Teachers Matter: Connecting Work, Lives and Effectiveness

This book examines the nature of successful school leadership: what it is, what it looks like in practice & what are the consequences for schools & pupils.

Teachers Matter offers the most definitive portrait of teachers’ lives and work to date. At a time when teaching standards are high on the political and social agenda, the quality and commitment of teaching staff is seen as paramount and they are viewed as pivotal to the economic and social well being of society. But:

• What are the influences that help or hinder teachers’ commitment?
• Is there an association between commitment and pupil attainment?
• Why are teachers’ identities important?
• What are teachers’ needs and concerns in different professional life phases?
• Does school context count?

Based on a DfES funded study of 300 teachers in 100 primary and secondary schools in England, the authors identify different patterns of influence and effect between groups of teachers, which provide powerful evidence of the complexities of teachers’ work, lives, identity and commitment, in relation to their sense of agency, well-being, resilience and pupil attitudes and attainment. This, in turn, provides a clear message for teachers, teachers’ associations, school leaders and policy makers, in understanding and supporting the need to build and sustain school and classroom effectiveness.

The book addresses issues such as the importance of career development, the relationships between school leadership, culture and teachers’ lives, maintaining a work-life balance, identity and well-being and the connection between commitment, resilience and effectiveness in the classroom.

Original and highly relevant, Teachers Matter is invaluable reading for teachers, head teachers, researchers and teacher educators.