You may have never heard of “Hotelling.” Not a notion but a name. Not a method of office management but a model of spatial competition. Harold Hotelling (1895-1973) was a key influence on twentieth century mathematical economics and game theory.
His model of spatial competition explains why similar businesses locate next to each other. In its simplest form, two sellers will be located right next to each other at the same (linear) halfway point, to serve half of the market eg, one to the east and one to the west.
Even in an age of market segmentation, product differentiation and targeted messaging, the geographic pull prevails, causing similar firms to locate side by side, to watch each other's every step, and make tit-for-tat market moves. As a characteristic of monopolistic competition, you see it on the high street with coffee shops, you see it from the car window with rival petrol stations and, most functionally, you see it in any airport.
Schools are different. They operate in distinct contexts and derive the greatest benefits from collaboration in areas of common interest: In Bangladesh, schools focus on safeguarding standards for students, critical friendships for leaders and professional improvement for teachers.
In the wider world there is a diminishing global supply of international teachers relative to an increasing demand. The best international schools have recruitment and retention strategies rooted in leading-edge professional improvement, knowing that this is a key pull-factor for getting and keeping great teachers.
Some years ago, Professor Dylan Wiliam argued that it is the duty of education to create a culture of self-improvement, turning good teachers into better ones, through a sustained commitment to professional improvement.
Last month, Professor John Hattie released the results of a meta-analyses of more than 2,100 studies related to achievement, arguing for a significant change in culture focused on the quality of student learning. For Hattie, schools need to create time to evaluate impact, helping “teachers in using the most robust evidence based interventions.”
Success on sure foundations
Simply put, professional improvement is “a structured and facilitated activity for teachers, intended to increase their teaching ability.”
Recent research reviews from the Education Endowment Foundation (2023) give clear guidance on effective professional improvement. Clarity starts from the axiom that high quality teaching improves pupil learning. For professional improvement to be classed as effective, it must explicitly add to teacher quality in ways that improve pupil learning -- measurable in improved pupil outcomes.
Make it about mechanisms
Strong foundations start with good design. For effective professional development, there must be an acute eye on how it will lead to improved pupil outcomes; we start with why, and then focus on how. The mechanisms for success include reinforcing prior learning, setting subject specific goals, and giving subject rich feedback -- practical ways which help improve understanding and outcomes.
Good design involves a balance of building knowledge, developing technique, and embedding practice -- the sum of which has a motivational effect on teachers. Effective professional development is designed for impact, from building knowledge to embedding practice.
Supporting best practice in our schools
Standards-led and impact-driven, schools should do what works with students. Schools should have the confidence to collaborate, sharing their expertise in areas of common interest, and setting high standards. Haileybury Bhaluka has formed a unique international partnership with Evidence Based Education to improve student outcomes across Bangladesh. Resourcing ten schools in their professional improvement plans for a 3-year period by framing and supporting their professional learning programs.
Raising the quality of teaching within schools is the single most effective method we have for improving student attainment and equity. Impact-led, we are determined to see gains for students, teachers, and leaders.
For professional development to have impact, context is key. There must be explicit support from school leaders and a commitment to direct involvement. The school must have a clear strategic focus, its mechanism for success, and how it will improve pupil outcomes.
Building professional learning communities and constructing a schools' network to encourage collaborative impact will develop a common language for teaching across our schools, improve teaching in evidence-based ways, and showcase the quality of achievements together. The schools' network will be the agency of change.
With the expert support of The British Council, this exciting plan, the most significant inter-school collaboration of professional improvement in Bangladesh, has now been launched.
Simon O'Grady is the Founding Headmaster of Haileybury Bhaluka, the first premier boarding school in Bangladesh, for boys aged 11-18 years. Having led outstanding schools on three continents, he draws on his experience of investing in improving teachers with the singular purpose of enhancing pupil outcomes.
