tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/teacher-39238/articlesTeacher – The Conversation2023-11-02T12:32:47Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2139622023-11-02T12:32:47Z2023-11-02T12:32:47ZTexas tried to fix its teacher shortage by lowering requirements − the result was more new teachers, but at lower salaries<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553564/original/file-20231012-21-h6g17p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C288%2C5052%2C2592&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New research found that a 2001 Texas policy has reduced teachers' wages. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/photo/black-teacher-talking-to-students-in-class-room-royalty-free-image/166346277?phrase=teacher%2Bin%2Bhigh%2Bschool%2Bclassroom">Jon Feingersh Photography Inc/DigitalVision via Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Facing persistent teacher shortages, Texas in 2001 <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/cc.101">reduced its student teaching requirements</a> for alternative licensure programs. Our study found that these reduced teacher licensure requirements also led to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584231159900">reduced wages for all new elementary school teachers</a> over the next 20 years.</p>
<p>Previously, a new teacher license was obtained through university training and a series of standardized tests. The license signaled that an individual had undergone a specific kind of training and therefore that person’s skills were valued at a certain level by employers. Research has found that licensed professions <a href="https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.14.4.189">typically restrict</a> the number of new entrants, which maintains higher wages for their members and provides incentives for continual professional development.</p>
<p>When Texas reduced its requirements for new teachers in 2001, it helped launch a host of new alternative teacher training programs offered by providers including online companies, for-profit colleges, universities and public school systems. Therefore, candidates seeking teacher licensure could do so faster and more easily than through traditional, university-based pathways.
A decade later, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584231159900">161 separate programs</a> were licensing teachers – nearly twice as many as the 88 programs that did so in 2000. By 2007, more than half of the state’s new teachers – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584231159900">14,595</a> – were licensed through alternative pathways rather than traditional pathways.</p>
<p>In education, the theory holds that when teachers are required to take <a href="https://econpapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:27:y:2008:i:5:p:483-503">licensure exams</a>, and barriers to entry are raised, it results in fewer new teachers and higher wages. Our study found that when teacher licenses were less rigorous and easier to obtain, it resulted in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584231159900">more new teachers, but also lower wages for those teachers</a>. Our study was <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584231159900">published in AERA Open</a>, a publication of the American Educational Research Association.</p>
<p>Our study examines the base pay – adjusted for inflation – from 2000-2015 for 786,724 new teachers in approximately 1,282 districts in Texas. We found that controlling for changes in district demographics over time, after licensure requirements were relaxed, the average pay for new teachers declined annually by 2% to 13%.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Texas has had <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/bteachershortageareasreport201718.pdf">persistent teacher shortages</a> despite the 2001 policy change, which was designed to fill open positions. The official state list of teacher shortage areas in Texas – mathematics, science, special education – did not change from 1990 to 2018.</p>
<p>This indicates that the policy that lowered requirements for alternatively certified teachers did not successfully address those teacher shortages. Texas has begun to <a href="https://tea.texas.gov/texas-educators/certification/educator-testing/pre-admission-content-test">restore some requirements to get into the teaching profession</a>, such as higher GPAs and passing scores on teacher licensure exams. However, the state remains focused on producing new teachers rather than retaining the existing ones in an effort to staff schools.</p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>As the U.S. struggles nationwide to fill <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/school-districts-nationwide-struggling-to-fill-teaching-positions/#:%7E:text=According%20to%20a%20recent%20survey,schools%20report%20feeling%20generally%20understaffed.">vacant teaching positions</a> – not just in elementary school but throughout K-12 systems – our study invites states to examine whether expanding licensure programs as a singular strategy is an effective strategy to fill teacher shortages.</p>
<p>Policies that aim to increase the supply of teachers may have the unintended consequence of lowering teacher pay. This may perpetuate cycles of teacher shortages and turnover. Rapidly expanding the supply of new teachers may devalue each license and lower wages.</p>
<p>Districts may, in turn, be trapped into successive rounds of hiring teacher replacements and offering lower salaries. The focus on producing more teachers quickly and cheaply, rather than retaining those in the field, may result in outcomes that are detrimental to the profession’s health.</p>
<p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take on interesting academic work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213962/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Guthery works for the University of Oklahoma and her work has been previously supported by Texas A&M University- Commerce. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren P. Bailes works for the University of Delaware, which has funded some of her research. She has also received funding from the Spencer Foundation. </span></em></p>Researchers found that lowering restrictions for new teachers had some unintended consequences.Sarah Guthery, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies, University of OklahomaLauren P. Bailes, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership, University of DelawareLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2145642023-10-08T19:27:01Z2023-10-08T19:27:01ZAustralia’s teacher workforce has a diversity problem. Here’s how we can fix it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552218/original/file-20231005-15-wt1ybu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C59%2C4962%2C3166&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s teaching workforce does not reflect the diversity of the Australian community, a situation that has far-reaching implications for our education system. </p>
<p>As we outline in our <a href="https://education.unimelb.edu.au/mgse-industry-reports/report-7-seeing-ourselves-at-school">new research</a>, published today, teachers are predominantly Australian-born, female, and non-Indigenous.</p>
<p>Most hail from middle-class backgrounds with urban upbringings, and are less likely to have disabilities. </p>
<p>So why is this lack of diversity a problem? And what can be done to help overcome it?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-a-plan-to-fix-its-school-teacher-shortage-will-it-work-196803">Australia has a plan to fix its school teacher shortage. Will it work?</a>
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<h2>Teacher shortages and student achievement</h2>
<p>Australia is in the midst of a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-30/pandemic-exposed-australia-teacher-shortage-students-schools/101886452">teacher shortage</a>, which is affecting schools in unequal ways. </p>
<p>Schools in rural, remote areas, and those with higher levels of <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/school-agreement/report/school-agreement.pdf">disadvantage</a> have been shown to bear the brunt of this issue.</p>
<p>Our research suggests diversifying the teaching workforce can help address attaining and retaining teachers in schools and strengthen student outcomes across the board.</p>
<h2>Diversity makes a difference</h2>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11115-021-00535-3">Research</a> shows teachers from minority groups, such as teachers of colour, can increase student achievement, especially for students from the same groups.</p>
<p><a href="https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=e064c83b3b8aefbb0e9b7d5d90c09faf96987df3">Evidence</a> also suggests teachers from minority groups often hold higher expectations for their minority students compared with <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-30813-012">majority teachers</a>. For example, Black teachers tend to have higher expectations than white teachers of Black students, and students respond to this with greater effort.</p>
<p>Teachers from minority groups can act as <a href="https://unimelbcloud-my.sharepoint.com/personal/agarner1_unimelb_edu_au/Documents/Jack%20Keating%20Policy%20paper%202023-/Conversation%20article/Griffin,%20A.%20(2018).%20Our%20stories,%20our%20struggles,%20our%20strengths.">role models</a> for people from similar backgrounds. </p>
<p>Teachers from minority groups can also act as <a href="https://journal.spera.asn.au/index.php/AIJRE/article/view/194">cultural “bridges”</a> to parents and students from these groups, fostering a sense of belonging and facilitating cultural understanding among students and colleagues.</p>
<p>Teachers from minority groups are also more likely to stay in hard-to-staff schools impacted the most during a staffing crisis. </p>
<p>For example, teachers from ethnic minorities are <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0741932517733047?journalCode=rsed">more likely</a> to teach and stay in schools with many minority students, and teachers from rural areas are more likely to teach and remain in <a href="https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/ruraleducator/vol43/iss3/1/">rural schools</a>.</p>
<p>So, how can we increase the diversity of the teaching workforce?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552219/original/file-20231005-22-vut37x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552219/original/file-20231005-22-vut37x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552219/original/file-20231005-22-vut37x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552219/original/file-20231005-22-vut37x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552219/original/file-20231005-22-vut37x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552219/original/file-20231005-22-vut37x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552219/original/file-20231005-22-vut37x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552219/original/file-20231005-22-vut37x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Scholarships can help meet the costs of studying to become a teacher.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Grow-your-own programs</h2>
<p>One approach we examined in our new report is known as a “grow-your-own program”, which focus on would-be teachers already working in schools. This is where would-be teachers are given financial assistance by governments, and other support such as a mentor or study groups. Upon finishing the program, they become fully qualified teachers in their local school. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED613183.pdf">research</a> shows grow-your-own programs can increase teacher diversity and address staffing shortages. They can support people already working in hard-to-staff schools, such as teacher aides, to undertake teaching qualifications. </p>
<p>By recruiting people who already have ongoing connections with the community, grow-your-own programs produce graduates likely to take up and retain teaching positions in these communities. </p>
<p>New South Wales is currently trialling a <a href="https://education.nsw.gov.au/teach-nsw/get-paid-to-study/grow-your-own/grow-your-own---teacher-training-program">similar program</a> targeting teacher aides. The Northern Territory and Queensland also have targeted grow-your-own programs for Indigenous people.</p>
<h2>Teacher residency programs</h2>
<p>Teacher residency programs bring candidates into schools from the beginning of their training, where they are closely mentored by experienced teachers. </p>
<p>Candidates teach actively from the start while completing their teaching qualification.</p>
<p>These programs are usually focused on increasing the supply of teachers, rather than increasing diversity. </p>
<p>But since they allow people to earn an income and train at the same time, they can remove <a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA256-1.html">barriers</a>, such as the costs of full-time study, for those from minority groups.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552220/original/file-20231005-15-2tfkbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552220/original/file-20231005-15-2tfkbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552220/original/file-20231005-15-2tfkbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552220/original/file-20231005-15-2tfkbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552220/original/file-20231005-15-2tfkbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552220/original/file-20231005-15-2tfkbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552220/original/file-20231005-15-2tfkbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552220/original/file-20231005-15-2tfkbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Teacher residency programs bring candidates into schools from the beginning of their training.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>Targeted scholarships for teacher trainees</h2>
<p>Scholarships can help meet the costs of studying to become a teacher, and have been used for decades, although mostly without an emphasis on teacher diversity. </p>
<p>Australian departments of education already offer scholarships targeted to Indigenous secondary and university students who want to become teachers, or who are in teacher training.</p>
