It’s really interesting (although sad) to hear what’s happening in public schools in England and it sounds like ‘total instruction’ is a good phrase for it. I feel so lucky to work in a public school where I have a lot of autonomy but I’m beginning to realise that my circumstances are not so common…
Thanks Kat - I think the autonomy you have should be the norm, not a lucky exception. It makes such a difference to the experience of teaching. It’s great to have access to support and ideas that you can use, but you’ve got to have the freedom to try them out and discover what works for you too in the classroom.
Catching up with your backlog Chris and didn't want to miss this one. Your initial quadrants figure is a really useful way of seeing the overlap between autonomy and accountability, haven't encountered this visual comparison before. I then thought to myself, wouldn't it be fascinating to plot different education systems onto this graph? Was delighted to come across this later.
I think the cons of teacher autonomy are often less discussed than their perks, so it was insightful to read your view on the advocates both for and against. And understanding autonomy as a continuum (as per your graph) is certainly more nuanced than is often presented in this conversation. I'm reminded of the sociologist Lortie's notion of ‘egg crates’ (cited in your BERA journal you referenced), in which each a teacher works in isolation within their own self contained classroom. While certainly being a noteworthy drawback of autonomy, this seems in striking contrast with the more collegial autonomy that I observed in Finland (which would probably fall somewhere just above Estonia between total freedom and supported autonomy). So, while there was great autonomy there, at the same time, there wasn't so much of an individualistic, 'every teacher for himself' culture that you might have expected of an Irish school (although I would have to look more into the comparison to the Irish system). I wonder if the degree of collegiality poses an additional dimension in relation to job satisfaction and accountability driven stress? (By collegiality I mean for example, co-teaching, collaborative lesson planning or more evenly distributed leadership responsibilities).
I can't imagine a teacher who is left alone, isolated in their classroom with zero professional encouragement or 'oversight' but given complete free reign to teach as they see fit would be much better off than a teacher who is constantly observed, overseen and scrutinised by colleagues and the leadership team and required to follow a script 24/7. Just an additional thought. Always enjoy reading your work Chris
I came up with the quadrants figure then thought – what if I could plot that using actual data? I'd never used that dataset before but it was pretty helpful. I had no idea England would come out in the extreme corner of the 'total instruction' side (what would I have done if England had been in another quadrant? I'm not sure!). As ever, the work comes with caveats, underscored not least by the project you're doing – what do these schools and systems look like in practice?
You're right that it's easier to defend teacher autonomy than to argue for its constraints, although in practice the direction of travel often runs the opposite way – the slow erosion of teacher judgement and autonomy across MATs. I certainly wouldn't argue for 100% autonomy in most English classrooms, though. If I'd had total autonomy and no guidance starting out, I wouldn't have lasted past the first week!
You make an excellent argument for the Finnish model, which sounds pretty close to my ideal: a balance of collegial support, high-quality training and the autonomy to use your judgement in the classroom. Collegiality was theoretically part of the vertical axis on the graph, though these measures always flatten the nuance in reality. And your experience of what actually happens in the classroom is, as ever, one of the most valuable measures of 'what works'. Looking forward to reading your latest one, and congrats on reaching 100 subscribers, by the way!
Yes I was also surprised to see England in the top most corner (even above Singapore!). Just finished reading Clevelands last week, so this comparison is definitely of interest at the moment.
Also I completely agree that academisation is another noteworthy factor at play. When I spoke to the headteacher of Free School Norwich (a single academy) a few months ago, I remember him describing how he often felt coerced into joining the neighbouring MATs, to the point that he was heavily criticised and shamed by local schools. So yes, there seems to be a slow but strong pull away from autonomous self running schools, even for free schools, which echoes the individual teacher autonomy problem in many ways.
As you've said, the most effective way often falls somewhere in the middle, with a balance of autonomy and accountability. Although, I remember a quote from Sahlberg's 'Finnish Lessons' that really stuck with me: accountability is what is left when responsibility has been subtracted. I think that sums up the Finnish mindset quite nicely. Difficult to carry over to a completely different educational/political climate however.
