Demand and Supply of Primary and Secondary School Teachers … · 2013-08-20 · Improved research...

Demand and Supply of Primary and Secondary School Teachers in Australia

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................1 Background............................................................................................................................1 Improved research methods...................................................................................................2 Proposed improvements to the data collection for 2005 .........................................................2 Key Conclusions ....................................................................................................................5

PART A The Recent Past.........................................................................................................7 Chapter 2 A profile of the Australian teaching workforce in 2003.........................................8

Distribution of regular teachers by State, sector and type of school .......................................8 Distribution of teachers by age and gender ............................................................................9

Gender ..............................................................................................................................9 Age..................................................................................................................................10

Chapter 3 Trends in the teacher labour market in the period 1990 - 2003 ..........................16 National trends in students and (regular) teachers ...............................................................16 State and Territory trends in (regular) teachers ....................................................................18

Students and teachers in government and non-government schools ...............................20 Contract teachers ............................................................................................................20 Teacher supply and demand imbalances during the 1990s .............................................20

PART B The National Teacher Labour Market in 2003 ........................................................24 Chapter 4 The state of the teacher labour market in Australia in 2003...............................25

Primary level ........................................................................................................................25 Government.....................................................................................................................25 Non-government..............................................................................................................28

Secondary level ...................................................................................................................29 Government.....................................................................................................................29 Non-government..............................................................................................................34

Strategies to promote teaching as a career and assist teacher recruitment..........................35 Australian Government ....................................................................................................35 Government Schools .......................................................................................................37 Non-Government Schools ...............................................................................................47

Chapter 5 The state of the teacher labour market in selected English-speaking countries .................................................................................................................................49

United Kingdom ...................................................................................................................49 United States of America......................................................................................................51 New Zealand........................................................................................................................54 Canada ................................................................................................................................55 Summary of teacher supply and demand in selected English-speaking countries ................59

Chapter 6 OECD Attracting Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers........................60 Background..........................................................................................................................60 Outcomes ............................................................................................................................60

Attracting able people into teaching .................................................................................62 Educating, developing and certifying teachers .................................................................63 Recruiting, selecting and assigning teachers ...................................................................65 Retaining effective teachers in schools ............................................................................66

Policy implications................................................................................................................67

Recruitment Difficulties ........................................................................................................68 PART C Future Outlook.........................................................................................................71

A schema of stocks and flows in the teacher labour market .................................................72 Chapter 7 Factors affecting the demand for teachers..........................................................74

Growth demand for teachers ................................................................................................74 Recent Enrolment trends .................................................................................................74 Student to teacher ratios..................................................................................................74

Replacement demand for teachers ......................................................................................76 Teachers separating from teaching ......................................................................................76

Categories of separation and their importance ................................................................77 Estimate of net separations from the teacher labour market as a whole ..........................83

Chapter 8 Factors affecting the supply of teachers .............................................................84 Applications for undergraduate teacher training (education) courses ...................................84 Teacher training commencements .......................................................................................88

Teacher training completions ................................................................................................90 Destination of new graduates ...............................................................................................93 Teachers returning from leave and former teachers returning to teaching ............................95 The teacher pool ..................................................................................................................96

Number of teachers on ‘employment lists’ and other recording mechanisms in government schools ........................................................................................................96 Relief and casual teachers in government schools ..........................................................98 Other pool teachers .........................................................................................................98

Overseas migration ..............................................................................................................99 Relative importance of the various sources of teacher supply ............................................ 101

Chapter 9 Some projections of teacher demand and supply to 2009 ............................... 103 Outlook for the teacher labour market at the national level................................................. 103

Likely growth or new demand ........................................................................................ 103 Replacement demand for teachers ................................................................................ 107 Comparing supply with demand..................................................................................... 111 Adequacy of projected graduate numbers to meet teacher requirements ...................... 114

Flexibilities and scope for adjustment in the teacher labour market .................................... 114 Adjustments within a jurisdiction (internal flexibilities) .................................................... 115 Adjustments through teacher movements between jurisdictions (external flexibilities) ... 116

Chapter 10 Longer term pressures on the teacher labour market .................................... 118 Future student enrolment trends ........................................................................................ 118 Demand for teachers, 2010 to 2014 ................................................................................... 120

Growth demand or new demand.................................................................................... 120 Replacement demand.................................................................................................... 121

Supply issues..................................................................................................................... 122 Comparing demand with supply..................................................................................... 122

Part D Summary and Conclusions ...................................................................................... 124 Chapter 11 Summary and conclusions ............................................................................... 125

The current state of the labour market for teachers ............................................................ 125 The period ahead ............................................................................................................... 125

Demand for teachers ..................................................................................................... 126 Supply of Teachers........................................................................................................ 128

Policy challenges ............................................................................................................... 130

Future research and data improvements............................................................................ 130 Appendix 1: State and Territory data ............................................................................... 131 New South Wales.................................................................................................................. 132

The current labour market for teachers .............................................................................. 132 Recruitment experience in the government school sector .................................................. 132

Primary .......................................................................................................................... 132 Secondary ..................................................................................................................... 132

Initiatives taken by the Education Department to address shortages.................................. 133 New South Wales primary.................................................................................................. 136 New South Wales secondary ............................................................................................. 137

Victoria .................................................................................................................................. 138 The current labour market for teachers .............................................................................. 138 Recruitment experience in the government school sector .................................................. 138


Initiatives taken by the Education Department to address shortages.................................. 140 Victorian primary ................................................................................................................ 144 Victorian secondary............................................................................................................ 145

Queensland........................................................................................................................... 146 The current labour market for teachers .............................................................................. 146 Recruitment experience in the government school sector .................................................. 146

Primary .......................................................................................................................... 146 Secondary ..................................................................................................................... 147 Initiatives taken by Education Queensland to address shortages .................................. 147

Queensland primary........................................................................................................... 149 Queensland secondary ...................................................................................................... 150

South Australia ..................................................................................................................... 151 The current labour market for teachers .............................................................................. 151 Recruitment experience in the government school sector .................................................. 151

Primary .......................................................................................................................... 151 Secondary ..................................................................................................................... 152 Initiatives taken by the Education Department to address shortages ............................. 152

South Australian primary .................................................................................................... 154 South Australian secondary ............................................................................................... 155

Western Australia ................................................................................................................. 156 The current labour market for teachers .............................................................................. 156 Recruitment experience in the government school sector .................................................. 156


Initiatives taken by the Department of Education and Training to address shortages ......... 156 Western Australia primary .................................................................................................. 158 Western Australia secondary ............................................................................................. 159

Tasmania............................................................................................................................... 160 The current labour market for teachers .............................................................................. 160 Recruitment experience in the government school sector .................................................. 160

Primary .......................................................................................................................... 160

Secondary ..................................................................................................................... 160 Initiatives taken by the Education Department to address shortages ............................. 160

Tasmania primary .............................................................................................................. 162 Tasmania secondary .......................................................................................................... 163

Northern Territory................................................................................................................. 164 Current labour market for teachers..................................................................................... 164 Recruitment experience in the government schools sector................................................. 164

Primary .......................................................................................................................... 164 Secondary ..................................................................................................................... 164 Initiatives taken by the Education Department to address shortages ............................. 164

Northern Territory primary .................................................................................................. 168 Northern Territory secondary ............................................................................................. 169

Australian Capital Territory.................................................................................................. 170 Current labour market background..................................................................................... 170 Recruitment experience in the government school sector .................................................. 170


Initiatives taken by the Education Department to address shortages.................................. 170 Australian Capital Territory primary .................................................................................... 172 Australian Capital Territory secondary................................................................................ 173

Australia ................................................................................................................................ 174 Labour market background ................................................................................................ 174 Australia primary ................................................................................................................ 175 Australia secondary............................................................................................................ 176

References ............................................................................................................................ 177 Acronyms and abbreviations............................................................................................... 181

Glossary of Terms ......................................................................................................... 183

PART E Complementary Research Papers

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Chapter 1 Introduction

Background In 1997 MCEETYA requested the Conference of Education Systems Chief Executive Officers (CESCEO) to establish arrangements for the regular monitoring of supply and demand in the teacher labour market. It has been usual practice for MCEETYA to report on this issue every second year. Reports on this issue have been published in 1999, 2001 and 2003. This report is the fourth MCEETYA report on this issue. Consideration of issues around the supply and demand for teachers now falls under the terms of reference of the Teacher Quality and Educational Leadership Taskforce (TQELT), established at the twelfth MCEETYA meeting in July 2001. This report was prepared by the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) and the TQELT Teacher Supply and Demand Working Group. Most researchers agree that school leaders and teachers have a powerful impact on the learning experiences of school students. It is therefore important that quality teaching in Australia’s be facilitated by the availability of appropriately skilled teachers, as well as appropriate supplies of education leaders. High quality school level educational experiences will foster better transitions to work and further education for school students, giving better outcomes for individuals, and from an employer perspective, a more skilled and productive workforce. The 2001 MCEETYA report noted that in recent years there had been concern that Australia is facing significant shortages of primary and secondary teachers, but concluded that in 2000 (the 2001 MCEETYA report related to the year 2000) the teacher labour market was broadly in balance across Australia, in both the primary and secondary sectors. However, there were recruitment difficulties in regard to a number of secondary teaching specialisations, including mathematics, science, information and communications technology (ICT), and to a lesser extent languages other than English (LOTE), as well as in rural and remote areas. The 2003 MCEETYA report concluded that as at 2001 - 02, the national labour market for teachers was broadly in balance; however, both the government and non-government sectors continued to report recruiting difficulties in some locations and in a number of secondary teaching specialisations such as mathematics, science (particularly physics and chemistry), languages other than English, and the industrial arts. The data presented in the report suggested that in the period ahead (post-2004) Australia was likely to face increasing shortages of teachers due to age-based retirement. The extent of the shortfall would depend on the success of policy initiatives to attract and retain teachers and the effectiveness of teacher workforce planning, the responsibility for which lies with government and non-government education authorities in States and Territories.

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Improved research methods The 2003 MCEETYA report took forward MCEETYA’s concerns for more detailed reporting on a variety of issues, including surveys on issues where publicly available data does not meet the information requirements of the project. Following publication of the 2003 Report, which included a number of suggestions for improved teacher supply and demand data, in September 2003 the Commonwealth sought comments from stakeholders on the process as well as possible further data improvements in developing analyses of teacher supply and demand for MCEETYA. In December 2003, representatives of the Commonwealth, State, Territory and Non-Government education jurisdictions met to discuss the framework for the 2004 - 05 project. Attendees considered draft survey instruments, incorporating changes based on input received from jurisdictions. This report builds on the data improvements incorporated in the 2003 report, with continued refinement of the survey of government school and a further survey of the non government schools sector. The importance of the collection of teacher workforce data is acknowledged in fora outside this project. For example, the report of the Review of Teaching and Teacher Education, Australia’s Teachers: Australia’s Future - Advancing Innovation, Science, Technology and Mathematics, suggests “...Teacher supply and demand data that is disaggregated to the State and Territory, as well as the regional level, would inform policy makers about specific demand for teachers in specific geographic areas, and in specific fields of specialisation like chemistry, physics and mathematics... Substantially new and improved data collection and qualitative research is required. ... More comprehensive statistics relating to teachers, teacher workforce trends generally and specific fields of teaching and teacher education need to be consistently, reliably and regularly collected on a national and collaborative basis.” 1 The 2003 - 04 Australian Government Budget announced $38.8 million for a new programme to strengthen science, technology and mathematics education in Australian schools. This could include data collection and research to support workforce planning. Proposed improvements to the data collection for 2005 As noted, the 2003 report benefited from a number of improvements to past data collection methods, following extensive negotiations with stakeholders. One major innovation was a streamlined Government Schools Survey, complemented by the initial Non-Government Schools Staffing Survey, using an abbreviated version of the School Staffing survey instrument for State and Territory jurisdictions. The two initiatives contributed to a far more informed view of the national teacher labour market. However, as the Non Government Schools data related only to one year, 2001, and analysis of trends in this market requires the availability of time series non-government schools data, it was recommended that this survey be repeated for some years to come to develop a more

1 P. 94 Australia’s Teachers: Australia’s Future - Advancing Innovation, Science, Technology and Mathematics - Main Report, Canberra, DEST, 2003.

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comprehensive, reliable data base which would allow time series analysis of trends. The survey has been repeated in 2004. The report also includes further analysis of data arising from the 2002 National Survey of factors that are important in attracting and retaining teachers in respect to younger, less experienced teachers. The 2003 report included qualitative research on factors that are important in attracting people to a career in teaching, and factors that are important in retaining teachers in their profession. (The research was funded by the Australian Government Quality Teacher Programme). In this report, the data has been revisited with respect to young or inexperienced teachers. The report also includes additional research to cover topics of special interest to MCEETYA stakeholders. Research topics included:

• Supply Chain for Languages Other than English (LOTE) Teachers;

• Analysis of the 2002 National Survey of Teachers from the perspective of young teachers (as described above);

• Teachers going overseas (an analysis of survey data on educational professionals collected by Federation Fellow, Graham Hugo, for his Emigration from Australia project); and

• Teachers’ Exit Rates and Labour Mobility.

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Period of Analysis The report includes data published prior to 20 January 2005. Structure of the report

The remainder of this report is structured along the same lines as the 2003 MCEETYA report, to aid comparisons between the reports. The structure is as follows: The report consists of five parts (A – E). Part A constitutes a point of reference for the subsequent parts of the report by providing an overview of the main characteristics of the Australian teaching workforce in the decade preceding 2003 or 2004 (depending on the availability of data). It consists of two chapters.

• Chapter 2 provides a distribution of teachers by State/Territory, sector and type of school.

• Chapter 3 deals with trends in the teacher labour market in the one or two decades preceding 2003 or 2004 again by State/Territory, sector and type of school.

Part B overviews the state of the teacher labour market in Australia and in selected overseas countries.

• Chapter 4 summarises the labour market for teachers in each State/Territory and specifies recruitment strategies for dealing with hard-to-fill teacher vacancies.

• Chapter 5 examines the state of the teacher labour market in similar, English speaking labour markets for school teachers, including the United States of America, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada.

• Chapter 6 examines the work of the Organization for Economic Development (OECD) on the issue of Attracting, Recruiting and Retaining Effective Teachers.

Part C provides a future outlook of demand for and supply of teachers. The first two chapters in this Part analyse factors affecting the demand for and the supply of teachers.

• Chapter 7 identifies two sources of demand for teachers: “growth demand” and “replacement demand”.

• Chapter 8 identifies sources of supply of teachers: new graduates, teachers returning from leave and former teachers returning to teaching, the pool of relief, casual and contract teachers and overseas migration.

• Chapter 9 provides projections of teacher demand and supply to 2009 as well as an assessment of internal and external flexibilities and scope of adjustment in the market for teachers.

• Chapter 10 analyses longer term pressures on the teacher labour market coming, specifically, from the trends in the student enrolments, the ageing of the teacher workforce.

Part D provides a brief summary and conclusions, relating specifically, to the state of the teacher labour market in 2003, projections of demand for and supply of teachers to 2014. It

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also specifies possible longer term sources of pressure on the market for teachers as well as provides observations on ways to improve the collection of relevant data. A list of bibliographical sources, a list of acronyms and abbreviations and a glossary of specific terms complete the main body of report. Part E provides research papers on complementary topics, including:

• Supply Chain for Languages Other than English (LOTE) Teachers;

• Analysis of the 2002 National Survey of Teachers from the perspective of young teachers (as described above);

• Teachers going overseas (an analysis of survey data on educational professionals collected by Federation Fellow, Graham Hugo, for his Emigration from Australia project); and

• Teachers’ Exit Rates and Labour Mobility.

Key Conclusions Key conclusions from the research include:

• The national labour market for supply of primary school teachers was in balance at the time this report was prepared. Education authorities generally reported an adequate supply of generalist teachers, although recruitment difficulties were experienced in some geographic locations. Recruitment of specialist primary teachers of Languages other than English and Special Education were causing difficulties to varying degrees in both the government and non-government sectors.

• At secondary level, education authorities commonly reported difficulties in filling vacancies located in rural, remote and difficult to staff metropolitan locations and for particular specialisations. Finding specialist relief staff is exacerbating the difficulties. Recruiting teachers of mathematics, science and technology continue to present the most difficulties, filling vacancies for teachers of Languages other than English also presents consistent concerns.

• The age structure of the national teaching workforce remains an issue. Based on 2001 Census of Population and Housing data, an average of 3.6 per cent of the teaching workforce will reach retirement age per year over the next ten years. The impact of these retirements will depend largely on the success of initiatives by education authorities to attract new teachers to the profession and to retain current teachers. Improving the status of the teaching profession is being addressed at a number of levels, including requirements for regular certification/registration of teachers, and establishment of the National Institute for Quality Teaching and Education Leadership. In several jurisdictions inquiries into aspects of the teaching profession are underway, or have recently concluded. The Australian Government, for example, has recently announced a Parliamentary Inquiry into Teacher Education.

• Gender trends remain a matter for concern. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Schools Australia, show that the proportion of female teachers at both primary and secondary level has increased slightly (by less than one percentage point) since 2001. At 2003, females made up 79.1 per cent of primary teachers and 55.3 per cent of secondary teachers across Australia.

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• Gender imbalance, ageing workforce and recruitment difficulties are not isolated to Australia. Similar issues are being experienced in other English-speaking countries. Recent research activity on “Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers” by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) show that feminisation and ageing present concerns for the majority of OECD countries.

• Based on broad-brush calculations using national data, which do not take into account the characteristics of individual jurisdictions, there is the potential for significant teacher shortages between now and 2014. The extent to which such shortages may occur will be largely reliant on the success of initiatives introduced to attract new people to the teaching profession and retain current teachers in the profession. A sizable teaching pool already exists, and there are large numbers of people in the workforce who possess teaching qualifications but are not working as teachers.

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PART A The Recent Past

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Chapter 2 A profile of the Australian teaching workforce in 2003

School teachers can be divided broadly into two categories: • teachers employed by the school authorities on a permanent or fixed term basis (i.e.

‘regular’ or core teachers) and;

• temporary relief or casual teachers, who are employed to fill in for regular teachers (who are away on sick leave or undertaking training or for some other reason) and who are located in the ‘teacher pool’.

In 2003 (latest available data at the time of writing), there were 260,409 teachers employed on a permanent and fixed term contract basis in Australian primary and secondary schools (ABS 2003). The vast majority of these teachers are employed on a full-time and permanent basis. Data from the 2004 Government School Staffing Surveys indicated that 86 per cent of government primary school teachers and 80 per cent of government secondary school teachers held permanent teaching positions. Data from the Non-Government School Staffing survey indicated that 78.8 per cent of non-government primary school teachers and 84.4 per cent of non-government secondary school teachers held permanent teaching positions. Data from the 2002 MCEETYA national survey of 2,358 teachers indicated that 91.8 per cent of survey respondents held permanent teaching positions, 6.7 per cent were on fixed-term contracts, and 1.5 per cent were casual relief teachers. The proportion of part-time teachers appears to have grown over time, especially at primary level. This may reflect an increase in the availability of permanent part-time teaching positions and the fact that primary schools may not always able to offer specialist teachers more than a part-time job. It may also relate to the need for more flexible employment arrangements to meet staffing requirements - “job-share” arrangements, for example, are becoming more common. The proportion of part-time teachers and the number of hours they work is reflected in the number of teachers, measured in full-time equivalent (FTE) units, being 11.84 per cent less in 2003 than the actual number of teachers. This proportion has increased over time from 7.32 per cent in 1993. The number of relief teachers remains difficult to estimate, although they make up an essential part of the teaching workforce and contribute to flexibility of the teacher labour market. The following discussion relates to permanent and fixed-term contract teachers. Distribution of regular teachers by State, sector and type of school The distribution of teachers by sector (primary and secondary), State and Territory and whether the school is government or non-government, is shown in Table 2.1, on a full-time equivalent (FTE) basis. (FTE is lower than the actual number employed.) The number of FTE teachers in both the primary and secondary sectors is almost equal, with the primary sector exceeding the secondary sector by just over 3,500 teachers (or just over 3 per cent). New South Wales and Victoria are the dominant employers of teachers in both the

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government and non-government sectors. This proportion has declined over time as the share of States such as Queensland and Western Australia has grown.

Table 2.1

Employment of Teachers (FTE) by State/Territory, sector and category of school, 2003

Govt Non-Govt Govt Non-Govt Govt Non-Govt

NSW 25,771 10,380 24,334 14,731 50,105 25,111

VIC 19,509 8,427 18,155 12,118 37,664 20,545

QLD 18,412 5,711 12,307 7,082 30,719 12,793

SA 6,936 2,722 4,702 2,734 11,638 5,456

WA 8,940 3,193 6,638 3,927 15,578 7,120

TAS 2,255 601 1,985 884 4,240 1,485

NT 1,452 279 752 339 2,203 617

ACT 1,349 633 1,377 945 2,725 1,577

Australia 84,623 31,945 70,249 42,759 154,872 74,704

Source: Schools Australia, Cat No 4221.0 ABS, 2003

SecondaryPrimaryState/Territory

Totals

Table 2.2

Employment of Teachers (FTE) in Australia by sector and category of school,

2002 and 2003

Govt Non-Govt Govt Non-Govt Govt Non-Govt

Australia 2002 83,356 31,187 69,884 41,184 153,240 72,371

Australia 2003 84,623 31,945 70,249 42,759 154,872 74,704

Source: Schools Australia, Cat No 4221.0 ABS, 2003

Primary Secondary Total

In 2003 government schools employed 72.6 per cent of primary school teachers and 62.2 per cent of secondary school teachers. This proportion varies by State. In Victoria government primary schools employed 69.8 per cent of primary teachers, compared to 83.9 per cent in the Northern Territory and 76.3 per cent in Queensland. A similar difference applied at secondary level, with the government proportion ranging between 59.3 per cent (Australian Capital Territory) to 69.2 per cent (Tasmania). Distribution of teachers by age and gender Gender

Female teachers dominate the primary teaching workforce in every State with 76 per cent or more of the teaching workforce being female (Table 2.3). In the secondary sector, the balance between female teachers and male teachers is more even, although female teachers still outnumber male teachers (55.3 per cent to 44.7 per cent). The female-male ratio in the secondary sector varies, with the female proportion lowest in South Australia (49.4 per cent) and highest in the ACT (60.5 per cent). Although part-time teaching represents a small proportion of teachers overall, it is female teachers who form the bulk of part-timers.

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Table 2.3

Primary Secondary Total

NSW 79.8 55.2 67.0

VIC 79.9 56.8 67.9

QLD 77.9 56.0 68.2

SA 76.2 49.4 64.6

WA 78.7 52.7 66.6

TAS 79.0 54.4 66.7

NT 82.6 59.6 73.7

ACT 83.5 60.5 71.1

Australia 79.1 55.3 67.4

Source: Schools Australia, (Cat No 4221.0), ABS, 2003

Gender characteristics of the government and non-government teaching

workforce, 2003

% FemaleState/Territory

Age

The 2003 MCEETYA report used data from the 2001 Census of Population and Housing to illustrate the age distribution of teachers compared to other professional employees. Census data, by its nature, is the most comprehensive available. The data showed that the teacher workforce is generally older than the rest of the professional workforce, with the highest proportion of teachers aged in their middle to late 40s.

Chart 2.1

Age distribution of teachers and other professional employees,

Australia, 2001

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

15

17

19

21

23

25

27

29

31

33

35

37

39

41

43

45

47

49

51

53

55

57

59

61

63

65+

Age

Total Professionals (exl. School Teachers)

School Teachers

Source: 2001 Census of Population and Housing, ABS, 2003

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Another source of data referenced in the 2003 report was the National Survey of Teachers2, which reported that the average age of teachers surveyed across Australia in 2002 was 43.1. The median age was estimated at 45, with some variation between States and Territories. The most frequently encountered age of respondents was 49. Other data are provided by State and Territory education authorities and non-government schools and systems via the School Staffing Surveys on a biennial basis. For this report, age data for the Government sector covers 2003; for the Non-government sector it covers 2004.3 Primary Government

Nationwide, almost one-quarter (23 per cent) of government primary school teachers were in the 45 – 49 years age range in 2003. Almost one-third 28.2 per cent) were aged 50 years or older. The Northern Territory (50 percent), Queensland (43.3 per cent) and Australian Capital Territory (41.8 per cent) employed the highest proportions of younger primary school teachers – i.e. aged under 40.

Table 2.4 Proportion of Government Primary School Teachers by Age Group, State/Territory, 2003

Age Group (years) NSW VIC QLD SA WA NT TAS ACT AUST

20 - 24 2.6 6.1 6.8 5.0 4.0 4.8 4.6 9.5 4.9

25 - 29 8.2 11.7 10.4 8.1 8.6 13.8 8.9 14.4 9.8

30 - 34 11.1 7.9 12.7 7.7 10.5 16.7 7.6 10.8 10.4

35 - 39 8.8 7.7 13.4 7.3 10.6 14.7 9.7 7.0 9.8

40 - 44 12.4 12.5 15.1 12.9 14.7 15.2 18.6 11.4 13.6

45 - 49 25.3 24.9 18.5 26.6 22.4 14.1 23.3 15.8 23.0

50 - 54 20.5 19.6 14.6 20.0 16.7 10.5 16.2 19.0 18.1

55 - 59 9.2 6.6 6.0 10.0 8.5 7.7 7.5 9.5 7.8

60 and over 1.9 1.8 2.4 2.3 4.0 2.5 3.2 2.6 2.3

Unknown 0.0 1.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.3

Source: Government Schools Staffing Survey , DEST, 2004

2 MCEETYA, National Survey of Teachers, 2003 (published as Part E of the Demand and Supply of Primary School Teachers in Australia, 2003 suite of documents, at http://www.mceetya.edu.au/pdf/demand/part_ei.pdf 3 In tables, percentages may not total 100 due to rounding of decimals.

http://www.mceetya.edu.au/pdf/demand/part_ei.pdf

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Chart 2.2

Age distribution of government Primary school teachers,

Australia, 2003

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2.0

4.0

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10.0

12.0

14.0

16.0

18.0

20.0

22.0

24.0

26.0

20 - 24 25 - 29 30 - 34 35 - 39 40 - 44 45 - 49 50 - 54 55 - 59 60 and over Unknown

Age Range (years)

Perc

en

tag

e


Non-government

Nationwide4, less than one fifth of non-government primary school teachers were in the 45 – 49 years age range in 2004. Almost one-quarter (23.6 per cent), however, were aged 50 years or older. Of primary teachers employed in the non-government sector, 42.6 per cent were aged under 40.

4 The Non-Government Schools Staffing Survey is a voluntary survey. On a national level, the response rate was approximately 43 per cent. At a State/Territory level, however, data may not be representative due to small numbers of respondents.

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Chart 2.3

Age distribution of non-government sector Primary school teachers,

Australia, 2004

0.0

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6.0

8.0

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20 - 24 25 - 29 30 - 34 35 - 39 40 - 44 45 - 49 50 - 54 55 - 59 60 and over Unknown

Age Range (years)

Perc

en

teag

e

Source: Non-Government Schools Staffing Survey , DEST, 2004

Secondary Government

Nationwide, over forty percent of government secondary school teachers were aged between 45 and 54 in 2003. Almost one-third (32.22 per cent) were aged 50 years or older. Queensland (43.6 per cent), the Northern Territory (40%) and Western Australia (34 per cent) employed the highest proportions of younger secondary school teachers – i.e. aged under 40. Across Australia, almost one third of teachers (32.9 per cent) were aged under 40 in 2003.

Table 2.5 Proportion of Government Secondary School Teachers by Age Group, State/Territory, 2003

Age Range (years) NSW VIC QLD SA WA NT TAS ACT AUST

20 - 24 2.0 4.2 7.5 1.5 3.1 1.7 3.8 4.4 3.8

25 - 29 7.5 8.8 10.5 5.9 8.2 9.7 7.7 8.7 8.4

30 - 34 11.8 7.5 12.4 6.3 11.2 15.5 9.2 8.9 10.2

35 - 39 10.1 9.6 13.2 7.9 11.6 13.1 8.0 9.6 10.5

40 - 44 12.6 15.4 14.4 13.1 14.6 12.3 17.2 12.5 14.0

45 - 49 22.9 21.7 16.8 22.3 18.2 16.1 22.5 18.1 20.8

50 - 54 21.9 21.7 15.7 26.3 16.8 18.6 19.5 23.0 20.4

55 - 59 9.8 8.3 7.0 13.6 11.4 8.5 8.9 10.8 9.3

60 and over 1.5 2.4 2.6 3.2 5.0 4.4 2.8 3.9 2.5

Unknown 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.1


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Chart 2.4

Age distribution of government Secondary school teachers,

Australia, 2003

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2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

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12.0

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20 - 24 25 - 29 30 - 34 35 - 39 40 - 44 45 - 49 50 - 54 55 - 59 60 and over Unknown

Age Range (years)

Perc

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Non-Government Schools

Nationwide5, less than one-fifth of non-government secondary school teachers were in the 45 – 49 years age range in 2004. The age distribution across the ranges 25 – 29 to 45 – 49 was relatively even (between 11.9 and 15.3 per cent). Of secondary teachers employed in the non-government sector, 42.6 per cent were aged under 40. Just over one-quarter (26.8 per cent) were aged 50 or over.

5 The Non-Government Schools Staffing Survey is a voluntary survey. On a national level, the response rate was approximately 43 per cent. At a State/Territory level, however, data may not be representative due to small numbers of respondents.

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Chart 2.5

Age distribution of non-government sector Secondary school teachers,

Australia, 2004

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16.0

18.0

20 - 24 25 - 29 30 - 34 35 - 39 40 - 44 45 - 49 50 - 54 55 - 59 60 and over Unknown

Age Range (years)

Perc

en

tag

e

Source: Non-Government Schools Staffing Survey , DEST, 2004

16

Chapter 3 Trends in the teacher labour market in the period 1990 - 2003

National trends in students and (regular) teachers The main characteristics of the period 1990 to 2003 were:

• Primary enrolment numbers continued to climb to peak in 2002, before falling back slightly in 2003.

• Primary student to teacher ratios have continued to drop; secondary student to teacher ratios remain relatively flat;

• Secondary enrolment numbers continue to grow.

The aggregate data by level of schooling mask significant changes on the composition of enrolments between the government and non-government sectors. Over the period between 1990 and 2003, in the government schools sector (as shown in Table 3.1) primary school enrolments rose by 61,200 students or 4.6 per cent, compared to growth in enrolments of 104,500 students or 23.7 per cent in the non-government sector. At the secondary level, enrolments in government schools remained steady over this period, while enrolments in non-government schools increased by 111,100 or 27.2 per cent.

17

Table 3.1

student to teacher ratios

1980 1990 2000 2003Students (’000)

Primary

Government 1,508.1 1,322.5 1,386.1 1,383.7

Non-government 376.1 441.0 517.8 545.5

Total 1,884.2 1,763.5 1,903.9 1,929.2

Secondary

Government 810.0 870.8 862.2 870.9

Non-government 290.4 407.4 481.3 518.5

Total 1,100.4 1,278.2 1,343.5 1,389.5

Teachers (’000)

Primary

Government 74.8* 73.8 81.1 84.6

Non-government 15.9* 22.1 28.9 31.9

Total 90.7 95.9 110.1 116.6

Secondary

Government 66.4* 72.6 69.5 70.2

Non-government 18.1* 30.7 39.5 42.8

Total 84.5 103.3 108.3 113.0

Student to Teacher Ratio1

Primary

Government 20.3* 17.9 17.1 16.4

Non-government 23.1* 20.0 17.9 17.1

Total 20.8* 18.4 17.3 16.6

Secondary

Government 12.3* 12.0 12.4 12.5

Non-government 15.6* 13.3 12.5 12.1

Total 13.0* 12.4 12.4 12.4* for 1979;

Source: Schools Australia, ABS, (Cat. No. 4221.0), 2000, 2001, 2003

Note: 1 Student/teaching staff ratios STRs) are calculated by dividing the number of students by the number of full-time

equivalent (FTE) teaching staff. IN 2003 the ABS changed its methodology for calculating STRs to include both part-time and full-

time student enrolments.

Long term trends in numbers of students, FTE of teachers and

Over the period 1990 - 2003 employment of teachers (in FTE terms) in Australia rose by 15.3 per cent, or 1.1 per cent per annum. This far exceeded the growth of employment in the economy at large. A large part of this increase in teacher employment was concentrated at primary level, where employment of teachers rose by 21.6 per cent (or 1.5 per cent per annum) compared to 9.4 per cent (or 0.7 per cent per annum) for secondary school teachers. Employment changes over this period were broadly similar to those in the previous ten year period (1980 to 1990), when employment of teachers rose by 1.3 per cent per annum, largely reflecting growth in secondary teacher employment.

18

The difference in growth in employment of teachers between primary and secondary levels in the period 1990 to 2003 was due to the greater increase in the number of students at primary level than at secondary level (9.4 per cent compared to 8.7 per cent) and the various initiatives at primary level that increased the number of teachers relative to students. State and Territory trends in (regular) teachers National figures mask differences in trends between the States and Territories as shown in Chart 3.1 for the primary and Chart 3.2 for the secondary sector (See Appendix 1 for detailed tables of teachers employed). These charts show that, essentially, States and Territories fell into two broad groups: the group including New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory where employment of teachers increased relatively rapidly, above the national trend, and the group represented by the remaining States and Territories where employment rose less rapidly. All State and Territory governments increased their primary teacher workforces between 1990 and 2003. Each of the States and Territories in the rapid growth group increased their teacher workforce by over 18 per cent; the States and Territories in the low growth group experienced growths of less than 11 per cent (with the exception of ACT which increased its teacher workforce by 20 per cent). At secondary level, the high growth group increased their teaching workforces, but generally by less than the primary level. The low growth group experienced an actual decline in the (FTE) number of secondary teachers employed. In three of the four States in this group, this followed a fall in the number of secondary schools. The largest decline in secondary teacher employment occurred in South Australia and Tasmania.

19

Growth in FTE of Primary Teachers

Chart 3.1

Growth in FTE of primary school teachers,

States & Territories,

1984 - 2003

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

150

160

170

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Year

per

cen

t g

row

th

NSW

Victoria

Queensland

South Australia

Western Australia

Tasmania

Northern Territory

ACT

Australia

Source: Schools Australia, (Cat No 4221.0), ABS, 2003 and earlier years

Growth in FTE of Secondary Teachers

Chart 3.2

Growth in FTE of secondary school teachers,

States & Territories,

1984 - 2003

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

150

160

170

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Year

per

cen

t g

row

th

NSW

Victoria

Queensland

South Australia

Western Australia

Tasmania

Northern Territory

ACT

Australia


20

Students and teachers in government and non-government schools The 2003 MCEETYA report noted the continuation of the shift in the proportion of students towards non-government schools at both primary and secondary levels. The proportion of primary and secondary full time students in the non-government sector reached 32.1 per cent in 2003, up from 28.1 per cent ten years earlier (1993) and 24.3 per cent twenty years earlier. At primary level, non-government schools provided for 28.3 per cent of all primary students in 2003. At secondary level, non-government schools provided for 37.3 per cent of all secondary students in 2003, increasing from 36.8 per cent in 2002. These trends were replicated in the case of teachers. In 1993, 27.4 per cent of primary and secondary teachers were employed in non-government schools. In 2003 the proportion had increased to 32.5 per cent. At primary level, non-government schools employed 27.4 per cent of teachers in 2003, up from 23.8 per cent in 1993. At secondary level, non-government schools employed 30.7 per cent of teachers in 1993, increasing to 37.8 per cent in 2003. Contract teachers Data from the DEST 2004 School Staffing surveys suggest that the numbers of teachers working under contract arrangements are increasing. The 2004 data show that 12.7 per cent of Government teachers6 and 18.3 per cent of Non-Government teachers were employed on a contract basis. These data represent an increase from 2002 of 0.9 percentage points for Government teachers and 1.7 percentage points for Non-Government teachers. The proportion of contract teachers identified by the survey by the Australian College of Education (ACE) in 1999, which applied to teachers across the government and non-government sectors 7 indicated at that time 11.3 per cent per cent of teachers surveyed were employed on a contract basis. Teacher supply and demand imbalances during the 1990s The 2003 MCEETYA report noted that following the recession of the early 1990s, limited labour market opportunities for teaching graduates meant demand for new teachers was met relatively evenly.8 Burke9 and Preston10 noted that, as a result, resignations from teaching fell, leading to a decline in the requirement for new teachers. This created a sizable surplus of new teacher graduates and others seeking teaching appointments. This is consistent with data from the Graduate Destination survey reported annually by the Graduate Careers Council of Australia (GCCA). The employment outcomes for the period 1989 to 2003 shown in Chart 3.3 indicate that slightly less than 60 per cent of all new 1992 initial teacher education graduates (Bachelor of Education graduates) available for full-time work had 6 It should be noted that these data exclude 347 teachers whose status could not be ascertained. 7 N Dempster, C Sim, D Beere and L Logan, Teachers in Australian Schools – a report from the 1999 National Survey, Centre for Leadership and Management in Education, Faculty of Education, Griffith University, September 2000. 8 p.15, Demand and Supply of Primary and Secondary School Teachers in Australia, MCEETYA, 2003 at http://www.mceetya.edu.au/public/demand.htm 9 G Burke, ‘Teachers: Employment in the 1980s and 1990s’ in The Workplace in Education – Australian perspectives, First Yearbook of the Australian Council of Educational Administration, Edward Arnold publishers, 1994. 10 B Preston, Teacher supply and demand to 2005, paper commissioned by the Australian Council of Deans of Education, July 2000.

http://www.mceetya.edu.au/public/demand.htm

21

obtained a full-time job by April of the year after graduation. This was down from 88 per cent three years before. The proportion stayed relatively low until the mid 1990s, especially for graduates trained as primary school teachers. In part reflecting these trends, demand for places in university initial teacher education courses fell although Burke notes that university course restructuring at about this time also had an impact on initial teacher training course places on offer. As the economy improved during the latter half of the 1990s, the factors which had led to low demand for new teachers began to diminish. As the demand for new teachers increased, the employment outcomes for new initial teacher education graduates began to improve and by the late 1990s approached the levels experienced in the 1980s.

Chart 3.3

Education graduates working in full time employment as a proportion

of those available for full-time employment

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

per

cen

t

Education, Post Other

Education, Initial

Source: Graduate Destination Survey, GCCA

Note: full-time employment refers to any type of full-time employment not just in teaching. The other cohort supplying new teachers is the post-initial/other education graduates. This group did not experience a major deterioration in employment outcomes in the early 1990s recession as did their initial education graduate colleagues. Since 1991 about 85 per cent of those available have been employed as teachers, the share falling since 2000. Most recently, the competition for places from the stock of teachers without a teaching appointment built up in the early to mid 1990s appears to have been easing. Most indicators point to the fact that up to the late 1990s the supply of new teachers (essentially new graduates and previous graduates in the surplus pool) was adequate to meet the rising demand. In 1999 Shah published research which provided a basis for comparing in broad terms the requirements for new teachers and the number of new graduates during the 1990s. Shah

22

estimated that in the period 1986 - 87 to 1997 - 98 the net replacement rate for teachers was around 2.9 per cent a year. 11 In effect, this estimate measures the net loss from the teaching profession. Using overall teacher workforce data, the replacement estimate by Shah corresponded to a net loss of approximately 6210 full-time-equivalent teachers a year during the five year period to 2001. During the same period the average yearly growth in teacher (FTE) numbers was 2,080. The requirement for new teachers over that period, estimated as the sum of net loss of teachers and growth in employment of teachers, would therefore have been around 8,300 (FTE) or 9,200 teachers a year. By contrast, the average number of graduates and postgraduates from initial education courses during the period 1996 to 2000 was 9,870 or, assuming that only 75 - 85 per cent enter the market, around 7,400 – 8,400 a year. This would point to a degree of possible teacher shortage in the late 1990s. The situation differed, however, across States and Territories. As a generalisation, States which experienced lower than average teacher growth rates (South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory) had substantial surpluses of teachers throughout the 1990s. By contrast, in States where employment of teachers grew faster than average (such as Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory), the stronger demand for teachers led to some tightening of the labour market for teachers in the second half of the 1990s, notably in some secondary teaching specialisations. In some instances, shortages in some secondary specialisations may have been caused by an undersupply of teacher education graduates in those specialisations. Analysis of ABS Labour Mobility Survey data for 1998, 2000 and 2002 by Webster, Wooden and Marks suggests that about 6 per cent of both primary and secondary school teachers leave teaching each year. Approximately one in five of those who leave primary school teaching take up work in another occupation, with the remainder stopping work. One in four secondary school teachers who leave secondary teaching move to other occupations.12

Table 3.2

Primary Secondary

Primary teacher 93.4 0.0 1.4 5.0

Secondary teacher 0.0 93.4 1.6 4.9

Other 0.0 3.0 93.2 6.6

Not working 0.5 2.8 75.6 23.6

Current Employment Status (%)

Occupation last February

Source: ABS Labour Mobility Surveys, 1998, 2000, 2002, unpublished data, analysed in Webster,

Wooden and Marks, The Labour Market for Australian teachers paper , presented at Melbourne

Institute Making Schools Better Conference, 26 - 27 August, 2004, Melbourne

Outflows of people from primary and secondary teaching over the last year,

average flows from 1998, 2000 and 2002, Australia

TeachingOther Not working

11 C Shah, ‘Teachers: older, wiser and needed’ in EQ Australia, Autumn 1999, pp 10 – 12. 12 Beth Webster, Mark Wooden and Gary Marks, The Labour Market for Australian Teacher, paper presented at the Making Schools Better Conference, 26 - 27 August 2004, Melbourne, at http://www.ecom.unimelb.edu.au/iaesrwww/school_conf/Papers_presentations/Webster_Beth.pdf

http://www.ecom.unimelb.edu.au/iaesrwww/school_conf/Papers_presentations/Webster_Beth.pdf

23

Data generated for this and the previous MCEETYA report suggest that replacement demand may be increasing. Between 1996 and 2003, the extent of losses due to retirement, resignation, death, retrenchment, dismissals and transfers in government schools rose from 2.9 per cent to 4.8 per cent in the primary teaching workforce, and from 4.0 to 5.7 per cent in the secondary teaching workforce. In the non-government sector, losses for 2003 in both primary and secondary schools remained significant (9.0 per cent in the primary teaching workforce, 8.8 in the secondary teaching workforce), but were lower than the figures recorded in 2001 (10.4 per cent and 10.8 percent respectively. 13 This change becomes all the more significant when viewed against the age profile of the teaching workforce. As flagged in the 2003 MCEETYA report, losses due to retirement have the potential to increase significantly in the next five to ten years.

13 It should be noted, however, that the non-government schools staffing survey is voluntary; response rate is approximately 43%, so data may be more subject to variability. In the 2004 staffing survey, an additional data item of “Separations - Transfers within System” was added to the questionnaire, to account for those teachers who effectively transferred from one school to another within their non-government system. This may also contribute to the difference between the rates recorded for 2001 and 2003, as this category of separation was not included in the “losses” figures above.

24

PART B The National Teacher Labour Market in 2003

25

Chapter 4 The state of the teacher labour market in Australia in 2003

This chapter discusses the state of the teacher labour market at the national level in 2003 and by State and Territory. The last section of the chapter provides information on measures taken by the State and Territory education authorities to promote teaching as a career and assist teacher recruitment. Primary level Government

At primary level, government education authorities generally reported an adequate supply of generalist teachers, although recruitment difficulty was experienced in some geographic locations. Four jurisdictions (Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory) reported difficulties in meeting demand for teachers of Languages other than English (LOTE). Likewise, four jurisdictions (New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia) reported difficulties in meeting demand for Special Education teachers. Compared to the results reported on the 2001 year, these data suggest that the primary teacher labour market may be tightening.14 This may be an indication that the ageing of the teacher workforce is beginning to have an impact. As in 2001, LOTE and Special Education present as the primary teaching areas creating the most cause for concern. Table 4.1 Recruitment Issues for 2003 year

Australia

Counts of

Moderate/Difficult

General None Minor Minor Minor None Minor None None 0

Languages other than English N/A Moderate Difficult Moderate Minor None Minor Moderate 4

Special Education Moderate Moderate Moderate Difficult None Minor None Minor 4

Visual, Performing Arts N/A Minor Moderate Minor None None None None 1

Other N/A Moderate Minor None None Minor 1

Counts of Moderate/Difficult 1 3 3 2 0 0 0 1 10

Source: School Staffing Survey, Government Primary Eduction, DEST 2004

Description of Ratings

Difficult Broad recruitment deficit (chronic shortfalls)

Moderate Unable to satisfactorily meet demand in some locations (some shortfalls)

Minor Just able to satisfy the demand for teachers (significant shortfalls avoided)

None Abundant teacher supplies (easily able to satisfy demand)

ACTWATeaching Area NT TASNSW VIC QLD SA

For this report, government education authorities provided data on the specific subjects and locations where difficulties were being reported as “moderate” or “difficult” within the Key Learning Area. In the LOTE key learning area, difficulties were quite broad spread. Most jurisdictions reporting difficulties nominated Asian Languages (particularly Indonesian) and Italian as the subjects for which recruitment was most difficult.

14 It should be noted, however, that the definition for the most severe recruitment issue has changed. In the report published in 2003, the most severe rating was “Acute - broad recruitment deficit (widespread shortfalls). In this report, the equivalent rating is “Difficult - broad recruitment deficit (chronic shortfalls)”.

26

In the key learning area of Special Education, three of the four government jurisdictions most affected reported “moderate” levels of recruitment difficulty in specific locations. New South Wales and South Australia reported recruitment difficulties across all subjects and in all locations; South Australia assessed the issue as “Difficult”, New South Wales considered it “moderate”. In Victoria, the specific difficulties related to recruitment of teachers of the hearing impaired in both metropolitan and rural/regional locations. Queensland reported moderate difficulties in recruiting teachers for all disabilities and intellectual impairment in rural/regional areas, for teachers of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in metropolitan areas; and for Guidance/Behaviour Management in remote areas. Victoria was the only government jurisdiction reporting a significant level of recruitment difficulty in the key learning area of Health and Physical Education, reflecting a moderate recruitment difficulty for Physical Education teachers in the metropolitan area. Queensland was the only government authority reporting a significant level of recruitment difficulty for the Visual and Performing Arts key learning area, reflecting a moderate recruitment difficulty for Music teachers in rural/regional areas.

27

Table 4.2

Recruitment Issue by Subject for 2003 yearKey Learning Area: Languages Other than English (LOTE)

MetropolitanRural

/Regional1 Remote

Short Term

Relief

Extended

Relief

VICItalian

IndonesianModerate ! !

QLD

French

Japanese

Indonesian

Itallian

Difficult ! !

SA All Asian languages Moderate! ! ! ! !

ACT All areas Moderate ! N/A N/A ! !

Key Learning Area: Special Education

MetropolitanRural

/RegionalRemote

Short Term

Relief

Extended

Relief

NSW All areas Moderate ! ! ! ! !

VIC

Teachers of the

Deaf in Primary and

Special schools

Moderate ! !

All disabilities Moderate !

Autism Spectrum

DisordersModerate !

Intellectual

ImpairmentModerate !

Guidance,

Behaviour

Management

Moderate !

SASpecial Schools,

Units and ClassesDifficult ! ! ! ! !

Key Learning Area: Health and Physical Education

MetropolitanRural

/RegionalRemote

Short Term

Relief

Extended

Relief

VIC Physical Education Moderate !

Key Learning Area: Visual and Performing Arts

MetropolitanRural

/RegionalRemote

Short Term

Relief

Extended

Relief

QLD Music Moderate !

Source: School Staffing Questionnaire, Government Primary Education, DEST 2004

Note:

1 Victoria's classification "Rural/Region" means "Non-metropolitan".

Nature of Difficulty




QLD

State Subject Level

State Subject Level

State Subject Level

State Subject Level

28

Non-government

The experience for Non-government providers was similar, as reflected in the table below. The highest level of recruitment difficulties were recorded consistently across the States and Territories in the teaching areas of LOTE and Special Education.15 In Special Education, all instances of recruitment were classified as “moderate” or “difficult”. Across Australia, recruitment for primary teachers of LOTE was reported as “moderate” or “difficult” for 69.4 per cent of activity. These data are fairly consistent with that reported by the Government sector, and suggest that, comparing 2003 to 2001 data, the labour market for teachers of LOTE and Special Education is continuing to tighten.