<p>We know these scholarships <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/10/10/262">do work</a> to support people into teaching and could be targeted to other minority groups as well. </p>
<h2>Building bridges between VET and teacher training</h2>
<p>Vocational education and training (VET) courses can be easier and cheaper to access than university courses. </p>
<p>For some students they feel like less of a cultural and financial “leap” than going to university. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.publicservicedegrees.org/college-resources/increasing-teacher-diversity/">Building pathways</a> between VET and teacher education courses can help diversify the teaching workforce. <a href="https://www.vu.edu.au/courses/graduate-certificate-in-education-eted">Victoria University</a> and Charles Darwin University offer good examples in Australia.</p>
<h2>Overcoming barriers</h2>
<p>Those wishing to become teachers in Australia already face several barriers. </p>
<p>One is a test known as the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education (<a href="https://teacheredtest.acer.edu.au/">LANTITE</a>), which aspiring teachers must pass. </p>
<p>While it’s important our teachers have strong literacy and numeracy skills, some people from diverse backgrounds can find tests <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1996-12938-001">threatening</a> and underperform. We need to consider whether there are alternatives that are equally valid. </p>
<p>School context and culture is also important. Encouraging a person from a minority group into teaching won’t help if the structures and cultures in the workplace don’t support them and cater for diversity. </p>
<p>School leadership, parents and students need to recognise that staff diversity strengthens the school, and support minority staff appropriately.</p>
<p>We need to make sure schools are places where diverse teachers feel valued and can flourish. </p>
<p>Policymakers and schools must recognise teacher workforce diversity is a key component of school quality.</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214564/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Suzanne Rice received funding from the Jack Keating Scholarship Fund to complete this research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alice Garner was affiliated with the Victorian Department of Education between 2014 and 2019 when employed as a secondary school teacher. During this period she was a member of the Australian Education Union. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lorraine Graham does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australia’s teachers are predominantly Australian-born, female, and non-Indigenous. Most hail from middle-class backgrounds with urban upbringings, and are less likely to have disabilities.Suzanne Rice, Senior Lecturer, Education Policy and Leadership, The University of MelbourneAlice Garner, Honorary Research Fellow, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of MelbourneLorraine Graham, Professor of Learning Intervention, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1974592023-03-20T02:17:41Z2023-03-20T02:17:41ZOld habits die hard: why teachers in Indonesia still struggle to teach critical thinking<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515704/original/file-20230316-28-rp5i7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kudus-indonesia-october-30-2015-teaching-673443058">(E. S. Nugraha/Shutterstock)</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In an increasingly digitalised and automated world, education organisations worldwide have recognised <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/fostering-students-creativity-and-critical-thinking_62212c37-en">critical thinking as a vital and valued skill</a> in the 21st century. It equips students with the ability to criticise and sift through the large amounts of information now at their fingertips, and analyse unique problems to create novel solutions.</p>
<p>In many countries, including Indonesia, critical thinking is enshrined in policy. Indonesia’s newest curriculum, for instance, dubbed “<a href="https://repositori.kemdikbud.go.id/24964/"><em>Kurikulum Merdeka</em></a>” (Freedom Curriculum) for its emphasis on personalised learning, explicitly states critical thinking as an essential quality for graduates. </p>
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Baca juga:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/thinking-about-thinking-helps-kids-learn-how-can-we-teach-critical-thinking-129795">Thinking about thinking helps kids learn. How can we teach critical thinking?</a>
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<p>One of Indonesia’s <a href="https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Home/Details/5025/pp-no-17-tahun-2010">first policies</a> that specifically mandated Indonesian teachers to embed critical thinking in their classroom was enacted in 2010 – more than a decade ago.</p>
<p>Yet despite the existence of such policies, <a href="https://journal.uinjkt.ac.id/index.php/ijee/article/view/26673">our recent study</a> finds that many Indonesian teachers still struggle to teach and cultivate the skill. </p>
<p>Though awareness of critical thinking is high, when teaching the skill, teachers still fall back on <a href="https://theconversation.com/asesmen-pengganti-un-akan-tetap-jadi-momok-jika-%20guru-dan-sekolah-masih-pegang-budaya-tes-155135">old habits ingrained in Indonesian education</a>. This includes a culture of rote learning (lessons based on memorizing information) and “teaching to test”.</p>
<p>In the latest <a href="https://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisa-2015-results-in-focus.pdf">Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests</a> in 2018, Indonesian students ranked within the <a href="https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/pisa-2018-results.htm">bottom ten out of nearly 80 participating countries</a>. They attained very low marks in a number of critical thinking-related indicators – namely literacy and numeracy. </p>
<h2>Old habits die hard</h2>
<p>One reason for this problem lies in the questions Indonesian teachers pose in their classrooms.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Thinking-Skills-and-Creativity-in-Second-Language-Education-Case-Studies/Li/p/book/9781138297944">our study of English classrooms</a> in a number of Indonesian high schools, we found that instead of <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315169378/education-spite-policy-robin-alexander">encouraging students to think and reflect</a>, teachers strictly follow an “initiate-respond-evaluate” pattern of instruction. In other words, teachers stick to merely “testing” or “quizzing” students and telling them whether the answer is correct.</p>
<p>This sort of teaching mentality is still pervasive in Indonesia. Teachers have long been expected to prepare students for high-stakes, largely multiple choice exams, such as the National Exams (<em>Ujian Nasional</em>). </p>
<p>Though Indonesia’s education ministry stopped these exams – first introduced in 1965 – in 2020, their <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjF98Dw9I7vAhUCU30KHYaaDmUQFjAAegQIAhAD&url=https%3A%2F%2Fresearcharchive.vuw.ac.nz%2Fxmlui%2Fbitstream%2Fhandle%2F10063%2F3201%2Fthesis.pdf%3Fsequence%3D2&usg=AOvVaw00awPyyFdCG0iL248o9NJK">55-year effects</a> still linger among teachers.</p>
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Baca juga:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pisa-inspired-tests-will-replace-indonesias-national-exams-in-2021-how-should-they-be-implemented-129462">PISA-inspired tests will replace Indonesia's national exams in 2021: how should they be implemented?</a>
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<p>For instance, in addition to introducing learning objectives for critical thinking, the government also <a href="https://theconversation.com/pisa-inspired-tests-will-replace-indonesias-national-exams-in-2021-how-should-they-be-implemented-129462">established a new PISA-like assessment</a> to replace the old exams. These were low-stakes tests and used strictly for measuring and evaluating the progress of students’ learning nationwide.</p>
<p>In response, however, teachers still focused on ensuring students could ace these <a href="https://theconversation.com/asesmen-pengganti-un-akan-tetap-jadi-momok-jika-%20guru-dan-sekolah-masih-pegang-budaya-tes-155135">new standards and evaluations</a> with high marks. The assessment methods changed, but the testing mentality remained.</p>
<p>This obsession with high scores and right answers is not compatible with teaching for critical thinking, which requires students to apply, analyse, evaluate and create solutions to problems.</p>
<p>Another finding in <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Thinking-Skills-and-Creativity-in-Second-Language-Education-Case-Studies/Li/p/book/9781138297944">our study</a> is that teachers often miss out on opportunities to promote critical thinking in their questioning activity. As they are stuck in these initiate-respond-evaluate patterns, after evaluating students’ responses, teachers quickly move on to next questions instead of allowing further and richer discussion to emerge.</p>
<p>This also deters students from asking questions and <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315169378/education-spite-policy-robin-alexander">positions them as passive recipients</a> of knowledge. Since students are fully aware teachers will evaluate their answers, they feel uncomfortable about participating in classroom activities.</p>
<h2>The fault doesn’t just lie with teachers</h2>
<p>Although the government has included critical thinking as learning objectives for students, traces of the testing mentality are also still evident in recent education policies aimed at fostering the skill.</p>
<p>In the current curriculum, teachers are tasked to design sets of questions to engage students’ analytical cognition – commonly known among teachers as “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0034654314551063">Higher Order Thinking Skills</a>”. But the goal is still assessing (rather than teaching) students.</p>
<p>Indonesian policymakers seem to think fostering critical thinking merely means extending classic test-type questions beyond basic memorisation of facts and figures, to slightly more complex exam questions. </p>
<p>Studies suggest this type of thinking is common among <a href="https://www.proquest.com/openview/e6b77ae81591916d308524d25d7a7e83/1.pdf?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=47978">outcome-based education systems</a> such as Indonesia.</p>
<h2>How to improve critical thinking instruction</h2>
<p>A better understanding of critical thinking is required – one that requires students to consider alternatives, find solutions to problems and be able to explain their reasoning.</p>
<p>But for this to flourish, a supportive and safe classroom climate is essential. Students <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0034654314551063">need opportunities</a> to express their ideas and voice their opinions and concerns. They must engage in open and reflective dialogue with each other and their teachers.</p>
<p>In our ongoing research, we are currently collaborating with select teachers in West Java to experiment with project-based learning. </p>
<p>One classroom, for instance, drew students to discuss and reflect on certain social issues in preparation for a podcast project.</p>
<p>Through active groupwork and peer work, teachers dismantle the traditional initiate-respond-evaluate pattern, positioning students rather than themselves as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08957347.2013.793190">the focal point</a> of the class. </p>
<p>Students independently research issues and develop their own podcasts to critically reflect on the causes and effects of selected social issues and to offer well-reasoned solutions.</p>
<p>Traditional teacher-centric instruction <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Thinking-Skills-and-Creativity-in-Second-Language-Education-Case-Studies/Li/p/book/9781138297944">has its benefits</a> in terms of easier classroom management. But critical thinking needs a more democratic and inclusive learning environment. This way, students are more engaged with thought-provoking concepts.</p>
<p>The permanent discontinuation of the National Exams in 2020 is a milestone that will hopefully be the start of ending the pervasive testing culture in Indonesian education. Now teachers must develop new strategies to engage their students in critical thinking.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197459/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Para penulis tidak bekerja, menjadi konsultan, memiliki saham atau menerima dana dari perusahaan atau organisasi mana pun yang akan mengambil untung dari artikel ini, dan telah mengungkapkan bahwa ia tidak memiliki afiliasi di luar afiliasi akademis yang telah disebut di atas.</span></em></p>When teaching critical thinking, teachers still fall back on old habits ingrained in Indonesian education. This includes a culture of rote learning and “teaching to test”.Maya Defianty, Dosen di Fakultas Ilmu Pendidikan dan Tarbiyah (FITK), UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta, Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah JakartaKate Wilson, Adjunct Associate Professor, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1448542020-11-08T19:04:56Z2020-11-08T19:04:56ZIs learning more important than well-being? Teachers told us how COVID highlighted ethical dilemmas at school<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361534/original/file-20201005-16-1l9jvwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-woman-teacher-she-sitting-looks-351401795">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As an <a href="https://educationalethics.org/">educational ethicist</a>, I research teachers’ ethical obligations. These can include their personal ethics such as protecting students from harm, respect for justice and truth, and professional norms like social conformity, collegial loyalty and personal well-being.</p>
<p>Moral tensions in schools can come about when certain categories of norms conflict with each other. For example, sometimes students’ best interests are pitted against available resources. These present difficult decisions for the teacher, the school community and its leaders. </p>
