“In the classroom is the key to improving educational quality and teachers are the cornerstone of the entire system”, explains Anna Pons (Manresa, 1987), OECD analyst. He believes that there can be all the resources in the world (time, spaces, templates), but it is the teachers who make the difference. What do other countries do and little is done here? How do they invest in their teachers? They open the classrooms and fellow teachers come in to observe to get an evaluation of their practice. They accompany teachers who are taking their first steps in the workplace with mentorship. They spend more time preparing for classes and use technology to transform their practices. “What we know works, little is done in Spain”, states Pons, who was in Barcelona last week, invited to the Quorum23 congress, organized by the Fundació Escola Cristiana de Catalunya. You also raise concerns about the lack of recognition for the profession.
Lack of recognition
The Talis study (International Study of Teaching and Learning) points out that only one in five teachers is valued for their work. “These are very worrying data. In Spain the profession is not valued nor does the Administration recognize those who do it best”. There are no, as in most countries, teacher and principal evaluations. And there is no talent management policy. However, 90% entered the profession because of its commitment to children. “We are talking about a profession that is truly vocational. And if you have really committed professionals, in any organization, you have a great strength and you have to recognize that.”
The well-being of teachers
“Two weeks ago an international meeting of directors shared an American study on the stress level of directors and it is similar to that of immediate response professions (firefighters, police…)”. There are other similar studies conducted in Finland, Australia and Canada. There is a part attributable to the pandemic, during which “the work of principals and teachers changed overnight”, but another part is attributable to profound social changes. “We are moving from a world of certainties to a world in constant change, in which the important thing is to adapt and know how to find opportunities in the difficulties and complexities we have to face. We don’t have a compass for that.” In his opinion, teachers are also going through a beta state, and what they need is confidence. The transition from a knowledge-transmitting school to another of competences is also key.
what works
Classroom observation is one of the most powerful tools for improving teaching quality, according to the OECD. In Japan, for more than 100 years, two teachers enter a classroom and observe the teacher’s practice. Then they explain their impressions. “In most countries there has already been a cultural change and there are visits to classrooms, organized and structured. But not in Spain, nor in France, where it is difficult to distinguish between the person, the teacher, and the pedagogical practice”. It is not about criticizing the teacher, but about using a practical, tangible example to discuss how it can be improved. That’s why trust is essential. However, he believes that changing this culture will be very difficult. The management team must generate trust.
Mentors
Having a mentor to consult with, especially during the first years as a teacher or teacher. And not just once and informally, but in a structured way, with a specific objective. Another aspect that the OECD finds important is to be part of a learning community, with shared challenges and exchange of practices. “Today’s improvements in education require all this knowledge that many systems are trying to make explicit, but that is not being done in Spain. Here, the teacher is alone, the principal does not know how the teacher works in the classroom and cannot help him to improve. The knowledge remains with each teacher in an individual way”.
Directors professionals
In other countries, he points out, the director is a trained professional. There are powerful principals’ associations that look after the improvement of pedagogical leadership and their well-being. In Spain his role is not that of a pedagogical leader, but that of a manager. There has not yet been a transition from a traditional and hierarchical system to another of horizontal and knowledge professionals. “This change is very necessary.” Any professional can have great discussions about what to teach, he argues, but if you don’t then have the teachers and managers implementing it, they’re useless. When the challenge in education was access, it was necessary to put more classrooms. But if it’s a matter of quality, you need to invest in teachers, who will be able to apply your goals and go further depending on the contexts.
Teaching innovation
“Without a purpose it is of no use”. In this country we thought it was very cool. The debate is not about being innovative and using only radical methods, nor about being traditionalist and using only frontal methods, but it is about the teacher having the entire repertoire of practices and adapting it according to their objectives. Pons illustrates this with an example. “90% of teachers teach in the classroom in a frontal way to their students. This can be very effective for certain goals, but it is not so useful for addressing diversity and improving social-emotional skills. The change requires the teacher to feel safe in any position and act according to his goal. We need to support this.”
Time in the classroom
Spending more time at school does not improve results. In fact, of the countries participating in PISA, the ones that get the best results are not those where students spend more time in classrooms. Lesson preparation time is much more important. They plan and prepare materials. And they collaborate with each other. Not sharing specific problems about a material or a student, but to learn together. Time is obviously a resource. And, on a comparative scale, Spain does not allocate enough resources to education”.
Technology
“In PISA we see that students who make more use of technology get worse results than average. This should make us consider how we are using it”, he indicates. Placing tablets in schools, if they are not integrated into the educational process, is of no use, he points out. Nor if they are not used only for communication purposes. “At the same time as I say this, I also want to emphasize that there are technological software that get students to obtain more satisfactory results, such as the one that helps to personalize math homework.” As for artificial intelligence, “they have blown up in our faces”. The teacher can decide not to use them, but the student is already using them, he says. “This will mean a new phase of experimentation on how to use or how we can coexist and how we can take advantage of this artificial intelligence that is here to stay and that will only become more and more powerful.” He believes that it brings a great advantage, the elimination of the most administrative and bureaucratic tasks.
