Education News Fall2013/Winter2014 | Page 2

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Photo by Shuana Niessen

Dean ’ s Message

In Canada , and in Saskatchewan specifically , current educators are working in a context that ties educational “ success ” instrumentally to economic engines and is generally dismissive and suspicious of education with its focus on student-based learning based on the premise that each young person has the right to a safe and nurturing environment so they may grow to be loving , thoughtful , and respectful human beings and engaged citizens . Instead , neoliberal rhetoric ties success or literacy to jobs , productivity , and measurable outcomes . The ranking of provinces on international PISA scores has become a macho competition among provincial Ministers of Education . Authentic assessment is marginalized in favour of “ standards ” ( Robinson , 2012 , Sahlsberg & Hargreaves , 2011 ).
Dr . James McNinch , Dean , separating DNA from wheat germ using biotechnology tool kit
Faculties of Education are not just providing preservice ( undergraduate ) and in-service ( graduate ) “ training ” and professional development . Increasingly , Faculties are advocating for teachers and professors , reminding educational partners and the public that teacher work is not just “ labour ,” and challenging the assumptions about what constitutes the daily professional lives of teachers and professors ( Apple , 1989 ).
A recent study by the Saskatchewan Instructional Development & Research Unit ( SIDRU ), our Faculty research unit , for Saskatchewan Teachers ’ Federation ( STF , 2013 ), provided clear evidence of teachers ’ growing dissatisfaction with increased stress , accountability , workloads , and decreased roles as decision-making professionals . While teachers remain deeply committed to public education and the public good , the ethical principles and professional ideals that characterize their roles as teachers are increasingly at risk in the current social , political , and economic climate .
Three themes emerged from this research : a strong sense of teachers ’ commitment to education , increasingly bigger barriers to teacher and student success , and problematic compromises to teachers ’ commitment to education . Work intensification ( Larson , 1980 ) refers to
By James McNinch
how teachers are subjected to increasing external pressures , such as demands from policymakers and broader societal expectations . In turn , this results in an increase in the number of tasks or duties for which a teacher is responsible , without additional resources or time . As the work of teachers is reduced to executing the decisions made by others , intensification carries a threat of de-professionalism . It becomes , in such a climate , the responsibility of Faculties of Education to advocate , against the grain , for the importance of teacher autonomy and professionalism and to encourage the kind of collegial collaboration that will sustain the profession .
Public perceptions that teachers have it “ so easy ” because of the apparently short school day and school year need unpacking . The public and government officials need to know the importance of time for reflection before , during , and after teaching , particularly relevant in an information age driven by technologies , which have accelerated access to instant information , but have not necessarily helped teachers to develop and sustain their relational and pedagogical work with students ( Schon , 1983 ).
Teachers make hundreds of decisions every day about instructional strategies , the individual needs of each student , about what is important content , about how to plan for and assess learning , and how best to communicate
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