<p>As part of a <a href="https://www.justiceinschools.org/event/educational-ethics-during-global-pandemic-discussion-group-research-study-educators">global study</a> on educational ethics during the pandemic, I conducted focus groups with Australian childcare, preschool, primary and secondary school teachers to find out what ethical issues were most pressing for them.</p>
<p>Below are three ways in which the pandemic highlighted existing tensions between ethical priorities.</p>
<h2>1. Student well-being versus learning</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/national-policy-framework/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers.pdf">Australian Professional Standards for Teachers</a> emphasise student well-being is important to learning. But they note teachers’ main priority is making sure the student learns at their stage of the <a href="https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/">Australian National Curriculum</a>. </p>
<p>During COVID, this flipped and well-being took precedence. A primary school teacher told me:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s the first time in my teaching career where the learning became a low priority, and well-being took over … if we could keep them chugging along, that was good enough.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>An Aboriginal-identifying teacher who shared their strong cultural background with students said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>… a lot of the Aboriginal students … didn’t have access to … resources. And so there was already this disconnect that became even wider by the time they had to learn from home … Some students were not able to complete the work that I was putting on the online forum because they were caring for little brothers and sisters when they were at home … or home life was extremely volatile …</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A secondary school teacher said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There were certain students that we were made aware of by the well-being coordinators that we weren’t to make contact with. If there were more extenuating circumstances in the life of the child then we weren’t to … exacerbate that by sending emails home about them not completing work … </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Some teachers found it particularly difficult to identify students at heightened risk and to put in place their duty of care requirements. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-workload-was-intense-what-parents-told-us-about-remote-learning-146297">'The workload was intense': what parents told us about remote learning</a>
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<p>A public primary school principal in a low socioeconomic area said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We had a couple of instances where we would have had more contact with family, community services and since (then) we have heard stories of what happened when the children weren’t coming to school … we would have made an instant call to DOCS [Department of Community Services], but because we weren’t having that day to day contact we didn’t know. A lot of those things were hidden, very serious issues.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>2. Government policy versus staff well-being</h2>
<p>Leading teachers and principals found the tension between their personal safety and that of their colleagues were often in conflict with a lag in institutional directives. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367891/original/file-20201106-21-10m6vv5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Textbooks, a mask and sanitiser on a teacher's desk." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367891/original/file-20201106-21-10m6vv5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367891/original/file-20201106-21-10m6vv5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367891/original/file-20201106-21-10m6vv5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367891/original/file-20201106-21-10m6vv5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367891/original/file-20201106-21-10m6vv5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367891/original/file-20201106-21-10m6vv5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367891/original/file-20201106-21-10m6vv5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Education departments often put out instructions long after principals felt the safety of their staff was compromised.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/search/schools+social+distancin">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>For instance, on March 25 The <a href="https://news.nswtf.org.au/blog/media-release/2020/03/media-release-normal-school-operations-must-end-put-health-and-safety-students-and-staff-first">NSW Teachers’ Federation</a> urged the education department to immediately prioritise the safety of staff and students. </p>
<p>But the department took time to mandate social distancing measures, school closures and learning from home. In the meantime principals were on alert for risk management, anticipating directives for extensive social distancing, such as cancelling school assemblies, before being instructed to do so. </p>
<p>One public school principal said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The federation is telling us this. The department is telling us that … I would make a decision and then a couple of weeks later … the department would come up with the same strict instructions … it was the well-being of the staff first for me … even to the point where we sent the kids home for the first week with no learning … the second that one child comes to school and catches COVID, then I’m not going to be able to live with myself.</p>
</blockquote>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-had-no-sanitiser-no-soap-and-minimal-toilet-paper-heres-how-teachers-feel-about-going-back-to-the-classroom-138600">'We had no sanitiser, no soap and minimal toilet paper': here's how teachers feel about going back to the classroom</a>
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<p>But it wasn’t the same in all schools. A primary school teacher in a bushfire affected area reflected on the decisions made by the principal.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m trying to be diplomatic … We were very slow to engage with kids who were starting to be kept home from school. And we were very slow for teachers to be able to work from home and we were very quick to come back to … school … We have a parent who worked at the local high school saying, ‘Oh, yeah, we’ve been working at home all week’. We haven’t even been told that’s a possibility …</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>3. Personal well-being versus professional integrity</h2>
<p>A teacher’s professional integrity is how they evaluate the alignment between the expectations of their role and their values. When a schism arises, it throws into question some core professional values. </p>
<p>One public school principal’s integrity had an extremely high bar.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’ll be really honest, despite all of the warnings and all of the advice, my own well-being was my last priority. And the ethical dilemma for me was, I can’t look after myself because I’ve got so many other people to look after first, despite all the warnings, despite all the advice.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Teachers reported the personal cost of changing work arrangements into remote settings, concerned about how they were to fulfil their professional integrity to provide the kind of meaningful interactions students needed. </p>
<p>A secondary Catholic school teacher said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Remote learning really threw me off balance and I struggled to find myself and how I fit into that situation … I had to learn to let go and … work out what is really important.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>For the next generation of teachers, the dilemma was more about how to set boundaries in an emerging professional identity. </p>
<p>One early career public secondary teacher said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I did go out of my way to with my Year 11s, them being my most senior year … Which did bring up the ethical thing … there were times I would get a message at one o'clock and I’d be up but I’d say, I’m not answering that, I’m not looking at it. I’m looking at it in the morning. That’s too much in each other’s heads. And, yeah, the barriers were tough.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>An experienced secondary teacher in an International Baccalaureate school said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I was working sending emails at midnight, and getting up three hours before my lessons to try and make sure that the platform is working … and obviously all my lessons that I plan had to be then turned into online lessons. So that takes a whole other weekend for everything … I got WhatsApp messages at all hours … </p>
</blockquote>
<p>She said students sent her emails to thank her for the commitment. She realised it was a toxic message to send, and that implied this should be the norm for teachers. While teaching is a generous profession, COVID highlighted the expectations on their generosity.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/exhausted-beyond-measure-what-teachers-are-saying-about-covid-19-and-the-disruption-to-education-143601">'Exhausted beyond measure': what teachers are saying about COVID-19 and the disruption to education</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144854/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniella J. Forster does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An educational ethicist talked to teachers about what ethical issues were most pressing during COVID. Here are the three that featured most.Daniella J. Forster, Senior Lecturer, Educational ethics and philosophies, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1257522019-11-13T15:27:10Z2019-11-13T15:27:10ZSouth Africa must up its game and produce more teachers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300443/original/file-20191106-12470-1g0cbcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South Africa isn't producing enough teachers to meet the demand. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A UNESCO <a href="http://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/new-methodology-shows-258-million-children-adolescents-and-youth-are-out-school.pdf">report</a>, which examined the number of teachers that each country needs, found that sub-Saharan Africa needs an additional 6,3 million teachers if it’s to attain universal primary education by 2030. </p>
<p>The Centre for Development and Enterprise <a href="https://www.cde.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Teacher-Supply-and-Demand-2013-2025-Full-Report-March2015-CDE.pdf">predicted</a> that South Africa will need to have 456,000 teachers by 2025 to offer quality education. According to the Department of Basic Education, South Africa’s public education system has <a href="https://www.gov.za/speeches/pubilc-education-system-1-oct-2018-0000">410,000 teachers</a>. These teachers are employed in approximately 25,000 schools across the country and are responsible for teaching 12.9 million pupils. </p>
<p>South Africa doesn’t graduate the adequate number of teachers to meet the supply and demand. Currently, the country’s initial teacher institutions graduate <a href="http://www.ngopulse.org/press-release/south-africa-needs-thousands-more-and-better-teachers-every-year">15,000</a> new teachers per year. This is below the 25,000 mark required to maintain an effective teacher-pupil ratio. </p>
<p>But between 18,000 and 22,000 teachers <a href="http://www.hsrc.ac.za/uploads/pageContent/2702/RESDI%20newsletter,%20November%202010%20issue.pdf">leave</a> the profession every year. This figure is higher than teachers who join the profession. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.education.gov.za/Portals/0/Documents/Reports/2018%20Talis%20South%20Africa%20Country%20Note%20Final.pdf?ver=2019-07-02-090156-000">Teaching and Learning International Survey</a> published in July 2019 found that the average age of the South African teacher was 43 years. The survey also found that 32% of teachers were aged 50 and above. This means that in the next decade almost half of the current teaching workforce will have to be replaced. </p>
<p>In addition, South Africa is particularly <a href="http://www.ngopulse.org/press-release/south-africa-needs-thousands-more-and-better-teachers-every-year">lagging</a> in producing teachers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. </p>
<p>Teachers are regarded as the essential drivers of a good quality education system. If South Africa can’t successfully recruit, retain, and train enough suitably qualified teachers it won’t be able to provide quality education to the citizens to meet the country’s social and economic needs. </p>
<h2>The challenges</h2>
<p>There are a number of contributors to the country’s <a href="http://www.hsrc.ac.za/uploads/pageContent/2702/RESDI%20newsletter,%20November%202010%20issue.pdf">escalating</a> teacher shortage. These include: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Increased pupil <a href="https://www.cde.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Teacher-Supply-and-Demand-2013-2025-Technical-Report-March2015-CDE.pdf">enrolments</a>. The number of pupils is expected to rise from some 12.4 million in 2013 to 13.4 million in 2023. On paper, and drawn from current demographic statistics, learner enrolment in South Africa is projected to decrease from 2023 onwards. However, such projections don’t include undocumented migrants and refugee seekers who contribute to an unanticipated increase in <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2019-07-02-rights-commission-wants-in-on-undocumented-children-court-case/">school enrolments</a>.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://www.krepublishers.com/02-Journals/JSS/JSS-36-0-000-13-Web/JSS-36-3-000-13-PDF-Abst/JSS-36-3-309-13-1394-Pitsoe-V-J/JSS-36-3-309-13-1394-Pitsoe-V-J%5BTx%5B8%5D.pmd.pdf">Challenging working conditions</a>, which include lack of facilities for teaching, overcrowded classrooms, inadequate incentives, poor parental participation and policy overload. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>There’s also an oversupply of teachers in <a href="https://apanews.net/en/news/safrican-students-face-unqualified-under-qualified-teachers">certain subjects</a> and also in certain geographical locations – such teachers are at times not absorbed by the system. There’s also a shortage of qualified teachers to teach content subjects in specific languages, for example, teaching life sciences in Afrikaans, <a href="https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/548/612">foundation phase</a>, and <a href="https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/south-africa/2019-10-15-theres-shortage-of-teachers-at-gauteng-technical-schools/">technical subjects</a>. </p>
