GTC Survey of Black and Minority TNS Report September 2009€¦ · GTC Survey of Black and Minority Ethnic Teachers 2009 TNS Report September 2009 UK Data Archive Study Number 6890

GTC Survey of Black and Minority Ethnic Teachers 2009 TNS Report September 2009

UK Data Archive Study Number 6890 - Surveys of Teachers, 2004-2010

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distribution will constitute an infringement of Copyright.

Content

1. Executive Summary........................................................................................... 2 1.1 Introduction.................................................................................................. 2 1.2 Accountability .............................................................................................. 2 1.3 Accountability processes............................................................................. 4 1.4 Professional learning and development ...................................................... 4

2. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 6 2.1 Background ................................................................................................. 6 2.2 Aims and objectives .................................................................................... 7 2.3 Methodology................................................................................................ 8 2.4 Analysis ..................................................................................................... 11

3. Accountability in teaching ................................................................................ 13 3.1 What are teachers held accountable for?.................................................. 13 3.2 To what extent teachers feel accountable................................................. 16 3.3 Purposes of accountability ........................................................................ 22 3.4 Future focus of accountability.................................................................... 24

4. Accountability processes ................................................................................. 28 4.1 Performance management........................................................................ 28 4.2 School self-evaluation as tool for improvement......................................... 29 4.3 External observation.................................................................................. 31 4.4 Providing an account to parents................................................................ 32 4.5 Opportunity to exercise professional judgement ....................................... 33

5. Professional learning and development........................................................... 34 5.1 Engagement in CPD activities................................................................... 34 5.2 Access to and time for CPD ...................................................................... 38 5.3 Impact and evaluation of CPD................................................................... 41 5.4 Accountability for professional development ............................................. 44

Appendix A Technical appendix

Appendix B The questionnaire

Executive Summary

© 2009 TNS UK Limited. All rights reserved

1

Acknowledgements The General Teaching Council for England (GTC) and TNS-BMRB would like to

thank all the teachers who gave their time to take part in the survey and for their

contribution to this research.

Thanks must also go to the project team at the GTC who provided invaluable support

throughout the research and reporting process.

TNS-BMRB Authors Brigitta Horup, Consultant

Siân Llewellyn-Thomas, Managing Consultant

Executive Summary


2

1. Executive Summary

1.1 Introduction This document reports on the findings of a booster survey of registered teachers from

Black and minority ethnic groups (BME teachers). The survey was commissioned in

2008 by the General Teaching Council for England (GTC) and ran concurrently with

a survey of a general sample of registered teachers, the findings of which are

reported separately. The same questionnaire was used for both surveys. A

qualitative research study ran alongside the surveys and the findings are outlined in a

separate report.

The survey had a specific focus, on policy and practice issues related to elements of

the GTC’s programme of work on professionalism in teaching; focusing specifically

on the current framework for accountability within teaching and the professional

registration requirements placed on teachers.

The GTC commissioned the independent research organisation, TNS-BMRB, to

undertake this survey.

1.2 Accountability Currently, teachers say they are most accountable for individual pupils’ progress and

their attainment in national tests and exams and they say they are held least

accountable for the performance of their school relative to others and the

implementation of national strategies.

As might be expected, there are differences in what teachers say they are held to

account for depending on the phase of education they work in. Primary school

teachers say they are held to account most for the individual progress of pupils, while

teachers who teach KS3, KS4 and Post 16 are more likely to say they are held to

account most for pupils’ attainment in national tests and exams.

Looking at what teachers feel accountable for, nearly all the teachers surveyed say

they feel accountable for the quality of their teaching and the vast majority also say

this about contributing to children’s wider well-being and engaging with parents. A

high proportion also feel accountable for promoting equality, improving their

professional knowledge and practice and responding to pupils’ views. The

Executive Summary


3

proportions of BME teachers who say this are higher than teachers in the general

survey. There are, in particular, a greater proportion of respondents who feel very

accountable for promoting equality in the boost sample than in the main survey.

The survey results show that with the exception of promoting equality, full-time

teachers are more likely to say they feel ‘very accountable’ than part-time teachers

across these measures. Indeed, part-time teachers feel considerably less

accountable for the quality of their teaching and improving their professional

knowledge and practice; supply teachers also feel less accountable for the latter.

Teachers who are currently most involved in Continuing Professional Development

(CPD) activities feel more accountable across all areas surveyed.

When asked about the purposes of accountability, teachers say the most important

purposes are: to encourage continuing improvement in school performance, to

maintain public confidence in teaching standards, to provide information about pupil

outcomes for use by their parents and to maintain standards of professional

behaviour. They feel it is of lesser importance to demonstrate the appropriate use of

public expenditure in schooling and also to show that government education policies

are being followed. Class/subject teachers are less likely to find providing information

about pupil outcomes for use by their parents very important than the average for the

sample.

Teachers currently most involved in CPD find all these purposes more important than

those who are less involved in CPD. The only exception to this is for the purpose of

showing that government education policies are being followed.

Looking to the future of accountability, teachers feel that more importance should be

given to improving their professional knowledge and practice. Over half of

respondents said that promoting equality for pupils and tackling inequality should

also be given more importance in the future. Teachers under twenty-five years and

also those who have been in the role for fewer than five years were more likely to say

this. Those teachers who feel they have not had access to adequate professional

development or not had their CPD needs identified see accountability for improving

their professional knowledge and practice as even more important in the future.

Executive Summary


4

1.3 Accountability processes Respondents were asked their opinion in response to five statements about different

ways of holding teachers to account. Around 2 in 5 teachers feel that they have

sufficient opportunity currently to provide parents with a full account of their children’s

learning, but around a third do not think this. Similarly to the main survey findings,

teachers are less positive about external observation as a process for accountability

with less than a third supporting this.

School self-evaluation is considered a useful tool for improvement as well as

accountability, especially among KS1 teachers and primary school teachers as a

whole. This is converse to the main sample where those teaching older children are

in stronger agreement. Views towards performance management are more mixed,

with just under half of the teachers surveyed saying it is an effective way of holding

teachers to account for the quality of their teaching. Performance management as a

process for this is more highly rated by primary school teachers and teachers in

senior roles than by other groups.

1.4 Professional learning and development The CPD activity that teachers are most frequently involved in is collaborative

learning with colleagues, with class/subject teachers and those aged twenty-five to

thirty-four years particularly involved. To a lesser extent, collaborative learning with

external partnerships, participation in external courses, engaging with specialist

associations and being responsible for mentoring or coaching are all activities that

teachers are engaged in. Secondary school teachers (KS3, KS4 and Post 16), the

most senior teachers, advanced skills teachers and younger teachers are currently

the most frequently engaged in CPD activities, while supply teachers participate very

little in CPD activity.

Nearly all teachers agree that they have a professional responsibility to maintain and

improve their practice, although agreement falls among supply teachers, but many

teachers feel they need more time to engage in CPD. More than half feel they have

had access to adequate CPD in the past year and two thirds feel their professional

development needs have been identified by their employer, but there is still a notable

proportion who feel they have not experienced either.

Executive Summary


5

Secondary school teachers are considerably more likely to say they need more time

to engage in professional development activities, while primary school teachers are

more likely to say they have had access to adequate CPD and had their professional

development needs identified.

Looking at the impact of CPD on teaching, around three in five teachers believe that

participation in CPD has had a positive effect on both their teaching practice and on

their pupils’ learning. Primary school and senior teachers are most likely to say this.

Around the same proportion also think they should be required to provide evidence of

their CPD, in order to continue teaching children and young people. This opinion is

held quite uniformly across all groups, although it rises among senior teachers (in

particular Head of Departments) and those most involved in CPD.

Introduction


6

2. Introduction

2.1 Background In 2008, the General Teaching Council for England (GTC) commissioned TNS-BMRB

to undertake a survey of a sample of registered teachers. The survey was

commissioned as part of a wider GTC project on the current framework of

accountability within teaching and the professional registration requirements placed

on teachers. Evidence has also been gathered through a qualitative study involving

teachers, the findings of which are reported separately to this report.

In order to explore in greater depth the views and experiences of teachers from Black

and minority ethnic groups (BME teachers), the GTC commissioned a booster survey

using the same questionnaire as the main survey. Reliable research into the

perspectives of BME teachers is relatively scarce. Historically, the number of BME

teachers who have participated in the GTC’s surveys has been small. About 5% of

responses to the main survey this year, for example, were from BME teachers. It is

not possible to assess if responses to non-targeted surveys are relative to the size of

the BME teacher population or if response rates are lower among these teachers, as

data on ethnicity is complete for only 47% of registered teachers (see Section 2.3).

As in previous years’ surveys, a booster sample was drawn in 2009 to enable

statistically reliable analysis of responses from BME teachers. This report looks at

the findings of the booster survey.

