Looking for inspiration from teachers

Inspirational teachers could make the difference to families facing adversity, Professor Mason Durie said yesterday.

Research showed that in two families subjected to the same level of "adversity" - whether that was socioeconomic or some other type of adversity - one family did better if there was a relationship with an "inspirational teacher", he said.

Professor Durie, of Massey University, was appearing before a parliamentary committee inquiring into "making the schooling system work for every child".

He told the committee there might need to be changes in the way teachers were trained.

Secondary school teachers were trained to be good in one main subject area. So, a teacher might do a Bachelor of Science degree and then spend a year learning how to teach, he said.

But, he said, more might need to be done to prepare teachers "to be inspirational".

He believed that with greater use of technology, through information off the web and e-learning, there would be less need for teachers to be the ones to disseminate information.

"My guess is that teachers will be more like guides and mentors rather than experts at a particular subject," he said.

The experts would be available on the web.

- NZPA