CONTEXTO DEL TRABAJO

classroom instruction (PD 1)

6.3.2 Professional Development – Qualitative analysis year one / two

Views expressed in teacher interviews agreed strongly with outcomes from the

quantitative data. All groups suggested that Professional Development was a strength of the school. Senior leaders referred to a tailored approach to CPD whilst middle leaders suggested there was a personal touch to the way training was managed.18 Other comments were also very complimentary. Professional Development was described as “tailored”, “ambitious”, “superb”, and even “fantastic”. Whilst these comments are very positive, there remains some hesitation when referring to Professional Development within the MAT. Here, senior leaders see a one-sided aspect of the relationship and whilst other teachers detect that “one school is expanding quite quickly… and the other school is struggling a little to find where it is …”.

Teacher interviews in year two indicated that perceptions of Professional Development continued to agree with quantitative outcomes. Each of the four interview groups had a positive perspective and one teacher suggested that there had also been positive developments across the MAT. Experienced teachers commented that “leaders have been extremely

17 _{PD 16 Professional Development is valued by the school.}

PD 30 The school values overall improvement.

18 _{One middle leader said “There’s also a personal touch, they don’t just want to know about the school, they do}

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supportive”. Middle leaders considered that Professional Development had improved in School A. Although it was apparent that there was more work still to do, teachers

acknowledged that strategies to further improve Professional Development had accelerated and grown over time.

Table 6.5 summarises the key findings of explicit coding and the key themes from years one and two of the study and confirms the overwhelmingly positive teacher perceptions of Professional Development and its importance within School A and across the MAT.

Table 6.5: Professional Development – Summary Themes and Theoretical Constructs

Summary Themes

Year one Effective training from supportive leadership Increased opportunities for progression

Proactive rather than reactive training policy

Improved joint school professional development

Year two

Proactive joint training across schools

Personalised training from supportive leadership

Good training opportunities to develop people

Theoretical construct

Training as a priority for improving standards

Standards driven by developing people

(Based on Auerbach & Silverstein, 2003)

The identification of the theoretical construct training as a priority for improving

standards reflect a strong perception that Professional Development is viewed as a key

improvement tool. A clear link is also identified between sharing good practice and teacher motivation which, in turn, links to improving standards. Other participants confirmed the training standards connection, “we have had a massive kind of focus on differentiation across the partnership” and how this developed the quality of teaching. There was very little, if any, negative perception of Professional Development with an acknowledgement by one observer that good training opportunities were available to all “if you’ve got the right attitude of mind, the sky’s the limit. You can go where you want to go and the support is unbelievable.”

The personalisation of Professional Development and its contribution to school culture is a continuing theme identified in year two of the study. Analysis of the qualitative evidence provides strong support for the creation of a theoretical construct for year two entitled

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remains “proactive rather than reactive” and cited whole school training led by outside contributors with a specific focus on school’s standards. Whilst there was agreement that more work needs to be done across the MAT, frequent reference was made to the ongoing training opportunities made available. Moreover, where training has occurred across the partnership, participants noted that it was “really effective”.

The sharing of good practice, a personal approach to training and the allocation of appropriate time for training, are key factors and leadership strategies which initiate and sustain positive teacher perceptions of Professional Development and how it is regarded in School A. The deliberate involvement of external school improvement agencies and use, for training purposes, of a large local venue to accommodate staff at both School A and B, were perceived as positive strategies which contributed to a successful outcome. As one participant explained “we had training session where people came from PiXL …. that was at the cinema and everyone was there”. There was also a clear strategy to develop training across the MAT as one participant noted “collaboratively, we have training slots together, three slots through the year. The partnership will have the same training opportunities”. This was also reinforced in year two “Professional Development has improved in the partnership” and there was a strong strategic perception that “both schools work together” and school leaders “feel like the teachers have been extremely supportive”.

The role ordered matrix in Table 6.6 shows that all groups interviewed had a positive view of Professional Development over the period of the study. There was significant agreement between groups about the personalisation of training and its development within School A and across the MAT. The only perceived difference was identified by middle leaders who considered that “the schools were moving at different speeds” with respect to Professional Development.

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Table 6.6: Role Ordered Matrix – Professional Development

Position in School

Perception of Professional Development in year one and two

Factors or strategies which initiate or influence change

Perception of change over time SLT Tailored Individualised Proactive Effective Sharing

Three slots per year Training in local cinema PiXl (external agency)

High profile

More sharing in school Grown over time Growing collaboration ML Ambitious Personal touch Personalisation Flexible Good Collaborative Early days Personal approach External factors

One school moving quicker than the other

Long way to go ET Superb Developing people Helpful Good Supportive Effective Supportive of CPD Acting roles Personalised CPD Taken time Accelerated NQT Specific Fantastic Collaborative

Pick and mix CPD Openness

Improved

6.4.1 Collegial Support – Quantitative analysis year one / two