<p>In some instances, teachers may not be willing to teach in township and rural schools. Even in rare cases where teachers are willing to teach in rural areas or resource-constrained schools, their teacher education and training <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2018-01-26-00-varsity-doesnt-prepare-us-to-teach-in-rural-areas">doesn’t prepare them</a> on how to facilitate teaching and learning in rural environments.</p>
<h2>What needs to be done</h2>
<p>To solve this shortage of teachers in the short term would require the country to tap into a pool of experienced teachers who are willing and qualified to re-enter the teaching profession. The country also needs to provide <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12134-018-00649-6.pdf">better incentives</a> to teachers, such as better working conditions, job security, motivation and safety.</p>
<p>South Africa employs a considerable number of <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12134-018-00649-6.pdf">migrant teachers</a> who help alleviate teacher shortages. But a more strategic plan needs to be developed, especially for scarce and critical skill subjects such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics. </p>
<p>Such a plan will allow the Department of Basic Education to recruit teachers from neighbouring countries while developing capacity to replace migrant teachers. A longer-term view needs to look into investing resources in initial teacher education through funding of student teachers. </p>
<p>In 2017 the largest <a href="https://educonnect.co.za/informed-impact-free-education/">reallocation of resources</a> towards the government’s priorities was for higher education and training. This amounted to an additional R57 billion to fund the phasing in of fee-free tertiary education. This was in addition to the R10 billion provisionally allocated in the 2017 budget.</p>
<p>Those students should then enter into service contracts with the Department of Basic Education for a certain period. Currently the government has the <a href="http://www.funzalushaka.doe.gov.za/background_info.jsp">Funza Lushaka Bursary Programme</a> which supports teaching studies and is made available to qualified students to complete a teaching degree. Bursary recipients are then required to teach at public schools equivalent to the duration of bursary received. There’s still a need for a robust evaluation of the Funza Lushaka Bursary Programme, however, there are <a href="https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/funza-lushaka-bursary-programme-be-retained">indications</a> that it’s making a positive difference in the public schooling system. </p>
<p>South Africa should also expand distance education to enable student teachers to learn while working to sustain themselves and support their families. The education system must create conducive working conditions, which will ensure the retention of teachers, especially those with the most experience and with scarce skills. And finally, teachers in oversubscribed subjects need to be re-skilled so that they can teach in areas where there is a shortage.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125752/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>What South Africa needs to do to recruit the number of teachers needed to offer quality education.Mncedisi Maphalala, Professor and Dean, Faculty of Education, University of ZululandNhlanhla Mpofu, Senior Lecturer, University of the Free StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1219842019-09-08T20:00:16Z2019-09-08T20:00:16ZFewer casual positions and less out-of-hours work could help retain early career teachers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290612/original/file-20190903-175691-1nxt6qx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=124%2C488%2C4283%2C2933&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's estimated up to 50% of teachers leave the profession within five years of graduating.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/VCoscaron </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia, like many other countries, is grappling with the problem of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13540602.2017.1360860" title="International teacher attrition: multiperspective views">how to keep good teachers</a> in schools, especially those who are <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13664530.2014.945129" title="Early career teacher attrition: new thoughts on an intractable problem">early in their careers</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0004944117752478" title="Early career teacher attrition in Australia: evidence, definition, classification and measurement">Accurate data</a> on the attrition are not available, but it’s estimated <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13664530.2014.945129">up to 50% of teachers</a> leave the profession within five years of graduating.</p>
<p>This is a serious issue for a number of reasons we outline in our new book, <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-13-8621-3_1" title="Attracting and Keeping the Best Teachers">Attracting and Keeping the Best Teachers</a>, out this month.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/three-charts-on-teachers-pay-in-australia-it-starts-out-ok-but-goes-downhill-pretty-quickly-122782">Three charts on teachers' pay in Australia: it starts out OK, but goes downhill pretty quickly</a>
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<h2>A waste of time, effort and resources</h2>
<p>Educating teachers who leave the profession early is a wasteful and inefficient use of public funds. Educational funding is diverted from school resources and facilities to recruitment and replacement.</p>
<p>Schools lose the expertise of new, high-achieving graduates and are destabilised and disrupted by any high staff turnover. Student learning can be compromised by this churn. It takes time for students to build relationships and adjust to learning with new teachers who are not guaranteed to be as expert as the ones they are replacing.</p>
<p>As for the early career teachers, the costs can be high in terms of the social, emotional, economic and (potentially) geographic dislocation that can occur when a graduate’s personal and career aspirations are damaged due to their decision to leave the teaching profession.</p>
<p>This issue is becoming more serious in Australia because we are experiencing early signs of a teacher supply problem. For example, <a href="https://theconversation.com/seven-reasons-people-no-longer-want-to-be-teachers-94580">fewer people</a> are being attracted to a career in teaching.</p>
<p>There are <a href="https://research.acer.edu.au/policyinsights/2/" title="The Teacher workforce in Australia: Supply, demand and data issues">growing shortages</a> of teachers in specific subject areas such as mathematics and science.</p>
<p>There is also an increasing <a href="https://research.acer.edu.au/policyinsights/2/" title="The Teacher workforce in Australia: Supply, demand and data issues">difficulty in recruiting</a> teachers to schools in rural and remote regions, or in communities facing significant social and economic challenges.</p>
<p>If we don’t find ways to keep good teachers, it’s likely the system will have to cope with teacher shortages by <a href="https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/coming-crisis-teaching" title="A Coming Crisis in Teaching? Teacher Supply, Demand, and Shortages in the U.S.">increasing class sizes</a>, <a href="https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7222" title="Teacher recruitment and retention in England">recruiting less qualified teachers</a> and allocating teachers to teach <a href="https://research.acer.edu.au/policyinsights/6/" title="Out-of-field teaching in Australian secondary schools">outside of their field</a> of expertise.</p>
<p>Clearly, these ways of addressing a lack of teachers undermine the quality of education.</p>
<p>So we need to find ways to prevent good teachers from leaving the profession for the wrong reasons.</p>
<h2>How to keep early career teachers</h2>
<p>Our recent <a href="https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9789811386206" title="Attracting and Keeping the Best Teachers">compilation of research</a> from a group of international scholars offers new ways to retain early career teachers. Two related workforce development strategies stand out from this work.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291208/original/file-20190906-175663-q1zzwu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291208/original/file-20190906-175663-q1zzwu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291208/original/file-20190906-175663-q1zzwu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291208/original/file-20190906-175663-q1zzwu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291208/original/file-20190906-175663-q1zzwu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291208/original/file-20190906-175663-q1zzwu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291208/original/file-20190906-175663-q1zzwu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291208/original/file-20190906-175663-q1zzwu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Available as an ebook and in hardcover.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-13-8621-3_1">Springer</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s well known many early career teachers begin their working lives in <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-13-8621-3_9" title="Reforming Replacement Teaching: A Game Changer for the Development of Early Career Teaching?">insecure, casual work</a>. This entrance into teaching often comes with low wages and few opportunities for the mentoring and other support that more securely employed teachers might experience.</p>
<p>In one contribution in our book, University of Canberra education researcher Barbara Preston’s argument is simple – rather than relying on new graduates to fill the (increasing) demand for casual work, workforce strategies should instead look to:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>develop more robust ways to model the supply and demand for teachers</p></li>
<li><p>reduce the overall number of casual positions needed to staff schools by appointing more permanent teachers</p></li>
<li><p>professionalise relief and casual work by looking to create forms of permanent casual employment that are attractive for more senior teachers to take up (for example, as part of a transition to retirement)</p></li>
<li><p>regulate the forms of employment that can be undertaken by early career teachers.</p></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-13-8621-3_6" title="How School Leaders Attract, Recruit, Develop and Retain the Early Career Teachers They Want">Our research</a> confirms that principals also play a crucial role in shaping what work is like for early career teachers. </p>
<p>For example, principals can think about the spaces allocated to new teachers in staff rooms. It’s important to have spaces that are inviting, make teachers feel welcome and where they can talk or engage in the private work they need to do for classes. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1359866X.2010.542234" title="Professional learning places and spaces: the staffroom as a site of beginning teacher induction and transition">Staff rooms</a> are also places where a lot of professional knowledge is exchanged and where new teachers can access the “know how” of more experienced teachers. These are important places where early career teachers can relax, take time out and refresh themselves for the next part of their busy day. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/teachers-who-feel-appreciated-are-less-likely-to-leave-the-profession-89864">Teachers who feel appreciated are less likely to leave the profession</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Principals can also restrict the extra work new teachers are asked to do out of the classroom, and position early career teachers as assets to their staff and the wider school community.</p>
<p>All these actions matter. They affect the relationships early career teachers build with their employer and subsequently have an impact on their view of the profession as a sustainable career choice.</p>
<p>We believe these human resource strategies will support early career teacher retention and reduce the attrition rate.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121984/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michele Simons receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC). This publication is an outcome of research funded by an ARC Linkage Grant and by the Principals Australia Institute. She is Vice President of the Australian Council of Deans of Education and a Director on the Board of the Media Centre for Education Research Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna Sullivan receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC). This publication is an outcome of research funded by an ARC Linkage Grant and by the Principals Australia Institute. She is Board Chair and Director of the Media Centre for Education Research Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruce Johnson receives funding from the Australian Research Council. This article is an outcome of research funded by an ARC Linkage Grant and by the Principals Australia Institute.</span></em></p>If we don’t find ways to keep new teachers in schools then we face a teacher shortage, larger class sizes and more people teaching outside their field of expertise.Michele Simons, Dean of Education, Western Sydney UniversityAnna Sullivan, Associate Professor of Education, University of South AustraliaBruce Johnson, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1227822019-09-02T19:52:34Z2019-09-02T19:52:34ZThree charts on teachers’ pay in Australia: it starts out OK, but goes downhill pretty quickly<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290452/original/file-20190902-175705-gc8v32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=30%2C495%2C4255%2C2398&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If you want to earn a high income in Australia, you’re often better off having no degree than having a bachelor degree in teaching.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Monkey Business Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Depending on who you ask, our teachers are either some of the <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/education/longer-hours-but-aussie-teachers---among-best-paid-says-oecd/news-story/4fc17d1e3eed42a95e1fae6d490911ff">best paid</a> in the world, or they’re <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/why-we-need-to-pay-teachers-more-20160602-gp9j9g.html">underpaid</a>.</p>
