Loyalty Requirements for teachers creates concern – Dagsavisen

Domestic

RULE TUNG: Many of the 172 rules teachers at Haugerud school in Oslo must follow safeguards actually pupils rule of law mean school professor. PHOTO: KIM Saka / WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

This is the case

• On Haugerud school in Oslo, management made a 52pp long list of requirements for how teachers should behave: “Standards of professional development on Haugerud school.”
• Ruleset has attracted much attention. Several experts believe it violates teachers’ freedom of expression and interferes in their private sphere.
• Newly appointed county leader in Education Association Oslo, Aina Sjefstad Andersen, stated in yesterday Dagsavisen that she has never seen anything similar.

– When the employer acts as controlling on top of extremely tough loyalty requirements, challenges this confidence good school partnership is based. You are concerned about the teacher does what is best for your child or the system requires, says Torill Eide, one parent in the resource group behind “Parents Rebelling against Oslo School” which has its own page on Facebook.

Prohibits negative talk

Yesterday wrote Dagsavisen that teachers at Haugerud school in Oslo must follow 172 written rules of conduct at work and in leisure. Prohibition to speak negatively about the school or school policy is an absolute requirement. Later debate taken by social media.

Read all the 172 claims here.

Research Fellow at the Institute for Criminology and Sociology at the University of Oslo, Trond Welstad, told Dagsavisen yesterday that this is one of the worst examples of control and rule tyranny he saw.

– Not only restricts the teachers’ freedom of expression, it intervenes also into their private sphere, stated Welstad.

– When we as parents see that teachers are gagged in this way, it creates an uncertainty as to whether the teacher dare putting his foot down against the school administration when something is not working. The question is whether consideration of fine test results and system loyalty outweighs the interests of your children, says Torill Eide.

Please also read the report: Why balk employees in Oslo for talking loudly?

Promises students

Thomas Nordahl is Professor of Education and head of the Centre for practice-based educational research. He believes parents’ concern may have some relevance:

– If the principal and the teachers see themselves best served by serving the system and not the students, it is a point. But Haugerud school has raised pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills significantly. It is unlikely that school practices are incompatible with parents ‘and students’ interests, says Nordahl.

– You see no problems with it absolute loyalty requirement school management set?

– There may be situations where loyalty requirement is problematic in relation to students’ rights. But many of the 172 points we are talking about here, safeguards actually pupils rule of law, maintains Nordahl.

He notes that loyalty to the system is not necessarily conflicting pupil interests.

– The Nor is it to only allow teachers must do as they will, it is always to the benefit of students, says Nordahl.

There, however, he believes is problematic is if the parents do not dare to speak out because they are afraid of being perceived as disloyal by the school.

Flexibility crucial

Vickey G. Bonafè leader Oslo Municipal parents committee and says in general terms:

– Oslo KFU is aware that there are similar set of rules to those on Haugerud, at other schools. It determines whether it works is that they are prepared by teachers and management in cooperation. Meanwhile, too many and too rigid rules remove some of the flexibility needed to provide teachers for action against students in a school cooperation, she said.