Monday, December 06, 2010

Teach First teachers in the UK

A friend sent me a link to this report about the positive impact of Teach First teachers in the UK (Teach First is the overseas arm of Teach for America): www.teachfirst.org.uk/TFNews/TFPressRelease/CorpPressRelease_15956.aspx.  The main findings of the research included:

 

                     A significant correlation between participation in Teach First and improved pupil achievement, which appears one to two years following the first year of partnership with the school

                     A positive relationship between the number of Teach First teachers in a school and pupil achievement at Key Stage 4, with schools with more Teach First teachers performing better than those with fewer Teach First teachers

                     Observations that the teaching practices of Teach First teachers in their first year are good to excellent – in international comparisons they were generally on a par with or ahead of more experienced teachers

                     Other teaching staff describe Teach First teachers as creative, enthusiastic and prepared to listen and learn from others

                     Where significant, partnering with Teach First explains between 20% and 40% of the between-school variance in pupil performance at GCSE. This difference – the researchers estimate – equates to approximately a third of a GCSE per pupil per subject

                     Compelling evidence from a range of evaluation routes that, when combined, show that Teach First teachers have a positive impact in schools

                     Evidence that the positive effect Teach First is having on achievement has strengthened over time suggesting that the Leadership Development Programme is becoming more effective

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