Effective teaching and teacher collaboration

As already mentioned above, there is considerable evidence from international research to suggest that teachers are among the key elements in any education system and their quality is fundamental in achieving positive student outcomes and quality education (Anderson & Mundy, 2014:5; Caena, 2011:2; Gerritsen et al. 2014:2; Naylor & Sayed, 2014:6; World Bank, 2012:1). For example, according to Mourshed et al. (2010:11), the quality of education provided to learners is a very important factor in the future wellbeing of a society. Therefore, West-Burnham (2010:6) contends that, the quality of teachers as well as their classroom practices has the greatest potential to influence the attainment of students. Coe, Aloisi, Higgins and Major (2014:3) advise that teacher quality calls for a triangulated approach of evaluating teachers using continuous assessment and feedback based on a broad range of measurements drawn from different credible sources rather than using a single test.

In view of the above, Anderson and Mundy (2014:5) comment that policies and practices that focus on recruitment of teachers, how they are deployed, selected and hired, their working conditions and their retention are cardinal. Ingvarson et al. (2014:3) confirm that quality teachers are important in quality teaching and that best-practice teacher-education programmes demand best-practice approaches to the selection, preparation and induction of teachers into the

profession. That is why high-performing countries have, for instance, deliberately adopted policies that attract the most capable people into the teaching profession, making entry to teacher education very competitive and encouraging the most capable secondary school leavers and university graduates to become teachers.

Teacher quality is also greatly determined by how much emphasis is put on teacher preparation because, when they understand how learning takes place, they can begin to adjust their practices which can result in real improvement in learner outcomes (Lofthouse et al. 2010:9). Gaudreau et al. (2013:361) observe that teacher training at pre-service level gives minimal guidance on management of behaviour in class, which could be the reason many teachers have a feeling of inadequate preparation and are often overtaken by numerous difficulties when they start teaching.

The concern for moving away from emphasis on pre-service training on such measures arises from the research evidence that less than 20% of teachers in their initial year of teaching felt ready to choose and adjust curriculum materials, manage a broad range of classroom controls and disciplinary cases and evaluate students (Coggshall, Bivona & Reschly, 2012:9). The Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation (2014:11) indicates that many teacher training programmes pay little attention to classroom management. This deficiency is confirmed by McKenzie, Rowley, Weldon and Murphy (2011:77) based on a 2010 survey in Australia’s schools where teachers claimed classroom management, and more specifically managing student behaviour, ranked among the top areas in which teachers expressed need for more professional training.

At the same time, effective teacher practice calls for practice-oriented teacher preparation rather than just emphasis on qualifications. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (2010:2) notes that, very often, teacher education has been characterised by preparation in terms of subject matter, theory and teaching methodologies which are taught in intervals that are secluded and remotely detached from clinically-oriented practice. Yet, just like medicine, teaching is a practice-oriented profession and teachers should be prepared to become experts in their practice by being able to apply their professional knowledge to improve the

learning of students and being able to increase their knowledge of the profession by means of practical application. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (2010:ii) underscores that effective teacher preparation for the classroom in the 21st century demands a shift in teacher education from the traditional preparation in the academic and course work which is not firmly rooted in experiences that are school-based. Instead programmes should be adopted that are deliberately founded on clinical practices, combined with academic content and courses that are professionally founded, which allow the trainees to be exposed to the actual experiences they may come across in the classroom.

In view of the foregoing, the researcher agrees with European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education (2010:16) that there is no initial teacher education course capable of competently equipping teachers with all their requirements throughout their careers, because the teaching profession demands are increasingly changing, calling on teachers to develop a sense of reflection on their individual learning needs based on their specific school situation and taking responsibility for their personal, life-long learning. Jensen et al. (2016:60) add that it is not likely that initial teacher education could completely prepare a teacher for all classroom situation realities. Therefore, in-school support for teachers is critical in facilitating subject expertise and filling in gaps in terms of knowledge in the process of adjusting to teaching full-time because this allows teachers to see first-hand the effect of new knowledge and adjustments in practice on student learning. Darling-Hammond et al. (2017:1) confirm that professional development, if properly established and implemented efficiently, brings about worthwhile adjustments in terms of teacher practice and the outcomes of students. The Ministry of Education (2015:iii) underlines that continuing professional development is an important tool for enhancing educational quality as it facilitates building of educators’ knowledge base and competences.