Table 4.3

Teaching Area NSW/ACT VIC QLD SA/NT WA TAS AUST

General 11.6 25.9 8.2 45.9 18.2 8.8 15.9

LOTE 60.0 75.0 59.6 82.4 76.9 100.0 69.4

Special Education 100.0 100.0 100.0 0.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Visual, Performing Arts 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Other 22.0 7.1 14.3 100.0 25.0 40.0 22.2

Source: Non-government Schools Staffing Survey, DEST 2004

Note:

@ Scale of Recruitment Issues

Difficult

Moderate Able to fill vacancies only after extensive effort (e.g. after re-advertising a position)

Proportion of responding non-government primary schools reporting moderate/difficult recruitment issues

by subject area, 2004 (%) * @

Unable to fill a vacancy satisfactorily (i.e. did not find permanent solution to teaching need)

* Due to small numbers of respondents in the Territories, their data has been combined with the neighbouring State.

15 State-level data for the non-government sector may not be representative. The survey was voluntary, so a small number of respondents in one State may skew the data.

29

Secondary level At secondary level, States and Territories commonly reported difficulties in filling vacancies located in rural, remote and “difficult-to-staff” metropolitan locations, and for particular specialisations. Increasingly, finding relief staff is exacerbating the difficulties. More detailed information from the Government and Non-Government Schools Staffing Surveys provides an enhanced picture of the degree of difficulty in filling vacancies in key learning areas (Tables 4.5 to 4.7). It should be noted that government data relate to 2003 (Tables 4.4 and 4.5) and non-government data relate to 2004.16 Government

At Secondary level, the Government sector continues to experience recruitment difficulties.17 In the larger States, NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia, the number of key learning areas where significant recruitment difficulties have occurred has increased since the last report. Based on Table 4.4 below, the main points to note are:

• Mathematics, Science and Technology continue to present the greatest recruitment difficulties across Australia;

• The level of recruitment difficulty for teachers of Languages other than English (LOTE) appears to be increasing, with five government jurisdictions (compared to three in 2001) reporting moderate/difficult levels;

• The KLAs of Health and Physical Education and English are presenting more recruitment difficulties than in 2001, with three jurisdictions reporting “moderate” levels of difficulty;

• The KLA presenting the lowest level of recruitment difficulty was SOSE, where no jurisdiction reported higher than “minor” difficulties;

• With the exception of Queensland (which reported “Moderate” difficulties), Visual and Performing Arts presented no worse than “minor” difficulties;

More detail on specifics of location and subject are reported in Table 4.5.

16 Government schools data were collected at jurisdiction level, while non-government schools data were collected from a combination of individual schools and System Offices (approximately 43 per cent response rate across non-government schools.) The definitions used to assess “recruitment issues” differ between the Government and Non-Government Surveys to allow for assessment at individual school level in the non-government sector. 17 It should be noted, however, that the assessment definitions have changed slightly. In the report published in 2003, the most severe rating was “Acute - broad recruitment deficit (widespread shortfalls). In this report, the equivalent rating is “Difficult - broad recruitment deficit (chronic shortfalls).

30

Table 4.4

Recruitment Issues for 2003 yearKey Learning Area NSW VIC QLD SA WA NT TAS ACT Australia

Counts of

Difficult/Moderate

Health, Physical Education None Moderate Minor Moderate None Moderate Minor Minor 3

LOTE1

None Moderate Difficult Moderate Moderate None Minor Moderate 5

Mathematics Difficult Minor Difficult Difficult Minor Difficult Minor Minor 4

English Moderate None Moderate Moderate None Minor Minor Minor 3

Science Difficult4

None Difficult Difficult None Difficult Minor Minor 4

SOSE2

None None Minor Minor None None Minor None 0

Visual, Performing Arts None None Minor Moderate None None Minor None 1

Technology Moderate Moderate Difficult Difficult Minor Moderate Minor Minor 5

VET3

Minor None Minor Moderate None Minor Minor Minor 1

Special Education Moderate Minor Moderate Difficult None Moderate Minor Minor 4

Other None None 0

Counts of Difficult/Moderate 5 3 6 9 1 5 0 1 30

Source: School Staffing Questionnaire, Government Secondary Education, DEST 2004

Description of Ratings

Difficult Broad recruitment deficit (chronic shortfalls)

Moderate Unable to satisfactorily meet demand in some locations (some shortfalls)

Minor Just able to satisfy the demand for teachers (significant shortfalls avoided)

None Abundant teacher supplies (easily able to satisfy demand)

Notes:

1 Languages Other than English

2 Studies of Society and the Environment

3 Vocational Education and Training

4 NSW difficulties relate to specific recruitment of physics teachers.

31

Table 4.5

Recruitment Issue by Subject for 2003 year

Key Learning Area: Health and Physical Education

MetropolitanRural

/Regional1 Remote

Short Term

Relief

Extended

Relief

VIC Physical Education Moderate ! !

SA Physical Education Moderate ! ! ! ! !

NT Physical Education Moderate !

Key Learning Area: LOTE

MetropolitanRural

/RegionalRemote

Short Term

Relief

Extended

Relief

ACT All LOTE Moderate ! N/A N/A ! !

VIC Indonesian Moderate ! !

QLD

Japanese

Indonesian

French

German

Difficult ! ! !

SA All Asian Languages Moderate ! ! ! ! !

WA Indonesian Moderate !

Key Learning Area: Mathematics

MetropolitanRural

/RegionalRemote

Short Term

Relief

Extended

Relief

NSW Difficult ! ! ! ! !

QLD Senior Subjects (A,B,C) Difficult ! !

SA All Difficult ! ! ! ! !

NT Difficult !

Key Learning Area: English

MetropolitanRural

/RegionalRemote

Short Term

Relief

Extended

Relief

NSW Moderate ! ! !

QLD Senior English Moderate ! !

SA Senior English Moderate ! ! ! ! !

Key Learning Area: Science

MetropolitanRural

/RegionalRemote

Short Term

Relief

Extended

Relief

NSW Physics Difficult ! ! !

QLDSenior Subjects

(Physics & Chemistry)Difficult ! !


NT Difficult !

Key Learning Area: Visual and Performing Arts

MetropolitanRural

/RegionalRemote

Short Term

Relief

Extended

Relief

SADrama

DanceModerate ! ! ! ! !

State Subject Level

State Subject Level

State Subject Level

State Subject Level

State Subject Level

State Subject Level







32

Table 4.5 (continued)

Key Learning Area: Technology

MetropolitanRural

/RegionalRemote

Short Term

Relief

Extended

Relief

NSW Moderate ! ! ! ! !

VIC

Food

Auto

Metal

Wood

General

Moderate ! !

QLD

Information Processes &

Technology

Home Economics

Agricultural Science

Business Education

Manual Arts

Difficult ! !


NT Moderate !

Key Learning Area: VET

MetropolitanRural

/RegionalRemote

Short Term

Relief

Extended

Relief

SA Qualified Moderate ! ! ! !

Key Learning Area: Special Education

MetropolitanRural

/RegionalRemote

Short Term

Relief

Extended

Relief

NSW All areas Moderate ! ! ! ! !

QLD Intellectual Impairment Moderate !

SASpecial Schools, Units

and ClassesDifficult ! ! ! ! !

NT Moderate !

Source: School Staffing Questionnaire, Government Secondary Education, DEST, 2004

Note:

1 Victoria's classification "Rural/Regional" means "Non-metropolitan".




State Subject Level

State Subject Level

State Subject Level

Surveys on Teacher Shortages are undertaken by the Australian Secondary Principals’ Association (ASPA) in February and August each year. ASPA’s most recent dissemination of the results of this research suggests that Technology, Computing and LOTE are the areas most affected by teacher shortages, as measured by the number of subjects principals reported as being “lost” and the degree of difficulty in finding relief staff. 18 The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations National and State Skill Shortages List also provides an assessment of recruitment difficulties/shortages. The March 2004 list

18 See, John K and Teasdale-Smith, Wendy, ASPA Surveys PowerPoint (Presented at the ASPA Annual Delegates Meeting, Darwin 2004) at http://www.aspa.asn.au/Confs/Aspa2004/see%20teasdale-smith%20welfare.ppt

http://www.aspa.asn.au/Confs/Aspa2004/see%20teasdale-smith%20welfare.ppt

33

identifies the subject areas of LOTE, Maths/Science and Technology/Manual Arts as providing the most difficulties across the States, although the levels of difficulty vary.

Table 4.6

National and State Skill Shortages, 2004

Occupation NSW VIC QLD SA WA TAS NT

Secondary Teacher* D* * R-D* * * * S*

Physical Education S S

LOTE* S* D S* R-D*

Maths* S* D R-D* S

Maths/Science D* D S R-D S

Physics/Chemistry* D R-D* S

General Science* S* D

Technology/Manual Arts* D* S* D S R-D*

Information Technology S D S

Home Economics* S R-D*

Special Education* R-D*

Religious Education S

Notes:

N National shortage

S State-wide shortage

R-D Recruitment difficulties in regional areas

D Recruitment difficulties

* Shortages may be restricted to specialist skills Occupations thus marked have qualifying

comments below.

Source: National Skill Shortage (NSS) List - Australia 2004 , DEWR, at

http://www.workplace.gov.au/WP/Content/Files/WP/EmploymentPublications/NSSTradesupdateDecember2004V2.pdf

http://www.workplace.gov.au/WP/Content/Files/WP/EmploymentPublications/NSSTradesupdateDecember2004V2.pdf

34

Non-government

As in 2002, responding non-government schools have identified the Key Learning Areas of Mathematics, Science and Technology as presenting the most significant recruitment difficulties. At a national level, over one-third of schools who recruited in these KLAs reported moderate or difficult recruitment issues.19 The degree of difficulty at State level varies. For example:

• NSW/ACT reported significant levels of difficulty in recruiting teachers in the KLAs of Mathematic, Science and VET;

• VIC schools reported significant difficulties in recruiting teachers of LOTE and Technology;

• QLD schools reported significant difficulties in recruiting teachers of Mathematics, Science and Technology;

• SA/NT schools recorded significant levels of difficulty in recruiting teachers in a number of KLAs, including Health and Physical Education, Mathematics, Visual and Performing Arts, and Technology;

• WA schools reported significant difficulties in recruiting Science, SOSE and VET teachers;

• TAS schools recorded significant levels of difficult in recruitment activity for Technology teachers; and

• For Science teachers, Queensland schools reported a high of 55.8 per cent and Tasmania a low of 12.5 per cent of “moderate” or “difficult” recruitment activity.

19 State-level data for the non-government sector may not be representative. The survey was voluntary, so a small number of respondents in one State may skew the data.

35

Table 4.7

Key Learning Areas#

NSW/ACT VIC QLD SA/NT WA TAS AUST

Health, Physical Education 10.9 23.2 0.0 71.4 23.0 0.0 18.4

LOTE1 26.1 37.8 29.1 0.0 25.0 0.0 29.4

Mathematics 50.4 24.1 37.5 54.5 20.0 0.0 38.9

English 29.4 17.8 19.3 14.2 17.3 0.0 22.2

Science 36.5 21.1 55.8 22.2 39.1 12.5 34.7

SOSE2 22.9 4.8 4.0 28.5 33.3 0.0 11.4

Visual, Performing Arts 22.5 10.0 14.8 50.0 25.0 0.0 17.6

Technology 32.3 38.2 65.5 83.3 30.7 50.0 43.6

VET3 33.3 0.0 14.2 0.0 50.0 0.0 17.8

Special Education 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Religious Education/Studies of Faith 20.0 3.2 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 16.3

Other 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Source: Non-government Schools Staffing Survey, DEST 2004

Note:

@ Scale of Recruitment Issues

Difficult

Moderate Able to fill vacancies only after extensive effort (e.g. after re-advertising a position)

Percentage of responding non-government secondary schools reporting moderate/difficult recruitment issues by

subject area, 2004 (%)*@

# Key Learning Areas may be called by different names in some jurisdictions.

* Due to small numbers of respondents in the Territories, their data has been combined with the

neighbouring State.

1. Languages other than English

2. Studies of Society and the Environment

3. Vocational Education and Training

Unable to fill a vacancy satisfactorily (i.e. did not find permanent solution to teaching

need)

Strategies to promote teaching as a career and assist teacher recruitment Australian Government The Australian Government has also undertaken work addressing the issue of teaching and its attractiveness as a career. The Review of Teaching and Teacher Education was established to provide recommendations and action plans on ways to attract and retain the best people into the teaching profession, especially in the fields of science, technology and mathematics. The Review Committee’s Final Report, Australia’s Teachers: Australia’s Future – Advancing Innovation, Science, Technology and Mathematics was released in October 2003. It recommended 15 actions relating to attracting and retaining teachers, such as improving teacher workforce planning, incentives to encourage prospective teachers to complete their training and take up employment in areas of teacher shortage, facilitating career change entry to teaching and investigating superannuation arrangements to encourage longer retention. The Australian Government Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon Dr Brendan Nelson, recently announced a National Inquiry into Teacher Education. The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Vocational Training will include an examination of:

• whether teacher trainees are being effectively prepared to deal with all the challenges they will face in the classroom;

• the adequacy of funding provided by universities to their educational faculties;

• how teaching can become a more appealing career option;

36

• how the needs of mature-age entrants to the profession can be better met; and

• the educational philosophy underpinning the teacher-training course (including the teacher methods used, course structure and materials, and methods for assessment and evaluation) and an assessment to the extent to which it is informed by research.20

The Australian Government Quality Teacher Programme (AGQTP) has the following objectives:

• Teachers’ skills and understanding are updated and improved in specified priority areas; and

• The status of teaching in both government and non-government schools is enhanced. The Programme has three components:

• Component one - State/Territory education authority professional learning projects which involve the provision of professional learning activities in priority areas;

• Component two - national strategic initiatives which involve a range of different projects, including research, investigation, and evaluation of teacher, teaching and school leadership related issues; and

• Component three - The National Institute for Quality Teaching and School Leadership. 21 The National Institute for Quality Teaching and School Leadership (NIQTSL) has been established to support and advance the effectiveness and standing of the teaching profession in Australia, driving innovation and excellence in schools and providing intellectual leadership for the profession. The Institute will work collaboratively with other professional bodies to contribute to the quality, reputation and standing of the education profession in the interests of achieving the best possible educational outcomes from Australia’s schools. It aims to provide support to and be a major resource for teachers and school leaders. In its business plan, NIQTSL has identified the following areas of work:

• Establishing a national system for accreditation of pre-service teacher education;

• Establishing a national system for assessing teachers against advanced standards for teaching;

• Increasing the role of the profession in professional learning;

• Establishing a national system for assessment against standards for school leadership;

• Strengthening the national research and evidence base to inform quality teaching and school leadership;

• Increasing recognition of highly accomplished teaching and school leadership; and increasing the pool of people who want to be teachers because of a more positive image of the profession. 22

20 Dr Brendan Nelson, National Inquiry into Teacher Training, Media Release, 21 p.4, DEST, Australian Government Quality Teacher Programme Updated Client Guidelines,2004 - 05, at http://www.dest.gov.au/schools/guidelines/quality/AGQTP_Guidelines_2004_05.pdf 22 NIQTSL, About NIQTSL, at http://www.niqtsl.edu.au/pages/about.html

http://www.dest.gov.au/schools/guidelines/quality/AGQTP_Guidelines_2004_05.pdf

http://www.niqtsl.edu.au/pages/about.html

37

Government Schools

All States and Territory Government education authorities have a range of strategies and initiatives in place to assist teacher recruitment and retention, and promote teaching as a career. The data provided in the DEST 2004 survey and from other sources suggest that the initiatives can be summarised under the following categories:

• Promotion of teaching as a career;

• Financial incentives;

• Initiatives for increasing the number of teachers in the particular subject areas;

• Measures for attracting teachers to remote and rural areas;

• Measures for retaining teachers;

• Other measures addressing quality teaching and school leadership; and

• Stakeholder Liaison.

38

1. Promotion of teaching as a career

All State and Territory education authorities provide Internet resources of varying detail on the teaching career within their jurisdiction. At the basic level, pages provide links to information on salaries and leave conditions and a reference point for materials on the teaching profession. Some jurisdictions provide testimonies from new teachers, include multi-media files. These websites include:

• Teaching – Shaping young lives (WA) – http://www.eddept.wa.edu.au/teaching/

• Teaching@DE&T (Victoria) – http://www.teaching.vic.gov.au

• Teach.NSW – http://www.det.nsw.edu.au/employment/teachnsw/index.htm

• Employing Quality Teachers (Queensland) - http://www.education.qld.gov.au/teaching/

• Teaching in Canberra - A lifestyle choice (ACT) - http://www.decs.act.gov.au/department/recruitment.htm

• Teaching in the Territory (NT) - http://www.teaching.nt.gov.au/

• DECS Teacher Recruitment (SA) - http://www.decs.sa.gov.au/recruit

• DET (Tasmania) – Teacher Employment http://www.education.tas.gov.au/admin/hr/policies/teacheremployment.htm

The NSW Department of Education and Training’s success in promoting teaching and enhancing the status of teachers has improved significantly in recent years, largely as a result of the teach.NSW initiative. This extensive teacher promotion and recruitment initiative incorporates a comprehensive media and marketing campaign, a range of promotional recruitment materials, a teach.NSW shopfront and information centre, a customer service centre accessible through a toll-free number, a teach.NSW website, a dedicated team of support staff in state office and outreach promotion teams.23,24

In addition, an overseas advertising campaign featuring the caption “Teach Under a Blue Sky” was conducted in July 2003 in association with teach.NSW to target teachers from the United Kingdom who were relocating permanently to Australia and were teachers of Mathematics, Science and Technological and Applied studies or visiting Australia on a working holiday. The marketing programs of the State and Territory education departments also involve participation in university and career markets and visits and presentations at teacher training institutions. For example, recruitment teams from the ACT Department of Education and Training visit over 30 universities to talk to final year education students about teaching in the ACT. Each team usually consists of a beginning teacher who trained through the university and an Executive Teacher from the Teacher Recruitment Unit in the Department. Visits usually occur between April and June.25

23 NSW DET response, Government Schools Staffing Survey, DEST, 2004 24 Teach NSW - Contact us, NSW Department of Education and Training, at https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/employment/teachnsw/contact.htm, Accessed 20 January 2005 25 Recruitment Processes, ACT Department of Education and Training, at http://www.decs.act.gov.au/department/teachrecruitprocess.htm#Recruitment, Accessed 18 January 2005.

http://www.eddept.wa.edu.au/teaching/

http://www.teaching.vic.gov.au

http://www.det.nsw.edu.au/employment/teachnsw/index.htm

http://www.education.qld.gov.au/teaching/

http://www.decs.act.gov.au/department/recruitment.htm

http://www.teaching.nt.gov.au/

http://www.decs.sa.gov.au/recruit

http://www.education.tas.gov.au/admin/hr/policies/teacheremployment.htm

https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/employment/teachnsw/contact.htm

http://www.decs.act.gov.au/department/teachrecruitprocess.htm#Recruitment

39

2. Financial incentives

Initiatives providing financial incentives to potential and existing teachers vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. They are often targeted to areas of specific need. For example:

• Most States and Territories have schemes offering scholarships to final year Education students. The terms and conditions of these vary, but most provide for guaranteed employment for two years following graduation – often in areas of greatest need – e.g. particular subject areas or geographic areas.

• NSW piloted a Retention Benefit program, to attract and retain quality teachers in very difficult- to-staff positions and schools. The program was piloted in 20 schools where staffing difficulties were identified. From 2002, teachers who completed their service requirement of 3 years (or 2 years in designated schools) were paid an annual retention benefit of $5,000. 26 Eligible teachers continue to receive the benefit for a maximum of 5 years. From 2004 the benefit has been expanded to cover the remaining most difficult-to-staff schools for teachers who have met the service requirement.

3. Initiatives for increasing the number of teachers in the particular subject areas

At State and Territory level, a number of strategies and initiatives have been introduced to increase teacher numbers in particular subject areas. These include:

• NSW offers a program to accredited teachers to enable them to retrain in the areas of (secondary) technological and applied studies (TAS), mathematics, and science (physics), and to support them in gaining accreditation in the specialist teaching areas of special education, school counselling, careers adviser, teacher-librarian, English as a second language and reading recovery. The retraining programs include university study with mentoring support from experienced teachers. Teachers who successfully complete the retraining program are appointed to schools in areas of need – often in western and south western Sydney, or country NSW.27

• NSW also offers Accelerated Teacher Training where the Department of Education and Training sponsors people with appropriate industry backgrounds to become mathematics and technology and applied studies (TAS) teachers. Recipients of the sponsorship undertake an 18-month university teacher education program, where their skills and industry experience are recognised. DET meets the cost of tuition and course administration fees (approximate value of $18,000), provides a one-off training allowance of $1500 towards the cost of incidentals and textbooks, and guarantees employment as a teacher. In return, students sign a deed of agreement committing them to teach in an area of staffing need in NSW and to remain in that appointment for a minimum of three years.28

26 88 Remote Area NSW Teachers share in $440,000 Bonus, Media Release, NSW Department of Education and Training, 1st March 2002, at https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/newsroom/yr2002/mar/bonus.htm, Accessed 20 January 2005. 27 Teach NSW - Retraining Programs, NSW Department of Education and Training, at https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/employment/teachnsw/retrain/index.htm, Accessed 20 January 2005. 28 teach.NSW: Accelerated Teacher Training Program, NSW Department of Education and Training, at http://www.det.nsw.edu.au/employment/teachnsw/acc_ttp.htm, Accessed 18 January 2005.

https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/newsroom/yr2002/mar/bonus.htm

https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/employment/teachnsw/retrain/index.htm

http://www.det.nsw.edu.au/employment/teachnsw/acc_ttp.htm

40

• In the ACT, the Maths Retraining Initiative enables teachers to retrain in mathematics, an area of teacher shortage. Under this flexible delivery course, which began in February 2004, 15 permanent teachers (the majority of whom were primary-trained) study three specially-designed subjects at the University of Canberra over one semester and spend one day per week in high schools observing best practice mathematics. On completion, the participants receive a graduate certificate in high school mathematics and will teach high school mathematics, mainly to year 7 and 8 students;29

• The Department of Education and Training in Victoria also runs teacher retraining programs in specific curriculum areas. Currently these are a Graduate Certificate Science Program and the LOTE Training Program.

In 2002 - 03, sixty teachers graduated in the Graduate Certificate in Science Teaching (Primary) program as part of the Science in Schools professional development program. The aim of the course is to update primary teachers’ knowledge and understanding of science.

The LOTE Training Program is designed to assist practicing teachers in government schools to gain LOTE teaching qualifications, by enabling them to undertake credit-bearing language and LOTE Methodology courses. The program also enables teachers currently teaching LOTE to upgrade their qualifications, and assist teachers qualified in other curriculum areas to take up or continue LOTE studies, with the aim of increasing the number of qualified LOTE teachers available to Victorian Schools.30 The Refresher Training Courses offer refresher courses for experienced teachers seeking to re-enter the teaching workforce in government schools, to work in areas of teacher recruitment difficulty. The initiative aims to build the capacity of and encourage 300 qualified teachers back into government schools each year. The courses area to be provided for teachers in both country and metropolitan locations and offered through the year to a minimum of 300 teacher participants per year.-

The ongoing Australian Government Quality Teacher Programme, which commenced in 2000, supports the updating and improvement of the knowledge and skills of teachers re-entering the workforce, and casual teachers in the subject areas of mathematics, science, information technology and VET in schools.

4. Measures for attracting teachers to remote and rural areas

Recruitment remains a severe problem in rural and remote areas. A number of initiatives are in place to attract teachers to remote and rural areas, including:

• The WA Student Teacher Rural Experience offers financial support to student teachers who wish to experience teaching in government rural schools in the district in which they hope to work the following year.31

29 pp34-35, Standing Committee on Education, Legislative Assembly for the ACT, Teaching in the ACT: Shaping the Future, Report 5, August 2004, Canberra, ACT, at http://www.legassembly.act.gov.au/committees/reports/e05teachernumbers.pdf, Accessed October 2004 30 LOTE Training and Retaining, Department of Education and Training, Victoria, at http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/lem/lote/ltra.htm, Accessed 20 January 2005 31 Teach WA - Scholarships - Student Teacher Rural Experience Program, Department of Education and Training,

http://www.legassembly.act.gov.au/committees/reports/e05teachernumbers.pdf

http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/lem/lote/ltra.htm

41

• SA Country Teaching Scholarships provide up to $10,000 to students from country locations who are completing a teacher education course in South Australia. At the successful completion of their studies, scholarship holders are offered permanent employment in a DECS country school for a minimum of two years following the completion of their teacher education program.32

• The WA Remote Teaching Service Package offers a range of benefits to teachers in remote schools, including free government employee housing, a Remote Service allowance of between $8,500 and $11,500, locality allowance, transportation to the location, additional leave entitlements, ongoing employment (subject to satisfactory performance) and the prospect of permanency after two years.33

• The NSW incentives scheme for teachers in rural and isolated locations provides for additional training and development days, a range of locality allowances, a 90 per cent rental subsidy in some locations, additional leave entitlements in some locations, and priority transfer arrangements.

• The NSW Beyond the Line program offers teaching students from the city and large regional centres the opportunity to experience country schools in Broken Hill, Deniliquin, Dubbo, Griffith and Moree. Teaching students spend a week with teachers from the local area, gaining valuable insights into rural education.34

• In Tasmania, the Professional Experience in Isolated and Remote Schools (PEIRS) program provides support for accommodation and travel to enable pre-service teachers to undertake school experience in rural and isolated schools.35

• In Queensland, the Remote Area Incentive Scheme (RAIS) provides a range of benefits, including compensation cash benefits, extended emergent leave provisions, induction programs and transfer priority scheme, to encourage experienced teachers to teach and remain in rural and remote locations.36

• Queensland’s Bid O’Sullivan Scholarship Scheme offers scholarships (valued at $20,000 each) to aspiring teachers in rural and remote areas who undertake full-time undergraduate teaching degrees at Queensland universities. 37

WA, at http://www.eddept.wa.edu.au/HRrecruitment/html/scholarships.htm#ruralExperience, Accessed 20 January 2005 32 Information Brochure, 2005 Country Teaching Scholarships, SA Department of Education and Children’s Services, at http://www.schools.sa.gov.au/schlstudents/a8_publish/modules/publish/content.asp?id=10201&navgrp=67, Accessed 20 January 2005 33 Remote Teaching Service, Education Department of WA, at http://www.eddept.wa.edu.au/HRRecruitment/downloads/remoteTeaching.pdf, Accessed 20 January 2005. 34 Open the gate, Experience life as a teacher in rural NSW, Beyond the Line, NSW Department of Education and Training, at https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/employment/teachnsw/beyond_theline.htm, Accessed 20 January 2005 35 Professional Experience in Isolated and Remote Schools, Department of Education, Tasmania, at http://www.education.tas.gov.au/admin/hr/policies/recruitselectandstaffmove/employopp/peirs.htm, Accessed 20 January 2005. 36 Employment Conditions, Education Queensland, at http://education.qld.gov.au/hr/recruitment/teaching/employ-con.html#rais, Accessed 20 January 2005 37 Twenty Teacher Scholarships awarded for 2005, Media Release, 16 February 2005, Department of Education and the Arts, Queensland, at http://statements.cabinet.qld.gov.au/cgi-bin/display-statement.pl?id=5276&db=media, Accessed 28 February 2005.

http://www.eddept.wa.edu.au/HRrecruitment/html/scholarships.htm#ruralExperience

http://www.schools.sa.gov.au/schlstudents/a8_publish/modules/publish/content.asp?id=10201&navgrp=67

http://www.eddept.wa.edu.au/HRRecruitment/downloads/remoteTeaching.pdf

https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/employment/teachnsw/beyond_theline.htm

http://www.education.tas.gov.au/admin/hr/policies/recruitselectandstaffmove/employopp/peirs.htm

http://education.qld.gov.au/hr/recruitment/teaching/employ-con

http://statements.cabinet.qld.gov.au/cgi-bin/display-statement.pl?id=5276&db=media

42

• The Victorian Teaching Scholarship Scheme offers final year student teachers up to $8,000 to start their careers in hard-to-staff schools in country Victoria. The scholarship covers hard-to-staff subjects such as mathematics, physical education, special education, Languages other than English and information technology.38

• In the Northern Territory, a range of incentives is available to remote teachers in the form of study leave, fares for employees and family members, business days and an allowance to compensate for professional isolation.39

• The Northern Territory has a “special offer” where they will pay return airfares and provide accommodation assistance, for eligible teachers prepared to commit to teaching in the Territory for a minimum of one term (or a minimum of two terms for teachers from overseas).The offer applies to specific vacancies.40

5. Measures for retaining teachers The previous MCEETYA report, published in 2003, suggested that in light of the ageing teacher workforce, retaining teachers would present a major challenge for education providers in the next decade.41 State and Education jurisdictions have a number of strategies in place to ultimately achieve the goal of retaining teachers. These include:

• Improved and increased access to Professional Development activities. For example:

o the ACT Department of Education and Training is implementing an additional support program for teachers in their first three years of teaching. The program will provide schools with 15 days worth of “release” over three years so that beginning teachers and others (e.g. mentors) can undertake activities outside the classroom as part of an individually defined development program.42

o The Tasmanian Department of Education has developed the Beginning Teacher Time Release (BeTTR) program to provide support for permanent/fixed-term teachers in their first year of employment. Under BeTTR, beginning teachers are required to access a minimum release of two hours per week, with funding made available to the schools to cover relief for this time. The purpose of the release time will vary according to the needs of the individual, but might include school, District or Department induction programs; ongoing ‘feedback meetings with senior staff and/or other experienced teachers; attendance at professional development programs; observation of experienced teachers in the classroom; additional ‘time out’ for lesson preparation; visits to District Offices or other schools; collaboration with, and attendance at, meetings with other beginning teachers.43

38 The Teaching Scholarship Scheme 2004-05, Victorian Department of Education and Training, at http://www.teaching.vic.gov.au/pdfs/Scholarship04_05.pdf, Accessed 20 January 2005 39 Teaching in the Territory - Conditions and Benefits, NT Department of Employment, Education and Training, at http://www.teaching.nt.gov.au/index.cfm?attributes.fuseaction=conditions, Accessed 20 January 2005. 40 Teaching in the Territory - Special Offer, Northern Territory Government Department of Employment, Education and Training, at http://www.teaching.nt.gov.au/index.cfm?attributes.fuseaction=special, Accessed 15 April 2004. 41 p. 101 MCEETYA, Demand and Supply of Primary and Secondary School Teachers in Australia, MCEETYA, July 2003, published at http://www.mceetya.edu.au/public/demand.htm. 42 Teaching in Canberra - A Lifestyle Choice - Support , ACT Department of Education and Training, http://www.decs.act.gov.au/department/canblifestylechoice.htm, Accessed 18 January 2005 43 Beginning Teacher Time Release Program, Department of Education, Tasmania, at

http://www.teaching.vic.gov.au/pdfs/Scholarship04_05.pdf

http://www.teaching.nt.gov.au/index.cfm?attributes.fuseaction=conditions

http://www.teaching.nt.gov.au/index.cfm?attributes.fuseaction=special


http://www.decs.act.gov.au/department/canblifestylechoice.htm

43

o The NSW Department of Education and Training introduced the Teacher Mentor Program in 2003. Under the program, which was piloted in 51 schools in 200344, schools with significant numbers of new teachers are staffed with a teacher mentor who works collaboratively with new teachers to support quality teaching in classrooms, guide professional development and provide new teachers with a reduced teaching load.45 The teacher mentor may also support the development of other newly appointed teachers in the school, including permanent teachers in their second or third year of teaching, and temporary teachers.46

o In March 2004, the Adelaide Advertiser reported that the South Australian Department of Education and Children’s Services was developing an induction program to improve teacher retention and help direct young teachers into long-term career paths. 47 The program includes a “Welcome Aboard Ceremony”, where new staff can meet and be officially welcomed by senior departmental personnel; a Beginning Teachers’ Conference; and an Orientation Kit.48 In April 2004, the Education Minister, Jane Lomax-Smith, announced the first full-day workshop - one of two to be held during the year - to support new school teachers. Seminars were to cover issues such as behaviour management, literacy, numeracy and information communication technology, as well as teaching and living in Aboriginal communities.49 The Orientation Kit is a district-based resource designed to give new teachers information about lifestyle, environment and services of an area. The kit provides a DVD, a generic booklet on a range of topics relevant to the Department, contact numbers and website information to assist the new teacher, and a folder of local tourist information and information provided by the district office.

o From 2004 the Victorian Government adopted a systemic approach to ensure good practice in teacher induction by introducing an induction program for beginning teachers, to be complemented by mentoring programs for beginning teachers. The objectives of the programs are to ensure that each beginning teacher is supported through provision of a planned and responsive school-based induction program and receives ongoing professional support provided by a trained teacher mentor.

http://www.education.tas.gov.au/admin/hr/policies/stafflearninganddevelop/profdevelopment/BeTTR.htm, Accessed 18 January 2005 44 p. 17, Kelvin Bissett, Mentoring saves new teachers, Daily Telegraph, Sydney, 29 January 2004 45 DET - Teacher Mentor Program, NSW Department of Education and Training, at http://www.teach.nsw.edu.au/myteachingcareer/tr-mentoring.htm, Accessed 20 January 2005 46 Teacher Mentor Program (TMP) - Professional Support and Curriculum, NSW Department of Education and Training, at http://www.curriculumsupport.nsw.edu.au/beginningteachers/index.cfm?u=3&i=222, Accessed 12 January 2005 47 p. 14, Jemma Chapman, Mentors to help keep teachers in school, Adelaide Advertiser, Adelaide, 22 March 2004. 48 Teacher Induction and Development - Programs, SA Department of Education and Children’s Services, at http://www.schools.sa.gov.au/schlstudents/a8_publish/modules/publish/content.asp?id=10201&navgrp=67 49 Hon Jane Lomax-Smith MP, First ever workshop to support new school teachers, News Release, 22 April 2004, http://www.ministers.sa.gov.au/Minister/Media.asp?article+2823&MinisterID=13, Accessed 20 January 2005.

http://www.education.tas.gov.au/admin/hr/policies/stafflearninganddevelop/profdevelopment/BeTTR.htm

http://www.teach.nsw.edu.au/myteachingcareer/tr-mentoring.htm

http://www.curriculumsupport.nsw.edu.au/beginningteachers/index.cfm?u=3&i=222


http://www.ministers.sa.gov.au/Minister/Media.asp?article+2823&MinisterID=13

44

• In 2003, the Queensland State Government commenced four new programs to recognise and reward exemplary work by the State’s teachers. The programs built on the three New Professionalism initiatives introduced in 2002 - the Premier’s Smart State Teacher Excellence Scholarships, Westfield Premier’s Education Scholarships and ICT’s for Learning Teacher Awards:

o Ten Continued Learning Scholarships of $50,000 each, recognised exemplary practice by outstanding state school teachers with between three and ten years of classroom teaching experience;

o Professional Learning Grants of $1,000 each were offered to 72 state school teachers to undertake professional learning activities; an additional 36 Professional Learning Grants were designated for Teacher Aides.

o The Teacher Excellence Career Milestones awards program recognised continuous outstanding service by state school teachers at key times in their careers (5, 10 and 20 years of service) at a cost of approximately $40,00050.

6. Other measures addressing quality teaching and school leadership • A number of jurisdictions have established teacher institutes and/or registration boards

to ensure the development and maintenance of high professional standards in the teaching workforce. These include:

o In Queensland, the new statutory authority, the Queensland College of Teachers, will continue and enhance the work of the Board of Teacher Registration. Two new sets of professional standards will be developed: Professional Standards for Graduate Teachers, and Professional Standards for Registered Teachers. These standards will be used to determine eligibility to gain provisional and full registration as a teacher. The College will also develop guidelines about gaining and retaining teacher registration.51

o The NSW Institute of Teachers has a charter to advance the status and standing of the teaching profession. The Institute oversees a system of accreditation and recognition of teachers’ professional capacity against professional standards and provides a process for the profession to influence the quality of teacher training and continuing professional development.52

o The Victorian Institute of Teaching was established by an Act of Parliament in 2001. The Institute registers all teachers, works to develop high professional standards, provides advice on professional learning, approves teacher education courses, works to promote the standing of the profession, and investigates instances of serious misconduct.53

50 New Government Incentives to Teach in State Schools, 17 July 2003, Media Release, Department of Education and the Arts, Queensland, at http://statements.cabinet.qld.gov.au, 51 Reforms raise teachers professional standing, Education Views, Education Queensland, Vol 13, No 20, 12 November 2004 at http://education.qld.gov.au/marketing/publication/edviews/html/art-2004-20-01.html 52 Brochure: NSW Institute of Teachers, About the Institute, at http://nswteachers.nsw.edu.au/library/About/01_aboutTHEinstitute.pdf 53 The Institute, Victorian Institute of Teaching, at http://www.vit.vic.edu.au/aboutvit.htm

http://statements.cabinet.qld.gov.au

http://education.qld.gov.au/marketing/publication/edviews/html/art-2004-20-01.html

http://nswteachers.nsw.edu.au/library/About/01_aboutTHEinstitute.pdf

http://www.vit.vic.edu.au/aboutvit.htm

45

o In Tasmania, the Teachers Registration Board was established by the Teachers Registration Act 2000, which provides that only teachers who are registered may be employed in Tasmanian schools. Teacher registration ensures that all children in Tasmanian schools are taught by skilled and qualified teachers, who are of good character. The Board also promotes the teaching profession, takes action to improve professional teaching standards, undertakes relevant reviews and research projects and develops and maintains a code of professional ethics for the teaching profession.54

o The Teachers’ Registration Board of South Australia was established in 1972. New legislation was proclaimed in 2004. The object of the new Act is to establish and maintain a teacher registration system and professional standards to ensure members are competent and fit and proper persons to have the care of children. The Board’s functions include promoting the teaching profession and professional standards for teachers; and conferring and collaborating with teacher education institutions, employers, teachers, unions and other teacher regulatory authorities.55

o The Western Australian College of Teaching was established by law on 15 September 2004 as an independent professional body representing all members of the WA teaching profession. The College has a legislated mandate to maximise support for the teaching profession in WA classrooms, to enhance the status of the profession and to undertake a regulatory function by registering all teachers working in WA.56

o The Teacher Registration Board of the Northern Territory was established by an Act of Parliament in 2004. The Board is responsible for registering teachers, or granting authorisation to an employer to employ an unregistered person; liaising with providers of teacher education and professional development in the Northern Territory; supporting the development of appropriate teacher education courses; and developing a code of ethics for Territory teachers.57

• A number of jurisdictions have also established programmes and initiatives to address their school leadership needs. Some examples include:

o The School Leadership Unit, within the Leadership and Teacher Development Branch of the Victorian Department of Education and Training coordinates statewide training and support for school leaders. The range of programs and activities coordinated by the Unit acknowledges the needs of school leaders at differing stages of their careers, from those aspiring to school leadership positions through to the requirements of experienced school leaders.58

o The NSW School Leadership Development Strategy 2003 to 2007 provides for accessible and flexible delivery of leadership development opportunities with an

54 Teachers Registration Board, Tasmania, at http://trb.tas.gov.au/ 55 Teachers Registration Board of South Australia, at http://www.trb.sa.edu.au/main2.htm 56 Western Australian College of Teaching, at http://www.collegeofteaching.wa.edu.au/ 57 Teacher Registration Board of the Northern Territory, at http://www.trb.nt.gov.au/ 58 School Leadership Development, Department of Education and Training, at http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/pd/schlead/index.htm

http://trb.tas.gov.au/

http://www.trb.sa.edu.au/main2.htm

http://www.collegeofteaching.wa.edu.au/

http://www.trb.nt.gov.au/

http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/pd/schlead/index.htm

46

emphasis on self-assessment, individual planning, mentoring, and professional learning. The strategy aims to encourage school leaders and those who aspire to leadership positions to access learning opportunities that take into account the personal and professional experience, career stage and aspirations of individuals.59

o The South Australian Centre for Leaders in Education (SACLE) is the centre for leadership development within SA’s Department of Education and Children's Services. SACLE collaborates with state, national and international partners to design services and programs to support leadership learning and enable principals and preschool directors to meet the challenges of contemporary education contexts. SACLE has recently published a new Leaders Learning Framework, providing a coherent systemic approach to leadership capacity building.60

o The Leadership Centre, Western Australia, is a collaborative initiative of the Professional Associations representing school leaders, the Australian Education Union WA (AEUWA) and the WA Department of Education and Training. The Centre aims to develop a contemporary understanding for the profession of school leadership; raise the professional standards and standing of school leadership; and provide opportunities for professional growth and development for Government school leaders.

o The ACT Department of Education and Training’s School Leadership Preparation Program is designed to prepare teachers, executive teachers and deputy principals who aspire to formal leadership responsibilities in schools, wish to further develop their current leadership skills and understandings and seek support in anticipation of future appointments.61

o In the Northern Territory, the Department of Employment, Education and Training’s People and Learning Division coordinates leadership programs and initiatives for all staff. The range of programs acknowledges leadership needs at different stages of people’s careers (Leadership At All Levels). The Division works closely with the AEU and with the Association of Northern Territory School Educational Leaders (ANTSEL) to ensure an aligned commitment to contemporary leadership development, succession planning, and a workforce able to respond to the emerging needs of the Territory.

• In recent years, parliamentary committees have undertaken a range of inquiries into issues related to quality teaching, teacher training and school leadership. Some examples include:

o The NSW Legislative Council Standing Committee on Social Issues has recently initiated an inquiry into the recruitment and training of teachers;62

59 School Leadership Development Strategy, NSW Department of Education and Training, at http://www.curriculumsupport.nsw.edu.au/leadership/index.cfm?u=3&i=119 60 South Australian Centre for Leaders in Education, at http://www.sacle.edu.au/ 61 School Leadership Preparation Program, ACT Department of Education and Training, at http://www.decs.act.gov.au/services/sd_slpp.htm 62 Inquiry into the Recruitment and Training of Teachers, NSW Legislative Council, at http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/committee.nsf/0/4F6CB9387C1D16D5CA256F6900827B6A

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o The Parliament of Victoria’s Education and Training Committee has recently released a report on its inquiry into the Suitability of Pre-Service Teacher Training Courses;63and

o The Legislative Assembly for the ACT Standing Committee on Education recently released a report on its inquiry into teacher numbers and recruitment.64

7. Stakeholder Liaison States and Territories have established and maintain ongoing working relationships with a range of organisations, including universities, in response to teacher supply and demand issues. For example:

• The Tasmanian Department of Education has established a close relationship with the University of Tasmania to ensure that pre-service teacher training includes study and experience in behaviour management, inclusive practice and mentoring by experienced teachers.

• Officers from the SA Department of Education and Children’s Services meet regularly with the Deans of Education from their State’s universities. The Deans are informed about areas of teacher shortage.

• Officers from the NSW Department of Education and Training also meet with the Deans of Education to inform them of key supply and demand factors affecting teaching in NSW government schools.

Non-Government Schools

As in 2002, the DEST Non-Government Schools Staffing Survey 2004 sought responses on the strategies employed by non-government secondary schools to deal with recruitment difficulties. A number of respondents expressed concern that they were having to employ “less than ideal“ teachers because of the difficulties they had experienced in finding any teachers. One principal commented “It is becoming increasingly difficult to attract teachers: We advertised three times for an English/RE teacher and still only appointed in desperation... It took two years to find a drama coordinator...” “What strategies, if any, have been employed to deal with recruitment difficulties (tick appropriate box/es)?

• Advertising more broadly;

• Using qualified relief teachers;

• Encouraging existing staff to undergo specialised training;

• Temporarily using teachers from other subject areas;

• Not offering classes;

• Other. 63 Step up, Step in, Step Out: Report on the Inquiry into the Suitability of Pre-Service Teacher Training in Victoria, Parliament of Victoria, Education and Training Committee, February 2005 at http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/etc/inq_pre-serv_report.html 64 Teaching in the ACT: Shaping the Future, Legislative Assembly for the ACT, Standing Committee on Education, August 2004, at http://www.parliament.act.gov.au/committees/reports/e05teachernumbers.pdf

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Table 4.8 Percentage of Strategies employed by non-government secondary school to deal with recruitment difficulties, 2004 (%)

Strategy NSW/ACT VIC QLD SA/NT WA TAS National

Advertising more broadly 28.6 28.8 27.6 28.6 20.0 23.1 27.5

Using qualified relief teachers 26.6 24.6 21.0 21.4 22.2 30.8 24.4

Encouraging existing staff to undergo specialised training 17.7 16.9 9.5 28.6 13.3 15.4 15.6

Temporarily use teachers from other subject areas 23.4 21.2 26.7 21.4 31.1 23.1 24.2

Not offering classes 3.6 8.5 15.2 0.0 13.3 7.7 8.2

Source: Non-government Schools Staffing Survey , DEST 2004 Nationwide results showed that 27.5 per cent of respondents chose to advertise more broadly. Almost one-quarter used qualified relief teachers (24.4 per cent) or temporarily used teachers from other subject areas (24.2 per cent). Non-government schools have employed a range of additional strategies to deal with recruitment difficulties:

• Using specialist recruitment agencies;

• Recruiting from overseas, including overseas teachers on short-term visas;

• Encouraging job-sharing and negotiating with part-time teachers to “increase their fraction”;

• Establishing and maintaining relationships with local university teaching faculties. Schools who host teaching students for their practicum experiences are reporting that this provides an opportunity to access new teachers, give them a feel for the school environment and even offer ongoing support. As one respondent described it, “we encourage university students thru financial support. They act as interns when free from university studies.” Another “regularly recruits Dip Ed students who complete a teaching round here.”

Other schools have tried different approaches to provide appropriate teaching for their students. For example:

• Class-sharing with neighbourhood schools;

• Using alternate delivery (e.g. online) for some classes;

• Developing a cooperative cluster with other local schools to recruit and scholarship university graduates...”

Respondents from schools in rural and remote areas acknowledged their difficulties in recruiting and retaining suitable staff. One principal reported “Recruitment for rural/remote areas ... is very difficult. Applicants are generally local from a large close or regional centre and are not always of the calibre sought. We have even considered incentive payments and other benefits to entice a new teacher.”

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Chapter 5 The state of the teacher labour market in selected

English-speaking countries

This chapter provides a short review of the state of the teacher labour market in four English speaking countries – the United Kingdom (UK), the United States of America (USA), New Zealand and Canada – whose teacher labour market arrangements are similar to those in Australia. Comparisons with the Australian teacher labour market can then be put into a global context.

United Kingdom In England the annual school-based Survey of Teacher Vacancies provides information on vacancies by type of school, region and subject area. The survey results are published by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES).

An important measure derived from this survey is the “vacancy rate” which is the ratio of vacancies to the number of permanent full-time teachers employed. The survey results do not refer to shortages as such but recruitment difficulties can be expected to be greater when the vacancy rate is high. As the National Union of Teachers points out, however, the data gives no indication of the number of schools using teachers for subjects in which they are not qualified, instructors and unqualified people. 65

Between 1997 and 2004 the overall vacancy rate (for maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools) has risen from 0.5 per cent to 0.7 per cent. The rate for secondary schools in January 2004 was 0.9 per cent. It peaked during this period at 1.5 per cent in 2001. The vacancy rates have fallen since 2001 in most secondary subjects, except for social sciences and geography which have remained the same. The highest vacancy rates exist in the subject areas of information technology (1.5 per cent), mathematics (1.4 per cent) and religious education (1.4 per cent).66 Other subject areas also have comparatively high vacancy rates: sciences; English; design and technology; and music, but these rates are still considerably lower than in previous years.