The project is part of the GTC’s ‘Teaching in 2012’ programme, which encompasses

a vision for the future of the teaching profession. The vision is for a stronger role for

professionalism and professional accountability in teaching, with the benefit of

enhancing standards of teaching and learning outcomes for children and young

people.

The public debate on accountability has tended to focus on the accountability

requirements for schools involved in national testing and inspection frameworks and

the way those requirements impact collectively on teachers as employees. A new

model of accountability that contributes to the raising of standards of teaching and

develops and supports teacher professionalism needs to consider the increasing

voice of pupils and parents in teaching and learning, and the individual teacher’s

accountability to their profession.

Introduction


7

The GTC wanted to know more about teachers’ experiences of and attitudes towards

accountability. It wanted to know, for example, what teachers felt accountable for,

and their perception of the reasons why teachers are held to account. It also wanted

to explore the benefits of requiring teachers to demonstrate the currency of their

professional knowledge and practice through a form of re-registration or revalidation.

The vision thus encompasses an increased commitment to continuing professional

development. Through this survey the GTC sought to understand teachers’

experiences of engaging in CPD.

Since completing this research, the Government has signalled in the Your Child,

Your Schools, Our Future white paper1 that it intends to introduce a renewable

‘licence to teach’. Teachers will be required to demonstrate periodically that their

skills are up to date and that their professional practice and development meet the

standards required for the profession. This will be rolled out initially for newly

qualified teachers and teachers returning to the profession from September 2010,

and for supply teachers as soon as it is practicable thereafter. The principle of

teachers demonstrating professional development in order to renew professional

registration (or active registration) has been explored through this survey and in

greater depth through the accompanying qualitative study.

2.2 Aims and objectives The 2009 survey had a specific focus on policy and practice issues related to

elements of the GTC’s programme of work on professionalism in teaching;

specifically the accountability and active registration strands.

The survey was commissioned as part of a wider stakeholder evidence-gathering

exercise conducted by the GTC to review the current framework of accountability and

the professional registration requirements placed on teachers.

The survey set out to explore what teachers are held accountable for currently; their

perceptions of the purposes of accountability; how effective the current processes for

accountability are; and how a reformed system might look. The survey also sought to

explore teachers’ appetite for a greater role for professional accountability; their

access to professional learning and development activities; and the role that CPD

plays in maintaining and developing standards of teaching and learning. 1 Your child, your schools, our future: building a 21st century schools system, DCSF (June 2009).

Introduction


8

Historically, the aim of the Survey of Teachers has been to provide the GTC and a

wide range of other policy-makers with information about teachers’ views and

experiences that are of particular importance to the future development of education

policy and practice.

Previous surveys, carried out annually, have included a mixture of ‘trend’ questions

and new topic questions. As responses to the trend questions have been fairly static,

it was decided to monitor these aspects on a less frequent basis, and so they were

not included in the 2009 survey.

The GTC is keen to understand the views and experiences of all teachers in England

and, therefore, commissioned a separate booster survey of BME teachers.

2.3 Methodology The GTC inherited the Register of Teachers from the Department for Children

Schools and Families in 2000 and, since 2002, has collected ethnicity information

about teachers. The GTC Register currently contains ethnicity data for 47% of the

551,000 teachers registered. Most of this 47% of teachers have identified themselves

as White, leaving a small sample of teachers from non-White ethnic backgrounds of

8%. Before 2002, teachers were not required to provide this information, therefore,

the sample of BME teachers is skewed towards younger and more recently qualified

teachers.

A random sample of 1,250 teachers who were identifiable on the GTC Register as

being from a black or minority ethnic group was selected. They were eligible for the

booster survey if they were defined as:

• From a black or minority ethnic group

• Fully registered with the GTC and required to register

• Listed as in service

• Aged 65 and under, and

• Not retired (or who are retired but have a date of last employment in the

current academic year).

The same questionnaire was used for the survey of BME teachers as for the main

survey of teachers. The survey was conducted by means of a self-completion

Introduction


9

methodology either via a postal or web survey. Where email addresses were

available on the Register, teachers were invited to complete the web survey.

Teachers without an email address were sent a paper version of the questionnaire.

The data was collected between 23 February and 30 April 2009.

419 teachers from the 1,250 sample responded to the survey, achieving a response

rate of 34%, compared to an overall response rate of 41% on the main Survey of

Teachers 2009. Teachers responding to the main sample of the Survey of Teachers

who defined themselves as from a black or minority ethnic group were added to the

data from the BME survey during the analysis stage, therefore the total number of

BME teachers whom responded and are reported on in the following sections is 668.

The ethnic profile of these respondents is shown in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1

PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS Black or Black British 208 31% Caribbean 97 15% African 101 15% Other Black 10 1% Asian or Asian British 293 44% Indian 154 23% Pakistani 77 12% Bangladeshi 21 3% Other Asian 41 6% Chinese or Chinese British 24 4% Mixed ethnic background 84 13% White and Black Caribbean 25 4% White and Black African 9 1% White and Asian 26 4% Other mixed ethnic background 24 4% Other ethnic background 31 5% Prefer not to say/not stated 28 4%

Base: 668

Because the Register holds a relatively low percentage of ethnicity data, the

proportions do not provide a reliable indication of the ethnicity of fully registered

teachers. It is unlikely, therefore, that this booster sample is representative of the

population of BME teachers. Consequently, the BME teacher survey results cannot

be compared with those of the main survey of teachers, however, where there

appear to be interesting differences we have noted these throughout the report.

Introduction


10

The following table shows the full profile of respondents.

Figure 2

PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS Male 172 26% Female 496 74% Under 25 53 8% 25-34 238 36% 35-44 196 29% 45-54 140 21% 55+ 41 6% Disabled 16 2% Not disabled 612 92% Foundation Stage 87 13% KS1 98 15% KS2 167 25% KS3 385 58% KS4 382 57% Post 16 174 26% Full time 554 83% Part time 110 16% Primary 217 32% Secondary 350 52% Other 101 15%

Base: 668

As mentioned, the BME teacher survey results cannot be directly compared with

those of the main survey of teachers, because the GTC Register holds a relatively

low percentage of ethnicity data, which in turn could be used as part of the BME

survey. However it is interesting to note that a considerably higher proportion of

teachers working in schools that have the highest levels of socio-economic and

linguistic challenge (Quartile 4: 49% compared with 18%) responded to the BME

teacher survey than the main survey of teachers (see Section 2.4 for further details

on measures of challenge). There were also higher proportions of full time workers

and secondary school teachers responding to the BME teacher survey

The percentage of ethnicity data held on the Register has risen each year and, as the

completeness of records improves for successive samples, the sampling and

analysis will strengthen with each survey.

Introduction


11

Full details of the methodology are provided in Appendix A.

The questionnaire Following piloting, the final questionnaire (8 pages) included 11 closed questions and

one open question to capture any additional comments from teachers on the topics

covered in the questionnaire. Two diversity monitoring questions were included to

gather data on the profile of the sample for the purpose of analysis.

A copy of the questionnaire is provided in Appendix B.

2.4 Analysis The results of the research were analysed by a range of demographic variables

taken from teachers’ survey responses and from the GTC register of teachers. Such

variables include key stage, school phase, working status, age, ethnicity, teacher

role, length of service and level of CPD involvement. Full details can be found in the

accompanying data tables.

Two measures of challenge variables were also created using data from the DCSF

database. These variables were used to indicate levels of social, linguistic and

academic challenge in teachers’ schools. The data which was extracted to build

these variables were:

• percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals

• percentage of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other

than English

• percentage of pupils with special needs with statements, plus percentage of

pupils with special needs without statements, and

• percentage of pupils in school who achieve the expected levels in national

tests.

From these variables, the two measures of challenge created were:

• measure of social / linguistic challenge, influenced by the percentage of pupils

known to be eligible for free school meals and the percentage of pupils whose

first language is known or believed to be other than English, and

• measure of academic / SEN challenge, influenced by the percentage of pupils

with special needs with statements, plus the percentage of pupils with special

Introduction


12

needs without statements, and the percentage of pupils in school who

achieve the expected levels in national tests.

Factor analysis was used to create the two measures of challenge, which were

standardised to have a mean of 100 and standard deviation of 5. A score below 100

indicated lower than average challenge, a score above 100 indicated higher than

average challenge. For each measure, schools were divided into four quartiles,

ranging from lower challenge scores (in quartile 1) to higher challenge scores (in

quartile 4) on each of the measures.