In support of the above argument, the Ministry of Education (b) (2010:1) acknowledges that teaching is both a learnt and a learning process where every teacher is expected to be a learner. Teachers must continue to develop their methodologies of teaching and delivery of content at school level as it is not feasible to send the whole crop of teachers to colleges or universities for in-service training. Cator, Schneider and Ark (2014:9) emphasise that with the emergence of dynamic educational initiatives, teachers need to meet to high standards and undergo continuous

learning at professional level because their functions and strategies do not remain the same. The European Commission (2013:7) acknowledges that the functions and expectations of teachers and schools are constantly changing. As such, in the modern times, teachers require the knowledge to continuously adapt their practice which includes critical self-evaluation, giving feedback on the outcomes of students, providing new evidence for in and out of class and professional interaction so as to adjust the way they do things. Caena (2011:10) adds that, when teachers within each department or subject area together discuss professional issues, it is possible that discussions will be closely related to the actual lived experiences, provide a chance for learning actively and lead to a shared understanding in terms of instructional targets, strategies, challenges and possible ways to solve them. Therefore, collaborative practice is an important strategy for improving systems because it allows teachers and school administrators to work collectively in the establishment of instructional practices, investigating what is feasible in class, and doing this with extreme care as well as commitment to improving practice individually and collectively (Mourshed et al. 2010:74).

In relation to the above comments, Naylor and Sayed (2014: 27) advise that all efforts aimed at improving teacher quality should be context-based. In line with the principles of reflective teaching, improving teacher quality based on one’s context is important, because deriving of meaning and gaining understandings from one’s reality allows individual projection regarding possibility in new situations. On the other hand, a highly centralised system of managing public schools hampers the possibility of individual schools reflecting on their individual experiences and developing research-based strategies in respect of their own contexts (McGregor & Cartwright, 2011: xvi). Teacher training towards changing instruction and raising classroom outcomes demands sustainable investment in terms of time (DeMonte, 2013:1) but most continuous professional development programmes fail to positively contribute to teaching and improvement of student achievement due to “reliance on short-term, episodic, and disconnected professional learning for teachers”. Darling-Hammond et al. (2017:v-vi) underline that effective professional development includes seven major characteristics: focus on content, active learning, upholds collaboration, applies effective practice models, makes available coaching and expert support, provides feedback and reflection and has a duration that is sustained.

In relation to the discussion above, Tucker (2014:4) confirms that Shanghai attaches great importance to teacher quality by not only recruiting their teachers from the high-performing high school graduates or demanding that their teachers possess a master’s degree on joining the teaching profession, but insisting on subject specialisation no matter the Grade level, and ensuring that they gain competence in the craft of teaching through initiating “ an apprenticeship programme for learning the craft of teaching”. Furthermore, Tucker (2014: 5-6) indicates that Shanghai is also known for having a teaching system founded on a professional model as revealed by “the way it supports and incentivizes the continuous disciplined improvement of teacher performance”, such as training teachers in research strategies as well as providing an opportunity for teachers, not administrators, to spearhead systems of bettering the curriculum and teaching strategies, working collectively as a group.

On the other hand, Morgan (2014:454) reports that Finland, only selects 10% of the best high- school graduate applicants using a comprehensive selection system where initially one is required to score highly in the college entry examination, a powerful grade point average, and involvement in extracurricular activities. Candidates who meet these conditions are further subjected to sit a teaching examination, display efficient communication skills, and at least average performance in an interview where they respond to different questions, including justification for taking up the teaching profession. Morgan (2014:454) adds that the actual university teacher training focuses on preparing prospective teachers to be both researchers and practitioners and encompasses a “clinical practice at a model school, where they learn how to deliver research-based instruction and mentor beginners”.

Alliance for Excellent Education (2011:6) reports that teachers in Singapore spend approximately 20 hours per week engrossed in a timetable for planning and learning together, and 100 hours per year in a professional development programme supported by the state outside normal school hours. The performance management system is set up in such a way that it directly connects professional development with the curriculum and provides teachers with opportunities to become more effective. Ontario Ministry of Education (2012:55) explains that Singapore maintains a professional learning environment in which it incorporates all

stakeholders in the continuous activity of identifying present achievements, developing targets to advance those levels, and collectively working towards achieving those goals.