Sir, – Jim Gleeson's recent article "The double-think at the heart of teacher training" (Education Opinion, November 3rd), on teacher education, and the relationships between those who are responsible for it, raises a number of important issues about the framework within which those relationships are conducted.
Research shows that the journey a person must undertake to become a teacher is as much a personal one as a professional one. The web of relationships that they must navigate is a complex one spanning third level and schools.
I do not share his scepticism as to the impact of school culture on student teachers and newly qualified teachers. We have ample evidence in our engagement with the profession since our establishment in 2006 which shows that teachers are keen to exercise their professional leadership in partnership with others. However, it must be clear to them that all stakeholders are prepared to work this partnership in the context of the policy framework established by the Teaching Council.
Prof Gleeson states that the council should challenge school cultures more. Our experience has taught us that the best way to achieve sustainable, authentic change is to identify the good practice that already takes place, and support the profession to share their learning as widely as possible.
He is concerned that our policies on induction and teachers' learning do not recognise the input of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). But as he himself notes, our Policy on the Continuum of Teacher Education is the framework within which each stakeholder's responsibilities are clarified throughout the phases of teachers' learning.
Ultimately, an enhanced focus on professional leadership and engagement in teacher education is about giving greater voice to those who have a lot to say about its impact on those who are most affected by it – teachers and students. Such voices have the potential to enrich all our own professional voices, including the council’s. Let’s continue to listen to what they have to say. – Yours, etc,
TOMÁS Ó RUAIRC,
Director,
The Teaching Council,
Maynooth Business Campus,
Straffan Road,
Maynooth,
Co Kildare.