Chartered Teacher: accrediting professionalism for Scotland's teachers—a view from the inside

Abstract

This paper is based on a survey of teachers following the Chartered Teacher programme in two Scottish universities. The aim of the study was to gain a better understanding of the teachers' reasons for joining the programme, their impressions of the impact on themselves and their professional contexts, and their views about the role of a chartered teacher. The paper outlines the origins of Chartered Teacher, within a broader context of continuing professional development for experienced teachers and the formal recognition of excellence in the classroom. The demographic nature of the sample is consistent with enrolment in the programme across Scotland, except in age, with our respondents being somewhat older. The perceptions of the teachers are presented as coded responses to five questions. The study found that teachers could articulate ways in which they were benefiting professionally, and how learning and teaching in their classrooms was developing, but there was weak evidence of perceived benefits for schools in a wider sense.