Friday, June 10, 2011
Schoolchildren are keen to play a part in recruiting teachers.
Children tell survey they value being involved in the recruitment process.
Research carried out by National Foundation for Educational Research on behalf of the Children’s Commissioner found that 18 per cent of youngsters have already helped in the selection process of new teachers , while 65 per cent said they would be willing to get involved.
The survey revealed that 87 per cent of young people believe they know what it takes to be a good teacher. Commenting on the findings, Children’s Commissioner Dr Maggie Atkinson said she congratulates the schools that already involve pupils.
"Our research shows that they understand teaching is a challenging job which requires a wide range of skills from teachers - it is not just about their academic qualifications or how loudly they can shout," she said.
The findings were part of research conducted to build an evidence base of what works in education policy from the point of view of children. Specifically, the research sought to collect children and young people's views on:
- their school experience and what it was like to be a 'consumer' of education in the latter part of 2010
- which issues within education they felt to be most important
- what makes a good teacher
- fairness in the school admissions system
- fairness in the school exclusions system.
In total, just over 2,000 children and young people participated in research with 1,957 participating in the online survey and 47 participating in eight focus groups.
The review is available to download in full here.
Chamberlain, T., Golden, S. and Bergeron, C. (2011). Children and Young People's Views of Education Policy. London: Office of the Children's Commissioner.