Teacher Quality and National Standards

This article discusses the importance of policies in education, specifically in relation to teacher quality and national standards. It identifies gaps in existing policies and provides recommendations for improvement, such as prioritizing quality training for teachers, incorporating technology, and subject-specific policies.

Running Head: TEACHER QUALITY AND NATIONAL STNDARDS 1
Teacher Quality and National Standards
Name
Institution

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Introduction
A policy is a course or principle of action that is adopted by an individual, organization
or a government. Policies are developed in work places and organization to serve in a number of
ways. Some of the key reasons as to why organizations develop policies are as follows. First,
policies are developed to form a set of expectations that an organization or government has on its
employees (VandenBos, Hogan & Kazak, 2017). It stipulates not only the behavior of the
employees but also their code of conduct and performance. The set policies are also aimed at
keeping the management of the organization and governments accountable for their actions. In
order to achieve this objective, the policies outline the expected conduct of the managers of the
organizations or government agencies in terms of transparency and leadership.
The policy ensures that the managers are in a position to provide effective leadership to
the rest of the team members (Sanders, Phillips & Vanreusel, 2014). Furthermore policies are
formulates to ensure that entities comply with the law in their operations. In this case, the entity
might just adopt a legal policy set by the nation or develop their own policies to inline with the
requirements of the law. Additionally, the most common reason as to why entities and
governments use policies is to defend themselves against employee claims. Organizations come
up with employee remuneration policies, grievance policies, fair work policies, etc, to aid the
organization defend itself against legal proceedings against the entity or agency launched by an
employee. The policies should also work as guidelines for employees and the clients of the
organization know where they should turn to when in need of help. Since all the policies always

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have a point of contact which is clear and concise, the employees should find it easy to know
where to go when in need of help.
Education policies are government principals revolving around the sphere of education
and comprises of rules and laws that govern all the education systems’ operations. Education
comes in different forms and the government had to develop polices to cover all the levels of
educations beginning with kindergarten up to universities and colleges (Rubin & Hearn, 2018). It
is therefore vital for the policy makers to consult with the stakeholders in education during the
process of educational policy formulation. Some of the interest groups in education include the
teachers unions, Parents and Teachers Associations, School Board Associations and more
importantly the State Department of Education. Furthermore, the policy makers should also lies
with the legislature arm of the government and the Legal staff during the policy making duration.
Since educational policies, cove all the educational levels in the country, the use different policy
tools to meet the demands of each of the levels of education in the country (Hentschke, 2018).
Different scholars have written a number of papers and journals on educational policies. In
Australia, the government is considering a number of education policy areas starting from
policies aimed at making early childhood education mere affordable to issuing free text books to
first year university students. This work analyses some of the literature on education policies and
identifies gaps in the existing blind spot and gaps in the existing educational policy and the
process of formulation of education policy.
Literature review

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A number of scholars have written about educational policies taking different approached
in efforts to solve different problems revolving around educational policies. According to
Schulte (2018), the discrepancy that exists between education professional and the government is
always well known. In a number of cases, countries find themselves torn in between educational
policies on one side and the educational practices on the other side. The discrepancy always
comes in when the policies contradict the well cultivated educational practices that have been in
the system for a prolonged duration. In such instances, it is always in the view of the
professionals in the education sector that the implementations of the policies would disrupt the
normal functioning of the education system (Schulte, 2018). While the policies look at the
political side of the education system, the practitioners in the education systems often look at the
practicability of the policies and in most cases, there is always a huge variance between the two.
When it comes to the implementation of curriculum reviews, teachers tend to politicize the
process in the cause of implementation. This situation often leaves the middle level policy
makers at cross roads between the desires of the government and the wants of the teachers who
are the implementers of the policies (Schulte, 2018). The difference is always bigger in the cases
of children special need. Ristovska et al. (2017) note that educational policies for children
suffering from intellectual disability are often inconsistent with the practical implementation.
Such variances make the policies less effective and in most cases, the implementers of the
policies who are mostly teachers prefer to use more applicable methods hence resulting into a
dispute between the policies put in place and the real practice.

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The authors further admit that in most nations of the world, education policies are rarely
practiced. This is mostly attributed to inadequate consultations during the policy making process.
The policies tend to ignore the input of some of the key stake holders in the educations sectors
during the formulation process. The policies tend to take into consideration the ambitions of the
government’s ruther than the applicability of the policies in the local settings. Furthermore, some
of the educational policies experience dilemma as they tend to contradict the normal expectation
of the economy and society. While in developing and recently developed countries education is
viewed as a way of breaking the vicious circle of poverty, education in itself is expensive.
Dzidza et al. (2018) analyse educational policies in different countries and finds out that in
Ghana, the government choose to develop a free primary education policy. Considering the fact
that education is expensive, the government has to forego some of the development project in the
developing country in order to fund education (Stosich & Bae, 2018). The reason behind the
policy was to cub poverty in the nations, however, the education policy adopted to help in
poverty alienation stands in the way of development in the other spheres of life such as
infrastructure and social amenities which are key indicators of development. While literacy
levels is also a key measure of the quality of life, the policy developed by the county on
education stands in the way of the other indicators of quality of life.
A review conducted by Dube (2017) pointed out various challenges on the
implementation of Education library policy in Malawi. The policy dictated that the community
should finance all the projects within public primary schools. While the policy worked in a
number of projects, it was not possible to for the communities to constructs and fully equip

