Teachers Put Training Into Practice

6 March 2008

Data released by the General Teaching Council for Wales (GTCW) gives the first definitive picture of the number of teachers in Wales who have teaching qualifications in their classroom subjects.

After nearly six years of research and cross checking, the Council is in a position to publish the first analysis of its kind. The Register holds statutory information about the qualifications achieved by a registered teacher including their first degree and their subject specialism during initial teacher training. The Register has also been used to collect information about the classroom subject, although not key stage, currently being taught by registered secondary teachers in Wales.

In core subject areas of the sciences, mathematics, English and Welsh, it was found that more than 60% of teachers are specifically trained to do so, which is encouraging given that existing sources indicate that applicant numbers for posts teaching these subjects are lower than other subjects.

In the cases of those trained to teach subjects such as in the sciences or business, there is a noticeable transferability in teaching different subjects within these broad groups. For example, a teacher trained to teach biology might also teach chemistry, physics or general science. Alternatively, a teacher trained to teach business studies might also teach economics.

Hayden Llewellyn, deputy chief executive for GTCW, said: “Today’s data analysis has given a fascinating insight into the subjects in which teachers have been trained and how they have been deployed to date. Encouragingly, what today’s data has also shown is that there is a large proportion of teachers specifically trained in their subject areas in the lower age range of the profession (20-35). This runs counter to the commonly held belief that significant numbers of teachers in any one subject will reach retirement age in the near future.”

“No trends can be drawn as yet, as this is the first time this analysis has been carried out, but by repeating the exercise annually we will see trends emerging over time that can inform priorities for teacher training”.Mr Llewellyn stressed the importance of further data gathering, saying: “We will continue to encourage teachers to review their Register entry that we send them each spring and to update the empty fields. For example, we still have about 10% of teachers for whom we do not know the current subjects being taught and we have around 25% of secondary school teachers for whom we do not hold details of their teacher training subject. Completing these fields will give us a valuable cross reference tool for the future.”

The data is taken from the GTCW Register, which is a unique resource in Wales, providing the most complete record of its kind of data relating to the teaching profession. GTCW has an enviable record in the completeness of the Register, and the data is increasingly being used to inform policy making and to identify trends in the profession.

* This subject is not taught as an ITET subject

** IT has only recently been available as an ITET subject