Vacancy rates continued to be higher in some geographical areas. London and the East/South East England areas have consistently experienced high vacancy rates over time.

The UK Government has taken a number of steps to address recruitment difficulties. Details are available on the Teacher Training Agency (TTA) website at http://www.teach.gov.uk. The TTA, established in 1994, sets out to raise the standard of teaching by attracting able and committed people to teaching and improving the quality of teacher training courses. The website provides comprehensive information on the skills required to be a good teacher, routes into teaching, career prospects; support for trainees, etc.

65 The Reality of School Staffing – a study for the NUT, National Union of Teachers, http://www.data.teachers.org.uk, 14 November 2002 66 School Workforce in England(including pupil:teacher ratios and pupil:adult ratios): January 2004 (Revised), National Statistics, Department for Education and Skills, 23 September 2004, http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000493/index.shtml

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A range of financial incentives are available to encourage the take-up of teacher training, especially in areas of high demand.67 These incentives include:

• Training bursaries of ₤6,000 to most postgraduate trainee teachers and bursaries of ₤7,000 for students undertaking secondary mathematics or science courses (from August 2005);

• Payment of tuition fees for eligible education students;

• The Secondary Shortage Subject Scheme, a means-tested hardship fund for eligible trainees in secondary subjects where there is a national shortage of teachers including: design and technology; information and communications technology; mathematics; modern languages; music; religious education; science; applied ICT; applied science; engineering; and, manufacturing. The maximum award is ₤6,000.

• The opportunity to enter teacher training by employment as an “unqualified teacher” while undertaking an individualised training programme. (Graduate Teacher Programme) The programme is aimed at mature people with a UK bachelor’s degree who want to continue earning while they train. The employing school receives a ₤13,000 grant towards the trainee’s salary and up to ₤4,000 for their training costs. The programme normally takes one year but may be completed in less time if trainees have teaching experience.68

• The Registered Teacher Programme (RTP) which similarly allows candidates who have completed two years of higher education to qualify as a teacher while employed in a school. Employed as an “unqualified teacher” and following an individual programme leading to Qualified Teacher Status, the candidates completes a degree. The Teacher Training Agency pays up to ₤4,000 to cover training costs and the programme normally takes two years though may take less time depending on experience.69

• Repayment of Teachers Loans (RTL). Under the RTL scheme, which is being piloted from 2002 to 2005, the Government will re-pay the student loans of newly qualified teachers in shortage subjects such as English (including drama), mathematics, modern languages, design and technology, information and communications technology, science and Welsh. The teachers must go straight into teaching after qualifying and teach one or more of these subjects for at least half of their teaching time during a normal week.

• Availability of “Golden Hellos” of ₤4,000 to eligible postgraduates teaching at a maintained school or non-maintained special school in England in a priority subject including: mathematics; science; English (including drama); modern languages; design and technology; or, information and communications technology, who successfully complete induction and are working in eligible teaching positions within 12 months after completing induction. Trainees in mathematics and science may be eligible for a ₤5,000 “Golden Hello”. In Wales, Welsh is also a priority subject.

• Financial incentives and support for people returning to teaching. Returners courses, bursaries of up to ₤1,500 and childcare support for individuals wishing to return to teaching are available. The Returning to Teach programme provides information on

67 http://www.tta.gov.uk/php/read.php?sectionid=106&articleid=474 68 http://www.tta.gov.uk/php/read.php?sectionid=356&articleid=2345 69 http://www.tta.gov.uk/php/read.php?sectionid=357&articleid=2346

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developments in the profession, jobs and training opportunities to teachers who are taking a break from teaching to keep them up-to-date.70

On 22 October 2002 the Minister for School Standards, David Miliband, and the then Secretary of State, Estelle Morris, released a series of publications, Time for Standards outlining the future of the teaching profession and plans for remodelling the school workforce. Change was considered necessary because research had shown that teachers worked an average of 52 hours per week, of which 20 per cent was spent on non-teaching tasks (which could be undertaken by other adults). The situation could not be tackled simply by recruiting more teachers. “Teacher numbers are already at their highest point for 20 years. And yet we still need to recruit 10 per cent of new graduates to teaching, and in subjects like mathematics, the figure is 40 per cent.71”

The remodelling programme aimed to “give teachers more time, extra support and renewed leadership” by investing ₤12.8 billion annually by 2005 – 06 to allow more time for lesson planning, preparation and student assessment and relief from administrative burdens. Additional support staff include administrative staff, teaching assistants and ICT technicians. Employing business, personnel, lead-behaviour and facilities management experts aims to allow Head teachers to focus on leadership of teaching.

On 15 January 2003 an agreement was signed by government, employers and the majority of school workforce unions which underpins reform of the school workforce.72 Phase one of implementation of the agreement was scheduled for 2003 and included reductions in excessive hours and routine delegation of 24 non-teaching tasks. Phase two scheduled for 2004 included new limits on covering for absent teachers. Phase three scheduled for 2005 includes guaranteed time for planning, preparation and assessment (a minimum of 10 per cent of their timetabled teaching time) and new invigilation arrangements.73

According to an online survey conducted in June 2004 during phase two of the remodelling programme, 98 per cent of respondents reported positive changes as a result of the remodelling, 87 per cent of teachers in the schools who responded experienced an improvement in work/life balance and 91 per cent were able to focus more of their time and energy on teaching and learning.74

United States of America The most comprehensive and widely quoted study on teacher supply and demand issues in the USA, What Matters Most: Teaching for America’s Future, published by the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCT&AF) in 1996, stated that recurring shortages of teachers have characterised the US labour market for most of the 20th century. According to that report, shortages as measured by the vacancy rate and more qualitative measures of recruitment difficulty, were most pronounced in 1996 in bilingual education, special

70 http://www.teach.gov.uk/php/read.php?sectionid=140&articleid=913 71 http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/remodelling/ 72 http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/remodelling/ 73 Raising standards and tackling workload: a national agreement, January 2003, p.16, http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/remodelling/ 74 Tracking progress in Schools: NRT Survey of 200 school – June/July 2004, http://www.remodellingteam.org/news_archive.php

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education, physics, chemistry, mathematics and computer science. Black American teachers were also particularly highly sought after. Shortages were most severe in the poorest districts.

The Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), conducted on behalf of the National Centre for Education Statistics (NCES), covers public and private schools and has components providing information about teacher demand and shortages, the views of school principals and of teachers, and data on the school and school district. The information is published by the NCES on their web site, www.nces.ed.gov. However, analysis of these data has not produced a general consensus in the USA about the extent of teacher recruitment difficulty.

There is little recent data on teacher supply and demand issues in the USA and much of the work done was around 2000 - 01. The OECD report, Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers: Background Report for the United States produced in October 2004 notes that there are no reliable data on teacher shortages in the United States but does refer to some analyses that have been done. The report cites Murphy (2003) and his analyses of SASS data for the 1999 - 2000 school year and says that there are acute shortages of mathematics and science teachers, compared to subjects such as English and history, given competition from other professions.75 There are also shortages in the supply of other areas such as English as a second language and special education teachers. Further, schools in the Southwest and West of the US report acute shortages of qualified teachers and low income urban and rural areas also have difficulty in attracting qualified teachers.

The National Teacher Recruitment Clearinghouse (www.recruitingteachers.org) also notes that there are several geographic areas (particularly rural and urban) and subject areas that consistently report a high need for qualified teachers. States with rapidly growing populations such as California, Texas, Nevada, North Carolina and Florida are experiencing chronic shortages. Subject areas most in need are special education, mathematics, science, bilingual education and English as a second language. “Teachers of colour” are also in need in all subjects, grade levels and geographic areas to reflect the school-age population which is becoming more multicultural and multi-ethnic.

A media release from the US Secretary of Education, Mr Rod Paige, dated 15 October 2002, described the critical need for teachers in curriculum areas such as mathematics, science, foreign language, ESL, reading and special, with the prospect of the problem worsening with increased student enrolments and teacher retirements.76

A list of federally designated teacher shortage areas, used in part to determine the allocation of a range of grants and scholarships, is available on the Department of Education website at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/Students/repayment/teachers/tsa.html. The most recent data is for 2000 - 02 and the most commonly listed specialisations in designated teacher shortage areas in those years were special education, mathematics, foreign languages (especially Spanish), technology and science.

75 Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers: Background Report for the United States, OECD, October2004, p.19. 76 Media Release, Secretary Paige Announces $35 Million in Grants to recruit and train new teachers, http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/10-2002/10152002.html , 15 October 2002

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At a federal level, the US Department of Education places great emphasis on alternative teacher programs such as Troops to Teachers. Troops to Teachers, which received nearly $US15 million in the 2004 - 05 financial year has been running since 1994. The purpose of the program is to assist eligible military personnel to begin a new career as public school teachers in ‘high need’ schools.77 Selection priority is given to those “who have educational or military experience in science, mathematics, special education, or vocational or technical subjects and agree to seek employment as science, mathematics, or special education teachers in elementary schools or secondary schools or in other schools under the jurisdiction of a local educational agency.78”

Under the Transition to Teaching Program grants totalling $45.3 million were approved for the 2003 - 04 financial year to ‘recruit and retain highly qualified mid-career professionals (including highly qualified paraprofessionals), and recent graduates of an institution of higher education, as teachers in high-need schools, including recruiting teachers through alternative routes to certification’.79

According to the OECD country background report for the US, there are various incentives and initiatives used at a state and school district level to attract people to public school teaching. Financial incentives include federal student loan “forgiveness”, scholarships, waiving of licensing fees, housing assistance and signing bonuses. But according to the 2003 report ‘Quality Counts’ cited in the OECD report, only 18 of the 24 states offering assistance target the aid to attract teachers to specific subject-area shortages and only 7 target assistance to fill positions in poorer schools. In some states, signing bonuses have not proved very effective in attracting or retaining teachers in high need schools.80

Other initiatives have included ‘alternative certification’ programs that allow candidates to some existing certification requirements allowing them to begin teaching more quickly and often complete preparatory coursework after school hours. These programs have had some success in attracting minorities to the profession.

The OECD report also notes that schools in the United States are being held more accountable and retention policies are shifting more towards a view of quality teaching that is linked to student achievement. As a result of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, several potential strategies to ensure teacher quality which have been suggested by the US Department of Education address the question of teacher retention including: new teacher induction and mentoring programs; reduced class schedules to lessen the teaching responsibilities of new teachers; performance-based pay; and the development of carer paths that involves the creation of differentiated positions that qualified teachers can pursue while remaining in the classroom. However, the report notes that few of the suggested strategies have been widely implemented. Although change is occurring the process will take time.81

77 http://www.dantes.doded.mil/dantes_web/troopstoteachers/index.htm?Flag=True 78 http://www.ed.gov/legislation/ESEA02/pg27.html#sec2303 79 http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg28.html#sec2311 80 Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers: Background Report for the United States, OECD, October2004, p.28. 81 Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers: Background Report for the United States, OECD,

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The National Teacher Recruitment Clearinghouse (NTRC) (www.recruitingteachers.org) provides a resource for prospective teachers seeking jobs, and for school districts and States seeking qualified teachers. The website provides advice and presents research on teacher recruitment and retention. In particular it gives examples of successful recruitment strategies employed by school districts and offers advice on induction programs as a retention strategy.

New Zealand New Zealand derives rich data on teachers and teacher movements from the annual surveys of state and state integrated schools82 conducted by the Ministry of Education.

Enrolments in New Zealand schools have increased significantly in the past few years. An increase in births during the late 1980s and early 1990s contributed to an increase in student numbers in primary schools from 1995 onwards. Primary enrolments are expected to decrease, however, over the next few years and growth in secondary schools is beginning to occur as students move into the secondary sector. The demand for secondary teachers will therefore remain high over the next few years.83

Despite this predicted high demand, compared with 2003, at both levels of schooling, both primary and secondary, fewer schools indicated difficulty in filling vacancies in 2004 compared with 2003. In secondary schools, vacancies represented 1.4 percent of all entitlement positions, compared with 1.7 percent in 2003.84 In the secondary sector, teachers of English (17.6 per cent of vacancies), sciences (14 per cent), technology (12.8 per cent), mathematics (9.7 per cent) and Maori (9 per cent) are in greatest demand.85 Vacancies are more likely to occur in rural areas, schools with larger concentrations of Maori students and in schools in lower socio-economic areas.86

In recent years New Zealand has been active in assisting the growth in the supply of teachers with various initiatives. Current initiatives87 include:

• Teach NZ Secondary Subject Trainee Allowances for Biology, Chemistry, English, Computing, te reo Maori, Physical Education and Physics, worth up to $10,000.

October2004, p.61. 82 The New Zealand Ministry of Education website states: ‘Integrated schools are schools that used to be private and have now become part of the state system. They teach the New Zealand Curriculum but keep their own special character (usually a philosophical or religious belief) as part of their school programme. Integrated schools receive the same government funding for each student as state schools but their buildings and land are privately owned so they charge attendance dues to meet their property costs.’ 83 Monitoring Teacher Supply: Survey of Staffing in New Zealand Schools at the Beginning of the 2004 School Year, Research Division, Ministry of Education, June 2004, p.3. 84 Monitoring Teacher Supply: Survey of Staffing in New Zealand Schools at the Beginning of the 2004 School Year, Research Division, Ministry of Education, June 2004, p.3. 85 Monitoring Teacher Supply: Survey of Staffing in New Zealand Schools at the Beginning of the 2004 School Year, Research Division, Ministry of Education, June 2004, p.15. 86 Monitoring Teacher Supply: Survey of Staffing in New Zealand Schools at the Beginning of the 2004 School Year, Research Division, Ministry of Education, June 2004, p.11. 87 Monitoring Teacher Supply: Survey of Staffing in New Zealand Schools at the Beginning of the 2004 School Year, Research Division, Ministry of Education, June 2004, p.3.

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(According to the TeachNZ website, as of January 2005, technology will be added and physical education will be removed from the list. Computing will be removed from 2006. The allowances are available to graduates and near-graduates committing to become secondary teachers in these targeted subjects.88)

• Loan support for teachers of te reo Maori, Physics and Mathematics in their second to fourth years of teaching. (According to the Teach NZ website, a payment of $2,500 will be made in each of the teacher’s second, third and fourth years of teaching.)

• Retraining for former secondary teachers.

• Returning to teaching allowances.

• Maori, Pasifika and rural scholarships worth $10,000 each. (TeachNZ Scholarships worth $10,000 are available to people from rural areas wanting to teach in rural areas and people wanting to teach using the Maori language.89)

• Conversion courses to assist existing primary teachers with degree qualifications to teach in secondary schools.

• National relocation grants of NZ$5,000 to encourage New Zealand teachers overseas to return home.

• International relocation grants of $3,000 to encourage overseas trained teachers to come to New Zealand to teach.

Teach NZ scholarships are also available to people wanting to teach in early childhood education. Details of these scholarships and initiatives, and information on teaching careers are available on the TeachNZ website at www.teachnz.govt.nz.

Canada The coverage and quality of information concerning teacher shortages in Canada is varied and is not as comprehensive as for the other countries discussed in this chapter. As noted in previous MCEETYA reports, there appears to be a lack of official sources of information at the national level. This may be due to the fact that Canada does not have a national department of Education, although there is a Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), comprised of provincial and territory ministers.90 Also, according to the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, quoted in a report by the Australian Council for Education Research, ‘teacher employers in Canada have been somewhat resistant to the idea that any problems exist in recruiting and retaining teachers’.91 This may help explain the apparent lack of research done since that discussed in the 2003 MCEETYA report. There is little information on the current situation and a dearth of information on current initiatives in the provinces to address supply and demand issues reported in the earlier research. As is noted in one recent report by the Nova Scotia provincial government, concerns about possible teacher shortages in the late 1990s have

88 http://www.teachnz.govt.nz/scholarships/secondary_subjectallowance.html 89 http://www.teachnz.govt.nz 90 Council of Ministers of Education Canada, http://www.cmec.ca/indexe.stm. 91 Initiatives to address teacher shortage, Australian Council for Educational Research, November 2003, p.6.

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lessened in recent years although there remain concerns about shortages in specific subject areas and geographical locations.92

In January 2002 a report on a situational analysis of Canada’s education sector human resources was released. The ABC’s of Educator Demographics reported on a project undertaken by CS/RESORS Ltd on behalf of a steering group composed of representatives from Association of Canadian Community Colleges, Canadian School Boards Association, Canadian Teachers’ Federation, Movement for Canadian Literacy, National Association of Career Colleges and Statistics Canada.

The situational analysis had three main purposes:

• To provide a snapshot of Canada’s education sector;

• To review current discourse on the issue of potential human resource shortages in the sector; and

• To consider directions for future research on the sector that would be useful for long-term human resource planning93.

The report noted the key findings on a range of reports on teacher shortages in Canada:

• The Canadian Teachers Federation Survey of Canadian School Boards on Supply/Demand Issues found that teacher shortages were the most prevalent in science subjects in the four years prior to the survey. 94 Recruitment had become more difficult, with shortages possibly exacerbated by the size or location of the school district. Retirement was seen as the major cause of recruitment difficulties.

• In November 2000, the British Columbia Teacher’s Federation reported that there were teacher shortages in some geographic areas and in the subject areas of mathematics, science, technology, French, special education, home economics, ESL and counselling.95 Retirement was a major contributing factor to shortages. While province-wide enrolment patterns were expected to level out or slightly decline, some urban areas were experiencing high enrolment growth.

• A report prepared by the Ministry of Education for the British Columbia Teacher Supply and Demand Consortium advised that slightly more than half the reported shortages were at secondary level, with the most acute being in the subject areas of technology, mathematics, science and languages. Nearly one-quarter of the total teacher shortage was anticipated in elementary schools, with the three main subject areas affected being French immersion, special education and counselling.

• The Alberta Learning Teacher Supply and Demand Committee reported that Alberta benefited from in-migration of teachers from other Canadian provinces and other

92 Nova Scotia Public Education Teacher Supply and Demand: 2004 Update Report, Nova Scotia Department of Education, December 2004, p.2. 93 The ABCs of Educator Demographics, The Steering Group for the Situational Analysis of Canada’s Education Sector Human Resources, January 2002, p.iii. 94CTF Survey of Canadian School Boards on Supply/Demand Issues, Canadian Teachers Federation Economic Services Bulletin, October 2000. 95 Teacher Supply and Demand in British Columbia – Enhancing the Quality of Education: Attracting, Recruiting and Retaining the Best Teachers, brief to the government of British Columbia, British Columbia Teachers’ Federation, November 2000.

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countries due to its “vibrant economy”. 96 Aggregate teacher supply exceeded demand and was likely to continue to do so until sometime between 2003 and 2005 when supply and demand might equalise.

• The subject areas where teachers were in the most demand were senior high school level science, mathematics, technology, French and special education. Nearly 90 per cent of respondents reported no difficulty in recruiting elementary school “generalists”.

• The Ontario Teacher’s Federation reported in April 2001 that demand for qualified teachers had increased at a faster rate than supply over the previous three years. Shortages were being experienced in mathematics, physics, technology, French as a second language, special education and computer studies97. It was estimated that 56,000 teachers would retire, meaning Ontario would require an additional 10,000 teachers for following years until enrolment growth was expected to level out in 2004.

• The Quebec Ministry of Education produces projections of teaching staff in Quebec school boards and recruitment requirements. The latest projections, extending to 2011 - 12 indicated that the teaching workforce was decreasing in numbers, but more slowly than the anticipated student enrolment (projected 15 cf 17 per cent between 2000 - 01 and 2011 - 12); numbers of teachers would decline in all fields, except for language of instruction; mathematics, science, pre-school education and vocational education would decline less than all other fields of education; there would be increased need for French and social studies teachers, due to policy and curriculum changes; and elementary school teaching would increase until 2002 - 03 and then decline rapidly.

• Work by the Memorial University of Newfoundland found no overall teacher shortage in 2000 – 01, although there was high demand for teachers in rural and remote areas, and shortages in subject areas of mathematics, chemistry, physics, special education and French. Mathematics, science and technology positions were particularly difficult to fill due to more appealing opportunities in private industry. Declining birth-rates were expected to soften the demand for teachers.

• The Federation of Independent Schools of Canada advised that the patterns for recruitment difficulties appeared similar to those in the public sector, including great difficulty in finding teachers for senior mathematics, French and music. There were no difficulties in recruiting teachers in English, social studies or physical education. Schools in small or rural communities also experienced a greater degree of recruitment difficulty than their urban counterparts.

• A December 2001 report by a Nova Scotia Education Consultative Forum subcommittee, made up of members of the Department of Education, School Boards, Teacher’s Union, and local universities reported that enrolments were projected to decline by 16.1 per cent from 2000 - 01 to 2009 - 10, while the anticipated rate of decline in teacher numbers was 10 per cent. New supply was expected to exceed new demand from 2002 – 03 to 2004 – 05 and in 2009 – 10. New demand was expected to exceed new supply from 2005 – 06 to 2008 – 09.

96 Promising Practices in Teacher Recruitment and Retention, Teacher Supply and Demand Committee, April 2001, http://www.cas.ab.ca. 97 Teaching for Success: Will Ontario have the teachers it needs?, Ontario Teachers Federation, April 2001

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• Projections also indicated there would be shortages in the subject areas of mathematics, general and other sciences, technology, family studies, and special education, and shortages could also occur in physics, chemistry, physical education, speech therapy and guidance.

In March 2002 an Inter-organisational Committee presented their report, Teacher Supply and Demand in Manitoba to the Minister of Manitoba Education, Training and Youth.98 Findings included: the Manitoba school age population was increasing, student-teacher ratios were stable, and the teaching workforce was ageing, with the number of annual teacher retirements increasing. While the demand for new teachers varied across divisions/districts, the greatest need was in the subjects of senior high mathematics, natural sciences, vocational/industrial, computer science and French immersion.

Since the previous MCEETYA report, as stated above, there has been little information produced by which to assess whether the situation in Canada has changed or remained much the same.

In Nova Scotia, an update report has been produced, Nova Scotia Public Education Teacher Supply and Demand: 2004 Update Report. The report concludes that the status of the teacher labour market in Nova Scotia has improved since the 2001 Update report.99 The projections in the report indicate that there will not be an aggregate shortage of teachers in Nova Scotia in future years assuming current levels of supply continue. Projections in the report are for the years 2004-05 to 2012-2013. For particular subject areas, it is projected that there will be: an oversupply of English, social studies and biology teachers; a shortage of mathematics teachers; and a tight labour market for physics, physical education, fine arts (other than music) and family studies teachers.100

According to the OECD report, Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers in Quebec, overall there is no shortage of teachers in the province but there are shortages in some outlying regions and some subject areas (mathematics and science). There is some difficulty in attracting candidates to education faculties in some fields such as mathematics, science and second languages, however teacher retention is not currently a problem in Quebec.101 However, the Quebec Ministry of Education is currently looking at ways of recruiting secondary level mathematics and science teachers and keeping them in the profession. The Ministry is also looking at ways to minimise the movement of teachers from remote regions to urban centres, from multigrade classes to ordinary classes, and from native establishments to Anglophone and Francophone schools.102

In Alberta, according to the Alberta Government website, Alberta is not currently experiencing an overall teacher shortage but in some school jurisdictions there is difficulty hiring teachers in 98 Teacher Supply and Demand in Manitoba – Report of the Interorganizational Committee, March 2002, http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/ks4/docs/reports/teacher_report.html 99 Nova Scotia Public Education Teacher Supply and Demand: 2004 Update Report, Nova Scotia Department of Education, December 2004, p.35. 100 Nova Scotia Public Education Teacher Supply and Demand: 2004 Update Report, Nova Scotia Department of Education, December 2004, p.ii. 101 Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers in Quebec, OECD, November 2003, p.1-2,7. 102 Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers in Quebec, OECD, November 2003, p.75.

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the fields of mathematics, science, second languages and career technology studies. There is also a need for special needs and Aboriginal teachers.103

The degree and extent of teacher shortages across Canada varies but there are common areas of current or projected teacher shortages/recruitment difficulties which remain similar to those in 2003. These common areas are in mathematics, science, technology, French and special education, and in some rural areas.

Summary of teacher supply and demand in selected English-speaking countries

Table 5.1

Summary1 of recruitment difficulties/shortages in selected English-speaking countries

Key learning area UK USA NZ Canada

Health/Physical Education

Languages other than English ! ! !

Mathematics ! ! ! !

English ! !

Science ! ! ! !

Studies of society and the environment

Visual and performing arts ! !

Technology ! ! ! !

Special education ! !

Other !

Specific localities2 ! ! ! !

Note: 1 Recruitment difficulties/shortages identified from reports specified in this chapter.

2 Includes rural/remote areas and difficult-to-staff metropolitan areas

As the 2003 MCEETYA report pointed out, information on teacher recruitment difficulties is not of a consistent quality or currency from the four English speaking countries discussed in this chapter. From the information available, however, it appears that some degree of teacher recruitment difficulty is being experienced by them all. The difficulties are generally in subject areas such as mathematics, sciences, special education and technology. As in Australia, vacancies in rural and remote geographic locations tend to be more difficult to fill, and factors such as an ageing workforce, competition from other careers for maths, science and IT graduates, and variations in student numbers and class sizes remain common underlying causes of recruitment difficulties.

103 http://www.education.gov.ab.ca/FactsStats/teachersupply.asp

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Chapter 6 OECD Attracting Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers

Background In April 2002, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Education Committee launched the project Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers. The main objectives of the project were to synthesise research on issues related to policies on attracting, recruiting, retaining and developing effective teachers; identify innovative and successful policy initiatives and practices; facilitate exchanges of lessons and experiences among countries; and identify options for policymakers to consider. The project, conducted over the 2002 - 04 period, involved two complementary approaches:

• an analytical review, including Country Background reports from the 25 participating countries, including Australia, literature reviews, data analyses and commissioned papers to analyse the factors that shape attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers; and

• a thematic country review, drawing on external review teams to provide in-depth analysis of context, key factors and policy responses in participating countries.104

Outcomes Reporting on the project, the OECD Directorate for Education acknowledged that although the information was inconsistent, and not all countries were in the same position, a number of concerns were consistently raised:

• Concerns about the attractiveness of teaching as a career;

• About half of the participating countries reported serious concerns about maintaining an adequate supply of good quality teachers, especially in high-demand subject areas;

• There were widespread concerns about long-term trends in the composition of the teaching workforce - e.g. fewer “high achievers’ and fewer males;

• There were concerns about the image and status of teaching, with teachers often feeling their work is undervalued;

• Teachers relative salaries were declining in most countries;

• Concerns about developing teachers’ knowledge and skills;

• Most countries reported concerns about “qualitative” shortfalls - whether enough teachers have the knowledge and skills to meet school needs;

• Major concerns were expressed about the limited connections between teacher education, teachers’ professional development, and school needs;

• Many countries lacked systemic induction programmes for beginning teachers;

• Concerns about recruiting, selecting and employing teachers; 104 P.2 Directorate for Education, Education & Training Policy Division, Attracting Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers - Design and Implementation Plan for the Activity, March 2002, OECD, at http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/20/36/1839878.pdf, Accessed 3 February 2005.

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• There were concerns in most countries about the inequitable distribution of teachers among schools, and whether disadvantaged students had the quality teachers that they needed;

• Schools often had little direct involvement in teacher appointments;

• Some countries have a large over-supply of qualified teachers, raising its own policy challenges;

• Concerns about retaining effective teachers in schools

• Some countries experienced high attrition rates, especially for new teachers;

• Teachers expressed concerns about the impact of high workloads, stress and poor working conditions on job satisfaction and teaching effectiveness;

• There were only limited means in most countries to recognise and reward teachers’ work;

• Processes for responding to ineffective teaching were often cumbersome and slow.105

Ageing of the teaching workforce compounds many of these concerns. Across the 25 countries participating in the project, 25 per cent of primary and 30 per cent of secondary teachers were aged over 50.106

Chart 6.1 Ageing of the teaching workforce

The activity focussed on four main policy themes: policies intended to attract more able people into the teaching profession; policies to improve teacher education, development and

105 pp 4 - 5 Directorate for Education, Education & Training Policy Division, Teachers Matter: Attracting Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers - Executive Summary, published at International Conference, Amsterdam 18 - 19 November 2004, at http://www.minocw.nl/congres_ocw_oecd/doc/executive_summary_en.pdf, Accessed 2 February 2005 106 p 5,ibid

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certification; policies to improve teacher recruitment, selection and assignment to schools; and policies to retain effective teachers in schools. Priorities within each of these themes are discussed separately below. Attracting able people into teaching

Around half of the participating countries report serious concerns about maintaining an adequate supply of good quality teachers. There are several key research components the OECD activity has assessed to attract teachers into the teaching workforce including: Improving teaching’s salary competitiveness – empirical evidence suggests that relative pay influences the decision to become a teacher, the decision to remain a teacher, and the decision to return to teaching. In 15 of the 21 countries with relevant data, the statutory salary of a primary classroom teacher with 15 years experience fell relative to GDP per capita between 1996 and 2001. The long-term decline in teachers’ relative salaries is likely to have affected not only the numbers who wish to teach but also their quality. Although an increase in teachers’ relative salary can be reasonably expected to reduce shortages, whether or not the quality of the teacher workforce also improves depends on which teachers join and which teachers stay. Target policy initiatives are also evident in regard to attracting particular types of teachers, with a number of countries introducing special programmes and incentives designed to attract more teachers for particular subjects. Fee waivers, scholarships and forgivable loans are some of the financial incentives being provided to attract such people into teaching, and salary bonuses and recognition of work experience are being provided for those who already have qualifications that are in short supply. Improving the image and status of teaching – many countries are concerned about the image and status of teaching, with teachers feeling that the community does not recognise the nature of their work or the value of what they do. Promotional programs to increase awareness of the teaching profession are vital to reflect the importance and rewards of a teaching career. Making reward mechanisms more flexible – evidence suggests that in a number of countries the current incentives are insufficient to attract teachers to work in challenging schools or in difficult locations. Rigidity in teacher salary structure in some countries gives no premium for teachers who work with disadvantaged students or in remote or high cost areas. Substantial salary allowances for teaching in difficult areas, transportation assistance for teachers in remote areas, or bonuses for teachers with skills in short supply will help ensure that all schools are staffed with teachers of similar quality. Using non-financial incentives to reward teachers – Time allowances, sabbatical periods, fee support for post-graduate courses and courses for teacher increase the attractiveness of the profession and help ensure that skills and knowledge are up to date. Making hurdles throughout the career more even – Short periods of employment can result for teachers beginning their career in some countries as teachers may be given initial temporary employment status. Job security and salary rises over time are generally acquired by permanent teachers thus creating uneven hurdles for some teachers in their teaching career.

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Expanding the supply of potential teachers – The teaching profession could benefit from potential teachers with relevant skills and experience obtained outside of education. Supply of teachers can be augmented by the increased mobility of teachers across educational levels, ensuring sufficient opportunities for retraining and re-skilling and maintaining contact with former teachers. Targeting policies at particular types of teachers – Across the board policy approaches in some OECD countries fails to refect the diverse and specific experiences of particular schools and teachers. Teacher shortages may vary by subject, level of schooling and regional location and a more productive policy approach may be one that involves attracting particular types of people into teaching, and teachers to particular schools. Policies for part-time teachers or for older teachers considering retirement could be of value. Rethinking the trade-off between the student-to-teacher ratio (STR) and average teacher salary – In general terms those OECD countries with the highest STR paid their teachers the highest salary relative to GDP per capita, and those with the lowest STR paid their teachers least. Countries with relatively high average teacher salaries are more likely to report an over-supply of teachers, while those with relatively low teacher salaries are more likely to report teacher shortages. Reductions in class sizes can be beneficial for some students (especially for students in the early years of school or from disadvantaged backgrounds), however reductions in class-sizes are unlikely to lead to substantial learning gains in the class sizes currently existing in most OECD countries. Capitalising on an oversupply of teachers – As some countries have many more qualified applicants than teaching positions, opportunities exist for more scope to be selective about those who are employed. This can be achieved by focussing on a range of other selection criteria (and not just from examination results). The oversupply of teachers also permits a rethink of policy (for institution of education also) in the ease in which traineeships and other professional development activities are distributed. Educating, developing and certifying teachers

The reduction in the provision of teacher education in many OECD countries has emerged as an issue for policy makers given low completion rates. Coupled with the expectations placed on teachers to deal with students from different cultural backgrounds, the demands on schools and teachers are becoming more complex. A range of strategies has been canvassed to improve teacher education provision including: Improving selection into teacher education – entry to teacher education is largely unrestricted for upper secondary school completers. While this provides open access to higher education for secondary school graduates, it also puts pressure on resources and raises concerns about the preparation and aptitude of many of those enrolled. Introducing more competitive entry into teacher education can help to assess whether individuals wanting to teach have the motivation, skills, knowledge and personal qualities to become teachers. Providing more flexible forms of initial teacher education – training routes to become teachers differ between countries. Teacher education programmes vary with the regard to their duration,

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with the range across OECD countries between 3 to 8 years. In some countries, courses for secondary teachers can have longer durations than courses for primary teachers. With greater use of modular curriculum, teachers are able to gain qualifications in other levels of education or subject areas, with a range of common elements in the qualifications so that teachers can change specialisations and teach in other schools. Changing the emphasis in initial teacher education – the emerging view is that initial teachers need to develop skills for reflective practice and research on-the-job. Schools have identified concerns about new teachers’ pedagogical skills and their capacity to work in socially diverse schools. Strengthening partnerships between teacher education institutions and schools – many participating countries express concern about the limited co-operation between teacher education institutions and schools. More overt and deliberate forms of partnerships between schools and teacher education institutions are necessary to provide trainee teachers with a more integrated experience. Feedback loops ensure that content and methodology of teacher education is informed by actual school and classroom needs. Using teacher profiles to align teacher education and school needs – teacher profiles, used to provide a common set of objectives for teacher development, can be a powerful mechanism for a more responsive system of teacher education, leading to the comparability of qualifications and contributing to enhanced teacher mobility. Strengthening induction programmes – Structured induction programmes can provide the coaching necessary to bridge the gap between training and reality, and can have positive effects on retention rates during the first years of teaching. Mentors can also be beneficial in providing guidance and supervision to beginning teachers. Integrating professional development throughout the career – teachers’ participation varies widely across countries (as well as within countries), from less than 10 per cent in one country to 70 percent in another. There are substantial challenges in ensuring that all teachers, and not just the motivated ones, are lifelong learners. Three strategies are evident in participating countries to ensure lifelong learning of teachers including ones that are entitlement-based (time release/financial support for undertaking recognised professional development activities); incentive-based (linking professional development with performance management for salary advances) and a school-based strategy which links teacher development with school improvement needs. Improving the provision of professional development – participation in professional development activities is mandated in some countries and as a result incentives for innovation and quality improvement are reduced. Opening up the market for professional development by encouraging a range of providers in response to school and teacher demand, evaluating impacts of different approaches to professional development and informing schools and teachers about effective strategies and programmes can help overcome supply restrictions.

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Maximising the benefits of professional development – successful developmental programs are ones which learning activities are similar to ones they will experience in the classroom and are ongoing. Recruiting, selecting and assigning teachers

In some countries teachers are selected on the basis of very limited criteria and schools themselves play little or no role in the selection or appointment process. School systems more often use more easily measured qualification criteria (qualification held or years of experience) as opposed to a broader assessment of candidates that may give a better guide to teaching quality). Several strategies have been examined to address issues of teacher quality including: Using more flexible terms of employment – in a number of countries teachers are employed as public servants with tenured employment once permanency is obtained. Tenured employment can also make it difficult to adjust teacher numbers when enrolments change, and may mean the burden of adjustments can fall on teachers who lack tenure. Considerations of renewable, fixed term contracts for teachers (with a minimum duration) subject to assessment and performance criteria may be one approach for teachers to improve their practice. Involving schools in teacher recruitment and selection –there is a broad trend towards giving school principals and local authorities a greater say in the selection of teachers in public school systems. This can however lead to an inequitable distribution of teachers and the possibility of favouritism in teacher selection by schools. Broader selection criteria and greater weight to characteristics that are hard to measure may be more directly related to the quality of teaching and learning than traditional emphases on qualifications and years of experience. Meeting short-term staffing needs – replacement pools of relief teachers provide quick responses to imbalances to supply and demand and provide opportunities for beginning teachers who may be facing difficulties in obtaining regular teaching positions. Encouraging greater teacher mobility – limited mobility of teachers between schools, teaching and occupations can hinder the spread of new ideas and approaches with fewer opportunities for diverse career experiences for teachers. Providing incentives for greater mobility and removing barriers are important policy responses. Improving information flows – the development of transparent and prompt systems to close the information gaps between teachers and schools is essential for an effective functioning of the teacher labour market particularly where schools are more directly involved with teacher recruitment and selection. Creating websites where job information and vacancies is centralised or establishing a network of agencies to co-ordinate and foster recruitment activities is an increasing requirement in some countries.

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Retaining effective teachers in schools

Attrition rates are highest in the first few years of teaching, and decline with age, however in most countries there are still reasonably large numbers of older teachers who leave before retirement. Leaving the profession for reasons other than retirement is more common for younger teachers; males rather than females; teachers in hard to staff schools and regions; teachers with higher qualifications and secondary teachers rather than primary teachers. Several policies for retaining teachers have been identified including: Improving job satisfaction – teachers place a lot of importance on the quality of their relations with students and colleagues, on feeling valued and supported by school leaders, and having good working conditions and opportunities to develop their skills. Although attractive salaries are clearly important in improving teaching’s appeal, policy needs to address issues other than pay. Improving recognition and rewards for effective teaching – a number of countries have introduced, or in the process of introducing, schemes to better identify, recognise and reward effective teaching. Varying between countries, these form part of a broader movement towards a stronger focus on educational outcomes. Providing more opportunities for promotion – with an increasing trend toward greater school-level decision-making, teachers should be encouraged to develop a greater range of roles within schools given that promotional prospects can influence whether teachers remain in the job. Such roles represent the introduction of “middle management” positions in schools. Reducing workload and stress – the lack of explicit recognition of the wide variety of tasks that teaching actually entails can create stress through uncertainty as to who is responsible for what and adds to workload because adequate resources are not always made available. Teacher workload, in terms of classroom teaching hours, is only one aspect of a complex job profile, with other responsibilities not explicitly recognised and therefore not reflected in industrial negotiations. Improving leadership and school climate – school leadership is an important influence on teacher retention by helping to foster a stimulating and supportive school culture as well as helping teachers cope with mounting and sometimes contradictory external pressures. Many countries have identified priorities for improved training, selection and evaluation processes for school leaders, upgraded support services, and providing more attractive compensation packages. Providing more flexible working hours and conditions – programmes that enable teachers to work part-time, take more leave opportunities and reduce their working hours without jeopardising their long-term employment and pension rights can increase teacher retention and reduce career burn–out.

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Policy implications The OECD highlights the links between teacher quantity and quality issues. In the short term, school systems often respond to teacher shortages by: lowering qualification requirements for entry into the profession; assigning teachers to teach in subject areas in which they are not fully qualified; increasing the number of classes allocated to teachers; or by increasing class sizes. These solutions present problems about the quality of teaching and learning. On the other hand, while a country may not have a shortage of qualified teachers, this does not necessarily mean that the quality of their teaching is adequate.107 The quality of teaching is determined by the “quality” of the teachers and also by the environment in which they work. Where teachers work in settings that fail to provide appropriate support, challenges and reward, able teachers may not necessarily achieve their potential. The OECD suggests that to attract and retain effective teachers, education provider policies need to provide support and incentives for professional development and on-going performance at high levels. To this end, policy initiatives are required at two levels:

• Directed towards the teaching profession as a whole - largely in relation to its status;

• Targeted to particular types of teachers and schools.108

These main policy directions are summarised in Table 6.2. It should be noted, however, that not all these policy implications apply equally across the participating countries; in many instances they may already exist, or may have less relevance.

107 p 6, Directorate for Education, Education & Training Policy Division, Teachers Matter: Attracting Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers - Executive Summary, published at International Conference, Amsterdam 18 - 19 November 2004, at http://www.minocw.nl/congres_ocw_oecd/doc/executive_summary_en.pdf, Accessed 2 February 2005 108 p.8, ibid

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Table 6.1 Policy Implications

Source: Teachers Matter: Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers, OECD, 2004 Recruitment Difficulties Many of the participating countries in the OECD project provided information about teacher shortages in their Country Background reports, particularly in relation to the potential problems created by ageing workforces where large numbers of teachers would be retiring in the next decade. The following table summarises information provided in individual Country Background Reports and Country Notes. Based on these data, recruitment difficulties would appear to be more of an issue at the secondary level. In most countries, the majority of teachers are aged over 40 and women.109

109 Although Australia participated in the project, data is not included, as it is covered across this report.

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Table 6.2

Summary of Recruitment Difficulties/Shortages, Level of Schooling

Country Primary SecondaryPotential

Shortages flaggedFeminisation

1Ageing

Workforce2

Austria ! P, S P, S

Belgium - Flemish

community! ! P, S P, S

Canada N/a N/a P, S P, S

Chile P, S P, S

Denmark ! ! N/a N/a

Finland ! ! P, S P, S

France ! P, S P, S

Germany ! P, S P, S

Greece P, S N/a

Ireland ! ! P, S N/a

Israel P, S P, S

Italy P, S P, S

Japan N/a N/a

Korea ! N/a N/a

Mexico N/a N/a P N/a

Netherlands ! ! P, S P, S

Norway ! ! P, S S

Quebec - Canada P, S P, S

Slovak Republic ! ! P, S P, S

Spain N/a N/a

Sweden N/a ! P S

Switzerland ! P P, S

United Kingdom &

Northern Ireland! ! P, S P, S

United States of America ! P, S P, S

Notes: 1) Feminisation - over 50% of workforce is female

2) Ageing Workforce - over 50% aged over 40

P = Primary

S = Secondary

N/a - Information not provided in report

Source: Respective Country Background Reports and Country Notes, Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers ,

OECD, at http://www.oecd.org/searchResult/0,2665,en_2649_201185_1_1_1_1_1,00.html Table 6.3 provides a summary of the subject areas in which the participating countries have experienced recruitment difficulties. In some instances, for example, Finland and Germany, recruitment difficulties tend to be regional rather than nationwide. Recruitment difficulties in the subjects of Mathematics, Science and Foreign Languages are most frequently identified.

http://www.oecd.org/searchResult/0,2665,en_2649_201185_1_1_1_1_1,00.html

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Table 6.3 Subject Areas identified as causing Recruitment Difficulties

Country

Health/

Physical

Ed

Foreign

LanguagesMaths

Mother

Tongue/s1 Science SOSE

2VPA

3 Tech VET4 Special

Ed

Specific

Locations5

Denmark !

Finland ! ! ! ! !

France !

Germany ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Ireland ! ! !

Netherlands ! !

Norway ! ! !

Slovak Republic ! ! ! ! ! !

Sweden ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Switzerland ! ! ! !

United Kingdom ! ! ! ! ! !

United States of

America ! ! ! ! !

Notes:

Source: Respective Country Background Reports and Country Notes, Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers , OECD, at


1) Mother Tongue/s refer to the national language/s of the country

2) Studies of Society and the Environment

3) Visual and Performing Arts

4) Vocational Education and Trainng

5) Level of difficulty varies greatly according to location


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PART C Future Outlook

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This part of the report examines the outlook for the demand and supply of teachers in Australia over the period to 2009. This is the last year for which estimates of graduations can be based on actual commencements. Chapters 7 and 8 discuss the factors that need to be taken into account in estimating demand and supply of teachers respectively. Chapter 9 uses the framework developed in the previous two chapters to calculate estimates of demand and supply up to 2007. Chapter 10 explores a number of issues which are likely to have a significant impact on teacher supply and demand at least in the period immediately after 2009 and towards 2014. A schema of stocks and flows in the teacher labour market As an aid to the discussion in chapters 7 and 8, Chart C.1 provides a diagrammatic representation of stocks and flows in the teacher labour market. The key stocks and flows are: Key stocks:

• numbers of classroom teachers (or employed teachers);

• those who are relief and casual teachers or awaiting placement; and

• people qualified as teachers but not working as such. This issue was examined in detail in the 2003 MCEETYA report, in the complementary paper, Career Paths of People with Teaching Qualifications. The subject is discussed briefly in Chapter 8. Importantly, people qualified as teachers but not employed as teachers, especially those who qualified some years earlier, may not be readily available for employment as teachers – i.e. this is a potential rather than actual stock of teachers.

Key in-flows: • graduates;

• teachers returning from leave;

• teachers (other than those returning from leave) who are returning into teaching; and

• inward migration.

Key out-flows: • retirements;

• resignations and other exits (e.g. dismissals and deaths);

• teachers going on extended leave; and

• outward migration.

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Chart C.1 Teacher labour markets—main stocks and flows

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Chapter 7 Factors affecting the demand for teachers

Demand for teachers is largely met through continuing employment of permanent staff and re-engagement of existing contract or casual staff. Each year, however, new teachers have to be found because some teachers leave and also because the requirement for teachers varies due to a range of factors. Changes in requirements, generally upwards in the past because of population increases, are referred to as ‘growth demand’ for teachers. Teachers leaving and needing to be replaced generates ‘replacement demand’ for teachers. These two factors – new or growth demand and replacement demand - together make up the demand for new teachers. Growth demand for teachers During the 1990s growth in the teaching workforce was of the order of 1.1 per cent a year, compared to 1.0 per cent a year in the previous decade. The total number of teachers required and whether or not additional teachers are required depends on a number of factors. These include: the size of the school age population; participation rates at various ages and especially the retention rate to Year 12; the level of government and private funding of schools, and teacher and ancillary costs; and policies regarding class sizes and curricula (which can affect class sizes). These factors can be encapsulated in two variables which together determine the number of teachers:

• enrolment levels; and

• student to teacher ratios (STRs).

Between 1989 and 2003, enrolments grew and STRs generally declined. This combination led to a relatively strong growth in teacher employment, with the two factors reinforcing each other. Recent Enrolment trends

Between 1998 and 2003, enrolments increased by 3.8 per cent, with secondary enrolments growing more strongly (4.6 per cent) than primary enrolments (3.2 per cent). Senior secondary school student enrolments grew faster (7.4. per cent) than junior secondary enrolments (3.2 per cent). The strongest growth was for senior secondary enrolments in the non-government sector (13.6 per cent or 2.6 per cent per annum). Projections of enrolment trends are presented in Chapters 9 and 10, which provide projections of demand and supply of teachers to 2009 and 2014 respectively. Student to teacher ratios Education providers do not normally use STRs as targets to be achieved. Rather, the STRs are the outcome of decisions made by the education authorities and governments about curricula, learning outcomes and the allocation of resources. However, the STR is useful for projection purposes because it captures all of these factors in a single indicator.

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Table 7.1

GovernmentNon-

governmentGovernment

Non-

government

NSW 17.3 17.5 12.6 12.0

VIC 16.2 16.5 12.1 12.0

QLD 15.5 16.7 13.0 12.6

SA 15.9 17.6 12.9 12.2

WA 16.8 17.3 12.2 12.5

TAS 16.0 17.2 13.4 12.4

NT 13.9 18.3 11.6 10.2

ACT 15.1 18.1 11.9 12.9

Australia 16.4 17.1 12.5 12.1

Source: Schools Australia, Cat No 4221.0, ABS 2003

Student to teacher ratios by sector and category of school, 2003

Primary Secondary

Note: Student to teacher ratios are derived by using data for full- and part-time students and FTE for teachers. In this context, it is instructive to compare STRs by State and Territory, level (primary/secondary) and sector of school (government/non-government) as shown in Table 6.1. There is a significant difference in STRs between the States in the government and non-government sectors. In all States and Territories, STRs are higher in non-government primary schools. The differences between government and non-government schools at secondary level, where they exist, are much smaller.

