Anonymous #060

Submitter information

Name

Anonymous #060

Where are you located?

Australian Capital Territory

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.

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

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 agree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

Yes, I think that some of these measures are important to increase the number of students studying education, but I think we need to target people mid-career who have gained skills in another job/profession and who may want to change careers and become teachers. They may be doing this to have more family friendly work hours or because they are dissatisfied with their current profession. It's too much to ask a tertiary educated person to take 2 to 4 years out of their paid work to re-train as a teacher. Make a short, paid bridging course and then put them (under supervision) into a school. This is for secondary - not really primary, unless they have been in a related discipline. Teach for Australia was a good initiative but it needed to be broadened.
For uni entry Education students, employ them in schools as classroom assistants and have shorter uni courses. A lot of what is in the current courses is 'padding'. I have had many pre-service teachers over the years and my best ones were always those already working as LSAs.

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?

As I stated previously, the best pre-service teachers I have mentored were already working at schools as LSAs and had learned far more on the job than they could in the courses. Pay people to work in schools as they learn - shorten the unit courses. Don't pad them out with extraneous information that the young teacher will not need, especially initially. Don't just lower the ATAR, but make it easier and more cost effective for people to work in a school while they study.

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?

Above all, take away admin type tasks from teachers. Make more jobs in schools as admin assistants to do the simple admin tasks. Allow schools to spend more money on ready made curriculum so that teachers don't have to reinvent the wheel constantly. More classroom assistants would help with classroom management, especially for young students. Too much preparation of work for primary age students is SO time consuming and makes it harder for teachers to focus on the students themselves. Sort out duty of care so teachers don't always be the ones doing playground duty - others can do that too!

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?

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

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?

HALT is way too time consuming and is a disincentive. Also, plenty of teachers undertake Masters level qualifications and get no pay increase for it. Career pathways are still very limited because schools are really hierarchical. Perhaps make some tasks have increased pay for the time when they are undertaken rather than expecting someone to take on an onerous task out of the goodness of their heart.