Evaluating Accomplished Teaching: Lessons from the Literature

Author(s):

Moira HulmeIrene McQueen

Conference:

ECER 2010

Network:

10. Teacher Education Research

Format:

Paper

Session Information

10 SES 03 C, Research on Professional Knowledge & Identity in Teacher Education

Paper Session

Time:

2010-08-25

14:00-15:30

Room:

AUDITORIUM XI, Päärakennus / Main Building

Chair:

Kari Smith

Contribution

Research internationally suggests that the quality of teaching is the most significant within-school factor influencing pupil performance (Darling Hammond et al, 2005; Reynolds, 2008). Concern with teacher quality across the career phases has focused attention internationally on policy levers to incentivise and support the continuing professional development of experienced teachers (Darling-Hammond, 2000; Ingvarson and Kleinhenz, 2006; Ingvarson, 2008; OECD, 2009).

One strategy to enhance teacher quality is the creation of standards that recognise ‘accomplished’ teaching. This is evident in National Board certification (NBPTS, 1994, National Research Council, 2008) in North America and in the development of Professional Standards for accomplished teachers in Australia (Teaching Australia, 2009). In the United Kingdom, grades and attendant pay scales have been created to recognise and reward enhanced professional practice. These vary according to different arrangements for the governance and regulation of teacher education across the UK and include the Advanced Skills Teachers and Excellent Teacher grades in England (TDA, 2007), the pilot Chartered Teacher programme in Wales (Egan, 2009) and the Scottish Chartered Teacher Programme established in 2003.

This paper reports a scoping study of international research literature that considers definitional and conceptual issues in relation to ‘accomplished teaching’. A literature search identified publications with a main focus on: (a) the characteristics of accomplished teaching; and (b) the assessment and identification of ‘accomplished’ teaching (policy and regulatory frameworks). The review was conducted as part of a pilot study, Evaluating Accomplished Teaching, commissioned by the General Teaching Council for Scotland and the Scottish Government. The overall aim of the research project (May 2009 - February 2010) was to develop a prototype methodology to investigate the impact of Chartered Teachers in Scotland’s schools. In addition to the focused literature search reported here, the project involved analysis of assignments submitted by Chartered Teacher graduates, focus groups with teachers awarded Chartered Teacher status, and interviews and observation in a school case study.

Method

The literature search had the following parameters: (1) peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2003 and 2009; (2) English language publications; (3) research conducted in the United Kingdom and internationally; and (4) research on teaching school age learners (4-16 years). Studies with a focus on pre-service teachers were excluded. Key words used in the search included: effective, expert, accomplished, advanced, exemplary, excellent, chartered (teach$). Two researchers screened titles and abstracts with cross-comparison of a sample. Full text copies of all potentially relevant papers were retrieved. References were managed using EndNote bibliographic software. Retrieved articles were reference checked to identify additional publications relevant to the search. The search produced an annotated bibliography of fifty articles, drawn from twenty-nine scholarly and professional journals, published between 2003 and 2009. The parameters of the search reflect the duration of the Chartered Teacher programme, launched in Scotland in 2003.

Expected Outcomes

Studies range from those informed by economistic models of effectiveness (student outcomes) to finely grained studies of processes of learning (including professional learning). Research on accomplished teaching is conducted by research teams interested in policy evaluation as well as teacher education faculty engaged in small-scale practice-based research. Research designs include quasi-experiments, surveys, observation, action research and longitudinal studies, as well as evaluation and intervention studies. This review reveals a high volume of single cohort studies and a paucity of large-scale studies with a longitudinal focus. Few studies examine the impact of advanced certification schemes post initial candidacy (Petty et al, 2007) or conduct in-depth studies to establish if changes in teacher’s instructional practice produces improved outcomes for learners, especially in the longer term (see Lustick and Sykes, 2006). This is consistent with reviews in the UK, New Zealand and Australia that suggest a prevalence of small-scale, qualitative and practice-based studies in the field of teacher education research (Murray et al, 2009; Cameron and Baker, 2004; Murray, Nuttall and Mitchell, 2004).

References

Cameron, M. and Baker, R. (2004) Initial Teacher Education in New Zealand: 1993-2004 Literature Review and Annotated Bibliography. New Zealand: Ministry of Education. Darling Hammond, L. (2000) Teacher Quality and Student Achievement: A Review of State Policy Evidence, Education Policy Analysis Archives, 8(1), 13. Darling Hammond, L. et al. (2005) Does teacher preparation matter? Evidence about teacher certification and teacher effectiveness. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 13(42) 16-17, 20. Egan, D. (2009) Evaluation of the Chartered Teacher Pilot in Wales. UWIC, Cardiff. Ingvarson, L. (2008) Identifying and rewarding accomplished teachers: The Australian experience. ECER, University of Gothenburg, 10th-12th September 2008. Kleinhenz, E., & Ingvarson, L. (2004). Teacher accountability in Australia: current policies and practices and their relation to the improvement of teaching and learning. Research Papers in Education, 19(1), 31-49. Lustick, D., & Sykes, G. (2006). National Board Certification as Professional Development: What are Teachers Learning? Education Policy Analysis Archives, 14(5), 1-46. Murray, S., Nuttall, J. and Mitchell, J. (2008) Research into initial teacher education in Australia: A survey of the literature 1995–2004, Teaching and Teacher Education, 24, 225–239 Murray , J. et al. (2009) Research and Teacher Education in the UK: building capacity. Teaching and Teacher Education. 25(7): 944-50. National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. (1994). What teachers should know and be able to do. Washington, DC: NBPTS. National Research Council (2008) Assessing Accomplished Teaching: Advanced-Level Certification Programs. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. OECD (2009) Evaluating and Rewarding the Quality of Teachers. International Practices. OECD publications. Petty, T. M., O'Connor, K. A., Dagenhart, D. B., & Good, A. J. (2007). National Board Certification: Is Renewal Worth IT? The Educational Forum, 71(2), 168-182. Reynolds, D. (2008). Schools Learning From Their Best. Nottingham:NCSL. Teaching Australia (2009) Standards for Accomplished Teachers and Principals. A Foundation for Public Confidence and Respect.

Author Information

Moira Hulme

University of Glasgow

Glasgow

Irene McQueen

University of Glasgow

Curriculum Studies