S. Graves

New roles, old stereotypes – developing a school workforce in English schools

In this paper, the author explores the development of school staff who are employed to support pupils in the classroom, specifically the teaching assistant/higher level teaching assistant role. These roles have undergone considerable change following the introduction of Workforce Reform and Remodelling in English schools and the National Agreement. In practice, the introduction of this agreement into schools appears to have a powerful gendered aspect which limits choice and agency for individuals and prevents the development of a coherent workforce. I argue that the discourse of maternality within which the school support role has evolved supposes a level of self-sacrifice and conscientiousness which is gendered and conceals the exploitative nature of the role in terms of poor pay and career prospects. Furthermore, the growth of support staff in English schools to undertake roles previously assigned to teachers has had the effect of disaggregating and de-professionalising the teacher role and weakening the traditional job boundaries which defined the work of support staff.

Performance or enactment? The role of the higher level teaching assistant in a remodelled school workforce in England

This article draws on research conducted over two years in the North West of England and is located in the context of workforce remodelling. It examines how the higher level teaching assistant (HLTA) role has developed and is appraised and suggests that the anomalous nature of the role, which often relies on the enactment of observed teacher performance, and the ambiguous, localised, niche roles which have developed, render measurement of impact problematic. The performance of HLTAs is assessed using a vocational model which relies on retrospective self-assessment of competence and the article draws on Foucault’s (1988) concept of ‘technologies of the self’ to examine the implications of using this approach. The article also suggests that the use of predominantly self-assessment to measure competence is problematic and applies Kruger & Dunning’s (1999: 1122) notion of the ‘unskilled and unaware’ to argue that lack of contextualised and specialised knowledge can lead to ‘inflated self-appraisals’.

Investigating the role of the HLTA in supporting learning in English schools

Abstract The development of support staff was a key aspect of the Labour government’s reform of the school workforce in England. As part of this strategy approximately 25,000 Teaching Assistants (TAs) gained Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) status and were deployed in schools in a variety of roles, often operating in a quasi-teaching role. The research re-visits individuals who had acquired HLTA status between 2006 and 2009 and had participated in a questionnaire survey regarding their role at that time. A duplicate questionnaire was distributed in 2013 to 305 of these HLTAs and was followed up in 2014 by focus groups with self-selecting individuals from the original sample. To date there has been little research relating to the development of the HLTA role and the implications this has for both teachers and pupils, particularly in terms of provision for the most vulnerable learners.

Chameleon or Chimera? The Role of the Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) in a Remodelled Workforce in English Schools

This article draws on research conducted with HLTAs in the North-West of England over two years and is located in the context of workforce remodelling. The respondents have presented a picture of a role which is developing outside the hegemonic discourse of rationality, testing, accountability and performativity within which the teacher role is being developed. In contrast, they suggest the role of HLTA is developing in an extemporized, contextually contingent manner, based on perceived local priorities and defined predominantly in relation to the disaggregation of the teacher role. This article argues that this situation puts HLTAs at the periphery of current policy and, while offering them some resistance to constraining discourses, ultimately places them at a disadvantage in terms of development of their professional identity. Furthermore, this situation presents a challenge to teachers’ professional status and to educational managers and leaders in terms of developing a coherent school workforce.

'How do you know what works, works for you? An investigation into the attitudes of senior leaders to using research evidence to inform teaching and learning in Schools'

ABSTRACT Improving performance is a high stakes undertaking for schools who are operating within highly prescriptive testing and inspection regimes and a dynamic policy environment requiring Senior Leaders to be innovative and well-informed regarding best practice both nationally and internationally. In this context there can be a tendency to fall back on the ‘what works’ rhetoric often involving initiatives which, whilst popular with practitioners, may not be based on solid research findings (Biesta, 2007. “Why ‘What Works’ Won’t Work: Evidence-Based Practice and the Democratic Deficit in Educational Research.” Educational Theory 57 (1): 1–22). The introduction of teaching schools with a commitment to developing evidence based practice requires an engagement with educational research to give strategies evidential authority. This project examines the situation currently in five secondary and five primary schools in the North West of England. Data was collected using one to one semi-structured interviews from Senior Leaders (n10) in order to discover how they access knowledge to develop both policy and professional learning in their schools. It was evident in some cases that the concept of developing professional learning networks for teachers was one to which senior leaders were committed, however there was also evidence that the work of these networks did not systematically involve the use of research evidence to inform professional learning and development.