Let the point on a controversial issue
(from Journal of Education, No. 1, January-February 2010)
Giancarlo Cerini
The debate about the school in recent months, was catalyzed almost exclusively by serious financial problems that affect our country and that led to the adoption of restrictive measures of public spending, even with specific reference to education. In particular, art. 64 of Legislative Decree 112/2008 (converted into Law 133/2008) provides for several measures on education systems and the functioning of the school, also to reduce the impact on the accounts state. It should be said that, with the savings that will result in three years, a share of resources (30%) will riutizzato for the enhancement of professionalism of the school, to reward merit, set a career (in particular teachers), in short, to take measures in favor of "rewarding".
Provided they have overcome all obstacles and political union that still stand in the way these perspectives, it seems appropriate to explore the cultural aspects of such a theme. And 'what we will do in this short note, we deal with the problems of legal status, career, training and evaluation, especially in light of the draft law presented in spring 2008 by the Hon. Valentina Aprea, chairman of the Culture Committee of the House of Representatives ..
It 's time for a new legal status
The last "status" of the staff of the school dates back to 1974, then the process of privatization of public employment has contracted and working conditions of staff. Time seems ripe for a redefinition, the highest legislative level, the fundamental principles of the teaching profession: the professional and cultural autonomy, rights and duties, training and service (mandatory), and forms of collective representation, the characteristics of the profession in perspective European Union (recruitment, evaluation, report-time teaching job, functional items). The regulation may be delegated to the executive, however, should be offset by a strong process of sharing procedures, as in 1974, when the decrees were developed based on the enabling Law of 1973, by joint committees formed by politicians, technicians and social representations.
should, therefore, clear away from the perception that the new system of rights and of teachers having to be born only to contain the "taking" of trade unions in class. You can not deny the history of the last 30 years of school, even if it is true that they were often characterized by self- and vetoes and a certain conservatism. It 's the case, for example, the issue of career and merit. Thorny topic, as we recalled in the recent annals of the school (see the story of "concorsone" that led to the resignation of the minister Berlinguer), which conflicts with the egalitarian tendency of school staff ("how could I present myself in front of my students, after receiving a negative evaluation, or with a profile considered less valuable than that of his colleague? ").
This project opens, however, the very idea of \u200b\u200bchoosing a career with steps, stratified into three levels stable. The teachers confirmed in the role, ordinary teachers (but with a period accompanying initial training longer and difficult), may participate in selections (titles only) to obtain a further qualification (experienced teacher), who are entitled to a pay increase. A comparative merits further step, through a course-competition would lead to a qualification of Excellence (senior lecturer), which confers special legal recognition and economic. The transition from one level to another, on numerical quotas established by the Ministry, would increase earnings by about 30%.
It 'obvious that they all share the need to appreciate the commitments and the merits of the teachers and some flattening of the positions no incentive the best, nor the teaching profession to attract the new generation better prepared and motivated. Recent investigations include the Agnelli Foundation research on newly hired teachers, marks a cautious willingness of teachers to forms of job evaluation and differentiation of treatments paid. Cautious because it is connected to forms of internal self-assessment, rather than external economic incentives temporary rather than stable materials to benefit (reduction in chair time, sabbaticals, bonuses for purchases, etc..) Rather than a stable hierarchy, although based on on [1] . Are cautious willingness to work with and not overwhelm with reckless proposals.
There are alternatives career?
The teacher surveys provided in the proposals of professional bodies, trade unions in some early approaches, seem to be emerging alternatives to the idea of \u200b\u200bcareer, perhaps more consistent with the characteristics of teacher work, in which an element of quality is related to skills of teamwork and sharing of choices. It would be difficult to isolate the "added value" brought by an individual teacher to a student's academic performance or class. Since the criterion for evaluating the quality of teaching was the result of learning of the students, but that depends on many factors: characteristics of the students, socio-cultural environment and context, structural conditions of the school, quality of teaching proposal. As a first approximation could be related to the performance pay some objective variables that can affect the quality of teaching proposal, such as the time devoted to teaching. In the alternative will be given a few more items to be considered in the treatment accessories (eg, afternoons, number / abundance classes, social-cultural, etc.)..
