Bernier, Marissa

The Role of the Teacher

‘A good teacher is like… Mrs Latimer, I like her hair, and she gives me sweets..’ Alexandria Connor (Primary 2)


What is the role of a teacher in modern education? A quote from a primary 2 pupil provides an insight into some attributes that are important at that stage of education. Can this analogy be extended to account for important teacher attributes throughout the trajectory of a person’s educational career? How important is the role of the teacher overall? Wiliam (2007) posits that the teacher is the single most important component of educational attainment. Others suggest that environmental factors such as socio-economic context have a greater influence on a child’s attainment (Coleman, 1966; Hepburn, 2010). A lot of research is available on these issues and this page will review only a few studies that have yielded positive teacher effects in the face of low socioeconomic status. The studies are not without their limitations and it is not possible to fully attribute educational attainment to teacher rather than environmental effects from this evidence. Wiliam suggests that education needs teachers with advanced degrees and students to pass lots of exams. I would suggest that in the current economic climate that should not be the sole emphasis of the teacher’s role in education. The studies reviewed herein allude to the necessity to foster positive emotional wellbeing by building relationships with their students and the environmental context of the school. This may be particularly important for those who face socioeconomic hardship. It is thus necessary that teachers possess a multitude of skills and attributes in order to be able to be effective. It sounds like ‘Mrs Latimer’ has got it right…


Contents

1. Wiliam’s stance

2. Evidence of positive teacher effects in the face of low SES

2.1 Achievement of Black-Caribbean pupils

2.2 Collective teacher efficacy

2.3 Instructional and emotional support in a class at risk for school failure

3. Criticisms

3.1 Example schools

4. Key thinkers

5. Links to higher education

6. References


1. Wiliam’s stance

Dylan Wiliam is a professor of educational assessment at the Institute of Education, University of London. He has spoken out about the impact of poor teacher quality and suggests that the country’s future economic prosperity requires improving the quality of teachers already working in our schools. He posits that more effective textbooks, better technology, and more classroom assistants have not made any difference to educational attainment. It is thought that it doesn’t matter which school you go to but which classroom you are in; moreover, in the classrooms of the most effective teachers, students from disadvantaged backgrounds learn just as much as those from disadvantaged backgrounds learn just as much as those from advantaged backgrounds. Although he has not published empirical work on the issue himself, he points other studies which have yielded positive results from good teaching (2007; 2008). Wiliam believes that if we can persuade the smartest people in the country to want to be teachers, then we will have a great education system. Wiliam’s idea of educational success is measured by better exam results and thus better performing schools.

The argument

The Coleman Report (1966) was commissioned by the US Department of Education to report on educational equality in the US. It was one of the largest studies in history, with more than 150, 000 students in the sample. It was found, overall, that student background or socioeconomic status are much more important in determining educational outcomes than are measured differences in school resources such as school spending. Children of poor parents are more likely to have serious health problems, have lower educational attainment and lower earnings and wellbeing over their life (Currie, 2009). Anecdotal evidence from teachers who have experienced working in deprived areas also suggests that when teachers are working against conflicting ideals with a pupil’s home-life, no amount of innovative teaching will have a big difference, especially at the primary stages. When a child is not being adequately fed or clothed, and is dealing with abject poverty, education is no longer the priority. Excellent teaching can go unnoticed in schools in particularly deprived areas as assessment targets are not met.


2. Evidence of positive teacher effects in the face of low SES

2.1 Achievement of Black Carribbean pupils

In an attempt to identify common themes for success in raising the achievement in British schools of pupils form Black Caribbean backgrounds Feyisa Demi drew evidence from 13 case study schools in Lambeth, London (Demie, 2004). She identified teachers who had high expectations of their pupils’ learning, who created ‘a mesmerising curriculum; using creative intuition to deepen the quality of pupils’ learning, who developed a highly inclusive curriculum, with strong links to the community, and who demonstrated a strong commitment to equal opportunities and a clear stand on racism. These teachers ensured that Black Caribbean pupils did well and bucked the national trend. These teachers made a difference.

