Masters’ degrees to improve teaching standards

Primary and secondary school staff will be given the chance to work alongside academics from Leeds Metropolitan University to study their own teaching and how it can be developed.

The Leading Learning Initiative has previously been run as a pilot in nine schools around Leeds but from this term is being rolled out as a city-wide programme.

Under the scheme teachers will be given the chance to attend a seminar six times a year – once every half-term – working alongside a university academic to study their own teaching and the factors which could be impacting on their pupils’ performance.

Teachers will be part of the programme for three years with the option of studying for a masters degree or PhD at the end of it.

The Leeds Metropolitan University academic leading the project Professor Lori Beckett told the Yorkshire Post she hoped the scheme would create a generation of masters qualified teachers in the city.

She said: “The Government’s educational reform package is committed to high standards and closing the gaps in educational achievement between rich and poor students.

“Teachers are the key to this and our school-university partnership offers a unique opportunity for teachers and academics to work in partnership and learn from each other in a unique way.

“Academics will work with practitioners to develop localised responses and, ultimately, improve results. We are guided by a practical question: How can we support good teaching in order to narrow the gap in achievement?”

Prof Beckett said the programme had already helped to deliver improved results in Leeds schools such as Little London Community Primary which since 2008 has been the most improved in the city, the fourth-most improved in Yorkshire and the 20th most improved in the country.

City of Leeds School has also seen its staff team up with academics in order to examine their teaching as part of the pilot programme which is now being extended.

Headteacher Gary Lovelace said the project had benefited staff and students. He said: “The main benefit is being able to give teachers the breathing space to take a step back and think about their teaching with the fresh perspective that an academic brings.

“The secondary benefit has been that the pupils know that they are working with a university and it helps in raising their aspirations of getting into higher education.”

Dirk Gilleard, deputy chief executive of Education Leeds, said: “This is an exciting initiative which helps teachers investigate, for themselves, learning and teaching in their own classroom.

“The work will be expertly facilitated by academic partners from the university and there will be great opportunities for teachers to share their findings and learn from each other.

“We’ve already seen the power of this work in some of our schools and we are keen to invite other teachers and schools to take advantage of this approach.”

Teachers who enrol on the three-year scheme participate in seminar-workshops, work with academic partners, and can also qualify for a graduate diploma in the first year, and go on to study for a masters degree with the potential to do an education doctorate focused on their contribution to their own school’s improvement plans.

Prof Beckett added: “This is very much about bringing the resources of the city to bear on working in schools and supporting teachers in the classroom, rather than so-called experts issuing advice from the comfort of their ivory towers.”

She told the Yorkshire Post one of the areas of focus in the work between academic and teacher was on the social backgrounds of pupils and to what extent the curriculum needed to be shaped to meet their needs.

She said this could mean different responses from pupils from different ethnic groups.

Teachers will carry out research into their own school and develop improvement plans.

Prof Beckett said she hoped teachers would be given timetable slots in their working day to carry out the project rather than being asked to do it outside of the day. Staff taking part will also receive a regular newsletter and attend a yearly Leading Learning research conference.

Prof Beckett said that another benefit of the programme was enabling teachers to see that some of the challenges and issues they face in the classroom are shared by teachers across the city and further afield. The programme will cost each teacher £1,000-a-year with an additional cost if they want to continue their study for a masters qualification.