Chart 7.1

Student to Teacher ratio, Australia

1984 - 2003

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

stu

den

t/te

ach

ing

sta

ff r

ati

o

STR primary government

STR primary non-government

STR secondary government

STR secondary non-government

Source: Schools Australia (Cat No. 4221.0), ABS, 2003 and earlier years

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In the last 19 years, STRs in both levels and sector of school have, with one exception, progressively fallen at the national level (Chart 7.1) although the trends across levels and type of school have been different. For instance:

• the primary school STR, in both the government and non-government sectors, has declined continuously so that the level in 2003 was respectively 2.3 and 3.6 percentage points lower than in 1984;

• the secondary school STR for government and non-government schools declined but the government secondary STR then rose for a few years before falling again in 1999 and 2000. As a result in 2003 the government secondary STR was higher than at the beginning of the decade; and

• the non-government school STRs have declined at a faster rate than the government STR. Non-government school STRs are generally higher than those of government schools.

Replacement demand for teachers Replacement demand arises because of losses to teaching from retirements, resignations, deaths and dismissals. The sum of these components is referred to technically as total separations. Assessment of annual replacement demand relative to growth demand shows that replacement demand has generally been the major source of demand for teachers. Between 1996 and 2003, (gross) annual separations in the government sector have been in the range of 1.6 to 18.4 per cent of the teaching workforce per year. By contrast, growth demand has tended to average slightly more than 1 per cent a year. A separation rate of 2 to 19 per cent of the current teaching workforce (of 250,000) represents the need to replace between 5,000 and 47,500 teachers a year. Separation rates vary by State, sector and type of school; by the demographic composition of the teaching workforce; and by conditions in the teaching workforce relative to the wider economy. These are discussed further below. Teachers separating from teaching In preparing this report States and Territories were asked to provide information on the following categories of (gross) separation:

• Age retirement;

• Resignations below the age of 55;

• Resignations of 55 years old or more;

• Redundancy;

• Contract expired (and not renewed);

• Going on extended leave of at least one term duration; and

• Dismissed or deceased;

• Other.

77

The data provided by the education authorities form the basis for estimating the extent of separations and the relative importance of the various categories. Categories of separation and their importance Redundancies have not featured as a common means of separation in recent years. Contract teachers are a significant part of the teaching workforce. In some States, contract teaching has been an established institutional arrangement, especially for new teachers. In these instances, contract teachers are used both to fill in for teachers going on leave and to occupy an on-going position. In other cases, teachers going on leave are backfilled from the casual teaching labour force. These casual teachers may be employed on contract for the period of the break or, most often, as a casual for the entire period. For these reasons, contract teacher separations can be quite numerous.

Resignations can occur for a number of reasons and not all are associated with moves out of teaching. Some resignations actually involve teachers moving from one education system to another or from one State to another. Research indicates that resignations from teaching are affected significantly by the state of the economy and the characteristics of the teaching labour force. During the early 1990s, resignations fell, reflecting reduced opportunities for other employment in the labour market.110 When this happens, other teachers, who may have wished to take some time off teaching with the intention of re-entering at a later date, may be deterred from doing so, knowing that in the future opportunities for re-entering may be curtailed if fewer teachers resign. As a corollary, resignation rates tend to rise when the general labour market conditions, such as low unemployment rates, favour job seekers. Age retirement depends on the age distribution of teachers, their retirement intentions and superannuation arrangements. Environmental factors, such as wages, conditions and job satisfaction, will also influence teachers’ decisions.111 Some government sector defined benefit schemes contain superannuation provisions which appear to trigger resignation/retirement decisions at ages such as 54 years and 11 months, 55 or 58 years. The 54/11 provisions apply to now closed schemes in Victoria (Revised Scheme) and the ACT (Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme - CSS). NSW offers full benefits to qualifying females at 55 in one of its schemes, and at 58 for both men and women in another. The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) notes a relatively high incidence (80 per cent or more) of retirement at these trigger ages for teachers in these schemes, but points out that some of these teachers continue to teach on a casual or part-time basis.

110 G Burke, ‘Teachers: Employment in the 1980s and 1990s’ in The Workplace in Education – Australian Perspectives, First Yearbook of the Australian Council of Educational Administration, Edward Arnold Publishers, 1994. 111 P.12, ASFA Research Centre, Superannuation arrangements for Australian teachers and their impact on retirement decisions, Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, for the Review of Teaching and Teacher Education, DEST, 2003, at http://dest.gov.au/schools/teachingreview/documents/teacher_superannuation.pdf.

http://dest.gov.au/schools/teachingreview/documents/teacher_superannuation.pdf

78

ASFA suggests that the impact of the 54/11 provisions appears to be particular marked in the ACT, given that around half of the teachers aged over 50 are in the CSS. 112 The design of the CSS offers a resignation benefit just before reaching 55 that is generally superior to the benefit at 55. Similar provisions in the Revised Scheme in Victoria link the resignation benefit to the amount of members’ own contributions plus interest. Due to increases in contributions and relatively high levels of investment earnings not foreseen by the designers of the scheme, resignation benefits have become more valuable just before reaching 55 than benefits after 55. The administrators of the Revised Scheme reported an average take-up rate of 72 percent between 1999 and 2002 of those teachers eligible to claim benefits at 54/11.

112 P.12, ASFA Research Centre, ibid

79

Table 7.2 Summary of Superannuation arrangements for Australian teachers, 2003

Male Female Male Female

ACT

Commonwealth

Superannuation

Scheme (CSS)

Govt Closed since 1990 Yes Defined benefit scheme

ACT

Public Sector

Superannuation

Scheme (PSS)

Govt Open 55 55 Defined benefit scheme

NSW

State Authorities

Superannuation

Scheme (SASS)

Govt Closed since 1992 58 58 Defined benefit scheme

NSWState Superannuation

Scheme (SSS)Govt Closed since 1985 55 or 60 55 Defined pension benefit

NSW First State Super (FSS) Govt Open 55 or 58 Accumulation scheme

NT

Northern Territory

Government and Public

Authorities

Superannuation

Scheme (NTGPASS)

Govt Closed since 1999 55 onwards1 Defined benefit scheme

QLD QSuper Govt Open 2

Defined benefit scheme with

optional Accumulation

scheme via voluntary

contributions

QLD QSuper State Govt Closed since 1991 Defined benefit scheme

SA State Pension Scheme Govt Closed since 1986 55 onwards Defined benefit scheme

SAState Lump Sum

SchemeGovt Closed since 1994 55 onwards Defined benefit scheme

SA

Southern State

Superannuation (Triple

S) Scheme

Govt Open Accumulation scheme

TASRBR Contributory

SchemeGovt Closed since 2002 60.0 60.0 After 55

3 Defined benefit scheme

TASTasmanian

Accumulation SchemeGovt Open Accumulation scheme

VIC Revised Scheme Govt Closed since 1988 Yes Defined benefit scheme

VIC New Scheme Govt Closed since 1993 After 40 years employment Defined benefit scheme

VIC Vicsuper Govt Open Accumulation scheme

WA West State Super Govt Open 61.2 59.8 Accumulation scheme

WA Gold State Super Govt Closed since 1995 59.2 59.6 2 Defined benefit scheme

WA Pension Scheme Govt Closed since 1986 60.2 57.2 60 or 654 Defined benefit scheme

Non-Government

Schools Superannuation

fund

Non-Govt Open 64.5 61.5 Accumulation scheme

Independent Schools

Superannuation TrustNon-Govt Open 63.0 61.0 Accumulation scheme

Notes:

State Superannuation Fund Sector 54/11Status for new

members

Average

retirement AgeMaximum Benefits

1 Not fully vested until after 10 yerars of service. Longer service - greater entitlement

Source: Derived from information in Superannuation arrangements for Australian teachers and their impact on retirement decisions , paper prepared by ASFA

Research Centre, Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, for the Review of Teaching and Teacher Education, 2003, at


Type of scheme

60 to 655

5 http://www.css.gov.au/css/benefits/age.html

57.0

4 Depends on member contributions

3 Depends on the division of the scheme - one before 1994, one after, and whether employee has achieved maximum relevant employment of between 30 and 40 years,

depending on contributions.

2 Benefit calculation includes number of years service - the longer the service, the greater the entitlement.

Tables 7.3 to 7.8 provide rates of retirement, resignations and other forms of separations (other than leave of absence) for permanent teachers in government and non-government schools respectively. These data show that:

• although retirements have not been as important a reason for separations among the teaching profession as resignations, retirement rates continue to rise in the government sector, accounting for approximately 5 per cent of the permanent teaching workforce in 2003;


http://www.css.gov.au/css/benefits/age.html

80

• while retirement rates are not too different in the primary and secondary government sectors, the resignation rates have been higher at secondary level. This is the major reason for the higher separation rates at secondary compared to primary level in the government sector;

• in line with expectations, relatively strong economic performance of the Australian economy in the period of comparison (1996 to 2003) resulted in relatively high rates of resignations in the non-government sector (about 9 per cent of the teaching workforce);

• rising rates of resignation from teaching were also observed at the secondary government level (from 2.5 per cent in 1996 to 3.5 per cent in 2003);

Separation rates also vary across States and Territories, as shown in Tables 7.3 and 7.6, for a variety of factors. In 2003, the Australian Capital Territory had the highest separation rate in the government sector at primary level; at secondary level, the highest separation rates in the government sector were recorded by the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. The lowest separation rates at both government primary and secondary levels were recorded by Western Australia and South Australia. In non-government schools, the separation rates of Queensland and Western Australia are the highest at primary level; at secondary level, the highest rates are recorded by Queensland and NSW/ACT.

Table 7.3

1996 2001 2003 1996 2001 2003

Retirement2

0.9 1.6 1.9 0.8 1.7 2.1

Resignation3

1.8 1.6 2.8 2.5 2.7 3.5

Other4

0.2 0.2 0.1 0.7 0.4 0.1

Total 2.9 3.4 4.8 4.0 4.8 5.7

Note 1: Data used in this table were headcounts of teachers (not FTE)

Note 2: Includes medial/illhealth retirements (NSW and QLD)

Note 3: VIC - includes teachers who transferred to non-teaching service positions within the Department.

Note 4: The 'Other' category includes deaths, retrenchments, dismissals and transfers to the public service within the State/Territory

Source: Government Staffing Questionnaires, Primary and Secondary, DEST, 2004 and 2002 , and Survey of State and Territory

Education Authorities, DETYA, 2000

Government sector separations (other than through leave of absence) from the permanent teaching

workforce as a percentage of that workforce, 1996, 2001 and 20031

Primary SecondaryReason for separation

81

Table 7.4

1996 2001 2003 1996 2001 2003

NSW2

3.1 4.0 4.6 3.6 5.2 5.5

VIC 2.5 3.2 4.4 4.6 4.2 5.4

QLD 2.3 3.7 6.7 3.3 5.8 7.7

SA 3.0 3.8 1.6 4.4 2.6 3.1

WA 2.2 2.5 2.0 3.6 3.9 2.6

TAS 3.7 3.6 3.8 5.5 4.7 4.7

NT 12.4 3.9 4.5 16.6 3.0 18.4

ACT 4.0 9.0 8.6 5.0 9.4 10.6

Note 1: Data used in this table were headcounts of teachers (not FTE)

Note 2: NSW data for 2001 include separations under the Career Change Scheme .


workforce, as a percentage of that workforce, 1996, 2001 and 2003 by State/Territory1

Primary Secondary



State/Territory

Table 7.5

1996 2001 2003 1996 2001 20031

Extended Leave, Australia 8.4 3.3 9.5 8.3 3.0 8.4

Note 1: Data used in this table were headcounts of teachers (not FTE).

Note 2: This calculation does not include WA, NT data (not available).



Primary Secondary


workforce as a percentage of that workforce, 1996, 2001 and 2003, Extended Leave1, 2

Table 7.6

2001 2003 2001 2003

Retirement 0.6 0.5 0.9 0.6

Resignation 9.4 8.2 9.6 8.0

Other 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.2

Total 10.4 9.0 10.8 8.8Source: Non-Government Schools Staffing Survey, DEST, 2002 and 2004

Reason for Separation

Non-government sector separations (other than through leave of absence) from the permanent teaching

workforce, as a percentage of that workforce, 2001 and 2003

Primary Secondary

82

Table 7.7

2001 2003 2001 2003

NSW/ACT1

13.4 8.1 14.5 8.5

VIC 8.2 4.5 9.6 7.6

QLD 6.0 14.4 7.8 13.9

SA/NT2

6.1 4.5 9.6 0.4

WA 9.1 12.6 7.5 8.2

TAS 8.0 3.2 6.9 5.6Source: Non-Government Schools Staffing Survey, DEST, 2002 and 2004

Note: 1, 2 Data from the Territories were combined with adjacent States due to small number of respondents


workforce, as a percentage of that workforce, 2001 and 2003, by State/Territory

State and TerritoryPrimary Secondary

Table 7.8

2001 2003 2001 2003

Extended Leave, Australia 3.3 2.0 2.4 2.5

Source: Non-Government Schools Staffing Survey, DEST, 2002 and 2004


workforce, as a percentage of that workforce, 2001 and 2003, Extended Leave

Primary Secondary

Leave is provided to teachers for a variety of purposes. The types of leave and their availability vary from system to system. One important reason for taking leave among the female teaching workforce is to look after children while they are still young and not at school. States may offer extended leave periods for such purposes, ranging from five to seven years. For example, for the MCEETYA report published in 2001, Queensland provided data which show that maternity accounted for around 40 per cent of extended leave taking in recent years. Government sector teachers are more likely to take extended leave lasting at least one term. In 2001 about 3.2 per cent of the permanent government workforce took advantage of this type of temporary separation from teaching. This was considerably higher than the exit rate due to retirements, resignations and other non-leave related separations. Data from 2003 sees this figure increase substantially, so that Extended Leave accounts for almost the same proportions of separations as resignations. The incidence of extended leave separations appears to be less frequent for non-government school teachers. For 2003 only 2.0 per cent of non-government primary and 2.5 per cent of non-government secondary teachers were recorded as having taken extended leave. In part the extent to which extended leave is taken may reflect Australia’s relatively old teaching workforce. The national survey of teachers indicated that, on average, survey respondents had worked as teachers for 17.3 years.113 Such long service provided the opportunity to build up significant long service leave entitlements. It should be noted, however, that while some teachers go on leave, others return. It can be expected that some teachers going on leave will resign while they are on leave, so that there will be a net loss of teachers through this process. The findings of the DEST 2004 survey of government education authorities and other studies suggest that typically in the government sector resignations fluctuate over the business cycle 113 MCEETYA, Qualitative Research - National Survey of Teachers, Part Ei, Demand and Supply of Primary and Secondary School Teachers in Australia, 2003 at http://www.mceetya.edu.au/pdf/demand/part_ei.pdf

http://www.mceetya.edu.au/pdf/demand/part_ei.pdf

83

and across States. As Table 7.3 shows, the rate at primary level tends to be lower than at secondary level. In 1996 retirements were just below 1 per cent a year but edged past 3 per cent in 2003 (primary 2.8 per cent, secondary 3.5 per cent). Data from the 2002 and 2004 Government School Staffing Surveys and other analyses suggest retirements are on the rise as “baby boomers” start to retire. Estimate of net separations from the teacher labour market as a whole

The estimate of replacement demand for the government sector added to the replacement demand from the non-government sector is likely to over-estimate replacement demand for the teacher labour market as a whole, as there is considerable movement of teachers between sectors. When a teacher resigns from a sector to move to another, the movement counts towards the replacement demand for the sector from which the resignation occurs, but it does not contribute to the replacement demand for the teacher labour market as a whole. Only resignations which lead to exits from the teaching profession contribute to replacement demand for the teacher labour market. Because of this churning effect, replacement demand for the teacher labour market can be lower than the sum of replacement demand for the sectors within it. Work undertaken by Monash University on ‘net replacement demand’ for various occupations provided some indication of the past net separation from the teaching profession114. That research suggested that ‘net replacement demand’ for school teachers in Australia averaged around 2.9 per cent a year over the ten year period to 1996. Net replacement demand in that study was estimated by analysis of labour force data by age and was calculated, effectively, as exits from the teaching profession (gross replacement demand estimated at around 11 per cent) net of entries (other than new graduates) and re-entries into the teaching workforce – hence the term ‘net replacement demand’. Because net replacement demand so calculated incorporates additional entry and re-entry categories such as the return of teachers from leave, the Monash University net replacement demand provides a lower bound for the rate of net separation of teachers as defined above. It should be noted, however, that net replacement demand appears to have risen between 1996 and 2001, and may increase further due to ageing of the teaching workforce.

114 Centre of Policy Studies Briefing, The Economic Outlook for the Labour Market, Centre of Policy Studies/Impact project, Monash University, 27 November 2002, p.20

84

Chapter 8 Factors affecting the supply of teachers

The analysis in this chapter centres on the sources of supply of additional (or new) teachers to meet other new or growth demand and or replacement demand for teachers. The principal sources of supply for additional teachers at an aggregate level are:

• New graduates;

• Teachers returning from leave;

• Former teachers returning to teaching;

• The pool of relief and casual teachers;

• Unemployed teachers and teachers marginally attached to the labour force;

• Overseas migration.

There are two main routes for gaining a teaching qualification: a four year undergraduate degree in initial teacher training, or a one or two year graduate diploma in teaching (generally called a Graduate Diploma of Education), following completion of an undergraduate degree in a non-teaching area, such as science or arts. Both streams provide a source of graduate teachers. 115 Applications for undergraduate teacher training (education) courses In the ten years 1995 to 2004, the number of applications made to Admissions Centres for undergraduate education courses peaked in 1993 (25,816 applications) and then fluctuated to a low of 17,783 in 1998, before starting to climb in 1999. 116 The number of applicants of undergraduate education courses in 2004 was at the highest level since 1993 (24,832). The number of offers to eligible applicants for undergraduate education courses increased to 14,991, an increase of 441 over the 2003 figure. This was the highest level since 1997 (15,136). The proportion of eligible applicants receiving offers peaked in 1997, when 82 per cent received offers. Since then, the proportion has steadily decreased. The 2003 and 2004 levels are very similar (60.22 and 60.37 per cent respectively).

115 For a detailed discussion of Australian teacher education courses, see Country Education Profiles, Australia, Third Edition 2000, National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition, Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs pp 56 – 61 inclusive. 116 Annual Reports of Survey of applicants for undergraduate places, Australian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee, (AVCC), (unpublished consolidated data) 2003.

85

Chart 8.1

Total eligible applicants and applicants receiving an offer by Broad Field of Study (Education) 1995-

2004, Australia

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Year

Nu

mb

er

of

ap

plican

ts

Total Eligible Applicants

Total Receiving Offer

Source: Annual Reports of Survey of applicants for undergraduate places, Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee, 2004

Note: Data for 2001 onwards was collected on a different basis to 1995 - 2000. The 2001 onwards data was coded in ASCED, and a new definition of "applicant"

used - i.e. "those students who have applied via the Admission Centre and indicate a university undergraduate course either as their first or second preference on

their application".

Chart 8.2

Total eligible applicants by Broad Field of Study (Education), 1995 - 2004

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

10,000

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Year

Nu

mb

er

of

ap

plican

ts

NSW

VIC

QLD

SA

WA

TAS


Note: Data for 2001 onwards was collected on a different basis to 1995 - 2000. The 2001 onwards data was coded in ASCED, and a new definition of "applicant" used - i.e.

"those students who have applied via the Admission Centre and indicate a university undergraduate course either as their first or second preference on their application".

At State level, the number of applicants for undergraduate education courses in 2004 has also generally increased over 2003 numbers, with the exception of Victoria and Queensland, where

86

the numbers have dropped slightly (by 0.2 and 2.2 per cent respectively). Otherwise, applicant numbers have not grown to the extent recorded in the 2001 - 2002 period.

Chart 8.3

Total eligible applicants receiving an offer by Broad Field of Study (Education), 1995 - 2004

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Year

Nu

mb

er

of

ap

plican

ts

NSW

VIC

QLD

SA

WA

TAS


Note: Data for 2001 onwards was collected on a different basis to 1995 - 2000. The 2001 onwards data was coded in ASCED, and a new definition of "applicant" used - i.e. "those

students who have applied via the Admission Centre and indicate a university undergraduate course either as their first or second preference on their application".

With the exception of New South Wales (where the number of eligible applicants receiving offers had dropped slightly in 2004 from the 2003 figure), States generally recorded minor increases in the number of eligible applicants receiving offers.

87

Chart 8.4

Proportion of eligible applicants receiving an offer by Broad Field of Study (Education), 2004,

Australia

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

NSW VIC QLD SA WA TAS Total

Pe

rce

nta

ge


Note: Data for 2001 onwards was collected on a different basis to 1995 - 2000. The 2001 onwards data was coded in ASCED, and a new definition of "applicant" used - i.e. "those students who

have applied via the Admission Centre and indicate a university undergraduate course either as their first or second preference on their application".

An offer, however, does not necessarily translate into a commencement. Even students who accept an offer may choose not to commence their accepted course for various reasons such as making other choices about their career plans, deferring, deciding against undertaking the course, etc. The number of applicants for undergraduate education courses is an indicator of the interest in teaching as a profession. The greater the number of applicants for a limited number of places, the more competitive these places become, meaning an increase in the entry scores demanded of applicants and a possible increase in the status of the course. A relatively high entrance score equally makes undergraduate teaching courses less obvious targets for potential university students seeking a “foot in the university door” when they’ve been unsuccessful in gaining entry to other courses. Following the Review of Higher Education, the Australian Government introduced a reform package to commence in 2005, which allows higher education institutions to increase student contribution rates by a maximum of 25 percent of the current HECS rate. Under these reforms, teaching and nursing were identified as National Priorities, quarantining them from increases beyond the current HECS growth rate. In 2005, students studying Education will pay a maximum of $3,840.117

117 Higher Education at the Crossroads: An Overview Paper, DEST, 2003, at http://www.backingaustraliasfuture.gov.au/ppubs.htm#1, Accessed 18 February 2005.

http://www.backingaustraliasfuture.gov.au/ppubs.htm#1

88

Teacher training commencements Total numbers of initial teacher training commencements and completions, covering undergraduate courses and postgraduate diploma courses, for the last 16 years for which data are available are shown in Chart 7.4. Total commencements fell in the mid 1990s before recovering in the second half of the decade.

Chart 8.5

Total Initial Teacher Training Commencements, Australia,

1989 to 2003

12000

13000

14000

15000

16000

17000

18000

19000

20000

21000

22000

1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Year

Nu

mb

er

of

stu

den

ts

Source: Higher Education Statistics, Unpublished, 2005

Note: Data from 2001 was coded using ASCED Field of Education classifications. Data prior to this date used Field of Study

Classification of Higher Education Courses (FOSCHEC).

The breakdown of commencements into undergraduate courses and post-graduate diploma courses is shown in Chart 8.6 and Chart 8.7. Commencements fell sharply in 1992 and by smaller amounts in the next two years but recovered strongly until 2000. In 2001 commencements fell by 5.6 per cent but climbed to 2004, with a slight dip in 2003.

89

Chart 8.6

Undergraduate teacher commencements,

Australia, 1993 to 2004

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

18000

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Year

Nu

mb

er

of

stu

den

ts

Initial Early Childhood Teacher Education

Initial Primary Teacher Education

Initial Secondary Teacher Education

Initial Teacher Education (General)

ALL - Australia

Source: Higher Education Statistics, Unpublished, University Statistics, DEST, 2005

Note: From 2001, data was coded using the ASCED Field of Education classifications., and course codes 070100, 070101, 070103 and

070105. Data prior to this used Field of Study Classification of Higher Education Courses (FOSCHEC).

Chart 8.7

Postgraduate teacher commencements, Australia,

1993 to 2004

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Year

Nu

mb

er

of

stu

den

ts





ALL - Australia


Note: From 2001, data was coded using the ASCED Field of Education classifications., and course codes 070100, 070101, 070103 and

070105. Data prior to this used Field of Study Classification of Higher Education Courses (FOSCHEC).

Commencements in primary initial teaching courses dropped below 5,000 in 1994 before commencing a steady climb to a peak of just over 8,000 in 2000. The number of primary commencements dipped in 2000, before climbing to almost 8,000 in 2004.

90

Commencements in secondary teaching courses remained around the 6,000 mark between 1993 and 1996 before reaching a high of almost 7,000 in 1997 and then falling. From 2001, the number of secondary commencements climbed steadily to a new high of almost 7,200 in 2004. However, overall data mask the difference in commencement trends between undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Postgraduate commencements are a significant component of secondary teaching commencements, representing about 41 per cent of total commencements in 2004 in this area. By contrast, postgraduate commencements represent a relatively minor component of commencements in primary teaching courses (9 per cent in 2004). Teacher training completions Chart 8.8 below shows trends in completions of initial teacher training qualifications between 1991 and 2003. 118 Completions fell from over 12,000 in 1991 to 9,000 in 1994, and have since recovered, reaching 15,597 in 2003. Chart 8.8

Total Initial Teacher Training Completions, Australia

1991 to 2003

8,000

9,000

10,000

11,000

12,000

13,000

14,000

15,000

16,000

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Source: Higher Education Statistics, Unpublished, 2005

Note: Data from 2001 onwards was coded using ASCED Field of Education classifications. Data prior to this date used Field of Study

Classification of Higher Education Courses (FOSCHEC).

Completions, shown in Charts 8.9 and 8.10, generally mirror commencements but with a four year lag. This relationship is complicated by the proportion of students undertaking one year postgraduate diploma courses. Between 2001 and 2003, the majority (73 per cent) of initial teacher training completions were at undergraduate level. Undergraduate initial teacher completions peaked over the 9,000 mark in 1991 and then steadily declined until 1996. After this time, the trend reversed. In 2001 the 118 Note that data prior to 2001 was coded using Field of Study Classification of Higher Education Courses (FOSCHEC). From 2001 data is coded using ASCED Field of Education. While these data were selected using the Australian Bureau of Statistics ASCED-FOSCHEC Correspondence table, there may be some variation.

91

number of completions was above the previous 1991 peak and the trend has continued upwards to 11,676 in 2003. The charts show the importance of postgraduate completions as a source of new graduates in the period 1990 to 1998. The data suggest that this type of qualification was used increasingly as an entry point to teaching especially for secondary teaching (Chart 8.10). The trend rise in postgraduate completions also helped to stabilise the output of teacher trainees. However, in both 1999 and 2000 the number of postgraduate completions dropped, before increasing again from 2001 and slightly falling in 2003.

Chart 8.9

Undergraduate course completions in teaching, Australia,

1992 to 2003

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

10000

11000

12000

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Year

Nu

mb

ers

of

stu

den

ts


Initial Early Childhood TeacherEducationInitial Primary Teacher Education


All


Note: From 2001, data was coded using the ASCED Field of Education classifications., and course codes 070100, 070101, 070103 and 070105. Data prior

to this used Field of Study Classification of Higher Education Courses (FOSCHEC).

92

Chart 8.10

Postgraduate course completions in teaching, Australia,

1992 to 2003

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

5000

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Year

Nu

mb

ers

of

stu

den

ts


Initial Early Childhood TeacherEducationInitial Primary Teacher Education


All


Note: From 2001, data was coded using the ASCED Field of Education classifications., and course codes 070100, 070101, 070103 and 070105. Data prior

to this used Field of Study Classification of Higher Education Courses (FOSCHEC).

93

Destination of new graduates Not all graduates from initial teacher education courses become employed as teachers. Data from the Graduate Destination Survey conducted by the Graduate Careers Council of Australia (GCCA) indicate that most, but not all teaching graduates go into the labour market immediately after graduating. Some graduates do not enter or seek full-time employment. As shown in the table below, a significant minority of bachelor degree graduates with initial teaching qualifications who responded to the GCCA survey were not in employment or seeking full-time employment at the time of the survey. Some students who go on to further study after graduating as teachers may later work as teachers, but data is not available on this group.

Table 8.1

Bachelor degree graduates from initial training course available

for full-time employment

1998 2000 2001

Employment Status % % %

Employed full-time 54.5 63.8 60.5

Seeking full-time employment 15.3 13.6 16.8

Total available for full-time employment 69.8 77.4 77.3

Not available for full-time employment 30.2 22.6 22.7

Source: Graduate Careers Council of Australia, 1999, 2001, 2002 Not all graduates employed full-time are working as teachers. For example, data from the Graduate Destinations Survey showed that in 1998, 20 per cent of graduates in full-time employment were working in fields other than teaching. In 2001, 14.6 per cent of initial teacher education graduates who were employed full-time did not work as teachers. That is, only around 80 per cent of graduates were available for full-time work, not all of whom were employed, and of those employed, around 15 per cent were not working as teachers.119 In combination, this suggests that around 30 to 35 per cent of teaching graduates are unlikely to work as teachers within a year of completing their qualifications. While some students go on to further study after completing their teaching qualifications, data are not available on the proportion of these students who subsequently become teachers. In 2004 the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training undertook a pilot survey of Final Year Teacher Education students, in collaboration with the Australian Council of Deans of Education. The scope of the pilot survey was limited and the results somewhat subject to bias due to the limited number of universities able to participate, and the non-random selection of respondents. The results showed that over 80 percent of respondents intended to look for a teaching job after graduation. Almost 70 per cent of respondents intended to undertake a career as either a classroom teacher or to progress into educational leadership positions (e.g. school principal).120

119 No information is available from the GDS about the nature of employment of recent graduates who are seeking to work part-time. 120 Results from this survey should be regarded as indicative only. Survey of Final Year Teacher Eduction Students, DEST, 2004 (unpublished)

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The 2004 DEST Government Schools Staffing Survey sought data from State and Territory education departments detailing the specialisations of new graduates recruited in 2003, and the location of the school in which they were employed. The data could not be supplied in the requested format by all jurisdictions. The supplied data are summarised in Table 8.2 below. The data do not consistently reflect identified areas of recruitment issues in each jurisdiction. High proportions of graduates recruited in a particular KLA may reflect a particular targeting strategy of the jurisdiction to deal with possible recruitment issues, or a broad availability of quality graduates in these KLAs. On the other hand, low proportions of graduates recruited may reflect the non-availability of quality graduates in the KLA, or a lower priority placed on graduates in these areas. The data show a reasonable distribution of new graduates by location, with 45 per cent or more of newly recruited graduates employed in metropolitan areas in all reporting States except Tasmania. The proportions of newly employed graduates employed in “hard-to-staff” schools would appear to reflect the policies and conditions of employment. In Victoria, for example, the data supplied related to new teachers employed under the Teaching Scholarship Scheme. One of the conditions of the scholarship was that the recipient be prepared to accept employment in “hard-to-staff” schools.

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Table 8.2

Graduate Recruitment by State Education Departments, 2003*

Graduates employed NSW VIC QLD SA WA TAS

By Key Learning Area

Health, Physical Education 7.6 5.2 17.8 11.3 15.2 22.1

LOTE 2.5 4.4 3.8 2.3 2.0 0.0

Mathematics 7.6 17.7 5.7 1.5 4.4 11.6

English 15.1 14.1 14.1 3.8 15.5 17.4

Science 12.5 6.0 11.1 3.8 20.4 11.6

SOSE 11.9 4.0 8.5 3.0 14.3 16.3

Visual & Performing Arts 9.2 7.3 20.6 9.0 4.7 12.8

Technology 27.2 14.1 12.6 2.3 6.1 7.0

VET 1.0 0.0 0.8 0.0 5.2 0.0

Special Education 2.5 0.4 0.5 0.8 4.1 1.2

Other/Unknown 3.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 8.2 0.0

Primary/Junior Primary/Middle

Schooling N/A 26.6 3.3 62.4 N/A N/A

By Location of School

Metropolitan 55.8 48.8 53.8 46.6 45.2 39.5

Rural/Regional 26.0 51.2 39.5 39.1 51.9 51.2

Remote 18.2 0.0 6.7 14.3 2.9 9.3

Designated "Hard-to-staff" 10.6 80.6 N/A 16.5 26.5 N/A

Source: Government School Staffing Surveys , DEST, 2004

As a percentage (%) in each State

* Note:

NSW does not collect data in terms of "hard to staff" - Schools in NSW attract "transfer points" based on a number of factors

including location. Schools in the top two (of five) categories have been included in the category for "hard to staff".

VIC data refers to Graduates employed under the Teaching Scholarship Scheme and has not been disaggregated to

Primary/Secondary; VIC data refers to "non-metropolitan", rather than Rural/Regional or Remote.

SA data includes primary/junior primary/middle schooling graduates

TAS recruited Maths/Science teachers and English/SOSE teachers. The numbers have been split 50/50 under each of the

respective KLAs. Teachers returning from leave and former teachers returning to teaching The counterpart of teachers going on leave (discussed in Chapter 6) is teachers who return to the classroom as permanent, full- or part-time teachers after a period of extended leave. These teachers form a very large annual flow. Teachers returning from leave are an important source of new teachers in the annual intake in all States. Data previously provided to MCEETYA indicate that around six per cent of government permanent workforce in 1999 was made up of teachers returning from leave. The percentages were more or less the same in both the primary and secondary sectors. In any one year, the number of teachers returning from leave may exceed or be less than those going on leave. However, over a longer period, it can be expected that the number of teachers who return is less than the number of teachers who leave as some teachers resign while on leave. Data from 1999 previously supplied to MCEETYA by the States and Territories indicate

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that teachers going on leave exceeded those returning. The difference expressed as a percentage of the permanent teaching workforce was around two percentage points. A second and related group is those teachers who resign and leave teaching altogether, only to return at a later stage. Information on this group is limited. The teacher pool The teacher pool refers to teachers not currently employed as on-going teachers who, nonetheless, are available for such positions. The pool consists broadly of three groups:

• teachers on waiting lists for on-going jobs;

• relief and casual teachers who may be available for on-going positions; and

• former teachers not currently actively involved in teaching who may be encouraged to return to teaching.

The role of the teaching pool in balancing supply and demand for teachers remains somewhat uncertain. First, persons on such lists may attain employment elsewhere while waiting for teaching positions. Second, persons seeking employment may not have appropriate skills to meet vacancies, or may not be willing to work in locations where vacancies exist. Third, this source of labour is important in meeting day-to-day teaching needs and hence may be of less value in balancing the labour market in the longer term. The survey of school principals conducted by the Australian Secondary Principals Association in 2003 highlighted significant short term absences by teachers, especially due to sick leave. Number of teachers on ‘employment lists’ and other recording mechanisms in government schools States and Territories are increasingly employing database systems where people with teaching qualifications can indicate their interest in teaching and be placed on an employment list for positions in teaching. Such systems are employed by the majority of jurisdictions. As at February 2005, there were approximately 21,000 persons seeking employment as teachers in New South Wales government schools. The New South Wales Department of Education and Training Casual.Direct employment facility provides a state-wide automated service to all public schools to encourage suitably qualified casual teachers to cover approved short term and long term relief needs. Casual teachers who have current approval to teach as a casual or temporary teacher in NSW Government Schools register their interest and availability to teach with Casual.Direct, a list of preferred schools, their accreditation and the subject areas they are willing to teach. The data submitted by prospective casual employees can only be accessed by principals or their delegates. School principals or their delegates can contact Casual.Direct by telephone, email, and fax or through the Department’s website, http://www.det.nsw.edu.au/casualdirect 24 hours a day and make a request to book a qualified casual teacher who has listed their school as a preference.

http://www.det.nsw.edu.au/casualdirect

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In 2004, the NT Department of Employment Education and Training launched a new recruitment website (www.teaching.nt.gov.au) which allows applicants to apply to the Department online. In this short period of time, the website has attracted over 2000 applicants.

The Department of Education and the Arts in Queensland provides a step-by-step guide to obtaining employment as a teacher in state schools through its education.qld.gov.au website. A comprehensive list of applicants for employment with the department is maintained. In 2005 there were 8,500 applicants actively seeking permanent or temporary (contract) employment with the department. Of these, 7,663 had a preference for permanent employment. South Australia maintains a central database of teacher applicants. The database also records up to two teaching areas. As at February 2005, there were 7,312 active applicants on file. Of these, 5,237 are seeking contract or permanent employment as a teacher and 2,075 are seeking temporary relief teacher work only. In Western Australia the Department of Education and Training keeps a computerised, centralised system of qualified teachers who are seeking employment. Experience suggests that there are usually between 1,500 to 2,000 graduates and re-entrants seeking employment in the government sector. A teacher recruitment database was developed as part of the Victorian Department of Education Teacher Recruitment campaign, launched on 13 September 2002. The database, “Recruitment Online” allows qualified teachers to register their interest in employment in Victorian government schools and offers principals a new recruitment tool providing an increased pool of candidates available for teaching vacancies. Qualified teachers (including those currently teaching and those not currently teaching) interested in teaching in Victorian government schools can register their details for employment on Recruitment Online through the http://www.teaching.vic.gov.au website. Principals can then search the database of teachers interested in teaching in Victorian government schools by location, subjects, etc. They can then select candidates and invite them to apply for teaching vacancies in their school. Recruitment Online will become the Victorian Government’s main instrument for advertising all Government school education positions. Additional enhancements scheduled for release in April 2005 will provide users with a fully interactive online job search application and recruitment tool. Tasmania maintains a database of applicants for fixed term and relief employment, Epool. Currently there are approximately 1,500 active applicants on this register. Branches and principals can search the database by skill, geographic and part-time /full-time preference. All prospective fixed term and relief employees must be registered on Epool to be considered for employment. The web-based application generates the fixed-term employment contract.

http://www.teaching.vic.gov.au

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Relief and casual teachers in government schools

Some indication of the size of the stock of teachers who may be available for permanent positions in teaching can be obtained by looking at the pool of relief and casual teachers. Every State and Territory has a system of relief and casual teachers, some of whom are only available for relief work, but others are available for permanent and/or contract positions. An indicative estimate of the national pool of relief and casual teachers can be obtained by comparing the ABS data from the Labour Force Survey and the ABS Schools Collections. In the previous MCEETYA report, it was estimated that in August 2000 there were at least 29,500 relief and casual teachers in Australia121. As then, it must be emphasised that this figure was a snapshot. The figure is likely to be substantially larger, however, because not all relief teachers get work during the ABS survey period and therefore do not get picked up in the employed stock. More direct evidence on the number of relief and casual teachers is available from the State and Territory education authorities. As at February 2005, 2,075 teachers were recorded on South Australia’s central database as seeking only casual relief teaching. In Queensland, education districts maintain registers of teachers who are available for relief (as opposed to contract) teaching in state schools. In 2005, there were approximately 11,000 teachers who expressed interest in relief teaching. In Western Australia, there were approximately 6,000 teachers available for relief teaching in 2001, although the locations and type of teaching they were willing to undertake were often heavily restricted. In Tasmania around 700 teachers are recorded on the employment register, Epool, as seeking casual/relief employment. The Northern Territory Department of Employment, Education and Training also maintains a central database of all teachers, teacher applicants and relief teachers. Principals are able to access online relief teacher availability though a secure Internet site. There are currently 276 relief teachers registered for relief work within the Northern Territory, the majority of whom are based in urban centres. Other pool teachers Three other groups can add usefully to the supply of teachers and teachers’ time:

• those recorded as unemployed by the ABS ;

• teachers who are not actively seeking employment but would be available to take up teaching if a suitable job came up; and

• contract teachers on less than their desired annual hours of work.

The 2001 MCEETYA Report noted that in the August 2000 Labour Force Survey the number of officially unemployed teachers was just over 3,000. As a relatively small number, most of these would be picked up in the employment lists mentioned above.

121 The Labour Force Survey counts as employed teachers all those who were employed or had worked during the survey period, whether they were permanent, on contract or casual. The School Collection counts only permanent and contract teachers and those casual teachers who were relieving teachers on extended leave. The difference between the two estimates therefore equals the number of relief and casual workers who had been called in during the survey period.

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Pool teachers, including those outside the teaching workforce, have also been important in the New Zealand teacher labour market. It is interesting to note, for example, that the primary school teacher shortages in New Zealand in the 1990s were mostly resolved by supply from the pool. There is no information in Australia about the extent of under-employment of contract and part-time teachers. The ABS collects information in labour force surveys on part-time workers wanting to work more hours. This source could be used to provide an indication of the extent of under-employment among part-time teachers, but not for contract teachers who may not get continuous work during the year. Overseas migration Data from the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) suggest that between 2000 - 01 and 2002 - 03, Australia remained a net gainer of teachers through the migration process. Most of the migration inflow/outflow relates to Australian residents leaving to go overseas or returning, although there are significant numbers of teachers arriving and departing as visitors. The figures in Table 8.3 show an increase in the numbers of teachers arriving and departing.

Table 8.3 Permanent and Long Term Migration of Teachers

Period Resident Visitor Settlers Resident Visitor Resident VisitorTotal (excl

settlers)

Total (inc

settlers)

1996 - 97 to 1999 - 00 10,966 4,657 4,918 16,014 2,844 -5,048 1,813 -3,235 1,683

2000 - 01 to 2002 - 03 14,241 7,161 5,861 22,631 3,489 -8,390 3,672 -4,718 1,143

Arrivals Departures Net

Source: DIMIA data quoted in Birrell, Dobson, Rapson and Smith, Skilled Labour: Gains and Losses (July 2001) and Skilled Movement in the New Century:

Outcomes for Australia (April 2004), Centre for Population and Urban Research, Monash University In the three years 2000 - 01 to 2002 - 03, the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland remained the largest contributor to migration flows of teachers to and from Australia. During this period, 4,215 permanent long term residents arrived in (or returned to) Australia, along with 619 settlers and 998 visitors. Over the same period, 6,231 permanent long term residents and 479 visitors left Australia to return to the UK. Excluding visitors, these movements resulted in a net loss of 1,397 school teachers to the UK over the three years. However, as Table 8.4 shows, migration flows are not all one-way. Migration flows of school teachers between Australia and both New Zealand and South Africa have resulted in strong net gains for Australia. Equally important is the recognition that residents leaving Australia often return.

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Table 8.4 Permanent and Long Term Migration of Teachers - Selected Countries - 2000 - 01 to 2002 - 03

Country Resident Visitor Settlers Resident Visitor Resident Visitor

Total

(excl

settlers)

Total (inc

settlers)

Canada 526 88 255 563 120 -37 135 98 186

Hong Kong 761 88 86 1,701 44 -941 42 -898 -810

Japan 2,317 124 932 3,705 261 -1,388 671 -717 -593

New Zealand 209 408 1,193 843 325 -634 83 -551 642

South Africa 167 546 145 83 62 84 83 167 713

United Kingdom and Northern Ireland 4,215 619 998 6,231 479 -2,016 519 -1,497 -878

United States of America 860 141 331 1,357 228 -497 103 -394 -253

Arrivals Departures Net

Source: DIMIA data quoted in Birrell, Dobson, Rapson and Smith, Skilled Labour: Gains and Losses (July 2001) and Skilled Movement in the New Century:

Outcomes for Australia (April 2004), Centre for Population and Urban Research, Monash University For young teachers in particular, the Working Holidaymaker scheme offers an opportunity to spend time working and travelling overseas. The Australian Government has reciprocal working holidaymaker arrangements with a range of countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, Japan, the Republic of Ireland, the Republic of Korea, Malta, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Hong Kong. Under the United Kingdom’s Working Holidaymaker scheme, for example, successful applicants can stay in the UK for two years from the date permission was first granted to enter the UK. There is no restriction on the amount of work they do, but working holidaymakers are expected to take a holiday during their stay. To qualify applicants must be:

• Commonwealth citizens;

• Aged between 17 and 30 at the time of application; Wanting to come to the UK to take employment as part of a working holiday;

• Single, or married to a person who also qualifies as a working holidaymaker and planning to take the working holiday together;

• Without dependent children aged 5 years or over;

• Able to support themselves and live in the UK without any help from public funds

• Able to pay for return or onward journeys;

• Planning to leave the UK at the end of the holiday.122

The former requirement that the applicant not take employment representing a continuation of their career has been removed. The New South Wales Department of Education and Training demonstrates its preparedness to tap into the working holidaymaker market in Australia with part of its teach.NSW website (https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/employment/teachnsw/ukteach/index.htm) providing information for overseas trained teachers. The site describes the approval process for overseas teachers:

• A formal assessment of their academic qualifications;

• Probity checks including national criminal records and employment checks; 122 Guidance - Working Holidaymakers (INF 15), UK Visas, http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1018721068240, Accessed 15 February 2005.

https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/employment/teachnsw/ukteach/index.htm

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=10187210682

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• Assessment of English language skills (if necessary); and

• Participation in the Departments Pre-employment Program for Overseas teachers (a 12 day orientation program, 5 day In-school assessment, personal suitability interview; and Bridging Course - if required).123

Relative importance of the various sources of teacher supply The major sources of supply of additional teachers discussed above include new graduates, teachers returning from leave, former teachers returning to teaching, the pool of relief and casual teachers, unemployed teachers, teachers marginally attached to the labour force and qualified teachers from overseas migration. The teachers that are most easily quantified are new graduates and migrations. Data from the Non-Government Schools Staffing Survey on this issue indicate that “inexperienced recruits” generally represented around one-third of teachers recruited to non-government schools during 2003.

Table 8.5 Proportion of "inexperienced teachers" recruited in non-government schools, 2003

Level of Schooling NSW/ACT QLD SA/NT TAS VIC WA Total

Primary 46.9 44.1 34.4 40.0 40.9 8.9 34.9

Secondary 36.7 16.5 27.4 28.1 38.6 11.9 27.5

Total 41.0 32.9 29.3 34.3 39.7 10.5 31.0

Source: Non-Government Schools Staffing Survey , DEST, 2004 In net terms, migration flows contributed about 0.2 per cent of the teaching workforce on average between 1996 – 97 and 2000 – 01 and between 2000 - 01 and 2002 - 03. Education providers appear to be more actively recruiting for overseas teachers, but equally, Australian teachers continue to be attracted to jobs overseas. Other sources of supply are more difficult to quantify. Former teachers (not on leave) returning to teaching are recognised as being an important source, but the only evidence of this comes from overseas rather than Australia. On the other hand, there is more information on the pool of teachers on employment lists for jobs, and those who work as relief and casual teachers and who may therefore be available for ongoing positions. Data from the States and Territories indicate that as at February 2005, there were almost 40,000 people seeking employment in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australian government schools. The number of relief and casual teachers is estimated at approximately around 30,000 – 40,000 Australia wide. Taken together, this suggests that the pool of teachers available for ongoing vacancies is relatively large, although there is some overlap between the two categories. The 2003 MCEETYA report included a complementary research paper, Career Paths of People with Teaching Qualifications which found that a relatively high number of people whose highest education qualification was in teaching were not working in the education industry. The paper

123 Teach.NSW: Additional Information for Overseas Trained Teachers, NSW Department of Education and Training, at http://www.det.nsw.edu.au/employment/teachnsw/ov_trteachers.htm, Accessed 18 Jan 05.

http://www.det.nsw.edu.au/employment/teachnsw/ov_trteachers.htm

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used ABS Transition from Education to Work 2001 data. Of the 367,036 with teaching qualifications, 116,881 (31.8 per cent) were working in industries outside education. Similar analysis124, undertaken by Webster, Wooden and Marks, used ABS 2001 Census of Population and Housing data and found that 44.8 per cent people qualified to teach primary school were actually employed as primary school teachers; over one-quarter were unemployed or not in the labour force. Of people qualified to teach secondary school, 49 percent were employed as secondary school teachers; just over one-fifth were unemployed or not in the labour force. At both levels of schooling, approximately 25 per cent were employed in other occupations (Primary qualified teachers: 27.2 percent, Secondary qualified teachers: 27.8%).125 It is important to note that by its very nature the flow back into the teaching workforce from experienced teachers is dependent on a number of factors and can vary over time. The most important factors are likely to be the level of demand for teachers and the opportunities available in other areas of the economy. Strong demand is likely to attract more pool teachers while strong competition from new graduates and good job prospects outside teaching are likely to have the opposite effect.

