---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 10:56:40 -0800
From: Verity Walker <[log in to unmask]>
To: Woollard AVR <[log in to unmask]>
Cc: [log in to unmask]
Subject: RE: mid career professional development
This is an interesting one!
>From my own point of view, I believe that there is sometimes a conflict
between the expectation that any candidate will have a recent teaching
qualification and also possess a proven track record in museum/heritage
education. With limited time and funding available for
postgraduate/professional development training in anyone's career, just how
and when is one expected to have achieved both?
Before setting up my consultancy, I worked in a senior position in heritage
education and did employ some non-teachers in responsible junior posts with
good results. I looked for candidates from the Heritage Management degree
courses (most of which include an education module) in particular. It
did seem unfair that their career progression beyond that junior postwas
likely to be hampered by the lack of a formal teaching qulification,
however, when they did not actually want to become professional teachers.
The need is for people who have lively minds, a good understanding of what
is going on in the classroom, curriculum and education development
generally, and above all an ability to communicate with children and
teachers; but not necessarily a teaching qualification.
After all, the skill set needed in heritage/museum and gallery education,
where one engages with a class for perhaps as little as one hour before they
vanish forever, is rather different from that needed for classroom work.
By asking for a recent teaching qualification one narrows the field of
candidates to teachers who, for whatever reason, wish to leave the world of
mainstream education, or who have qualified but do not desire to teach. Is
this wise?
Education changes very rapidly and even those who qualified within the last
five years would today find developments new to them if they returned to
teaching. Instead of asking for a PGCE, why not develop a system of
periodic term-long classroom placements for all established education staff
in heritage/museum & gallery education, so that first-hand experience of the
classroom could be kept current? It would also certainly enrich the
schools to which they were sent, and I would have thought that DfEE would
welcome the idea.
I would be interested in the thoughts of others on this subject...
Verity Walker
Director
INTERPRETaction
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of Woollard AVR
Sent: 17 March 2000 07:07
To: gem
Subject: Re:mid career professional development
I would like to start a debate on the perceived notion that museums and
galleries are finding it difficult to recruit well qualified and
experienced museum and gallery educators for senior management jobs. There
are a number of questions to ask:
1) Is this a correct view?
2) Do younger professionals feel unqualified for these senior posts? If so
Why?
3) Are the job descriptions/ person specifications inappropriate for the
type of career paths people are currently taking?
4) What are the ideal requirements anyway for such jobs?
5) Has anyone gained career advancement from doing additional degrees/
courses/ the AMA professional CPD schem or NVQs?
I look forward to hearing your views.. Comments may well inform GEM
and others as to consider how to remove "glass ceilings" and look to
enhanced training/education.
Note: For many, career development is not necessarily associated with
vertical moves up the ladder but sideways e.g into
consultancy/freelancing.. all views are welcome.
Vicky Woollard
Dept. Arts Policy and Management
City University
T. 0171 477 8756
F 0171 477 8887
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