Teachers must embrace the modern world

erry McCormac’s review of teacher employment in Scotland was published yesterday under the prescient title of Advancing professionalism in teaching. The question is whether the group’s proposals will achieve this laudable aim?

McCormac was set up to study the impact of the McCrone Report which a decade ago concluded, correctly, teachers had fallen behind other professions in terms of remuneration. The problem with “McCrone” was the then Scottish Executive adopted only part of it, giving teachers a substantial salary increase without reasonable changes, centring on greater professionalism, in return. It was money without modernisation.

In a measured way, Prof McCormac seeks to deal with these problems by calling for more flexibility in teaching. Class contact time should be organised over a month or term. Detailed rules in agreements which set out what teachers can and cannot do should be abandoned. There should be more formal professional development. Teachers and heads should move between schools more often. These are sensible proposals which will help improve the education of those who matter most in this: our young people. Teachers once had a case in arguing other professions were far better off but in the modern world increasingly that is no longer the case. If, as they say, they wish to be treated as professionals, teachers will have to leave some outdated practices of the past behind and embrace the future. If they are wise they, and their unions, will embrace the McCormac reforms.