<p>Here are the facts: Australian teachers get a very decent starting salary, but their pay quickly falls behind that of other professionals.</p>
<p>Getting teacher pay right is crucial to attracting the best and brightest to the classroom, so it’s important to debunk a few myths.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/better-pay-and-more-challenge-heres-how-to-get-our-top-students-to-become-teachers-122271">Better pay and more challenge: here's how to get our top students to become teachers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How to measure a teacher’s pay</h2>
<p>We should not fall into the trap of comparing Australia’s teacher salaries to other countries using dollar amounts, even after taking account of the cost of living. Australia is a rich country. Our incomes are relatively high, and our education system is competing with other industries to attract the best talent.</p>
<p>Chart 1 compares teachers’ pay with the pay of similar-aged professionals in Australia. Chart 2 shows how those numbers compare to other countries. </p>
<p>But average pay is not the only factor, so Chart 3 looks at what opportunity there is for Australian teachers to earn a very high income.</p>
<h2>Young teachers are paid well, but expertise is not rewarded</h2>
<p>The starting full-time salary for a classroom teacher in most Australian <a href="https://www.nswtf.org.au/files/schools_and_saturday_schools_award_381_ig_237.pdf">states</a> is between $65,000 and $70,000, based on every enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) we examined. </p>
<p>That’s reasonably competitive with the starting salary of a graduate with an engineering, commerce, or law degree, and has been <a href="http://ftp.iza.org/dp12027.pdf">improving</a> over the past 15 years.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290420/original/file-20190902-166014-1lebg99.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290420/original/file-20190902-166014-1lebg99.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290420/original/file-20190902-166014-1lebg99.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290420/original/file-20190902-166014-1lebg99.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290420/original/file-20190902-166014-1lebg99.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290420/original/file-20190902-166014-1lebg99.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290420/original/file-20190902-166014-1lebg99.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290420/original/file-20190902-166014-1lebg99.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Includes people who studied a teaching degree but now work as principals. ‘No degree’ includes all levels of education below bachelor. Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (2016 Census)</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/censushome.nsf/home/tablebuilder?opendocument&navpos=240">Grattan Institute</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The trouble is that teacher pay doesn’t rise much with age or expertise. The pay scale for a classroom teacher stops rising after about nine years, while the incomes of their university educated peers in other professions keep rising well into their 30s and 40s.</p>
<p>It’s not like this in every country. Other countries reward teacher expertise with higher pay relative to other professionals. So while Australia’s pay for young secondary teachers <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/education-at-a-glance-2018_eag-2018-en">is in the top half</a> of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, Australia’s pay for older secondary teachers is in the bottom half.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290424/original/file-20190902-165981-1iwoex9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290424/original/file-20190902-165981-1iwoex9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290424/original/file-20190902-165981-1iwoex9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290424/original/file-20190902-165981-1iwoex9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290424/original/file-20190902-165981-1iwoex9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290424/original/file-20190902-165981-1iwoex9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290424/original/file-20190902-165981-1iwoex9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290424/original/file-20190902-165981-1iwoex9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Most countries’ figures are from 2016 but some are from 2015. Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report, Education at a Glance (2018).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance/">Grattan Institute</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Any high-income Australian teachers?</h2>
<p>People with a teaching degree in Australia have almost no chance of earning a very high income. </p>
<p>More than a third of engineering or commerce graduates in their 40s working full-time earn more than $3,000 a week ($156,000 a year).</p>
<p>But for graduates with a teaching degree, that figure is only 2.3%. As Chart 3 shows, if you want to earn a really high income in Australia, you’re often better off having no degree than having a bachelor degree in teaching.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290429/original/file-20190902-166009-vwfoyk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290429/original/file-20190902-166009-vwfoyk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290429/original/file-20190902-166009-vwfoyk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290429/original/file-20190902-166009-vwfoyk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290429/original/file-20190902-166009-vwfoyk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290429/original/file-20190902-166009-vwfoyk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290429/original/file-20190902-166009-vwfoyk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290429/original/file-20190902-166009-vwfoyk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Includes people whose work is unrelated to their degree. $156,000 is chosen because it is the highest income bracket in the Census. Doctors are much more likely to earn more than $156,000, but ‘medical studies’ also includes some other degrees. Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (2016 Census).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Grattan Institute</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Teacher pay matters. Most young people who did well at school are interested in becoming a teacher – but most of them are turned off by the big financial sacrifices teaching involves.</p>
<p>A Grattan Institute <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/attracting-high-achievers-to-teaching/">survey</a> of almost 1,000 young high achievers (aged 18-25 and with an ATAR of 80 or higher) found about 70% said they would be willing to give teaching a go.</p>
<p>But university enrolment data show that only about 3% of high achievers actually choose teaching for their undergraduate studies.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-make-good-arguments-at-school-and-everywhere-else-121305">How to make good arguments at school (and everywhere else)</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Our new report, <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/attracting-high-achievers-to-teaching/">Attracting high achievers to teaching</a>, proposes a $1.6 billion-a-year reform package for government schools to double the number of high-achieving young people who choose to become teachers within a decade.</p>
<p>The package includes $10,000-a-year scholarships for high achievers who take up teaching, and new career paths for expert teachers with pay of up to $180,000 a year. That’s about $80,000 more than the current highest standard pay rate for teachers in Australia.</p>
<p>If governments were to implement our blueprint, it would send a strong message to Australia’s best and brightest – if you want a challenging career where expertise is celebrated and paid accordingly, choose teaching.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122782/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Grattan Institute began with contributions to its endowment of $15 million from each of the Federal and Victorian Governments. In order to safeguard its independence, Grattan Institute’s board controls this endowment. The funds are invested and Grattan uses the income to pursue its activities.</span></em></p>Teachers get paid a decent starting salary but they soon fall behind other professionals the longer they stay in the job.Jonathan Nolan, Associate, Grattan InstituteJulie Sonnemann, Fellow, Grattan InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1095692019-01-20T18:54:26Z2019-01-20T18:54:26ZWhy are teachers mostly female? Because men get better pay in other professions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254440/original/file-20190118-100273-1et8dqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Men and women face different trade-offs when choosing careers.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Women are considerably over-represented in the teaching profession. Recent data show, among recent Australian university graduates, 97% of pre-primary teachers, 85% of primary teachers and 68% of secondary teachers are female. Similarly, large proportions of women in teaching are also observed <a href="https://data.oecd.org/teachers/women-teachers.htm#indicator-chart">across the OECD</a>. </p>
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<p><iframe id="kNCax" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/kNCax/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
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<p>The share of male teachers in Australia has been <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272775717303278">declining since 1977</a>. What can explain this notable and persistent gender imbalance? Generally, it’s attributed to gender differences in occupational preferences and social roles. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/male-teachers-are-an-endangered-species-in-australia-new-research-83464">Male teachers are an endangered species in Australia: new research</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>But our <a href="http://ftp.iza.org/dp12027.pdf">research</a> suggests economic forces may be a key contributing factor. Understanding and addressing the reasons for the gender imbalance in teaching is important. It represents a distortion in this particular labour market. It could also send and perpetuate unhelpful signals about the career aspirations of men and women, to the detriment of both.</p>
<h2>“It’s the labour market, silly!”</h2>
<p>In a recent <a href="http://ftp.iza.org/dp12027.pdf">paper</a>, we considered whether women (and men) choose to become teachers in line with or in spite of economic incentives. In the context of Australia, <a href="http://andrewleigh.org/pdf/performancepay.pdf">research</a> <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f63d/3548b2f65a8dd9b68d9e46d93dbb6850cdb4.pdf">shows</a> the quality of people who choose to go into teaching responds to the relative wage distribution in the labour market. In other words, a higher wage attracts better quality teachers. </p>
<p>Our analysis investigated whether the gender composition in teaching reflects the relative wage distributions for women and men. In particular, we compared the salaries of women choosing to become teachers to that of women choosing other professions. We also carried out a similar analysis for men. </p>
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<p><iframe id="ulk05" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/ulk05/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
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<p>This approach helps explain the observed gender distribution. For men, the opportunity cost of becoming a teacher relative to choosing another profession is high. Men give up a higher potential salary by choosing teaching over a non-teaching career. </p>
<p>For women, the opposite occurs. Average salaries are lower in non-teaching occupations, so the choice to become a teacher comes at a substantially lower opportunity cost. It can even be a more profitable career choice than others because for women with a Bachelor of Arts (BA), teaching is one of the best paying jobs. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-support-more-men-to-become-primary-teachers-86775">We need to support more men to become primary teachers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This suggests wage structures in the labour market underpin occupational choices. Men and women face different trade-offs and opportunity costs when choosing careers. This may contribute to the observed concentration of women – or <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09540250802190156">feminisation</a> — in certain occupations. </p>
<p>Clearly, the concentration of women in teaching is problematic from a gender equality perspective. Parents, students and schools value the exposure to a diverse workforce that is more representative of society. </p>
