$200 million wasted on inadequate professional development

12 July 2013

$200 million wasted on inadequate professional development

The government is spending $200 million a year on woefully inadequate teacher professional learning and development (PLD) that does not help lift student achievement.

A report based on two separate PPTA surveys shows both teachers and school leaders agree current PLD provision is inadequate, piecemeal and incoherent - raising serious questions as to whether this money is being well-spent.

The surveys were conducted in May this year after noise in the sector over the current PLD provision had grown to an unbearable level, PPTA president Angela Roberts said. 

“There is clearly a need to ensure the professional learning that happens in schools challenges teachers to work differently with students to raise their achievement, but 44% of teachers said that only happened sometimes with the current provision of PLD.

“Visiting international experts have reiterated the importance of teacher professional development in improving equity of student achievement. This is an issue that needs the urgent attention of the government,” she said.

One of the biggest concerns voiced by both teachers and school leaders was the lack of local provision for PLD, Roberts said.

The current contestable contracts tended to be centred on particular providers, often a long way from where the PLD must be delivered, dismantling a trusted model of ongoing local support.

“The closeness to the contract directly influences the quality of PLD. If you are in Taranaki, Wainuiomata or Gisborne you will have worse PLD opportunities than in Auckland or Hamilton,” she said.

“The type of PLD teachers and leaders find most effective is ongoing, looks  at students’ achievement data and takes place in a professional learning community, especially with teachers from other schools. This is what used to be provided by the locally trusted, officially sanctioned, university-based School Support Services.”

The surveys also revealed that a number of PLD sources many teachers found worked the best had been stopped by the ministry – including the Te Kotahitanga programme aimed at raising Maori student achievement.

“The PLD spine needs to be rebuilt across the whole country”, Roberts said.

The full report is available on the PPTA website at: http://ppta.org.nz/index.php/resources/publication-list/2717-pld-research-report

ENDS

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