Ethos, Anti-Bullying And

Ethos, Anti-Bullying and

Positive Discipline within

Initial Teacher Education

The Anti-Bullying and Scottish Schools Ethos Networks are funded by the Scottish Executive and based at the University of Edinburgh.

Copies of this report will be sent to all participants, Deans of the schools/faculties of education, Directors of Education, local authority representatives, HMIe and other interested individuals and organisations.

It can also be downloaded from the ABN website and the SSEN website

Limited copies are available from the ABN and SSEN office Telephone: 0131 651 6551

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our grateful thanks to the University of Strathclyde for hosting this event, in particular to Professor Brian Boyd of the Faculty of Education and Isobel Calder of the Professional Development Unit at Jordanhill Campus.

The Anti-Bullying and Scottish School Ethos Networks’ team would like to thank the delegates who attended this seminar, as well as the speakers who generously shared their own views and who proposed ideas for the consideration of everyone interested in positive behaviour and positive learning.

We would also like to thank all the members of staff at the schools/faculties of education who contributed to and/or completed the ITE questionnaire (see Appendices 1, 2 and 3).

Finally we are very grateful to Margaret Johnstone, seminar rapporteur and author of this report.

This report was written by Margaret Johnstone and published in February 2005 by the Anti-Bullying Network and the Scottish Schools Ethos Network, Moray House School of Education, the University of Edinburgh, Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AQ email:

Copyright © Anti-Bullying Network and the Scottish Schools Ethos Network 2005

ITE Seminar, December 2004

FOREWORD AND KEY POINTS ARISING FROM THE DAY'S DISCUSSION

The Seminar day was conceived as a means of encouraging people with different stakes in teacher training to get together and discuss how ethos/anti-bullying/positive discipline could be better integrated into pre-service training. We hope that interest was aroused and possibilities sign-posted, although obstacles were also identified. These included: fragmentation within programmes; the need for targets to be met and for students to be graded; the difficulty of meaningful co-operation with local authorities and schools and entrenched attitudes about the content of pre-service programmes. Nevertheless, if we do want systemic change then patently it is the system itself which has to be shifted. Is teacher education really a continuum over pre-service and in-service? There are of course political dimensions to any major change, but perhaps the current Initial Teacher Education (ITE) review offers a window of opportunity for the providers of ITE to instigate some positive steps forward.

Below are listed some of the main points which emerged from this seminar:

a)Positive discipline, ethos and anti-bullying are issues central to the life of children at school, and therefore ought to be integral to the professional expertise of the reflective teacher - and to the ITE curriculum. (paras 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 2.1, 2.3)

b)Many ITE students who have recently been pupils in Scottish schools have a much higher awareness of how these issues can be tackled than their predecessors had. (para 3.1)

c)Lack of time within the ITE curriculum limits coverage of these issues. (paras 1.2, 1.3, 3.2)

d)Despite the fact that all entrants to the teaching profession will face similar challenges of dealing with indiscipline and bullying, there is little consistency in the way that different ITE institutions prepare students to do this. (para 1.3)

e)Whatever the merits of the different ways in which ITE institutions cover these issues, the impact of this coverage on students appears insufficient from a school perspective. (para 3.2 PG discussion)

f)Difficulties in placing ITE students in suitable school placements must be overcome. Students should be able to experience at first hand what a positive school ethos feels like. (para 1.4, 2.3, 2.4, 2.9, 3.2)

g)A new conceptual framework for ITE should recognise that ethos, anti-bullying and positive discipline are fundamental issues for teachers, parents and pupils. ITE providers should encourage a more integrated, holistic approach and involve parents and pupils - as well as education and child care professionals - in discussions about how teachers are trained. Changes in ITE are needed to accommodate changes to the probation experience. (paras 1.3, 1.4, 2.1, 2.4, 2.7, 2.8, 3.1, 3.2)

h)The ethos of initial teacher education should model that which schools are being encouraged to develop, i.e. it should encourage participation in decision making, foster an atmosphere of openness and involve a variety of agencies and groups representative of those working in schools. (paras 2.9, 3.1, 3.2)

i)ITE professionals and students should come together with pupils and teachers to create a "community of enquiry" aimed at finding solutions to bullying and indiscipline. (paras 2.5, 2.8)

CONTENTSPage

Foreword and key points arising from the day's discussion 1

Introduction3

1.Why are these issues important?4

1.1Introduction by Pamela Munn, Edinburgh University 4

1.2Should these issues be covered in Initial Teacher Education? David Thomson, 4

Edinburgh University

1.3If it's not happening, why not? The findings of the ABN/SSEN 2004 4

ITE questionnaire (see Appendix 3) Brian Boyd, Strathclyde University

1.4General Discussion 5

2.Individual Perspectives6

2.1The local authority: Terry Ashton, Aberdeen City 6

2.2The Schools' Inspectorate: Morag Gunion, HMIe 6

2.3Reflections of a headteacher: Derek Reid, Burnfoot Community School 6

2.4Reflections of probationer teacher: Marian Rae, Edinburgh 7

2.5The role of research: Donald Christie, Strathclyde University 7

2.6Considering the issues in the BEd programme: Irene Howell, Paisley University 7

