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The proportion of permanent teachers has fallen by about 14 per cent .
Uncertain times
One in five NSW teachers now in precarious , temporary positions .
By Wade Zaglas
Job security remains a key issue for NSW public school teachers , with a reported one in five educators currently in a temporary or contract position .
Temporary positions were created by NSW ’ s education department in 2001 and , while the casual workforce has remained relatively stable , the “ proportion of permanent teachers has fallen by about 14 per cent ”, the Sydney Morning Herald reported .
Associate Professor Rachel Wilson from the University of Sydney was one of the co-authors that examined the employment conditions of NSW teachers . According to a survey of 18,000 NSW Teachers Federation members , permanent teachers also felt that temporary staff had to work “ harder than permanent teachers to prove themselves ”.
“ Historically the job security and permanency of the profession is one of the ‘ pull factors ’ for attracting suitable candidates ,” Wilson told SMH .
“ Potential teachers often offset the low pay against the fact that the work is secure – and highly rewarding .
“ If we add this increasing work insecurity to the other problems with workload , low pay and a sense that teachers are undervalued for the work they do , we really do have a problem that will impact upon educational outcomes .”
One of the report ’ s other authors , the University of NSW ’ s Meghan Stacey , highlighted an interesting point , stating that reasons behind growth in temporary positions were complicated , “ but the corresponding drop in permanent jobs suggested permanent staff were being replaced by casuals ”.
Stacey also told SMH that the union questioned whether the drop in permanent hiring was a strategy “ to generate greater [ hiring ] flexibility ”. While some flexibility was necessary , Stacey argued the higher proportion of temporary staff nowadays needs interrogating .
“ There was a point in time in the past where we had different proportions than we do now . Whether or not we need to have this proportion of temporary teachers is a reasonable question to ask ,” Stacey said .
This latest study comes after reports that NSW is experiencing a teacher shortage , particularly in the country and in specialist subjects . It also coincides with a dearth of casual teachers within the state and on the heels of teachers walking off the job at Concord High in Sydney in late May .
Members of the NSW Teachers Federation at the school protested and called on the NSW education department to deal with what they described as a “ staffing crisis at their school and hundreds of other schools across the state ”, Mirage reported .
The union ’ s deputy president Henry Rajendra said the union members had taken the action after it “ had been unable to staff all classes at the school because of multiple unfilled teaching vacancies ”.
“ The state-wide teacher shortage has resulted in some classes at Concord being taught by different teachers over several weeks ,” Rajendra said .
“ This also forces teachers to teach outside their subject area , teach combined classes or leave students under minimal supervision .
“ Teachers at Concord High have been placed under extreme pressure attempting to staff classes and concentrate on providing high quality lessons .
“ However , they are not being supported by the NSW Government or the Education Department which has failed to address the teacher shortage to the extent that the school may now have to cut some HSC courses because of the staffing crisis .
“ This staffing crisis has been caused by the failure of the NSW Government to address the teacher shortage over more than a decade . They have let down students , parents and the wider community ,” Rajendra said .
Former West Australian premier Geoff Gallop ’ s recent inquiry into the teaching profession , which was commissioned by the union , criticised the “ excessive use of temporary teacher employment , in particular of beginning teachers ”.
But on the other side of the coin , the acting head of the Secondary Principals Council , Christine Del Gallo , said temp teachers were often used to cover long periods of leave , including maternity leave .
“ It ’ s nothing sinister , disorganised or unplanned , but it ’ s just that people are on different types of leave ,” she said .
“ Lots of schools in the state use Gonski money to have extra teachers , smaller classes , or have extra programs , and they would use temporary teachers for that too .” ■
4 | educationreview . com . au