Taking account of real teaching

There has been much discussion about accountability within the teaching profession recently. There has also been talk of publishing exam results as a n indication of the effectiveness of a school's teaching. However, such a measure would be a crude one.

Publication of results and the resultant league tables would take no account of what real teaching is all about - learning cognitive and career skills to help students learn about themselves, helping them to live peacefully with themselves and with others and develop into mature, competent and self-motivated adults.

Furthermore, certain schools contain a majority of middle-class students whose parents are predominantly in the professional career category. In this case, stimulation, emphasis on education, motivation and financial resources may be greater than for children coming from less advantaged circumstances. This will inevitably skew results.

My own belief is that the most effective form of accountability is self-monitoring. Self-observation would entail teachers regularly going through a checklist of behaviours that are the hallmarks of being an effective teacher and determining where their strengths and challenges lie. Any shortcomings would provide the opportunities for further professional and personal development. It is crucial that the culture of the school accepts shortcomings in a positive way. It should not be threatening for a teacher to seek help and support on a particular matter of professional competence.

There are many teachers who live in fear of judgment and condemnation, and are thereby forced to cover up areas where they are less than competent.

A competency checklist for teachers could include the following:

Do I like students?

Do I respect students?

Do I address students by their first names?

Am I challenged by teaching?

Do I respond to failure and success as equal and integral parts of teaching?

Do I put the emphasis on learning as an adventure and not as a pressure to perform?

Do I correct students' homework positively?

Do I arrive on time for class?

Do I have definite boundaries around respect for self and others?

Do I communicate directly and clearly what is required of students in and out of classroom?

Do I listen to students?

Am I firm and do I take definitive action when violations of the rights of teachers and students occur?

Do I maintain understanding for the student who presents classroom difficulties, while being clear that his or her problem behaviours cannot be allowed to be the source of violations of other people's rights?

Do I seek back-up support when needed?

Do I liaise with parents at the early signs of difficulties?

Is my sense of self separate from what I do?

Does my teaching approach inspire or threaten children?

Do I accept and celebrate the uniqueness and individuality of each student?

When under stress do I seek solutions?

The above list is by no means exhaustive and it would be advisable for teachers to devise their own checklist, one that would reflect the responsibilities that are peculiar to their school setting.

Nevertheless, there are common issues that all teachers need to address in evaluating their teaching style. These revolve around their own sense of self, their attitude to education and to failure and success, their co-operation with management and fellow members of staff, their relationship with students and parents, and their response to children's learning efforts and difficulties.

It would benefit teachers for parents and students to be aware of the above list of responsibilities so that parents, in particular, could support teachers to meet their obligations. When parents (and students) observe a falling short of what is desirable, it is incumbent on them to confront the teacher and request that the teacher take on the challenges to improving competency. In the same way that an individual student's emotional and behavioural difficulties cannot be allowed to block or violate the rights of other students and teachers, so too the shortcomings of teachers cannot become a block to students' learning and to their emotional and social development. Confrontation is an act of caring and its purpose is not to judge or blame, but to provide an opportunity for ongoing professional development which can benefit everyone in the school system, particularly the teacher who is challenged.

A means of evaluating the culture of the school complements the individual teacher's self-assessment and this will be discussed next week.

Dr Tony Humphreys is a consultant clinical psychologist and author of Work and Worth: take back your life