School Trustees rapt over quality control moves

The New Zealand School Trustees Associations says the quality of teacher training will leap ahead with on-going evaluation of teacher training programmes, as outlined in the government initiatives announced today.

And it says the status of the teaching profession will be enhanced with the proposed teaching council.

The NZSTA has long favoured establishing a teaching professional body, and says today’s government announcement will push teaching professional standards into the 21st century.

“Standards are important in any profession and the teaching profession is no exception,” says NZSTA President Owen Edgerton. “And the proposed teaching council will provide an important quality control mechanism, and one which the profession itself will have some responsibility.”

NZSTA also welcomes the news that the teaching council would include such groups as boards of trustees, principals’ organisations, and representatives of other education groups.

“We’ve also been a strong supporter of more robust quality control on teacher training programmes. We welcome the initiatives that place a greater focus on quality standards, including ongoing evaluation of these programmes,” says Owen Edgerton.

The NZSTA envisaged that this could be a task for the Teacher Registration Board, but is comfortable with the proposal that the Education Review Office undertake it.

Owen Edgerton says there is no compelling reason why the critical area of teacher training shouldn’t face the same evaluation as other organisations. Other organisations within the education sector are required to operating review processes. Even the training programmes for boards of trustees are subject to independent monitoring of their quality level.

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“Teacher quality is critical to achieving high quality outcomes and all boards of trustees need to be assured that when they are recruiting, the pool of teacher trainee graduates are of the highest possible quality,” he says.

NZSTA believes trustees and the parent community will welcome the new emphasis on excellence within the profession.

“I would encourage all boards of trustees to take the opportunity to respond to the consultation document when this document is circulated,” says Owen Edgerton.

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For more information contact
Owen Edgerton
NZSTA President
Cellphone 025 441 397
Office 04 473 4955

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