2.2 Collective teacher efficacy

Collective teacher efficacy (CTE) refers to the extent to which a school has a collective perception that teachers make a difference to the attainment of their pupils over and above the impact of the pupils’ social circumstances. Parker, Hannah & Topping (2006) studied 66 teachers in 15 primary schools in Dundee. Significant relationships were found between socioeconomic stats and attainment in reading and mathematics (but not writing) and, more excitingly, there was a significant relationship between how teachers collectively felt they could make a difference and their children’s attainment in reading and writing (but not mathematics). Collective teacher efficacy appeared to have a much stronger independent impact on children’s attainment in writing than the children’s socioeconomic status.

2.3 Instructional and emotional support in a class at risk for school failure

In the U.S., Hamre and Pianta (2005) studied 910 children deemed ‘at risk’ on the basis of demographic characteristics such as low levels of maternal education and functional problems as reported from their kindergarten teachers. At risk students placed in first-grade classrooms offering strong instructional and emotional support had achievement scores commensurate with their low-risk peers and those placed in less supportive classrooms had lower achievement.


3. Criticisms

On the whole, these studies demonstrate very positive effects of good teaching practice. Demie (2005) found that in Lambeth, the number of Black Caribbean pupils gaining 5+ A*-C at GCSE had jumped by 22%. It was inferred that this was due to strong leadership at the schools with clearly defined policies for teachers and parents. Parental involvement and links with the community were key factors in the success, schools had to work hard to get parents on board and involved and it paid off. Thus, a nurturing, creative environment was created in which pupils were able to thrive. The teacher was undoubtedly a key figure in this process, however, it is clear that teaching and learning strategies were going beyond classroom tactics and taking account of the socioeconomic context of the school. However, what happens in schools in which it is not possible to make such community links and reach out to parents?

Parker et al.’s (2006) study provides an interesting insight into the relationship between teachers’ perceived self-efficacy and school attainment, possibly feeding into some the same principals as Demie’s study as teachers feel well lead and supported in their roles to allow them to become more dynamic educators. Hamre & Pianta (2005) found that it was possible to mediate the effects of being ‘at risk’ for academic disengagement by putting pupils in a class where teachers built positive relationships with them and they felt supported emotionally and academically. This alludes to a strong teacher effect. However it could be questioned whether the criteria used to determine children as ‘at risk’ in this study allows for their findings to be generalised. Pupils whose mothers had less than a 4 year college degree, and had been assessed for some behavioural problems were considered ‘at risk’. It is not possible to say that these teacher effects would extend to children who grow up in areas of multiple deprivation.

Perhaps more interesting is the emphasis on providing emotional support for these children and the acknowledgement of its importance. Wiliam (2007) seems to think that emphasis should be on having children pass more exams and that having better educated teachers will allow that and solve education’s problems. I would argue that fostering a positive educational environment where children and young people are able to thrive and reach their potential as individuals, irrespective of exam results and national achievement targets, is equally important and can lead to more effective citizens.

3.1 Example schools

Let’s consider the demographic of two schools that could be considered to be in the low SES bracket:

School A

Pupils frequently start at different times throughout the year.

Pupils often turn up at school hungry; with old clothes that are dirty and too small.

Pupils frequently have many days off which are not accounted for.

Parents not available to talk to school; some cannot speak any English

Some parents visited by school management due to absences; families unconcerned

Pupils’ parents have substance and alcohol abuse issues

School B

Pupils’ parents have not received higher education.

School is situated in racially diverse area.

Some children have behavioural, attention, and academic problems.

Attendance is generally good

Most parents make ‘parents night’ but often don’t see eye to eye with the teacher.

Pupils’ parents are unemployed

These vignettes are fictional, but realistic, and highlight the differences between the reality of schools where pupils face abject poverty, to those who have a large demographic from a low SES. The schools described in Hamre & Piante’s (2005) study could be inferred to be similar to School B and therefore their findings are not generalizable to all low SES schools. School A faces issues that represent some very serious barriers to learning. It can be easily inferred how difficult it would be for a teacher to have an impact on such issues, especially at the primary school stage. In these circumstances, teachers may be working towards providing some form of holistic care for the child, beyond pushing them to meet national targets for academic attainment. The graph below depicts attendance rates in Glasgow in 2009/10 from primary 1-3. It can be seen that some of the more deprived areas such as Govanhill and Parkhead are falling below the average for the city. Teachers are not able to control pupil attendance and this graph illustrates that there are differences between areas which will inevitably have a negative impact of pupil attainment.


