Posted by Margo Williamson, Strategic Director – People
I recently read ‘The 21st Century Public Servant’,
a paper based on research by two academics from Birmingham University. For me, the paper highlights the essential relevance of the skills and attributes for those who serve. It reflects a shift away from experts in particular fields imparting their knowledge on those lesser experts who also serve, whether as an elected members or officers. It proposes a role that requires a generic skill set where values, engagement and interactions create the best outcomes with and for our citizens. Of course, those interactions must be built on trust.
Since the inception of Curriculum for Excellence, the relevance and importance of skills has been to the fore. How often have we heard, ‘we are preparing children for jobs, that have yet to be created’? For me, that always seemed about their future, not mine. Yet, here we have a paper quite clearly defining the 21st Century public servant that we all need to be now. A public servant who cares about the people they work for and the environment they want to work and live in.
So how does this apply in the teaching and learning world?
Visible Learning research showed teachers’ subject matter knowledge had little effect on the quality of student outcomes. It appeared not to be the subject knowledge that had the impact on performance but how well the teacher organised the learning. Might it also have been how much the teacher wanted the child to learn and enjoy their area of expertise? There is nothing more rewarding than enabling another to enjoy an area of learning you are passionate about.
If this subject expertise is less important to outcomes, what are the characteristics of a good teacher? Are they the same as the ones outlined in the paper for a 21st Century Public Servant?
Storyteller?
Navigator?
Networker?
Resource Weaver?
Learner?
Or my old favourite, Teachers and other professionals around the child seeing themselves as Boundary Spanners? those who can demonstrate care for a young person, inspire them to learn (their subject) and work with all others to ensure every one of them succeeds.
I think the locality group partnership work currently undertaken will promote the phiolosophy of boundary spanning to ensure we all use our collective human capital & wide skill set/experience base to build upon the great work already undertaken across the authority in Getting it Right For Every Child in Angus.