appropriately
• ensure probationer teachers are effectively supported during induction
• ensure there are bespoke high-quality professional learning and leadership opportunities for Scotland's teachers
• promote local empowerment to allow school leaders and teachers to use their professional skills and knowledge within their own particular contexts
• engage with the actions contained with the National Improvement Framework on school leadership and teacher professionalism
• address the challenges and build on the good practice and successful approaches to professional learning within the system.
• communicate effectively with the profession and employers on matters relating to teacher education, professional learning and the Reform agenda
• to ensure a joined-up approach with Education Reform colleagues on governance of the development of the Centre to ensure consistency and avoid duplication

Similarly, the Board will explicitly recognise where organisations and not the Board hold executive/legal responsibility or lead development for policy or operational issues impacting on the education of student teachers and the teacher education and/or professional learning of teachers at each stage of their career. When considering such issues, the Board will work with and alongside those organisations to achieve desired outcomes in a transparent manner. To achieve this, a collective effort and commitment is required from all members.

Themes within Remit

The Board will focus on the full gamut of the teacher journey as exemplified by the four themes outlined below. For all themes, the Board should explore interdependencies and connections to ensure the teacher journey is as coherent and integrated as possible.

Each theme has issues attached to it which the Board is expected to consider and make decisions on, including delegating to sub-groups to develop practical actions/solutions &/or escalating to the Scottish Education Council (SEC) where consensus cannot be reached or the Board feels it is beyond its remit. The Board will bring pace and challenge to the implementation of agreed actions and set expectations and maintain an overview of progress.

Where there are financial consequences of decisions then the agreement of the appropriate bodies will be needed.

Theme 1 - Initial Teacher Education

Aims – ensure that a career in teaching is seen positively, that recruitment to ITE matches the needs of employers across the country, aligns with national priorities and polices and that the student teacher experience is of a high-quality.

Key Issues for the Board are:-

• Workforce planning
  • shortages in specific subjects
  • shortages in geographical areas
  • effective recruitment campaigns
  • permanent and temporary contracts
• Ensuring that diversity is fully recognised and represented at all levels of the teaching profession
• Reasonable adjustments are made for the impact of long covid
• Anti-racist education within ITE
• Access and quality of Professional practice placements
• National Targets
• Self-Evaluation Framework for Initial Teacher Education Programmes

Other issues the Board need to be aware of include:-

• Entry requirements
• STEM Bursaries
• Teacher Education Partnerships
• Revisions to class contact time

Theme 2 - Early Phase Career

Aim – ensure that every probationer teacher experiences a high quality induction to the profession, and that identified professional learning needs of early phase career teachers are met.

Key Issues for the Board are:-

• Probation experience through the Teacher Induction Scheme
• Probation experience through the and Flexible Route including the levels of support available and equity issues
• Support and professional learning during early career (post-probation years 1 to 5)
  • Stepping Stones experience
  • MQuITE research project findings
• Anti-racist professional learning
• Reasonable adjustments are made for the impact of long covid

Other issues the Board need to be aware of include:-

• Capacity in the system to support equity of experience including access to effective coaching and mentoring
• Teacher workloads

Theme 3 - Career-Long Professional Learning

Aim – ensure that the professional learning needs of teachers is met, and that they develop the skills, knowledge and understanding, skills and abilities to impact positively on learners.

Key Issues for the Board are:-

• CLPL support
  • National Model for Professional Learning
  • Coherence and quality of professional learning
  • Digital literacy
  • Curriculum and Assessment (including dedicated time to understand and plan for new aspects including meaningfully engage with the Reform process)
  • Anti-racist education
• Reasonable adjustments are made for the impact of long covid
• Masters level learning
• Teacher Health and Wellbeing

Other issues the Board need to be aware of include:-

• Lead Teacher Role and Support
• Roles of the new national agencies in Scottish education
• Professional Update and Professional Recognition
• Coaching and Wellbeing Support
• ES endorsement and accreditation
• GTCS Professional Recognition of Programmes

Theme 4 - Leadership

Aim – to ensure that teachers are encouraged and supported to progress through career pathways that are right for them, have the time and capacity to effectively lead and support learning for all, and that the headteacher post is as attractive as possible.

