The purpose of this report is to summarise and discuss data gathered during a review of the pilot of the Specialist Classroom Teacher (SCT) role, which was implemented in secondary schools across New Zealand in 2006. The role was part of the 2004 collective agreement and was seen as providing for professional support and learning in schools, as well as providing classroom teachers with an alternative career path.
The SCT role allowed for the initial exploration of different career opportunities to retain teachers in the classroom. The time allowance allocated to the SCT role is four hours non-contact regardless of school size. As such, not only the culture of the school but also its size were potentially key factors in the nature and impact of the role. During the review data were gathered in an iterative process allowing for learning conversations and feedback and feed-forward sessions with key stakeholders: the Ministry of Education (MoE), the Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA) and the New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA). This group are partners in the long-term work programme, which aims to retain teachers in the profession through the provision of a range of career and professional growth opportunities.
Data were gathered across four separate data collection phases. These phases were:
- Establishment data
- Implementation data
- Case study data
- Impact data
Each of these phases provided a complete set of findings, which was presented in oral and/or written reports to the stakeholders over 2006 and at the beginning of 2007. These reports form the core of this review. In this way, stakeholders were provided with ongoing evidence on which to base their decision-making around the future implementation of the role. They were also able to have input into successive data collection activities to ensure their needs were being met. During 2006, the period of the review, the partners described above made changes to the SCT role for 2007.