In a confidential submission to a national review of education degrees,obtained by theHerald,the NSW government - on behalf of the state’s three school sectors - acknowledged a growing shortage of high school teachers,particularly in science and maths,and in the regions.
NSW wants a defence force-style recruitment campaign to lure potential teachersComposite
The NSW Department of Education is already working on its own marketing campaign,paying consultancy PwC almost $500,000 to “develop an employee value proposition and marketing solutions that will help shift the perception of teaching” and approve attraction and retention,tender documents show.
However,the NSW Teachers Federation says a focus on marketing fails to address the practical issues that are putting people off teaching,such as unsustainable workloads and static wages. “This is an all icing and no cake approach,” said president Angelo Gavrielatos.
The federal government commissioned a review of the quality of so-called Initial Teacher Education (ITE),or university education degrees,earlier this year,saying the quality of teaching was the most important factor influencing student achievement outside the family.
As part of its research,the review team has been conducting surveys of teachers,asking questions such as whether they think more senior jobs,a $20,000 scholarship or abolishing uni fees would make mid-career professionals more likely to retrain as teachers.
NSW’s submission made 10 recommendations,including a national recruitment campaign for teachers. “It could be modelled on successful recruitment campaigns,such as the Australian Defence Force campaign,but targeting a range of audiences:diverse communities;school leavers;and career changers,” it said.
The submission also recommended education degrees be required to address the teaching of students with special needs - one in five NSW students has a disability that requires classroom adjustments - and more training in behaviour management.
When NSW did its own research into discipline for its behaviour strategy,“a lack of behaviour management skills in early career teachers was identified and it was suggested this lack of skills may be linked to their increased stress levels and job-related anxiety,” the submission said.
The submission also calls on the review to create a national,mid-career pathway to attract people in other professions to become teachers,and consider how to remove disincentives such as the need to take a long,expensive break from the workforce to re-train.
Some have called for the re-introduction of a one-year postgraduate diploma,which was dropped less than 10 years ago in favour of a two-year masters degree.
However,the NSW submission acknowledges that adding mandatory training units would make it more difficult to shorten the degree,but said the “review panel is well positioned to balance these competing issues.”
Mr Gavrielatos,whose union is lobbying for better pay and conditions for teachers ahead of wage negotiations later this year,said the NSW government was right to acknowledge problems such as teacher shortages and a decline in the attractiveness of the profession.
But he said a recruitment campaign does nothing to address the fundamental problems,such as unsustainable workloads and wages that have not kept pace with other professions. “If they are not[addressed],a campaign like this is going to be a waste of millions of taxpayer dollars,” he said.
“TV ads full of smiling kids and teachers are not going to change the fundamental reality that there is a workload crisis in teaching and the salaries are not commensurate with the skills and responsibilities of teachers.”
The chief executive of the Association of Independent Schools NSW,Geoff Newcombe,said independent principals consulted about the submission supported calls for a national campaign to promote teaching as a well-respected profession.
They also supported a return to a one-year graduate diploma or fast-tracked masters degree,which students can do while being financially supported by a school. “Many Independent schools have used this method successfully to staff hard-to-fill roles in maths and science,” he said.
Dallas McInerney,head of Catholic Schools NSW,said shorter,alternative pathways into teaching for mid-career professionals were essential. “We need to work to retain the best teachers,to better train those entering the profession,and to attract those who have the qualities to be an effective teacher,” he said.
“This requires a holistic approach to developing the existing and future teacher workforce that considers the broader education ecosystem.”
A spokeswoman for the NSW Department of Education said the submission was focused on attracting people to teaching. “Teaching is an incredible career with teachers recording high levels of satisfaction with their job. This isn’t always reflected in the media or the public narrative,” she said.
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