Strengthening teacher training

The Albanese Government is strengthening initial teacher education to better prepare teachers for the classroom from day one.

As recommended by the Teacher Education Expert Panel, the Government is mandating core content in teaching degrees and improving teacher prac.

As part of these reforms, new guidelines are being released today to improve professional experience for teaching students.

The Professional Experience Guidelines, developed by the Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) and approved by states and territories, will help ensure more teaching students have a successful introduction to the classroom.

Research shows teaching students who have positive prac experience are more likely to graduate, make a successful transition to teaching and stay in teaching long term.

High quality prac placements provide teaching students with opportunities to develop, practice and demonstrate their ability to teach and manage a classroom.

The new guidelines will support a consistent national approach to professional experience, while being able to be adopted and adapted to each jurisdiction’s context.

The guidelines clarify roles and responsibilities, improve consistency, and reduce administrative burden for initial teacher education providers, education systems, schools, early childhood settings and teacher regulatory authorities.

All initial teacher education providers must embed the recently mandated core content into their initial teacher education programs by the end of next year.

These reforms are also complemented by the Albanese Government’s paid prac initiative which will provide financial support to eligible teaching students while they undertake the prac part of their degree.

The guidelines are available here: Australian Professional Experience Guidelines.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Education Jason Clare:

“There aren’t many jobs more important than being a teacher and we don’t have enough of them.

“Not enough people who start a teaching degree finish it either.

“That’s why we’re fixing the core content taught at university with the sort of things that teachers say they need to be ready from day one, like how to teach children to read and write and do maths, as well as improving practical training.”