124 Beth Webster, Mark Wooden and Gary Marks, The Labour Market for Australian Teachers, paper presented at the Making Schools Better Conference, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, 26 - 27 August 2004, Melbourne at 125 p. 4, Beth Webster, Mark Wooden and Gary Marks,

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Chapter 9 Some projections of teacher demand and supply to 2009

Building on the discussion and analysis of the previous chapters, this chapter presents projections for teacher requirements and the supply of teachers up to 2009, at the national level. The year 2009 is chosen as this was five years from the date of writing, although projections of graduations based on actual data for commencements in undergraduate courses are not possible for the final two years. The analysis in this chapter starts by providing projections at the national level, including an assessment of whether projected graduations are likely to lead to a tightening or loosening of the labour market for teachers at the national level in the mid- to late 2000s, compared to that at the end of the 1990s. The analysis then goes on to examine projections at the State and Territory level and concludes by discussing sources of flexibility on the demand and the supply side which assist in the adjustment of the teacher labour market within a jurisdiction and across jurisdictions. It is important to point out that the projections in this report are based on assumptions about key factors which influence demand and supply. As with all projections, some of these factors may not occur. Accordingly, these projections are not intended to be, nor should be interpreted as, forecasts of likely outcomes. The main purpose of the projections is to provide some indication of the possible direction of the labour market for teachers over the next five years as the basis for policy development. Outlook for the teacher labour market at the national level Likely growth or new demand

The number of school students and student-teacher ratios are key factors in determining the number of school teachers required and the extent of growth or new demand for school teachers. The next table provides projections of numbers of school students in the primary and secondary school systems in Australia between 2004 and 2009.

Table 9.1

Projected number of school students by level of schooling, Australia, 2004 - 2009

Level of

schooling2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Primary 1,930,495 1,926,895 1,925,074 1,918,307 1,913,072 1,908,003

Secondary 1,407,085 1,427,678 1,443,881 1,456,446 1,464,143 1,465,543

Total 3,337,580 3,354,573 3,368,955 3,374,753 3,377,215 3,373,546

Source: DEST estimates, 2004 The data indicate that there will be little overall growth in the total number of enrolments over the period between 2004 and 2009. The data does, however, suggest that the composition of the distribution of students is changing between primary and secondary levels, with the numbers of primary students on the decline, and the numbers of secondary students on the increase. Primary enrolments are projected to be at their peak during 2004 and then to slightly fall to 2009; Secondary enrolments are projected to continue rising across the period.

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Chart 9.1

Projections for school enrolments,

Australia, 2004 - 2009

1,000,000

1,100,000

1,200,000

1,300,000

1,400,000

1,500,000

1,600,000

1,700,000

1,800,000

1,900,000

2,000,000

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Year

Pro

jecte

d n

um

bers

of

stu

den

ts

Primary

Secondary

Source: DEST Estimates based on ABS Population Projections, Australia and

projections of grade progression ration (GPR).

The number of teachers required depends on three factors:

• The extent of growth through demographic factors – which as noted above, will be limited:

• School retention patterns – which we have assumed will remain stable; and

• Student to teacher ratios, which vary between the primary and secondary systems.

We have provided two scenarios for projected teacher numbers, the first based on 2003 student to teacher ratios, the second based on improved student to teacher ratios, (as has been the case in the past decade), extrapolated forward based on recent trends.

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Scenario 1 - Static student to teacher ratios

The following table provides projections of required teacher numbers, in terms of full time equivalent staff, assuming current student to teacher ratios remain constant in the primary and secondary schools sectors (16.6 students per teacher for primary schools and 12.4 students per teacher in secondary schools). The extent that student to teacher ratios either rise or fall will impact on the numbers of teachers required.

Table 9.2

Projected teacher requirements, assuming static student-teacher ratios, Australia, 2004 - 2009

Level of

schooling2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Primary 116,295 116,078 115,968 115,561 115,245 114,940

Secondary 113,475 115,135 116,442 117,455 118,076 118,189

Total 229,769 231,213 232,410 233,016 233,321 233,129

Source: DEST estimates, 2004 This scenario suggests little overall growth at the national level in terms of teacher requirements (approximately 3.500 over the projection period), although the nature of requirements will vary by state depending on school and broader population trends. (Appendix 1 details student and teacher numbers and student-teacher ratios for government and non-government sectors by State.) The following chart shows changes in the composition of teacher requirements by sector.

Chart 9.2

Projected teacher requirements, assuming static student-teacher ratios, Australia,

2004 - 2009

112,000

113,000

114,000

115,000

116,000

117,000

118,000

119,000

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Year

Pro

jecte

d n

um

bers

of

teach

ers

Primary

Secondary

Source: DEST estimates, 2004

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Scenario 2 - Lower student to teacher ratios.

In this scenario we have extrapolated the trend evident over the past ten years for student to teacher ratios to fall for the projection period. Under this scenario more teachers would be required. As shown in the table below, the number of teachers required under a scenario of falling STRs would rise slightly over that put forward in Scenario 1; with an additional 12,400 teachers being required, the majority being secondary teachers. As the projections of student enrolments remain relatively steady across the period, increased teacher requirements will cause the STR to drop. From a projection perspective, the trend for a greater fall in STR at primary level means that the requirement for primary teachers continues to rise at a steady rate. Greater projected enrolments and a trend of smaller decreases in STR at secondary level translate to increased requirements for secondary teachers at similar levels to primary teachers.

Table 9.3

Projected teacher requirements assuming falling student-teacher ratios, Australia, 2004 - 2009

Level of

schooling2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Primary 117,707 118,915 120,245 121,278 122,416 123,575

STR 16.4 16.2 16.0 15.8 15.6 15.4

Secondary 113,816 115,829 117,496 118,875 119,863 120,339

STR 12.4 12.3 12.3 12.3 12.2 12.2

Total 231,523 234,744 237,742 240,153 242,279 243,913

Source: DEST estimates, 2004 Chart 9.3

Projected teacher requirements, assuming falling student-teacher ratios,


112,000

114,000

116,000

118,000

120,000

122,000

124,000

126,000

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Year

Pro

jecte

d n

um

bers

of

teach

ers

Primary

Secondary


107

Pressures for teacher recruitment from new or growth demand will, however, be relatively small over the projection period – 3,500 to 12,500 teachers. The main change is that the number of secondary teachers required will grow, whereas the number of primary school teachers required will decline or remain static. Replacement demand for teachers Chapter 6 provides estimates of teacher separations arising from retirement, resignation death, dismissal or redundancy for the government and non-government sectors for 1996, 2001 and 2003.126 In the government sector, losses rose from 2.9 per cent of the workforce in 1996 to 4.8 per cent of the workforce in 2003 in primary schools, and from 4.0 per cent to 5.7 per cent for secondary schools over the same period. In the non-government sector, losses fell from 10.4 per cent in 2001 to 9.0 per cent in 2003 in primary schools, and from 10.8 per cent to 8.8 per cent in secondary schools over the same period.127 It should be noted, however, that losses recorded by one school system may be gains in another system – i.e. total losses may be lower than the data suggest. However, as the age profile of the teaching workforce outlined in Chapter 2 suggests, replacement demand is likely to increase from higher retirement levels, other things being equal. Potential for losses from age retirement

As the 2003 MCEETYA report outlined, several State Governments had acknowledged the potential for greater losses from retirement in the period ahead: • In 2001, the Victorian Auditor General’s Department noted in its report on teacher supply

and demand that 45 per cent of the state teaching workforce was likely to progressively retire over the next ten years.

• Submissions to the Review of Teaching and Teacher Education acknowledged that meeting overall demand in the secondary sector might become more difficult in 2006 and 2007 as a significant segment of this workforce began to retire.

• South Australia similarly expressed concern that ageing and retirement might lead to shortages of mathematics and science teachers. The average age of South Australia’s maths teachers was 44, while 53 per cent of primary teachers were aged over 45.128

• New South Wales Premier, Mr Carr commented in 2003 that “serious issues of teacher supply will need to be tackled by 2007. 129”

Data on the age of the teaching workforce is available from a range of sources. The 2003 MCEETYA report used 2001 Census of Population and Housing data from the ABS on the age structure of the teaching workforce. This remains the most complete data on a nation-wide basis. Additional sources used in this report include surveys of government and non-government education providers (2004), and the national survey of teachers conducted in 2002. 126 Data for 1996 was not collected for the non-government sector. 127 It should be noted that participation in the Non-Government Staffing Survey is voluntary. 128 Nhada Goodfellow, 2003, ‘So, You do the maths’ in Adelaide Advertiser, 21 February 2003, p.15. 129 R Carr, Premier of New South Wales, quoted in Doherty, Linda 2003, “Rent discounts to lure teachers”, Sydney Morning Herald, 18 February 2003, p. 6

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All three sources indicate that a significant proportion of Australia’s teaching workforce will be eligible for retirement over the next decade. For example, as shown in the graph below of data from the 2001 Census, a substantial proportion of teachers are aged 50 and over. These data also show that Australia’s teaching workforce is relatively “old” compared to the broader national workforce.

Chart 9.4

Age distribution of teachers and other professional employees,

Australia, 2001

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

15

17

19

21

23

25

27

29

31

33

35

37

39

41

43

45

47

49

51

53

55

57

59

61

63

65+

Age

Total Professionals (exl. School Teachers)

School Teachers


Other age-group data collected for this report from the national quantitative surveys of government and non-government schools confirm the high proportion of the national teaching workforce aged 50 and over as at 2003 for the government sector, and 2004 for the non-government sector. These data show that, for both the government and non-government sectors, higher proportions of secondary teachers than primary teachers are aged 50 and over.

Table 9.5

Age distribution of Government primary teachers, 2003

Age RangeProportion

%

50 - 54 years 18.09

55 - 59 years 7.77

60 years and over 2.33

Total 28.18

Source: Government Schools Staffing Survey, DEST, 2004

109

Table 9.6

Age distribution of Government secondary teachers, 2003

Age RangeProportion

%

50 - 54 years 20.39

55 - 59 years 9.26


Total 32.16Source: Government Schools Staffing Survey, DEST, 2004 Table 9.7

Age distribution of non-government sector primary school teachers, 2004

Age RangeProportion

(%)

50 - 54 years 13.1

55 - 59 years 7.2


Total 23.6

Source: Non-Government Schools Staffing Survey, DEST 2004 Table 9.8

Age distribution of non-government sector Secondary school teachers, 2004

Age RangeProportion

(%)

50 - 54 years 14.4

55 - 59 years 8.7


Total 26.8

Source: Non-Government Schools Staffing Survey, DEST 2004 These data sources identify possible losses due to retirement, consistent with concerns expressed by a range of stakeholders, including State education authorities, teacher unions, etc. The following table provides data from the 2001 census on the number of persons employed as teachers aged over 55 as at 2001 and those who will be turning 55 in the period up to 2009. Based on the 2001 data, 41,543 teachers would be aged over 55 in 2004, representing 16.4 per cent of persons employed as teachers. A further 44,762 teachers would be aged 55 and over by 2009. Between 2005 and 2009 an average of 8,952 teachers per year will turn 55, representing an average of 3.6 per cent per year of those persons employed as teachers in 2001.

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Table 9.9

Year turned

55+

Age as at 2001

Census

Number of

Teachers

% of 2001 Teacher

Workforce

Cumulative

Total of

Teachers

Annual

Change

Cumulative %

of 2001

Teacher

Workforce

2004 52+ 41,543 16.4 41,543 16.4

2005 51 7,611 3.0 49,154 7,611 19.5

2006 50 8,425 3.3 57,579 8,425 22.8

2007 49 9,035 3.6 66,614 9,035 26.4

2008 48 9,805 3.9 76,419 9,805 30.2

2009 47 9,886 3.9 86,305 9,886 34.2

Source: 2001 Census of Population and Housing, ABS, 2003 As data from the Australian Superannuation Funds Association indicate in Chapter7, most superannuation funds are geared for teacher retirement between the ages of 55 and 59. Data from the 2001 Census also indicate that only 2.2 per cent of persons employed as teachers were aged over 60. These data demonstrate that there is potential for significant losses of teachers to retirement over this period. Obviously the extent of retirement will depend on a range of factors including individual superannuation arrangements, work environment and personal preferences, but the high number of older teachers suggests losses to retirement and other factors could be significant between 2004 and 2009. Some resignations reflect ‘churning’ in the teaching labour market, with teachers moving between states, between the government and non-government schools system and between schools in the non-government schools sector. Resignations also reflect teachers moving from their profession, and may also reflect factors like teachers resigning to maximise retirement benefits in some jurisdictions. The extent of resignations will also be influenced by the job opportunities available to teachers outside the teacher labour market, which will in turn be influenced by the extent of overall growth in the national and State economies. Nonetheless, the data indicate that, depending on the success of strategies to retain older teachers adopted by government and non-government education providers, losses may be substantial. Data from the DEST School Staffing Surveys 2004 show that 36.6 per cent of government primary teachers, 34.8 per cent of government secondary teachers, 30.7 per cent of non-government primary teachers, and 29.2 per cent of non-government secondary teachers were aged 40 – 49. (Although it should also be acknowledged that these proportions are slightly lower than those recorded for the surveys in 2002.) These data indicate that the problem of aged-based retirement losses will continue to be significant post 2010.)

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Comparing supply with demand Projected completions from initial teacher training courses Projections of completions from initial teacher training courses can be derived from information on commencements in these courses (discussed in Chapter 8 and shown in Charts 8.5 and 8.6) and applying a completion rate. To project completions in the period to 2008, the following assumptions have been made for the different streams:

• undergraduate completions;

• for the period to 2008, completions equal commencements four years earlier multiplied by an average completion rate of 60 per cent;

• post-graduate completions;

• for the period to 2008, completions equal commencements one year earlier multiplied by an average completion rate of 80 per cent;

• for 2004, commencements in postgraduate teaching courses have been assumed to run at a level equal to the average during the previous five years; for 2005 – at a level equal to the average of the previous 4 years and for 2006 – at the level equal to the average of the previous 3 years.

The ‘completion rates’ have been calculated by comparing commencements and completions, suitably lagged, over the 1990s and averaging. While completion rates so derived can vary from one year to another, for a variety of reasons, it has been assumed that these historical average or trend completion rates will apply into the next few years. As shown in Chart 8.5, completions are projected to remain fairly constant around the 11,000 mark. The trends for each of the teacher education types - General, Early Childhood, Primary and Secondary are consistent.

112

Chart 9.5

Teacher course completions by course type, actual and projected,

Australia, 1997 to 2008

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Year

Nu

mb

er

of

stu

den

ts





All Initial Teacher Education

Source: Higher Education Statistics, Unpublished, University Statistics, DEST 2005, plus DEST projections

Chart 9.6

Undergraduate teacher course completions by course type, actual and projected, Australia, 1997 to

2008

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Year

Nu

mb

er

of

stu

den

ts





All Initial Teacher Education (Undergraduate)

Source: Higher Education Statistics, Unpublished, Uniersity Statistics, DEST 2005, plus DEST projections

113

Chart 9.7

Postgraduate teacher course completions by course type, actual and projected,

1997 to 2008, Australia

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Year

Nu

mb

er

of

Stu

den

ts





All Initial Teacher Education (Postgraduate)

Source: Higher Education Statistics, Unpublished, University Statistics, DEST 2005, plus DEST projections

The projections suggest a relatively flat trend in course completions after a sharp drop in 2004. Projected completions from Initial Primary and Secondary Teaching suggest that after some fluctuations, there will be a slight increase from 2006. As discussed in Chapter 7, around 70 to 75 per cent of all initial teaching course graduates make themselves available for teaching, some after undertaking further study. On this basis, the number of new graduates available to the teacher labour market in the next three years is projected to peak at 10,050 in 2003, before holding levels in the mid 8,000s between 2004 and 2008, as shown in the table below: Table 9.11 Projected graduates from initial teacher education courses and those available for teaching positions, 2003 - 2008

Graduates completing initial teaching courses 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Initial Teacher Education (General) 2,031 1,258 1,595 1,627 1,710 1,658

Initial Early Childhood Teacher Education 1,816 1,510 1,460 1,430 1,323 1,466

Initial Primary Teacher Education 5,555 5,044 4,670 4,831 4,584 4,837

Initial Secondary Teacher Education 4,955 4,685 4,285 4,513 4,652 4,835

Total 14,357 12,496 12,010 12,400 12,268 12,796

Graduates available for teaching jobs (70%) 10,050 8,747 8,407 8,680 8,588 8,957

Source: Higher Education Statistics, Unpublished, University Statistics , DEST 2005, plus DEST projections The composition of the pool of graduates is an issue. While most growth in demand will be for secondary teachers, supply trends are not necessarily well aligned with these needs. Supply of secondary teaching specialisations in areas of need remains an issue, as highlighted by the data on recruitment difficulties in Chapter 4. Increased demand may be for teachers in particular specialisations and/or for particular locations.

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Adequacy of projected graduate numbers to meet teacher requirements

We now turn to drawing together estimates of demand and supply for teachers at the national level for the period from 2004 to 2009. Demand New demand

We estimate that new demand or growth demand over the period from 2002 to 2007 for teachers will be limited if student to teacher ratios remain constant (+3,500). If student to teacher ratios continue to fall in line with recent trends, demand for teachers would rise by a further 9,000. However, the composition of demand for teachers appears likely to change, with slightly more secondary teachers needed. Replacement demand

Replacement demand is likely to be very significant in the next five years, reflecting ageing of the teaching workforce. Actual losses will vary between employers, depending on the composition of particular teaching workforces. Supply Data from government and non-government providers suggests that around 70 per cent of new teachers have been recent graduates. This compares with projected supply of 8,500 – 10,000 persons per year who graduate and commence working as teachers relatively soon after graduation over the projection period, as discussed earlier, or 50,000 - 60,000 graduates over the six year period. Supply/demand imbalances

The preceding analysis suggests that the high wastage rates in the period ahead may mean that it will not be possible to meet recruitment needs for new teachers from new graduates. This imbalance would decline, however, possibly markedly, if a higher proportion of teacher education graduates were available for full time employment as teachers. There is also a substantial ‘pool’ of teachers to draw on, and a substantial group within the community with teaching qualifications either not currently working as teachers or currently not seeking work as teachers, who could, potentially, be attracted back into the profession. Limited supply appears likely from migration, especially given strong demand for teachers by other English-speaking countries. Flexibilities and scope for adjustment in the teacher labour market While it has been possible using the available information to make an assessment of the extent to which projected graduations in the next few years may be adequate to meet the need for new teachers in the Australian teacher labour market as a whole, appropriate data to make a similar assessment at the State and Territory level are not available. In particular, there is no compatible information at the State/Territory level on net replacement rates, which are essential for making an informed assessment of the loss of teachers to the teaching profession within a State. These rates can be expected to vary significantly across the various jurisdictions, reflecting differences in operation of the teacher labour markets across the States and

115

Territories and differences in opportunities available for people with teacher qualifications in the broader local and State labour markets. However, even if it were found that in one State or Territory the training rate is insufficient by itself to provide enough new graduates to ensure that the State teacher labour market remains in balance; this does not mean that the State or Territory will automatically experience shortages of teachers. As already discussed, there are other sources of teachers, and the respective State and Territory teacher labour markets have some flexibility to adjust to potential imbalances between supply and demand. These flexibilities include:

• options available to management within a single jurisdiction, such as the State education system. These can be classed as essentially ‘internal flexibilities’.

• some adjustments are possible by way of movements across jurisdictions and sectors. For instance, teachers can move from the government education system to the non-government system in the same State, and vice versa; or they can move from one State or Territory to another. These adjustments provide options for ‘external flexibility’.

This section discusses briefly some of these sources of flexibility. Adjustments within a jurisdiction (internal flexibilities) If there is an unexpected surge in demand for teachers within the jurisdiction, or a shortfall develops, which cannot be met through additional recruitment of staff because of a general shortage of teachers in the labour market, managers within the education authorities have a number of options at their disposal for dealing with the problem. These could include:

• increasing class sizes by a small amount. This impacts on the STR. A rise in the STR by one half of a percentage point in the secondary sector in any one jurisdiction is equivalent to reducing demand for teachers by about four per cent;

• delaying the granting of long service leave and other leave arrangements to retain existing teachers longer;

• providing more hours of work to those currently working part-time (on a permanent or casual basis) and extending the term of appointment to fixed term contract teachers;

• making greater use of the pool of relief teachers and those registered for vacancies in teaching; and

• re-allocating teaching tasks to make the best use of available teachers, especially if the demand/shortage is for particular types of skills (e.g. mathematics or languages other than English).

116

Adjustments through teacher movements between jurisdictions (external flexibilities) Education jurisdictions and State labour markets do not operate in isolation. Significant movement of teachers occurs between jurisdictions within a State. Some movement of teachers does occur between States, providing a source of flexibility in the labour market. The extent of these movements is discussed below. Interstate movements of teachers Interstate movements can be an important source of flexibility in the teacher labour markets, with surplus teachers from one State or Territory helping to overcome shortages in other jurisdictions. Analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics Labour Mobility Survey data for the Review of Teaching and Teacher Education suggests that teachers have relatively low rates of movement between States or Territories. The mobility of teachers (from teaching in one State or Territory in 2001 to teaching in another in 2002) is low (1.7 per cent). It is also lower than the mobility rate of 2.4 per cent for all other occupations over the same period.130 Effectively, this reinforces that a surplus of teachers in a specialisation in one State cannot readily be applied to a shortfall in another.

Occupation at February 2002 Occupation at February 2001

Did not change

State in period

'000

Changed State

'000

Total Persons

"000

School Teachers 253.7 4.3 258.0

Other occupations/not working 17.0 2.1 19.1

Total 270.7 6.4 277.1

School Teachers 4.1 - 4.1


Total 8570.3 213.2 8783.6

School Teachers 257.8 4.3 262.1


Total 8841.0 219.7 9060.7

Notes:

Other occupations/looking for work/not in the labour force (including students)

Estimates between 0.9 and 5.6 have a relative standard error between 25 and 50 per cent and should be used

with caution. Estimates less than 0.9 have a relative standard error of greater than 50 per cent and are

considered too unreliable for general use.

Interstate movement of School Teachers - Occupation at February 2002 by whether changed State/Territory of usual

residence from February 2001 to February 2002 by occupation at February 2001

School teachers

All other occupations

Total employed

Source: Analysis of ABS Labour Mobility Survey, February 2002 in Australia's Teachers: Australia's Future, Background Data and Analysis , Committee for

the Review of Teaching and Teacher Education, October 2003, DEST.

Data quoted in the 2003 MCEETYA report from the Graduate Destination Survey provided an indication of the flow of new teacher graduates across State borders to gain employment.

130 p.60, Committee for the Review of Teaching and Teacher Education, Australia’s Teachers: Australia’s Future - Advancing Innovation, Science, Technology and Mathematics, Background Data and Analysis, DEST, October 2003.

117

These data related to new teaching graduates who obtained a job in teaching by the time of the survey (April 2002).

Table 8.12

% Employed % Not Employed

NSW 91.5 8.5

VIC 96.2 3.8

QLD 92.6 7.4

WA 82.9 17.1

SA 96.0 4.0

TAS 84.8 15.2

NT 89.7 10.3

ACT 72.4 27.6

Australia 92.7 7.3

Source: Graduate Destination Survey 2002, unpublished data, GCCA

in State in which studiedState/Territory

Employed graduate teachers - State/Territory of graduation and

employment, 2002

Approximately 7.3 per cent of respondent teaching graduates in Australia who found employment soon after graduation moved from the State where they obtained their qualification. The data indicated that almost 28 per cent of respondent graduates from the Australian Capital Territory gained employment outside the ACT. This is hardly surprising, given that many university students in the ACT have travelled from other States to study. The next highest proportion was Western Australia (17.1 per cent). At the other end of the scale, of respondent Victorian teacher graduates, only 3.8 per cent reported employment outside Victoria.

118

Chapter 10 Longer term pressures on the teacher labour market

The period post 2009 has not been examined in detail earlier in this report. However, a number of pressures will influence the teacher labour market after 2009. This chapter considers key influences over the period from 2010 to 2014. It should be pointed out that analysis for this extended time frame is necessarily more speculative and will depend on actual as opposed to assumed developments. For example, the number of children born in the next few years and the number of migrants arriving with school-age children will influence enrolment trends in the outyears. Future student enrolment trends A key influence on future demand and supply scenarios for teachers is the number of students in the school system. DEST prepares student enrolment projections regularly. The projections are based on two sources of information:

• projections of population by age prepared by the ABS and reported in Population Projections, Australia (Cat. No. 3222.0). ABS projections take into account a variety of factors in making their projections, including trends in fertility and migration patterns; and

• projections of the grade progression ratio (GPR) developed by DEST using data on school enrolments by age and grade in the ABS publication Schools, Australia (Cat. No. 4221.0).

GPR’s at the later years of schooling, beyond the compulsory school age, are of course subject to some degree of uncertainty as they are affected by a number of social and economic factors, including the state of the labour market. We start by looking at broad population trends using the ABS C series population projections. We then go on to examine projected enrolment trends. The following chart provides data on actual and projected numbers of school-aged children for the period from 2002 to 2014.

119

Chart 10.2

Actual and Projected numbers of school-aged children,


1,450,000

1,500,000

1,550,000

1,600,000

1,650,000

1,700,000

1,750,000

1,800,000

1,850,000

1,900,000

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Year

Nu

mb

er

Ages 5 to 11

Ages 12 to 17

Source: Table C9, Population Projections, Australia, 2002 to 2101 ,

Cat No 3222.0, ABS.

The data highlight growth in the secondary sector to 2007, with the numbers of primary aged children (ages to 11) continuing to fall to the point where the populations of primary- and secondary-aged children are very similar by the end of the projection period.131

131 ABS population projections are based on extrapolating census and other population data, while schools data comes from the ABS Schools Collection, so there are variations between the two data sources.

120

Chart 10.3

Projections of enrolments of school students,


1,000,000

1,100,000

1,200,000

1,300,000

1,400,000

1,500,000

1,600,000

1,700,000

1,800,000

1,900,000

2,000,000

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Year

Pro

jecte

d n

um

ber

of

stu

den

ts

Primary

Secondary


Projections of enrolments remain fairly static, with primary enrolments continuing their overall gradual decline from 2004, while secondary enrolments remain fairly level, suggesting that enrolment movements of themselves will be creating less demand for additional teachers in the period post 2010.

Demand for teachers, 2010 to 2014 Growth demand or new demand The following table provides projections of teacher requirement, based on the projections of school enrolments presented above, for Australia for the period 2004 to 2014, assuming student to teacher ratios remain at 2003 levels. Table 10.1 Projected teacher requirements, assuming static student-teacher ratios, Australia, 2004 - 2014

Level of Schooling

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Primary Secondary

116,295 113,475

116,078 115,135

115,968 116,442

115,561 117,455

115,245 118,076

114,940 118,189

115,280 117,287

114,806 117,125

114,124 117,104

113,289 117,174

112,580 117,265

Total 229,770 231,213 232,410 233,016 233,321 233,129 232,567 231,931 231,228 230,463 229,845 Source DEST estimates, 2004

The data suggest there will be no “growth demand” for teachers from 2010 to 2014. Indeed, the data indicate that over this period total requirements for teachers will slightly decline, for both primary and secondary teachers, in the absence of any marked change in demographic trends from those projected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

121

Total teachers required will return to 2004 levels, and the number of primary teachers required would decline by 4.5 per cent between 2004 and 2014. The number of secondary teachers required rises to a peak in 2009 before falling again. It should be noted, however, that there is an inter-relationship between student-teacher ratios and teacher requirements. Demand for teachers will influence changes in student-teacher ratios. Replacement demand As noted in Chapter 8, there will be substantial replacement demand for teachers in the period from 2004 to 2009, with the level of demand depending on the extent to which persons employed as teachers and eligible to retire do so. This problem persists into the latter part of the projection period. The next table provides estimates of the likely losses to the teaching workforce depending on the wastage rate, assuming a workforce as per 2002 of 250,000 employees.

Table 10.2

Likely losses to teaching workforce over 5 years

Wastage rate

(% p.a.)

Workforce

(persons)

Losses

(Persons)

1 250,000 12,500

2 250,000 25,000

3 250,000 37,500

4 250,000 50,000

5 250,000 62,500

6 250,000 75,000

7 250,000 87,500 The extent of wastage will depend on the extent of losses to resignation and retirement. Estimates of these are speculative. Census and other data do, however, highlight the substantial numbers of teachers who will reach the typical retirement age of 55 in the period from 2010 to 2014.

Table 10.3

Teachers eligible to retire (aged over 55), 2010 - 2014

Year turned

55+

Age as at 2001

Census

Number of

Teachers

% of 2001 Teacher

Workforce

2010 46 10,085 4.0

2011 45 10,091 4.0

2012 44 10,175 4.0

2013 43 9,427 3.7

2014 42 8,660 3.4


122

Over this period, an average of 9,700 teachers per year, or 3.9 per cent of the teacher workforce as at 2001, will turn 55. It may be that retention strategies to reduce demand-supply imbalances earlier in the decade may lead to greater replacement demand later in the decade. Losses due to resignation need to be factored in. Losses to resignations persisting at current levels will continue to be significant. It should, however, be noted that although the 2003 resignation rate is higher than for 2001 for the government sector at both primary and secondary levels, this may well reflect an increasing number of “early” retirements. Another proportion of resignations may reflect churning in the labour market, with teachers not lost, but moving from one sector to another. Supply issues Projections of supply of teachers post 2009 depend on the numbers of people undertaking teacher training courses. It is difficult to project numbers with any certainty in the outyears. If similar levels of course completions are assumed between 2010 and 2014 as for the earlier part of the projection period, this suggests supply of 8,000 to 8,900 graduates entering the labour market as teachers each year, or 40,000 to 44,500 graduates between 2010 and 2014. Comparing demand with supply We have already acknowledged that this more extended analysis is necessarily more speculative than that for the earlier period (2004 to 2009) where better data are available. The extent of replacement demand in the outyears is very much a matter for conjecture, and the supply of new teachers could change, possibly markedly, during this time. Policy initiatives in the intervening period could have a significant impact on key factors underpinning the projections. However, on the basis of the data available, new growth demand for teachers is unlikely between 2010 and 2014. This, however, is balanced by the substantial replacement demand likely to persist as a result of ageing of the teacher workforce. Jurisdictions have already started introducing initiatives to provide more support for, particularly, beginning teachers, and a wider range of professional development activities and recognition for more experienced teachers. There has been little opportunity to analyse the impact of these recent initiatives. If these policies, however, have limited success in attracting and retaining teachers, there is potential for continued imbalance between supply and demand for teachers. This will be exacerbated because the composition of demand for teachers is beginning to change, with greater demand for secondary teachers and less demand for primary teachers. The advent of “middle schooling” may blur the distinction, but to date supply trends do not reflect enrolment trends. Moreover, it is open to question to what extent retraining will facilitate redeployment of primary school teachers into secondary teaching positions, assuming these teachers are willing to be redeployed. Some jurisdictions are already introducing programmes to enable secondary teachers in key learning areas in which there is an over-supply to be re-trained in specialisations for which there are recruitment difficulties.

123

The effectiveness of policies intended to attract and retain teachers will remain a key issue in maintaining balance in the teaching labour market. The 2003 MCEETYA report discussed a national survey of teachers on factors that are important in attracting and retaining teachers. The survey results indicated that the main factors suggested as important in retaining teachers were: • improved remuneration (24.6 per cent);

• increased resources/reduced workload (23.3 per cent);

• improved work conditions other than remuneration (19.1 per cent);

• improved professional standing in the community (12.7 per cent);

• reduced class sizes (9.4 per cent);

• improved student behaviour (5.6 per cent); and

• increased autonomy (1.4 per cent).

This report includes a complementary paper analysing the survey results from the perspective of younger, less experienced teachers. From their perspective, the main factors suggested as important in retaining teachers were: • increased resources/reduced workload (27.5 percent);

• improved remuneration (23.1 per cent)

• Improved work conditions other than remuneration (20.1 per cent);

• improved professional standing in the community (10.3 per cent);

• reduced class sizes (8.4 per cent);

• no response (7.3 per cent);

• better management of student behaviour (2.2 per cent); and

• greater flexibility from employer (1.1 per cent).

Younger teachers’ views were generally in accord with the broader teaching community on these issues. Continuing the work to address these issues provides jurisdictions with ongoing policy challenges.

124

Part D Summary and Conclusions

125

Chapter 11 Summary and conclusions

In the preceding chapters we have discussed recent trends in the national labour market for teachers and developed scenarios concerning supply and demand of teachers in the period to 2014, ten years from writing of this report.132 The current state of the labour market for teachers On current expectation the national labour market for teachers remains broadly in balance, however there are obvious mismatches within the teacher labour market as evidenced by the government and non-government sectors continued reporting of recruiting difficulties in some locations, and in a number of teaching specialisations. As in 2001 - 02, the key learning areas (KLAs) where recruitment difficulties were experienced included mathematics, science (particularly the subjects of physics and chemistry), languages other than English (LOTE) and technology. It should be noted, however, that the extent of difficulties varies from jurisdiction, and even within that jurisdiction. In some instances, the difficulties are limited to particular rural or remote areas, or pockets within a metropolitan area. The period ahead The previous MCEETYA report, published in 2003, concluded that significant teacher shortages could be experienced later in the decade, depending on the success of policy initiatives to attract and retain teachers. The projections were based upon recent and predicted trends in the teacher workforce at that time, estimates of separation and resignation, and future teacher graduate numbers. The projections could not quantify the impact of a range of current (and future) attraction and retention strategies and initiatives implemented by the various jurisdictions to ensure sufficient numbers of teachers in the workforce. As this current report indicates, the overall supply of teachers remains in balance with demand. What the report also shows, however, is that there are significant areas of recruitment difficulty in rural, remote and “difficult to staff” metropolitan locations, and at the secondary level for particular teacher specialisations such as Mathematics, Science, Technology and Languages Other than English. The data available also suggest that the issue of Australia’s ageing workforce will continue to be a significant factor in the balance of the teacher labour market in the period ahead. Chapters 9 and 10 discuss possible trends in demand and supply of teachers over the period 2004 to 2014. These projections should not be regarded as forecasts, as outcomes will be influenced by a wide variety of factors over the projection period. Retirement of teachers from the “baby boomers” generation will decrease stocks of the most experienced teachers over the next decade, with the number of teachers leaving the workforce projected to peak between 2010 and 2012.

132 Data discussed in this report include data published up to 18th February 2005. Analysis has been informed by use of published data from a range of sources, as well as through quantitative research. Research undertaken for this project included quantitative surveys of government and non-government education providers.

126

The extent to which losses through retirement impact on the balance in the labour force will depend on the success of teacher employers in attracting and retaining teachers. As highlighted in Chapter 4 and more fully presented in Appendix 1, jurisdictions are using a range of strategies and initiatives to assist in teacher recruitment and retention and to promote teaching as a career. These include bonuses to teachers in difficult-to-staff schools, opportunities to accredited teachers to retrain in targeted subject areas, increased professional development activities, programmes to support new teachers and greater recognition of outstanding teachers. They also include ongoing recruitment of additional teachers from teacher pools, interstate and overseas, previous years graduates not working in the profession and from teachers wishing to rejoin the profession (see Chapter 8). While it is difficult to assess the long term effectiveness of such a range of State and Territory initiatives at this stage, the initial response appears positive. It may well be that the issues to be addressed in the future are not so much about the number of teachers available, but more about finding and/or training suitable teachers for areas where there are particular skill requirements or recruitment difficulties – such as certain secondary teaching specialisations, remote and rural vacancies and difficult-to-staff metropolitan schools. The research also indicates that filling school leadership positions is likely to become an issue for policy makers, and that attention needs to be directed towards implementing strategies to ensure that universities are tailoring their teacher training to deliver the right mix of teacher skills to take Australian schools into the next decade and beyond. It would seem imperative that the various State and Territory jurisdictions and the Australian Government continue to work closely to maintain and enhance outcomes for school students. A more detailed discussion of some of these issues follows. Demand for teachers Demographic trends

Demographic trends in the school-aged population and trends in school enrolments suggest it is unlikely that there will be growth in demand for teachers if student teacher ratios remain at current levels between 2004 and 2014. ABS population data indicate that there will be a decline in the number of school age children post 2008. Projections of school enrolments suggest that there will be a slight decrease in primary enrolments from 2010, while secondary students climb slightly to 2009 and then remain fairly steady. There seems likely to be limited or nil growth in new demand for teachers, either in the shorter period between 2004 and 2009 or for the longer projection period between 2010 and 2014. However, the scale of replacement demand seems likely to rise, reflecting the ageing of Australia’s teaching workforce. As a result, a greater number of teachers will be lost to retirement than in the past.

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Ageing of the teaching workforce

Data from the ABS Census of Population and Housing suggest that by 2009 about 86,000 teachers (approximately 34.2 per cent of the national teacher workforce at 2001) will be aged over 55. Another 48,000 teachers will reach this age between 2010 and 2014. The high proportion of older teachers is also reflected in the Government and Non-Government Schools Staffing Surveys, undertaken as part of this project.133 The rate at which teachers retire will depend on a number of factors, including individual preferences, the nature and value of their superannuation arrangements, the availability and attractiveness of options such as part-time work, and their work environment (e.g. wages, conditions, job satisfaction, colleagues)134. Census data show that as at 2001, only 2.2 per cent of persons employed as teachers were aged between 60 and 64. This accords with the data on superannuation funds, which suggest that maximum benefits can be obtained from most teacher superannuation funds between the ages of 55 and 59. Data collected for the national survey of teachers (reported in the 2003 MCEETYA report), indicate teachers had worked in their occupation for an average of 17 years. This suggests that they could have accrued reasonably high levels of superannuation entitlements (depending on the scheme, and their length of membership). It also suggests that these older teachers could have significant amounts of long service leave available. The data also suggest that the number of teachers aged 55 and over, and thus likely to be eligible to retire, will increase from 2005 onwards. Thus, depending on trends in other reasons for exiting from working as teachers, (including resignation, death and health related withdrawals), replacement demand for teachers is likely to rise in the period ahead. Resignations The major source of loss to the teaching profession is from resignations. As acknowledged, projections of trends here are necessarily speculative, as they will depend on a number of factors, including the job satisfaction levels of teachers, the opportunities for promotion and recognition, the extent and nature of job opportunities in the broader national labour market as well as overseas job opportunities. A number of English-speaking countries target Australian teachers, and demand for teachers to teach English as a second language is increasing from countries such as Japan and Hong Kong. A stronger national labour market would offer more alternative job opportunities, while a weaker overall job market would give less job opportunities, and based on 1990s experiences, would tend to result in lower levels of resignations from teaching (noting that in the past, losses due to resignations have been higher than losses to retirement). Given the long time period over which projections have been made, and the many factors which bear on this issue, any projections of trends in resignations are necessarily speculative and for this reason we have assumed that resignations continue at 2003 levels. Overall this leads to a conclusion that the level of replacement demand for teachers is likely to rise between 2004 and 2014, with losses at their highest levels towards the end of this decade.

133 See Chapter 2 for data on the age profile by State/Sector. 134 Age retirement is discussed at Chapter 7.

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This will present a significant challenge in terms of the quantity, composition and quality of the supply of teachers available to meet losses of teachers from their profession. Supply of teachers potentially arises from a number of sources, including new graduates from undergraduate and graduate initial teacher education courses, the teaching pool, net migration, and persons with teaching qualifications electing to return to teaching. Supply of Teachers

Recent trends in participation in teacher preparation courses have been positive, with commencements in initial teacher training courses reaching a new high of over 20,000 in 2004.135 A significant number of graduates, however either work in other professions or go on to further study (data is not available on the extent to which teaching graduates who then complete other qualifications subsequently elect to work as teachers). While overall commencements data is encouraging, it does not necessarily mean that new teachers will graduate in the specialist areas required. Nor does it mean that new graduates will be prepared to move to the geographic locations where their skills are most needed. As discussed in Chapter 4, States and Territories are providing increasing levels of support to new teachers to ensure that they remain as teachers. Interest in issues surrounding teacher education and retention is high: The Australian Government has recently announced a Parliamentary Inquiry into Teacher Education to inquire and report into the scope, suitability organisation, resourcing and delivery of teacher training courses in Australia’s universities. At State level, the Victorian Parliament has recently published a report on its inquiry into pre-service teacher training,136 and the NSW Legislative Council Standing Committee on Social Issues is inquiring into the recruitment and training of teachers.137 The teaching pool The teaching pool offers another source of supply138. The major role of the pool has been to offset short term supply difficulties arising from sick leave and extended leave, however as there were over 35,000 people seeking employment in government schools in February 2005, it potentially provides a significant buffer in the face of any future large-scale shortages. More information is required on the availability and suitability of persons to undertake teaching employment. For example, the skills sets available from such people may not necessarily be appropriate to cover subject areas where teaching skills are in shortage. They may not be located in an area where they can easily commute to schools where their skills are needed - for example, regional, rural or remote areas. Many people on these lists may have attained alternative employment and thus not be readily available to take teaching positions.

135 See Chart 8.5 – Total teacher training commencements, Australia, 1989 to 2003, Higher Education Statistics, DEST. Although the suitability for teaching of unsuccessful applicants is not known, a considerable number of applicants for places in teacher education courses also missed out, suggesting that interest in teaching as a career (or, alternatively, the benefits that teacher education can otherwise confer) remains high. 136 Step Up, Step in, Step Out: Report on the Inquiry into the Suitability of Pre-Service Teacher Training in Victoria, Parliament of Victoria, Education and Training Committee, February 2005, at http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/etc/reports/teachertraining/ETC-Report_TeacherTraining_2005-02-28.pdf 137 NSW Parliament Legislative Council, Standing Committee on Social Issues, Inquiry into the Recruitment and Training of Teachers, 138 The teaching pool refers to persons registering with state education agencies for employment as teachers, usually for contract or casual positions

http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/etc/reports/teachertraining/ETC-Report_TeacherTraining_2005-02-28.pdf

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Migration

Net migration (immigration less emigration) has slowed to a trickle in recent years. Many countries which are also facing teacher supply problems are recruiting aggressively in overseas markets, including Australia, suggesting limited options for additional supply from this source. People with teaching qualifications working in other fields In the 2003 report, one of the complementary research papers examined the career paths of people with teaching qualifications in Australia. The data revealed that there is a large proportion (31.8 per cent) of people with teaching qualifications not working as teachers. Similar research by Webster, Wooden and Marks puts this figure at 25 per cent. While this group may potentially offer a large additional source of teachers, the extent to which people in this group will be prepared to re-enter teaching or commence teaching is debatable. Their potential need for retraining or upskilling could, however, delay their availability to the teaching workforce. On the other hand, States and Territories are providing a range of initiatives to fast-track specialists from other industries into teaching (e.g. technology). New entrants to teaching

The composition of new entrants to teaching is also of interest. Data presented earlier in this report shows that a large proportion of new teaching graduates enter primary sector teaching, while the composition of demand is shifting more towards secondary teaching. Moreover, recent trends in the composition of new supply of secondary teachers considered by specialisation are not encouraging. Quality teaching Teaching quality may also be affected by likely retirement patterns. As well as revealing that a substantial proportion of Australia’s teachers will reach age 55 in the next decade, census data indicate that Australia’s teaching workforce has a bimodal age structure, with relatively large numbers of “older” and “younger” teachers, but relatively few in the mid range ages. Losses of older teachers will hence reduce the pool of more experienced teachers far more than would have been the case if there was a more even distribution of employed teachers across age ranges. To the extent that experience is associated with teaching quality this has the potential to impact adversely on overall teaching quality. Educational leadership Future educational leadership also looms as an issue, in part reflecting the lack of mid range age teachers in some jurisdictions. This situation is exacerbated by the relatively high ages of existing principals. Data from the survey of principals conducted as part of the 2003 MCEETYA report indicate that, on average, principals tend to be older than teachers, and substantial losses from this group are also likely in the period ahead. The establishment of the Teacher Quality and Educational Leadership Taskforce (TQELT) by MCEETYA, and the National Institute of Quality Teaching and School Leadership (NIQTSL) acknowledges the importance of educational leadership. At jurisdiction level, a number of initiatives are in place to ensure the development of school leaders.

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Policy challenges The need to attract teachers will remain a major challenge for education providers in the next decade. Beyond raw numbers of teachers, workforce planners will increasingly be faced with the challenge of finding the teachers with the right skill sets in the right location - or prepared to move there. To achieve this, they need to obtain the right mix of teaching graduates from universities, and to tap into sources beyond new graduates. Not all graduates of teaching courses go into teaching. This suggests a need for greater liaison between university education faculties and teacher employers, to ensure that the supply of teachers reflects employment needs. The Australian Government Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon Dr Brendan Nelson, recently announced that the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Vocational Training would conduct a national Inquiry into Teacher Education. The Inquiry will examine teacher trainee preparation, funding of education faculties by universities, how to make a teaching career more appealing, and education philosophies underpinning teacher training.139 Future research and data improvements The MCEETYA Demand and Supply of Primary and Secondary School Teachers series of reports has resulted from progressive improvement to data collection methods, following extensive negotiations with stakeholders. The 2003 report benefited from the inclusion of the non-government schools staffing survey. This survey was repeated in 2004, contributing to a far more informed view of the national teaching labour market. Analysis of trends in this market requires the availability of time series data. While recognising the burden that providing these data places on individual schools and systems, we recommend that this survey be repeated for reporting cycles to come, to develop a more comprehensive, reliable data base which will allow time series analysis of trends. Despite the efforts by government and non-government sectors, differences in data collection methods between agencies can present difficulties for analysis.

139 Dr Brendan Nelson, National Inquiry into Teacher Training, Media Release,

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Appendix 1: State and Territory data140

140 In the following tables in this attachment, teacher numbers for 1984, 1986 and 1988 do not include special education teachers. (Prior to 1990, special education teachers were separately identified.) From 1990 onwards, special education teachers have been included in overall primary/secondary figures.

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New South Wales

The current labour market for teachers In 2003 there were 36,151 FTE primary teachers and 39,065 FTE secondary teachers in government and non-government schools in New South Wales.141 From 1984 to 2003 teacher numbers increased substantially. In the primary sector the FTE of teachers grew by 27.3 per cent over the period, with the secondary sector growing by 22.3 per cent. Primary teacher numbers showed a strong growth over the period in both government and non-government schools. Secondary teacher numbers fell slightly in the early 1990s and then began to increase. Student to teacher ratios (STRs) in primary schools has been declining since 1984 (20.9), with some fluctuations, to 17.3 in 2003. In secondary schools the STR declined progressively from 13.4 in 1984 to 12.3 in 2003. In the ten years to 2003, initial teacher graduate numbers have consistently been over the 3,000 mark, with the exception of 1999, where they fell below this figure. From 2000 the numbers have steadily increased to a peak of 4,643 in 2003. Primary teacher completions have generally oscillated around the 1,000 mark, reaching a ten-year peak of 1,406 in 2003. Secondary school completions have steadily increased over the last three years, reaching 1,560 in 2003. Recruitment experience in the government school sector Primary

In their response to the DEST Government Schools - Primary - Staffing Survey, the NSW Department of Education and Training indicated that they had not experienced any difficulties in filling general teaching positions during 2003. NSW reported moderate difficulties (i.e. they were unable to satisfactorily meet demand in some locations, causing some shortfalls) in the teaching area of Special Education. (See Secondary section for further discussion.) Secondary NSW reported an adequate overall supply of teachers in the key learning areas of Health and Physical Education, Languages other than English, Studies of Society and the Environment and Visual and Performing Arts. Recruitment activity in the KLAs of Mathematics and Science was assessed as “difficult”, meaning broad recruitment deficit - chronic shortfalls. In mathematics, the difficulties were experienced across all locations and for both short-term and extended relief. In the Science KLA, the particular difficulties related to the recruitment of Physics teachers in remote areas, and for both short-term and extended relief. The Department reports, however, that it is able to fill all positions because of the range of strategies employed to deal with shortages.

