Teachers in Australia feel their work is under-valued. Tertiary scores to enter teaching are falling. And the best and brightest school-leavers are increasingly rejecting the opportunity to teach.
Teachers who do well are not sufficiently recognised for their efforts. There are limited opportunities for career advancement. And top teachers often work isolated in their classrooms and are weighed down by heavy administrative loads.
In this submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Employment, Grattan Institute’s School Education Program Director Peter Goss and Fellow Julie Sonnemann identify ways Commonwealth and state policy makers can raise the status of teaching.
A key change is to move from a model of professionals working in isolation to one that is more collegiate and systematic.