Key Issues for the Board are:-

• The work of the Headteacher Recruitment and Retention Working Group
• Attractiveness of Headteacher role
• Embedding school empowerment and the time and resources needed
• Leadership pathways and support including ES suite of programmes and other employer-based programmes
• Actively promoting and supporting leadership opportunities for Black and Minority Ethnic educators
• Providing current and future school leaders with professional learning focused on anti-racist education.
• Reasonable adjustments are made for the impact of long covid

Other issues the Board need to be aware of include:-

• Resources and capacity in the system to engage with and support PL
• Equity of access
• Into Headship external evaluation
• Teacher feedback about professional learning opportunities and barriers
• Executive/Shared Headships

Ways of Working

The Board will:

• work in the spirit of partnership and expect all members to constructively challenge and contribute positively to discussions;
• provide a forum for members to discuss issues relating to the remit of the Board openly and frankly in a spirit of collegiality;
• be accountable for the decisions and actions that it takes while being clear where responsibility and actions sit with other partners in line with legislative, policy and other requirements;
• have an outward looking focus and engage with the teaching profession and other key stakeholders;
• take cognisance of related work with other education workforces as appropriate;
• operate on the basis that all Board papers will be published;
• meet in advance of each meeting of the SEC.

The Board will be Chaired by the Scottish Government who will also provide the secretariat.

Paper for Strategic Board for Teacher Education

Curriculum and Assessment Board Update

At the March 2024 meeting of CAB, the following items were discussed:

1. Education Reform Update

This update to board members covered topics including: governance arrangements for education and skills reform, Parliamentary debate on the recommendations of the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment (28 February), Centre of teaching excellence, and legislation underpinning aspects of the new qualifications body and new inspectorate function.

2. OECD Implementation plan update

The current action plan, which first came to CAB in April 2022, is due to complete on many actions by April 2024. Key points noted were:

Update on OECD Recommendations 1.1-1.4. These are curriculum specific recommendations led by Education Scotland in partnership with ADES Curriculum and Qualifications Group

A draft paper on Capacity Building in Curriculum Design and an overview on capacity building work since the publication of Scotland’s Curriculum Framework (the “refreshed narrative”)

3. Curriculum improvement cycle

Education Scotland shared some early thinking on the Curriculum improvement Cycle, and discussed forming a short life working group to test this early thinking. It was agreed that an extended CAB meeting would take place in June with the focus on the curriculum improvement cycle.

4. Statistics for Attainment and Initial School Leaver Destinations 2022/23

This update presented the statistics from this publication from the end of February which:

Provides information on the attainment and initial destinations of school leavers in Scotland.

Reports initial destinations for school leavers approximately three months after the end of the school year.

Reports on school leavers’ attainment in National Qualifications. For this report these are the National Courses (National 3, National 4, National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher) and Skills for Work.

For the first time, this edition reports on school leavers’ attainment in all qualifications and learning programmes on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). This includes National Qualifications, but also other qualifications provided by the SQA and other providers.

Link to the report: Summary statistics for attainment and initial leaver destinations, no. 6: 2024 edition - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

SBTE Workplan – 15 May 2024

Overarching Aim:

Ensure that we have the right numbers of high quality teachers, in the right places, with the right areas of expertise. The Board will also ensure that:-

• the teaching profession is representative of the diversity of Scottish society
• teaching is seen as an attractive and valued profession with a focus on professional learning
• teachers are empowered to lead and influence to allow them to deliver high quality learning and teaching
• teachers are equipped to support improved learning and societal outcomes for all children and young people
• teachers are involved in the preparation for planned education reform and other wider system changes

alternative suggested aim

Overarching Aim:

To ensure teacher education in Scotland is enabled to develop a highly-qualified, diverse workforce with the necessary expertise to support all young people to flourish.

The Board will ensure that:-

• the teaching profession is representative of the diversity of Scottish society
• teaching is seen as an attractive and valued profession with a focus on professional learning
• Teacher supply and demand planning supports the development of the right number of teachers, in the right places
• teacher development is strategically supported and sustained to enable them to develop necessary expertise for practice
• teachers are empowered to lead and influence to allow them to deliver high quality learning and teaching
• teachers are equipped to support improved learning and societal outcomes for all children and young people
• teachers are involved in the preparation for planned education reform and other wider system changes

Workstream 1: Workforce Planning and increasing diversity of the profession

Lead Organisation: COSLA (SCDE, ADES & GTCS)

Outcome: Local and national teacher resource demands and challenges are better understood to improve longer-term workforce planning. This includes: consideration of challenges around diversity, geography, sectors, supply and specific subjects (particularly hard to fill subjects - science, technologies, mathematics, modern languages and Gaelic) at a local and national level; understanding what workforce planning data is available and how it could be collected and collated; seeking to ensure targets for ITE programmes are set and met accordingly; and developing strategies and alternative approaches to tackle teacher recruitment and retention challenges.