We have tested for statistical significance to ensure that the differences reported are

real differences and not differences that might be observed because we have only

surveyed a sample, rather than the whole population. For the purposes of this report,

we have commented on any differences that are found to be significant at the 95%

confidence level (i.e. there is only a 5% likelihood that the difference could have

occurred by chance). Where no reference is made to differences, this is because

they are not statistically significant. This is particularly relevant when comparing small

sub-groups within the sample, where a much bigger difference would need to be

observed for it to be a statistically significant difference.

This project was carried out in compliance with the requirements of the international

standard for market research ISO 20252.

Accountability in teaching


13

3. Accountability in teaching

3.1 What are teachers held accountable for? Accountability at present The questionnaire explored what teachers are held accountable for the most and

least at present. Teachers say they are held most accountable for pupils’ progress

(31%) and children and young people’s attainment in national tests and exams

(20%). Fewer say that implementing national strategies (7%), targeting effort on

underachieving groups (6%) and the performance of the school relative to other

schools (3%) are areas where they are held most to account.

School performance relative to other schools (37%) and implementing national

strategies (24%) came out as the areas that teachers say they are held accountable

for the least.

Figure 3

Current accountability% Most / least accountable for now

Q7.Considering the items in the list below, which one are you held accountable for most at present? And which one are you held accountable for least at present?Base: All boost sample respondents (668)

Individual pupils' progress

Children and young people’s attainment in national tests and exams

Targeting effort on underachieving groups

Implementing national strategies

Performance of school relative to others

31

20

6

7

337

24

6

6

3

Least accountable for Most accountable for

It should be noted that a proportion of teachers did not respond to this question, 33%

did not give an answer for the area in which they are held most accountable and 24%

did not for the area in which they are held least accountable. The proportion of

teachers who did not give answers to these questions is higher than in the main

survey findings (16% and 14% respectively). These teachers are more likely to be



14

Asian or Asian British (36% and 29%), teaching in Key Stage 1 (36% and 31%) and

have taught for ten to nineteen years (39% and 32%).

Differences by Key Stage In looking at responses by different sub-groups some differences emerge. Teachers

who teach Foundation Stage (41%) are more likely to say they are presently held

most accountable for individual pupil progress, whereas those teaching KS3 (28%),

KS4 (30%) and Post 16 (31%) are more likely to say they are most accountable for

children and young people’s attainment in national tests and exams.

Figure 4

CURRENT ACCOUNTABILITY (MOST ACCOUNTABLE)

Individual pupil progress

Attainment in tests/exams

% % Overall 31 20 Foundation Stage 41 6 KS1 35 7 KS2 30 12 KS3 27 28 KS4 26 30 Post 16 27 31

Base: 668

Differences by School Phase Primary school teachers (39%) are significantly more likely to say they are most

accountable for individual pupils’ progress than secondary school teachers (25%),

while secondary school teachers (30%) are more likely to say they are most

accountable for children and young people’s attainment in national tests than those

who teach in primary schools (9%).

Differences by Working Status

Significantly more full time teachers (22%) say they are held most accountable for

children and young people’s attainment in national tests and exams, compared with

11% of part time teachers.



15

Differences by Role

The role of the teacher also impacts on what teachers say they are held to account

for most. Heads of department (30% compared with 20% overall) are significantly

more likely to say they are held most accountable for children and young people’s

attainment in national tests and exams, while supply teachers (10%) are significantly

less so.

Differences by Ethnicity

When looking at what teachers feel most accountable for by ethnicity, teachers from

a mixed ethnic background are significantly more likely to say they are most

accountable for individual pupils’ progress (42% compared with 31% overall), while

more Black or Black British teachers say they are held most accountable for

implementing national strategies (10% compared with 7% overall).

Differences by Socio-Economic / Linguistic Challenge The socio-economic/linguistic challenge variable was derived using data from the

DCSF database. It was created using the percentage of pupils known to be eligible

for free school meals and the percentage of pupils whose first language is known or

believed to be other than English (see Appendix A, Section 2.2 for further detail).

Looking at current accountability, teachers working in schools that have the lowest

levels of socio-economic/linguistic challenge, i.e. fewer pupils that are eligible for free

school meals and fewer pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other

than English, are more likely to say they are held most accountable for implementing

national strategies (quartile 1: 14%), compared with teachers working in schools that

have higher levels of challenge (quartile 2: 2%, quartile 3: 8% and quartile 4: 6%).

These teachers are more likely to say they are least accountable for individual pupils’

progress (Quartile 1: 9%, compared with Quartile 2: 2%, Quartile 3: 2% and Quartile

4: 2%).

Differences by Academic / SEN Challenge A second measure of challenge variable was also derived using data from the DCSF

database, academic / SEN challenge. This variable was created using the

percentage of pupils with special needs with statements, plus the percentage of

pupils with special needs without statements, and the percentage of pupils in school

who achieve the expected levels in national tests (see Appendix A, Section 2.2).



16

Teachers working in schools with the lowest levels of academic / SEN Challenge are

more likely to say they are currently held least accountable for the performance of

their school relative to other schools (quartile 1: 45%, compared with quartile 2: 32%,

quartile 3: 38% and quartile 4: 36%).

3.2 To what extent teachers feel accountable

Scope of teachers’ accountability Teachers feel accountable across a range of aspects of their roles but particularly for

the quality of teaching, with nearly all saying they feel very or fairly accountable for

the quality of their teaching (98%).

A similar proportion of teachers then feel accountable for the remaining five areas of

accountability that were measured, as shown in Figure 5. Just under nine in ten say

they feel accountable for engaging with parents and contributing to children’s wider

well-being (both 87%), and 85% say they feel accountable for promoting equality for

pupils and tackling inequality, responding to pupil and student views and improving

professional knowledge and practice.

Whilst they are not truly comparable samples (see method statement in Section 1.3

for further information), it is interesting to note that more BME teachers feel “very”

accountable for promoting equality and tackling inequality when compared with the

main Survey of Teachers results (54% compared with 42%). More BME teachers

also feel accountable for responding to pupils and student views than teachers in the

main survey (85% compared with 77%).



17

Figure 5

Extent of teachers’ accountability

85%

46%

54%

54%

44%

48%

13%

42%

32%

31%

40%

37%

1%

12%

2%

3%

10%

10%

11%

11%

2%

3%

2%

The quality of teaching

Engaging with parents

Contributing to children's wider well-being

Promoting equality for pupils and tacklinginequality

Responding to pupil and student views

Improving professional knowledge and practice

Very accountable Fairly accountable Not very accountableNot accountable at all Don't know

Q9.To what extent do you feel you are accountable for the following at present?Base: All boost sample respondents (668)

98%

87%

87%

85%

85%

85%

% Very/ fairly accountable

Differences by Key Stage

There are significant differences in opinion by key stage for three of the areas of

accountability that were measured. Foundation Stage, KS1 and KS2 teachers are

more likely than KS3, KS4 and Post 16 teachers to say they feel accountable for

engaging with parents, contributing to children’s wider well-being and promoting

equality and tackling inequality, as shown in the following figure.



18

Figure 6 To what extent do you feel you are accountable for the following at present?

Foundation KS1 KS2 KS3 KS4 Post 16

(87) (98) (167) (385) (382) (174) % % % % % %

The quality of your

teaching

100 99 98 98 98 98

Engaging with parents 95 89 93 83 82 81

Contributing to

children’s wider well-

being

92 92 92 83 82 80

Promoting equality and

tackling inequality

93 95 94 80 79 78

Responding to pupil

and student views

90 90 87 83 82 82

Improving your

professional

knowledge & practice

89 88 84 83 82 82

Base: 668

Correspondingly, KS3, KS4 and Post 16 teachers are more likely to say they do not

feel very accountable or they do not feel accountable at all for promoting equality and

tackling inequality (19%, 20% & 21%), contributing to children’s wider well-being

(17%, 18% & 20%) and engaging with parents (16%, 17% & 18%), when compared

with those who teach KS2 and below.

Differences by School Phase The same pattern emerges by school phase, with more primary school teachers

saying they feel accountable for each of the three areas:

• Engaging with parents (97% compared with 84% secondary school teachers)

• Contributing to children’s wider well-being (95% compared with 82%), and

• Promoting equality for pupils and tackling inequality (94% compared with

80%).



19

Likewise, secondary school teachers are more likely to say they do not feel

accountable for each of the three areas.

Differences by Working Status

Full time teachers are significantly more likely to say they feel accountable for the

quality of their teaching (98% compared with 95% part time teachers), engaging with

parents (89% compared with 76%) and improving their professional knowledge and

practice (86% compared with 76%). Furthermore, considerably more full time

teachers say they feel “very” accountable for the quality of their teaching (86%) than

part time teachers (75%).

Part time teachers are significantly more likely to say they do not feel very

accountable or they do not feel accountable at all for engaging with parents (23%

compared with 10%) or improving their professional knowledge and practice (22%

compared with 13%).

