- Related consultation
- Submission received
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Submitter information
Name
School of Education and Professional Studies, Griffith University
Where are you located?
Queensland
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?
Higher Education
What is your occupation?
Professor
Elevating the profession
The actions proposed recognise the value teachers bring to students, communities and the economy.
Somewhat agree
Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?
• The status of the profession is high in the general community but less so in the profession itself (see AITSL “Spotlight – Teaching a valued profession"). This reflects a profession that doesn’t have confidence in itself. The focus needs to be on building the internal esteem of the profession, and on external strategies to promote the profession.
• The media has been shown to provide negative commentary on teachers despite teaching being a highly valued profession (see Mockler, 2022). Negative media commentary has been a matter of concern pre-covid (see Bahr et al QCT research report 2018) and Australian media stands out for its negative portrayal of teachers when compared to international contexts (see Alhamdan et al, 2014).
• Industrial relations practices devalue teachers’ work, with many teachers placed on contracts and uncertain of their future. This diminishes the profession and is part of the reason early career teachers leave the profession.
• Wages and working conditions are highly variable nationally. Having clear career pathways that are consistent across state borders is essential. in addition, some high performing experienced teachers cannot be registered in some states of Australia.
• Item 4, to increase the number of classroom teachers recognised as highly accomplished and lead teachers is an appropriate course of action. Providing funding to cover the high cost and extensive time to write an application (e.g. two days release from duties), are positive ways to support this process.
• Graduates should not be encouraged to see teaching as the only outcome of their qualifications. Teaching is a qualification that can be applied in a range of settings and teachers should be encouraged to move between roles and use their skillsets. Fifteen-year olds are predicted to have five careers and seventeen jobs across their working lives and we have to consider teaching within this world of work.
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.
Somewhat disagree
Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?
• Remuneration is a key factor to attracting and supporting teaching supply. Appropriate levels of funding need to be available to support attraction and retention in initial teacher education programs.
• Item 5, providing pathways into teaching for para-professionals will need a more systematic process for credit into undergraduate degrees.
• Item 6, whilst bursaries for ITE students are welcomed, $10,000 per annum of study puts a self-funded university student below the poverty line (currently $25,428 for a single adult) unless they take on other work.
• Item 7. 1500 places should be distributed more widely than the high achieving teachers’ program. This is an opportunity to diversify the teaching workforce.
• Item 8. Strongly support initiatives such as Queensland’s Turn to Teaching (TTT) internship program which provides funding support during the first year of a preservice teacher’s graduate study ($20,000) and an internship wage (approximately $66,000) during the second year of graduate study and teaching in a school on a permission to teach. This funding model is inexcess of the funding proposed in Item 6, and is better placed to encourage career changes. In addition the Queensland TTT model provides additional support whilst the TTT candidate gains professional experience.
• Australian teacher workforce data set (ATWD) be activated as a foundation for attracting teachers.
• Supply issues can be addressed by re-attracting teachers back into the workforce by valuing the knowledge and skills they bring with them back into the profession, and providing a competitive salary commensurate with their qualifications and range of experiences, and providing workplace conditions such as an offer of permanency.
Strengthening Initial Teacher Education (ITE)
The actions proposed will ensure initial teacher education supports teacher supply and quality.
Somewhat agree
Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?
• The 2105 “Action Now: Classroom Ready Teachers” (TEMAG), and the points of action around ITE Program Standards, and APSTs, have not been systematically evaluated. Only now are early career teachers graduating from these significantly changed programs and moving through the AITSL career stages.
• The TPA (AITSL Program Standard 1.2) is a measure of classroom readiness that has the potential to lift esteem and guarantee quality of planning, teaching, assessment and reflecting. This initiative, however, should be systematically researched.
• Lack of investment in research in ITE. No money invested in actually looking at what works, for which ITE student groups in which contexts, and why.
• The absence of attention to supervising teachers and site coordinators, specifically the payment schedule, and systematic and credentialed professional learning.
• Developing models such as University schools (like those in the US) where University/School partnerships are developed with university staff teaching and researching within the school and teacher candidates undertaking practicum experiences within the school. Make this a national initiative (scaling up).
