Challenging the Deprofessionalisation of Teaching and Teachers: Claiming and Acclaiming the Profession

256 Pages·2020·2.609 MB·English

by  John Buchanan

John Buchanan
Challenging
the Deprofessionalisation
of Teaching and Teachers
Claiming and Acclaiming the Profession
Challenging the Deprofessionalisation of Teaching
and Teachers
John Buchanan
Challenging
the Deprofessionalisation
of Teaching and Teachers
Claiming and Acclaiming the Profession
123
JohnBuchanan
Schoolof Education
University of Technology Sydney
Ultimo, NSW, Australia
ISBN978-981-15-8537-1 ISBN978-981-15-8538-8 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-8538-8
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To all those, including my students, who have
taught me.
A special, belated dedication to those who
taught me at school: I wasn’t always
appreciative of your (dual meaning intended)
gifts.
Foreword
A Feast in Which to Indulge—Slowly
JohnBuchanan’sbookisnomeresnack.Itisarichfeastwithmanycourseseachof
whichdeservesslowandcarefulattention.Themanyadvocatesfortakinglifeitself
a little more slowly ask that we be mindful and focused, ready to analyse and
assess. All of that is wise advice when dealing with material as complex and
interrelated as that which Johnlays before us. Generationsago educational change
could be perceived as glacial, then almost overnight it morphed into an avalanche.
Howtoconsciouslydealwithsuchdevelopmentcontinuestobeofconcerntothose
who have a passion and commitment to education, teaching and learning. John
Buchanan relentlessly reminds us that these seemingly innocent words are con-
structs that shape us, just as we shape them.
The opening paragraph of the preface to the book is explicit regarding the
intended audience: teachers, pre-service and in-service; teacher educators;
bureaucrats; politicians; parents; even school students—each enjoined to find
pleasure their reading. The paragraph concludes with a somewhat whimsical
statement,“perhaps the best advice I can offer isnot toread thebook alone andin
the dark. Apart from anything, you’ll run the risk of eyestrain.” So, all the more
reason to take things slowly.
Just as a feast requires the occasional palate cleansing John digresses occa-
sionally by including personal anecdotes and quiet humour that he employs to
personalise the abstract. But the overall task is a serious one addressing both local
and international trends and contexts with an emphasis upon the consequences of
notgivingsufficientconsiderationtothefundamentalpurposesofeducation,above
andbeyondschooling.Heiswillingtotaketheriskofwritinginthefirstpersonso
thatwecanidentifyhisaspirationthatistodealwiththedifficultissuesthatbedevil
the current state of play.
Astrengthofthebookisthecomprehensivecoverageoftheextantliteraturethat
Johnusestodispeltheoft-heldaphorism,‘anyonecanteach’.Thus,heremindsus
that the field of practice is a complex one that has been under intense academic
vii
viii Foreword
scrutiny for many years. He enjoins the reader to dispel with the notion that
teaching is all about telling, learning all about listening, and assessment all about
regurgitating.
Historically,thebookemergesatatimewhenthecommunityisseriouslybeing
asked tore-think these ideas inanera ofapandemicthat hasledto children being
taughtathomeandwhereithasbecomeclearthatthenotionof‘anyonecanteach’
doesnotholdwater.Indeed,muchofthematerialisprescientandshouldbereadas
being written in a specific historical time.
Returning for a moment to the feasting metaphor it is important that Heston
Blumenthal’s culinary gymnastics aside, it is essential to understand what it is to
know thefundamentalsofpedagogy,justasoneneeds toknowhow foodbehaves
when being prepared, cooked and consumed. Stretching the metaphor a little fur-
ther,itisalsopossibletoclaimthatcheap,short-cutroutestopreparingteachersis
as hazardous as pulling chefs in off the street and expecting them to be able to
produce fine dining. Master chefs may turn to a recipe, but in the main they are
creative utilising all manner of product, put together in all manner of ways.
Similarly, educators, whether classroom teachers or their leaders, may turn to
well-tuned rubrics but also employ their experience and imagination to develop
their practice.
While the book does not make a claim for Australian exceptionalism it does
pointouttheencroachmentofpolicyborrowingintheformofmakinginternational
comparisonsbaseduponde-contextualisedtesting.Muchismadeofthecapacityof
teacherstoexercisediscernment,acapabilitythatisnotsufficientlywellrecognised
when international solutions are sought. This competitive striving is being con-
ducted, at times, on the basis of spurious evidence and has led to the perils of
standardisation.
Just as a poor restaurant review can stymie a business, so it is the case that
educationsuffersgreatlyatthehandsofanoftenhostileandill-informedpress.As
Johnnotesthemediarelishadramaticheadlineandwillbemorelikelytoreporton
