Pragmatism in education will accelerate progress in teaching and learning

Education and teaching is one of few professions where knowledge is very organised and passed on in a structured manners. A career where professional teacher education and educational research are closely linked. In other words, there is relevance of theory to practice.

I have begun my write up in this way, because in my 18 years of practice in education, I have observed a change in the dynamics between educational theories and educational research. The change tilting in favour of research than theories of teaching. Of course, research receives huge external fundings, and the implication is that most research outcomes sit on the side of providing evidence that may influence or inform policy changes. Hence policy decision may choose to cut funding to aspects of teaching practices that are backed by theories of education.

A few years ago, I sat in an executive leadership meeting that discussed whether to dismiss a teacher from work on the evidence that this male teacher do not follow school policies on behaviour management, and classroom teaching practices. This teacher was in his newly qualified teacher (NQT) training year. A then master’s in education student at Cambridge university. His approach to delivering lessons is unique. Though he had schemes of work to various lessons, he never followed any curriculum teaching order. He would allow students to decide what they individually want to learn, and which unit or topics they want to study. He mainly saw himself as a facilitator of their learning.

He kept logs of what every student has studied and are studying. He met regularly with students to explain any difficulties and constantly tested them to see what progress they were making. You could imagine what this classroom would look like if you were the senior leader going in to observe his lesson. Every child in his class could arguably be studying something different. The teacher claimed to favour ‘metacognition’ as his approach. His style of teaching is extraordinary, but infuriated school leadership as he does not follow school policy on classroom teaching and learning.

However, all his classes made the best results in each year group.

I was fourth in the order we sat, to cast my vote. The initial three leaders voted to dismiss him. I stated to the CEO that this teacher makes the best results across all year groups in his department, he is loved by all his students and there is evidence of progress in his classes. My comments halted further voting and his job was saved.

“Our beliefs guide our desires and shape our actions. The feeling of believing is a more or less indication of there being established in our nature some habit which will determine our actions”- Peirce (1992).

Pragmatic school leaders will accelerate progress in teaching and learning