These days it seems to me, everyone knows about education. It's very easy for someone, somewhere to make a noise about some aspect, particularly when it comes to schooling. When I was out and about talking to Heads today as part of my real job at the University of Cambridge, it occurred to me that I had been involved in matters scholastic for over 30 years, as a practitioner in the classroom, and as an academic- that's not counting the X number of years when I was a pupil! So this blog is an extended musing on that!
When I was first venturing into things academic as a Masters Student in the 1980's I came across, for the first time, critiques of how men and women use language e.g.Spender/Man made Language. To put it in a nutshell, Spender talked about dominant discourses and by taping conversation she discovered that women's language was often supportive: She noted in an interview recently: "They asked the right questions, provided encouragement and feedback, made the male speaker feel important. But this meant that men did most of the talking. Women who did talk for more than about one third of the conversation were most often described as bossy, aggressive, rude, and as dominating the conversation, even when they got much less than a 50 per cent share."I was interested in this, and other research at the time into boys and girls in the classroom and how they used language and did a very small study in which I observed two primary classes over two lessons. I remember being amazed by the amount of attention the boys got, even when the teachers were trying not to, which backed other research that I hadn't quite believed at the time! What this taught me is that not all we think is fact/common sense is so, and you have to spend more time asking questions. Also of course, about debates on male/female visibility! So, in the great debates at the moment, what do we actually know, both from research and practice? And why is it, that when people disagree in education, they almost immediately move to personal attacks on the other party? I could cite several examples, and I know they would all have been told off if it happened in a school.
I think I am just getting a little cross, which is not me. I am very even handed usually but it does seem that people who went to school, but haven't studied schooling in depth, are far too quick to speak from their own experience. Now there is nothing wrong with that of course, as it is the basis of most blogs, including this one, but, it should not be about just your own experience or things that back up your own views. We don't know whether primary academies work. There has been no time to do research. Saying they must often enough may convince some. Old style sponsored academies? Some work really well, some don't. Again, the research evidence is very mixed. What I think we can say from decades of school improvement and school effectiveness research ICSEI, is that just focusing on structure is not the answer, and sponsors, on their own are not a magic bullet. Some researchers would also suggest that current policies are not about schools at all but about equity issues and privatisation Stephen Ball talking about his research. .
It is easy to moan, less easy to do something about it. It is COMPLEX! For all the teachers that are unhappy with the way their professional life is going, there will probably be many happy to take up new ideas and new ways of doing things. It has probably always been so. However, when less and less people are applying for headship, when the school population is rising, you do need people to fill the vacancies. Pragmatists might say there is nothing like a down turn to keep up the teaching numbers, but it doesn't sustain them. My own research into emotion and leadership My book suggests to me that what is being forgotten in the headlong rush for change is that leadership is often all about making activity meaningful for others, and teachers, to do their job well, need to be supported in doing that activity with pupils. If you have a personal bad day( your private life is heading downhill for example!) as an administrator, journalist or chicken farmer, you can keep your head down and do non people focused activities.Teachers have to go out there regardless, which makes the job of sorting out whether a teacher is failing, much more difficult. I could go on, but I will save that for the next blog. Although I am not yet pursued by and investigative reporter,. watch out , I can see an Incredible Hulk moment coming! You wouldn't like me when I'm angry
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