Differences by Role

There are few differences by role among teachers in what they feel accountable for,

with the exception of supply teachers. Supply teachers are more likely to say they do

not feel accountable for four of the areas, most notably for engaging with parents

(38% compared with 12% overall). The other areas include responding to pupil and

student views (26% compared with 14%), improving professional knowledge and

practice (24% compared with 14%) and the quality of their teaching (7% compared

with 2%).

Differences by Length of Service

What teachers feel accountable for varies by their length of service, and this is

particularly so for newer teachers. There are significant differences between those

who have taught for fewer than ten years compared with those who have taught for

more than twenty years on two of the measures, with those teaching for fewer than

ten years being more likely to say they feel accountable for improving their

professional knowledge and practice (87% compared with 68%) and engaging with

parents (89% compared with 74%).

Those teaching for fewer than ten years are also more likely to feel accountable for

contributing to children’s wider well-being (89%) compared with those of ten to

nineteen years’ experience (80%).



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Differences by Age Perceptions of accountability are fairly static when looking at the results by age

group, aside from young teachers aged between twenty-five to thirty-four years who

are more likely to say they feel accountable for contributing to children’s wider well-

being (100% compared with 98% overall) and teachers aged under twenty-five years

who are more likely to say they feel accountable for improving their professional

knowledge and practice (96% compared with 85% overall).

Differences by Ethnicity Black or Black British teachers (90%) are more likely to say they feel accountable for

contributing to children’s wider well-being than Asian or Asian British teachers (83%).

Differences by CPD involvement The extent to which teachers feel accountable for each of the six areas varies by

whether they have had their professional development needs identified by their

school or employer in the last twelve months (Q5a – see Appendix B for

questionnaire) and whether they have had access to adequate professional

development opportunities in the last twelve months (Q5b).

Teachers who say they have had access to adequate professional development and

who have had their professional development needs identified in the last twelve

months are more likely to say they feel accountable across five of the areas of

accountability, with the exception of the quality of their teaching (see Figure 7).

These differences are particularly marked for those teachers who say they feel “very”

accountable at present.



21

Figure 7

Access to professional development

opportunities in the last 12 months (Q5b)

Professional development needs

identified in the last 12 months (Q5a)

Yes No Yes No

The quality of your teaching 98 98 99 96

Engaging with parents 92 75 92 78

Contributing to children’s wider well-being 92 79 91 81

Improving professional knowledge & practice 91 72 90 70

Promoting equality 90 76 88 80

Responding to pupil & student views 87 76 88 75


Q9.To what extent do you feel you are accountable for the following at present?Base: All respondents (668)

% Very / fairly accountable

The pattern is reversed when looking at those teachers who do not feel very

accountable or who do not feel accountable at all for the same areas. Those who

have not had access to adequate professional development opportunities in the last

twelve months and who have not had their professional development needs identified

are significantly more likely to say they do not feel accountable for each of the five

accountability measures. (Teachers’ experiences of participating in professional

development opportunities are discussed in more detail in chapter 5).

Interestingly, those teachers who say they feel accountable at present for any of the

six areas of accountability are considerably more likely to say they feel accountable

for the other five areas that were explored in Q9. Likewise, those teachers who do

not feel very accountable or who do not feel accountable at all for any one of the six

strands are more likely to say they do not feel accountable for any of the other five

areas. As an example, Figure 8 below shows the results of Q9 by whether teachers

feel accountable for improving their professional knowledge and practice.



22

Figure 8

Feel accountable for improving knowledge and practice (Q9b)

Yes No

The quality of your teaching 99 94

Engaging with parents 91 67

Contributing to children’s wider well-being 90 67

Improving professional knowledge & practice 100 -

Promoting equality 91 50

Responding to pupil & student views 84 49


Q9.To what extent do you feel you are accountable for the following at present?Base: All respondents (668)

% Very / fairly accountable

Differences by Socio-Economic / Linguistic Challenge Teachers working in schools that have the highest levels of socio-economic/linguistic

challenge are more likely to say they feel accountable for engaging with parents

(quartile 4: 90% compared with 87% overall), while those working in schools with the

second lowest level of challenge are less likely to say they feel accountable for

engaging with parents (quartile 2: 78%), promoting equality for pupils and tackling

inequality (quartile 2: 75% compared with 85% overall) and responding to pupil and

student views (quartile 2: 73% compared with 85% overall).

3.3 Purposes of accountability

Purposes of holding teachers and schools to account There are many different reasons why teachers and schools are accountable and

teachers’ views on some of these were explored in the questionnaire. The four most

important reasons cited for teachers and schools being accountable is to encourage

continuing improvement in school performance (95%), to maintain public confidence

in the standards of teaching (94%), to provide information about pupil outcomes for

use by parents (94%) and to maintain standards of teachers’ professional behaviour

(93%). Of least importance in terms of accountability is showing that government



23

education policies are being followed (61%) and to demonstrate appropriate use of

public expenditure on schooling (68%), as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9

Purposes of accountability

60%

60%

51%

60%

24%

17%

35%

34%

43%

33%

44%

44%

3%

28%

1%

7%

4%

4%

19%

4%2%

9%

To encourage continuing improvement in schoolperformance

To maintain public confidence in teachingstandards

To provide information about pupil outcomes foruse by parents

To maintain standards of teachers' professionalbehaviour

To demonstrate appropriate use of publicexpenditure on schooling

To show that government education policies arebeing followed

Very important Fairly important Not very important Not important at all Don't know

Q8.There are different reasons why teachers and schools are accountable. How important are the following in your view?Base: All boost sample respondents (668)

95%

94%

94%

93%

68%

61%

% Very/ fairly important

There are very few differences in opinion about the purposes of accountability

between the different sub-groups of teachers surveyed, with no significant

differences by key stage, school phase or teaching role. There are minimal

differences by age and ethnicity, as highlighted in the paragraphs below.

Differences by Age Teachers aged fifty-five plus are more likely to think demonstrating appropriate use of

public expenditure on schooling is an important reason for teachers and schools

being accountable (88% compared with 68% overall), while significantly fewer

teachers aged under twenty-five years think this (53%).

Differences by Ethnicity More teachers from mixed ethnic backgrounds say providing information about pupil

outcomes for use by parents is important (99% compared with 94% overall), while

fewer think demonstrating appropriate use of public expenditure on schooling is

important (55% compared with 68% overall).



24

3.4 Future focus of accountability

More or less focus in future? Teachers were asked to think about accountability in the future and, if arrangements

were to change, whether more, less or the same importance should be given to a list

of items as now.

Overall, improving professional knowledge and practice came out as the area where

teachers think more importance should be placed (62%), followed by promoting

equality for pupils and tackling inequality (53%), the quality of their teaching (49%)

and contributing to children’s wider well being (48%). Fewer teachers think engaging

with parents is an area that should be given more importance (35%), with half saying

it should maintain the same level of importance as now (52%).

Interestingly, considerably more BME teachers say all six areas of accountability

should be given more importance in future than teachers responding to the main

survey.

Figure 10

62%

53%

49%

48%

42%

35%

3%

4%

4%

6%

12%

12%

34%

43%

47%

52%

45%

45%

Improving professional knowledge and practice

Promoting equality for pupils and tacklinginequality

The quality of teaching

Contributing to children's wider well-being

Responding to pupil and student views

Engaging with parents

More importance Less importance Same importance as now

Q10.If the arrangements for accountability were to change in the future, do you think the following items should be given same importance as now?Base: All boost sample respondents (668)

Future focus of accountability More / Less or Same importance



25

Differences by Key Stage

There are some significant differences in opinion on the future focus of accountability

among teachers depending on the key stage they teach. Those teaching KS3 and

KS4 (both 66%) are more likely to say that more importance should be placed in the

future on improving professional knowledge and practice, compared with 62%

overall. Those who teach Foundation Stage are less likely to think so (51%).

Those who teach at KS3 (55%), KS4 (55%) and Post 16 (56%) are significantly more

likely to feel that more importance should be placed in future on accountability for the

quality of teaching, while those who teach at Foundation Stage (30%) and KS2 (41%)

are significantly less likely to say so.

On the other hand, those who teach at KS3 (16%), KS4 (16%) and Post 16 (17%)

are more likely to think that responding to pupil and student views should be given

less importance (12% overall).

Differences by School Phase

Reflecting the difference in opinion by key stage, some differences emerge between

primary and secondary school teachers, with secondary school teachers being more

likely to think that improving professional knowledge (65%) and the quality of

teaching (52%) should be given more importance in the future compared with primary

school teachers (53% and 39% respectively).

Additionally, secondary school teachers are more likely to think that responding to

pupil/student views (16%), contributing to children’s wider well being (8%) and

promoting equality (6%) should be given less importance in the future compared with

primary school teachers (6%, 3% and 1%).

