Attention: The Hon. John Della Bosca,

Minister for Education and Training

Email  office@smos.nsw.gov.au 

Fax: (02) 9228 4392

 

Attention: Mr Andrew Stoner,

Shadow Minister for Education and Training

Email  oxley@parliament.nsw.gov.au 

Fax: (02) 6563 1355

 

June 23, 2007

Re: Request for Assistance in Maximising the Use of Resources to Optimise Educational and Social Outcomes in NSW Government Schools

 

Dear Sirs,

 

I note with increasing concern the escalating negative impact of the great degree of latitude allowed under  “Principal’s Discretionary Powers”, particularly in regard to the work of Teacher Librarians in NSW government schools. 

 

It is often stated that we live in an “Information Age”, where the ability to locate, assess and utilise information is not only necessary for academic success, but also for the progression into the workforce, and beyond as a citizen. The delivery of those skills has always been, and always will be, central to the work of Teacher Librarians.

 

In addition, we are all aware of the importance of the continual attention that is required to maximise the literacy of not only our students, but also the wider community.  In the provision of recreational reading materials (as opposed to standard texts relating to specific subjects) – which research has shown may well be the most effective way to instil an appreciation of the finer points of English, and thus lift literacy levels  – is also obviously central to the work of Teacher Librarians.

 

Financial Support for School Libraries

 

You may not be aware that since the introduction of Global Budgeting for DET schools, the level of financial support available to resourcing our school libraries has reached a variance from the equivalent of $3.00 per student to up to $30.00 per student. This is not a level playing field.  Why should teaching and learning at one school be more poorly resourced than at a similar school?

 

Prior to Global Budgeting, financial support for NSW government schools were “tied funds”. At present, a number of Teacher Librarians themselves are undertaking fund raising in order to try to reduce the gap in what their budget allows, and what they actually need.  This doesn’t even consider those resources that they know would be exceptionally useful, but are beyond their financial means.

 

I would therefore request that financial support for NSW government school libraries be restored to a “tied funding” arrangement, so that Teacher Librarians can give greater attention to their core duties (without the necessity of expending valuable educational time and energy attempting to source funding elsewhere) and provide an equal opportunity for every student in public education.  No other part of the education system at school level finds fundraising necessary.  Science teachers are not baking lamingtons so they can buy test tubes or Bunsen burners. History teachers are not making badges so they can buy text books.  Standard sporting equipment is not purchased from the proceeds of raffles.

 

Personnel Support for School Libraries

 

Similarly, you may not be aware that the level of personnel support provided to Teacher Librarians is not uniform across all state schools. In some instances, clerical support may equal the equivalent of one full time (or equivalent hours of part time) School Administrative Officer (SAO) per 500 students, in other cases it may equal the equivalent of one hour of SAO support per 500 students.

 

The workload for every 500 students -  regardless of whether the library is in a primary or secondary school; whether the school is geographically isolated and remotely located, or in the central metropolitan area; independent of the degree of variation in cultural background of the school community - is close to identical.

 

Typical of the work are: resources to be identified and targeted for inclusion in the school’s library collection; processing (covering, bar coding, accessioning); the Library Collection undergoes ongoing monitoring and updating of in order to maintain its role and adjust for progression in reading preferences.  Biggles and Enid Blyton are no longer popular, nor appropriate, for our contemporary students. 

 

There are supervisory duties at recess and lunchtime, Cooperative Planning and Teaching (CPT) with classroom colleagues; delivery of instruction in Information Literacy; promotion of literature; and many more professional duties that are common to all school libraries.  To this workload many also add facilitation of the new Board of Studies mandatory All My Own Work course, the Premier’s Reading Challenge administration, and again many others that I can list separately if required.

 

It is ironic that promotional activities (such as the Premier’s Reading Challenge) engender a much greater demand on school libraries, thereby further increasing the Teacher Librarian’s workload – but without any additional support being provided.  Thus, the more effective a Teacher Librarian is in promoting the library, a corresponding reduced amount of time is available for a Teacher Librarian’s instructional role. 

 

It must be acknowledged that very few principals have achieved their executive positions having previously served Public Education in the role of Teacher Librarian, and therefore cannot appreciate such complexities from the perspective of experience.

 

I would therefore request that you support our Principals by establishing guidelines for the appropriate allocation of support staff to NSW government school libraries. 

 

The Need to Revisit and Revise DET Determinations

 

Some time ago, the issue arose of Teacher Librarians in Primary Schools being subverted into providing Release from Face To Face (RFF) for their classroom colleagues. In order for classroom teachers to be granted time for lesson preparation, their classes were sent to the library. At the point where some principals were using their discretionary powers to allocate 100% of the Teacher Librarian’s time to providing quality educational experiences for their classroom colleagues classes, a determination was made by the then Director-General that a minimum of 20% of a Teacher Librarian’s time was to be preserved for library administrative duties; a set of tasks that others of the profession were granted 100% of their time.

 

However, it has recently come to light that the original intent of the “minimum 20% Administrative Time” has been interpreted at High Schools, in addition to Primary Schools, as an invitation for Teacher Librarians to be timetabled on to subject lines. The extent is variable (as it is for funding and clerical support), but this most recent development in “interpretation” has far reaching implications.

