Teacher Training Books

If you are a k-12 teacher, you need to read and understand this piece. Louisa Moats knows her stuff, and if she is ever presenting in your area, go see her!

Debate has raged in education for many decades over the professional status of teachers. Judyth Sachs's new book, "The Activist Teaching Profession" published by Open University Press, summarises and extends current understanding of professionalism. Professor Sachs develops understanding of "old" and "new" professionalism. The strength of this book is that the author has addressed the important preservice and post-service aspects of teacher learning. The appeal of Professor Sachs's writing is that she makes important and insightful observations about changes that have affected teaching in Australia, England and the United States. Teachers and school-based personnel will be enthralled as the big picture of changes that have influenced their lives click into perspective.

She notes that old professionalism has six characteristics:
1. exclusive membership
2. conservative practices
3. self-interest
4. external regulation
5. slow to change
6. reactive.

And, the ten characteristics of new (transformative) professionalism are:
1. inclusive membership
2. public ethical code of practice
3. collaborative and collegial
4. activist orientation
5. flexible and progressive
6. responsive to change
7. self-regulating
8. policy-active
9. enquiry-oriented
10. knowledge building.

Competencies and standards are a part of the future for all teachers and Sachs sounds warnings. She noted that in the UK standards evolved from competencies and noted that they represented a new control system. The section entitled: "Professional teaching standards and what do they mean?" is particularly good and Sachs suggests four usages of standards in the literature and discourse:
1. Standards as common sense (What can teachers do and what do they know?).
2. Standards for quality assurance (Accountability).
3. Standards for quality improvement (Developmental approach).
4. Standards, certification or control (Licensing and professional certification).

Teachers are oriented towards day-to-day teaching and the workload has made them industrially passive. Sachs's passionate plea is for the teaching profession to look beyond their work and put into place structures and a culture of teacher activism.

This is an important, useful, and well written book that sounds a warning to all of us involved in teaching and learning."