<h2>What can be done to attract more men to teaching?</h2>
<p>A seemingly obvious solution is to increase teachers’ salaries across the board. But this may, in fact, raise the concentration of women in teaching even more. Higher salaries would further increase the returns in teaching relative to other professions for women. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254453/original/file-20190118-100270-18hv4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254453/original/file-20190118-100270-18hv4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254453/original/file-20190118-100270-18hv4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254453/original/file-20190118-100270-18hv4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254453/original/file-20190118-100270-18hv4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254453/original/file-20190118-100270-18hv4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254453/original/file-20190118-100270-18hv4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Raising salaries for all teachers wouldn’t necessarily encourage more men to go into teaching.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But it would have a small or negligible impact on the returns for men. Men would continue to be attracted to the higher salaries in professions other than teaching. </p>
<p>Efforts to raise the share of male teachers are likely to have limited success until the underlying structural economic incentives are addressed. That is, the higher wages in non-teaching jobs, which tend to pull men away from teaching. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/primary-schools-are-losing-more-and-more-male-teachers-so-how-can-we-retain-them-82017">Primary schools are losing more and more male teachers, so how can we retain them?</a>
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<p>Discussions around the gender composition of different occupations, particularly teaching, tend to focus on factors such as gender predisposition, social influences and job attributes, such as greater flexibility and work-life balance. These factors may play an important role to varying degrees, but reviewing and reforming the monetary incentives which influence gender segregation in occupations is a good starting point. </p>
<p>Additional ways we could address this are by: </p>
<ul>
<li>providing additional scholarships for men in teaching </li>
<li>ensuring teaching career plans fulfil the ambitions and expectations of both male and female teachers</li>
<li>improving the image of teaching as an essential job to enhance a society.</li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109569/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Massimiliano Tani has received funding from Graduate Careers Australia for this project, carried out with Jaai Parasnis (Monash) and David Carroll (Monash). </span></em></p>For women with a bachelor of arts degree, teaching is one of the highest paying jobs. The opposite is true for men.Massimiliano Tani, Professor of Finance and Economics, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1086982019-01-07T13:23:52Z2019-01-07T13:23:52ZWhy South Africa will find it hard to break free from its vicious teaching cycle<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251491/original/file-20181219-45385-datotw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Academic outcomes can be accomplished by high teaching quality.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Half of all South African pupils who attended school for five years can’t do <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2018-11-23-00-basic-education-is-failing-the-economy">basic calculations</a>. This is according to a 2015 TIMMS <a href="http://www.timss-sa.org.za/download/TIMSS-2015-Grade-5-National-Report.pdf">report</a> on mathematics achievements among Grade 5 learners in South Africa. </p>
<p>At the same time, it’s calculated that 10% of the country’s teachers are <a href="http://www.702.co.za/articles/271296/report-10-of-teachers-are-absent-daily-at-most-south-african-public-schools#">absent</a> from school each day, while <a href="http://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/17772">research</a> found that 79% of South African Grade 6 mathematics teachers were classified as having content knowledge levels below the level at which they were teaching. </p>
<p>Given that teacher quality is one of the biggest factors determining the learning <a href="https://research.acer.edu.au/research_conference_2003/3/">outcomes</a> of students, what will it take to improve teacher quality and professionalism in the country?</p>
<p>Numerous suggestions have been floated. But one idea has recently generated particular interest among education departments, statutory bodies, and academia – the introduction of <a href="http://www.cde.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CDE-Insight-Professional-Standards.pdf">“teacher professional standards”</a>. These can be broadly defined as a set of common standards that include the professional knowledge, skills and conduct that characterise good teaching. </p>
<p>Their development began in the US in the late 1980s. It was stimulated by the view that higher expectations for student learning could be accomplished only by higher expectations of teaching quality. In the South African context, teacher standards are a response to a lack of teacher accountability. This has been <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09720073.2012.11891280">identified</a> as a cause of the poor quality of South African education. </p>
<p>The basic premise of teacher standards is that if you expect more from teachers, don’t allow them into the classroom until they’ve met a basic set of criteria, and hold them to account if they fall short, then the quality of teachers will improve. </p>
<p>But introducing teacher standards in South Africa also comes with a caveat. <a href="http://www.cde.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CDE-Insight-Professional-Standards.pdf">Research</a> into the value of teacher standards for South Africa warns that this approach could serve to de-professionalise the country’s teaching force if not approached carefully. </p>
<p>This is because there are effectively two types of teacher standards, and it’s important not to conflate the two. There are standards that professionalise teaching and standards that simply manage teachers. While standards which professionalise create cultures of collegiality, expertise and pride among teachers, standards that manage can leave them feeling brow-beaten, untrusted, and demotivated.</p>
<p>Yet management standards are often mistaken for professional standards. When this happens, teacher morale drops. This is a common trend in countries like South Africa which have a “vicious” rather than “virtuous” schooling cycle.</p>
<h2>How the schooling cycle works</h2>
<p>The quality of a nation’s teachers cannot be divorced from the quality of its learners exiting schools. This is because successive cohorts of learners progress through school, enter university as student teachers, and graduate as teachers where they nurture the next cohort through the cycle. The end of school is therefore the beginning of higher education. </p>
<p>In a virtuous schooling cycle, such as Finland, education is a desirable career choice for top graduates. This allows for competitive entry requirements for teacher education programmes, which in turn allows for rigorous and challenging courses. This, in turn, produces high quality teachers who improve learner outcomes. The quality and professionalism of the teachers nurtures the next generation of high-quality teacher trainees.</p>
<p>In a virtuous cycle the system can afford to set standards that reflect the best professional knowledge internationally. Initial teacher education is intensive and teachers exit the programmes with high levels of subject and pedagogical knowledge. As a result, their learners perform well and the school system enjoys a high level of public esteem. </p>
<p>Consequently teaching is a prestigious and attractive profession which recruits the brightest and most motivated school graduates, who don’t require continual monitoring and oversight. Teachers instead enjoy professional autonomy; they are trusted in key decisions about their teaching and professional development. </p>
<p>Compare this to South Africa, which has a vicious schooling cycle. Initial teacher education is highly variable but generally insufficient. For example, a <a href="https://www.jet.org.za/resources/taylor-iterp-summary-report-on-component-1-feb15web.pdf">study</a> found that three out of five of the Higher Education Institutions that were sampled provided no English language, literature, or linguistic education for teacher trainees not specialising in this subject, despite poor English language proficiency among teacher trainees being a ubiquitous concern. </p>
<p>Unsurprisingly then, <a href="https://www.jet.org.za/resources/deacon-iterp-final-composite-report.pdf">research</a> on newly qualified teachers indicates that students enter their studies with very poor skills, and leave with little more. Consequently, their learners do very poorly and teaching is perceived as a low status career. Teacher education programmes are therefore in general unable to reliably attract high quality graduates, and so tend to be less demanding. The vicious cycle repeats itself.</p>
<p>In vicious schooling cycles governments take it upon themselves to hold teachers accountable. Standards are used to manage teachers, and to protect students from the worst educators through supervisory surveillance and control. Invariably, the relationship between teacher unions and governments becomes antagonistic and generates feelings of fear and mistrust. This, in turn, alienates the best school graduates who frankly have better career options. </p>
<p>While in-service training programmes attempt to make up the backlog, and some are succeeding in achieving small learning gains, they cannot fully compensate for the lack of teacher skills resulting from poor initial teacher education and generally unskilled matriculants.</p>
<h2>Not all standards professionalise teaching</h2>
<p>Given it’s vicious cycle, management standards may be more likely than professional standards in South Africa. Does this mean that South African teachers are damned to the stick, rather than the carrot? Not necessarily. There are many excellent teachers who are hungry for opportunities to develop in ways that nurture autonomy and collegiality.</p>
<p>South Africa should not shy away from developing and promoting professional best practice, and providing the opportunities for teachers to reach them. </p>
<p>At the same time, management standards must be considered carefully. While they may prevent the worst teaching, they’re unlikely to create the professional culture that promotes the best teaching and attracts the best candidates.</p>
<p><em>Nick Taylor, Senior Research Fellow at JET Education Services, also contributed to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108698/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Natasha Robinson receives funding from the ESRC.</span></em></p>The introduction of teacher standards may actually reduce teacher professionalism if not handled correctly.Natasha Robinson, PhD Candidate and research consultant, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/996512018-07-10T23:32:46Z2018-07-10T23:32:46ZFixing the shortage of specialist science and maths teachers will be hard, not impossible<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227023/original/file-20180710-70054-ia0wb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">About 40% of Australian physics teachers will retire in the next 10 years.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by jeshoots.com/Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Across Australia, we are facing a massive shortage of specialist mathematics and science teachers, particularly in physics and chemistry. With imminent retirements and poor retention rates, this problem will only get worse. It has already reached crisis point in some areas. </p>
<p>This week, during his opening address at the <a href="http://asta.edu.au/">Australia Science Teachers’ Association</a> <a href="https://asta.eventsair.com/QuickEventWebsitePortal/conasta-67/event-home-page">annual conference</a>, Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham announced the federal government plans to ensure every high school has access to specialist science and maths teachers. This was also announced just prior on Channel 9’s Today Show. </p>
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<p>While this is a noble sentiment, it’s old news. I <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzSjNleUmFAaMV9zVGg2ZFBoZjQ/view?usp=sharing">presented on this very topic</a> at the same conference in 2015. Since then, the issue has become worse. Fixing it will be difficult: where will we find these subject experts in the first place?</p>
<h2>Disturbing trends</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.acer.org/">Australian Council for Educational Research</a> has long highlighted the supply and demand issues for science and maths teachers in Australia. About 40% of physics teachers <a href="https://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1001&context=policyinsights">will retire in the next 10 years</a> but only 10% of all trainee science teachers <a href="https://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1027&context=tll_misc">are specialising in physics</a>. </p>
<p>At least 20% of maths and physics teachers are teaching out-of-field. This is often in years 7 and 8, where developing student interest is so crucial. It’s also creeping into senior years where expertise is critical. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/too-many-teachers-teaching-outside-their-area-of-expertise-39688">Too many teachers teaching outside their area of expertise</a>
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<p>With a growing population, and so a growing need for more teachers, these increasing problems will accelerate further. </p>
<h2>Impact on students</h2>
<p>The increasing lack of specialist science and maths teachers is having a profoundly negative impact on students. Australia had a significant decline in <a href="https://research.acer.edu.au/ozpisa/22/">scientific literacy performance</a> between 2006 and 2015. </p>
