Paper recommends reform to boost quality teachers

New paper recommends reform of teaching conditions and school management to boost quality teachers

Significant reforms to teacher training and pay and school management are necessary to encourage quality teachers to all New Zealand schools, says a new paper from the Education Forum.

The paper, written by Byron Bentley, the Education Forum chairman and principal of Macleans College, proposes:

Tertiary education ‘studentships’to recruit, reward and retain new teachers

More flexible training paths Increased pay and incentives,

especially for hard-to-staff schools

School self-management

More flexible enrolment schemes and the abolition of zoning

An overhaul of the Education Review Office.

“Without talented, enthusiastic and qualified teachers in our classrooms, New Zealand cannot hope to continue having a first-class, first-world, compulsory school system,” Mr Bentley said.

“We know that quality teachers are the key to getting good outcomes for our students. We need a system that allows quality people to more readily move into teaching and to stay and develop a career there.

“This proposal provides a framework that will allow good teachers to shine and good applicants to more readily enter the teaching profession.

“It also gives school boards the means to retain good staff and to manage school affairs to provide an environment for the staffs’ ongoing professional development.”

While the National Party’s announcement this month of a $19 million funding allocation for a voluntary bonding scheme for teachers in hard-to-staff areas and subjects is a start, much more is needed, Mr Bentley said.

The paper is online here as a Word document.

ENDS

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