Coincidence - I just got Cleverlands out of the uni library - it’s sitting on my ‘to read’ pile! Great premise, and not that far away from your project.
It's such a shame that schools with a coherent vision, operating effectively, still feel that pressure. It's tempting to think academisation itself is the problem, but you could still have a MAT - and surely there are a few around - that gives supportive feedback, highlights evidence-driven practice, and trusts teachers with the autonomy to experiment and develop their judgement. The Free School Norwich story is telling: the pull away from autonomous, self-running schools really does echo the individual-teacher version of the problem.
The contrast between accountability and responsibility is an interesting one. We tend to focus on the first at the expense of the second. Teachers can be accountable but if we deny them the chance to make those fundamental decisions about what happens in their classroom, can we really say they are responsible?
Very insightful book Cleverlands, wish I'd come across it sooner as yes it does mirror lots of the things I've been interested in lately.
That difference between accountability and responsibility is definitely an idea I need to look more into, but so far it seems to me indicative of the difference in culture. Finnish schools tend to be more in keeping with a culture of trust whereas in the UK and much of the rest of western education, there is more of a culture of distrust. I imagine there would be many other factors involved as well, but this one really stuck out to me in conversations with some Finnish teachers
Thanks Chris - fascinating statistical analysis as with your last article, and brings such clear evidence to the school structure types you outlined. Do you think it would be possible and/or useful to see the average PISA attainment scores for the quadrants?
Thanks Max - grateful as ever you’re digging down into the stats and asking some great questions. The answer is… yes! But with some big caveats (as per the post). I was interested to see the results too.
On a different note, I really enjoyed your post on creating an AI-driven enquiry tool; the limitations you came across were interesting and I’m keen to hear about how you develop the tool. These sorts of curiosity-driven approaches - which keep domain knowledge at the heart of teaching - are exactly what I’m interested in!
Thanks for this, this is such a useful distinction. I agree that very few teachers would actually want total autonomy in the sense of being left alone with no guidance, no shared professional knowledge, and no way to learn from colleagues. That is not a healthy model either.
But the alternative cannot be the slow conversion of professional support into managerial compliance. The problem is not shared practice, shared routines, or evidence-informed guidance. The problem is when those things become a script, and the teacher’s judgement is treated as the weak link rather than the professional capacity we should be developing.
I keep thinking about this in relation to literacy instruction. A teacher can be handed a program, a sequence, and a set of required techniques, but that does not mean the teacher understands the child in front of them or understands the writing system well enough to respond when the lesson breaks down. Sometimes the most important teaching decision is not whether the approved move was performed, but whether the child’s response was understood.
So yes, collegiality seems crucial here. Autonomy without collegiality can become isolation. Accountability without autonomy becomes surveillance. The better space is one where teachers are supported by serious professional knowledge and trusted to use judgement in real time.
This is a great point, Shawna – and I think your use of the word ‘performed’ says it all.
Too often we look at what the teacher is doing rather than the impact it has on the children in front of them. If I do the same I-do-we-do-you-do three times with different classes identically, I'm probably not doing it properly. Different children will struggle at different times. Some will need more guidance, an easier or more challenging example, to be released sooner or later.
Being able to read and respond to the class in front of you is probably the most valuable skill as a teacher, and one of the trickiest to learn. You can learn the techniques, but the challenge is being responsive, combining, improvising. Experienced and knowledgeable colleagues play a huge role here, and I'm still developing through their feedback even after 15 years. There's always something you miss – a child who isn't doing anything, hasn't got it. Someone else pointing that out and offering suggestions is what helps you improve.
As you say, too many schools are facing ‘the slow conversion of professional support into managerial compliance’. That’s not going help us find the balance we need.
