A ‘World Class’ effort to tackle teacher crisis
THE LEADER of a Yorkshire university has launched a new report aimed at tackling the critical shortage of teachers across the nation’s schools.
The publication sees Leeds Trinity University vice-chancellor Professor Margaret House outline why universities should continue to play a pivotal role in educating the next generation of teachers.
And she warns that a move towards a schools-led model of teacher training risks damaging the quality of the profession, which is needed to ensure children given the best education possible.
She said: ”The potential teacher recruitment crisis will only be solved by universities and schools working together to deliver teacher education.
“Recent moves towards a primarily schools-led model of teacher training risks damaging the large supply of high quality teachers needed to ensure every child receives the highest standard of education possible.”
The report also sees Professor House and Paul Dickinson, director of the Institute of Childhood and Education at the university, discuss government-proposed ‘Centres of Excellence’. They suggest that “it is perhaps time to stabilise the number of providJointly ers, focus on quality and establish a small number of centres of excellence”, recommending that centres could focus on “areas of real priority” such as “raising the quality of mentoring effective teaching of pupils who speak English as an additional language; leadership and management; use of technology; and effective multi-agency working”.
published by the Cathedrals Group and GuildHE, which both represent a major proportion of the UK’s higher education institutions offering training courses, the report has been published in response to serious teacher shortages across England.
It features collection of 12 essays offering expert perspectives on teacher education from school headteachers, university vice-chancellors and academics.
Entitled
the report covers a wide range of issues, from the current policy landscape such as schools and universities working in partnership, supporting small schools and promoting a Christian vision of education, to how teaching can be improved through developing a ‘realistic clinical practice’, embedding values at the heart of teacher training and supporting teachers to develop the critical thinking attributes associated with being a Masters-level entry profession.