Differences by Ethnicity

Black or Black British teachers are significantly more likely to say more importance

should be placed on three of the six areas of accountability in the future: promoting

equality for pupils and tackling inequality (62% compared with 53% overall), the

quality of their teaching (61% compared with 49%) and engaging with parents (46%

compared with 35%), whereas they are also more likely to say responding to pupil

and student views should be given less importance (17% compared with 12%).



26

Differences by Length of Service

Those who have been teaching for fewer than five years are more likely than those

who have been teaching for longer to say that all these areas should be given more

importance in future, as shown in Figure 11.

Figure 11

FUTURE FOCUS OF ACCOUNTABILITY – MORE IMPORTANCE BY LENGTH OF SERVICE

< 5 yrs 5-9 yrs 10-19 yrs 20+ yrs (366) (147) (108) (47) % % % %

Improving professional

knowledge

65 61 56 49

Promoting equality 58 47 50 43

Quality of teaching 55 44 42 38

Contributing to children’s

wider well being

52 43 47 36

Responding to pupil/student views 45 41 37 36

Engaging with parents 40 27 35 28

Base: 668

Differences by CPD involvement Differences are found in opinion on the future focus of accountability based on

whether teachers have had their professional development needs identified in the

last twelve months (Q5a – see Appendix B for questionnaire), whether they have had

access to adequate professional development opportunities in the last twelve months

(Q5b) and whether they currently feel accountable for improving their professional

knowledge and practice (Q9b).

This is most evident for those teachers saying an area of importance in future is

accountability for improving professional knowledge and practice. 71% of teachers

who do not have access to adequate professional development opportunities say that

more importance should be placed on improving professional knowledge and

practice, compared with 55% of those who do have access. The same applies to

those who have not had their professional development needs identified (77%



27

compared with 56% of those who have). Teachers’ experiences of participating in

professional development opportunities are discussed in more detail in chapter 5.

Accountability processes


28

4. Accountability processes

4.1 Performance management

Performance management Opinions about performance management as a way of holding teachers to account

for the quality of their teaching are quite mixed, with half of BME teachers agreeing it

is an effective method (50%) and nearly three in ten disagreeing (28%).

Figure 12

Performance management

21%

36%

1%9%

20%

14%

Don't know Strongly disagree Tend to disagree Neither agree nor disagree Tend to agree Strongly agree

Q11. To what extent do you agree or disagree that performance management is an effective way of holding teachers to account for the quality of their teaching?Base: All boost sample respondents (668)

Agree

50%

Disagree

28%

There are no significant differences in responses by key stage, school phase,

working status, role or demographics. There are considerable differences, however,

in opinion on the effectiveness of performance management in holding teachers to

account for the quality of their teaching depending on teachers’ CPD experience. The

following teachers are more likely to agree that performance management is

effective:

• Teachers who have had their professional development needs identified in

the last twelve months (58% compared with 38% of those who have not)

(Q5a)



29

• Teachers who have had access to adequate professional development

opportunities in the last twelve months (56% compared with 39%) (Q5b)

• Teachers who agree with the idea that teachers should be required to provide

evidence of their continuing professional development (56% compared with

42%) (Q6), and

• Teachers who currently feel accountable for improving their professional

knowledge and practice (53% compared with 32%) (Q9b).

4.2 School self-evaluation as tool for improvement

School self-evaluation Three-quarters of teachers agree that school self-evaluation is a useful tool for

improvement, as well as for accountability (73%), while one in ten teachers disagree

(10%).

Figure 13

School self-evaluation as a tool for improvement

52%

21%

1%3%7%15%


Q11. To what extent do you agree or disagree that school self-evaluation is a useful tool for improvement, as well as for accountability?Base: All boost sample respondents (668)

Agree

73%

Disagree

10%

Differences by Key Stage and School Phase Those who teach at KS1 (82%) are significantly more likely to agree that school self-

evaluation is a useful tool for improvement, as well as for accountability, while those

in KS3 (12%) and KS4 (13%) are more likely to disagree.



30

Likewise, more teachers working in primary schools agree (78%) than those working

in secondary schools (69%).

Differences by CPD involvement Teachers who have had their professional development needs identified in the last

twelve months (79% compared with 62% of those who have not), who have had

access to adequate professional development opportunities in the last twelve months

(79% compared with 63%), who currently feel accountable for improving their

professional knowledge and practice (76% compared with 55%) and who agree with

the idea that teachers should be required to provide evidence of their continuing

professional development (77% compared with 66%) are significantly more likely to

agree that school self-evaluation is a useful tool for improvement, as well as for

accountability.

Differences by Ethnicity Teachers from Black or Black British ethnic backgrounds are significantly more likely

to agree that school self-evaluation is a useful tool for improvement, as well as for

accountability. Eight in ten Black or Black British teachers agree (79%), with 31%

saying they strongly agree, compared with 21% of the BME teacher sample overall

who strongly agree.

Teachers from a mixed ethnic background are less likely to agree (61%) and more

likely to disagree (17% compared with 10% of the BME teacher sample overall).



31

4.3 External observation

Under a third of teachers agree that accountability to the public should involve the

external observation of teaching (31%), the lowest level of agreement of the five

processes measured in the survey. This view is held quite uniformly, although Black

or Black British teachers are more likely to agree (38%) and teachers from schools

with the lowest level of academic / SEN challenge (50%) and teachers of mixed

ethnic backgrounds (49%) are more likely to disagree. Teachers who say they have

had adequate access to professional development opportunities are also slightly

more likely to agree that accountability to the public should involve the external

observation of teaching (35%).

Figure 14

External observation

3%15%

25%

25%

25%

7%


Q11. To what extent do you agree or disagree that accountability to the public should involve the external observation of teaching?Base: All boost sample respondents (668)

Agree

31%

Disagree

40%



32

4.4 Providing an account to parents

Over a third of those surveyed think that teachers do not currently have sufficient

opportunity to provide parents with a full and rounded account of their children’s

learning (36%), although a larger proportion of teachers disagree with this statement

(42%). Disagreement rises among those teaching Foundation Stage (55%).

Figure 15

Providing an account to parents

25%

17%

26%

21%

11%


Q11. To what extent do you agree or disagree that, at present, teachers do not have sufficient opportunity to provide parents with a full and rounded account of their children’s learning?Base: All boost sample respondents (668)

Agree

36%

Disagree

42%



33

4.5 Opportunity to exercise professional judgement

Nine out of ten teachers agree they need more opportunities to exercise their

professional judgement (90%), with half strongly agreeing on this measure (47%).

Agreement is high among all groups of teachers, although Black or Black British

teachers are more likely to agree (93%) and to strongly agree (57%).

Figure 16

Opportunity to exercise professional judgement

43%

1%8%

47%


Q11. To what extent do you agree or disagree that teachers need more opportunities to exercise their professional judgement?Base: All boost sample respondents (668)

Agree

90%

Disagree

1%

Professional learning and development


34

5. Professional learning and development

If a requirement for teachers to demonstrate the currency of their professional

knowledge and practice were introduced, it would require an ongoing commitment to

continuing professional development by both teachers and their schools and

employers. To explore teachers’ current experiences of CPD, the survey included a

suite of questions to understand the types of professional development activities they

are engaged in, the perceived impact of this on their practice and pupils’ learning,

and their reactions to the idea of evidencing their professional development in order

to continue teaching.

5.1 Engagement in CPD activities

Nearly all teachers have engaged in some form of continuing professional

development in the last twelve months (97%)2, while 14% are highly active3 and 3%

have not experienced any professional development activities.

The most common form of CPD activity undertaken by teachers over the last year is

“collaborative learning with colleagues in my school”; four in five teachers have

experienced this at least occasionally (83%), with just over half saying they engage in

this activity frequently (45%). Two-thirds have experienced “collaborative learning

with external partnerships/networks” (63%), although this tends to be more of an

occasional activity (47%) than a frequent activity (16%). This is followed by

“participating in an external course” (57%), “engaging with subject or specialist

associations” (57%) and “being responsible for mentoring or coaching someone”

(54%), with over a half of those who have experienced the activity saying they have

done so frequently (28%).

Participating in the Teacher Learning Academy (13%) and studying for a

postgraduate qualification (12%) are the activities that teachers are least likely to

have experienced in the last 12 months, although participation in these is higher than

among the main survey sample of teachers (7% and 6% respectively).

2 Teachers who have undertaken at least one of the nine professional development activities asked about at Q4 in

the last twelve months. 3 Teachers highly active are classed as those who have undertaken at least four of the nine CPD activities at Q4

frequently or on an ongoing basis in the last twelve months.



