Ready, Steady, Go! The Teacher as participant in school language policy

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Ready, Steady, Go!The Teacher as participant in
school language policy

• Antoinette Camilleri Grima

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What does a teacher bring to class?
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Stakeholders

• Teachers
• Administrators
• Parents/carers
• Education authorities
• External agents

• ?

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The teacher as a child

• Getting ready

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• The linguistic and cultural practices
• Inherit attitudes
• Formulate beliefs
• Develop habits

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As a student-teacher

• Getting steady

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• Relevant factors
• Choice of career
• Course structure
• Areas of study
• Opportunity for practice

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Qualified teacher

• Go!

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• Practices
• Teacher deployment
• Role within the school
• Opportunity for personal development
• Sense of fulfilment

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Angela

• Biographical
• Longitudinal
• Developmental
• Ethnographic
• Maltese
• Representative

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• Watch video

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Teacher baggage

• Bi-dialectal
• Bilingual
• Plurilingual
• Multicultural

• ?

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What was missing?

• Had little opportunity for intercultural
  communication

• ?

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What was gained?

• Positive attitude
• Teacher of Italian from Italy

• ?

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Teacher Education

• Choice of profession
• Teaching practice
• Deployment of teachers
• Induction into the profession

• ?

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What was missing?

• Lack of preparation for new realities like
• Heavy work load
• Examination pressures
• Negative attitudes
• Parental involvement

• ?

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What was gained?

• Knowledge and understanding
• Experience, skills, values
• Ability to reflect and act upon that reflection

• ?

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The Teacher at School

• Personal professional development
• Active
• Motivated

• ?

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Something missing

• No cross-curricular relevance
• No diversified approach
• Feels disheartened
• Finds personal fulfilment outside school

• ?

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Rays of hope

• Decentralisation of power school autonomy
• Teacher empowerment

• ?

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In-house Staff Development

• Organisational structures and procedures within
  the school should engage teachers in reflecting
  and acting, and in feeling that they are making a
  valid and welcome contribution.

• ?

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Teachers Perspectives on Effective School
Leadership(Harris, Day Hadfield, 2003)

• Staff development is generally welcomed by
  teachers
• Viewed as a means of rewarding staff
• Motivates development

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• In particular, the headteachers commitment to
  staff development was seen as a key element of
  effective leadership (p. 74)

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• from the perspective of teachers
• effective school leaders enable others to
  initiate,
• and to take responsibility for leading