4. Key thinkers

¨ Nel Noddings is a professor of child education at Stanford University and had a background as a maths teacher. She developed the ‘ethics of care’ theory in education in which she felt that caring and building relationships is a fundamentally important aspect of education that takes place between the teacher and the learner (Smith, 2004). This could be related to Hamre & Pianta’s study in which effective teachers were offering emotional and instructional support in response to students’ particular needs.

¨ Research on wellbeing in modern society relates well to this discussion as it seems that implementing a culture of wellbeing in a classroom has the power to mediate the potentially harmful effects of socioeconomic difficulties. Phil Hanlon (based at University of Glasgow) and others (www.afternow.co.uk) look at the impact of the culture of consumerism on the economy, public health and wellbeing and the website contains lots of interesting research.


5. Links to higher education

In 2007/8, 56% of school leavers (from publicly funded secondary schools in Scotland) living in the 10% most affluent areas, went on to higher education, compared to 13% from those from the 10% most deprived areas (the Scottish average is 31%) (Scottish Government, 2008). This could be due to these students being exposed to bad teachers. It seems very unlikely that this is the only factor in this.

A study by a University of Glasgow research group in the School of Education found that Glasgow schools in poorer areas are better at helping pupils go on to training and college than is usually acknowledged (see TES article, Hepburn, 2010) . The issue remains that when schools are judged on the number of students attaining Highers and going on to university, schools in deprived areas appear to be poor performing. School level attainment was found to be firmly linked to deprivation and social class. However, when data is drawn from levels of students going on to employment, training or further education, it is found that Glasgow schools are performing well. These are very positive findings for a city with the highest concentrations of multiple deprivation in Scotland. This suggests that teachers are fostering wellbeing and instilling confidence in young people.

Wiliams alludes to the necessity for more students to pass advanced exams and feels that better educated teachers are needed. However, this serves only to perpetuate a system that is presently not working very well. Pushing students through exams, then a university system, and out into an unsteady economic climate in which they are vulnerable to failure and subsequent poor wellbeing, does not seem like it should be the most important part of a teacher’s work.


6. References

Currie, J. (2009). Healthy, wealthy, and wise: Socioeconomic status, poor health in childhood, and human capital development. Journal of Economic Literature, 47, 87-122.

Demie, F. (2005). Achievement of black Caribbean pupils: good practice in Lambeth schools. British Educational Research Journal, 21, 481-508.

Hamre, B. K., & Pianta, R. C. (2005). Can instructional and emotional support in the first-grade classroom make a difference for children at risk of school failure? Child Development, 76, 949-967.

Hepburn, H. (2010). Schools in Glasgow’s deprived areas pave way for ‘positive destinations’. http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6063680 (accessed 19/03/12).

Parker, K., Hannah, E., & Topping, K. J. (2006). Collective teacher efficacy, pupil attainment and socio-economic status in primary school. Improving Schools, 9, 111-129.

Scottish Government (2008). National and local authority information on the destinations of leavers from publicly funded secondary schools: 2007/08. Education Series Statistical Bulletin. Edinburgh: Scottish Government.

Sinclair, S., McKendrick, J. H., & Scott, G. (2010). Failing young people? Education and aspirations in a deprived community. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, 5, 5-20.

Smith, M. K. (2004). Nel Noddings, the ethics of care and education’. The Encyclopaedia of Informal Education, www.infed.org/thinkers/noddings.htm. [infed is a really good sight for information on educational theorists and topical issues]

Wiliam, D. (2007). Changing classroom practice. Educational Leadership, 36-42.

Wiliam, D. (2007). Keynote to ALT-C conference (http://www.alt.ac.uk/altc2007/ )

6.1 Further Reading

Blanton, L. P., Sindelar, P. T., & Correa, V. I. (2006). Models and measures of beginning teacher quality. The Journal of Special Education, 40, 115-127. Good study on improving teacher quality; focus on ‘special education’ is also useful for considering work in deprived areas as additional support is frequently required.

Dolton, P., & Newson, D. (2003). The relationship between teacher turnover and school performance. London Review of Education, 1, 132-140. Interesting study about the effects of high teacher turnover in areas of deprivation which is a vicious cycle for the students leading to continued low attainment.

Woolfolk, A., Hughes, M., & Walkup, V. (2008). Psychology in Education. Pearson Education Ltd: Essex. A good textbook about psychological principles in teaching and education (not about the practice of educational psychology).