{"id":66462,"date":"2022-12-20T23:05:10","date_gmt":"2022-12-21T04:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=66462"},"modified":"2022-12-20T23:05:10","modified_gmt":"2022-12-21T04:05:10","slug":"australia-has-a-plan-to-fix-its-school-teacher-shortage-will-it-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/australia-has-a-plan-to-fix-its-school-teacher-shortage-will-it-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia has a plan to fix its school teacher shortage. Will it work?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nAll year, we have heard reports of a \u201ccrisis\u201d in Australian schools, thanks to a shortage of teachers around the country. Federal education department\u00a0modelling shows<\/a>\u00a0there will be a high school teacher shortfall of about 4,000 by 2025.<\/p>\n

In August, Education Minister Jason Clare and his state and territory colleagues\u00a0met and agreed<\/a>\u00a0this was a huge problem. Their big, set-piece policy response is a new plan for the \u201cnational teacher workforce\u201d.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0draft was released<\/a>\u00a0in November and late last week, we got the\u00a0final version<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After all the talk and consultation \u2013 will it work? To use the language of a school report, the teacher shortage plan is a good effort and a positive start. But there are areas that need improvement.<\/p>\n

Remind me, what\u2019s in the plan?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The\u00a0final plan<\/a>, like the draft, identifies five priority areas to attract and retain high-quality teachers to the profession:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. improving teacher supply<\/li>\n
  2. strengthening teaching degrees<\/li>\n
  3. keeping the teachers we have<\/li>\n
  4. elevating the profession<\/li>\n
  5. better understanding of future teacher workforce needs.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    There were more than 650 submissions to the draft. Initially there were 28 recommendations or \u201cactions\u201d. The final version has 27, after one initial idea \u2013 a \u201cteacher of the year\u201d award \u2013 was scrapped based on teacher feedback.<\/p>\n

    The final plan still includes measures such as a national campaign to raise the status of teachers and A$30 million to reduce teachers\u2019 workloads.<\/p>\n

    A good effort<\/strong><\/h4>\n

    Bringing together diverse jurisdictions and sectors is an ongoing challenge for Australian education. But this plan involves governments, their bureaucracies and education authorities, employers, teachers, and unions.<\/p>\n

    This includes plans to streamline accreditation processes for teachers and reduce unnecessary administration (that weighs down their daily workloads).<\/p>\n

    Importantly, the plan has an inclusive and aspirational tone. It talks about \u201cthe work we will do together\u201d. This is not always the case in the complex world of education policy-making in Australia.<\/p>\n

    <\/center><\/p>\n
    \n

    We have a teacher shortage crisis – 10 years in the making.<\/p>\n

    Last week Education Ministers ticked off a National Teacher Workforce Action Plan.<\/p>\n

    It includes $328 million in additional funding from the Albanese Government to attract, train and retain more teachers 👇👇 pic.twitter.com\/9tE5pXsJV3<\/a><\/p>\n

    \u2014 Jason Clare MP (@JasonClareMP) December 18, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n