A highly qualified profession ensures a good balance between the professional autonomy of teachers and their public and social accountability. The professional autonomy of the teacher is of crucial importance in developing quality in education. Professional autonomy is dependent on the recognition of teachers’ rights to contribute to the development of policy, planning and practice at all levels of the education system and to give shape to the education provided to the pupils within the framework of the national curriculum.

Teacher education must develop the skills required by all teachers to work collaboratively within and beyond the school. Professional autonomy means that it is the teacher who makes the choice about methods and how to accomplish learning based on their professional knowledge, as well as on the knowledge of the individual learners. There has to be a general trust in the professional expertise of the teacher. People outside the reality of the classroom should never prescribe how teaching is done in the classroom. In general, teachers in Malta are facing a very different reality. At times, teachers feel they are not trusted and teaching methods are imposed on them, and they feel their professional expertise is undermined.

There is no doubt that the quality of teaching suffers when teachers are given difficult circumstances to work under, and it is important to take this aspect into consideration and not separate the debate on educational and pedagogical reforms from the debate on improving teachers’ working conditions. Syllabuses need to be reviewed in primary schools and teachers are the ones to be consulted. The teachers are the experts because they face children in the classroom for long hours everyday and they know best what should be done. Many primary school teachers are concerned that some subjects have a syllabus that is too vast for children of primary school age, yet it seems no one gives heed to what the grass root people have to say. Most teachers in Malta think that the vast academic emphasis being placed on children in primary schools is resulting in lack of opportunities for them to enhance their creativity, their skills and life skills.

The professional freedom of the teacher is of crucial importance in developing quality in education. Yet some teachers complain that they are being told what to teach, how to teach, when to teach and so on. Teachers, at times, feel they are being treated like robots and all they get is orders from above and that their professional autonomy is next to nil. Teachers feel that teaching has become the most scrutinized profession and they are being reduced to working mechanically and heartlessly. It seems that what is important is the filling of registers, writing lesson plans, writing forecasts and record of work. For teachers to be given different approaches and models for their teaching is important and necessary , but it must never turn into a process of dictating which methods to use.

The increased focus on quality assurance and efficiency improvement has resulted in new legislation in many countries, which is leading to a simplistic ranking of schools’ performance.

This is happening in Malta too and reports have reached the MUT that during School Audits, evaluation focused too much on easily measurable school achievement without taking into consideration the complexity of the reality in schools. Teachers were also sidestepped in the evaluation process and made only objects of the process. If this goes on, it would result in a “de-professionalisation” of the education sector.

The MUT wants to strengthen and preserve the teachers’ professional autonomy, increase confidence in the teaching profession, diffuse positive stories about the teaching profession, and make sure that those responsible for the education sector have the necessary competence.

The MUT will continue to expose the reasons for the teachers’ loss of professional status.

Finally, what teachers expect is a good physical and psychological working environment, support from the authorities and respect for the teaching job. The MUT will continue working for teachers to have an influence on and participation in their working conditions.

Sufficient time should be provided for teachers to have guaranteed professional development.

Mr Bencini is the president of the Malta Union of Teachers