35

Figure 17

Engagement in CPD activities

45%

16%

15%

18%

28%

22%

10%

38%

47%

42%

39%

26%

18%

14%

13%

33%

39%

39%

40%

52%

71%

80%

82%

4%

5%

4%

6%

5%

7%

6%

5%

9%

9%

3%

5%

8%

Collaborative learning with colleagues

Collaborative learning with externalpartnerships

Participating in an external courses

Engaging with specialist associations

Being responsible for mentoring or coaching

Having a mentor or coach assigned to me

Undertaking action research

Participating in the Teacher Learning Academy

Studying for a postgraduate qualification

Frequently / ongoing basis Occasionally Not in the last 12 months Not stated

Q4.How often, if at all, have you experienced the professional development activity in the last 12 monthsBase: All boost sample respondents (668)

83%

63%

57%

57%

54%

40%

23%

13%

12%

Frequently/ occasionally

Differences by Key Stage (frequently and occasionally) In the main survey findings, KS3, KS4 and Post 16 teachers tend to engage in more

CPD activities than those teaching Foundation Stage to KS2, with the exception of

“collaborative learning with external partnerships/networks”. In the BME sample there

is a more even distribution of engagement by Key Stage, with few significant

differences. KS2 teachers (63%) are more likely to have engaged with subject or

specialist associations in the last twelve months, compared with 57% overall, Post 16

teachers are more likely to have been responsible for mentoring or coaching

someone (64% compared with 54% overall) and KS3 teachers are more likely to

have a mentor or coach assigned to them (44% compared with 40% overall).

Differences by School Phase (frequently and occasionally) More primary school teachers have experienced collaborative learning with external

partnerships/networks over the last twelve months than secondary school teachers

(75% compared with 58%) and have engaged with subject or specialist associations

(68% compared with 52%).



36

Differences by Working Status (frequently and occasionally) Full-time teachers are more likely than part-time teachers to have experienced seven

of the nine CPD activities that were measured in the last twelve months, these are:

• Collaborative learning with colleagues in my school - full-time 86% compared

with part-time 69%

• Collaborative learning with external partnerships/networks - full-time 66%

compared with part-time 48%

• Participating in an external course(s) - full-time 60% compared with part-time

44%

• Engaging with subject or specialist associations - full-time 59% compared

with part-time 44%

• Being responsible for mentoring or coaching someone - full-time 58%

compared with part-time 347%

• Having a mentor or coach assigned to me - full-time 42% compared with part-

time 25%, and

• Undertaking action research - full-time 25% compared with part-time 14%.

Differences by Role (frequently and occasionally) With the exception of participation in the Teacher Learning Academy, supply

teachers are significantly less likely to be engaged in any of the professional

development activities in the last twelve months.

Class/subject teachers are significantly more likely to have engaged in collaborative

learning with colleagues (86% compared with 83% overall) and had a mentor or

coach assigned to them (47% compared with 40% overall).

Heads of departments and teachers with additional responsibilities are significantly

more likely to have engaged in three of the nine CPD activities:

• Collaborative learning with external partnerships/networks (department heads

74%, teachers with additional responsibilities 71%, overall 63%).

• Engaging with subject or specialist associations (department heads 67%,

teachers with additional responsibilities 66%, overall 57%).

• Being responsible for mentoring or coaching someone (department heads

82%, teachers with additional responsibilities 69%, overall 54%).



37

Department heads are also more likely to have participated in the Teacher Learning

Academy (20% compared with 13% overall).

Differences by Ethnic Background (frequently & occasionally) Teachers from a mixed ethnic background are more likely to be engaged in five of

the nine CPD activities than teachers from the overall ethnic boost sample:

• Collaborative learning with colleagues in school (93% compared with 83%

overall)

• Collaborative learning with external partnerships/networks (81% compared

with 63%)

• Participating in external courses (70% compared with 57%)

• Engaging with subject or specialist associations (73% compared with 57%)

• Undertaking action research (32% compared with 23%).

Differences by Length of Service (frequently & occasionally) Those who have been teaching for fewer than five years are significantly more likely

to be involved in collaborative learning with colleagues (89% compared with 83%

overall) and had a mentor or coach assigned to them (52% compared with 40%

overall) over the last twelve months, while those who have been in post for five to

nine years are more likely to have been responsible for mentoring or coaching

someone (64% compared with 54% overall).

Differences by Age (frequently & occasionally) There are also some significant differences by the age of teachers. More twenty-five

to thirty-four year old teachers have been involved in collaborative learning with

colleagues over the last twelve months (90% compared with 83% overall), while

more teachers aged under twenty-five years (79%) and aged twenty-five to thirty-four

years (45%) have had a mentor or coach assigned to them, compared with 40%

overall.



38

Differences by Socio-Economic/Linguistic Challenge (frequently & occasionally) Teachers working in schools that have the highest levels of socio-economic/linguistic

challenge are more likely to be involved in collaborative learning with colleagues

(quartile 4: 86% compared with 83% overall).

Differences by Academic / SEN Challenge (frequently & occasionally) Teachers working in schools with the highest levels of academic / SEN challenge are

more likely to have experienced collaborative learning with external

partnerships/networks (quartile 4: 70% compared with 63% overall) and engaged

with subject or specialist associations (quartile 4: 65% compared with 57% overall).

5.2 Access to and time for CPD

Access to CPD Teachers were given four statements about access to and time for CPD and were

asked the extent they agree with each. Nearly all teachers agree that they have a

professional responsibility to maintain and improve their practice (91%), with nearly

two-thirds agreeing strongly (62%) on this measure. But nearly three-quarters feel

they need more time to engage in professional development activities (74%).

Over half say they have had access to adequate professional development

opportunities (58%) and have had their professional development needs identified by

their school/employer (60%) over the last twelve months, but there is still a notable

minority that say they have not (25% and 24% respectively).



39

Figure 18

Access to and time for CPD % Strongly agree / Tend to agree

62%

33%

22%

24%

29%

41%

36%

35%

5%

4%

13%

17%

15%

1%

12%

13%

1%

3%

13%

12%

I have a professionalresponsibility to

maintain and improvemy practice

I need more time toengage in PD activities

I have had access toadequate PD

opportunities in the last12 months

My PD needs havebeen identified by myschool in the last 12

months

Strongly agree Tend to agree Neither agree nor disagreeTend to disagree Strongly disagree Don't know

58%

91%

74%

60%

Agree Disagree

2%

17%

24%

25%

Q5.To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statementsBase: All boost sample respondents (668)

Differences by Key Stage KS3 (79%) and KS4 (81%) teachers are significantly more likely to agree that they

need more time to engage in professional development activities, compared with

74% overall.

Differences by School Phase There are differences across all four statements about access to and time for CPD by

school phase. Primary school teachers are more likely than secondary school

teachers to say they have a professional responsibility to maintain and improve their

practice (97% compared with 89%), to have had their professional development

needs identified by their school/employer in the last twelve months (70% compared

with 58%) and to have had access to adequate professional development

opportunities in the last twelve months (68% compared with 54%). Secondary school

teachers are more likely say they need more time to engage in professional

development activities (79% compared with 68% primary schools).



40

Differences by Working Status Looking at differences by working status, full-time teachers are more likely than part-

time teachers to have had their professional development needs identified by their

school/employer in the last twelve months (63% compared with 43%) and to have

had access to adequate professional development opportunities in the last twelve

months (62% compared with 38%).

Differences by Role Supply teachers are less likely to agree with three of the four statements:

• I have a professional responsibility to maintain and improve my practice (83%

compared with 91% overall)

• I have had access to adequate professional development opportunities in the

last twelve months (34% compared with 58%)

• My professional development needs have been identified by my

school/employer in the last twelve months (34% compared with 60%).

Differences by Length of Service Those who have been teaching for fewer than five years are more likely to say that

their professional development needs have been identified (65% compared with 60%

overall) and that they have had access to adequate professional development

opportunities (63% compared with 58% overall) in the last twelve months.

Differences by Ethnicity Teachers from mixed ethnic backgrounds are more likely to agree on three of the

four statements:

• I have a professional responsibility to maintain and improve my practice (98%

compared with 91% of the overall BME sample)


school/employer in the last twelve months (70% compared with 60% of the

overall BME sample), and


last twelve months (69% compared with 58% of the overall BME sample).

Differences by Socio-Economic / Linguistic Challenge Teachers working in schools with the highest levels of socio-economic/linguistic

challenge are more likely to agree on three of the four statements:



41

• I have a professional responsibility to maintain and improve my practice

(Quartile 4: 95% compared with 91% of the overall BME sample)


school/employer in the last twelve months (Quartile 4: 67% compared with

60%), and


last twelve months (Quartile 4: 63% compared with 58%).