• Item 13. We do not support the shift of LANTITE to either pre-entry or to the first year of the program. There is no research evidence to support LANTITE (AITSL Program Standard 3.5) as value-adding to the quality of the initial teacher education experience, the quality of early career graduates, or the impact early career graduates have on their students’ learning. LANTITE has proven itself to be a distracting influence with limited testing windows per year, a problematic online proctoring experience, expensive, and a highly inappropriate assessment instrument for students who suffer from test anxiety. Candidates enter the program with requisite levels of maths and English so AITSL Program Standard 3.5 has already been met.
Maximising the time to teach
The actions proposed will improve retention and free up teachers to focus on teaching and collaboration.
Somewhat agree
Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?
• National studies indicate that teachers’ time is used to undertake a range of work that does not require teaching expertise (see Grattan Report, 2022). This report provides advice for maximising teachers’ time to teach. It is important to use an evidence-base such as this to guide actions.
• The diversity of students in classroom has broadened due to inclusion policies. Teachers need specialist in-class support and more time for professional learning.
• Extended evening and overnight activities (e.g., camps) – financial support should be provided where teachers have their own family responsibilities.
• Expectations around communications with parents has increased. The benefits of establishing closer working relationships with parents of children in the early, primary and secondary years has been acknowledged in cutting-edge research published by ISQ and QISPN (2021, 2022). It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, thus this agenda takes time to fashion for specific contexts.
• We support experimenting with a range of strategies that provide greater consistency with year-to-year workload. For example, teaching the same year level for several years or looping with the students as they move through the year levels. When teachers are new to a year level, or new to a subject area, an allocation of time, and an experienced mentor needs to be available.
• Item 18 - Be wary about providing Permissions to Teach (PTT), as this may slow down a candidate’s progression and/or diminish their performance at university. PTT candidates often teach out of area, have no extra mentoring, and no ongoing employment. Focus on providing paid roles in schools for ITE students.
• Expectations of teachers need to be clearly focused on their curriculum work. That is, teachers are not the only ones responsible for student learning and outcomes and can be supported by wellbeing officers, social workers etc. This could be achieved through focus on full-service school models built on cluster models.
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?
• Item 21 - Teachers’ career pathways are not consistent across the states. In fact, teacher registration requirements are not consistent, and sometimes, high performing and highly experienced teachers may not be able to secure registration is another state. This creates hurdles that disenfranchise teachers from the profession when they move interstate. Dedicated research to the impact of jurisdictional differences on teacher careers would help inform an effective policy response.
• In relation to Item 23, more data and research about out-of-field teaching is required. An extended research program on out-of-field teaching would provide an opportunity to know more about how teachers who are teaching out-of-field come to be successful.
• Now that the ATWD (AITSL) has been built, it needs to be used to plan workforce needs. It also needs to be appropriately maintained.
• We support the conduct of research into the workforce, why teachers leave the profession, what careers they move into and what would improve retention (see Item 23).
• Conduct research about the profession of teaching and its value and importance across the broader community. It is estimated that fifteen-year-olds today will have five careers and 17 jobs. What does the future teacher workforce look like? Current initiatives are based on the status quo and an out-dated assumption that individuals will have a life-long career.
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.
Somewhat agree
Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?
• Item 24. We endorse and encourage programs for middle leaders and aspiring middle leaders. Middle leadership should not only be seen as a pathway to school principalship, but as a worthy career goal in and of itself (see Lipscome et al, 2022).
• Item 25. We endorse and encourage a research base to support this initiative. Support for teachers who change teaching areas, or change teaching contexts would be advantageous. A commitment to enacting the guidelines will be a necessary next step.
• Item 26 is essential and these First Nations’ resources needs to also include human resources who are funded appropriately and provided with career growth opportunities.
• Item 28. We support micro-credentials but research into effective professional learning and focusing on just one type of professional development is ill-advised. Job-embedded professional learning can do more to improve teacher practice than “talking head” or self-paced self-reflection online modules. See the work of Darling-Hammond which clarified the benefits of intensive, ongoing contextualised professional learning. So that the funds available for Item 28 are well utilised, the suggestion is to establish an accreditation model for professional learning providers to ensure high-quality, relevant, and impactful professional development. Professional development providers should be required that demonstrate that the PD provided is fit-for purpose and meets the needs of schools, students and the community (impact statement/measurement of outcomes).