Australian Teacher Education : Although Reviewed to the Eyeball is there Evidence of Significant Change and Where to now?

Abstract

Teacher Education within Australia is once again on the cusp of further reviews at both State and Federal levels. This is in spite of frequent and invasive reviews and inquiries over the last 150 years of formal teacher education. Since the 1980s many reviews have been conducted with the intent of improving the quality of teacher education -in order to improve the learning outcomes for the pupils in the nation's schools. This paper examines some of the reviews and the emergent patterns as it follows the journey of teacher education from the 1850s to the present day. It highlights many of the recurring dilemmas and the frustrations of the educational community, which includes the following: Education versus Training; Theory versus Practice; Supply versus Demand and Profession versus skilled & competent practitioners. Perhaps it is now time to recognise the binaries that have continued to cause division and move beyond them into a new era based on mutual collaboration, acceptance of diversity, effective dialogue and resource sharing. The establishment of a common foundation of essential knowledge/learning and the development of core non-negotiable elements, including a blend theory and practice, within Australian teacher education, has the potential to lead to substantial benefits for the nations children.

Who Chooses Teaching and Why? Profiling Characteristics and Motivations Across Three Australian Universities

“…Teacher education has been subjected to a significantly large number of reviews over the last thirty years (Dyson, 2005) and yet we struggle to understand why people are attracted into teaching in the first place and why they are either retained or leave the profession. Such a situation would suggest that we need a different approach to teacher recruitment, induction and retention.…”

Standards in Literacy and Numeracy: Contributing Factors

“…However, as important as it is to recruit able school leavers into teacher education, the content of tertiary programs offered to teacher trainees requires some scrutiny. Although examination of the content of pre-service teacher training has increased over the last decade (Carter, H., Amrein-Beardsley, & Hansen, 2011; Coalition for Psychology in Schools and Education, 2006;Dyson, 2005;Ingvarson et al, 2004;Kwong Lee Dow, 2003;Levine, A., 2006;Liston, Whitcomb, & Borko, 2006;Louden et al, 2004;Louden et al, 2005;Murray, Nuttall, & Mitchell, 2008;Rohl & Greaves, 2004;Wilson et al, 2001), there still appears to be a lack of consensus of what constitutes quality teacher preparation. Generally, teachers combine two sets of knowledge: subject content knowledge and the practice of teaching (pedagogy) (Boe, Shin, & Cook, 2007;Gore et al, 2007;Hassan, Khaled, & Kaabi, 2010;Ingvarson et al, 2004;Kosnick & Beck, 2008;Wilson, Floden, & Ferrini-Mundy, 2001).…”

“…Several Australian reviews of teacher performance and teacher training have been commissioned over the last 25 years with the intent of improving the quality of teacher education, but little seems to change (Adey, 1998;Australian Education Union (AEU), 2007;A.E.U., 2008;DEST, 2003;Dyson, 2005;Hartsuyker et al, 2007;Ingvarson et al, 2004: Louden et al, 2005Ramsey, 2000;Rowe, 2005). In 2012, the Australian Government's Productivity Report still noted a decline in literacy and numeracy standards in Australian schools, and commented on the need to raise teacher quality by improving teacher training, induction, and mentoring (Australian Productivity Commission, 2012).…”

Stress Among Prospective Teachers: a Review of the Literature

“…Among teachers, professional demands may contribute to diminished performance (Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter, 2001), absence due to long-term sickness (Bultmann et al, 2005) or attrition from the teaching profession (Pillay et al, 2005). Dyson (2005) suggests that the purpose of teacher education is to prepare and develop teachers, and that this process is continual throughout a teacher's career. Physical complaints such as back pain, chest pain, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, problems with sleep or appetite, and fatigue are commonly used by the general population, rather than psychological complaints, when claiming inability to work (Donaghy, 2004).…”