Abstract:
National Partnerships agreed to and supported by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) recognise the importance of quality teaching in achieving positive educational outcomes for children. In scrutinising the quality of teaching, focus has moved to the assessment of teacher effectiveness. The Victorian Institute of Teaching undertakes an assessment of beginning teachers that seeks assurance of competence against standards of professional practice. The recently released Inquiry into Effective Strategies for Teacher Professional Learning undertaken by the Education and Training Committee of the Parliament of Victoria suggests that the Institute needs to adopt a more rigorous process to assess beginning teachers against the standards and this should include the use of external assessment.
Within the background of the national agenda, this paper explores the premise that processes used by the Institute require greater external assessment to strengthen their validity. It evaluates the current school-based recommendation process used by the Victorian Institute of Teaching to determine whether provisionally registered teachers meet standards of professional practice. It also analyses external assessment of teacher practice used in other Australian states and overseas in relation to the Victorian model for provisionally registered teachers. Of particular focus will be the importance of both process and outcome in a regulatory environment and how assessment of teacher performance supports and promotes learning.
This paper will be presented as part of Symposium 23, COS091210 Supporting teacher professional learning - the Victorian experience.
Key Phrase: Teacher Education and Professional Development of Teachers
Within the background of the national agenda, this paper explores the premise that processes used by the Institute require greater external assessment to strengthen their validity. It evaluates the current school-based recommendation process used by the Victorian Institute of Teaching to determine whether provisionally registered teachers meet standards of professional practice. It also analyses external assessment of teacher practice used in other Australian states and overseas in relation to the Victorian model for provisionally registered teachers. Of particular focus will be the importance of both process and outcome in a regulatory environment and how assessment of teacher performance supports and promotes learning.
This paper will be presented as part of Symposium 23, COS091210 Supporting teacher professional learning - the Victorian experience.
Key Phrase: Teacher Education and Professional Development of Teachers