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libraries in the primary schools in the community. Furthermore, the education policy abolished
payment of school fees for primary schools and therefore limiting the source of funding of the
institutions to government funding which in most cases is insufficient. However, the policy
stated that the government was to carry out development projects in the primary schools together
with the supply of other learning necessities such as book. However, this is limited to the
government’s education budget and donor funding of the institutions. In the United Arabs
Emirates, the situation with the educational policies is the same as a number of other countries in
the world according to Aydarova (2017); education policies face a lot of opposition from some
of the stakeholders in education sector. In some cases, the debate revolving around the policies
are politicized. This is always characterized with televisions radio announcements and
interviews, the struggle on the policy in this nation goes beyond just practicability of the policies
but also include the best practice policy. In Australia, the narratives revolving education policies
are similar to other countries. According to Goedegebuure, & Schoen, (2014), one of the key
challenges facing education in Australia is inadequate education policy which then drives the
country into a series of education review and curriculum change. The education policies revolve
around political parties’ agenda and the government of the day implements the policies
according to their agenda while the opposition in most cases challenges the basis of the policies.
Evaluation of the research evidence
Based on the study data that was collected from the case study on the policies of
education on teachers’ quality and national standards, a number of gaps do appear in the policies
of education. In terms of grade score, the policies are not adequate. The on-going curriculum on

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teacher training is very wide thus cannot fully and effectively be covered within the time line that
has been allocated for complete training. With these policies at hand, more than 87% of the
teachers do not have access to quality training that may enhance the education of the young
generation (Viseu & Carballo 2018).
The policies fail to give much emphasis and priority on the training facilities required to
enhance quality training for teachers. Most of the tutors and trainers have not been equipped with
rudimentary skills of handling facilities that adversely affect the education system. This gap in
the policies of education that ought to ensure quality education has created a situation in which
teacher trainees are demotivated due to the absence of guaranteed opportunities of employment.
Furthermore, this condition has adversely affected the PTE due to the absence of comprehensive
policy that have been formulated and the implementation guidelines leading to reduction of the
standards of education in the country (Stosch et al. 2017).
In addition to the evaluation of the policies of education concerning the quality of
teachers and the national standards, another gap identified in the policies is that the policies on
teaching practice are not well established and organized as it should be (Stosch et al. 2017).
Looking at the laws set forth on the teaching practices are not quite comprehensive and majority
of trainee teachers end up feeling that the program and its format needs to be drastically changed
to suit the current contemporary education systems.
The contemporary world and the ever-changing technology is an issue that should be considered
in the curriculum and the education system (Viseu & Carballo 2018). The policies show a
deficiency of this inclusion. Some section of the country try to incorporate technology in the

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education system such as teaching using computers and laptops only to be met by big shock that
most of the teachers are computer illiterate. These gaps in the policy of education indicate that
during the formulation of the policies, there was no consideration for flexibility or adaptation to
the future changes thus making the curriculum to be irrelevant for the education system. The
study further shows that there is no comprehensive policy guidelines that can ensure the teachers
properly handle the students. Most of these policies on the education system are scattered in
general circulars and pronouncement.
In addition to this, there is also a gap in the policies. The mechanism set to evaluate both
the students and the teachers are wanting. The assessment processes used during evaluation and
the domains to be measured are apparently irrelevant in relation to the national goals of
education and training. Most of the aspects evaluated by the teachers are outdated for instance;
policies do not take into consideration aspects such as sports, talents psychomotor activities the
policies only put much emphasis on the cognitive domain yet most youngsters are better in other
measurable areas (Matthews 2018),.
Pizmony et al. (2017), asserts that the evaluation of the policies also shows that
apparently, the formulations of the policies are not all inclusive and it is largely a preserve of the
personals at the head office. This has created a situation where most of the teachers find
themselves going against the policies as they have not been fully informed of the policies and
were not consulted to give their view since as they are the personnel’s who knows what goes on
the ground and the necessary areas that need to be changed .

