Equality and Diversity Report
__________________________________________________________
For
the Switch Project
By
Barbara Betts and Penny Powdrill
April
2010
The rationale for the work
on Equality and Diversity
As
experienced teacher trainers the authors of this report are aware of the many
problems that new entrants to teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector
encounter not the least being the fact that for many training is in-service
rather than pre-service. The quality of
induction to the teaching role varies considerably and, given the nature of the
sector, many entrants find themselves asked to teach at very short notice and
with little or no training. Consequently
they do not all have the knowledge and experience to cope and find themselves
in situations for which they have not been prepared.
It
is the opinion of the authors that most entrants to the teaching profession are
very accepting of diversity among their learners but sometimes find it
difficult to recognise or challenge inappropriate
behaviour among their learners when this occurs. The aim of the work we undertook as part of a
SWitch project was to provide advice and guidance through the resources within a
resource pack.
Methodology
Our
first task was to undertake research to see exactly what teacher trainers and
trainees wanted. This was done through two questionnaires (one for trainers and
one for trainees) that were made available to a number of trainers, who were
then asked to encourage their trainees to also complete the questionnaire.
(Appendix 1a & b) Although the number of trainees who responded was
disappointing the consensus of opinion showed us that there was a need for
easily available resources that could be used by the trainers and that would
meet the needs of trainee teachers.
It
was also necessary to undertake a search of material already available. There is a vast amount of information from
sources varying in reliability and usefulness, dealing with equality and
diversity issues and many websites dedicated to legislation, yet we found
little material that fulfilled our purpose.
We
are acutely aware that most new lecturers are under such pressure to produce
the paperwork for their lessons, stimulating resources and an audit trail of
assessment
procedures,
that they do not have time to trawl through the Internet or even such websites
as the Excellence Gateway or LSIS to find relevant material that they can then
adapt for their use. Many ACL tutors working in outreach centres
may not have ready access to a computer. It can also be argued that material
may be needed at short notice when an issue occurs in class, so time to seek
out appropriate resources is an unrealistic expectation.
We
consulted with and met other trainers such as Avon and Somerset Police,
Gloucester Adult Education, University of the West of England,
Producing
resources
We
decided that a resource file with a pen drive would be the appropriate
materials for our project. The resource pack has a dual purpose. The primary
purpose is to help Teacher Trainers help trainee teachers cope with equality
and diversity issues as they arise within their teaching. We feel that familiarity with issues and the
management of ensuing discussions will help prepare trainee teachers to
confront issues where their own learners express unacceptable views or display
inappropriate behaviours. Teacher Trainers need to anticipate responses from
their own trainees and encourage discussion not only of the material but the
ways in which divisive comments and behaviour can be managed. Teacher Trainers may also need to adopt the
‘devil’s advocate’ role as well in order to stimulate discussion and examine
assumptions.
Several
resources suggested themselves to us through articles in the press and through
personal contacts. This enabled us to
think of using some adapted press cuttings for a sorting exercise or case
studies for a hot-seating exercise to facilitate discussion about the relative
seriousness of such issues and appropriateness of responses. Some case studies
came from our own institution where inexperienced lecturers had encountered an
attitude or comment and did not know how to respond. We also adapted materials,
such as the Equality and Diversity Game and the Town Planning Activity, which
we had previously developed and used successfully in our own teaching.
In
the development of the resource materials we have been aware that time is
always an issue in teacher training so our second purpose was to help trainee
teachers extend their repertoire of teaching methods. An additional spin-off
concerns behaviour management.
An
appreciation of equality and diversity is rooted in respect and the importance
of insisting from the outset within any class (via the derivation of Ground
Rules) that respect for all individuals within the class forms the basis of
cooperation. Behaviour issues frequently
stem from a lack of appreciation of the need to respect the rights of others so
highlighting this issue from the outset provides the trainee teacher with a
right to challenge inappropriate behaviour of any sort.
When
we had produced some draft materials we sent some out with questionnaires (Appendix
2) to be given to trainees to solicit feedback about the materials.
The
trainers who were sent the material included:
City
of
Sharon
Bowden @
Josie
Brown @
Paul
Dixon @ RFDC
Mary
Turner @
The material produced included a selection from:
· Getting started
o Ground rules
o Ice breakers
o What skills do I bring / what do I hope to get out of the course
o The Drama Triangle and Games People Play
· Managing challenging behaviour
o Classroom management scenarios
· Case studies of discriminatory behaviour
· Games
o Equality and Diversity Game
o Town Planning Game
· Role play with puppets
· Sorting exercises
o Discussing when to challenge and how to challenge behaviour
· Hot seating exercises
· Factsheets
o Human Rights Act
o Equality and Diversity Legislation
The
limited feedback we received gave rise to few changes needing to be made to the
resources we had produced.
The
pack is not intended to be used solely to embed equality and diversity; rather
it is intended to provide Teacher Trainers with resources that can be used at
any time, particularly for PTLLS, CTLLS and DTLLS Part 1. Much of the material can be used for small
group work or discussion. Where
possible, suggestions have been made for trainees to modify a technique for use
within their own teaching.