2.7Considering the issues in the PGCE programme: David McMurtry, 8

Aberdeen University

2.8Ethos in Stirling University's ITE programme: John l'Anson, Stirling University 8

2.9Dealing with the issues in student groups: Valerie Chalmers and Fiona Lavin, 8

Dundee University

3.Facilitated Discussion9

3.1The BEd Group 9

3.2The Post-Graduate Group 9

Appendix 1 – ITE Survey Report11

Appendix 2 – ABN and SSEN ITE Questionnaire 200415

Appendix 3 – Individual questionnaire responses21

Appendix 4 - Discussion questions31

List of Participants/Invited Delegates35

INTRODUCTION

Bullying as a problem has only been on the agenda of Scottish schools since about 1990. Before that, it was something which was acknowledged but which did not attract a lot of attention. Now, pupil and parents expect schools to have effective policies to deal with it. Concepts of school ethos and positive discipline are given less of a media focus and are possibly less understood by pupils and parents, but are nevertheless essential in making our schools safe and effective. Within the profession the idea of school climate is not a new one, but within the past fifteen years or so there has been increased and formal recognition of the importance of ethos and of positive discipline, not least from the Schools Inspectorate.

The seminar organised by the Anti-Bullying and the Scottish Schools Ethos Networks, hosted by Strathclyde University and held at the Jordanhill Campus, Glasgow on Thursday 9 December 2004, was aimed at encouraging the delegates to think about how these three interconnected issues are tackled, or indeed if they are or should be tackled, in Initial Teacher Education. Most delegates came from Initial Teacher Education (ITE), from local authorities and from schools.

The seminar programme attempted to cover views from a number of relevant perspectives, using brief individual reflections as starters for discussion.

The structure of the day was as follows:

1.Why are these issues important?

Opening presentations considered this question in relation to ITE and looked at the ITE response to a recent questionnaire which was sent to Deans of the Scottish Schools/ Faculties of Education concerning the place of ethos/anti-bullying/positive discipline in the training of student teachers.

2.Individual perspectives

Five speakers from different and relevant standpoints gave personal views; local authority, the School Inspectorate, a headteacher, a probationer teacher and a researcher. This was followed by four presentations by speakers from Aberdeen University, University of Paisley, Stirling University and Dundee University, considering these issues within current student programmes.

3.Facilitated discussion

Delegates had the choice of joining discussion groups concentrating on the PGCE or the BEd programme.

This paper gives a brief outline of each presenter's major points.

The data from the questionnaire sent to all Deans of Scottish schools/faculties of education in 2004, asking about time spent in pre-service on the issues of ethos and anti-bullying is included as Appendix 3.

Six questions were used on the day as a basis for discussion by the delegates. These are included as Appendix 4.

1.WHY ARE THESE ISSUES IMPORTANT?

1.1Pamela Munn, Professor of Education, the University of Edinburgh, argued that positive discipline, ethos and anti-bullying are issues central to the life of children at school, and therefore ought to be integral to the professional expertise of the reflective teacher. The teacher education curriculum which would produce the reflective practitioner is not self-evident, as delegates would recognise, but is a thorny question in ITE. Furthermore, the current ITEreview although incomplete, has already identified the need for closer working between ITE, the local authorities and schools. All these parties had an interest in promoting good initial teacher education. The delegates represented the three groups and had this opportunity to debate how the issues of anti-bullying, of ethos and of positive discipline are or might be tackled by ITE providers and what impact this might have on the students.

1.2David Thomson, Director of Undergraduate Studies at Moray House School of Education noted that for providers of ITE there are two apparent barriers to incorporating specific material on anti-bullying or ethos into the ITE course. Firstly, there is the assumption that the students know perfectly well what bullying is, and would learn more about the practicalities of how it could be tackled on school placement. Secondly, the extensive targets and guidelines already existing in ITE made it tempting to ask what the providers can reasonably do in respect of these issues, given the finite amount of time available. In his view this was a pat answer, too pat, given that there is nothing more important than the pupils feeling comfortable, whatever the subject or the school.

Prior to the conference, Mr Thomson in his role as Director of Undergraduate Studies had asked colleagues for information on how anti-bullying and ethos were tackled in their teaching. The general reply was that these issues were subsumed within other topics. He accepted that this might be the case, but noted that "permeated" could mean invisible. Professor Munn added that while nothing is more important than children feeling happy and secure, and that this should indeed permeate everything we do in ITE, if this is everybody's responsibility then it can in effect be nobody's.

1.3Brian Boyd, Professor of Education, University of Strathclyde reported the findings of the 2004 questionnaire sent to all of the ITE providing institutions. (see appendices 1,2 and 3) Bullying is a fundamental issue for pupils, parents and teachers. Is it high on the agenda for the providers of teacher education? The questionnaire asked about staff responsibilities, level of input into courses, research and future plans, in respect of anti-bullying and/or ethos. Returns from all seven of the ITE institutions were received, although a variety of approaches had been taken to the completion of the questionnaire. These ranged from a single summative reply to several individual replies to a collated response. As might be expected, there appeared to be no unanimity of approach among institutions. Replies suggested that anything from two hours to 24 hours of a course might be set aside for "ethos", for example, or that ethos permeated a particular course. In fact, in comparison to a previous survey made in 1994, there was very little change in terms of time allocated to anti-bullying.