<p>The percentage of year 12 students choosing physics <a href="http://eprints.qut.edu.au/73153/1/Continuing_decline_of_science_proof.pdf">declined</a> from 21% in 1992 to 14% in 2012. </p>
<p>From 1999 to 2013, students choosing only the most basic level of mathematics <a href="http://amsi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/discipline-profile-2015.pdf">rose</a> from 37% to 52%. </p>
<p>By 2014, 21.4% of female year 12 students <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-it-matters-that-student-participation-in-maths-and-science-is-declining-47559">studied no maths at all</a>. </p>
<h2>Increasing inequity</h2>
<p>These trends are Australia-wide, but impact some areas and sectors <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-physics-syllabus-raises-the-bar-but-how-will-schools-clear-it-73370">in particular</a>. Regional and remote schools are hardest hit. These schools often fail to attract any applications for science and maths positions. </p>
<p>Having reached the tipping point, simple supply-and-demand economics has kicked in. Larger independent schools are relatively OK, as they can offer higher salaries, even subsidised rent. </p>
<p>Selective schools recruit successfully as they offer persistent intellectual rigour, with an emphasis on science and maths. Schools in beachside and lifestyle suburbs, such as Mount Eliza in Victoria, similarly fare far better with attracting staff. </p>
<p>That leaves the majority of non-selective government and non-selective Catholic schools plus smaller independent schools fighting over an ever-shrinking pool of specialist teachers.</p>
<h2>The elephant in the staffroom</h2>
<p>Schools aren’t taking this lying down. State departments of education are <a href="https://www.teach.nsw.edu.au/enhanceyourcareer/science-and-mathematics-scholarships/faqs2">overtly offering scholarships</a>. More covertly, some schools offer higher pay. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/labor-will-need-more-than-scholarships-to-make-teaching-science-an-attractive-career-59510">Labor will need more than scholarships to make teaching science an attractive career</a>
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<p>Other incentives used erratically within some schools include greater access to professional development, fewer duties, paid study leave and promotion. But increased responsibilities tend to remove specialists from the classroom. </p>
<p>Rather than sometimes secretive local deals, we need to accept something has to change to attract and retain specialist teachers. Current efforts are not enough. </p>
<h2>So what else can be done?</h2>
<p>The education establishment needs to consider a broad range of possible solutions to provide all students with access to specialist teachers. Since STEM specialists <a href="http://www.utas.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/368546/lifting_our_stem_skills_13.pdf">are very employable</a>, then, yes, higher pay and financial incentives should seriously be considered to aid recruitment and retention. </p>
<p>For example, the UK government <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/maths-and-science-must-be-the-top-priority-in-our-schools-says-prime-minister">pledged a scheme</a> costing A$119 million to offer school leavers a bursary to help pay for university. In return they must commit to become a teacher when they graduate with a maths or physics degree. </p>
<p>But we must attract <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-09/every-high-school-to-get-specialist-maths-science-teachers/9956880">the right type of person</a> – specialists patient enough to work with kids. </p>
<p>There are also other complementary strategies to consider. First, the typical model of one subject specialist (such as physics) per school is highly inefficient since only 40% of their teaching load is within their specialism (one year 11 and one year 12 class). </p>
<p>Such experts could be coordinated to work across multiple schools. Technologies such as video conferencing and collaborative online spaces should be better leveraged to increase the reach of experts to students, be they geographically remote or simply lacking specialist teachers. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-solve-our-stem-skills-problem-bring-in-the-professionals-87513">Want to solve our STEM skills problem? Bring in the professionals</a>
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<p>Secondly, the sheer volume of retirements must be stemmed. Mechanisms need to be created to encourage gentler retirements, allowing specialists to maintain senior classes without all the usual <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-research-shows-nsw-teachers-working-long-hours-to-cope-with-administrative-load-99453">hassles, admin and stress</a>. With <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-physics-syllabus-raises-the-bar-but-how-will-schools-clear-it-73370">changes to the science and maths curricula</a>, we can’t afford to lose such expertise all at once. </p>
<h2>What next?</h2>
<p>Now the shortage of specialist science and mathematics teachers has been raised politically (though somewhat belatedly), we need to see a proper plan of action, otherwise they are empty words. But for those brave enough to truly tackle the problem, there are solutions out there.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99651/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Crook is the Founder of CrookED Science, a STEM education consultancy. He is also a member of the Science Teachers' Association NSW and has taught physics in high schools since 1994 in the UK and Australia.</span></em></p>Many students in Australia don’t have access to specialist teachers in science and maths, and the problem is only getting worse.Simon Crook, Honorary Associate, School of Physics, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/945802018-04-15T20:15:53Z2018-04-15T20:15:53ZSeven reasons people no longer want to be teachers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214648/original/file-20180413-566-kfik3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The programs are long and intense, the creativity and relationships aspect of the vocation has been eroded, there is pervasive negativity in the media, and comparatively poor salary and working conditions. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The oldest profession – teaching – is no longer attractive. The Queensland Deans of Education <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/universities-blame-a-new-requirement-of-fiveyear-study-for-drop-in-teacher-training-enrolment/news-story/730755780318b1eaa74373edb851270b">revealed</a> there have been alarming drops in first preference applications for this year’s teacher preparation courses. Queensland has experienced an overall 26% drop. Most alarmingly, UQ reported a 44% plunge. QUT saw a 19% drop.</p>
<p>These figures reflect a national trend. ACU’s is down 20% for campuses in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. This follows disappointing interest in 2017. VTAC reported <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/applications-for-graduate-teaching-courses-drop-40-per-cent-in-victoria-20170111-gtppgn.html">a 40% drop in 2017</a> compared to 2016. So why don’t people want to be teachers anymore? There are at least seven reasons people aren’t so keen.</p>
<h2>1. Teacher education competency fixation</h2>
<p>Our best teachers can inspire a student to achieve beyond their wildest expectations. They find the teachable moments and use humour to explain key concepts. They care for their students as individuals and go that extra mile to design their teaching to connect with them in meaningful ways. Their assessments are fair and they rejoice with students when they master important ideas. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/to-raise-status-of-teaching-australia-needs-to-lift-pay-and-cut-teacher-numbers-63518">To raise status of teaching, Australia needs to lift pay and cut teacher numbers</a>
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<p>These professional attributes are the essence of good teaching. But accredited teacher education programs must be designed around 37 competencies as prescribed by <a href="https://www.aitsl.edu.au/">the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership</a> (AITSL). These competencies don’t address these personal attributes. </p>
<p>Having a competency framework is not so terrible. We need teachers to have observable capabilities to plan assessment, to know content and related ways to teach it. The skills are necessary, but not sufficient. We need the relationships dimension in the teacher education package. The types of things we value in our best teachers are conspicuous <a href="https://research.acer.edu.au/aer/15/">by their absence in program accreditation</a>. So why would someone aspire to teach if the interpersonal dimension is lost?</p>
<h2>2. Standardised testing obsession</h2>
<p>Standardised testing has become a national sport, with <a href="http://www.oecd.org/pisa/">PISA</a> and <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/detrimental-victoria-joins-the-push-for-a-review-of-naplan-20180411-p4z8x4.html">NAPLAN</a>. Much class time is spent preparing students to do well. The stakes are high for the teachers and their schools. While <a href="http://education-consumers.org/pdf/ECF_Messenger.pdf">teachers do need to test their students</a> to check on their progress, the national obsession is a problem. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214670/original/file-20180413-543-v2ay9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214670/original/file-20180413-543-v2ay9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214670/original/file-20180413-543-v2ay9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214670/original/file-20180413-543-v2ay9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214670/original/file-20180413-543-v2ay9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214670/original/file-20180413-543-v2ay9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214670/original/file-20180413-543-v2ay9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Standardised tests, like NAPLAN, contribute to lack of enthusiasm to take up teaching.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>Teachers spend a great deal of time preparing students for these tests. Standardised tests <a href="https://www.education.com/reference/article/preparing-standardized-tests/">are a unique testing genre</a>, and teachers need to attend to this preparation without abandoning everything else they need to do. This is a challenge, and <a href="http://livingout.social/how-standardized-testing-kills-creativity-in-education">the first casualty is teacher creativity</a>. International <a href="http://teacherrenewal.wiki.westga.edu/file/view/Testing,%20Testing,%20Testing.pdf">reports</a> also argue this point. Where’s the fun in teaching if you don’t have scope to be creative?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/naplan-only-tells-part-of-the-story-of-student-achievement-86144">NAPLAN only tells part of the story of student achievement</a>
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<h2>3. Lack of autonomy</h2>
<p>Finland enjoys attention for their successful education system. Finnish teachers <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jan/07/pasi-sahlberg-finland-teach-australian-schools-education">have an open brief</a> to decide what to teach their students and how. In Australia we micromanage and control. The emphasis on play and the arts in Australian schools is lacking. </p>
<p>In Australia, departments of education provide explicit guidance for classes well ahead of time. This means the teaching approach and content is in place even before a teacher meets their students. This undermines the ability for teachers to be responsive and tailor teaching to learners’ needs. And so, the professional responsibility of Australian teachers is compromised - making the job seem rather unattractive.</p>
<h2>4. Work intensification</h2>
<p>Work intensification refers to the increasing range of duties and responsibilities that have been attached to the role of teachers. Teachers <a href="https://aeunt.org.au/news/technology-and-workload/">report</a> the rewards of teaching are <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01425690095153">obscured by this, and the crowded curriculum</a>. They are stressed by the range of things they’re required to teach and the snowball effect that emerges from increased requirements. </p>
<p>Intensification is due to many factors, not least of which is the expansion of teacher responsibilities to include social skills development previously addressed at home. Teaching is well known to be hard work. Yet, hard work without appreciation or respect is a disincentive.</p>
<h2>5. Negative public image</h2>
<p>An audit of newspaper stories in Queensland over the past year shows a tendency to report negatively on teachers. In the 12 months examined, 11 months featured more negative stories.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/teachers-who-feel-appreciated-are-less-likely-to-leave-the-profession-89864">Teachers who feel appreciated are less likely to leave the profession</a>
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<h2>6. Teacher bashing</h2>
<p>Teaching as a vocation is publicly scorned. This is commonly called ‘teacher bashing’. As a career, teaching is tolerated as a convenient backup pathway for people, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/22/teacher-bashing-gove-performance-pay">but not endorsed as the main game</a>. There have even been reports of teachers being actually <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/education/teacher-bashings-by-angry-parents-and-students-on-the-rise/news-story/081cd9bd2c09f75774ee5f2245d77107">physically bashed</a>.</p>
<h2>7. Teachers’ salaries are poor</h2>
<p>The final nail in the coffin: poor salaries. A graduate dentist from a five year course <a href="https://www.livingin-australia.com/australian-dentist-salaries/">earns A$130,000</a>. The majority of secondary teachers have also completed a five year program, but <a href="http://sydney.edu.au/education_social_work/future_students/careers/teacher_salaries.shtml">the starting salary is A$65,486</a> reaching A$71,000 after 5-10 years. </p>
<h2>No wonder people don’t want to be teachers</h2>
