Unpacking Teacher Quality: Key Issues for Early-Career Teachers

• In Event: 30.061 - Attracting and Keeping the Best Teachers

Abstract

Objectives
The aims of the paper are: a) to identify and contrast the ways in which teacher quality has been defined in Portugal and internationally; b) to analyze (and deconstruct) the term quality drawing upon empirical evidence drawn from a 3-year project.

Perspectives
Quality teachers matter for quality teaching in schools and classrooms, and quality teachers depend, to a great extent, on the quality of teacher education programmes. Yet, it is possible to identify different ways of understanding teacher quality in diverse contexts (e.g. Darling-Hammond & Lieberman, 2012). For instance, in Europe, quality teachers have been described as those “equipped with the ability to integrate knowledge, handle complexity, and adapt to the needs of individual learners as well as groups” (EC, 2013, p. 7) and quality Initial Teacher Education is associated with “teachers’ knowledge, skills and commitment” (EU, 2013, p. 8). If there is consensus on the importance of quality teachers for improving teaching and learning, there is less agreement on how to define and assess quality. Cultural differences, traditions and historical and social factors have to be taken into account in order to understand how teacher education and teachers’ work have evolved over the years in different contexts.

Methods and data sources
This paper draws upon the wider international literature on teacher quality as well as on data from a 3-year research funded project. The project included a national survey (n=2702); interviews with school principals (n=11); and focus group with teachers (=99) and students (n=108).

Results
Data point to tensions and contradictions in teachers’ work and in the ways in which different stakeholders look at teacher quality. Issues of control, accountability, increased bureaucracy, deterioration of teachers’ working conditions and negative image in media emerged from the data as well as issues of teacher motivation, resilience and identity. Both external and internal factors have been identified which, along with issues of school leadership and school culture, explain differences in how the different stakeholders look at teacher quality. Teachers’ sense of professionalism and professional values also arise from the data and also explain some of the findings namely more positive views of teacher quality.

Substantiated conclusions and scholarly significance
The findings of this study point to the need to take into account the current conditions of the teaching profession and the complex and multifaceted factors that shape schools and teachers’ work. Teacher quality has been associated with a rather narrow view which has been related to standards, performativity and managerialism. At the same time, interactive and extended views on teacher professionalism have been advocated especially from a policy context. These trends may be seen in the ways in which teacher professionalism has been defined as well as teachers’ working conditions in schools and classrooms. The paper looks at these contradictory trends and discusses the implications for teacher education and for redefining teacher professional identity especially in the early years.

References
Darling-Hammond, L., & Lieberman, A. (Eds.). (2012). Teacher education around the world. Changing policies and practices. London: Routledge.

EC. (2013). Supporting Teacher Competence Development for better learning outcomes. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/education/policy/school/doc/teachercomp_en.pdf

Author

• Maria A. Flores, Minho University, Portugal