141 Schools Australia, Cat No 4221.0, ABS, 2003

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NSW also assessed its recruitment activity in the KLAs of English, Technology and Special Education as “moderate” issues. Initiatives taken by the Education Department to address shortages The NSW Department of Education and Training has a variety of strategies and incentives to promote teaching as a career and attract permanent teachers. Graduate Recruitment Program The objective of the Graduate Recruitment Program is to attract the most outstanding graduates to NSW government schools. From 2002 up to 1,000 positions in primary and secondary schools have been filled under this program each year. Prior to 2002, up to 600 positions were filled each year. Permanent Employment Program The Permanent Employment Program has provided permanent employment opportunities to casual teachers. All casual teachers with an approval for full-time teaching are eligible to apply for positions under this program. Up to 300 positions in primary and secondary schools are filled under this program each year. Vacancies filled through this program are advertised in the press and the Department’s internet website. Recruitment campaigns The Department actively promotes teaching as a career. The teach.NSW Promoting Teaching as a Career campaign focuses on the benefits of teaching in NSW public schools through: a comprehensive state-wide media and marketing plan involving a range of media using the slogan Teach – And Make a Difference; eye catching promotional materials; an engaging and informative website (www.teach.nsw.edu.au); and a customer service centre for prospective teachers. Beyond the (Great Dividing) Line The objective of the Beyond the (Great Dividing) Line is to promote rural teaching opportunities. Students in the second, third, and fourth years of their teacher education program visit rural areas to gain first-hand knowledge of what it is like to live and work as a teacher in rural NSW. In 2003 a total of 579 students from 11 universities participated in the Program. Retention Benefit Pilot The Retention Benefit Pilot aims to attract and retain quality teachers in very difficult to staff positions and difficult to staff schools, by offering financial recruitment and retention benefits. From 2002 an annual retention benefit of $5,000 gross was piloted in 20 schools where staffing difficulties were identified. Teachers who completed their service requirement of three years (or 2 years in designated schools) were paid the $5,000 gross benefit in 2002 under the pilot. Eligible teachers will continue to receive the benefit for a maximum of five years. From 2004 this benefit has been expanded to the remaining most difficult to staff (8 transfer point) schools for teachers who have met the service requirement.

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Incentives scheme

The objective of the Incentives Scheme is to provide a range of incentives to attract and retain teachers to rural and isolated schools. The eligibility for incentive benefits varies according to location and type of school but includes:

• a rental subsidy for teachers in Teacher Housing Authority accommodation in the most remote areas;

• relocation assistance and accommodation subsidies for teachers appointed and transferred to isolated schools;

• additional training and development of four days for 8-point and 6-point incentive schools and one day for remote 4-point incentive schools;

• priority for transfer following the minimum service requirement;

• compassionate transfer status for teaching partners of teachers appointed to and moving out of some isolated schools; and

• enhanced leave provisions to enable teachers in isolated and rural areas to attend to personal and family commitments.

Preservice Teacher Education Scholarships - Mathematics, Science, Technological and Applied Studies (TAS), English

The objective of Preservice Teacher Education Scholarships is to encourage students to undertake and complete teacher training in areas of teacher shortage through the offer of preservice teacher education scholarships. Scholarships are for students to complete one, two, three or four years of a preservice teacher education qualification in mathematics, science, Technological and Applied Studies, or English. Scholarships pay each student’s HECS liability plus a $1,500 per annum training allowance for the period of the scholarship. Scholarship applicants must agree to serve for at least three years in a NSW government school in western or south western Sydney or in a non-coastal rural area of NSW. In the 2002–2003 Budget, the NSW Government allocated $88.5 million over four years to address teacher quality and supply. One hundred and fifty new teaching scholarships were awarded for 2003. Of the 150 scholarships, 25 were offered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants. Two hundred new teaching scholarships were awarded for 2004. Thirty-two of these scholarship holders are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students. To date, 117 scholarship holders have been appointed to schools, 35 in 2003 and 82 in 2004. From 2004, the number of scholarships offered each year has been increased from 150 to 200, with at least 30 being offered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

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Accelerated Teacher Training The objective of Accelerated Teacher Training is to increase the supply of teachers by supporting skilled workers from industry to obtain teacher qualifications through an 18 month university teacher education program which recognises skills and industry experience. Accelerated teacher training programs are currently being conducted across three NSW universities. People with industry backgrounds who would make excellent teachers of Mathematics, Science, and TAS are training as teachers through accelerated teacher training programs. The NSW Department of Education and Training sponsors these students by paying course fees, administration costs and a one-off training allowance of $1,500 gross towards the cost of incidentals and textbooks. In return, students sign a deed of agreement committing them to teach in difficult-to-staff areas of the state such as western and south-western Sydney and isolated and rural NSW. Successful graduates will be appointed as teachers to government secondary schools in western and south-western Sydney and isolated and rural locations. Retraining Programs - TAS, Mathematics, Physics, and Vocational Education and Training (VET) The objective of the Retraining Programs is to increase the supply of teachers in areas of need through intensive retraining programs that build on the competencies of existing graduate teachers. Teachers are being offered the opportunity to retrain in the secondary teaching areas of TAS and mathematics. The Physics Retraining Program aims at increasing the supply of science teachers with a specialisation in physics by sponsoring current science teachers to undertake a Graduate Certificate in Physics. Retraining programs are also being provided in 2004 to support teachers to gain accreditation in the specialist teaching areas of special education, school counselling, careers adviser, teacher-librarian, English as a second language, and reading recovery. Vocational Education and Training HSC VET courses in schools are offered in response to student demand for particular courses within a school or region. The Department has responded to the demand for qualified VET teachers in schools by retraining and accrediting existing teachers who have qualifications in related subject areas or have relevant industry experience and increasing the number of TAFE teachers providing VET in schools programs.

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In addition the Department liaises with universities to include relevant VET qualifications in TAS teacher retraining programs and in pre-service teacher education programs. New South Wales primary Table 1.11: Number of full-time students, FTE of teachers and student to teacher ratios for government and non-government sectors

Year Students Teachers STR Students Teachers STR Students Teachers STR

1984 453,840 21,924 20.7 139,241 6,474 21.5 593,081 28,398 20.9

1986 431,503 21,770 19.8 142,566 6,854 20.8 574,069 28,624 20.1

1988 434,811 22,933 19.0 146,356 6,994 20.9 581,167 29,927 19.4

1990 436,692 22,267 19.6 151,416 7,361 20.6 588,108 29,628 19.8

1991 439,928 22,363 19.7 153 449 7,529 20.4 593,377 29,892 19.9

1992 445,772 22,402 19.9 154,661 7,656 20.2 600,433 30,058 20.0

1993 446,911 23,051 19.4 154,633 7,801 19.8 601,544 30,852 19.5

1994 447,238 23,698 18.9 155,621 7,982 19.5 602,859 31,680 19.0

1995 448,325 24,912 18.0 157,734 8,216 19.2 606,059 33,128 18.3

1996 452,117 25,236 17.9 159,546 8,330 19.2 611,663 33,566 18.2

1997 453,142 25,248 17.9 161,777 8,531 19.0 614,919 33,779 18.2

1998 454,104 25,458 17.8 164,785 8,719 18.9 618,889 34,177 18.1

1999 455,008 25,689 17.7 168,618 9,073 18.6 623,626 34,762 17.9

2000 455,914 25,787 17.7 173,046 9,382 18.5 628,960 35,169 17.9

2001 452,626 25,796 17.5 177,635 9,774 18.2 630,261 35,569 17.7

2002 449,482 25,713 17.5 179,930 10,154 17.7 629,412 35,867 17.5

2003 444,854 25,771 17.3 181,529 10,380 17.5 626,383 36,151 17.3


Government Non-government Total

NSW Primary - Growth in FTE of teachers and Student to Teacher Ratios,

1984 - 2003

90

100

110

120

130

140

150

160

170

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

year

per

cen

t

0

5

10

15

20

25

ST

R

Growth government

teachers

Growth non-governmentteachers

Total growth teachers



Total STR primary

Source: ABS Schools Australia (Cat No. 4221.0)

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New South Wales secondary Table 1.12: Number of full-time students, FTE of teachers and student to teacher ratios for government and non-government sectors


1984 311,533 23,844 13.1 117,146 8,108 14.4 428,679 31,952 13.4

1986 318,353 24,429 13.0 127,173 9,154 13.9 445,526 33,583 13.3

1988 318,484 24,590 13.0 133,387 9,845 13.5 451,871 34,435 13.1

1990 306,494 23,352 13.1 136,021 10,330 13.2 442,515 33,682 13.1

1991 306,489 23,268 13.2 137,447 10,533 13.0 443,936 33,801 13.1

1992 311,080 23,540 13.2 138,715 10,771 12.9 449,795 34,311 13.1

1993 311,064 24,146 12.9 139,488 10,960 12.7 450,552 35,106 12.8

1994 308,533 23,674 13.0 140,457 11,160 12.6 448,990 34,834 12.9

1995 306,927 23,927 12.8 142,880 11,412 12.5 449,807 35,339 12.7

1996 307,961 23,966 12.8 145,723 11,562 12.6 453,684 35,528 12.8

1997 309,775 24,155 12.8 149,526 11,874 12.6 459,301 36,029 12.7

1998 309,295 24,310 12.7 153,372 12,215 12.6 462,667 36,525 12.7

1999 308,161 24,419 12.6 157,805 12,660 12.5 465,966 37,079 12.6

2000 307,709 24,215 12.5 162,647 13,054 12.4 465,356 37,269 12.5

2001 302,620 24,274 12.5 166,288 13,543 12.3 468,908 37,816 12.4

2002 304,218 24,372 12.5 171,151 14,075 12.2 475,369 38,447 12.4

2003 305,026 24,334 12.5 175,927 14,731 11.9 480,953 39,065 12.3Source: Schools Australia, (Cat No 4221.0), ABS, 2003 and earlier years


NSW Secondary - Growth in FTE of teachers and Student to Teacher Ratios,

1984 - 2003

90

100

110

120

130

140

150

160

170

180

190

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

year

per

cen

t

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

ST

R

Growth governmentteachers

Growth non-government teachers


STR secondarygovernment


Total STR secondary


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Victoria

The current labour market for teachers In 2003 there were 27,936 FTE primary teachers and 30,273 FTE secondary teachers in Victoria.142 Over the period 1984 to 2003, teacher numbers have fluctuated quite substantially. The overall teacher trend was downward through the 1990s due to falling numbers in secondary schools, but has been steadily increasing since 1998. Growth in teacher FTE in the primary sector was 10.8 per cent over 1984 – 2003 with the secondary sector showing a fall of 2.5 per cent over the period. Primary teacher numbers have been steadily increasing since reaching a low point of 23,375 in 1995. In 2003 they reached their highest level in the period (27,936). Both the DEST School Staffing survey and ABS data show a substantial lift in primary school employment. Secondary numbers levelled out at 27,500 between 1994 and 1999 before showing a recovery to 30,273 in 2003. Recently, numbers of teachers in the government sector have revived significantly after a progressive reduction. Consistent with the national trend, non-government schools are the major area of long term growth. Primary STRs have fluctuated across the period, peaking at 18.5 in 1995 before a steady decline from 1999 to the 2003 level of 16.3. The secondary STR has produced similar fluctuations, peaking at 15.3 in 1998 before gradually declining to the 2003 level of 12. Over the past ten years, teacher completions numbers peaked at almost 3,000 in 1993 and have oscillated since then. Teacher completions totalled 2,858 in 2003. Primary Teacher completions numbers have sustained levels over 1,000 since 2001 after falling during the nineties. In 2003 the total number of primary teacher completions was 1,018. Secondary teacher numbers have followed similar trends; the total number of secondary teacher completions in 2003 was 1,267. Recruitment experience in the government school sector In February 2003, Victorian government school principals were asked to to complete the Teacher Recruitment Difficulties Survey covering fixed term and ongoing vacancies greater than six weeks. As vacancies and difficult-to-fill vacancies are sporadic in nature, the information provided is indicative of likely difficulties but not predictive. In any given year, other locations and subject areas may experience difficulties other than those identified at the time of the survey. The survey category of “difficult to fill vacancies unfilled at survey date” is closest to the “minor” category on the scale used in the DEST Government Schools Staffing Survey, and is used to provide these figures.


139

Primary

Victoria reported that approximately 7.4 per cent of vacancies in non-metropolitan primary schools were reported as difficult to fill compared to 5.6 per cent of those in metropolitan primary schools. The top five difficult-to-fill primary subjects were General Primary, Physical Education, LOTE - Italian, LOTE - Indonesian, and Music - Classroom. In recruitment activity for Generalist and Visual and Performing Arts teachers, the Department reported minor issues (just able to satisfy the demand for teachers). Recruitment activity in the teaching areas of LOTE, Special Education and Health and Physical Education Teachers was assessed as “moderate”, meaning unable to satisfactorily meet demand in some locations - some shortfalls. In the teaching area of LOTE, the particular difficulties related to teachers of Italian and Indonesian. In the area of Special Education, moderate difficulties were experienced in recruiting teachers of the deaf in metropolitan locations. Special Education vacancies accounted for 6.9 per cent of all difficult-to-fill vacancies. Moderate issues were reported in recruitment activity for Physical Education teachers in metropolitan locations. Data from the Victorian Teacher Recruitment Survey suggests that some geographical locations experienced greater recruitment difficulties. The top five Local Government Areas (LGAs) where primary schools are finding it difficult to fill vacancies were West Wimmera, Ararat, Towong and Maribyrnong. Secondary

Victoria reported that approximately 30 per cent of vacancies in non-metropolitan secondary schools were reported as difficult to fill compared to 14 per cent of those in metropolitan secondary schools. The top ten difficult-to-fill secondary subjects were Mathematics, Physical Education, English, Science, LOTE - Indonesian, Technology - IT/Computer Science, LOTE - Italian, Technology - General, Technology - Food Technology/Hospitality and Physics. In recruitment activity for Mathematics and Special Education, the Department reported minor issues (just able to satisfy the demand for teachers). Recruitment activity for teachers in the KLAs of LOTE, Technology and Health and Physical Education was assessed as “moderate”. In Technology, the particular difficulties were in the subjects of Food Technology, Automotive/Metal/Wood/General across both metropolitan and non-metropolitan locations. In LOTE, the difficulties related particularly to the recruitment of Indonesian teachers across both metropolitan and non-metropolitan locations. The Department reported “moderate” issues in recruiting Physical Education Teachers for non-metropolitan locations. The top five Local Government Areas where secondary schools are experiencing difficulties in filling vacancies were West Wimmera, Yarriambiack, Swan Hill, Ararat and Buloke. Analysis of Teacher Recruitment census data for all school types over four years indicates that West Wimmera, Swan Hill, Towong, Buloke, Gannawarra and Pyrnees LGAs consistently experienced more difficult-to-fill vacancies per 100 staff on duty than other areas in Victoria.

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Initiatives taken by the Education Department to address shortages The Victorian Department of Education and Training employs a range of initiatives to address shortages. Teaching Scholarship Scheme

The Teaching Scholarship Scheme enables a school to offer final year student teachers with financial incentives to take up difficult to fill vacancies. The Scheme was reviewed in 2004, with changes enhancing the focus on hard to staff vacancies. The main features of the revised Teaching Scholarship Scheme are as follows :

• A three-tier scale of scholarship payments reflects differing degrees of recruitment difficulty and teacher supply priorities :

Category

School and vacancy descriptor

Category 1 scholarship

($4000 plus $4000

Retention Bonus)

Designated hard to staff school and hard to staff subject area


($4000 plus $2000

Retention Bonus)

Designated hard to staff school and other subject area

OR

Rural school and hard to staff subject area


($4000)

Rural school and other subject area

OR

School in outer suburban growth area and hard to staff subject area

OR

School in provincial centre and hard to staff subject area

OR

Metropolitan school and vacancy in mathematics or special education

• Scholarship recipients are paid an up-front taxable payment of $4000 after they accept the employment offer. This payment must be refunded pro rata if the recipient fails to complete at least two years’ employment (excluding approved unpaid leave) with Category 1 and 2 scholarship recipients also being eligible for a Retention Bonus to be paid as a taxable lump sum at the commencement of the 4th year (excluding approved unpaid leave) in the school to which they were originally appointed.

• The Scheme is available to final year student teachers who will graduate prior to the commencement date of the vacancy. It is also available to teachers who have graduated from Australian universities within the 12 months prior to the commencement date of the vacancy, provided that they are not already employed by the Department as a teacher as at the commencement date of the vacancy.

• Special Education Vacancies are available to qualified teachers who are not employed by the Department as a teacher as at the commencement date of the vacancy, and either (a) are currently studying but will complete their special education qualification by the commencement date of the vacancy or (b) have gained a special education qualification in the prior 12 months.

141

• Scholarships are only available to schools offering the recipient ongoing employment.

• Scholarship vacancies advertised for the start of the school year will commence on 1 January.

Teacher Graduate Recruitment Program The Teacher Graduate Recruitment Program is one of a number of strategies to promote opportunities for Victorian government schools to access high quality teachers, particularly in targeted geographic/curriculum areas. The Year 2005 Teacher Graduate Recruitment Program is a targeted program for graduate recruits and is available to all primary, specialist and secondary schools. This program enables principals to designate vacancies, which are to be filled only by teacher graduate recruits as defined under the program. For the purpose of the Year 2005 Teacher Graduate Recruitment Program, a graduate is defined as a teacher who has completed their course requirements and graduated in 2001 or later and is not employed as a teacher by the Department at the time of the commencement of the vacancy (usually on or after 1 January). Under the terms of the program, primary schools can generally designate up to 2.0 EFT of funded vacancies as “graduate recruit”. Larger schools (where the school global budget exceeds $2 million - primary and $5 million - secondary) may designate an additional 2.0 EFT of funded vacancies as “graduate recruit”. Career Change Program The Career Change Program will enable a school to employ an experienced professional from another career stream as a trainee teacher in difficult to fill subject areas. The program is particularly geared to schools who have been unsuccessful in recruiting teachers in hard to staff curriculum areas such as mathematics, science and technology studies and who would be interested in engaging a professional with qualifications and relevant experience in a related discipline (e.g. engineering, IT, accountancy, trade areas). The main features of the program are as follows:

• Trainees will be guaranteed ongoing employment in the school on the successful completion of teacher training.

• The training period will combine teacher education study and classroom experience, under the supervision of an experienced teacher.

• Before commencing duty in the school, successful appointees will undergo a full-time preparatory training program (“summer school”) designed to equip them with the skills to undertake classroom duties under supervision.

• Following the completion of the preparatory program, appointees will commence duty in their designated school as a trainee teacher. This will comprise an average three days per week undertaking classroom duties in the school and two days per week of paid study leave to undertake a teacher education course.

142

• Salary during the training period will be at a full-time rate and appointees will receive a centrally-funded allowance to assist with relocation, course fees and other incidental costs. Both salary and allowance rates are yet to be finalised.

Rural Retraining Program The Rural Retraining Program enables current staff to retrain in subject areas in which their school is experiencing difficulty in attracting qualified staff. The program aims to retrain current DE&T teachers in some of the subject areas for which qualified teacher recruits have been in relatively short supply. Up to $20,000 will be provided to schools per teacher for course costs and relief teaching assistance, where necessary, to cover absences for study. Retraining will generally require teachers to undertake studies in an award course or specific subjects within a course that will enable them to gain specialist area qualifications in accordance with the Victorian Institute of Teaching’s Specialist Area Guidelines. Universities have recently been invited to provide a list of stand-alone courses or other pathways that would allow for retraining in key subject areas. The universities were invited to advise of courses/pathways that offered flexibility in terms of timetabling and delivery mode (e.g. distance education), and that could especially meet the needs of teachers in country locations. As far as possible, study would be undertaken at times to suit the needs of schools. In some cases, however, release to complete course requirements may be necessary. Priority will be given to teachers retraining in hard to staff subject areas. The 2004 Teacher Recruitment census has identified these subject areas as mathematics, physical education, special education, technology studies (especially metal, wood and food/hospitality), languages other than English (especially Indonesian, Italian and German) and information technology. Priority will be given to retraining teachers in rural schools, but consideration will also be given to teachers in non-rural schools willing to retrain in subject areas of highest need, especially mathematics and special education. Student Teacher Practicum Scheme Student Teacher Practicum Scheme provides financial incentives to student teachers to undertake practicum placements in rural and outer metropolitan schools (which have traditionally been hard to staff). The scheme enables student teachers to experience a rural or outer metropolitan placement. This also provides the school with the opportunity to see student teachers at work and assess their skills should a suitable vacancy arise in the future. Eligible student teachers are provided with an allowance as a way of offsetting out-of-pocket expenses and loss of income normally associated with a teaching placement in a rural or outer metropolitan school. All students currently undertaking a course of teacher training are eligible,

143

although priority will be given to student teachers in their final year of training. There are two kinds of allowance :

• Payment of $900 to student teachers who are required to live away from their current place of residence and are undertaking their placement in a designated rural school.

• Payment of a travel-only allowance of $300 to help meet commuting costs where students are required to travel more than one hour from their current place of residence to a designated rural school or school in an outer metropolitan growth area143.

Any student teacher who has arranged a practicum in a rural or outer metropolitan school in Terms 3 or 4 of 2004 and who meets the eligibility criteria outlined above will be eligible for an allowance. Those schools, especially in rural locations, without established links with universities have been asked to register their interest in hosting student teachers with the department who will “broker” placements with three participating universities (Melbourne, Deakin and Ballarat). Refresher Training Courses The Refresher Training Courses for returning teachers initiative aims to offer refresher courses for experienced teachers seeking to re-enter the teaching workforce in Victorian government schools, to work in areas of teacher recruitment difficulty. They will supplement numbers from the beginning teacher pool and help maintain the experience base in specialisations with high attrition rates. This initiative aims to build the capacity of and encourage 300 qualified teachers back into government schools each year. Refresher Training Courses are to be provided for teachers in both country and metropolitan locations and offered throughout the year to a minimum of 300 teacher participants per year. The focus of this professional development program is on building the skills of the teaching workforce by assisting teachers returning to schools to adopt current practices already available in government schools, and thereby improve student learning. The key objectives of this professional development program are to:

• Increase the supply of teachers in areas of geographic and subject shortage who are adequately prepared for returning to teaching in government schools;

• Enhance the capabilities of returning teachers to maximise student learning outcomes;

• Assist teacher employment and retention by enhancing teacher preparedness and capacity thus reducing the costs to schools and the system associated with employment and hiring processes; and

• Enhance workforce capacity, making a more adaptable and employable workforce. The courses are available to qualified and experienced teachers registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching who have not taught in a government school in the last three years. This does not preclude those teachers who have worked as Casual Relief Teachers during this time. 143 A “rural” school is one for which a DE&T “rurality status” rating has been accorded. “Outer metropolitan growth areas” are currently deemed to be the Local Government Areas of Cardinia, Casey, Hume, Melton, Whittlesea and Wyndham

144

Teachers who have interstate and/or overseas experience who are registered are also eligible to apply. Priority will be given to teachers seeking to teach in areas of geographic and subject shortage in government schools. Victorian primary Table 1.11: Number of full-time students, FTE of teachers and student to teacher ratios for government and non-government sectors


1984 317,022 19,059 16.6 121,757 6,139 19.8 438,779 25 198 17.4

1986 297,161 17,752 16.7 124,304 6,317 19.7 421,465 24 069 17.5

1988 292,686 17,538 16.6 126,685 6,461 19.6 419,371 23 999 17.5

1990 299,276 18,420 16.2 129,606 6,720 19.3 428,882 25 140 17.1

1991 301,140 18,468 16.3 129,413 6,699 19.3 430,553 25 167 17.1

1992 303,752 19,178 15.8 128,556 6,572 19.6 432,308 25 750 16.8

1993 303,985 17,742 17.1 127,529 6,637 19.2 431,514 24 379 17.7

1994 302,897 16,583 18.2 129,229 6,928 18.7 432,126 23 511 18.4

1995 301,515 16,376 18.4 130,096 6,999 18.6 431,611 23 375 18.5

1996 303,769 16,684 18.2 132,053 7,172 18.4 435,822 23 856 18.3

1997 304,773 16,985 17.9 133,365 7,099 18.8 438,138 24 084 18.2

1998 307,147 16,882 18.1 135,094 7,212 18.7 442,241 24 094 18.4

1999 310,218 18,060 17.1 136,787 7,495 18.3 447,005 25 555 17.5

2000 313,369 18,526 16.9 138,351 7,810 17.7 451,720 26 336 17.2

2001 314,859 18,934 16.6 138,907 8,069 17.2 453,766 27 003 16.8

2002 316,843 19,192 16.5 139,821 8,307 16.8 456,664 27,499 16.6

2003 316,475 19,509 16.2 139,029 8,427 16.5 455,504 27,936 16.3



Victoria Primary - Growth in FTE of teachers and Student to Teacher Ratios,

1984 - 2003

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

150

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

year

per

cen

t

0

5

10

15

20

25

ST

R

Growth government

teachers

Growth non-government

teachers




Total STR primary


145

Victorian secondary Table 1.12: Number of full-time students, FTE of teachers and student to teacher ratios for government and non-government sectors


1984 250,277 22,686 11.0 117,549 8,341 14.1 367,862 31,027 14.5

1986 243,732 21,609 11.3 124,384 9,178 13.6 368,116 30,787 14.5

1988 234,615 21,424 11.0 128,558 9,674 13.3 363,173 31,098 14.3

1990 227,300 21,530 10.6 128,180 9,789 13.1 355,480 31,319 13.9

1991 232,246 20,979 11.1 126,714 9,722 13.0 358,960 30,701 14.1

1992 230,157 21,372 10.8 125,157 9,620 13.0 355,314 30,992 13.9

1993 222,651 19,809 11.2 123,432 9,590 12.9 346,086 29,399 14.5

1994 217,431 18,051 12.0 123,637 9,732 12.7 341,068 27,783 15.1

1995 213,290 17,730 12.0 125,376 9,960 12.6 338,666 27,690 15.1

1996 213,293 17,360 12.3 127,340 10,123 12.6 340,633 27,483 15.1

1997 213,703 17,170 12.4 129,583 10,330 12.5 343,286 27,500 15.1

1998 214,266 16,881 12.7 130,893 10,419 12.6 345,159 27,300 12.7

1999 214,631 17,097 12.6 132,918 10,708 12.4 347,549 27,805 12.5

2000 214,820 17,134 12.5 135,155 11,020 12.3 349,975 28,154 12.5

2001 217,399 17,371 12.5 138,200 11,302 12.2 355,599 28,673 12.5

2002 216,574 17,624 12.3 141,255 11,683 12.1 357,829 29,307 12.2

2003 218,875 18,155 12.1 144,724 12,118 11.9 363,599 30,273 12.1



Victoria Secondary - Growth in FTE of teachers and Student to Teacher Ratios,

1984 - 2003

70

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

150

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

year

per

cen

t

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

ST

R

Growth government

teachers





Total STR secondary


146

Queensland

The current labour market for teachers In 2003 there were 24,123 FTE primary teachers and 19,389 FTE secondary teachers in Queensland.144 From 1984 to 2003 teacher numbers grew very rapidly in both the primary and the secondary sectors. In the primary sector the FTE of teachers grew by 62.1 per cent over the period and in the secondary sector it grew by 52.9 per cent. The overall trend in Queensland teacher numbers over the period 1984 to 2003 showed the most rapid growth in teacher numbers more than any other State. Student teacher ratios in primary schools also fell during this period from 20.0 in 1984 to 15.8 in 2003. Secondary schools STRs decreased from 1984 to 1994, rose in 1995 and 1996, then gradually declined to 12.8 in 2003. Teacher completion numbers have been maintained consistently at levels over 1,000 in the ten years to 2003. From a low of 1,234 in 1999, numbers have steadily increased to a new peak of 2,969 in 2003. In 2003 there were 1,355 completions in primary teacher training and 748 in secondary teacher training. Recruitment experience in the government school sector Education Queensland based their reporting on Recruitment issues on assessments by district staffing officers, an analysis of the teacher vacancies advertised in newspapers during 2003, and a monitoring of continuing vacancies during the 2004 school year. Primary

In responding to the DEST Government Schools - Primary - Staffing Survey, Education Queensland assessed their recruitment activity for Generalist teachers as presenting “minor” issues in 2003 - i.e. they were just able to satisfy the demand, avoiding significant shortfalls. Moderate difficulties (i.e. they were unable to satisfactorily meet demand in some locations, causing some shortfalls) were reported in the teaching areas of Special Education and Visual, Performing Arts. Recruitment activity for primary teachers of Languages Other than English was assessed as “difficult” for rural, regional and remote areas of the State. In the teaching area of LOTE, the particular difficulties related to teachers of French, Japanese, Indonesian and Italian in non-metropolitan areas, suggesting that these difficulties may well be related to the lack of availability in these locations of qualified teachers with skills in the particular language. In the teaching area of Special Education, recruitment activity was assessed as a “moderate” issue for teachers of students with disabilities in rural/regional areas; ASD teachers in metropolitan areas; teachers of students with intellectual impairment in rural areas; and teachers specialising in guidance or behaviour management in remote areas.


147

In the teaching area of Visual and Performing Arts, Queensland recruitment activity for teachers of music in rural schools was assessed as a “moderate” issue. Secondary Education Queensland assessed recruitment activity in the KLAs of LOTE, Mathematics, Science and Technology as “difficult” in some areas of the State. In LOTE, the particular difficulties related to teachers of Japanese, French, Indonesian and German in non-metropolitan locations, and for positions of Extended Relief. In Mathematics, the difficulties were experienced for teachers of senior subjects (A, B and C) in rural/regional locations and for short-term relief. In the Science KLA, the particular difficulties related to the recruitment of senior teachers in Physics and Chemistry in non-metropolitan locations. In the KLA of Technology, particular difficulties were experienced in non-metropolitan locations for teachers of IPT, Home Economics, Agricultural Science, Business Education and Manual Arts. In the KLAs of English and Special Education, recruitment activity was assessed as “moderate”, meaning unable to satisfactorily meet demand in some locations (some shortfalls). In English, the particular difficulties were in recruitment activities for teachers of senior-level classes in rural/regional locations, and for short-term relief positions. In Special Education, teachers of students with Intellectual Impairment created some difficulties in rural/regional locations. Initiatives taken by Education Queensland to address shortages

During 2003 - 04, Education Queensland utilised a range of strategies to address teacher shortages. These included:

• Provision of specialist training for teachers through the eight Technology, Maths and Science Centres of Excellence established across Queensland (three in and around Brisbane and five in rural and regional centres). More than 3,900 teachers participated in workshops at the Centres in the 2003 - 2004 period.

• A series of science short courses for teachers in the middle phase (Years 4 - 10) of schooling have been developed in collaboration with Science and Education faculties at universities, as part of the Science State-Smart State initiative.

• The Department’s Spotlight on Science action plan aims not only to inspire more students to learn science but also to attract and retain skilled science teachers.

• The Virtual Schooling Service provided access by Year 11 - 12 students in rural and remote parts of the state to teachers with specialist expertise in Economics, Japanese, German, Physics, Mathematics, Computer Studies (VET), Information Processing and Technology, and Modern History. Through the Service, senior secondary students were able to study these subjects that are not offered in their school.

• Teaching Scholarships are awarded to high school graduates from rural and remote areas who wish to pursue a degree in teaching. To boost numbers of Maths and Science teachers, starting in 2004, Education Queensland is offering up to 25 Maths-Science Scholarships to encourage aspiring teachers to make secondary maths-science teaching their career. The scholarships take the form of financial assistance and access to a full-time accelerated Graduate-entry Bachelor of Education (Secondary) course at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), in Brisbane. The accelerated

148

Graduate-entry Bachelor of Education (Secondary) course will involve intensive school-based practicum components, where successful applicants will receive mentoring and extensive professional support. Graduates will commence employment with Education Queensland in the 2006 school year.

• The Department of Education and The Arts Workforce Strategy 2004 - 2008 is a blueprint to develop and position the workforce to meet and influence the challenges of any plausible future. The Workforce Strategy centres on three interdependent strategic outcome areas, namely, Workforce Sustainability, Workforce Capability and Workplace Optimisation.

• The 2003 - 2004 State Budget made provision for an additional 200 teachers for Special Education.

• A program has been established to provide males in pre-service courses with experienced male teachers as mentors. The aim of the mentoring program is to increase the attraction and retention of males to the teaching profession.

149

Queensland primary Table 1.11: Number of full-time students, FTE of teachers and student to teacher ratios for government and non-government sectors


1984 239,349 12,227 19.6 58,082 2,652 21.9 297,431 14,879 20.0

1986 229,877 12,875 17.9 58,522 2,798 20.9 288,399 15,673 18.4

1988 233,312 12,542 18.6 60,989 2,835 21.5 294,301 15,377 19.1

1990 247,554 13,597 18.2 66,481 3,218 20.7 314,035 16,815 18.7

1991 254,397 13,927 18.3 68,322 3,334 20.5 322,719 17,261 18.7

1992 255,645 13,919 18.4 70,187 3,454 20.3 325,832 17,373 18.8

1993 260,493 14,436 18.0 72,343 3,636 19.9 332,836 18,072 18.4

1994 262,499 14,327 18.3 75,223 3,857 19.5 337,722 18,184 18.6

1995 264,567 15,070 17.6 77,377 4,065 19.0 341,944 19,135 17.9

1996 266,298 15,164 17.6 78,797 4,191 18.8 345,095 19,355 17.8

1997 267,147 15,633 17.1 80,537 4,393 18.3 347,684 20,026 17.4

1998 270,434 15,663 17.3 82,748 4,609 18.0 353,182 20,272 17.4

1999 273,710 17,091 16.0 85,278 4,783 17.8 358,988 21,874 16.4

2000 278,190 16,671 16.7 87 970 5,030 17.5 366,160 21,701 16.9

2001 282,143 17,549 16.1 90,173 5,216 17.3 372,316 22,765 16.4

2002 284,262 18,110 15.7 92,497 5,463 16.9 376,759 23,573 16.0

2003 285,876 18,412 15.5 95,530 5,711 16.7 381,406 24,123 15.8



Queensland Primary - Growth in FTE of teachers and Student to Teacher Ratios,

1984 - 2003

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

220

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

year

per

cen

t

0

5

10

15

20

25

ST

R

Growth government

teachers

Growth government

teachers


STR primary

government

STR primary non-

government

Total STR primary


150

Queensland secondary Table 1.12: Number of full-time students, FTE of teachers and student to teacher ratios for government and non-government sectors


1984 130,531 9,298 14.0 52,981 3,385 15.7 183,512 12,683 14.5

1986 139,553 10,160 13.7 58,241 3,871 15.0 197,794 14,031 14.1

1988 143,011 10,499 13.6 61,702 4,247 14.5 204,713 14,746 13.9

1990 143,695 10,842 13.3 63,576 4,460 14.3 207,271 15,302 13.5

1991 143,628 11,259 12.8 64,469 4,618 14.0 208,097 15,877 13.1

1992 145,477 11,463 12.7 65,650 4,702 14.0 211,127 16,165 13.1

1993 143,770 11,346 12.7 67,125 4,841 13.9 210,895 16,187 13.0

1994 140,735 11,391 12.4 70,074 5,076 13.8 210,809 16,467 12.8

1995 140,983 10,735 13.1 73,185 5,363 13.6 214,168 16,098 13.3

1996 145,388 10,734 13.5 76,651 5,685 13.5 222,039 16,419 13.5

1997 148,116 11,087 13.4 79,306 5,897 13.4 227,422 16,984 13.4

1998 150,603 11,289 13.3 80,841 6,057 13.3 231,444 17,346 13.3

1999 152,166 12,073 12.6 83,430 6,326 13.2 235,596 18,399 12.8

2000 152,212 12,246 12.4 84,540 6,507 13.0 236,752 18,753 12.6

2001 152,952 12,241 12.5 85,542 6,700 12.8 238,494 18,941 12.6

2002 155,802 12,021 13.0 87,026 6,859 12.7 242,828 18,880 12.9

2003 159,149 12,307 12.9 89,216 7,082 12.6 248,365 19,389 12.8



Queensland Secondary - Growth in FTE of teachers and Student to Teacher Ratios,

1984 - 2003

0

50

100

150

200

250

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

year

per

cen

t

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

ST

R

Growth government

teachers

Growth non-

government teachers




Total STR secondary


151

South Australia

The current labour market for teachers In 2003 there were 9,658 FTE primary teachers and 7,436 FTE secondary teachers in South Australia.145 Overall, from 1984 to 2003, teacher numbers in the primary sector grew despite fluctuations, whilst the secondary sector experienced falling teacher numbers to the mid 1990s, an increase to 2001, then a decrease to 2003 levels. In the primary sector the FTE of teachers grew by 13.1.per cent over the period and in the secondary sector there was negative growth of 12 per cent. Student to teacher ratios in the primary sector have fluctuated across the 1984 to 2003 period, with peaks of 17.8 in 1995 and 1996, and a low of 16.4 in 2003. The 2003 primary STR is the lowest over the period. STRs for the secondary sector have fluctuated across the period, peaking in 2003 at 12.2 from a low of 11.1 in 1990. Teacher training completion levels fluctuated across the nineties, peaking over the 600 mark in 1994 and bottoming out near 400 in 1997. Since 2000 the number of completions has gradually increased to a new peak of 788 in 2003. In 2003 there were just over 400 primary teacher completions, and 265 secondary teacher completions. Recruitment experience in the government school sector Primary In responding to the DEST Government Schools - Primary - Staffing Survey, the South Australian Department of Education and Children’s Services assessed their recruitment activity for Generalist and Visual and Performing Arts teachers as presenting “minor” issues in 2003 - i.e. they were just able to satisfy the demand, avoiding significant shortfalls. Moderate difficulties (i.e. they were unable to satisfactorily meet demand in some locations, causing some shortfalls) were reported in the teaching area of Languages other than English. Recruitment activity for primary Special Education teachers was assessed as “difficult” (broad recruitment deficit, widespread shortfalls). In the teaching area of LOTE, the particular difficulties related to teachers of Asian languages in all locations and for both short-term and extended relief; the most severe difficulties were experienced in recruitment activities for these teachers in remote locations. In the teaching area of Special Education, recruitment activity was assessed as a “difficult” issue across all locations, but particularly in non-metropolitan locations. Engaging special education teachers for short-term or extended relief also created major difficulties. The Department acknowledged general difficulties in obtaining an adequate supply of teachers for the remote locations, including some of the more industrial regional centres such as Port Pirie, Port Augusta and Whyalla. Most permanent and one-year contract positions are able to be filled. Shorter term temporary positions are difficult to fill, particularly in regional centres.


152

Secondary South Australia assessed their recruitment activity as “difficult” for the key learning areas of Mathematics, Science, Technology and Special Education. The difficulties in these KLAs extended across all locations, and included both short and extended relief vacancies. In Mathematics and Science, the difficulties are particularly experienced for qualified and experienced teachers of upper secondary subjects in country locations. Filling vacancies in remote areas of the State in these KLAs are “almost impossible”. Moderate levels of difficulty were recorded for the KLAs of Health and Physical Education; Languages other than English; English; Visual and Performing Arts (particularly Dance and Drama); and Vocational Education and Training. In the LOTE subjects, the main difficulties are in Asian languages in non-metropolitan locations. As at February 2005, the SA Department of Education and Children’s Services had a pool of approximately 7,300 qualified teachers seeking employment. It is, however, difficult to fill vacancies due to teacher’s stated preferences. Most of the teachers seeking employment from the teaching pool are willing to accept employment in the metropolitan area only. Particular geographic areas of shortage include the Whyalla, Port Augusta and Far North regions of South Australia. Initiatives taken by the Education Department to address shortages State wide strategies to address the supply of teachers include:

• The Targeted Teachers Scholarship Scheme is available to final year teacher education students in targeted subject areas.

• Country Teaching Scholarships provide up to $10,000 to students from country locations who are completing a teacher education course in South Australia. At the successful completion of their studies these scholarship holders will be guaranteed a teaching position in a country school which will be confirmed as permanent after the satisfactory completion of two years teaching service.

• An active presence in South Australian Universities promotes teaching careers in country schools.

• Officers meet with the Deans of Education from South Australian Universities on a regular basis. The Deans are informed about areas of teacher shortage.

• A working party has been established between the Department and the Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology to collaborate on teacher shortage in specific curriculum and regional/rural areas.

Other subject-specific initiatives include:

• The Department has developed a set of support materials for principals which promote a number of models for delivery of Languages other than English curriculum.

• The Australian Science and Maths School has been established to promote the study of and careers in Mathematics and Science. Undergraduates at Flinders University studying to become Maths and Science teachers have access to training at the school, which is co-located at the campus.

153

• The Department is developing strategies with the University of Adelaide to promote teaching to Bachelor of Science students.

• A Bachelor of Education (Design and Technology Studies) course is being prepared for 2005 at the University of South Australia. If introduced, the first group of graduates would qualify in 2009.

• The Department has established a Workforce Planning Steering Committee to guide planning and decision-making with respect to current and new initiatives to address areas of teacher shortage.

154

South Australian primary Table 1.11: Number of full-time students, FTE of teachers and student to teacher ratios for government and non-government sectors


1984 121,101 7,095 17.1 27,191 1,441 18.9 148,292 8,536 17.4

1986 115,388 7,050 16.4 28,586 1,519 18.8 143,974 8,569 16.8

1988 112,349 7,048 15.9 29,770 1,562 19.1 142,119 8,610 16.5

1990 119,490 7,389 16.2 32,179 1,698 19.0 151,669 9,087 16.7

1991 122,139 7,213 16.9 33,925 1,784 19.0 156,064 8,997 17.3

1992 124,254 7,265 17.1 35,123 1,825 19.2 159,377 9,090 17.5

1993 124,802 7,284 17.1 36,481 1,911 19.1 161,283 9,195 17.5

1994 124,043 7,284 17.0 38,037 2,018 18.8 162,080 9,302 17.4

1995 122,582 7,026 17.4 39,355 2,082 18.9 161,937 9,108 17.8

1996 120,654 6,915 17.4 40,627 2,143 19.0 161,281 9,058 17.8

1997 118,812 6,954 17.1 41,863 2,207 19.0 160,675 9,161 17.5

1998 117,708 6,905 17.0 42,675 2,303 18.5 160,383 9,208 17.4

1999 116,647 6,919 16.9 42,991 2,383 18.0 159,638 9,302 17.2

2000 115,387 6,709 17.2 43,959 2,475 17.8 159,346 9,183 17.4

2001 114,264 6,820 16.8 45,136 2,536 17.8 159,400 9,356 17.0

2002 112,111 6,663 16.8 46,389 2,648 17.5 158,500 9,311 17.0

2003 110,217 6,936 15.9 47,727 2,722 17.5 157,944 9,658 16.4



155

South Australian secondary Table 1.12: Number of full-time students, FTE of teachers and student to teacher ratios for government and non-government sectors


1984 78,717 6,837 11.5 21,938 1,616 13.6 100,655 8,453 11.9

1986 75,686 6,698 11.3 24,059 1,789 13.4 99,745 8,487 11.8

1988 71,108 6,465 11.0 25,333 1,883 13.5 96,441 8,348 11.6

1990 65,378 6,214 10.5 25,688 1,983 13.0 91,066 8,197 11.1

1991 64,675 5,818 11.1 26,094 1,998 13.1 90,769 7,816 11.6

1992 63,302 5,788 10.9 26,123 1,988 13.1 89,425 7,776 11.5

1993 59,818 5,693 10.5 26,126 1,996 13.1 85,944 7,689 11.2

1994 57,597 5,381 10.7 26,334 2,039 12.9 83,931 7,420 11.3

1995 55,889 5,027 11.1 26,966 2,090 12.9 82,855 7,117 11.6

1996 56,850 4,888 11.6 28,074 2,164 13.0 84,924 7,052 12.0

1997 57,699 4,974 11.6 29,566 2,256 13.1 87,265 7,230 12.1

1998 58,624 5,053 11.6 30,453 2,350 13.0 89,077 7,403 12.0

1999 59,656 5,033 11.9 30,929 2,430 12.7 90,585 7,463 12.1

2000 58,656 5,197 11.3 31,223 2,497 12.5 90,013 7,694 11.7

2001 58,576 5,061 11.6 31,520 2,531 12.5 90,096 7,592 11.9

2002 57,728 4,887 11.8 32,383 2,649 12.2 90,111 7,536 12.0

2003 57,633 4,702 12.3 33,238 2,734 12.2 90,871 7,436 12.2



South Australia Secondary - Growth in FTE of teachers and Student to Teacher Ratios,

1984 - 2003

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

year

per

cen

t

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

ST

R


Growth non-

government teachers


STR secondary

government


Total STR secondary

Source: ABS Schools Australia (Cat No. 4221.0 )

156

Western Australia

The current labour market for teachers In 2003 there were 12,133 FTE primary teachers and 10,565 FTE secondary teachers in Western Australia.146 From 1984 to 2003 teacher numbers steadily increased. From 1984 to 2003, in the primary sector the FTE of teachers grew by 53.4 per cent, whereas the secondary sector showed a growth rate of 40 per cent. Student to teacher ratios in the primary sector fell from 1984 to 2003 (20.4 to 16.9). A fall in STRs was also evident in the secondary sector with a decrease from a peak of 13.5 in 1984 to a low of 12.2 in 2002 and again in 2003. Levels of teacher completions in Western Australia have been maintained around the 1,000 mark since bottoming out in 1998. Since 2000, the numbers have gradually increased to a peak of 1,548 in 2003, including 679 primary and 614 secondary teacher completions. Recruitment experience in the government school sector Primary In their response to the DEST Government Schools - Primary Staffing Survey, the Western Australian Department of Education and Training reported that the jurisdiction was experiencing few difficulties in recruiting primary school teachers. With the exception of teachers of Languages other than English (LOTE), Western Australia reported abundant teacher supplies, meaning they were easily able to satisfy demand. In the case of LOTE teachers, there were “minor” recruitment issues, meaning that they were just able to satisfy the demand for teachers, avoiding significant shortfalls. Secondary

Across the secondary key learning areas, Western Australia generally reported minor or no issues in their recruitment activities. The exception was recruitment activities for LOTE teachers, which presented “moderate” issues, meaning that they were unable to satisfactorily meet demand in some locations, leading to some shortfalls. Specifically, there was a “moderate” issue in recruiting Indonesian teachers for Rural/Regional locations. Initiatives taken by the Department of Education and Training to address shortages Strategies employed by the Western Australian Department of Education and Training to address shortages include:

• Teaching – Shaping young lives teacher recruitment initiative promotes teaching as a career and the Department as the employer of choice in WA. The initiative is supported by two dedicated Recruitment Officers (Teaching) who coordinate the initiative, visiting schools, universities and careers’ expositions in metropolitan and rural areas, an informative website (http://www.eddept.wa.edu.au/teaching/), a customer service centre


http://www.eddept.wa.edu.au/teaching/

157

accessed through a toll-free phone number and a recently introduced Teacher Recruitment Advisory Centre, and a range of promotional recruitment materials

• the Student Teacher Rural Experience (STREP) offers financial support to student teachers who wish to experience teaching in government rural schools in the district in which they hope to work the following year

• the Remote Teaching Service Package, offering a range of benefits to teachers in remote schools, including free government employee housing, a Remote Service allowance of between $8,500 and $11,500, locality allowance, transportation to the location, additional leave entitlements, ongoing employment (subject to satisfactory performance) and the prospect of permanency after two years

• The Country and Metropolitan Teaching Program, offering increased transfer points, financial incentives between $2,000 and $20,000 and the opportunity for permanency after two years for teachers appointed to schools in the Program

• offering a range of scholarships to attract people to the profession and to areas of shortage. The Final Year Teaching Scholarships award up to $30,000 to undergraduate and Graduate Diploma students in their final year of study who commit to accept a teaching position in learning and geographical areas of need for two to three years

• the Science HECS Reimbursement Scheme which grants $6,000 per year for up to three years to graduate primary and secondary teachers of physical sciences appointed to Western Australian Government schools in 2003.

