The Teaching Council’s functions in relation to CPD are clearly defined in the Teaching Council Act (2001) and their policy on CPD is outlined in the Policy on the Continuum of Teacher Education (2011). Unfortunately much of the Teaching Council’s policy has not yet commenced (Teaching Council, 2012). The researcher has recommendations for some of the principles set out in the Policy on Continuing Professional Development (Teaching Council, 2011:19-21) in relation to the CPD of all teachers and some recommendation specifically related to art teachers. These are outlined below.
7.3.1 CPD –a Right and Responsibility
It has been established that CPD was considered to be a right and a responsibility for all teachers by the participants and education stakeholders consulted in this study. The suggestion that an allocation of time for individual and /or staff group CPD should be built into teachers’ scheduled non-teaching time is queried by the researcher (Teaching Council, 2011:19). The researcher concedes that allocating time for staff
group CPD might be feasible but suggests that it would be impossible to allocate time
for the type of individual or subject-specific CPD that art teachers have requested (Teaching Council, 2011:19).
The results of this study also concur with the Teaching Council view that “CPD should be based on teachers’ identified needs within the school as a learning community” (Teaching Council, 2011:19). This study has shown that art teachers recognised the need for both generic and subject-specific CPD. The researcher contends that the Teaching Council’s policy on CPD does not take enough cognizance of the importance of subject-specific CPD as much of its emphasis is on school based CPD. The researcher recommends that an equal amount of time , one working day a year, be allocated to 1)
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subject-specific CPD; 2) school-based staff group CPD and 3) generic or general CPD. As a requirement for mandatory CPD was advocated in this study the researcher suggests that mandatory CPD provision in the aforementioned areas might take place at the following times in the school year:
1. Subject-specific CPD to take place on a set date in August when schools reopen but before pupils attend lessons.
2. School-based staff group CPD to take place on a set date in October adjacent to school mid-term break. Pupils would effectively gain an extra day of holidays while their teachers were engaged in CPD.
3. Generic or general CPD to take place on a set date in June before state exams commence.
Recommendations for the design and delivery of subject-specific CPD will be outlined in the section on Partnership and Collaboration.
7.3.2 Coherent National Framework
This study recognizes the need for a coherent national framework for CPD provision. The consensus of opinion amongst the research participants was that the Teaching Council should have ultimate responsibility for the development and running of such a framework and that it should be implemented as soon as possible. The researcher agrees that a partnership approach to policy development and planning involving all key stakeholders is needed. The researcher recommends that the CPD department within the Teaching Council set up collaborative working groups for all subject areas currently on offer in schools in Ireland, to determine the CPD needs of individual subject teachers on an ongoing basis. She suggests that the membership of these groups should include representation from the following stakeholders:
1. Initial Teacher Education- Subject-specific department e.g. Art Education, to ensure that the collaborative working group is aware of current research in the subject area and current practice in subject-specific ITE.
2. The relevant subject association e.g. ATAI
3. The inspectorate- DES and SEC e.g. Art Inspectors
4. PDST- National Coordinator with responsibility for specific subject e.g. National Coordinator for Art.
5. Art teachers (2-4) who volunteered to join the group as a result of an open invitation on the Teaching Council website to participate in and contribute to the subject working group.
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6. CPD department in the Teaching Council- representative to act as chairperson of the group.
The researcher does not see the necessity of including representatives from either school management or the teaching unions in these collaborative working groups as she is of the opinion that any issues they might have regarding the implementation of a CPD framework should be dealt with in a separate forum. It is also suggested that the outcomes of this working group are published on the Teaching Council website so that potential CPD providers would be made aware of the current specific CPD needs of teachers in each subject area.
7.3.3 Design and Implementation of CPD for art teachers
The researcher agrees that professional learning communities, schools, or clusters of schools working together through structures such as the HEIs, the education centres and subject associations should have a central role to play in prioritising professional development needs (Teaching Council, 2011:20). The researcher is of the opinion that the inspectorate with responsibility for Art (DES and SEC) and the NCCA should have a role in this process also.
A collaborative organizational approach for the provision of CPD for art teachers was advocated in this study. The researcher proposes that the Teaching Council develop a mechanism whereby potential CPD providers are vetted for suitability as CPD providers in generic and/or subject-specific CPD. In the case of subject-specific CPD, experts in each specific subject area, from the collaborative working groups, could be enlisted to carry out the evaluation of potential CPD providers. If the potential CPD providers were deemed to have met the requirements of the Teaching Council they could be licensed as CPD providers by the Teaching Council. The researcher recommends that resources should be allocated to this “Licensed CPD Provider” sector for the provision of subject-specific CPD. Licensed CPD providers for art could include the NCAD, museums, galleries, the Irish Film Institute, the Crafts Council of Ireland and many of the collaborating partners on the NCAD CPD programme. It is envisaged that these licensed providers could provide CPD for art teachers for the proposed one day subject-specific provision or at any other time that teachers might want to engage in CPD on a voluntary basis.
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Figure 7.1: Potential providers of CPD for Teaching Council National Framework for CPD.
The researcher proffers Figure 7.1 as an overview of a potential national framework for the Teaching Council for the provision and delivery of subject-specific and general CPD. This research study also highlighted the value of engaging teachers as facilitators of CPD. The researcher is of the opinion that expert groups within a teaching staff are also potential providers of CPD within their own school and to other schools. The researcher recommends that the rate of pay for CPD facilitators should be increased from the current rate. The researcher suggests that a higher rate of pay should be paid to facilitators of CPD for CPD work undertaken outside school hours.
7.3.4 Accreditation of CPD
The researcher recommends that the Teaching Council should prioritize the development of criteria for the accreditation of CPD programmes as soon as possible (Teaching Council, 2011:21). The researcher suggests that HEIs liaise with the Teaching Council on this matter and develop a framework whereby participation in CPD is recognised as part of a credit system by third level institutes for access to courses.