Anonymous #351

Submitter information

Name

Anonymous #351

Where are you located?

Victoria

What type of area do you live in?

Metropolitan

Are you an education professional?
(e.g. teacher, school leader, learning support assistant, teacher’s aide)

Yes

Which sector do you work in?

Secondary

What is your occupation?

Teacher

Elevating the profession

The actions proposed recognise the value teachers bring to students, communities and the economy.

Somewhat disagree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

It is encouraging to see a commitment to recognising the value of teachers (Action 1). Teachers are not simply servants of society but are professionals in their own right, and so should be valued as such. It has been refreshing to see efforts being made by the Education Minister to listen.

Although there is a stated commitment in the action plan to recognise teachers, a close reading of the initiatives makes it clear that the current teaching workforce is in actual fact not valued. The meritocratic push for more HALT certifications (Action 4), implies that teachers are not valued yet.

Even in the case where teachers seem to be valued, it is not our current teachers. Even international teachers are being offered monetary incentives to work in Australia (Action 9), whilst there are no tangible incentives being offered for getting Australia’s very own qualified teachers back into the workforce (Action 23).

Therefore, it is my argument that the very first objective, ‘to recognise the value teachers bring to students, communities and the economy’ is ultimately undermined by a number of the actions proposed in this document.

Improving teacher supply

The actions proposed will be effective in increasing the number of students entering ITE, number of students completing ITE and the number of teachers staying in and/or returning to the profession.

Strongly disagree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

A concern of mine is that it seems that other professionals are valued more highly than our current teachers (Action 6, 7, 8, 11). Luring professionals from other fields with bursaries, scholarships and the High Achieving Teachers (HAT) program will not provide a sustainable teaching workforce. Trevor Cobbold has previously articulated some very compelling arguments against HAT and Teach for Australia (TFA) through his writing (https://saveourschools.com.au/teachers/pathetic-response-by-teach-for-australia-to-criticisms). However, the program continues to be funded despite its relative failure in achieving its aims.

There also seems to be a discrepancy in the desire to encourage First Nations Australians to enter the teaching profession (Action 1, 2, 11, 12). The main discrepancy lies in the continuation of the expensive hurdle task for teachers known as the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education (LANTITE), of which we still don’t know whether the test is the right assessment tool or is even set at the right difficulty level. What we do know however is that First Nations Australians are overrepresented as failing the LANTITE test. Furthermore, multiple Higher Education Providers stated that ‘the test was the reason that some Indigenous ITE students were unable to graduate or left the program, and that this was a major loss for the program and the teaching workforce’ (DESE, p. 14). Yet rather than examining the validity of LANTITE from the evidence we now have, the action plan seeks to unquestionably cement it as a fundamental necessity for ITE students (Action 13). This test needs to be scrapped in order to achieve the aims in relation to First Nations Australians.

Reference
Department of Education, Skills and Employment. (2020). Implementation review of the Literacy and Numeracy test for ITE students: Final report.

Strengthening Initial Teacher Education (ITE)

The actions proposed will ensure initial teacher education supports teacher supply and quality.

Somewhat disagree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

I do believe that there is a lot of value in the aims that seek to diversify the teaching profession. However, as stated in the Priority Area 2 I feel that there are constraints impacting on the potential success of these initiatives.

Maximising the time to teach

The actions proposed will improve retention and free up teachers to focus on teaching and collaboration.

Strongly agree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

It is encouraging to see an acknowledgment of the demands placed upon teachers and a desire to seek to alleviate some of the burdens that teachers face in the day to day, due to ever increasing accountability measures (Action 15, 17, 18).

Better understanding future teacher workforce needs

How effective are the proposed actions in better understanding future teacher workforce needs, including the number of teachers required?

Moderately effective

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

It may be quite valuable to have more clarification in relation to the status of the teaching workforce. The real question will be how this data is then used. Are we going to see further marketisation of Higher Education Programs in a way that mimics MySchool (Action 20)? If so, we are bound to see further degrading of the quality of ITE and future teachers. As many have argued before, standards do not equate to quality (Action 21) and will further serve to homogenise the teaching profession further.

Better career pathways to support and retain teachers in the profession

The proposed actions will improve career pathways, including through streamlining the process for Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher (HALT) accreditation, and providing better professional support for teachers to retain them in the profession.

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?