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campusreview.com.au
Teacher registration scrutiny
Minister says review will
ensure ‘best skills for the right
subject in the classroom’.
By Kirstie Chlopicki
T
he federal government has
launched a national review of
teacher registration to improve
consistency and teacher quality across
the country.
Th e minister for education and training,
Simon Birmingham, said the National
Review of Teacher Registration had been
endorsed by all states and territories at the
Education Council, and would assess how
teaching graduates made the transition to
working in schools.
“There’s inconsistency in our teacher
registration systems across the country and
we need to understand what’s working and
what’s not in key areas to set a bar everyone
can work towards,” Birmingham said.
“This is important because we’re
looking at how we can make sure teacher
registration helps to get the best, most
qualified individuals into the classroom.
“We want to make sure that our early
primary school teachers have got the best
possible skills in literacy, in numeracy, in
building the foundation stones; we want
to make sure that those in high schools
who are teaching geography or history
or maths are of course subject specialists
in those areas; but we also want to make
sure that if you’re teaching a Year 11 or
Year 12 student skills in terms of the caring
industries, in aged care, or skills in terms of
the building industries, that you have some
personal experience and expertise there if
at all possible.
“It’s about making sure we have the best
skills for the right subject in the classroom.”
Birmingham said the review would look
at helping teachers transition into the
workforce, and encouraging those with
practical trade skills to enter the profession.
“We’re encouraging this review to have a
look at how we ensure teacher registration
across the states and territories most
effectively supports people coming from
trade backgrounds to enter the teaching
profession,” he said.
“For many students in their final years of
school, vocational education and training in
the school environment, training in terms of
building skills, in terms of other hospitality
skills or the like, are essential aspects of
their final years of education and we need
to make sure that there are teachers in
there helping with that training who bring
the right skill sets.
“People are often undertaking mid-life
career changes ... and particularly in the
trades you’ll have individuals who – for a
whole bunch of physical reasons – might
need to make changes to their working life;
so the idea of getting people who have got
a couple of decades of practical experience
in the trades, teaching those trades in our
schools, is not a new one, but it’s essential
to make sure that trades are taught as
effectively as possible.
“Having a former tradie or nurse as a
teacher can bring more perspective to a
classroom and be especially beneficial.
Teachers who have been working in
other jobs can be a great way for students
to learn about life after school and the
different options open to them.
“Students need to learn from people
from all walks of life, and if a talented
professional wants to change careers
to become a teacher, we should be
working to ensure that transition is as
straightforward as possible.”
The Australian Institute for Teaching and
School Leadership (AITSL) will facilitate the
review, led by Victorian Curriculum and
Assessment Authority chair Chris Wardlaw
and a panel of eight education experts.
The panel includes: McKinnon Secondary
College principal Pitsa Binnion, Epping
Secondary College assistant principal
Marino D’Ortenzio, Tertiary Education
Quality and Standards Agency chief
executive Anthony McClaran, Queensland
University of Technology emeritus
professor Wendy Patton, Australian
Children’s Education and Care Quality
Authority chief executive Gabrielle Sinclair,
Australian Primary Principals Association
president Dennis Yarrington, and
Independent Education Union of Australia
NSW/ACT president Christine Wilkinson.
“We look forward to constructive
suggestions about Australia’s teacher
registration systems,” Birmingham said.
“This is an opportunity to ensure
Australia’s teacher registration systems are
working as effectively as possible.” ■
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