158

Western Australia primary Table 1.9: Number of full-time students, FTE of teachers and student to teacher ratios for government and non-government sectors


1984 131,561 6,488 20.3 29,905 1,419 21.1 161,466 7,907 20.4

1986 128,875 6,381 20.2 31,828 1,543 20.6 160,703 7,924 20.3

1988 133,366 6,579 20.3 34,012 1,692 20.1 167,378 8,271 20.2

1990 140,629 7,535 18.7 36,735 1,861 19.7 177,364 9,396 18.9

1991 141,702 7,736 18.3 37,531 1,968 19.1 179,233 9,704 18.5

1992 142,897 7,803 18.3 38,362 2,058 18.6 181,259 9,861 18.4

1993 143,871 7,899 18.2 39,653 2,153 18.4 183,524 10,052 18.3

1994 144,885 7,813 18.5 40,509 2,247 18.0 185,394 10,060 18.4

1995 145,561 7,919 18.4 41,560 2,317 17.9 187,121 10 236 18.3

1996 145,837 7,979 18.3 43,222 2,387 18.1 189,059 10,366 18.2

1997 145,088 8,035 18.1 44,760 2,505 17.9 189,848 10,540 18.0

1998 144,942 8,086 17.9 45,894 2,583 17.8 190,836 10,669 17.9

1999 144,746 8,202 17.6 46,677 2,713 17.2 191,423 10,915 17.5

2000 144,087 8,339 17.3 47,960 2,825 17.0 192,047 11,164 17.2

2001 142,527 10,366 17.2 49,106 3,018 16.3 191,633 13,384 16.9

2002 151,599 8,541 17.7 54,153 3,119 17.4 205,752 11,660 17.6

2003 149,869 8,940 16.8 54,824 3,193 17.2 204,693 12,133 16.9



Western Australia Primary - Growth in FTE of teachers and Student to Teacher Ratios,

1984 - 2003

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

220

240

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

year

per

cen

t

0

5

10

15

20

25

ST

R




STR primary

government


Total STR primary


159

Western Australia secondary Table 1.10: Number of full-time students, FTE of teachers and student to teacher ratios for government and non-government sectors


1984 75,769 5,700 13.3 25,823 1,846 14 101,592 7,546 13.5

1986 76,537 5,983 12.8 28,344 2,091 13.6 104,881 8,074 13

1988 74,604 5,844 12.8 31,242 2,352 13.3 105,846 8,196 12.9

1990 74,682 6,101 12.2 32,840 2,515 13.1 107,522 8,616 12.5

1991 77,169 6,019 12.8 33,454 2,549 13.2 110,623 8,568 12.9

1992 78,137 6,200 12.6 34,190 2,595 13.2 112,327 8,795 12.8

1993 78,580 6,316 12.4 34,635 2,691 12.9 113,215 9,007 12.6

1994 78,220 6,242 12.5 35,798 2,801 12.8 114,018 9,043 12.6

1995 77,530 6,254 12.4 37,030 2,921 12.7 114,560 9,175 12.5

1996 78,877 6,219 12.7 38,870 3,025 12.8 117,747 9,244 12.7

1997 80,987 6,300 12.9 40,242 3,143 12.8 121,229 9,443 12.8

1998 81,641 6,528 12.5 41,550 3,249 12.8 123,191 9,777 12.6

1999 82,486 6,664 12.4 42,700 3,351 12.7 125,186 10,015 12.5

2000 81,680 6,559 12.5 44,034 3,472 12.7 125,714 10,031 12.5

2001 81,769 6,607 12.4 45,493 3,630 12.5 127,262 10,237 12.4

2002 81,745 6,710 12.2 47,229 3,821 12.4 128,974 10,531 12.2

2003 80,439 6,638 12.1 48,918 3,927 12.5 129,357 10,565 12.2



Western Australia Secondary - Growth in FTE of teachers and Student To Teacher Ratios,

1984 - 2003

90

140

190

240

290

340

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

year

per

cen

t

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

ST

R Growth governmentteachers

Growth non-government

teachers



STR secondary non-

government

Total STR secondary


160

Tasmania

The current labour market for teachers There were 2,856 FTE primary teachers and 2,869 FTE secondary teachers in Tasmania in 2003.147 Over the period 1984 to 2003 teacher numbers have been declining in both the primary (-3.1 per cent) and secondary sectors (-6.7 per cent). This decline in teacher numbers was confined to the government sector only. In the primary sector, student to teacher ratios have been declining since reaching a high of 18.6 in 1992. In 2003 the primary STR was 16.2. After fluctuations through the 1990s, with a peak of 13.3 in 1991, secondary STRs have declined to 12.6 in 2003. In Tasmania the numbers of teacher completions have been maintained above the 200 mark. In 2003, 294 completions were recorded. Recruitment experience in the government school sector Primary

The Tasmanian Department of Education indicated in their response to the DEST Government Schools – Primary Staffing survey that recruitment activity for primary teachers had generally created no major difficulties in 2003. Secondary Tasmania reported generally “minor” levels of recruitment difficulties in Maths and Science . The supply of fixed term and relief teachers in Maths and Science tended to be more difficult in rural and remote schools and at certain times of the year, most specifically Term 2. Initiatives taken by the Education Department to address shortages

The initiatives undertaken by the Tasmanian Department of Education to address shortages and align supply with demand include:

• A Graduate Recruitment Program which recruits top graduates from the University of Tasmania to permanent employment. Graduates are paid one salary level in advance of that normally paid to a similarly qualified graduate in their first year of appointment. They will remain 1 salary level in advance of similarly qualified and experienced teachers until they reach the top of the base grade salary scale;

• Interviewing almost all mathematics and science education graduates from the University of Tasmania, and offering permanent employment to suitable graduates through the Graduate Recruitment Program;

• Annual incentive payments for employees in designated rural and remote schools; $1,628 at commencement, increasing to $3,257 after 6 years continuous employment; and


161

• A Professional Experience in Isolated and Rural Schools [PEIRS] program that encourages pre-service teachers to undertake school experience in particular rural and isolated schools by providing support for accommodation and travel.

162

Tasmania primary Table 1.11: Number of full-time students, FTE of teachers and student to teacher ratios for government and non-government sectors


1984 38,384 2,495 15.4 8,719 453 19.2 47,103 2,948 16.0

1986 36,755 2,326 15.8 9,132 493 18.5 45,887 2,819 16.3

1988 36,509 2,119 17.2 9,553 513 18.6 46,062 2,632 17.5

1990 37,881 2,196 17.3 10,321 523 19.2 48,202 2,734 17.6

1991 37,674 2,081 18.1 10,789 545 19.8 48,463 2,626 18.5

1992 37,918 2,063 18.4 11,029 563 19.6 48,947 2,626 18.6

1993 37,380 2,127 17.6 11,218 579 19.4 48,598 2,706 18.0

1994 37,033 2,157 17.2 11,314 593 19.1 48,347 2,750 17.6

1995 36,341 2,122 17.1 11,245 592 19.0 47,586 2,714 17.5

1996 36,097 2,150 16.8 11,110 589 18.9 47,207 2,739 17.2

1997 35,663 2,208 16.2 10,808 587 18.4 46,471 2,795 16.6

1998 35,661 2,177 16.4 10,660 599 17.8 46,321 2,776 16.7

1999 36,318 2,308 15.7 10,479 586 17.9 46,797 2,894 16.2

2000 36,770 2,334 15.8 10,284 604 17.3 47,220 2,939 16.1

2001 36,405 2,269 16.0 10,467 597 17.5 46,872 2,866 16.4

2002 36,300 2,261 16.1 10,340 595 17.4 46,640 2,856 16.3

2003 35,975 2,255 16.0 10,305 601 17.1 46,280 2,856 16.2



Tasmania Primary - Growth in FTE of teachers and Student To Teacher Ratio,

1984 - 2003

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

year

per

cen

t

0

5

10

15

20

25

ST

R

Growth government

teachers




STR primary non-

government

Total STR primary


163

Tasmania secondary Table 1.12: Number of full-time students, FTE of teachers and student to teacher ratios for government and non-government sectors


1984 28,636 2,498 11.5 7,749 577 13.4 36,385 3,075 11.8

1986 28,473 2,473 11.5 8,327 621 13.4 36,800 3,094 11.9

1988 28,148 2,523 11.2 8,242 640 12.9 36,390 3,163 11.5

1990 27,468 2,350 11.7 8,709 670 13.0 36,177 3,020 12.0

1991 27,988 2,090 13.4 9,163 713 12.9 37,151 2,803 13.3

1992 27,795 2,164 12.8 9,547 742 12.9 37,342 2,906 12.8

1993 27,347 2,133 12.8 9,816 761 12.9 37,163 2,894 12.8

1994 27,028 2,050 13.2 9,984 779 12.8 37,012 2,829 13.1

1995 26,943 2,032 13.3 10,130 781 13.0 37,073 2,813 13.2

1996 26,679 2,056 13.0 10,296 800 12.9 36,975 2,856 12.9

1997 27,258 2,129 12.8 10,428 815 12.8 37,686 2,944 12.8

1998 27,317 2,102 13.0 10,478 803 13.0 37,795 2,905 13.0

1999 26,636 2,043 13.0 10,380 810 12.8 37,016 2,853 13.0

2000 26,033 2,026 12.9 10,284 819 12.6 36,317 2,845 12.8

2001 25,571 2,026 12.6 10,354 840 12.3 35,925 2,866 12.5

2002 25,208 1,992 12.7 10,502 847 12.4 35,710 2,839 12.6

2003 25,182 1,985 12.7 10,914 884 12.3 36,096 2,869 12.6



Tasmania Secondary - Growth in FTE of teachers and Student To Teacher Ratios,

1984 - 2003

70

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

150

160

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

year

per

cen

t

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

ST

R

Growth government

teachers

Growth non-

government teachers



STR secondary non-

government

Total STR secondary


164

Northern Territory

Current labour market for teachers In 2003 there were 1,730 FTE primary teachers and 1,090 FTE secondary teachers in the Northern Territory.148 From 1984 to 2000, teacher numbers grew steadily, especially in the primary sector, having fallen slightly in 2003. FTE of primary teachers grew by 37.6 per cent over the period whilst the growth in secondary teachers was comparatively slower at 35.2 per cent. Student teacher ratios in primary schools also fell during this period from 16.7 in 1984 to 14.6 in 2003. Secondary school STRs rose in the early 1990s then dropped and have remained relatively constant at 10.8 since 1999. Teacher completion numbers in the Northern Territory have been quite consistent. Of the 76 completions recorded in 2003, 33 were in primary and 11 in secondary teaching. Recruitment experience in the government schools sector Charles Darwin University and the Batchelor Institute of Tertiary Eduction do not currently produce enough teacher graduates, annually, to cover the ongoing recruitment requirements of the Northern Territory. The Northern Territory Department of Employment, Education and Training has an ongoing requirement to recruit interstate. Primary The Northern Territory Department of Employment, Education and Training reported “minor” or “no” difficulties in their recruitment activity for primary level teachers during 2003. Recruitment difficulties tend to be the result of location - i.e. in those areas of the Northern Territory regarded as “remote”. Secondary The Northern Territory reported that recruitment activity for teachers in the Key Learning Ares of Mathematics and Science had been “difficult” during 2003. The jurisdiction also reported “moderate” issues in filling positions in the KLAs of Health, Physical Education; Technology and Special Education. “Minor” issues were presented in recruitment for teachers of English and VET. Many of the recruitment difficulties relate to the location of the school - particularly for remote schools within the Northern Territory. As an “importer” of teachers, the Northern Territory is particularly vulnerable to teacher shortages, particularly in the learning areas creating problems for other jurisdictions. In the case of Mathematics and Science teachers, recruitment difficulties have been exacerbated by the difficulties in attracting teachers to remote areas. Initiatives taken by the Education Department to address shortages The Northern Territory Department of Employment, Education and Training is using a number of different strategies in recruiting and retaining teachers, underpinned by an innovative 148 Schools Australia, Cat No 4221.0, ABS, 2003

165

recruitment and retention campaign creating a supportive environment to enhance retention, and includes a new teacher recruitment website, agreements with the Commonwealth Department of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA), a contemporary probation model, 12 month modular induction program, teacher bursaries, remote employment package, partnerships with interstate universities for students to gain experience working in the Northern Territory. Probation During 2004, the teacher probation system was extensively reviewed, with a view to reinforcing the professional support and mentorship aspects that are critical to integrating neophytes into the teaching profession, and teachers new to the NT into the Territory environment. The model aims at separating the maintaining teacher quality component (probation) from teacher support (induction). NT Government Schools are implementing the new Teacher Probation model developed via workshops and consultations with key stakeholders. Induction and Orientation Programs The primary objective of the Teacher Orientation & Induction program is to support new teachers in their continuum of professional learning, beginning with Teacher Orientation and continuing throughout their teaching career. Teacher Orientation & Induction is an extended process that aims to provide new teachers with:

• Orientation to the profession and the organisation;

• Personal and professional support; and

• Opportunities to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for effective teaching.

The program has been expanded to cater for a detailed cross-cultural element including historical, cultural and strategies for working more effectively in a cross-cultural environment. Three-day Orientation events are held regionally across the Territory at the beginning of the school year and mid-year during peak recruitment periods to accommodate recruits to each region. The teacher induction program has been expanded via development of a new teacher induction module identification using NSW as a guide but adapted to NT context. Twenty-six NT modules have been identified and consultants have been engaged to write the program. Marketing of Teaching in the Territory Effective recruitment marketing campaigns have been completed and implemented. A Teacher Recruitment website launched on 29 October 2004 averages 1,747 website hits per month. Increased overseas recruitment agreements with the Australian Government Department of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) have been finalised in order to facilitate overseas applications. The program “teach for a term” was launched on the teacher recruitment website. This offers prospective recruits an opportunity to try a shorter-term teaching post in the NT. Retention from this program has been good.

166

100 Additional Teachers

In 2001 the Northern Territory Government announced a program to allocate 100 additional teachers over four years, to ease the workload and pressures of classroom teachers. These positions are outside of the staffing formula. To date, the positions created have covered the following critical areas:

• Special Education x 24 positions

• Capability Development Unit – Darwin x 3 positions

• Assistant Principals for Group Schools x 5

• Remote Education Resource Development x 2

• Alternative Education Provision (AEP) x 7

• ESL x 10 positions

• Technology in Schools x 4 positions

• Accelerated Literacy Program x 12 positions

• Accelerated Literacy Research (outposted to Charles Darwin University) x 1 position

• Relief Teacher Pool x 4 positions

• Capability Development Unit – Alice Springs x 2 positions

• Physical Education/Sports Coordinators x 7 positions

• Behaviour Management x 10 positions Remote Locality Conditions

A wide range of incentives are offered to teachers to take up employment in remote localities, including:

• Rental concessions or free rent (depending on remoteness);

• Special Study Leave program of up to six months leave on full pay after four years’ service in remote localities;

• Fares Out of Isolated Localities (FOIL) – up to three fares per year from a remote locality to either Darwin or Alice Springs, whichever is the closer;

• Allowance for freight on household goods of up to 15 k.g. (without dependants) or 39 k.g. (with dependants) per week;

Family travel assistance program;

• Household contents insurance premiums;

• Professional isolation allowance – currently $394 - $1,576 p.a. depending on category of remoteness; and

• Business Days – four per year.

Remote Interns The Remote Schools Internship Project was implemented in Term 3 of 2002, with a continuation of the project in Term 3 of 2003 and 2004. The program aims to address teacher supply and retention in remote Indigenous communities. The Department of Employment, Education and

167

Training (DEET) fund the project through an allocation of funds from the Indigenous Education Strategic Initiatives Program (IESIP). DEET Professional Experience in Partnership with Deakin University In 2004 DEET commenced a partnership with Deakin University. The program is part of Deakin University’s Global Learning Program and endeavors to provide a range of placement opportunities for students as part of their professional site based experiences. Pre-service teachers completed a three-week practicum in Darwin urban schools. The experience aims to expand students’ knowledge and understanding of Australia’s indigenous people and cultures. It also aspires to provide a rich context to compare and contrast their own schooling and education to increase respect for indigenous students through the process of education and learning. This practicum placement offers students the opportunity to work across diverse educational settings, developing competence in practical skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary to operate as competent teachers. Student Teacher Bursaries for local residents

The Northern Territory Government offers 20 Student Teacher bursaries per year to encourage its residents to commence full-time teacher training at an NT tertiary institution. The 2004 Budget Paper No.3 committed $0.27 million to the scheme for the next four years. Workforce Development Strategy 2003 - 2005 The DEET Workforce Development Strategy 2003 - 2005 establishes a whole of organisation approach to professional learning and training, enabling DEET to build a culture where workforce development is an investment for the future. A priority is to build a strong teaching profession, and to provide ways for teachers to engage in targeted professional learning. Under this Strategy the aim to build capacity and retain quality teachers is met through leadership development, Indigenous teacher and assistant teacher development and the transforming of teaching and learning through information communication and technology programs.

168

Northern Territory primary Table 1.13: Number of full-time students, FTE of teachers and student to teacher ratios for government and non-government sectors


1984 17,571 1,072 16.4 3,471 185 18.8 21,042 1,257 16.7

1986 18,233 1,097 16.6 3,476 217 16.0 21,709 1,314 16.5

1988 17,916 1,193 15.0 3,964 236 16.8 21,880 1,429 15.3

1990 18,746 1,248 15.0 3,992 220 18.1 22,738 1,468 15.5

1991 19,135 1,251 15.3 4,094 228 18.0 23,229 1,479 15.7

1992 18,900 1,261 15.0 4,372 234 18.7 23,272 1,495 15.6

1993 19,400 1,302 14.9 4,445 246 18.1 23,845 1,548 15.4

1994 19,764 1,330 14.9 4,587 240 19.1 24,351 1,570 15.5

1995 19,930 1,353 14.7 4,686 257 18.2 24,616 1,610 15.3

1996 20,203 1,367 14.8 4,899 269 18.2 25,102 1,636 15.3

1997 20,350 1,405 14.5 5,020 275 18.3 25,370 1,680 15.1

1998 20,692 1,439 14.4 4,957 275 18.0 25,649 1,714 15.0

1999 20,626 1,500 13.8 4,998 270 18.5 25,624 1,770 14.5

2000 20,947 1,516 13.8 5,195 279 18.6 26,142 1,794 14.6

2001 20,603 1,489 13.8 5,072 293 17.3 25,675 1,781 14.4

2002 20,249 1,445 14.0 4,892 293 16.7 25,141 1,738 14.5

2003 20,146 1,451 13.9 5,100 279 18.3 25,246 1,730 14.6



Northern Territory Primary - Growth in FTE of teachers and Student to Teacher Ratios,

1984 - 2003

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

150

160

170

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

year

per

cen

t

0

5

10

15

20

25

ST

R

Growth government

teachers

Growth non-

government teachers

Total growth

teachers

STR primary

government

STR primary non-

government

Total STR primary


169

Northern Territory secondary Table 1.14: Number of full-time students, fte of teachers and student to teacher ratios for government and non-government sectors


1984 7,523 701 10.7 1,490 105 14.2 9,013 806 11.2

1986 7,922 750 10.6 1,476 114 12.9 9,398 864 10.9

1988 8,233 785 10.5 1,499 121 12.4 9,732 906 10.7

1990 7,510 738 10.2 2,079 171 12.2 9,589 909 10.5

1991 8,026 734 10.9 2,190 185 11.8 10,216 919 11.1

1992 7,903 688 11.5 2,396 192 12.5 10,299 880 11.7

1993 7,437 646 11.5 2,590 217 11.9 10,027 863 11.6

1994 7,170 661 10.8 2,625 231 11.4 9,795 892 11

1995 7,350 675 10.9 2,876 257 11.2 10,226 932 11

1996 7,563 675 11.2 2,842 276 10.3 10,405 951 10.9

1997 7,944 684 11.6 3,152 276 11.4 11,096 960 11.6

1998 7,852 703 11.2 3,204 303 10.6 11,056 1,006 11

1999 7,861 721 10.9 3,282 305 10.8 11,143 1,026 10.9

2000 7,978 739 10.8 3,273 293 11.2 11,251 1,033 10.9

2001 7,935 731 10.8 3,356 301 11.2 11,291 1,032 10.9

2002 7,957 767 10.4 3,576 322 11.1 11,533 1,089 10.6

2003 8,321 751 11.1 3,436 339 10.1 11,757 1,090 10.8



Northern Territory Secondary - Growth in FTE of teachers and Student To Teacher Ratios,

1984 - 2003

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

year

per

cen

t

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

ST

R


Growth non-

government teachers


STR secondary

government

STR secondary non-

government

Total STR secondary


170

Australian Capital Territory

Current labour market background There were 1,981 FTE primary teachers and 2,321 FTE secondary teachers in the ACT in 2001.149 Over the period 1984 to 2003 there has been a net increase in the number of teachers in both the primary and secondary sectors. This increase in teacher numbers was confined to the non government sector with teacher numbers in the government sector falling over the period 1994 to 1999, then subsequently rising. Over the period 1984 to 2003 the growth in the number of primary teachers was 17.6 per cent (9.6 per cent in the government sector) and in the secondary sector growth rate was 9.3 per cent (negative 9.6 per cent in the government sector). Student to teacher ratios in the primary sector have fluctuated over the period 1984 to 2003, peaking at 19.8 in 1988 and again in 1991. Since 1996, the primary STR has declined to the 2003 level of 16 – the lowest level over the period. The secondary STR steadily increased between 1984 (12.1) and 1996 (13.1) before a gradual decline to 12.3 in 2003. Teacher training completions in the ACT have generally maintained levels over the 200 mark, with a low of 195 in 1999 and a peak of 308 in 2002. In 2003, there were 290 completions, of which 110 were in primary and in 2001 reached 268, of which 107 were in primary teaching and 149 were in secondary teaching. Recruitment experience in the government school sector Primary In their response to the DEST Government Schools - Primary - Staffing Survey, the ACT Department of Education and Training generally reported minor or no recruitment issues in their recruitment activity across the primary teaching areas. The exception was for teachers of Languages other than English, where the ACT reported “moderate” issues, meaning the jurisdiction was unable to satisfactorily meet demand in some locations, some shortfalls. These difficulties extended across all LOTE subjects, and included vacancies for both short-term and extended relief. Secondary

At the secondary level, the ACT also recorded “minor” or no recruitment issues across all Key Learning Areas, with the exception of LOTE. Recruitment activities for secondary LOTE teachers in 2003 was assessed as presenting “moderate” issues. Initiatives taken by the Education Department to address shortages The ACT uses a number of strategies to address teacher shortages, including:

• Participation in university visits. Recruitment teams from the ACT Department of Education and Training visit over 30 universities to talk to final year education students about teaching in the ACT. Each team usually consists of a beginning teacher who


171

trained through the university and an Executive Teacher from the Teacher Recruitment Unit in the Department. Visits usually occur between April and June.150

• Using the local media to highlight the advantages of teaching in the ACT. For example, in October 2004, the Canberra Times newspaper published an article, The many rewards of teaching in Canberra in its general news. The byline on the story was that of an ACT Department of Education and Training public servant.151 The timing suggests that it was targeted at students (particularly those from interstate) completing their degrees at the University of Canberra.

• Implementation of an Employee Exit Survey to evaluate and develop the department’s staffing and human resource policies. The survey collects demographic information relating to separating employees’ service and employment history, personal information and reasons for separation.

• Implementation of a relief teachers booking database to provide ease of access for all schools to relief staff;

• Development of a Teacher Recruitment Qualifications database. The database collects data from the assessment of teacher qualifications and assessment of prior experience claims.152

• The Maths Retraining Initiative enables teachers to retrain in mathematics, an area of teacher shortage. Under this flexible delivery course, which began in February 2004, 15 permanent teachers (the majority of whom were primary-trained) study three specially-designed subjects at the University of Canberra over one semester and spend one day per week in high schools observing best practice mathematics. On completion, the participants receive a graduate certificate in high school mathematics and will teach high school mathematics, mainly to year 7 and 8 students;153

150 Teaching in Canberra - a lifestyle choice- Recruitment visits to universities, ACT Department of Education and Training, at http://www.decs.act.gov.au/department/teachrecruitprocess.htm#rRecruitment, Accessed 18 January 2005. 151 p.18, Stephen Gniel, The many rewards of teaching in Canberra, The Canberra Times, Wednesday 20 October 2004 152 pp53-54, ACT Department of Education and Training, Annual Report 2003-2004, at http://www.decs.act.gov.au/publicat/annrep0304/annualreport0304.htm, Accessed 20 January 2005. 153 pp34-35, Standing Committee on Education, Legislative Assembly for the ACT, Teaching in the ACT: Shaping the Future, Report 5, August 2004, Canberra, ACT, at http://www.legassembly.act.gov.au/committees/reports/e05teachernumbers.pdf, Accessed October 2004

http://www.decs.act.gov.au/department/teachrecruitprocess.htm#rRecruitment

http://www.decs.act.gov.au/publicat/annrep0304/annualreport0304.htm


172

Australian Capital Territory primary Table 1.15: Number of full-time students, FTE of teachers and student to teacher ratios for government and non-government sectors


1984 22,420 1,230 18.2 10,252 455 22.5 32,672 1,685 19.4

1986 22,025 1,211 18.2 10,427 481 21.7 32,452 1,692 19.2

1988 22,142 1,235 17.9 10,440 498 21 32,582 1,733 18.8

1990 22,275 1,185 18.8 10,221 464 22 32,496 1,649 19.7

1991 22,418 1,178 19 10,390 476 21.8 32,808 1,654 19.8

1992 22,527 1,221 18.4 10,415 482 21.6 32,942 1,703 19.3

1993 22,583 1,225 18.4 10,339 498 20.8 32,922 1,723 19.1

1994 22,412 1,303 17.2 10,449 507 20.6 32,861 1,810 18.2

1995 22,466 1,218 18.4 10,341 512 20.2 32,807 1,730 19

1996 22,431 1,181 19 10,509 509 20.6 32,940 1,690 19.5

1997 22,032 1,190 18.5 10,652 520 20.5 32,684 1,710 19.1

1998 21,742 1,172 18.6 10,609 521 20.4 32,351 1,693 19.1

1999 21,606 1,267 17.1 10,651 526 20.2 32,257 1,793 18

2000 21,409 1,256 17 10,877 535 20.3 32,286 1,791 18

2001 21,439 1,298 16.5 11,051 555 19.9 32,490 1,852 17.5

2002 20,904 1,322 15.8 11,321 610 18.6 32,225 1,932 16.7

2003 20,301 1,348 15.1 11,413 633 18.0 31,714 1,981 16.0



ACT Primary - Growth in FTE of teachers and Student to Teacher Ratios,

1984 - 2003

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

150

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

year

per

cen

t

0

5

10

15

20

25

ST

R

Growth government

teachers



STR primarygovernment

STR primary non-

government

Total STR primary


173

Australian Capital Territory secondary Table 1.16: Number of full-time students, FTE of teachers and student to teacher ratios for government and non-government sectors


1984 17,016 1,523 11.2 8,760 601 14.6 25,776 2,124 12.1

1986 17,435 1,524 11.4 9,762 671 14.5 27,197 2,195 12.4

1988 18,203 1,545 11.8 10,272 735 14.0 28,475 2,280 12.5

1990 18,277 1,513 12.1 10,266 740 13.9 28,543 2,253 12.7

1991 18,472 1,514 12.2 10,467 756 13.9 28,939 2,270 12.7

1992 18,567 1,520 12.2 10,400 765 13.6 28,967 2,285 12.7

1993 17,964 1,482 12.1 10,466 759 13.8 28,430 2,241 12.7

1994 17,453 1,435 12.2 10,564 775 13.6 28,017 2,210 12.7

1995 17,654 1,412 12.5 10,647 790 13.5 28,301 2,202 12.9

1996 17,540 1,374 12.8 10,899 799 13.6 28,439 2,173 13.1

1997 17,563 1,381 12.7 10,987 816 13.5 28,550 2,197 13.0

1998 17,347 1,385 12.5 11,067 830 13.3 28,414 2,215 12.8

1999 17,198 1,398 12.3 11,053 823 13.4 28,251 2,221 12.7

2000 16,992 1,358 12.5 11,174 838 13.3 28,166 2,195 12.8

2001 16,531 1,370 12.1 11,622 887 13.1 28,153 2,257 12.5

2002 16,355 1,362 12.0 11,974 929 12.9 28,329 2,291 12.4

2003 16,294 1,376 11.8 12,158 945 12.9 28,452 2,321 12.3



ACT Secondary - Growth in FTE of teachers and Student to Teacher Ratios,

1984 - 2003

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

150

160

170

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

year

per

cen

t

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

ST

R

Growth government

teachers




STR secondary non-

government

Total STR secondary


174

Australia

Labour market background There were 116,568 FTE primary teachers and 113,008 FTE secondary teachers in Australia in 2003.154 Over the period 1984 to 2001 there was a net increase in the number of teachers in both the primary and secondary sectors. In the primary sector the number of teachers rose by 28.3 per cent and in the secondary sector by 15.7 per cent over the period 1984 - 2003. This increase in secondary teacher numbers was confined to the non government sector with teacher numbers in the government sector falling by 3.9 per cent since 1984. Over the period 1984 to 2003 the growth in the number of non-government primary teachers (66.2 per cent) was exceeded by the growth in the number of non government secondary teachers (74 per cent). While student to teacher ratios (STRs) in the secondary sector declined over the period 1984 to 2003 only marginally from 12.8 in 1984 to 12.3 in 2003, STRs in the primary sector declined considerably from 19.2 in 1984 to 16.5 in 2003.


175

Australia primary Table 1.17: Number of full-time students, FTE of teachers and student to teacher ratios for government and non-government sectors


1984 1,341,248 71,590 18.7 398,618 19,218 20.7 1,739,866 90,808 19.2

1986 1,279,817 70,463 18.2 408,841 20,222 20.2 1,688,658 90,685 18.6

1988 1,283,091 71,186 17.4 421,769 20,792 20.3 1,704,860 91,978 18.5

1990 1,322,543 73,837 17.9 440,951 22,079 20.0 1,763,494 95,916 18.4

1991 1,338,533 74,216 18.0 447,913 22,564 19.9 1,786,446 96,780 18.5

1992 1,351,665 75,111 18.0 452,705 22,845 19.8 1,804,370 97,956 18.4

1993 1,359,425 75,066 18.1 456,641 23,460 19.5 1,816,066 98,526 18.4

1994 1,360,771 74,494 18.3 464,969 24,373 19.1 1,825,740 98,867 18.5

1995 1,361,287 75,996 17.9 472,394 25,040 18.9 1,833,681 101,036 18.1

1996 1,367,406 76,677 17.8 480,763 25,590 18.8 1,848,169 102,267 18.1

1997 1,367,007 77,657 17.6 488,782 26,117 18.7 1,855,789 103,774 17.9

1998 1,372,430 77,781 17.6 497,422 26,822 18.5 1,869,852 104,603 17.9

1999 1,378,879 81,036 17.0 506,479 27,829 18.2 1,885,358 108,865 17.3

2000 1,386,073 81,137 17.1 517,808 28,941 17.9 1,903,881 110,077 17.3

2001 1,384,866 82,457 16.8 527,547 30,057 17.6 1,912,413 112,514 17.0

2002 1,391,750 83,247 16.7 539,343 31,187 17.3 1,931,093 114,434 16.9

2003 1,383,713 84,623 16.4 545,457 31,945 17.1 1,929,170 116,568 16.5



Australia Primary - Growth in FTE of teachers and Student to Teacher Ratios,

1984 - 2003

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

150

160

170

180

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

year

per

cen

t

0

5

10

15

20

25

ST

R

Growth government

teachers



STR primarygovernment


Total STR primary


176

Australia secondary Table 1.18: Number of full-time students, FTE of teachers and student to teacher ratios for government and non-government sectors


1984 900,002 73,087 12.3 353,436 24,579 14.4 1,253,438 97,666 12.8

1986 907,691 73,626 12.3 381,766 27,489 13.9 1,289,457 101,115 12.8

1988 896,406 73,674 12.2 400,235 29,497 13.6 1,296,641 103,171 12.6

1990 870,804 72,640 12.0 407,359 30,658 13.3 1,278,163 103,298 12.4

1991 878,693 71,679 12.3 409,998 31,074 13.2 1,288,691 102,753 12.5

1992 882,418 72,734 12.1 412,178 31,376 13.1 1,294,596 104,110 12.4

1993 868,631 71,571 12.1 413,678 31,814 13.0 1,282,309 103,385 12.4

1994 854,167 68,886 12.4 419,473 32,592 12.9 1,273,640 101,478 12.6

1995 846,566 67,791 12.5 429,090 33,574 12.8 1,275,656 101,365 12.6

1996 854,151 67,272 12.7 440,695 34,433 12.8 1,294,846 101,705 12.7

1997 863,045 67,879 12.7 452,790 35,406 12.8 1,315,835 103,285 12.7

1998 866,945 68,251 12.7 461,858 36,226 12.7 1,328,803 104,477 12.7

1999 868,795 69,447 12.5 472,497 37,413 12.6 1,341,292 106,860 12.6

2000 862,214 69,474 12.4 481,330 38,499 12.5 1,343,544 107,973 12.4

2001 863,353 69,681 12.4 492,375 39,732 12.4 1,355,728 109,413 12.4

2002 865,587 69,736 12.4 505,096 41,184 12.3 1,370,683 110,920 12.4

2003 870,919 70,249 12.4 518,531 42,759 12.1 1,389,450 113,008 12.3



Australia Secondary - Growth in FTE of teachers and Student to Teacher Ratios,

1984 - 2003

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

150

160

170

180

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

year

per

cen

t

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

ST

R




STR secondary

government

STR secondary non-

government

Total STR secondary


177

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http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/Management/staffinganddevelopment/recruitment/welcome

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http://www.teaching.nt.gov.au/


http://www.education.tas.gov.au/admin/hr/policies/stafflearninganddevelop/profdevelopment/BeTTR.htm

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http://www.minocw.nl/congres_ocw-oecd/

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181

Acronyms and abbreviations

ABS, Australian Bureau of Statistics

ACE, Australian Council of Education

AESOC, Australian Education Systems Officials Committee

AIS, Association of Independent Schools

ASCO, Australian Standard Classification of Occupations

ASCED, Australian Standard Classification of Education

ASD, Autistic Spectrum Disorder

ASFA, Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia

ASPA, Australian Secondary Principals’ Association

AVCC, Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee

BeTTR, Beginning Teacher Time Release

CMEC, Council of Ministers of Education Canada

CSS, Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme

DEST, Department of Education, Science and Training

DET, Department of Education and Training

DEWR, Department of Employment and Work Place Relations

DfES, Department for Education and Skills (UK)

DIMIA, Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs

ESL, English as a second language

FOSCHEC, Field of Study Classification of Higher Education Courses

FTE, Full-time equivalent

GCCA, Graduate Careers Council of Australia

GDS, Graduate Destinations Survey

GPR, Grade Progression Ratio

HECS, Higher Education Contribution Scheme

ICT, Information and Communications Technology

ISCA, Independent Schools Council of Australia (formerly NCISA)

KLA, Key Learning Area

182

LGA, Local Government Area

LOTE, Languages other than English

MCEETYA, Ministerial Council on Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs

NCEC, National Catholic Education Commission

NCES, National Center for Education Statistics (USA)

NTRC, National Teacher Recruitment Clearinghouse

OECD, Organisation for Economic Development

PEIRS, Professional Experience in Isolated and Remote Schools

RAIS, Remote Area Incentive Scheme

RTL, Repayment of Teachers Loans

SASS, Schools and Staffing Survey

SOSE, Studies of Society and the Environment

STR, Student to Teacher Ratio

TAS, Technological and Applied Studies

TQELT, Teacher Quality and Educational Leadership Taskforce

TTA, Teacher Training Agency (UK)

VET, Vocational Education and Training

VPA, Visual and Performing Arts

183

Glossary of Terms

Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED), refers to the classification system developed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for use in the collection, storage and dissemination of statistical and administrative data related to educational activity in Australia. ASCED is comprised of two component classifications, Level of Education and Field of Education. It replaced the Australian Bureau of Statics Classification of Qualifications (ABSCQ).

Applicants (for undergraduate teaching courses), refers to those students who applied via the Universities Admission Centre and indicated a university undergraduate course either as their first or second preference on their application.

Commencements (of teacher trainees), refers to the number of students commencing an initial teacher training course as defined in the DEST Higher Education statistics. Courses coming within scope include undergraduate degree and Graduate Diploma (Diploma of Education) courses.

Completions (of teacher trainees), refers to the number of students completing an initial teacher training course.

Field of education, refers to the ASCED classification of the subject matter of educational activities. “Education” is one of 12 broad fields of education under this classification. ASCED defines the broad field of Education as “the study of the process of learning, including theories, methods and techniques of imparting knowledge and skills to others”. The Broad Field of Education comprises the narrow fields of Teacher Education, Curriculum and Education Studies, and Other Education. This classification replaces FOSCHEC – Field of Study Classification of Higher Education Courses.

Employed teachers, are full or part time teachers engaged on a permanent or fixed term basis i.e. regular teachers. It excludes relief and casual teachers who are engaged to fill in for permanent and contract teachers when these are not available. This group of ongoing teachers constitute the core workforce, i.e. the majority of class room teachers. All statistics and references to teachers in this report relate to employed teachers, unless otherwise stated. Employed teachers can be expressed as head counts or in FTE terms. This definition of employed teachers is the same as that used in the ABS Schools, Australia publication. There it is used synonymously with teaching staff.

Full time equivalent (FTE), is a measure of all full and part time teachers expressed in terms of a full time work load. Thus two 0.5 teachers would count as 1 full time equivalent.

Growth Demand for teachers, is that portion of teacher demand related to the increase in total teacher requirements. It stems from factors like increases in enrolments or additions to the curriculum which require additional teachers to be hired. Growth demand in any one year is the difference between that year’s requirement for teachers and the previous year’s actual teacher employment level. It can be expressed either as FTE or as headcounts.

(New) Graduates is the same as completions.

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Head count of teachers refers to the number of Teachers Employed, irrespective of whether they were employed full or part-time.

Net replacement demand refers to (gross) replacement demand less those teachers (other than new graduates) who enter the teaching workforce during the year. These entrants could be returning teachers or migrants. The net replacement rate is broadly a measure of the training rate required to satisfy the demand for teachers.

Pool of teachers (or pool teachers), refer to qualified teachers who are not currently part of employed teachers (as defined above) but are available for permanent or contract positions or would be under certain circumstances. These qualified teachers may currently be unemployed, be working in another occupation or in teaching as casual or relief teachers.

Recruitment difficulties, is used to refer to the situation where teaching vacancies are hard-to-fill and would normally require more concerted recruitment action, such as head hunting, to fill.

Replacement demand, is demand for teachers which stems from the need to recruit new teachers to replace those lost via separation (see definition for more details) from the teaching workforce. It affects both permanent and contract teachers.

Separation, also referred to as attrition or wastage, is a measure of the reduction in the teacher workforce as a result of teachers leaving the workforce (either permanently or for shorter periods). The measure has been defined to include retirements, teacher resignations, teachers going on leave, contract expiration and other categories such as deaths and dismissals.

Separation rate is the number of teachers who separate as a percentage of the teaching workforce. Separation rate can be defined only for permanent teachers or for permanent and contract teachers combined. In this report, separation rate refers to permanent teachers, unless otherwise indicated.

Shortages or shortfalls, refers to the inability to find sufficient numbers of suitably qualified teachers to satisfy the desired or target level of teachers. This difference is commonly referred to as “teacher shortages”. Unlike recruitment difficulties shortages may persist and not be resolved by normal recruitment practices such as advertising.

Student teaching staff ratio (STR), is the number of students enrolled divided by numbers of teachers employed. In this report, both students and teachers are expressed as full-time equivalents to derive this ratio.

Studies of society and the environment (SOSE), is one of eight key learning areas listed under MCEETYA’s National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty-first Century. SOSE includes the subjects of history, geography, economics, politics, sociology, anthropology, law, psychology and ethics.

Technology, is one of eight key learning areas listed under MCEETYA’s National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty-first Century. Technology includes subjects such as computer studies, agricultural science, business studies, home economics, manual arts, industrial technology and design.

Training rate is the ratio of teacher completions (or graduates) to the teaching workforce.

Demand and Supply of Primary and Secondary School Teachers in Australia

Part E Complementary Research Papers

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Table of Contents

1. Trends in the supply of Languages other than English (LOTE) teachers ....................3

Executive summary.................................................................................................................3 1. Background........................................................................................................................5 2. Teacher skill shortages in languages .................................................................................7 3. The demand for languages teachers ..................................................................................9 4. The supply of languages teachers....................................................................................10

Languages in the secondary education sector..................................................................10 Languages in the tertiary education sector .......................................................................13

5. Conclusion .......................................................................................................................17 References ...........................................................................................................................18 Appendix A –Languages for Secondary schools ...................................................................19

2. Factors that are important in attracting and retaining young teachers ......................20 Executive summary...............................................................................................................20 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................23 2. Broad characteristics of young teachers.....................................................................25

Age distribution.................................................................................................................26 Years worked by teachers ................................................................................................27 Employment status of teachers ........................................................................................28

3. Qualifications and teaching responsibilities ................................................................30 Teachers’ qualifications ....................................................................................................30 Secondary teachers’ qualifications relating to the subject they teach................................31 Grades taught (first list) ....................................................................................................32 Workload and time spent on teaching and non-teaching activities ....................................33

4. Perceptions and attitudes towards the teaching profession ........................................37 Pre-teaching working experience......................................................................................37 Initial reasons for becoming a teacher ..............................................................................38 Quality of teacher education received...............................................................................40 Difficult aspects of being a teacher ...................................................................................43

5. School environment and working conditions...............................................................47 6. Past career and/or school change and reasons .........................................................50

Past experience of career(s) change and reasons............................................................50 Past experience of changing schools and reasons ...........................................................50

7. Future career plan and education...............................................................................53 Current or future study plans ............................................................................................53 Reasons for choosing to study .........................................................................................55 Future career plan ............................................................................................................57

8. Factors that are important in retaining and attracting young teachers.........................58 Young teachers’ suggestions on encouraging current teachers to remain in the teaching profession.........................................................................................................................58 Young teachers’ suggestions on encouraging people to enter the teaching profession ....60

9. Summary and conclusions .........................................................................................65 Attachment A ........................................................................................................................66

3. Australian Graduates working overseas in the education profession (from the Australian Emigration Survey 2002).......................................................................................75

Executive summary...............................................................................................................75 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................76 2. Background................................................................................................................78

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3. Broad characteristics of respondents .........................................................................78 Age distribution.................................................................................................................79 Educational background ...................................................................................................81

4. Current and previous employment status ...................................................................82 5. Reasons for leaving Australia to live overseas ...........................................................86 6. Reasons for returning to Australia ..............................................................................88 7. Reasons for not returning to Australia ........................................................................92 8. Conclusion .................................................................................................................94 References ...........................................................................................................................95 Attachment A ........................................................................................................................96

4. Teachers Exit Rates and Labour Mobility ................................................................... 104 Executive summary............................................................................................................. 104 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 104 2. Labour Mobility Data for Teachers - caveats on the data.......................................... 105 3. Number of teachers who changed occupation.......................................................... 105 4. Exit rate for teachers ................................................................................................ 108 5. Summary and conclusion ......................................................................................... 111

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1. Trends in the supply of Languages other than English (LOTE) teachers

Executive summary This paper has been prepared by the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training for the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA).

The 2003 MCEETYA report Demand and Supply of Primary and Secondary Teachers in Australia noted that although the supply of primary school teachers was broadly in balance, recruitment difficulties existed for some teachers in certain secondary specialisations – including for Languages Other Than English (LOTE). This view was also supported by the Australian Secondary Principals Association (ASPA) who expressed concern that the supply of languages teachers may not be adequate to meet emerging needs.

The demand for languages teachers and all teachers in general, will be affected by both the growth in primary and secondary school student enrolments and by student-to-teacher ratios. The demand for teachers is also influenced by the number of teachers exiting the profession through retirement, resignations, deaths and dismissals. At the same time, patterns in student participation in languages in upper secondary school are an indication of the extent of the future supply of languages teachers – today’s language students, in part, form the basis for tomorrow’s supply of languages teachers.

Together the secondary and tertiary education sectors provide a broad indication of the potential future supply of languages teachers, however the motivational and vocational links between studying a language in senior secondary school and subsequently teaching a language in a classroom is based on assumption. While it is impossible to tell how many secondary school language students enrol in language teaching courses at university, broad trends in both provide an indicator of the potential supply of languages teachers (as languages teachers are assumed to have some prior academic exposure to a language).

In order to gain an estimate of the supply of languages teachers, a proxy measure is used to estimate tertiary graduates of language courses transferring into employment into teaching fields. The proxy measures annual Bachelor of Education course enrolments and Post-graduate Diploma enrolments (with language specialisations) to indicate broad numbers of individuals qualified to teach a language. At best the proxy indicates a partial supply of languages teachers as not all teachers who enter the teaching profession do so directly from university, nor do all go on to teach a language after language study at university. At worst the proxy can lead to overestimations in supply.

Given that teaching is exclusively an all-graduate profession the proxy is the most appropriate measure of teacher supply available. It should also be noted that an individual in tertiary education may be studying more than one language subject. In other words, language subject enrolments and completions at the university level does not necessarily equate to qualified teachers being available to teach languages in schools.

Tertiary education course enrolments, including Bachelor of Education courses and Post-graduate Diploma courses in Education, have been increasing in recent years. However this has not translated into higher enrolments for LOTE subject areas within these courses. Given such strong enrolment data in Education courses generally in recent years, and subdued enrolment data in language areas of Education courses, from a skill shortage perspective, it

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appears that languages teachers may still be in significant demand if the tertiary education sector is relied upon as the predominant source of teacher supply. Even as some States offer financial incentives to attract and retain languages teachers, continued growth in the number of students studying a language in secondary school may still impact on the supply of languages teachers in the medium term.

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1. Introduction In recent years, as at present, there has been concern that Australia is facing significant shortages in primary and secondary school teachers. At present the teacher labour market is broadly in balance, but the future position is expected to include the persistence of current shortages in some specialist and some geographic areas. Further, the projected situation for greater age-based teacher retirements points to one of general shortfall.

The 2003 Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) report Demand and Supply of Primary and Secondary Teachers in Australia noted that recruitment difficulties existed in certain secondary specialisations – including Languages Other Than English (LOTE). This view was also supported by the Australian Secondary Principals Association (ASPA) who expressed concern that the supply of languages teachers may not be adequate to meet emerging needs. 1

The report suggested that the extent of any future shortfalls in teaching staff will depend on the success of policy initiatives to attract and retain teachers. Workforce planning to target potential sources of teachers and training those people to become teachers will also be important. This strategy was endorsed by the MCEETYA Teacher Quality and Educational Leadership Taskforce (TQELT) in developing a work program for analysis of teacher supply and demand issues for 2004 – 05, including supply and demand issues for languages teachers.

In 2003, MCEETYA reported recruitment difficulties for some secondary teaching specialisations, namely in Mathematics; Science; and Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) areas. Recruitment difficulties were also identified for secondary teachers specialising in languages, however these were suggested to be less serious than recruitment difficulties for Mathematics, Science and ICT teachers. 2

This report provides an overview of the supply of teachers of Languages Other Than English (“languages teachers”). Section 2 provides LOTE definitions and context, with Section 3 canvassing broader economic indicators on languages teacher skill shortages. Section 4 follows to examine the demand for languages teachers with the potential supply of languages teachers considered in Section 5. Concluding remarks form Section 6.

1. Background Multiculturalism and multilingualism has been a feature of Australian society in recent decades and considerable emphasis is placed in school environments for language education delivery.

Reflecting this, Languages Other Than English became one of the key learning areas (KLAs) under the first National Goals for Schooling in Australia in 1989. Prior to 1989, LOTE was not a standard part of primary school curriculum offerings.

Whilst a broader range of languages is generally provided amongst secondary schools for a larger number of language students, the efforts of primary schools to provide language education is not without significant challenges. APPA suggests that primary schools face greater pressure in language education delivery given the degree of teacher specialisation required - particularly in school environments where long-term languages programs cannot be guaranteed indefinitely.3

1 Source: Australian Secondary Principals’ Association, Policy Statement, Languages Other Than English, August 2002 2 Source: MCEETYA (2003) Demand and Supply of Primary and Secondary School Teachers in Australia 3 Source: The Place of Languages other than English in Primary Schools (APPA, 2002)

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The Australian Government administers the Schools Languages Programme of approximately $25 million a year. The programme supports school languages provision at all levels of schooling across all sectors, in addition to supporting community languages programmes through ethnic schools. The Programme supports this key learning area from the National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty-First Century because it is possibly the most difficult of the KLAs to secure in schools.4

In 2002, there were around 26,100 Year 12 enrolments in a language course rising by 22.5 per cent (or by around 4,800) from a decade earlier.5 However a smaller share of Year 12 enrolments are in language subjects than are in any other key learning area. In 2002, enrolments in language subjects accounted for 3 per cent6 of total Year 12 enrolments (with some variation among States) – significantly less than for other elective subjects such as Arts (8 per cent) and Technology (10 per cent). Chart 1 shows the distribution of subject enrolments for Year 12 students for 2002 (latest data), with further analysis of the trends in participation in secondary school contained in Section 5.