<p>It’s not surprising, then, that numbers of applicants for teacher education programs have slumped. The programs are long and intense, the creativity and relationships aspect of the vocation has been eroded, there is pervasive negativity in the media, and comparatively poor salary and working conditions. </p>
<p>It’s hard to know where to start, but appealing to the vocational drive of those who love leading others to achieve by raising the profile of these additional attributes in teacher education programs might help. This would require <a href="https://research.acer.edu.au/aer/15/">a gentle review of the national program design and accreditation guidelines</a>. Or perhaps we need to be better at reporting teacher success in the mass media.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94580/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nan Bahr received funding from ACER for a review of quality in teaching and teacher education.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo-Anne Ferreira does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There’s been a drop in the number of people enrolling in teacher preparation courses. This is due to problems such as pay, professional autonomy, and a national obsession with standardised testing.Professor Nan Bahr, Pro Vice Chancellor (Students)/ Dean of Education, Southern Cross UniversityJo-Anne Ferreira, Director, Teaching & Learning, Education, Southern Cross UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/873782017-11-15T13:28:48Z2017-11-15T13:28:48ZSouth Africa must do more to keep teachers from seeking ‘greener pastures’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194354/original/file-20171113-27635-1uabqyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Much more must be done to keep teachers in South Africa.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Around the world, many teachers are choosing to leave their home countries once they’ve qualified. It’s a global phenomenon, and one that impacts both developed and developing nations – in <a href="https://www.un.org/press/en/2010/gaef3291.doc.htm">some positive</a> ways, but with negative effects particularly for the source country that’s losing skilled teachers to supposedly “greener pastures”. International teacher mobility is driven primarily by the prospect of earning more money. Teachers from developing countries can <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jid.1313/pdf">double their real income</a> by teaching in some more developed host nations.</p>
<p>South African teachers are often recruited, particularly by industrialised nations, to deal with teacher shortages. South African teachers are particularly favoured for their hard work, loyalty and dedication. Most of them can also teach more than one subject.</p>
<p>I wanted to understand why South African student teachers might find working elsewhere more attractive. What is driving their migration, either through recruitment or on their own steam? So I conducted <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/18146627.2017.1286942">a study</a> with a group of final-year Bachelor of Education (BEd) student teachers from a South African university. They responded to a 27-item questionnaire whose aim was to find out their career plans for the near future.</p>
<p>A sample of 134 students were involved in the survey. Most (79%) planned to stay in South Africa in the year after graduating – but a relatively high number (38%) said they’d like to be teaching in another country in five years’ time. The good news is that, of the 38%, most plan to return to South Africa after teaching elsewhere for a time. There were three main reasons for migration: the opportunity to travel; the chance to earn a higher salary and professional development.</p>
<p>But what of those who plan to leave for good? It’s important for a country like South Africa, which has a <a href="http://sace.org.za/assets/documents/uploads/sace_29250-2016-08-31-A%20review%20on%20teacher%20demand%20and%20supply%20in%20South%20Africa.pdf">scarcity</a> particularly of maths, science and language teachers, not to lose its trained teachers. Policy needs to focus on making the teaching profession stable and more appealing. South Africa must ensure that its locally trained teachers are recognised and nurtured so that they have more reason to stay in the country.</p>
<h2>Greener pastures?</h2>
<p>Of the students I surveyed, 8% said that they planned to teach in another country upon graduating and 8% were undecided. Another 4% indicated that they would not be entering the teaching profession at all. </p>
<p>Australia was most students’ preferred destination country. More than a quarter of the students (27%) who were planning to teach in another country preferred Australia, followed by the United Kingdom (16%), South Korea (16%) and the United States (14%). The most important reasons for choosing these four destination countries were higher salaries, friendly people, family and/or friends as residents. The students also cited those countries’ high standard of education and opportunities for professional growth. </p>
<p>A small percentage were planning to migrate to Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, The Netherlands, Switzerland and Scotland.</p>
<p>For the most part, students were motivated by pull rather than push factors. Some were worried about <a href="https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/why-teachers-are-leaving-their-profession-20170830">bad working conditions</a>, bad social services, an <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2017-06-15-schools-are-so-violent-teachers-live-in-fear/">unsafe environment</a> and South Africa’s <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/south-africa/unemployment-rate">high rates of unemployment</a>. Mostly, though, they were focused on what other countries had to offer – pull factors.</p>
<p>They indicated that their most important migration needs before leaving South Africa were information about health care, accommodation, salary scales, banking assistance, cost of living (transport and food costs), methods of learner assessment and tax advice.</p>
<h2>Making South Africa a more attractive option</h2>
<p>Migration is always an option, especially for professionals like teachers, and is in some cases inevitable. There are no reliable figures to show how many South African teachers are lost to other countries each year. But what’s important is that the country not lose too many of its teachers, whether they’re newly qualified or established; the best and the brightest of those who are already working are also targeted, especially in scarce skill subjects such as maths and science-related subjects.</p>
<p>More must be done to make teaching an attractive, stable profession in South Africa. This can be done by improving teachers’ working conditions and salary scales – particularly those who are teaching scarce skills subjects. Policy makers and authorities must monitor teacher recruitment agencies carefully to ensure that there isn’t a mass exodus of teachers that catches the country by surprise. </p>
<p>This is important if the country is to keep at least some of its qualified, passionate teachers and build up skills in areas like maths and science.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87378/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rian de Villiers does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Policy needs to focus on making the teaching profession stable and more appealing. South Africa must ensure its locally trained teachers have more reason to stay in the country.Rian de Villiers, Associate Professor: Teacher migration, University of PretoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/775892017-06-02T11:05:18Z2017-06-02T11:05:18ZFact Check: are half a million children being taught in super-size classes?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171833/original/file-20170601-25658-vexeoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Super-size me?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>Half a million children are now being taught in super-size classes of over 36.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, made the above claim during a <a href="http://news.sky.com/story/corbyn-children-crammed-like-sardines-into-super-sized-school-classes-10844583">recent speech</a> in Swindon. Corbyn said that half a million children are now being taught in classes with more than 36 pupils and that this is damaging their educational chances. </p>
<p>There are, of course, two claims here. The first is about the numbers of children affected and the extent of the problem. The second, is that being in a larger class damages a child’s educational chances.</p>
<p>In terms of the first, Corbyn must have misspoken, because according to the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2016#history">Department for Education figures</a>, the actual number of pupils in state primary schools in England in classes of 36 or more is only about 42,000. However, the total number of pupils in classes of over 30 is about 530,000.</p>
<p>The figures also show that while class sizes in primary schools have increased – it isn’t by very much – from an average of 26 in 2006 to 27 in 2015. Over the same period, the number of primary school pupils has increased by about 10% from 3.36 million to 3.70 million. </p>
<p>And it’s also worth pointing out that there is in fact a <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/10/note/made">legal limit</a> on infant class sizes – which should have no more than 30 pupils.</p>
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<p>The second part of the claim is that large classes damage children’s educational chances. This is more complex and <a href="http://repository.lib.ied.edu.hk/jspui/handle/2260.2/20414">has long been a contentious issue</a> in education. </p>
<p>Overall <a href="https://doi.org/10.1162/003355399556061">the evidence</a> about the effects of reducing class sizes is actually <a href="http://search.proquest.com/openview/632c10dd40b35bc9c08d9fb8ed813e70/">reasonably consistent</a>. There is an association between class size and attainment showing that children in smaller classes tend to do better. </p>
<p>Similarly, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3102/01623737021002097">research suggests</a> that reducing classes in the early primary years to about 17 pupils or fewer can be particularly effective for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. </p>
<p>In short, all things being equal, children do not do as well in larger classes.</p>
<p>But as well as the issue of effectiveness, there is also the issue of finance – if a class of 36 pupils is halved to 18, this doubles the teacher costs. </p>
<p>More problematic is the fact that numbers of children applying to a particular school do not fall into neat class size groups. Once you get to 30, a school should either refuse to admit additional pupils or split the children into two smaller classes. But this may not be feasible given the space, facilities and overall school costs.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, it is just <a href="https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/resources/teaching-learning-toolkit/reducing-class-size/">not cost effective for schools</a> to reduce class sizes, given the typical numbers of pupils in most schools and the current funding levels. </p>
<p>That said, the UK is actually different from most other countries in that it has <a href="http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/education-at-a-glance-2016/average-class-size-by-level-of-education-2014_eag-2016-graph214-en">smaller average classes in secondary schools</a> (20 pupils per class) compared with primary schools (27 pupils). </p>
<h2>Verdict</h2>
<p>Overall, I tend to agree with Jeremy Corbyn that half a million children in primary schools are now being taught in classes which are damaging their educational chances – particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.</p>
<p>But having said that, only a very small number of pupils are actually in classes of 36 or over – they are in fact in classes of 30 or over.</p>
<p>But children would benefit though from being in classes of less than 20 – particularly in the first few years of school – with teachers who are trained to get the best from this size of class. </p>
<h2>Review</h2>
<p><em>Michael Jopling, Professor in Education, Northumbria University, Newcastle</em></p>
<p>This Fact Check is correct that Jeremy Corbyn was wrong to claim that half a million children are currently being taught in classes of over 36. However, like the author, the <a href="http://www.labour.org.uk/index.php/education">Labour Party website</a> correctly states that more than 500,000 primary school children are in “super-sized classes” with more than 30 pupils – so presumably this was just a case of Corbyn getting his facts mixed up.</p>
<p>Labour’s manifesto also includes the intention to reduce class sizes to fewer than 30 for all five to seven year olds – for whom the increase in class sizes since 2006 has been greater than for older children. </p>
<p>The Fact Check is also correct that class sizes are often larger in other countries and that there is evidence that class size can affect some children’s attainment. However, it is important to state that <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/11675669/Class-size-has-little-influence-on-the-quality-of-teaching-expert-says.html">research</a> has also suggested that other factors such as the quality of teaching have a greater effect on children’s achievement than class sizes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77589/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steve Higgins receives funding from the Education Endowment Foundation to maintain and develop the Sutton Trust - EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit. He has previously received research funding from a wide range of organisations including the ESRC, British Academy, Department for Education, The Campaign for Learning and the Sutton Trust. The views in this article do not represent those of the research councils. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Jopling does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A look at the issue of class sizes.Steve Higgins, Professor of Education, Durham UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.