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.
Maya Defianty, Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta e Kate Wilson, University of Canberra
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”.
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.
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.
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.