From NQT to OAP: Does Experience Necessarily Equate to Wisdom in Education?

Paul Woodward identifies issues within school recruitment with older, more experienced staff and analyses the pros and cons of hiring younger vs older educators. 

It is perhaps no surprise, as I reached my 50’s, that I have been thinking recently about what value an older or experienced teacher might bring to an organisation or to the teaching profession in general. Before I left the UK to teach overseas I already had over 25 years experience as a faculty or department head and as a specialist subject teacher. When I entered the teaching profession many moons ago, it was based on an ideal that knowledge and wisdom were things of great value, that every new experience, professional course and additional year of dealing with new problems and unexpected situations would make me wiser and, in turn, give my career additional value. I had grown up on tales of elders and wise men guiding the young and inexperienced, sages and oracles who seemingly knew everything and on whose every word we would hang.

When I left a long-term role some years ago, I ventured out into the world of employment somewhat naïve and convinced that the experience accrued, something that cannot be bought or acquired quickly, would make me a more valuable asset for any school. Imagine my surprise, or rather shock, when I discovered that, for many of the roles I applied for, I was now considered ‘too expensive’ to employ!

The higher salaries expected of experienced staff are not the only factors that can work against them. I am reminded of a senior job I was ‘promised’ many years ago only to be overlooked even for an interview. Puzzled by this I asked someone who worked with them what had happened. I was told that management roles had changed and that the Head was now looking for someone younger, less experienced and easily ‘moldable’.

“Wisdom comes with winters”, Oscar Wilde once said but, as wisdom is the quality of having experience, knowledge and good judgement, it is not necessarily something you can simply accrue by reaching another birthday. So, what benefits can an older, more experienced teacher bring to an institution? Do they necessarily have better skills as a result of their experience and does this ‘wisdom’ offer genuine benefits to the institution or the learner?

We might also ask if wisdom is more important than specialist subject knowledge or the ability to help students achieve success in their examinations. Are good teachers, or leaders, necessarily wise or are they simply good at connecting with learners and have the skill of inspiring them to learn?

There is also a common assumption that teachers will move up through the ranks and that, when they get older, they will have assumed senior management roles that benefit from their experience and ‘wisdom’. For those who love the classroom and sharing their knowledge directly rather than leading from an office, it can become something of a stigma that they are still in a teaching or middle management role. It is also a real shame if they are deprived of the opportunity to bring that combination of enthusiasm and experience to the classroom simply because of their birth year.

Many schools invest in training and developing new teachers in order for them to become better practitioners or to take on additional responsibilities. I often wonder if they also have a point in their mind where a teacher has reached maturity in the classroom and will start to decline in value if they don’t progress into senior management and beyond?  

One thing I have observed working in Asia, is that there appears to be greater respect for older teachers. Maybe there is similar respect for acquired knowledge and experience elsewhere, but it is unlikely that international schools will have to deal with the same budgetary constraints as many schools in the UK are. The same constraints, other than their potential ‘malleability’, that often mean they are overlooked for roles.

I have always enjoyed hearing older generations recount their experiences. My own favourite teachers were those who were much older, almost like a grandparent. They often had a genuine approach to teaching which I valued. They were not aspiring to promotion or impressing with their attempts to connect with us through a knowledge of popular culture. They could inspire us or chill us with cold hard facts, they provided real anecdotal evidence of situations they have dealt with and the problems they have overcome. Ultimately, they had life experiences that can benefit those of a younger generation willing to listen and learn from them.

Playing devil’s advocate for a moment, there is no guarantee that older or experienced teachers will bring genuine benefits to warrant higher salaries. Some teachers may be jaded or fractured by their teaching experiences, others may be unwilling to learn new skills, stubborn in their ways or simply looking for an easy gig until retirement.  Maybe you can ‘teach an old dog new tricks’ but they will probably lack the energy and enthusiasm of a puppy. Certainly, teachers of physical education and technology are likely to be the first to be perceived as ‘too old for the job’, but in an ideal world there will always be younger teachers who can bring their energy and enthusiasm, especially when old and young work efficiently as a team.

In marketing, the term ‘perceived value’ applies when a customer values a product greater than its function. Some teachers may value their years of service rather than what they can offer, as may recruiters or schools. This ‘value’ is ultimately the consumers’ (schools’) evaluation of the merits of the product or service (the teacher), and its ability to meet expectations in comparison with its peers (other applicants for a role). A cold way of looking at it perhaps, but nonetheless it has some similarities with the recruitment process.

There is also the elephant in the room which is the fact that ageism is discrimination and illegal, but as long as that is never shared or given as a reason, an employer could still choose another candidate or simply not shortlist an older candidate for interview.

There is no general advice that can be given on the best people to employ for a teaching role. School leaders will know what they need and strike a balance in their staff that benefits the teaching environment. Younger teachers can have the potential to be great teachers but, like the students in the school, they can learn a lot from the older and more experienced teachers.

It is those educational establishments that have a good mix of old and young teachers who all positively contribute to the education of young people that will reap the benefits.  It is terribly sad to think that some young people might miss out on such experiences simply because a school has to make a financial choice over recruiting the best person for the role, whatever their age.