It’s really interesting (although sad) to hear what’s happening in public schools in England and it sounds like ‘total instruction’ is a good phrase for it. I feel so lucky to work in a public school where I have a lot of autonomy but I’m beginning to realise that my circumstances are not so common…
Thanks Kat - I think the autonomy you have should be the norm, not a lucky exception. It makes such a difference to the experience of teaching. It’s great to have access to support and ideas that you can use, but you’ve got to have the freedom to try them out and discover what works for you too in the classroom.
Catching up with your backlog Chris and didn't want to miss this one. Your initial quadrants figure is a really useful way of seeing the overlap between autonomy and accountability, haven't encountered this visual comparison before. I then thought to myself, wouldn't it be fascinating to plot different education systems onto this graph? Was delighted to come across this later.
I think the cons of teacher autonomy are often less discussed than their perks, so it was insightful to read your view on the advocates both for and against. And understanding autonomy as a continuum (as per your graph) is certainly more nuanced than is often presented in this conversation. I'm reminded of the sociologist Lortie's notion of ‘egg crates’ (cited in your BERA journal you referenced), in which each a teacher works in isolation within their own self contained classroom. While certainly being a noteworthy drawback of autonomy, this seems in striking contrast with the more collegial autonomy that I observed in Finland (which would probably fall somewhere just above Estonia between total freedom and supported autonomy). So, while there was great autonomy there, at the same time, there wasn't so much of an individualistic, 'every teacher for himself' culture that you might have expected of an Irish school (although I would have to look more into the comparison to the Irish system). I wonder if the degree of collegiality poses an additional dimension in relation to job satisfaction and accountability driven stress? (By collegiality I mean for example, co-teaching, collaborative lesson planning or more evenly distributed leadership responsibilities).
I can't imagine a teacher who is left alone, isolated in their classroom with zero professional encouragement or 'oversight' but given complete free reign to teach as they see fit would be much better off than a teacher who is constantly observed, overseen and scrutinised by colleagues and the leadership team and required to follow a script 24/7. Just an additional thought. Always enjoy reading your work Chris
I came up with the quadrants figure then thought – what if I could plot that using actual data? I'd never used that dataset before but it was pretty helpful. I had no idea England would come out in the extreme corner of the 'total instruction' side (what would I have done if England had been in another quadrant? I'm not sure!). As ever, the work comes with caveats, underscored not least by the project you're doing – what do these schools and systems look like in practice?
You're right that it's easier to defend teacher autonomy than to argue for its constraints, although in practice the direction of travel often runs the opposite way – the slow erosion of teacher judgement and autonomy across MATs. I certainly wouldn't argue for 100% autonomy in most English classrooms, though. If I'd had total autonomy and no guidance starting out, I wouldn't have lasted past the first week!
You make an excellent argument for the Finnish model, which sounds pretty close to my ideal: a balance of collegial support, high-quality training and the autonomy to use your judgement in the classroom. Collegiality was theoretically part of the vertical axis on the graph, though these measures always flatten the nuance in reality. And your experience of what actually happens in the classroom is, as ever, one of the most valuable measures of 'what works'. Looking forward to reading your latest one, and congrats on reaching 100 subscribers, by the way!
Yes I was also surprised to see England in the top most corner (even above Singapore!). Just finished reading Clevelands last week, so this comparison is definitely of interest at the moment.
Also I completely agree that academisation is another noteworthy factor at play. When I spoke to the headteacher of Free School Norwich (a single academy) a few months ago, I remember him describing how he often felt coerced into joining the neighbouring MATs, to the point that he was heavily criticised and shamed by local schools. So yes, there seems to be a slow but strong pull away from autonomous self running schools, even for free schools, which echoes the individual teacher autonomy problem in many ways.
As you've said, the most effective way often falls somewhere in the middle, with a balance of autonomy and accountability. Although, I remember a quote from Sahlberg's 'Finnish Lessons' that really stuck with me: accountability is what is left when responsibility has been subtracted. I think that sums up the Finnish mindset quite nicely. Difficult to carry over to a completely different educational/political climate however.
