The cry of the public classroom teacher is heard throughout the United States and in many parts of the world. With all the testing performed to ensure accountability in our educational system, there are not enough hours in the day to teach. Teachers become constrained to ?teach to the test,? thereby impeding certain modalities of transmitting information to students, reducing the number of hours that students can take part in ?unnecessary? activities like art and music, and increasing the amount of homework to fill in the gaps. What is the answer to the conundrum of maintaining standards of excellence in education without creating inordinate stress for teachers and students? Further, what assurances do we have that testing amounts to something more than making clever comparisons across States and nations? Is there a methodology of testing that leads to results that can be efficiently translated into better education for our children?
The answer to these questions and more were considered at the International Symposium for Methodological Tools for Accountability Systems in Education at the Joint Research Center [JRC] from February 6-8 in Ispra Italy. Attended by 90 international experts from 20 countries, leading minds gathered to resolve academic disputes and identify a few solid robust statistical practices upon which the widest international consensus can be reached. The sponsor of the symposium, the Unit for Applied Statistics and Econometrics at JRC was mandated to bring together a diverse team of educators, social scientists, economists and statisticians in a multi-disciplinary approach to education research. ?Our Unit builds scales for the knowledge society,? said Daniele Vidoni, one of the conference organizers, ?and our ability to bring together all these experts in one room may well be the key to focusing what path educational testing will take and what role it will have in cultivating our children's future.? ?Statistical techniques which allow quality of education to be measured are available,? added Andrea Saltelli, Unit Head, ?but not all countries have the same experience of their use in education and training.?
Trevor G. Bond, Hong Kong Institute of Education, Andreas Schleicher, OECD, David Andrich of Murdoch University, Australia, Enrico Gori, University of Udine, Italy, Gage Kingsbury of Northwest Evaluation Association in the United States and several others were on hand to discuss the benefits of Rasch analysis in obtaining measures of student achievement that can be compared through space and time. The importance of generating a multilevel modeling approach to understanding the actual influence of gender, social and family conditions in student achievement was also explored. Experts also discussed the utilization of longitudinal measures of student achievement as necessary to an in depth understanding of student progress. All these factors are expected to yield, in practice, the ability to track an individual student's progress over time, thus evaluating the quality of the education distinct from socio-economic location.
Above and beyond any intellectual discussion of statistics and the accuracy and efficiency of the methodologies used, which are certainly crucial to all forms of testing, experts agreed that whatever methodologies are utilized in the coming decades, they must yield expeditious results. Children are not meant to languish while adults read test scores that require excessive time periods to decipher or incorporate into educational practices. Adaptive and interactive testing that gives teachers direct access to the ?front end? of testing results, already in practice in countries like New Zealand, may be the sought compromise that puts results quickly and efficiently into the hands of those most able to make sure that no child is ?left behind."
Jobs within education are often seen as rewarding and extremely satisfying. They require huge amounts of dedication and are laborious in nature but offer the chance nourish talent and knowledge. The old adage of "those who can't, teach" could not be further from the truth, we all remember a good teacher and someone who was capable of relating ideas effectively. The sector also has a variety of roles and finding the right one to suit you is certainly possible.
With education today extending from infancy to adulthood the jobs in this area are extremely diverse. Teaching can take the form of traditional school education, home tutoring and higher education. It is my hope to present jobs within these definitions and give a glimpse of the experiences you can expect in this wide sector.
Tackling the subject of education jobs chronologically, it is best to start at the primary school level. Teachers in primary schools have a wide variety of tasks. At the heart of the job is the ability to foster relationships with pupils and create a fun but productive learning environment.
By directing classroom tasks and activities it is the primary teacher's job to ensure that youngsters start their education in the right way, effective use of teaching aids and projects can convince pupils to enjoy education. This is fundamental to easing children through the education system that they will be in for the next eleven years.
Secondary education has a different role altogether and the job requires specific expertise in an academic subject. Unlike primary school teachers who must possess knowledge of the entire curriculum, secondary teachers are afforded the luxury of having a defined subject to teach; although today often one or two areas of expertise are required.
Always working to a set of generic national standards, teaching secondary education does allow the freedom to construct lesson plans and teaching methods that can be individual. The heavy workload of examinations for older pupils however does mean there is an element of pressure in these jobs, although the pleasure of seeing pupils receive good results due to your teaching is very rewarding.
Higher education jobs offer the most academic freedom by far, without losing the job satisfaction. Lecturers primarily teach through seminars, practical exercises and lectures and despite having set standards, the choice of content for modules is that of the lecturer.
The freedom to teach a chosen subject and set interesting questions for your students can be more work than following a curriculum although ultimately more rewarding. University lecturers also have the opportunity for research sabbatical and are free to further their academic studies, perfect for the scholarly types who make up the numbers of university professors.
Other education jobs include home tutors, who can be either specialist or more general. Often well paid, this role includes travelling to clients homes and instructing students on a one to one basis. Without the rigours of school life this can be preferable however anti-social hours are usually part of the job.
Special education teaching jobs are a worthy alternative well suited to people who can communicate effectively, as the job can be frustrating at times, it is infinitely rewarding when a breakthrough is made.
Education jobs are clearly some of the most rewarding jobs in the employment market. The ability to nurture a gift and bring out the best in pupils is a rare skill, possessing this skill is reason alone to teach. Teachers have access to children during the forming stages of their lives, as a teacher you have the ability to create articulate, educated young adults ready to enter the world.
Like parenthood it is a job full of pride and considered by many to be a vocation. For those who wish to undertake jobs in education the rewards are infinite, despite the workload, a career in education is well worthwhile.
Both Denise Hummel & Shaun Parker are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.