Action - Engage with ADES Personnel Network to understand local workforce planning approaches, what local data is available on teacher resourcing requirements over the short-to-medium term, and what capacity there is to improve the collection and collation of such data.

Next steps - Sub-group meeting – 21 May 2024

Action - Develop processes to collect, collate and interrogate local and national workforce data to improve understanding of teacher recruitment and retention challenges relating to diversity, geography, sector, subjects and supply, both locally and nationally. This may require gathering data at national, local authority and school level.

Next steps - Will be informed by intelligence gathered via action above.

Action - Develop processes to collect, collate and interrogate local and national workforce data to improve understanding of teacher recruitment and retention challenges relating to diversity, geography, sector, subjects and supply, both locally and nationally. This may require gathering data at national, local authority and school level.

Action - Investigate how diversity is currently considered in workforce planning and seek to mainstream and embed diversity aspects within local and national workforce planning processes moving forward.

Action - Consider how local / national workforce data can influence workforce planning processes locally and nationally, including Initial Teacher Education intakes.

Consider the development of strategies and alternative approaches to tackle teacher recruitment and retention challenges relating to diversity, geography, sector, subjects and supply.

Action - Investigate specific interventions related to diversity, including:

• Supporting AREP e.g. by feeding in local and national workforce planning data and helping define strategies to increase number of BME teachers entering / staying in the profession.
• Working with Scottish Catholic Education Service on teacher recruitment and retention in denominational schools.
• Working with HEIs to consider targeting ITE programmes to defined groups, such as individuals who have a disability.

Consider how to address gender imbalance in the primary sector.

Action - Strengthen links to HTRRWG and consider specific issues related to headteacher recruitment and retention

Workstream 2: Improving the Promotion of Teaching as a Valued Career

Lead Organisation: SG, GTCS, COSLA & Trade Unions

Outcome: Teachers are valued and teaching is recognised and better promoted as important, complex and impactful work, improving the attractiveness of teaching as a career

Action - Consider how to shift public attitudes and improve the perception of teaching as a rewarding career. Consider particular challenges related to encouraging greater diversity within the profession

Next steps - Develop social media campaign to launch in Autumn.

Action - Develop a shared narrative that promotes the teaching profession and that Board members actively share through relevant websites and forums.

Workstream 3: Continuum of teacher education

Lead Organisation: SCDE, GTCS, ES

Outcome: A clear and progressive framework for teacher education across the career continuum. Teachers have the opportunity to progress their skills, knowledge and expertise through career pathway opportunities, have agency and autonomy and are leaders of learning within their community. Teachers in the early phase of their careers experience more consistent mentoring and coaching to increase their confidence, motivation and satisfaction. Teachers have access to sustained and coherent teacher education post-induction. This will lead to increased retention rates after achieving full registration with the General Teaching Council (GTC) for Scotland and at key career stages.

Action - Develop, in partnership, a career long teacher education framework that sets out the systems and structures required for teacher progression.

Next steps - Refine principles and rationale for SBTE sign off. Reframe system ‘to be map’ of teacher education to better reflect system complexity and ensure focus on individual teacher.

Action - Ensure teacher education framework is informed by existing insight and data, reform consultation processes, academic research and system intelligence.

Next steps - Use refined principles and more detailed map to develop teacher education framework. Scope operational definitions for key concepts for further SBTE scrutiny.

Action - Understand the current gaps in the framework and collaboratively develop a prioritised action plan to address.

Next steps - Use ‘to be map’ to illustrate known gaps and through SBTE develop prioritisation list.

Action - Use agreed teacher education framework and associated action plan to influence and inform clarity of organisational/system roles and responsibilities and recommend approaches to improving partnership working arrangements.

Action - Two key priorities:

Priority action plan area to focus initially on the early career phase – from ITE, through induction and the first 3 years of teaching to inform required change.

Action - Second priority is to identify structured and supported career long teacher education provision, mapped to the new Framework. An initial focus here would align well to the development of the proposed Centre for Teaching Excellence

Action - Advise on the impact of the teacher education framework on teacher educators throughout the system.