And thanks for the congrats!
Coincidence - I just got Cleverlands out of the uni library - it’s sitting on my ‘to read’ pile! Great premise, and not that far away from your project.
It's such a shame that schools with a coherent vision, operating effectively, still feel that pressure. It's tempting to think academisation itself is the problem, but you could still have a MAT - and surely there are a few around - that gives supportive feedback, highlights evidence-driven practice, and trusts teachers with the autonomy to experiment and develop their judgement. The Free School Norwich story is telling: the pull away from autonomous, self-running schools really does echo the individual-teacher version of the problem.
The contrast between accountability and responsibility is an interesting one. We tend to focus on the first at the expense of the second. Teachers can be accountable but if we deny them the chance to make those fundamental decisions about what happens in their classroom, can we really say they are responsible?
Very insightful book Cleverlands, wish I'd come across it sooner as yes it does mirror lots of the things I've been interested in lately.
That difference between accountability and responsibility is definitely an idea I need to look more into, but so far it seems to me indicative of the difference in culture. Finnish schools tend to be more in keeping with a culture of trust whereas in the UK and much of the rest of western education, there is more of a culture of distrust. I imagine there would be many other factors involved as well, but this one really stuck out to me in conversations with some Finnish teachers
Thanks Chris - fascinating statistical analysis as with your last article, and brings such clear evidence to the school structure types you outlined. Do you think it would be possible and/or useful to see the average PISA attainment scores for the quadrants?
Thanks Max - grateful as ever you’re digging down into the stats and asking some great questions. The answer is… yes! But with some big caveats (as per the post). I was interested to see the results too.
On a different note, I really enjoyed your post on creating an AI-driven enquiry tool; the limitations you came across were interesting and I’m keen to hear about how you develop the tool. These sorts of curiosity-driven approaches - which keep domain knowledge at the heart of teaching - are exactly what I’m interested in!
Thanks so much Chris. Loved seeing what result that gave, even as you rightly point out some important caveats.
And thanks very much for reading the post! Really pleased you think it's something worth exploring!
Thanks for this, this is such a useful distinction. I agree that very few teachers would actually want total autonomy in the sense of being left alone with no guidance, no shared professional knowledge, and no way to learn from colleagues. That is not a healthy model either.
But the alternative cannot be the slow conversion of professional support into managerial compliance. The problem is not shared practice, shared routines, or evidence-informed guidance. The problem is when those things become a script, and the teacher’s judgement is treated as the weak link rather than the professional capacity we should be developing.
I keep thinking about this in relation to literacy instruction. A teacher can be handed a program, a sequence, and a set of required techniques, but that does not mean the teacher understands the child in front of them or understands the writing system well enough to respond when the lesson breaks down. Sometimes the most important teaching decision is not whether the approved move was performed, but whether the child’s response was understood.
So yes, collegiality seems crucial here. Autonomy without collegiality can become isolation. Accountability without autonomy becomes surveillance. The better space is one where teachers are supported by serious professional knowledge and trusted to use judgement in real time.
This is a great point, Shawna – and I think your use of the word ‘performed’ says it all.
Too often we look at what the teacher is doing rather than the impact it has on the children in front of them. If I do the same I-do-we-do-you-do three times with different classes identically, I'm probably not doing it properly. Different children will struggle at different times. Some will need more guidance, an easier or more challenging example, to be released sooner or later.
Being able to read and respond to the class in front of you is probably the most valuable skill as a teacher, and one of the trickiest to learn. You can learn the techniques, but the challenge is being responsive, combining, improvising. Experienced and knowledgeable colleagues play a huge role here, and I'm still developing through their feedback even after 15 years. There's always something you miss – a child who isn't doing anything, hasn't got it. Someone else pointing that out and offering suggestions is what helps you improve.
As you say, too many schools are facing ‘the slow conversion of professional support into managerial compliance’. That’s not going help us find the balance we need.