I Just Want to Teach My Stuff

Abstract

One of the outcomes of the new compulsory schooling age is the impact on teachers’ work. This policy shift came when neoliberal processes of testing and standards permeated all aspects of teachers’ work. It came at a time when professional capacities were undervalued, when work satisfaction was seriously undermined by lack of control, and at a time when there was less and less money to provide for professional development. One of the key findings of this study is how the new compulsory schooling age has intensified these effects through the demand for ever-increasing diversification. A number of teachers were taking on courses—multiskilling—to teach the students in alternative pathways, while trying to hold on to their key curriculum area. Not all disliked this shift, but many were finding it hard to adjust. Many mourned the loss of the teacher—student relationship that was part of the joy of teaching in the senior years. An intellectual engagement was desired with the students, instead of policing the disaffected with attendance registers, forms for truancy, appointments with parents, and a multitude of administrative processes developed to enforce the compulsory schooling age. In this chapter the teachers’ responses to the NSLA are firstly canvassed, followed by their descriptions of the impact on their practice and finally the potential or otherwise of new pathways.