The variable working time should be highly appreciated, if anything, providing pay and legal locations (temporary) differentiated:
-time employees (and in any case to demand compulsory for those who exercise freedom profession or carries substantial external mandates);
-normal time (restating the relationship in the classroom teaching / other commitments at school, in a perspective of inclusiveness);
-enhanced time (which includes a presence in school full time: eg. in hours morning and afternoon, even for tasks of organizational support and technical planning and should be mandatory for those who is on the staff of direction).
A second proposal, favored by the Agnelli Foundation, speculates that the awards are given to companies on the team, better able to determine the added value of learning which is looking [2] . Teamwork is consistent with the values Professional referred to by many teachers, especially in basic education. In a
experimental progressive forms of assessment should be linked to planned actions of collective nature (eg, class council, department, discipline, improvement teams), with prior definition of operational objectives (eg learning levels, lower rates of dispersal ), also subject to verification by external evaluators. It is then possible to project team to define different forms of economic recognition to members of the group to pay for actual commitments and responsibilities (for coordination tasks, mentoring, documentation). It may seem a fallback solution, but would be a big step forward in the direction of merit [3] .
E 'also shared the need to estimate the economic benefits not only direct but also with high symbolic value: responsibility for projects, functions as a trainer, a member of staff, frequency of pre-paid internship, reduction of front, etc. .
And for the recruitment and training?
The issue of initial teacher training, an issue crucial for the qualification of teaching and the school has been excluded from the bill, because already the subject of a specific measure of the government, pursuant to an open delegation contained in the Finance Act for 2008 [4] . For this purpose a committee has worked (Israel) whose outcomes were in part brought back within a framework of ministerial decree which is gaining the required opinions of many advisory bodies. We are moving towards the strengthening of the component "discipline" in the training of teachers and differentiation pathways based on the level of school education. But many problems remain open: the quantum of initial practice on the job, the terms of recruitment, which should take place for the competition (in accordance with the provisions in the act), and the huge "tail" due to the presence of long lists and customs of precarious.
Aprea The proposal cuts the head of the bull, and proposes the direct recruitment by schools (or their networks), drawing-selection procedures with an accredited regional public-in which teachers would be inserted after the positive assessment of their initial training . It 'obvious risk to tie the recruitment choices too localist, losing the guarantee of impartiality and publicity that must accompany a public service such as teaching. The contests "local" calls and universities have not always led him to choose the best.
Moreover, the premise sees a strong barrier by trade unions and even the world of school is very warm (not over 30% of teachers in favor). It should be appreciated, however, attempt to make less random the relationship between teachers, appointments, school assignment. One could imagine a period of paid work experience for new teachers, based on a merit and places of interest on the options reported by schools. The period of training and work should be done with support of a mentor teacher for help. At the end it says the test for access to roles, which stabilizes the position of role and make a list for the final assignment of seat, with preference to the school where he worked the stage. The operations of appointment (role, tasks, replacement) should remain rather public law and universal, but must be rigorously planned and anticipated in order to guarantee stability of the staff at the beginning of the school year.
This calls for the adoption of a functional body of the school and provincial level (for supply long), making the expenditure history for substitution in spending on salaries for full professors, with the simultaneous abolition of substitutes.
Training and assessment of teachers
The bill focuses on evaluation of faculty, but forgets to speak on the issue of training and retraining. A quid in-service training should be compulsory on the model of health, with the acquisition of credits each year. Exceeding the minimum quorum of mandatory training may be eligible for an economic reward (depending on model contract also experienced in Trento).