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According to (Matthews 2018), the national standard of education needs the teachers to be
equipped fully in their areas of specialization and develop interest in passing knowledge to the
students. On the contrary, the policy of education has not come up with the relevant performance
appraisal means which can be used to determine whether the teachers are qualified for the job or
not. It should be noted that some of the teachers had no interest in this career thus may not
effectively disseminate the knowledge to the students which may reduce the quality of education.
Recommendations to Bhutan
Redesigning the policies that govern the teachers and their training programs should be
an issue of concern to the Australian government. For there to be quality teaching that meets the
international standards, the policies have to ensure that priority is given to the quality of training
that is offered to the teachers. Policies that create room for quality facilities that ensure that the
teachers are well equipped with the relevant information that relates to teaching. In addition to
this, policies should try to accommodate employment opportunities in that the trainees are
assured of empowerment the moment they finish their training (Matthews 2018).
In addition to this, it is also recommended that the policies should try to adapt to the
current changes in technology. The Australian government should ensure that the policies try to
address the issues on teacher’s computer illiteracy. The government should introduce computer
classes in the system to ensure that all the teachers are acquainted with knowledge concerning
technology so that they can teach freely. The current education system requires the integration of
technology to foster educational standards to the international level. The policies should also try

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to incorporate proper evaluation of students. The proper domains to be evaluated should be
clearly stated by the policies.
Polices ought to be subject specific instead of being too broad. The policies need to be
harmonized and properly coordinated. The headquarters should also include the teachers in the
process of formulating the policies given that they are the ones who interact with the students on
a personal level and know the needs of their students.
Recommendations for Professional Teaching Policies
Following the review on studies by other scholars, it is evident that there exists a gap
between the theoretical implementation of education policies and the practical implementation of
the policies. This is majorly as a result of inadequate consultation in the policy making process
between key stake holders. There exists a conflict between government objectives and the
practicability of the policies. Furthermore, some of the education policies conflict with other
interests of the nation. This is majorly experienced in developing and recently developed
countries. Policy makers in the education system should consider the following
recommendations to help in coming
Adequate consultations between stakeholders
The education sector has a number of stake holders that are grouped into different
categories. The most important stake holders in the sector are the implementers of the policies
which include the teachers and the low level administrators in the education sector. Such
consultations among the stake holders ensure that the policies developed in the education sector

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are not only efficient in solving the challenges that the education sector face but are also practical
and applicable. Some of the policies in the field of education fail as a result of implementation
difficulty by the teachers. It is therefore paramount that the teachers and the low level
management in the education sector have their say on the policy making process.
Generation of Policies from based on the Needs of the Education Sector
Further conflict in terms of the implementation of policies between the Australian
government and the implementers of the policies come as a result of ambitious government
projects. An example is the policy to increase funding of the early childhood education in
Australia. The policy does not seek to find permanent solutions to the problems facing early
childhood education in Australia. On the contrary, it looks it tries to solve all the challenges
through increase of financial allocation. Since finance will always be a scares resource, it is not
possible to solve all the challenges of a sector through increase in financial allocation.
Review of teachers training in all categories of Education
It is paramount that the teaching policies handle the categories of students differently
(Pizmony-Levy & Woolsey, 2017). For instance, the policies governing teaching of special
needs children in Australia should be developed differently from the policies governing the
teaching of normal children. An umbrella approach in developing education policies leads to
deficiencies in handling the minority groups of students. It is therefore recommendable that the
process of policy formulation is dome in stages to include all the categories of students
represented in the populations while considering other special cases possibilities. For instance,

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policies governing teaching of physically challenged students should be handled separately from
those governing the teaching of mentally challenged students and that governing the teaching of
the normal students. The process of developing such policies should be done independently to
ensure that every detail pertaining to the educational need of the students are taken into
consideration.
Inclusion of the university students in policy decisions affecting them
Some of the education policies adopted need the full participation of the students. It is
therefore paramount that the students or students representatives of the society are included in
the policy making process. For instance, the Australian government intended to increase the
Higher education loan interest to 15% for all the students who go though higher education in
Australia. Such policies have direct impact on the students and therefore it is vital that the vies of
the students are taken into account before such policies are implemented.
Conclusions
The education sector is one of the key sectors in any given country. The policies
developed in the education sector may have spillover effect on the other sectors either instantly
or in the future. It is therefore important to carefully scrutinize the in policies in education to
ensure that they are not only effective but also suitable for the support of other sectors in the
economy. Several authors have written on education policies. While majority of the authors

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identify discrepancies between the policies on paper and the implementation of the policies some
focus on the possible solution to the existing policy challenges. Teaching policies are vital
especially at the implementation stage. Many countries experience a conflict between what the
education policies stipulate and the practicability of the policies. Australian education system
experience more frequent change of curriculum that other countries. The changes comes a result
in change in plicies governing education system which are spearheaded by the Government.
While the policies might be ambitious and admirable, in some instances, the implementation of
the policies is not possible on the ground. The challenge is majorly attributed to inadequate
consolidations between the key stake holders in the education sector. While the government
might have its agenda to fulfill thorough educational policies it is vital that the implementers of
the policies are given room to take part in the policy making process to ensure that the policies
are accepted both by the executive, legislature and the implementers of the policy. Following this
analysis of literature on education policies, it is therefore vital to consider full inclusion of
teachers and low level managers in the education sector in the policy making process. Such
consultations will aid in coming up with universally accepted education policies and also ensure
the practicability of the policies. It is also paramount to consider the economic impact of the
education policies on the nation both in the short run and in the long run.

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