Teacher training selection standard criticised

Teacher-training providers are accepting substandard applicants and trainee teachers are not rigorously assessed in school, a report warns.

The concerns were raised in feedback to an Education Ministry discussion document called Becoming a Teacher in the 21st Century.

The report is part of a review of teacher standards ordered by former education minister Steve Maharey and will form part of recommendations to go to the Cabinet.

However, the Teachers' Council, which oversees teacher registration, says it is already addressing the issues raised.

Several respondents criticised the way provisionally registered teachers were assessed at school, saying the standard they needed to reach to get full registration should be clarified.

Mentor teachers, who oversee provisionally registered teachers, also needed better training.

Teachers' Council policy and strategic development manager Cynthia Shaw said the feedback did not come as a surprise and she did not expect any surprises in the recommendations being developed by the ministry.

The council had been reviewing the Satisfactory Teacher Dimensions -- which are the benchmark for teachers wanting to gain full registration -- and reviewing the processes by which mentor teachers were appointed and trained.

The review was looking at ways to improve the consistency of assessments, she said.

Several respondents questioned the standard of students allowed into teacher-training courses.

"I have sat in on intake panels in the past and have been horrified as to who has been selected for college," one wrote, while another noted that standards of maths and literacy were low.

However, New Zealand Graduate School of Education director Kevin Knight said most providers had high standards.

"You hear people talking about (teacher-training) schools which have a bums-on-seats mentality, but I don't think anyone particularly has that," he said.

The graduate school assessed qualifications and English capability, interviewed potential students and spoke to referees, he said.

Several applicants were turned down each year.

Knight wanted more detailed standards for teachers to achieve when they graduated and during their provisional teaching.

"It does fall to schools to interpret them (the current standards)," he said.

"What is missing at the moment is detail and rigour. We have a set of criteria that people have to meet before they can exit our programme.

"Every class is different and every kid is different, but it is possible to write exactly what a teacher should be able to do."

Canterbury Secondary Principals' Association chairman Denis Pyatt said the increasing shortage of teachers might affect quality.

"I think there is no doubt that we are all suffering from a shortage of teachers," he said.

"Given that fact, our teacher-training providers are caught between a rock and a hard place because, on the one hand, they are wanting to keep standards up, but, on the other hand, they have got a sector crying out for teachers."

Most schools recognised the importance of new teachers and had suitable programmes and mentors in place to help them, he said.

Education Minister Chris Carter said new standards defining what was expected of new teachers had already been introduced. No recommendations to the Cabinet had yet been completed.

PAY AGREEMENT

Members of the New Zealand Educational Institute have ratified the largest set of pay settlements negotiated.

The $300 million package covers collective agreements for support staff, primary principals and teachers, and area teachers and principals.

Each group will get an annual pay rise of 4 per cent for up to three years.

Primary and area schools were also given more management units, which allow them to financially reward teachers who take on extra responsibilities.

Institute president Frances Nelson said ratifying the agreements gave a settled start to the school year.

 

- © Fairfax NZ News