CPD


in association with Where am I going?


Having a clear idea of your career path will have a direct


impact on the type of CPD you require. Margaret Adams explains


W


HEN YOU have only been in teaching for a relatively short time, say one or two years, it is often difficult to be sure where you are going in your career. You have a lot of years


ahead of you and you might not know yet if you want to become a headteacher or if you will be happy spending your career in the classroom. However, it is a mistake to put off thinking about the


future until you have got more experience behind you. You might not realise it, but you are making career


decisions all the time. When you agree to take part in a project or express an interest in learning more about a specific initiative, you are shaping people’s perceptions of you, and your interests. This will influence the types of invitation to get


involved with activities they offer you in the future. Therefore, whenever you choose to take part in an activity, or begin to focus on specific areas of teaching, like it or not, you are also edging towards specialisation. It is worth spending some time thinking about how


you intend to manage that journey. After all, you do not want to risk drifting towards a career destination you might not be happy to reach.


Do all teachers become specialists?


One way or another most teachers do. You have probably got lots of specialists in your school. Some of them hold roles linked to their specialist skills – your special needs co-ordinator will be a good example. There are also specialists within each department.


Some English teachers are also drama specialists, for example. Science teachers may be specialists in biology, chemistry, physics, environmental science and so on. Specialists such as these are easy to recognise.


However, there are other types of specialist, too, because sometimes specialisation results from developing your interests. In this case, you may not end up with a post of responsibility built around your specialist knowledge, but that will not mean you are not a specialist. You probably know who to ask, in school, when


you have a detailed question about modern European history, or who is likely to have the answers to questions on issues related to global warming. They may or may not teach these specific subjects, but you value their insights.


How do you become a specialist?


Most teachers begin their journey towards specialisation either by developing their interests in an area or by seizing an opportunity to get involved with an initiative in school. Once you have begun your journey, in order to


develop further, check out who else in school knows a lot about your area of interest. Seek out opportunities to work more closely with these people and to learn from them. Ask their advice on which CPD programmes


to attend. When you have a question related to the specialist area, ask them for guidance. When opportunities emerge, apply for posts that will allow you to spend more time on the area that you wish to specialise in. You will not become a specialist overnight, but you


will develop your expertise and your experience week by week and, thus, become a specialist over time.


What do teachers specialise in?


You do not need to look any further than job advertisements to find the answer to this question. If you intend to use specialisation as a means of


enhancing your career prospects, you will need to do some research about which particular specialist roles are available and what they require of people. If you wish to become a head of department, look


at advertisements for such roles. Analyse the types of experience, the leadership skills and amount of subject expertise that schools are looking for in these


SecEd • February 24 2011


role holders. Set about making sure your experience matches the published job requirements. If your primary aim is to gain more fulfilment from


your role in teaching, you will probably choose your areas of specialisation with your own interests in mind, rather than thinking about job opportunities. However, you may also wish to remain aware of the types of specialist responsibilities that are available to people working in your area. You may then decide to steer your interests in a direction that could allow you to specialise formally and gain recognition for your expertise.


When should you think about specialising?


That depends on you. When you are thinking about extending your own learning, then your journey towards specialisation begins and ends, takes detours, and pauses, in line with your own capacity to learn. If you have more time, you will progress faster. If your enthusiasm increases, you will want to learn more about your subject area. Specialisation in this context is entirely in your own hands. If you are thinking about seeking out specialist


roles, then other people will have their views about when you will be ready to take on such responsibilities. You may wish to be a head of year, but if you have no more than a few months’ experience in teaching behind you, others may decide you are not yet ready for such a responsibility. Probably the best way to decide whether you are


ready to specialise is to think about the tasks and activities you would need to relinquish if you chose to allocate more of your time to a specialist area. If you are not ready to leave these tasks behind,


then you are probably not yet ready to specialise. Likewise, if you are not sure you really want to spend an increasing amount of time on one aspect of teaching and learning, then you may need to delay your decision about specialisation. It is never too early – or too late – to think about specialisation, so you can move at a pace you find comfortable.


Conclusion


Specialisation will crop up regularly in your performance reviews and when you think about your own professional development. Therefore, you need to be clear in your own mind about where becoming a specialist fits into your career journey. Once you know that, you will have a better idea of where you are going in teaching.


SecEd


• Margaret Adams is a former teacher and the author of How To Take Charge Of Your Teaching Career (Continuum International Publishing, 2008).


Talking CPD CPD: What do teachers think?


Graham Newell reports on the findings of


research into teachers’ experiences of CPD


IN THE course of our work, we speak to many headteachers and heads of CPD. These conversations have helped to form our views about CPD in UK schools. However, it’s always wise to validate your


assumptions with the “chalkface”, so we decided it was time once again for us to listen to the teachers themselves! As a result of this, late last year, we asked just over


250 teachers in primary and secondary schools across the country to tell us about their own experience of CPD. Some of those we asked had responsibility for


CPD within their school, but most were classroom teachers. We wanted to understand their views about what works, what does not and their hopes for the future. The results were very interesting indeed. First of all, there were some positives. The


majority of teachers (82 per cent) believed that CPD is embedded in the culture of their school. And most (85 per cent) were clear about their personal development targets. But, and this is an important but, the majority


(96 per cent) do not feel in control of their CPD and would like more influence. This may suggest that traditional CPD methodology lacks personalisation. A key factor to be taken into account is teachers’


perceptions of the future of CPD given current funding challenges. What’s clear is that schools are anticipating a period when they will have to do more with, at best, the same budget. None of the CPD co-ordinators were expecting


a budget increase, with just under half (46 per cent) expecting a cut and the rest (54 per cent) hoping to maintain current budget levels. With that budget squeeze in mind, it is more critical than ever to establish which CPD activities really deliver. The recent Education White Paper reflected that:


“We do not have a strong enough focus on what is proven to be the most effective practice in teacher education and development. “We know that teachers learn best from other


professionals and that an ‘open classroom’ culture is vital: observing teaching and being observed, having the opportunity to plan, prepare, reflect and teach with other teachers.” But do teachers agree with this assessment? What


do teachers believe are the most effective strategies with the best long-term results? Would they rather take the opportunity to get out of the school to attend external courses, or would they actually prefer to learn in their own classroom? When asked to choose, more than four times


as many teachers would opt for in-situ, classroom- based training over external courses. It also becomes clear that teachers enjoy learning from each other: a massive 85 per cent believe that there is a value in teachers sharing best practice. Lesson observations are clearly an important part


of CPD, with more than three-quarters of respondents (78 per cent) asserting that such observations are part of the culture in their school. While this is heartening, there is some way still to go for teachers to have enough opportunity to observe each other. As things stand, only just over a third of teachers


(34 per cent) see more than 10 lessons a year. If we believe what the teachers are telling us, and sharing best practice really is important and valued, then more must be done to increase this figure. A sentiment which chimes with the White Paper,


which states: “Government should support the efforts of teachers, helping them to learn from one another and from proven best practice”.


• Graham Newell is director and education consultant at IRIS Connect. Visit www.irisconnect.co.uk


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