Schools When the boss doesn’t consult
For any worker, when the big boss doesn’t bother to consult, it is cause for real concern – whether regarding workplace rights, occupational health and safety, or professional issues. That’s why our union has, over many decades, secured requirements for consultation about changes that affect members working lives.
The VGSA 2022 couldn’t be clearer: Consultation is not perfunctory advice on what is about to happen. … Consultation is providing the individual, or other relevant persons, with a bona fide opportunity to influence the decision maker. … Consultation allows the decision-making process to be informed. (Clause 12(3))
When agreement entitlements are ignored, it’s the union’s job to call that out and demand that they are applied.
When Minister for Education Ben Carroll announced a revised update to the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model, he didn’t consult union members properly. When agreement entitlements are ignored, it’s the union’s job to call that out and demand that they are applied. Regardless of a member’s view about the merits of this or any announcement, the absence of consultation reveals an arrogance about which we should all be concerned. Through consultation, members can have their views heard and ensure that appropriate support is provided alongside any changes.
Professional autonomy is a cornerstone of a teacher’s role, born of a long-established understanding that classroom teachers will make important decisions about the curriculum as taught. Professional autonomy is central to high-quality pedagogical practice. This is critical as teachers strive to meet the learning needs of a wide variety of students through a range of pedagogical approaches. Teachers know that one size does not fit all, and that a laissez-faire approach does not work.
Teachers’ professional autonomy should not be blind to evidence that points to effective practice. This autonomy is not a ‘choose your own adventure’ that ignores rigorous, well-grounded research. If we were to act in this way, we wouldn’t be the professionals that we are and need to be.
When the Liberal state opposition celebrates the minister’s announcement by saying: “Victorian students are a step closer to the quality education they deserve” – and the minister himself says he “will embed evidence-based teaching and learning in the Education State” – you know it’s time to call them out.
To suggest our profession is not seeking to deliver quality learning or that, as professionals, we don’t inform our practice with evidence about effective approaches, is as offensive as it is ignorant. Meanwhile, neither has clearly committed to fully funding our public schools.
When you see a GP, you rightfully presume that they will apply their professional standards so that the treatment you receive is based on evidence, which may change over time. The Minister for Health doesn’t make glib edicts mandating this approach or that. Minister Carroll shouldn’t either.