The training should be developed within the institution or participating in events organized in the territory, also recognized associations. The training is effective if you take a participatory, action research, the relationship with the teaching in class and if it encourages the building of professional communities (to be overstepping the content of the online training).
For the support of the teaching profession in each province may have activated a resource center and professional services for teachers, whose responsibilities include technical support and professional schools and their networks. The activation of the new structures should not result in the increase of personnel, but a different use (for example, of the inspectorate, the Irre, office studies), part of the reorganization of school administration device (DPR Jan. 20, 2009 , n. 17). The model envisioned in the last decree, on a regional basis, appears to deplete the possibility of an interlocutor of the State at the provincial level, between government, schools, local authorities. [5]
The evaluation of teachers should be started only after a trial in common schools, and sharing progressive valuation model. The first step may be of a self-evaluation. In this sense it can encourage the adoption of a professional portfolio for every teacher to document the curriculum gradually developed [6] . The portfolio-based than outlined by the Joint Technical Commission MIUR-ARAN-Trade Unions. - Gives an account of credits (related to research, teaching, training) and professional credits (related to organizational responsibilities assumed in the school). The two types of debts, assuming (different) value for the purpose of taking on new tasks at school or career development. The credit system appears to be the time, a useful intermediate step towards the enhancement of professionalism and recognition of merit.
[1] In the survey of the Agnelli Foundation, conducted in three Italian regions, consensus systems for evaluating teachers based on national professional standards and procedures to reach 41.2%, while the differentiation on the basis of actual commitments and the organizational responsibilities is respectively 67.8 and 62.9% of accessions. There remains a 29.6% of teachers (these are the new recruits of AS 2007-2008) opposed to forms of differentiation. (See Agnelli Foundation, op. Cit.)
[2] "The reasons why, in our opinion, is preferred a different solution [without pay based on merit of individual teachers] lies in the importance of the entire teaching staff and the interactions of class (the so-called peer effect) in determining educational outcomes, which transcends and in many cases makes it impossible to isolate the contribution of the individual teacher. " V. Giovanni Agnelli Foundation, 2009 Report on the school in Italy, Laterza, Bari, 2009, p.. 264.
[3] A documented summary of the status of the matter is contained in G. Cerini, if we begin from the portfolio for teachers, in V. Bonmassar, IRAS T., Uil-School, challenged the assessment. Who evaluates what?, Arachne, Rome, 2009.
[4] Article. 2, paragraph 416 of the Law of 24 December 2007, n. 244 reads: "is defined as the discipline of the requirements and procedures for initial training and procedural activities for the recruitment of teaching staff, through regular competitions every two years, within the resources available to existing legislation ...".
[5] The joke, which I picked up some influential head teacher that "it was more political education at the provincial level where there were the Superintendents" is a warning against the risk of impoverishment of state presence and Administration (see art. 74, paragraph 3 of Decree 112/2008, converted in Law 133/2008, which provides for the reorganization of the peripheral network of government departments on a regional basis or alternatively as the structures of prefectures, local government offices).
[6] Professional associations (ADI, AIMC, APS, CIDI, DIESSE, FNISM, MCE, UCIIM) signing of a protocol of understanding with the Regional School Office for the Emilia-Romagna, we are also committed in an original action-research on complex topics such as character identity teacher, professional standards, assessment and enhancement of teaching, the curriculum and the portfolio as a means to foster professional development.
Research sought to provide "visibility" to a curriculum where possible "virtuoso" of the "good" teacher, through the identification of an innovative tool like the portfolio. In fact, the teacher can allow the portfolio to document and make explicit the most significant events in professional biography (which is made of the original cultural background, activities in-service training, participation in research, the assumption of positions of responsibility in the school, etc...) But not only: what is "documented" (and thus did emerge) should be above all what happens in the classroom, the quality of teaching and teaching with a direct impact on processes and outcomes of learning for children. USR
ER, the portfolio of teachers, Tecnodid, Napoli, 2005.
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