“6.3 Monitoring and inspection of teachers
Monitoring and inspection of teachers takes many forms along a continuum from assessment of the work of teachers and implementation of measures to address problems, at one end, to observation of teachers and the provision of advice to them, at the other. All the benchmarked countries are located at some point on this continuum. Techniques employed include self-assessment, peer observation and centrally co-ordinated monitoring. Ireland is currently moving more towards observation and advice as the preferred methodology.
There is assessment of teaching practice at both primary and post-primary levels in all countries. For trainee teachers, assessment is generally undertaken by the college or third-level institution responsible for the teacher training. All countries have classroom assessment of trainee teachers in schools.
In New Zealand, teachers have a two-year probation period after graduation and have to meet Teacher Registration Board criteria (on the approval of the school principal). Every three years, teachers are required to reapply for registration, again having to meet the criteria.
For qualified teachers, an external government body oversees assessment, except in Finland, where staff undertake a joint assessment in schools. In Malaysia, there is assessment by senior staff and observation by peers is encouraged. Malaysia also has a Master Teacher system to acknowledge teacher excellence. At post-primary level, Malaysia relies heavily on assessment by senior staff within schools, with criteria set out in a remuneration scheme. The other countries in the study lie somewhere between Finland and Malaysia.
In New Zealand, external review of practice, but not of individual teachers, is undertaken by the Education Review Office. All schools in New Zealand also operate a performance management system (which includes internal review of teaching practice) and a quality assurance cycle, with comprehensive whole-school assessment every five years, from which results are published.
Specific areas for assessment are identified centrally in Ireland and New Zealand. Ireland is currently engaged in the introduction of whole-school evaluation. In Ireland, the frequency of visits to post-primary schools by inspectors is low.
6.4 Conclusion
All respondents recognise the need to develop a more interactive, problem-solving approach to STM teaching and learning, to provide access to ICT hardware, software and training and to embed ICTs in the core curriculum, but the development process is at different stages in the five countries. The education systems in all countries aspire to giving young people the basic skills required in the modern world and to equip them to solve problems logically. All respondents identify teacher confidence and competence as a key factor and recognise the need for improved pre-service education and in-career development for teachers. The performance of teachers is assessed in all countries, but practices vary.”
Irish Council for Science, Technology & Innovation
Estudo interessante, a revelar que a pedagogia centrada no aluno não é só mania em Portugal. No entanto, é de realçar que haveria que saber em concreto o que cada país entende por esse conceito e como o concretiza. Nada tenho contra a aula activa desde que não absorva todo o trabalho pedagógico. As leis da ciência já descobertas não têm que ser redescobertas na sala de aula… seria melhor transmiti-las e aplicá-las treinando o aluno a saber procurar qual das leis é relevante na solução de um problema do que marcar passo a tentar redescobrir a lei da gravidade ou o teorema de Pitágoras de cada vez que se precisa deles…
Quanto ao assunto do dia- a avaliação de professores- verifica-se, assim, que o país com melhores resultados no PISA não faz supervisão individual dos professores qualificados mas uma auto-avaliação colectiva da escola, tanto quanto me é dado concluir por este resumo. Na “outra ponta” (do estudo de cinco países-Irlanda, Finlândia, Escócia, Nova Zelândia, Malásia) está a Malásia que é por alguns observadores considerada como não democracia ou democracia muito musculada… de relembrar que os bloggers nesse país estão a ter sérios problemas pela divulgação de opiniões contrárias ao governo... A Malásia não faz parte dos países estudados no relatório PISA. Aquilo que faz na avaliação de professores parece-se muito com o que se pretende aqui fazer.