Differences by Academic / SEN Challenge Teachers working in schools with the lowest levels of academic / SEN challenge are

more likely to agree that their professional development needs have been identified

in the last twelve months (Quartile 1: 69% compared with 60%) and that they have

had access to adequate professional development opportunities in the same period

(Quartile 1: 67% compared with 58%), but those working in schools with the highest

levels of challenge are more likely to say they need more time to engage in

professional development activities (Quartile 4: 81% compared with 74%).

5.3 Impact and evaluation of CPD

Impact of CPD Looking at the impact of CPD on teaching, three in five teachers agree that

participation in professional development has had a positive impact on their teaching

practice over the past year (66%), just over half have seen a positive impact resulting

from their professional development on their pupils (62%) and half say that their

school/employer evaluates the impact of professional development on teachers’

practice (51%).

It should be noted that there is a level of indecision on these measures, particularly

for “I have seen a positive impact on my pupils’ learning as a result of my

professional learning and development activities in the last twelve months” (25%

neither agree nor disagree).



42

Figure 19

Impact and evaluation of CPD% Strongly agree / Tend to agree

24%

24%

15%

42%

39%

35%

18%

6%22%

25%

6%

10%

7%

6%

9% 4%

Participation in PDactivities has had a

positive impact on myteaching practice inthe last 12 months

I have seen a positiveimpact on my pupil's

learning as a result ofmy PD activities in the

last 12 months

My school / employerevaluates the impactof PD activities onteachers’ practice

Strongly agree Tend to agree Neither agree nor disagreeTend to disagree Strongly disagree Don't know

66%

62%

51%

12%

12%

25%

Agree Disagree

Q5.To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statementsBase: All boost sample respondents (668)

Differences by Level of Engagement in CPD Agreement with these statements is significantly higher among teachers with a higher

level of CPD involvement. Nine in ten of those most engaged4 with CPD agree that

participation in professional development has had a positive impact on their teaching

practice (89% compared with 66% overall), 88% have seen a positive impact from

their professional development on their pupils (62% overall) and almost three-

quarters say their school evaluates the impact of professional development on

teachers’ practice (71% compared with 51% overall).

Differences by School Phase Primary school teachers are more likely to agree with all three impact measures than

secondary school teachers, as outlined below.

• Participation in professional learning and development activities has had a

positive impact on my teaching practice in the last twelve months – 72%

primary school compared with 63% secondary school

• I have seen a positive impact on my pupils’ learning as a result of my

professional learning and development activities in the last twelve months –

68% primary school compared with 61% secondary school

4 Teachers most engaged with CPD are classed as those who have undertaken at least four of the nine CPD

activities at Q4 frequently or on an ongoing basis in the last twelve months.



43

• My school/employer evaluates the impact of professional learning and

development activities on teachers’ practice – 61% primary school compared

with 48% secondary school.

Differences by Age and Length of Service Young teachers aged under twenty-five and those who have taught for fewer than

five years are more likely to agree that that they have seen a positive impact resulting

from their professional development on their pupils (75% and 67% respectively).

Differences by Ethnicity Teachers from mixed ethnic backgrounds are more likely to agree on two of the three

statements:

• Participation in professional learning and development activities has had a

positive impact on my teaching practice in the last twelve months (76%

compared with 66% overall), and

• I have seen a positive impact on my pupils’ learning as a result of my

professional learning and development activities in the last twelve months

(74% compared with 62%).

Differences by Socio-Economic / Linguistic Challenge Teachers working in schools with the highest levels of socio-economic/linguistic

challenge are more likely to agree that they have seen a positive impact on their

pupils’ learning as a result of their professional learning and development activities

(Quartile 4: 67% compared with 62% overall) and that their school/employer

evaluates the impact of professional learning and development activities on teachers’

practice (Quartile 4: 57% compared with 51%).

Differences by Academic / SEN Challenge Teachers working in schools with the lowest levels of academic / SEN challenge are

more likely to agree that participation in professional learning and development

activities has had a positive impact on their teaching practice in the last twelve

months (Quartile 1: 74% compared with 66%) and that they have seen a positive

impact on their pupils’ learning as a result of their professional development (Quartile

1: 71% compared with 62%).



44

5.4 Accountability for professional development Survey respondents were asked whether they agree or disagree with the principle of

teachers being required to demonstrate the currency of their professional knowledge

and practice through a form of re-registration or revalidation in order to continue

practicing:

Q6. Some professionals, such as lawyers and nurses, are required to

demonstrate regularly that their knowledge and skills are developing. This is to

reassure the public about the quality of service delivered by these professions.

Do you agree or disagree with the idea that teachers should be required to

provide evidence of their continuing professional development, in order to

continue teaching children and young people?

The majority of teachers agree that they should be required to provide evidence of

their continuing professional development in order to continue teaching children and

young people (62%), with 22% saying they strongly agree and 40% saying they tend

to agree. However a fifth of teachers disagree (21%), while 15% neither agree nor

disagree. This level of agreement is a similar proportion to that on the main survey of

teachers findings (57%).

Figure 20

Accountability for professional development

15%

40%

22%

1%10%

11%


Q6. Do you agree or disagree with the idea that teachers should be required to provide evidence of their continuing professional development, in order to continue teaching children and young people?Base: All boost sample respondents (668)

Agree

62%

Disagree

21%



45

Opinions on accountability for professional development are held quite uniformly

across all groups of teachers, regardless of school phase, key stage, length of

service and so on. This is with the exception of teacher role. Department heads are

significantly more likely to say teachers should be required to provide evidence of

CPD (74% compared with 62% overall).

Three-quarters (73%) of those who are highly active in professional development

activities5 also agree that they should be required to provide evidence of their

continuing professional development, compared with 61% who are active and 58%

who have not undertaken any professional development activities in the last twelve

months.

5 Teachers highly active are classed as those who have undertaken at least four of the nine CPD activities at Q4

frequently or on an ongoing basis in the last twelve months, while those who are active have undertaken less than

four of the nine activities.

APPENDIX A

TECHNICAL APPENDIX

GTC Survey of Black and Minority Ethnic Teachers 2009 Technical Appendix JN:190202 September 2009

Content

1. Methodology ...................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Overview ..................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Questionnaire development ........................................................................ 1 1.3 Survey administration.................................................................................. 3 1.4 The fieldwork period .................................................................................... 4 1.5 Sample and response rate .......................................................................... 4

2. Analysis ............................................................................................................. 7 2.1 Statistical testing ......................................................................................... 7 2.2 Measures of challenge ................................................................................ 7

Methodology

1

1. Methodology

1.1 Overview The survey was conducted by means of a self-completion methodology either via a

postal or web questionnaire. A random sample of 1,250 teachers who were

identifiable on the GTC Register as being from a black or minority ethnic group was

selected. Teachers were eligible for the survey if they were defined as:

• From a black or minority ethnic group

• Fully registered with the GTC and required to register

• Listed as in service

• Aged 65 and under, and

• Not retired (or who are retired but have a date of last employment in the

current academic year).

Where email addresses were available on the database, teachers were invited to

complete the web survey. Teachers without an email address were sent a paper

version of the questionnaire.

The following sections outline each stage of the survey process in further detail.

1.2 Questionnaire development Historically, the aim of the Survey of Teachers has been to provide the GTC and a

wide range of other policy-makers with information about teachers’ views and

experiences on a range of issues relating to education policy and practice.

Previous surveys have included a mixture of ‘trend’ questions and new topic

questions. As responses to the trend questions have been fairly static, it was decided

to monitor these aspects on a less frequent basis, and so they were not included in

the 2009 survey.

The 2009 survey had a specific focus, on policy and practice issues related to

elements of the GTC’s Professionalism programme of work; specifically the

accountability and active registration strands.

Methodology

2

Many areas of the questionnaire were therefore developed for the first time in 2009

and it was decided that cognitive interviewing should be used to aid its development.

Prior to pre-testing, a first draft of the questionnaire was developed by the GTC, in

collaboration with TNS-BMRB. To maximise the response on the questionnaire, it

was no more than eight A4 pages in length. Ten cognitive interviews were carried out

with teachers, who were recruited on the basis of quotas to ensure a mix across

gender, type of school, experience of teaching and year/subject taught. The

respondent profile is shown below:

Figure 21 School Subject/year Experience/level Gender Interview 1 Primary 4 3 yrs Female Interview 2 Primary 1 7 yrs Female Interview 3 Primary 2 3 yrs Female

Interview 4 Primary 3 10 years/ Deputy Head Female

Interview 5 Primary All 16 yrs/ Deputy Head Male

Interview 6 Secondary Geography 4 yrs/ Head of Year Male

Interview 7 Secondary Art 6 yrs/Head of Dept Female

Interview 8 Secondary History 7 yrs Male

Interview 9 Secondary D&T 15 Yrs/ Head of

Department Male

Interview 10 Secondary Science 2 yrs Female

During pre-testing, teachers were asked to complete the questionnaire and the

researchers undertaking each interview observed and noted any areas of difficulty.