Was this a disappointing response? Professor Boyd queried whether this was a poor result, after years of public debate, and agreement on the importance of these issues, or whether it was simply a reflection of the limited amount of time available within ITE.

In respect of future plans, again replies were individual, ranging from "none" to planned course revision. Student/staff research projects were also reported, although these would be personal choices rather than institutional initiatives.

The question then was, if little change had taken place since 1994, why not? Professor Boyd suggested that moves to de-clutter the school curriculum might well be copied in ITE, although this would be difficult to de-clutter. Inertia is a powerful force, the time available for ITE is limited and it is not clear who would or could take responsibility for such a step.

The response was not surprising, he added, given the lack of co-ordination across ITE provision even within a college, the fragmentation, time constraints and the structure of course themselves. Nevertheless, there is a history, a solid background supporting the idea that this is important and 'affect effects learning'. So, what might be done? Some ideas might be:

• a new conceptual framework for ITE
• using the Curriculum 8 - 13 Review as a starting point for ITE providers in considering change
• listening to children's views and asking them real questions
• using a joined up approach; we are a wee country, why don't we talk to each other?

1.4General Discussion

Grace Gunnell (West Dunbartonshire Council) suggested that any change towards a more central role for ethos/anti-bullying ought to be considered as a starting point for part of an integrated plan, rather than tacked on as an added extra. Brian Boyd agreed that if we are moving towards integrated children's services, then we have to train people in an integrated way.

Marian Rae (Probationer teacher, Edinburgh) noted that from her own experience, students in training were given an idea of the importance of these issues, but that in school the emphasis might focus on basic skills. David Thomson added that in formal discussion of ITE between mentors and trainers, ethos as a subject did not seem to feature, although classroom management did, to some extent. In fact the biggest subject raised was labelled "miscellaneous". Brian Boyd suggested that there was not much reward in the system for concentrating on ethos, nor for risk taking. Rewards were for compliance and for work which could be quantified.

Anwar Din (Glasgow) made the point that, as a teacher, he found students to be so busy preparing for the “crit” that they were unable to think about anything else. This led to some discussion of the difficulty of the grading system and the role of the “crit” lesson, which may have little to do with the real life of the school and may well skew the student's attention during placement. Derek Reid (Scottish Borders) wondered whether it would be possible at least to give the students experience of a good school, a positive placement. Brian Boyd replied that the reality is that placements are too scarce to allow for any negotiations; indeed one or two local authorities have decided to take no students, a very unhelpful position.

Mamta Yadav (South Lanarkshire) made the point that it is only in the last ten years that parents have become more central to schooling; would parents be asked about or involved in such changes? Pamela Munn agreed that this was an area where parents felt they had a legitimate concern, unlike curricular change. She added that, in respect of the current curriculum review, there is a new outlook. For the first time, instead of considering the best way to divide the curriculum into chunks of time for each subject, it is the purposes of the curriculum which are being considered.

2.INDIVIDUAL PERSPECTIVES

2.1Terry Ashton (Aberdeen City) considered ITE from a local authority perspective. He felt very strongly that schools should be places where pupils were helped to be something, to do something rather than to repeat what others felt was correct. He saw the development of a positive, anti-bullying ethos as the foundation of positive learning, indeed, he added that we all know this, although we may express it in different ways. The problem is that we often imply that the teacher should stay within his/her subject, and that in respect of discipline what the student teacher can learn is some useful tips. In his view this was only a part of the teacher's role. To emphasise this, he read out a number of comments by pupils on how they defined a good teacher, including quotations from younger pupils.

His central point was that although he was supposed to be giving a local authority viewpoint, it was the kids who had the most important contribution to make to defining good and successful teachers. In his view, what goes on in schools is not teaching, but learning. He had therefore tried to describe what he thought ITE should be training teachers for, which is being teachers of children who can learn in a supportive context.

2.2Morag Gunion (HM Inspectorate, Glasgow) gave the HMIe perspective on how ethos/anti-bullying was located in a school inspection. Firstly, a pre-inspection questionnaire is sent to the school: to pupils, parents, teaching and non-teaching staff. This covers areas such as enjoyment, care and welfare, bullying, fair treatment and feedback. Looking at the response in general from schools inspected, it appears that pupils are reasonably satisfied that their school does deal positively with the various areas listed, although primary pupils are rather more satisfied than secondary pupils, and teachers are more satisfied than pupils. This general data is used in giving talks to groups of pupils/teachers/parents.

In terms of individual schools, if a specific issue of concern arises from the completed questionnaires, then the Inspectorate would follow this up; indeed if an individual pupil chooses not to be anonymous, his/her statements would be followed through. She emphasised that in all cases, for an individual school the inspection team arrives at a judgement of ethos. In fact, ethos has a central place in school inspection.