Meeting of the Parliament 17 May 2017
Talented, inspirational teachers can transform a student’s experience of school and their ability to learn and achieve. I am sure that we will hear many such stories in this afternoon’s debate, but I want to go further and say that the importance of teachers is not just about individual experience and that collectively, as a profession, teachers are critical to our education system. We need capable, knowledgeable teachers who can consistently and effectively impart knowledge and understanding. Inspirational and effective teaching should not be the exception; such teaching should be consistent in every school and classroom.
For all the talk of buildings, equipment, curricula and class sizes, none of those things counts unless we have able teachers in every school. I echo the words of the Deputy First Minister and go further to say that they are the vital infrastructure of our education system.
The importance of initial teacher education—ITE—is clear. It provides the baseline from which our teachers commence their professional lives. That is why the Education and Skills Committee’s work on workforce planning is so important, and why I welcome the motion this afternoon. Last week, our committee heard from a panel of student teachers and benefited from their insights and experiences. Their commitment and enthusiasm for teaching was inspiring. I was left with no doubt of their passion and focus to ensure that young people meet their potential. Despite that, they raised a number of key issues regarding their training. Theirs were a handful of voices, but they were echoed by many of the survey responses that the committee received.
I focus on two key issues: placements, and the effectiveness and relevance of course content. Placements are a vital part of teacher training—perhaps the most important part—where what has been learned in the lecture theatre is tried and refined in the classroom. However, we heard that trainee teachers sometimes find out where they are going only two to three days before a placement. When they arrive, they are not always expected by schools. Students often travel significant distances, yet reimbursement for expenses is inconsistent and not always complete and can take time to come through.
Without exception, each of the trainee teachers told us that they wanted more practical preparation and technique. They described an emphasis on theory, with the importance of areas described but without the methods to tackle them.