The length of time taken to complete the questionnaire was taken and following

completion teachers were taken through each section in more detail, to identify any

areas of difficulty and/or their thoughts on answering. Teachers were also specifically

asked about certain key terms used within the questionnaire, to check their

understanding. These included professional learning and development, accountability

and the statements used to explore these.

The interviews were conducted during January 2009, either in home or at school. An

incentive was offered to each person who took part in the cognitive tests, recognising

that interviews could last up to 60 minutes.

Methodology

3

Following the pre-testing, the teachers’ comments were taken on board and some

amendments were made to the final questionnaire. The final questionnaire (eight

pages in length) included thirteen closed questions covering teaching role,

professional learning and development, accountability, accountability processes and

two diversity monitoring questions. One open question was included to capture any

additional comments from teachers on the topics covered in the questionnaire.

The same questionnaire was used for the survey of BME teachers as for the main

survey of teachers. A copy of the questionnaire is provided in Appendix B of the

report.

1.3 Survey administration Dillman’s ‘Tailored Design Method’ (Dillman, 2000) was followed for the survey

methodology6. The main principles involve:

• Multiple contact with non-respondents (reminders and top-up telephone interviewing)

• Varying the format of reminders to maximise the opportunity to appeal to potential respondents

• Varying the tone of the reminders to increase the emphasis on the importance of the survey and the value that would be gained by the completion of the questionnaire.

In order to maximise the response rate in the most cost-effective way, the proposed

approach to teachers varied according to whether email addresses were available.

For those teachers with an email address, the sequences of contacts were:

• Pre-notification email

• Invitation email with an embedded personalised link to the questionnaire

• Two reminder emails (to non-responders)

• Postal mailing pack with hard copy of questionnaire (to non-responders).

For teachers without an email address on the database, the sequences of contacts

were:

• Pre-notification letter 6 Dillman D.A.(2000) Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design Method. John Wiley &

Sons.

Methodology

4

• Postal questionnaire with covering letter

• Thank you/reminder postcard

• Postal questionnaire reminder with covering letter (to non-responders).

The pre-notification letter/email and questionnaire cover letter/email came from the

Chair of the GTC and explained the purpose of the research to teachers.

As a final reminder stage, non-respondents in both groups were contacted by

telephone, if a telephone number was available on the register.

1.4 The fieldwork period The data was collected between 23 February and 30 April 2009. The key dates for

each survey stage are shown in the table below.

Figure 22 Week commencing Email sample Postal sample

9 Feb Pre-notification email 16 Feb Invitation email Pre-notification letter 23 Feb Reminder email + link First questionnaire mailing

2 Mar Thank you/reminder

postcard 9 Mar Questionnaire mailing

16 Mar Reminder email + link Reminder mailing 6 Apr Telephone chase Telephone chase

13 Apr Telephone chase Telephone chase 20 Apr Telephone chase Telephone chase 30 Apr Survey close Survey close

1.5 Sample and response rate The GTC inherited the Register of Teachers from the Department for Children

Schools and Families in 2000 and, since 2002, has collected ethnicity information

about teachers. The GTC Register currently contains ethnicity data for 47% of the

551,000 teachers registered. Most of this 47% of teachers have identified themselves

as White, leaving a small sample of teachers from non-White ethnic backgrounds of

8%. Before 2002, teachers were not required to provide this information, therefore,

the sample of BME teachers is skewed towards younger and more recently qualified

teachers.

419 teachers from the 1,250 sample responded to the survey, either online or by

post, achieving a response rate of 34%. This compares to an overall response rate of

Methodology

5

41% on the main Survey of Teachers 2009. Teachers responding to the main sample

of the Survey of Teachers who defined themselves as from a black or minority ethnic

group were added to the data from the BME survey during the analysis stage,

therefore the total number of BME teachers whom responded and are reported on is

668. The ethnic profile of these respondents is shown in Figure 3 below.

Figure 23

PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS Black or Black British 208 31% Caribbean 97 15% African 101 15% Other Black 10 1% Asian or Asian British 293 44% Indian 154 23% Pakistani 77 12% Bangladeshi 21 3% Other Asian 41 6% Chinese or Chinese British 24 4% Mixed ethnic background 84 13% White and Black Caribbean 25 4% White and Black African 9 1% White and Asian 26 4% Other mixed ethnic background 24 4% Other ethnic background 31 5% Prefer not to say/not stated 28 4%

Base: 668

Because the Register holds a relatively low percentage of ethnicity data, the

proportions do not provide a reliable indication of the ethnicity of fully registered

teachers. It is unlikely, therefore, that this booster sample is representative of the

population of BME teachers. Consequently, the BME teacher survey results cannot

be compared with those of the main survey of teachers, however, where there

appear to be interesting differences we have noted these throughout the report.

Methodology

6

The following table shows the full profile of respondents.

Figure 24

PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS Male 172 26% Female 496 74% Under 25 53 8% 25-34 238 36% 35-44 196 29% 45-54 140 21% 55+ 41 6% Disabled 16 2% Not disabled 612 92% Foundation Stage 87 13% KS1 98 15% KS2 167 25% KS3 385 58% KS4 382 57% Post 16 174 26% Full time 554 83% Part time 110 16% Primary 217 32% Secondary 350 52% Other 101 15%

Base: 668

As mentioned, the BME teacher survey results cannot be directly compared with

those of the main survey of teachers, because the GTC Register holds a relatively

low percentage of ethnicity data, which in turn could be used as part of the BME

survey. However it is interesting to note that a considerably higher proportion of

teachers working in schools that have the highest levels of socio-economic and

linguistic challenge (Quartile 4: 49% compared with 18%) responded to the BME

teacher survey than the main survey of teachers (see Section 2.4 for further details

on measures of challenge). There were also higher proportions of full time workers

and secondary school teachers responding to the BME teacher survey

The percentage of ethnicity data held on the Register has risen each year and, as the

completeness of records improves for successive samples, the sampling and

analysis will strengthen with each survey.

Analysis

7

2. Analysis

2.1 Statistical testing

In our reporting of the results we have tested for statistical significance to ensure that

the differences highlighted are real differences and not differences that might be

observed because we have only surveyed a sample, rather than the whole

population. For the purposes of this report, we have commented on any differences

that are found to be significant at the 95% confidence level (i.e. there is only a 5%

likelihood that the difference could have occurred by chance). Where no reference is

made to differences, this is because they are not statistically significant. This is

particularly relevant when comparing small sub-groups within the sample, where a

much bigger difference would need to be observed.

2.2 Measures of challenge

Two measures of challenge variables were created using data from the DCSF

database. These variables were used to indicate levels of social, linguistic and

academic challenge in teachers’ schools. The data which was extracted to build

these variables were:

• percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals

• percentage of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other

than English

• percentage of pupils with special needs with statements, plus percentage of

pupils with special needs without statements, and

• percentage of pupils in school who achieve the expected levels in national

tests.

The percentage of pupils in schools who achieve the expected levels in national tests

is constructed as follows:

• Key Stage 2: average of percentage of pupils achieving level 4 or above in

English, percentage of pupils achieving level 4 or above in mathematics, and

percentage of pupils achieving level 4 or above in science

• Key Stage 4: percentage of pupils achieving level 2 threshold.

Analysis

8

From these variables, the two measures of challenge created were:

• measure of social / linguistic challenge, influenced by the percentage of pupils

known to be eligible for free school meals and the percentage of pupils whose

first language is known or believed to be other than English, and

• measure of academic / SEN challenge, influenced by the percentage of pupils

with special needs with statements, plus the percentage of pupils with special

needs without statements, and the percentage of pupils in school who

achieve the expected levels in national tests.

Where data on key stage results were not available for all schools (in particular for

small primary schools), an average (mean) value was estimated. Factor analysis

(principal components analysis with ‘varimax’ rotation) was used to create the two

measures of challenge for primary and secondary schools. These measures were

then standardised to have a mean of 100 and standard deviation of 5. A score below

100 indicated lower than average challenge, a score above 100 indicated higher than

average challenge. For each measure, primary and secondary schools were divided

into four quartiles, ranging from lower to higher scores on each of the measures.

The measures of challenges variables are included in the data tables and are

reported on where significant differences are evident.

APPENDIX B

THE QUESTIONNAIRE

Documents

GTC Survey of Black and Minority TNS Report September 2009€¦ · GTC Survey of Black and Minority Ethnic Teachers 2009 TNS Report September 2009 UK Data Archive Study Number 6890