Equality
and Diversity is an enormous topic and no attempt has been made to provide
examples to cover every contingency however included in the pack is information
on the following:
v
Ageism
v
Sexism
v
Ethnicity
v
Cultural
background
v
Gender
v
Physical
appearance
v
Inclusion
Additionally,
some background information and fact sheets have been included in response to a
request for up-to-date information on legislation, following the initial
questionnaire. The former links to the
requirements of Initial Teacher Training courses and helps to put theory into
practice.
Dissemination
of support materials
When
the resource files were completed and pen drives loaded, the materials were
given out initially at our workshop session and then to any other interested member,
at the Switch conference on 29th April.
For
the workshop we decided to run a carousel so delegates could play the Town
Planning Game on one table, the Equality and Diversity Game on another table,
use the hot-seating cards, do the sorting exercise and discuss the cartoon at
the third table.
We
particularly wanted delegates to engage with the resources rather than merely
look at them. The feedback was very positive and delegates were appreciative of
the resource files and pen drives which would enable them to use the materials
as they were or adapt them for their own particular groups.
Distance
travelled – what have we learned?
When
we planned this work and discussed what we wanted to produce we were keen to
include a videoed classroom discussion as stimulus material but the
practicality of involving other college staff in the project proved difficult
so this did not materialise. We had no
problem working to our own deadlines and the weekly meeting we had to discuss
progress certainly helped keep us on track, but others have their own time
constraints and this year has been disrupted by snow, with time being lost
which could not be made up. The cartoon was the last piece of work to come in,
almost at the last minute but was worth the wait.
We
were lucky to have excellent admin support which helped in the collation of the
material to go in the files – something that took a surprisingly long time and
required a lot of space.
We
hope that we will get feedback from teacher trainers when they start to use the
materials with their trainees. We have
thoroughly enjoyed working on this project and hope those who use the resources
will find them stimulating and enjoyable to use.
Penny
Powdrill and Barbara Betts, May 2010
Appendix 1a
SWITCH QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TRAINERS (32 respondents)
SUMMARY OF RESULTS
In which type of
organisation are you offering initial teacher training?
Work-based learning 56%
Further Education 22%
Adult and Community Learning 16%
Higher education 6%
No responses were received from trainers in the voluntary sector.
Have the following
topics been covered as part of your organisation's initial induction?
Yes No Don’t know
E & D legislation 81.25% 12.5% 6.25%
The Lecturer's responsibility re: legislation 68.75% 18.75% 12.5%
How to access the organisation's E&D policies 87.5% 6.25% 6.25%
The content of the organisation's policies 81.25% 12.5% 6.25%
Does anyone within
your team have specialist Equality and Diversity training or qualifications?
Yes No
56.25% 43.75%
Do you provide
specific training to help trainees develop coping skills and strategies for
dealing with challenges to Equality and Diversity?
Yes No
72% 28%
If during an
observation you see an issue arising which involves Equality and Diversity, how
confident would you feel about dealing with it?
Very confident Probably could
68.75% 31.25%
What help regarding
Equality and Diversity would you find useful?
· Activities to build trainees confidence to deal with
issues.
· Case studies or group activities which would allow
trainees to debate and discuss what they would do in a range of different
circumstances
· Details of what Ofsted will look for under the new
framework
· Updates on legislation and policy changes
· Manual of best practice and lessons learned
· Role play, DVDs, with feedback and discussion.
· Practical guidance on how to discuss E & D
· Methods of supporting learners who have language
& literacy needs.
· Help for staff to embed E & D in their lessons.
Appendix 1b
SWITCH QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TRAINEES (13 respondents)
SUMMARY OF RESULTS
In which type of
organisation do you work?
Further Education 61.5%
Adult and Community Learning 23.1%
Work-based learning 15.4%
Higher education 0%
No responses were received from trainees in the voluntary sector.
Have the following topics
been covered as part of your organisation's initial induction?
Yes No Don’t know
E & D legislation 84.6% 0% 15.4%
The Lecturer's responsibility re: legislation 64.6% 0% 15.4%
How to access the organisation's E&D policies 100% 0% 0%
The content of the organisation's policies 77% 15.4% 7.7%
Do you know what to
do if one of your learners wants to appeal on Equality grounds?
Yes No
5% 38.5%
How confident do you
feel about your ability to deal with a challenging comment or behaviour
regarding an Equality and Diversity issue?
Very
confident Probably could Not confident
23% 61.5% 15.4%
What help regarding
Equality and Diversity would you find useful?
- Workshops on practical
implications of policies and embedding them
- Easier to follow rules on
legislation
- Updates via training
and/or handouts
- Case studies about how
more experienced staff deal with E & D issues in class
- Information presented in
an understandable way instead of tick-box exercises
- Information about how to
respond to situations and examples of different scenarios
- Flow chart of how to deal
with situations that occur in or outside the classroom
- Guidance booklet or
document given out at induction time to bring our attention to it
- Up-to-date legislation as
it arrives
- Workshops on how to deal
with E & D issues
Appendix 2 