 

As stated above, any increase in duties not related to the core duties of a Teacher Librarian can only negatively impact on the amount of time available for attending to their Library duties.  The Staffing Directorate will confirm that Teacher Librarians are appointed to High Schools in addition to their staffing requirements.  The redeployment of Teacher Librarians to duties not related to the role as a Teacher Librarian therefore implies irregularities in school management.

 

I would therefore request that the issue of a “20% administration” time allowance be revisited and revised, with ongoing monitoring as to the manner in which it is being implemented at school level.  Additionally, a mechanism needs to be established whereby concerns can be addressed by the Department of Education in a more transparent process than is currently evident.

 

The Status of Information Professionals in NSW Government Schools

 

In the past, there have been numerous instances of proposals to adequately recognise the centrality of the role of the Teacher Librarian, and their contribution to the core work of the whole school, by the awarding of Head Teacher status and the accompanying rights and responsibilities.

 

The usual ‘argument’ against such an award is that “Teacher Librarians do not supervise other teachers”.  Perhaps conveniently overlooked, Teacher Librarians not only supervise any SAO clerical support they are fortunate enough to obtain, they also train them.  Although some of their SAO staff have done a TAFE course, it is to be noted that such courses do not cover the Operation and Management of OASIS Library – that training is generally delivered by the Teacher Librarian.

 

In addition, the Teacher Librarian trains and supervises “Student Library Monitors”, parent volunteers, and in many cases classroom colleagues.  In some instances, the ancillary support is of a temporary nature, and the Teacher Librarian is required to constantly train a continuous stream of support staff. None of those currently awarded Head Teacher status are required to train their own staff or support personnel, in addition to supervising them.

 

Currently, those awarded Head Teacher status within a faculty construct are rightly concerned only for the delivery of their subject content.  Teacher Librarians provide input into whole school programs, often initiating and administering them.

 

The Department’s Policy on School Libraries (reference PD/2005/0221/V01) requires that a Teacher Librarian “is actively involved in school curriculum planning and in program development”, a level of involvement that is not required of those currently awarded Head Teacher status.

 

Similarly, the same document states that Teacher Librarians are “involved in the provision of the information-related resources integral to the planning, implementation and evaluation of the curriculum of the school”.  Again, this level of involvement in whole school issues is not required of those currently awarded Head Teacher Status.

 

Further, Teacher Librarians administer, on behalf of the principal, the single-most capital-intensive facility within the school.  They are responsible for achieving the auditing requirements for not only ‘library resources’, but also often other resources that may be located anywhere in the school.  None of those currently awarded Head Teacher Status have a similar level of responsibility.

 

Teacher Librarians are required to have an overview of the school’s entire teaching program, across all Key Learning Areas.  Their expertise is required in supporting teaching and learning for all subjects, for teachers and learners at all levels of competence and ability.  Those currently awarded Head Teacher status are not required to have such a depth and scope.

 

With regard to qualifications in NSW government schools, only Teacher Librarians and School Counsellors require dual accreditation.  School Counsellors however deal with students on a one-to-one basis, do not train and supervise their support staff, have no auditing function, nor responsibility for the school’s most capital intensive facility.  Teacher Librarians are required to be credentialed in both teaching and librarianship, reflecting the duality of their role in both instructional issues and library management.

 

In many instances, the recognition of Teacher Librarians as having the status of only “Classroom Teacher” presents a number of barriers to maximising the potential for the accomplishment of social and educational outcomes.  There is voluminous documentation of the research on the impact that school libraries can have on student achievement. Unfortunately, in NSW government schools, that body of research is largely ignored. 

 

The classification of the Teacher Librarian as “Classroom Teacher” in a great many instances has prevented the Teacher Librarians from fulfilling their function as directed in the Policy by excluding them from “school curriculum planning and in program development”.  School culture in many schools, being such as it is, is not conducive to Head Teachers working collaboratively with classroom teachers in such a context.  Similarly, other Classroom Teachers are often reluctant to work with “a librarian”, not being cognisant of their training, qualifications, and policy-dictated role.

Whilst recognising that the Director-General has recently released a statement to the effect that ‘financial rationalisation’ is required across the whole Department of Education and Training,  I would request that an investigation into the issue denying Teacher Librarians being awarded Head Teacher status. Currently, the only pathway to such achievement generally is to reduce their attention to the core duties as a Teacher Librarian (by assuming additional responsibilities not related to the school’s library) and often to completely abandon their profession as a Teacher Librarian. The economic rationalism is no doubt necessary, but can Public Education afford this loss, which cannot be measured in dollar terms?

 

Amanda Credaro, JP

B.Sc., Grad. Dip.Ed., M.Applied Science (Teacher Librarianship), M.Ed. (IT in Education)

Private and work addresses and contact details included in actual transmission.

Read the Response from the Minister's office (June 29, 2007)

July 10, 2007: Reply received from Andrew Stoner's office. Reads in total "Thank you for providing a copy of your email to the Minister for Education. In that correspondence you have highlighted a number of issues of concern. I hope that the Minister will promptly satisfactorily respond to the matters raised and would be interested in a copy of his response."

Read the RESPONSE to Andrew Stoner's repy as shown above.

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