mis-steps than on positive achievement, thus creating a defensive climate that in
turn hamperscreativity. Our politicians, always sensitiveto public opinion, turn to
the rhetoric of ‘standards’ as a means of controlling the profession. Professional
practice performance indicators have become both means and ends. The book
reminds us that the unintended consequences include an over-emphasis upon
meetingbureaucraticgoalsabovepraxis—morallydefensiblepractice—thatinturn
canresultinunprecedentedlevelsofteacherattrition.Thediscussionofstandardsis
particularly powerful and reflects the concept of unintended bias based upon
implicit social cognition. As the book notes, the underlying risk is that standards
will shape teaching inthe image of those who construct them, thus contributing to
professional reproduction leaving little room for innovation and change. As is
reported in Chap. 1, “Standards offer security—perhaps in dual guises of security
blanket and security guard”—serving both to intimidate and protect.
It has not been the intention of this foreword to summarise the chapters of this
complex book but rather to highlight a number of its features such as the issue of
standards as discussed above. Among the strengths of the work is the attention
Foreword ix
given to matters of assessment and curriculum development whether in the class-
roomorofthepracticeitself.Aswell,recentreferencingoftheplaceoftechnology
in teaching and learning reminds us just how complex that interaction may be—
somethingthattheCovid19Pandemichasactedasareminder tousall.Thebook
cautionsthereaderregardingtheconsequencesofsocialmediaandtheproliferation
offake news that offer a monumental challenge to education in a democracy.
Initsfinalchapterthebookreturnstoaskthatweexamineourselvesasreflective
practitioners. The responsibility is formidable.
As a reader, please take thetime togothrough this text slowly;enjoythe feast,
but avoid indigestion, and most importantly partake in the company of others.
Susan Groundwater-Smith
Honorary Professor
Sydney School of Education and Social Work
University of Sydney
Sydney, Australia
Preface
Who and What this Book is for
I trust that this book will resonate with my colleagues, teacher educators.
I hope that practicing teachers will read it and be reminded of their worth and
contributions. I also hope that the book will have meaning for those in pre-service
teacher education. But we need more allies than just those within the circle.
Naturally, I will be pleased if educational managers, bureaucrats and politicians
read the book and consider its claims as if they might bear some truth. I also hope
that parents, many of whom are sympathetic to the claims of the book, will read it
and be reminded of how teachers value-add to their children’s lives, and perhaps
rekindletheirown breakthrough momentsatschool,andhoweducationsincethen
has served, and continues to serve, them. Those in senior secondary school, also
perhaps aspiring to be teachers, might also find the book interesting to consider.
Ihopethecomplexityanddemandsofteachingsetoutinthebookdon’tdetersuch
people fromthenobleprofession.Perhaps thebestadvice Icanoffer isnottoread
thebookaloneandinthedark.Apartfromanything,you’llruntheriskofeyestrain.
I also take Susan Groundwater-Smith’s point, in the foreword, that the book pre-
sents perhaps more than you can eat in one sitting. While the chapters link across
themes, they can be read independently of one another, and not necessarily in the
numericalorderinwhichtheyarepresented(apologiestothe(my)mathsteachers).
TheorderonwhichIfinallysettled,moreorless,beginswiththebroadsocialand
educationallandscape,andthenhomesinonthemorespecificeducationalcontext.
The organization of the chapters bears some similarity to a narrative text type.
Section 1 provides the orientation, while Chap. 3 introduces the complication.
Section two follows the players, the protagonists, as they go about their work.
Section 3 (spoiler alert) serves as a denouement and coda.
I draw on several lenses through which to examine education and pedagogy,
including reviews of the literature and analytical frameworks. In places, I have
drawn frankly on personal anecdotes, in the hope that others may see personal
similarities therein. I accept that some of the views are personal perspectives, but
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xii Preface
they derive from my own experience/s, and critical consideration of associated
literature and research. Moreover, the personal anecdotes are not intended as a
distraction, but as a link to a deeper truth (as I see it).
Iwillbepleasedifthebookcontributestoakinder,gentler communityviewof
teachers and their work. I will be delighted, however, if the book leads to more
enlightened and informed understanding of the complexity and demands, intel-
lectual and emotional, of teaching. I also hope that the book will give you an
occasional smile along the way. If you grimace, I’ll pretend you’re smiling.
Ultimo, NSW, Australia John Buchanan