Chart 1 Percentage of Year 12 enrolments by key learning area, 2002, Australia.

STUDIES OF SOCIETY

AND THE ENVIRONMENT

22

MATHEMATICS

18

ENGLISH

19

HEALTH AND PHSYICAL EDUCATION

4

TECHNOLOGY

10

SCIENCE

15

ARTS

8

LOTE

3

Source: Department of Education, Science and Training, derived from data supplied by State secondary accreditation

authorities

From Year 9, most language subjects undertaken by students are normally taken as an elective unit of study. Data from student participation in 2001 in National Asian Languages and Studies in Australian Schools (NALSAS) languages suggest that the highest rates of participation in language courses occur at the upper primary and lower secondary levels of schooling.

4 Source: MCEETYA (1999) http://www.mceetya.edu.au/nationalgoals/index.htm 5 Source: Department of Education, Science & Training, derived from data supplied by State secondary accreditation authorities 6 Enrolments are in tertiary accredited Year 12 subjects only. This figure refers to enrolments in LOTE subjects as a share of total enrolments in all subjects.

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Over 140 languages are taught in Australian schools (approximately half are Indigenous languages). In 2002, six languages accounted for around 80 per cent of language enrolments for Year 12 students. These were: Japanese, German, Chinese, Italian, French and Indonesian. (Appendix A provides broader language subjects mainly taught in secondary schools).

Where language programs are offered in primary schools, they are usually taught by specialist primary school teachers. This factor highlights an important issue for many primary and secondary schools, that is, their dependence on the availability of qualified languages teachers.7 8 The range of language courses differs between schools, dependent on curriculum and community, and in general, the popularity of some language courses over others may reflect underlying (and emerging) cultural and economic partnerships.

While languages teachers, as with all other teachers, are not listed on the Migrant Occupations in Demand List 9, they may still be sourced from the General Skilled Migration program. Subject to eligibility requirements, this would typically be through the ‘independent’ and ‘skill matching’ Visa categories. While the General Skilled Migration program can augment the general supply of labour – including that for languages teachers – the majority of languages teachers, however, are sourced onshore. This paper, and in particular in Section 5, concentrates specifically on the largest supply source of teachers – that is, recent university graduates entering employment as teachers for the first time.

2. Teacher skill shortages in languages Some occupations, particularly for teaching, are experiencing skill shortages with teacher scarcity varying across States and Territories, within primary and secondary schools as well as across subject specialisation.

For languages teachers, skill shortages do not exist uniformly across all language subjects. In 2004 for example, DEWR indicated that secondary teacher shortages exist for Indonesian, Japanese, Italian and French languages (German teachers were identified in addition to these languages to be in shortage in 2003) in Victoria.10 Other States and Territories were experiencing different levels of shortage for different languages particularly across secondary schools – South Australia for example, reports teacher shortages in secondary schools mainly for Asian languages.11 Areas of shortage are more likely to be reported in those States where the study of languages is compulsory such as Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. Table 1 presents National and State Skill Shortages for secondary school teachers.

7 Source: The Place of Languages other than English in Primary Schools (APPA, 2002). 8 For example, in Queensland, there is a requirement for LOTE teachers to successfully complete a LOTE Proficiency Interview to gain employment as a LOTE teacher in State Schools. This provides an additional step in the process of entering the profession for potential LOTE teachers. 9 Source: http://www.immi.gov.au/migration/skilled/modl.htm. (Current as at 20 Aug 2004) 10 The 2004 Teacher recruitment survey of Government schools (internal survey) indicated that Indonesian, Italian and Japanese were the top three language difficulties for primary schools and Indonesian, Italian and German were the top three language difficulties for secondary schools. 11 Source: National and State Skill Shortage List Australia, 2004 (DEWR).

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Table 1 Secondary Teacher skill shortages, by type and location

AUST NSW VIC QLD SA WA TAS NT

Secondary Teachers D* * R-D* * * * S*

Manual Arts/Tech Studies D S* D S R-D*

Maths/Science D D S R-D S

Physics/Chemistry D R-D* S

General Science S* D

Maths S D R-D* S

LOTE S* D S* R-D*

Home Economics S R-D*

Information Technology S D

Special Education R-D*

Religious Education S

Physical Education S

* = Shortages may be restricted to specialist skills

R-D = Recruitment difficulties in regional areas

S = State - wide shortage

D = Recruitment difficulties Source: DEWR National and State Skill Shortage Lists – Australia 2004

Latest data for 2003 indicate that over two-thirds of full-time school students attend government schools.12 Despite the size of the government school sector, teacher shortages and recruitment difficulties occur (albeit to varying degrees) in both the government and non-government school systems for both primary and secondary schools.

The 2003 MCEETYA report Demand and Supply of Primary and Secondary School Teachers in Australia conducted surveys to assess the teacher labour market. Of government schools, the report noted that ‘moderate’ recruitment difficulties of languages teachers in primary and secondary teachers in South Australia, Western Australia and in the Australian Capital Territory. Other jurisdictions experienced ‘minor’ language teacher recruitment difficulties with New South Wales reporting no difficulty for government primary schools. (See footnote for definitions).13

Non-government primary and secondary schools also recorded recruitment difficulties for languages teachers, although under different survey methodology. Across teaching areas, the highest level of recruitment difficulty for primary schools was for languages teachers where Australia-wide in 2002, over 53 per cent of responding non-government primary schools reported ‘moderate or acute recruitment difficulties’. For secondary schools, recruitment difficulties for languages teachers were second only to the difficulty in the recruitment of technology teachers (47.7 per cent and 50 per cent respectively for responding schools).

Compared with Mathematics teacher shortages (in 2001), language teacher shortages were less severe in government secondary schools but more pronounced in non-government secondary schools (in 2002). Government secondary schools reported ‘acute’ teacher recruitment difficulties in Mathematics subjects in four States and Territories, compared with ‘moderate’ recruitment difficulties in three States and Territories for languages teachers.

12 Source: ABS (2004) Schools Australia (Catalogue # 4221.0) 13 Acute – Broad recruitment deficit (widespread shortfalls) Moderate – Unable to satisfactorily meet demand in some locations (some shortfalls) Minor – Just able to satisfy the demand for teachers (significant shortfalls avoided) None – Abundant teacher supplies (easily able to satisfy demand).

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For non-government secondary schools, it appears that recruitment difficulties for languages teachers are slightly higher than those for Mathematics teachers (47.7 per cent and 41.5 per cent respectively for responding schools experiencing ‘moderate or acute’ teacher shortages).

The shortages and recruitment difficulties for languages teachers identified in the National and State Skill Shortage List is broadly consistent with shortages and recruitment difficulties identified for languages teachers in the 2003 MCEETYA Report Demand and Supply of Primary and Secondary School Teachers in Australia. The Department is currently conducting similar School Staffing Surveys to those contained in the 2003 MCEETYA Report. This will assess shortages and recruitment difficulties for teachers across all States and Territories.

3. The demand for languages teachers The demand for languages teachers, and all teachers in general, will be affected by the growth in primary and secondary school student enrolments and by student-to-teacher ratios. The demand for teachers is also influenced by the number of teachers exiting the profession through retirement, resignations, deaths and dismissals.

Ten years of data from 1993 show primary school enrolments increasing by 6.2 per cent, with secondary school enrolments rising by 8.4 per cent.14 At the same time, there has been a general reduction in student to teacher ratios over the decade. In 2003, the average number of FTE primary school students per FTE teacher was 16.6 (down from 18.4 a decade earlier). The equivalent student to teacher ratio for secondary schools in 2003 was 12.4 (no change from a decade earlier).

The 2003 MCEETYA report Demand and Supply of Primary and Secondary School Teachers in Australia noted that as a consequence of rising student enrolments and falling student-to-teacher ratios teacher employment experienced relatively strong growth. In fact, the growth in teacher employment over the decade was more pronounced for primary school teachers than for secondary school teachers with growth of around 18 per cent over the period – around double the growth of secondary school teachers.

Projections of the supply of languages teachers appear to be tightening in both the primary and secondary school sectors with estimates of the supply of languages teachers falling over the period to 2010 by around 25 per cent from 2004 levels.15

At the same time as patterns in participation in languages influence the demand for languages teachers, patterns in participation of languages in secondary school are also an indication of the extent of future supply of languages teachers. Today’s language students, in part, form the basis for tomorrow’s supply of languages teachers.

A number of States and Territories offer incentives packages to attract teachers into teaching in a language area or to retrain existing teachers. A scan of State and Territory Education Authorities’ websites reveals that three broad initiatives exist across Australia (although not all States and Territories appear to offer one or all of the measures to attract languages teachers). Most States offer teacher exchanges for languages teachers - generally for an intensive period of study in an overseas country. The Western Australian Government Department of Education and Training offers scholarships (up to the value of $10,000) to students completing their final year of a teaching degree and qualified to teach in Indonesian or Japanese. As well as a lump

14 Primary School Year 7 in Qld, SA, WA and NT. Secondary Year 7 in NSW, Vic, Tas and ACT. Source: ABS (2004) Schools Australia (Catalogue # 4221.0) 15 Source: Unpublished DEST estimates, Skills Analysis and Quality Schooling Section (2002)

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sum payment, an employment contract of two years is offered to scholarship recipients to teach in a government school in a rural area.16

In Victoria and Tasmania, undergraduates and practising teachers undertaking language studies may receive studies assistance as part of an incentives package.

The Victorian Government Department of Education and Training offers a LOTE retraining program as part of its ‘Languages Strategy’, providing up to $20,000 per teacher for course costs and relief teaching assistance where necessary. Up to 125 existing teachers are expected to be “retrained in an additional curriculum area or will upgrade their qualifications to allow them to teach at more senior levels within their school”.17

The Tasmanian Government Department of Education, Training and Information can also assist teachers wishing to develop their skills in a language. Subject to eligibility criteria, the Department can assist teachers to achieve (free of charge) a Graduate Certificate in Education (Primary LOTE teaching) or a Graduate Diploma of Education (LOTE teaching) in areas such as French, Japanese, Indonesian, German or Italian.18

4. The supply of languages teachers The secondary and tertiary education sectors can provide a broad indication of the potential future supply of languages teachers, however the link between studying a language in senior secondary school and subsequently teaching a language in a classroom is based on assumption. While it is impossible to tell how many secondary school language students enrol in language courses at university, broad trends in both provide an indicator of the potential supply of languages teachers (as languages teachers are assumed to have some prior exposure to a language which is generally studied in secondary schooling). Both secondary school language courses and university language courses are discussed separately.

Languages in the secondary education sector Time-series enrolment data for secondary school language students are available at Year 12 level only. In 2002 (latest data), around 26,100 Year 12 enrolments in Australia were in a language, the highest level since 1994. The data presented in Chart 5 indicate the number of Year 12 enrolments in a language course in the decade to 2002.19

16 Source: http://www.eddept.wa.edu.au/HRrecruitment/html/scholarships.htm 17 Source: Department of Education & Training (2004), Teacher Supply and Demand in government schools. 18 Source: http://www.education.tas.gov.au/recognition/documents/lote.htm#Client 19 LOTE enrolment data is not available for earlier years of secondary schooling, but it is likely that the share of enrolments in a LOTE in lower secondary school would be greater than the Year 12 enrolment share.

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Chart 5 Year 12 enrolments in language courses, 1992-2002

20,000

22,000

24,000

26,000

28,000

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Source: Department of Education Science and Training, derived from data supplied by State secondary accreditation

authorities

Despite volatility in secondary Year 12 language subject enrolments, a slight upward trend is evident over time. The uptrend in enrolment numbers drives demand expectations, with language course enrolments predicted to continue to grow in future years as multiculturalism and multilingualism ideals are embraced. This underscores the continued need for languages teachers in all learning environments.

As a corollary, the trend in Chart 5 may also indicate the numbers likely to be qualified to study as languages teachers, given languages studied at university are often preceded by language study in Year 12. However our estimation is that an insufficient number of students studying languages at secondary schools go on to study languages at university and an even smaller number of students will leave university qualified to teach them.

Table 2 shows the number and gender of Year 12 language enrolments by State and Territory. It shows that Victoria contributes the largest share of Year 12 language enrolments (38.7 per cent), followed by New South Wales (29.7 per cent). Even though females are more likely than males to undertake a language course across all States and Territories, the distribution of female participation in language courses varies between States and Territories. Around 71 per cent of language enrolments in Queensland are female compared with 58 per cent and 60 per cent female shares in the Northern Territory and in the Australian Capital Territory. In addition to Victoria having the largest number of Year 12 language enrolments, Victoria accounts for the largest share of male enrolments in a language course (42 per cent).

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Table 2 Year 12 language enrolments by State/Territory and gender, 2002 M F All

NSW 2,536 5,239 7,775

VIC 3,719 6,393 10,112

QLD 1,078 2,702 3,780

SA 648 1,316 1,964

WA 432 978 1,410

TAS 104 174 278

NT 63 88 151

ACT 270 403 673

AUS 8,850 17,293 26,143 Source: Department of Education Science and Training, derived from data supplied by State secondary accreditation

authorities.

Chart 6 reflects small annual percentage point volatility in the proportion of Year 12 students20 undertaking a language course. From a proportional peak in 1994 (at 14.97 per cent), the share of Year 12 students undertaking a tertiary entrance language subject in 2002 (latest data) was 13.5 per cent, falling 0.38 of a percentage point from the share in 2001.

Chart 6 Percentage of Year 12 students20 undertaking a language course, 1992-2002

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12

13

14

15

16

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Source: Department of Education, Science and Training, derived from data supplied by State secondary accreditation

authorities

Most of the variation in the share of Year 12 students studying a language appears to be from the variation in the number of Year 12 students (the denominator). In the ten years to 2002, the

20 This figure uses the number of enrolments in Year 12 LOTE as a proxy for the number of Year 12 students studying LOTE, as it is assumed that very few Year 12 students would study more than one LOTE subject. The denominator uses ABS data on the number of Year 12 students each year from Schools, Australia (Cat. # 4221.0).

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average growth rate in the number of Year 12 enrolments in a language subject was around 2.3 per cent per year, outstripping the average annual growth rate for Year 12 enrolments (at 0.1 per cent). For 2002, enrolments in language courses appear to be holding (Chart 5), even though the proportion of Year 12 students studying a language has declined (Chart 6).

Table 3 presents the top five languages studied across Year 12 over the five years to 2002. Figures in parentheses show the share of all language enrolments represented in each language for the year.21

Table 3 Top 5 languages, Year 12 (share of all Year 12 language enrolments) 1998-2002 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

1 Japanese (21.6%) Japanese (21.6%) Japanese (21.5%) Japanese (20.7%) Japanese (20.3%)

2 French (16.4%) French (16.8%) French (16.6%) French (16.4%) French (16.2%)

3 German (10.9%) German (11.0%) Chinese (11.9%) Chinese (13.7%) Chinese (15.7%)

4 Chinese (10.5%) Chinese (10.7%) German (11.2%) German (10.7%) German (10.3%)

5 Italian (8.1%) Italian (8.0%) Indonesian (8.5%) Indonesian (8.6%) Italian (8.4%)

Table 3 shows that the share of Year 12 language enrolments in Japanese and French has remained stable over the last five years. The largest growth in language studies over the last five years has been for Chinese, with the share of all Year 12 language enrolments in Chinese language studies rising 5.2 percentage points since 1998. This is not surprising given the Australian Government’s support for the NALSAS Strategy over the period in promoting Asian languages and studies across all curriculum areas and given the increased number of background speakers of Chinese studying Chinese in Year 12.

Languages in the tertiary education sector

All States and Territories have specific qualification requirements for the recruitment of languages teachers. While there is some variation between States, generally languages teachers need to have completed a sub major in the language as a minimum.22

A typical Bachelor of Education (BEd) course has a duration of 4 years full-time study with a Post-graduate Diploma or Honours adding an additional year of full-time study.23 Some universities (e.g. Monash, La Trobe, Deakin and Murdoch universities) offer particular streams for students wishing to study and teach a language with a number of universities offering units on LOTE Curriculum Studies (theoretical and practical courses involved in the teaching and learning of languages). Where students are able to specialise in a language in undergraduate and post-graduate Education courses, some restrictions can exist as language majors are usually offered as part of secondary school teaching courses only.

Students may also undertake language units at university as part of elective courses, however these units vary in the level of assumed language knowledge and therefore by eligibility. In addition, languages study may also be undertaken in other university courses aside from Bachelor of Education courses, such as:

• Bachelor of International Studies (Languages);

21 Source: Department of Education, Science & Training, derived from data supplied by State secondary

accreditation authorities. 22 From information on teacher supply and proficiency collected for the National Asian Languages and Studies in Australian Schools (NALSAS) Taskforce, December 2000. 23 Some universities offer combined degrees (i.e. Bachelor of Arts/ Bachelor of Education which may take longer to complete or offer post-graduate degrees (Bachelor of Teaching).

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• Bachelor of Asian Studies;

• Bachelor of Arts, and

• Bachelor of Languages.

The language component of each Bachelor course varies between courses. In general, for Bachelor of Education courses (the main qualification held by practising teachers) language subjects account for a relatively small share of course units, with core pedagogical units accounting for the majority of the course structure (however this does depend on course duration and credit points).

It should also be noted that languages study may be undertaken in other university or Technical and Further Education (TAFE) courses including:

• Diploma of Languages;

• Diploma In Applied Languages (LOTE);

• Diploma of Interpreting (LOTE/English);

• Graduate Certificate in Communicative Teaching for LOTE;

• Graduate Certificate in Education (Primary LOTE Teaching); or

• Graduate Diploma of Education (LOTE teaching).

Data are not currently available to estimate the number of final-year BEd language students who gain employment after the completion of their studies in teacher occupation fields. It should also be noted that an individual in tertiary education may be studying more than one language subject. In other words, subject enrolments and completions do not necessarily reflect the number of teachers potentially available.

In order to gain an indicative measure of the supply of languages teachers, a proxy measure is used to estimate graduates of university language courses transferring into employment in teaching fields. The proxy measures annual Bachelor of Education enrolments and Post-graduate Diploma enrolments (both with language specialisations) to indicate broad numbers of individuals qualified to teach a language. At best the proxy indicates a partial supply of languages teachers as not all teachers that enter the teaching profession do so directly from university, nor do all go on to teach a language after language study at university; at worst the proxy can lead to overestimations in the supply of languages teachers. The proxy measure is not however removed from debate, and caution is necessary in its use as an indicator of the supply of languages teachers. Still, given that teaching is exclusively an all-graduate profession, the proxy is the most appropriate measure of teacher supply available.24

Chart 7 reflects the proportion of Bachelor and Post-graduate Diploma in Education enrolments in language subjects as a share of all Bachelor and Diploma in Education enrolments over the decade to 2002.25

24 Courses may not be universally available within each State/Territory. Students in these courses have not been included in supply estimates. 25 Post-graduate Diplomas – includes extending study and knowledge in a professional area previously studied. Does not include Post-graduate Diplomas where study is undertaken in an area not previously studied.

15

15

Chart 7 Proportion of Bachelor of Education (pass & honours) and Post-Graduate students undertaking language courses, 1992-2002, as a share of all enrolments in education

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Source: Higher Education Statistics, Department of Education, Science and Training (unpublished data), 2004.

The data suggest that the share of Bachelor and Post-graduate Diploma of Education students undertaking language courses flattened over recent years from a peak of 5.5 per cent in 1994 to 3.5 per cent in 2002. It should be noted that actual student numbers completing language courses will be below actual student numbers enrolled in language courses (due to course non-completions), and that the trend in Chart 7 is only indicative.

Table 4 shows a general decline in both the number of Bachelor of Education students and Post-graduate Diploma of Education students with language specialisations over the decade to 2002.26 Enrolments in languages for 2001 and 2002 appear to have reversed the downward trend however, but reinforce the general sluggishness of enrolments in languages in BEd and Dip Ed courses over the decade.

26 Post-graduate Diplomas – includes extending study and knowledge in a professional area previously studied. Does not include Post-graduate Diplomas where study is undertaken in an area not previously studied.

16

16

Table 4 Enrolments in languages courses by qualification, 1992 – 2002.

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

B.Ed (pass & honours) 2451 2273 2775 2245 2015 2131 1836 1765 1797 1971 1990

Dip. Ed 109 60 42 24 23 37 28 40 76 36 35

Total 2560 2333 2817 2269 2038 2168 1864 1805 1873 2007 2025 Source: Department of Education, Science and Training, Higher Education Group (unpublished data), 2004.

However the growth in Bachelor and Post-graduate Diploma students enrolled in language units (assumed to be a proxy for language teacher supply) has not kept pace with the growth in overall Bachelor and Post-graduate Diploma Education students. Over the decade to 2002, the annual growth in Bachelor and Post-graduate Diploma Education enrolments was almost 1 per cent per year, while enrolments of Bachelor and Post-graduate Diploma language students declined by 2.3 per cent per year.

Chart 8 indicates the number of Bachelor of Education students and Post-graduate Diploma of Education students enrolled in language subjects over the years 1992 – 2002 to give some notion of trends in the supply of languages teachers.

Chart 8 Number of Bachelor of Education students and Post-Graduate students enrolled language units, 1992-2002*.

1000

1250

1500

1750

2000

2250

2500

2750

3000

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Source: Department of Education, Science & Training (unpublished data), 2004. Prior to 2001, LOTE units were not identifiable by geographical locality. All Languages were broadly collected under the Field “Languages other than English”. As at 2001, LOTE were identified by geographical locality. Data after and including 2001, fall into various sub-groups including “Eastern Asian Languages”, Southern European Languages, Eastern European Languages, South West Asian Languages. For components of each sub-group, note DEST’s Student help File – Appendix I, Field of Education Classifications.

The data indicate that the number of BEd and Post-graduate Diploma students enrolled in language subjects declined over the decade to year 2002, despite displaying slight volatility over the period (see Chart 8). Most recent data, for 2002, indicate that over 2,000 BEd students and

17

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Post-graduate Diploma in Education students enrolled in language units, a decline from a peak of over 2,800 in 1994.

Comparison of data presented in Charts 7 and 8 suggest that although tertiary education course enrolments have been increasing in recent years, this has not translated into higher enrolments in language subject areas. Given such strong enrolment data in Education courses generally in recent years, and subdued enrolment data within language areas of Education courses, it appears from a skill shortage perspective, ‘new’ languages teachers may still be in significant demand if the tertiary education sector is relied upon as the prominent source of teacher supply. This is again reinforced through the predicted growth in demand of the number of students studying a language in secondary schools.

5. Conclusion This report has provided an overview of language students as a basis for assessing the supply of teachers of language courses.

In 2003, MCEETYA identified overall recruitment difficulties for a number of key learning areas, including recruitment difficulties in language areas. However, the extent of language teacher recruitment difficulties varies between States and Territories, with some reporting difficulties only for particular languages. A further element of variance for States and Territories is for teacher shortages, with teacher shortages in language subjects varying not only across borders but between primary and secondary schools and between public and private schools.

From a demand-side perspective, languages students, including Year 12 students, indicate an increasing commitment to language education. This is not surprising given the focus of multiculturalism and multilingualism in the wider community, and also given the increased importance of languages programmes in school curricula.

The proxy for language teacher supply indicates a downward trend in the number of languages teachers that may be sourced from the tertiary sector. It shows that the pool of languages teachers-in-training has fallen in recent years.

If the recent trend in student participation in secondary school language subjects continues on its path of modest annual growth, coupled with the declining and sluggish share of tertiary Education students undertaking language subject specialisations, it is likely that the supply of languages teachers will remain an issue in the medium term. Some States have attempted to remedy this trend by offering incentives to attract and retain languages teachers.

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18

References Australian Council of Deans of Education Inc (2002), Review of the Commonwealth Languages Other Than English (LOTE) in Schools Programme, located at http://acde.edu.au/assets/pdf/LOTEreview.PDF (online), viewed 24 May 2004. Australian Education Union (2001), Teacher Supply and Demand in the States and Territories, located at http://www.aeufederal.org.au/Publications/TeacherSupplyDemand.pdf (online), viewed 8 June 2004. Australian Primary Principals’ Association (2000), The Place of Languages Other Than English (LOTE) in the Primary School, located at http://www.appa.asn.au/files/LOTE_Position_Paper.doc (online) viewed 18 March 2004. Australian Secondary Principals’ Association (1999), Policy Paper – Teachers: Supply and Demand in Australian Public Schools, located at http://www.aspa.asn.au/Policies/polteach.htm (online) viewed 1 March 2004. Australian Secondary Principals’ Association (2002), Policy Paper – Languages Other Than English located at http://www.aspa.asn.au/Policies/LOTE2002.doc viewed 20 May 2004. Ballantyne, R; Bain, JD; Preston, B (2003), Teacher education courses and completions - Initial teacher education courses and 1999, 2000 and 2001 completions, Department of Education, Science and Training. Department of Education, Science and Training (2003), Australia’s Teachers: Australia’s Future – Advancing Innovation, Science, Technology and Mathematics, located at http://www.dest.gov.au/schools/teaching/teachingreview/documents/Main_Report.pdf (online) viewed 8 March 2004. Department of Education & Training (2004), Teacher Supply and Demand for government schools, located at http://www.det.vic.gov.au/det/resources/pdfs/TeacherSupply.pdf (online) viewed 9 April 2004 Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (2004), National and State Skill Shortage Lists – Australia 2004 located at www.workplace.gov.au (online) viewed 1 June 2004.

Erebus Consulting Partners (2002) Review of the Commonwealth Languages Other Than English Programme – A Report to the Department of Education, Science and Training. Fullarton, S; Ainley, J (2000) Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth – Research Report Number 15, Subject Choice by Students in Year 12 in Australian Secondary Schools, Australian Council for Educational Research. Harbon, L. (1997) The primary LOTE curriculum: the teachers and the impact of their stories, located at www.aare.edu.au/97pap/harbl106.htm (online) viewed 1 June 2004 Harbon, L. (2000) Students gaining increased global awareness: teacher research tracking implementation of LOTE curriculum policy, located at www.aare.edu.au/00pap/har00202.htm (online) viewed on 1 June 2004. Ministerial Council of Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (2003), Demand and Supply of Primary & Secondary School Teachers in Australia, located at http://www.mceetya.edu.au/pdf/demand/demand.pdf (online) viewed 1 March 2004. Preston, B. (2001) Policy and politics in teacher and nurse supply and demand projections, located at www.aare.edu.au/01pap/pre01633.htm (online) viewed 8 June 2004.

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19

Appendix A –Languages for Secondary schools ALBANIAN ANCIENT GREEK ARABIC ARABIC (EXTENDED) ARMENIAN AUSLAN AUSTRALIAN INDIGENOUS BENGALI CHINESE CHINESE (EXTENDED) CHINESE: (ACCELERATED) CHINESE: (SPECIALIST) CHINESE: SECOND LANGUAGE GREEK CLASSICAL GREEK CROATIAN CROATIAN (EXTENDED) CZECH DUTCH FILIPINO FRENCH FRENCH (ACCELERATED) FRENCH (EXTENDED) GERMAN GERMAN (ACCELERATED) GERMAN EXTENSION HEBREW HINDI HUNGARIAN HUNGARIAN (EXTENDED) INDONESIAN INDONESIAN (ACCELERATED) INDONESIAN (EXTENDED) INDONESIAN/MALAYSIAN INDONESIAN: SECOND LANGUAGE ITALIAN ITALIAN (ACCELERATED) ITALIAN (EXTENDED) JAPANESE JAPANESE (ACCELERATED) JAPANESE (ADVANCED) JAPANESE (EXTENDED) KHMER KHMER (EXTENDED) KOREAN

KOREAN (EXTENDED) LATIN LATIN (EXTENDED) LATVIAN LITHUANIAN MACEDONIAN MALAYSIAN MALTESE MALTESE (EXTENDED) MODERN GREEK MODERN GREEK (EXTENDED) PERSIAN PERSIAN (EXTENDED) PERSIAN (SPECIALIST) POLISH POLISH (EXTENDED) PORTUGUESE PORTUGUESE (EXTENDED) ROMANIAN RUSSIAN RUSSIAN (EXTENDED) SERBIAN SERBIAN (EXTENDED) SINHALA SLOVENIAN SPANISH SPANISH (ACCELERATED) SPANISH (EXTENDED) SWEDISH SWEDISH (EXTENDED) TAMIL TRANSLATING TURKISH UKRAINIAN UKRAINIAN (EXTENDED) VIETNAMESE VIETNAMESE (EXTENDED) VIETNAMESE (SPECIALIST)

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2. Factors that are important in attracting and retaining young teachers

Executive summary An adequate supply of well trained, talented teachers is a major factor influencing the provision of quality teaching in Australia. In particular, given the likelihood of significant age based retirement among Australia’s teachers in the next decade, it is vital that young teachers continue in their profession. However, available data suggest that a significant proportion of young teachers are being lost to the profession after only a few years of employment as teachers.

This paper looks at factors that are important in attracting and retaining young teachers, drawing on data from the National Survey of Teachers was conducted by the Department of Education, Science and Training on behalf of the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) in 2002. The survey findings were reported as part of the MCEETYA report Demand and Supply of Primary and Secondary Teachers in Australia in 2002.

This paper presents the findings of a subgroup of teachers from the National Survey of Teachers, young teachers who have worked in the teaching profession for ten years or less; and aged 30 or under.

Many researchers pointed out that most teacher-exodus occurs within the first five years of teaching. However, teacher-exodus rates start to level off after five years27. According to White et al28, around one-third of teachers in United States leave the teaching profession within the first five years. In the United Kingdom, around 30 per cent of government school teachers leave teaching within the first five years.

The national attrition rate – the numbers who leave the profession - for Australian teachers is unknown. However, Churchill et al29 indicated that the attrition rates among the first year teacher employees of the State of Queensland are between 4.3 and 6.8 per cent and around 20 per cent over the first five years. White et al also assumed that the figure for Australian teachers’ attrition rate is at least 20 per cent over the first five years.

There have also been discussions of differences in attitudes to work by older and younger (generation X) teachers. Some commentators have drawn attention to the increasing proportion of generation X teachers in the teaching workforce.

Mulford30 referred to generation X teachers as “teachers who do not see teaching, let alone leadership, as a life-long career”. Mulford31 also stated that “the traditional notions of any career

27 Ingersoll, R (2001), Teacher Turnover, Teacher Shortages, and the Organisation of Schools, Centre for the Study of Teaching and Policy, University of Washington, January 2001, available at http://depts.washington.edu/ctpmail/PDFs/Turnover-Ing-01-2001.pdf 28 White, J. and Moss J. (2003), Professional Paradoxes: Context for Development of Beginning Teacher Identity and Knowledges, International Education Research Conference, AARE-NZARE, New Zealand, December, 2003, available at http://www.aare.edu.au/03pap/whi03354.pdf 29 Churcill, R. and Walkington, J. (2002), Last Year In; First Year Out: A Longitudinal Study of Learning to Teach, International Education Research Conference, AARE, Brisbane, December, 2002, available at http://www.aare.edu.au/02pap/chu02018.htm 30 Mulford, B. (2003), School Leaders: Changing Roles and Impact on Teacher and School Effectiveness, OECD Commissioned paper, pp32.

21

may no longer be as stable as they have been – for example, the attrition rate in the first five years after graduation for teachers in both England and USA is reported to be 50 per cent”. Mulford referenced the England and USA attrition rates to Day (1999)32 and Darling-Hammond (1990)33, respectively.

Mulford’s attrition rate of 50 per cent in the first five years for England and USA varies significantly from the White et al finding of 30 per cent. Unfortunately, the data on how these figures were estimated was not included in these papers.

The MCEETYA publication Demand and Supply of Primary and Secondary Teachers in Australia, has already indicated the importance of attracting retaining teachers to the teaching profession.

Hence, this paper examines the young teachers’ characteristics; qualifications; perceptions and attitudes towards the teaching profession; factors related to the school environment and teaching conditions; past career and/or school change and reasons; study and career plans; and views on factors that are important in attracting and retaining young teachers.

The National Survey of Teachers data suggest that most young teachers were motivated to become a teacher because they enjoy working with children. For young teachers, ‘Effective measures for handling student behaviour’; ‘Good leadership’; and ‘High job security’ were far more important factors than ‘Workload’; ‘Nice facilities’; and even ‘High salary’ when making decisions in becoming a teacher or in choosing between teaching positions.

Young teachers considered ‘Lack of resources or time’ as the most unpleasant or difficult aspect of being a teacher. Over a quarter of young teachers who participated in the survey were currently studying or planning to undertake study.

The top three suggestions provided by young teachers about how to encourage current teachers to stay in the profession were:

• ‘Increased resources/reduced workload’ (27.5 per cent);

• ‘Lift remuneration (salary)’ (23.1 per cent); and

• ‘Improved employment conditions other than remuneration’ (20.1 per cent).

Nearly one in three (31.3 per cent) young teachers suggested that ‘an improved public image of teaching, positive promotion of the profession’ would encourage people to enter the teaching profession; and ‘Increase remuneration’ was also suggested by a quarter (25.0 per cent) of young teachers.

The characteristics of young teachers who participated in the survey were:

• the average age of young teachers was 26.2 years old;

• they had worked an average of 3.6 years as teachers;

• over 90 per cent were born in Australia; and

• the majority (83.7 per cent) were employed on a permanent basis.

31 Ibid. 32 Day, C. (1999), Continuing professional development, London: Falmer Press. 33 Darling-Hammond, L. (1990), Teachers and teaching: Signs of changing professionalism, Houston Handbook of Research on Teacher Education, New York: Macmilan.

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The qualifications and teaching responsibilities of young teachers were:

• nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) held a Bachelor degree followed by a Postgraduate Diploma of Education (25.3 per cent) and a Masters degree (1.9 per cent);

• around one in two (53.0 per cent) were teaching a particular primary grade (i.e. kindergarten to grade 6) followed by secondary school grades (23.6 per cent); and

• on average, young teachers spent 56.9 per cent of their time in ‘Face-to-face teaching’; 27.6 per cent on ‘Preparing and grading’; 10.3 per cent on ‘Non-teaching activities’; and 5.3 per cent on ‘Assigned roles’.

Young teachers’ perceptions and attitudes towards the teaching profession reflected the following:

• about 88 per cent of young teachers did not have another career before entering teaching;

• both male (27.9 per cent) and female (35.2 per cent) young teachers provided ‘Enjoy working with children’ as their initial reason for becoming a teacher;

• one in three (32.9 per cent) young teachers felt their initial teacher training was of a high quality (rating 5 or 4) and 38.9 per cent rated it as ‘moderate’ (rating 3); and

• around 34.2 per cent of young teachers listed ‘Lack of resources or time’ followed by ‘Community/Parent attitudes’ (22.3 per cent) and ‘Student welfare issues’ (16.3 per cent) as the top three most unpleasant or difficult aspects of being a teacher.

Young teachers’ views on factors related to their school environment and teaching conditions revealed:

• the top three factors that were ‘very important’ to them in making decisions to become a teacher or in choosing between teaching positions were ‘Effective measures for handling student behaviour’ (78.0 per cent); ‘Good leadership’ (73.4 per cent); and ‘High job security’ (68.5 per cent); and

• ‘Workload’ (14.1 per cent) and ‘Nice facilities’ (19.0 per cent) received the least responses as ‘very important’ factors for young teachers’ career decisions.

Only a small minority (2.2 per cent) of young teachers had left teaching to work in another occupation but nearly one in five (19.0 per cent) had changed schools in the past two years, due to ‘End of contract’ (27.1 per cent); ‘Different lifestyle/change’ (21.4 per cent); and ‘Higher pay/promotion’ (15.7 per cent).

Over one-quarter (26 per cent) of young teachers were currently studying or planning to undertake study. About 38.3 per cent were aiming to secure a Masters degree, followed by a Bachelors degree (26.6 per cent); a specialist or graduate diploma (18.0 per cent); and retraining (16.0 per cent). Only one (1.1 per cent) response was for a Doctorate qualification.

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1. Introduction An adequate supply of well trained, talented teachers is a major factor influencing the provision of quality teaching in Australia. In particular, given the likelihood of significant age based retirement among Australia’s teachers in the next decade, it is vital that young teachers continue in their profession. However, available data suggest that a significant proportion of young teachers are being lost to the profession after only a few years of employment as teachers.

This paper reports further findings on young teachers34 from the National Survey of Teachers. The survey was conducted by the Department of Education, Science and Training on behalf of the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) in 2002.

A total of 2,355 teachers participated in this telephone survey during the third and fourth school terms, 2002. The survey included teachers from both the government and non-government school sectors, for both primary and secondary schools, and for metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas of Australia.

Survey participants were randomly chosen from a panel of 4,000 teachers, again selected at random by government and non-government education providers. A copy of the survey questionnaire is at Attachment A. The survey findings were reported as part of MCEETYA report Demand and Supply of Primary and Secondary Teachers in Australia in 2002.35

This paper presents the findings of a subgroup of teachers from the National Survey of Teachers, young teachers who have worked in the teaching profession for ten years or less; and aged 30 or under. It outlines following issues related to the young teachers’ :

• characteristics;

• qualifications;

• perceptions and attitudes towards the teaching profession;

• views on factors related to the school environment and teaching conditions;

• study and career plans; and

• views on factors that are important in attracting and retaining young teachers.

Many researchers pointed out that most of teacher-exodus occurs within the first five years of teaching36. According to White et al37, around one-third of teachers in United States leave the teaching profession within first five years. In the United Kingdom, around 30 per cent of government school teachers leave teaching within the first five years.

34 The young teachers in this paper are defined as aged less than or equal to thirty years old and worked in the teaching profession less than or equal to ten years. 35 Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) (2002), Demand and Supply of Primary and Secondary School Teachers in Australia in 2002, Part E(i), is available from the MCEETYA website http://www.curriculum.edu.au/mceetya/public/demand.htm 36 Ingersoll, R (2001). 37 White, J. and Moss J. (2003).

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The national attrition rate – the numbers who leave the profession - for Australian teachers is unknown. However, Churchill et al38 indicated that the attrition rates among the first year teacher employees of the State of Queensland are between 4.3 and 6.8 per cent and around 20 per cent over the first five years. White et al also assumed that the figure for Australian teachers’ attrition rate is at least 20 per cent.

There has also been discussions of differences in attitudes to work by older and younger (generation X) teachers. Some commentators have drawn attention to the increasing proportion of generation X teachers in the teaching workforce.

Mulford39 referred the generation X teachers as “teachers who do not see teaching, let alone leadership, as a life-long career”. Mulford40 also stated that “the traditional notions of any career may no longer be as stable as they have been – for example, the attrition rate in the first five years after graduation for teachers in both England and USA is reported to be 50 per cent”.

Mulford’s attrition rate of 50 per cent in the first five years for England and USA varies significantly from the White et al finding of 30 per cent. Unfortunately, the data on how these figures were estimated was not included in these papers.

38 Churcill, R. and Walkington, J. (2002) 39 Mulford, B. (2003). 40 Ibid.

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2. Broad characteristics of young teachers Of the 2,355 National Survey of Teachers respondents, 368 responses or 15.6 per cent were by young teachers. The 2001 Census41 reported that there were 252,706 teachers in Australia. Of those, 50,239 teachers or 19.9 per cent were aged between 15 and 30.

The total number of 368 young teachers’ responses provides a statistically reliable 95 per cent confidence interval that the true value of the variable of interest lies within the interval (0.449, 0.551). This also gives a Standard Error (SE) of 0.026 and a Relative Standard Error (RSE) of 5.2 per cent. To halve the RSE to 2.6 per cent, the sample size needs to be quadruple to 1,437.

The proportion of male and female responses for young teachers were 28.3 per cent and 71.7 per cent, respectively. The survey seems to be over-represented with young female teachers’ responses but this was expected. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Australian Social Trends 2003 article, School Teachers42, in full-time equivalent terms, there were 2.1 female teachers for every male teacher in 2002. Three-quarters of people completing teacher education courses in 2001 were women. The ABS article also stated that in 2001, around one-quarter (28 per cent) of all teachers were aged less than 35 years, a decrease from around half (51 per cent) in 1986.

Over 90 per cent (337 responses) of young teachers who participated in the National Survey of Teachers were born in Australia. The main countries of birth for overseas-born young teachers were England (25.8 per cent), New Zealand (16.1 per cent), Papua New Guinea (9.7 per cent), Netherlands, Macedonia and Malaysia (6.5 per cent share each). The average length of Australian residency for overseas-born young teachers was 19.3 years. This suggests that the majority completed their school education in Australia and attended Australian universities or teachers colleges.

About 59.8 per cent of respondents were primary teachers and 40.2 per cent were secondary teachers. Some 240 or 65.2 per cent of young teachers were employed at government schools, and 128 or 34.8 per cent of young teachers were employed at non-government schools. Just over 50.8 per cent of young teachers were teaching in metropolitan areas with 49.2 per cent teaching in non-metropolitan areas.

41 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2003), 2001 Census of Population and Housing, various issues, ABS, Canberra. 42 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2003), Australian Social Trends 2003 article School Teachers, 4102.0, ABS, Canberra.

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Age distribution

The average age of young teachers who responded to the survey was 26.2 years, 26.1 for females and 26.5 for males. The mode age was 24 for female teachers and 29 for male teachers. Chart 1 shows that some 30.2 per cent of young teachers were under 25 years old and 69.8 per cent were aged between 25 and 30.

Chart 1. Age distribution of young teachers

0.5

5.2

10.9

13.612.8

10.611.1

10.1

13.9

11.4

0

5

10

15

20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Age

Percentage

The distribution of age group by gender, Chart 2, shows that there were more female (32.6 per cent) than male (24.0 per cent) teachers aged under 25. However, the proportion of female teachers (67.4 per cent) was smaller than male teachers (76.0 per cent) for the 25 to 30 age group.

Chart 2. Age group of young teachers by gender

32.6

67.4

24.0

76.0

0

20

40

60

80

100

Under 25 25-30

Age Group

Pe

rce

nta

ge

Female Male

For the under 25 age group, there were more young teachers in non-metropolitan areas (35.4 per cent) than metropolitan areas (25.1 per cent). This distribution may link to an initial service requirement for teachers in some States where newly qualified teachers are required to work in the country before being eligible for city postings. There were more teachers in metropolitan areas (74.9 per cent) than non-metropolitan areas (64.6 per cent) for teachers aged 25 to 30, as shown in Chart 3.

27

Chart 3. Age distribution of young teachers by metropolitan and non-metropolitan

25.1

74.9

35.4

64.6

0

20

40

60

80

100

Under 25 25-30

Age group

Pe

rce

nta

ge

Metropolitan Non-metropolitan

Years worked by teachers Almost two-thirds (64.7 per cent) of young teachers had worked less than 5 years as a teacher and 35.3 per cent had worked between 5 to 10 years as a teacher.

Chart 4. Years worked by young teachers

64.7

35.3

0

20

40

60

80

100

< 5 yrs 5-10 yrs

Number of years

Pe

rce

nta

ge

The average years worked in the teaching profession for young teachers was 3.6 years. Female teachers on average had worked 3.7 years as a teacher while male teachers worked slightly less (3.4 years). For the under 25 years age group, both female (1.4 years) and male (1.3 years) teachers worked similar average years but for 25 to 30 age group, female teachers (4.9 years) on average had worked longer than male teachers (4.1 years) as a teacher.

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Table 1. Average years worked by age group and gender for young teachers

Age group Female Male Average for all young teachers

Under 25 1.4 1.3 1.4

25-30 4.9 4.1 4.6

Total average 3.7 3.4 3.6

As shown in Table 2, there were no significant differences in average years taught at young teachers’ current schools by gender or by school level. On average, young teachers had worked for 2.2 years at their current school.

Table 2. Average years worked at current school by gender and level for young teachers

School level Female Male Average for all young teachers

Primary 2.3 2.0 2.2

Secondary 2.2 2.1 2.2

Total average 2.2 2.1 2.2

Employment status of teachers

Young teachers were asked about their employment status in their current school. The majority (83.7 per cent) responded that they were permanent employees, followed by fixed-term contracts (15.0 per cent). Only a small minority (1.4 per cent) of young teachers were employed as relief teachers.

Table 3. Young teachers’ employment status by gender (per cent)

Gender Permanent Fixed-term contract

Relief Total Number

Female 80.7 17.4 1.9 264

Male 91.4 8.7 0.0 104

Total 83.7 15.0 1.4 368

Young teachers were also asked about their preferred employment status. Table 4 shows that most preferred permanent teaching positions. Some 76.4 per cent (or 42) young teachers on fixed-term contracts would have preferred to be working as permanents. Of the five relief teachers, three also would have preferred to be permanent teachers.

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Table 4. Employment status by preferred employment status (number of response)

Current employment status Preferred employment status

Permanent Fixed-term contract

Relief

Total Number

Permanent 308 42 3 353

Fixed-term contract 0 13 0 13

Relief 0 0 2 2

Total 308 55 5 368

On average, young teachers employed on fixed term contracts had been working as teachers for 2.4 years, compared with 3.9 years for permanent teachers, and 3.0 years for relief teachers.

The vast majority (94.6 per cent or 348 responses) of young teachers who participated in the survey worked full-time.

Of 246 full-time female teachers, only four responded that they preferred to work on a part-time basis. Of the 18 female part-time teachers, three (or 16.7 per cent) preferred to work full-time.

Surprisingly all of the young male teachers who participated in the survey responded that they were teaching under a preferred working attendance arrangement. All of those 102 full-time male teachers were teaching under their preferred full-time basis and two part-time male teachers were also responded that they were teaching under a preferred part-time basis (Table 5).

Table 5. Employment attendance by preferred employment attendance (number of response)

Female Male Preferred employment attendance Full-time Part-time Total Full-time Part-time Total

Full-time 242 3 245 102 0 102

Part-time 4 15 19 0 2 2

Total 246 18 264 102 2 104

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3. Qualifications and teaching responsibilities Teachers’ qualifications

The survey asked young teachers about their highest level of teaching qualification. The majority of young teachers held a Bachelor degree (72.8 per cent) followed by a Postgraduate Diploma of Education (25.3 per cent) and a Masters degree (1.9 per cent).

A similar proportion of male and female young teachers held Bachelor degrees (male 71.2 per cent; female 73.5 per cent) followed by Postgraduate Diplomas of Education (male 25.0 per cent; female 25.4 per cent). A higher proportion of male teachers (3.9 per cent) held a Masters degree than female teachers (1.1 per cent).

Some 82.7 per cent of primary and 58.1 per cent of secondary teachers held Bachelor degrees, while a higher level of secondary teachers held Postgraduate Diplomas of Education (primary 15.9 per cent, secondary 39.2 per cent) and Masters degrees (primary 1.4 per cent, secondary 2.7 per cent) than primary teachers (Table 6).

Table 6. Qualifications of young teachers by gender, school level and years worked as a teacher (per cent)

Gender/School level

Bachelor degree

Postgraduate Diploma of Education

Masters degree

Gender

Female 73.5 25.4 1.1

Male 71.2 25.0 3.9

School level

Primary 82.7 15.9 1.4

Secondary 58.1 39.2 2.7

Years worked

< 5 yrs 75.6 23.1 1.3

5-10 yrs 67.7 29.2 3.1

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Secondary teachers’ qualifications relating to the subject they teach

The survey also asked secondary school teachers to list the subjects they were teaching and their qualifications relating to subject/Key Learning Area(s). Teachers were asked to list their qualifications in order of the highest qualification or which accounted for the highest proportion of their teacher education. Teachers were also asked to list their subjects in order, beginning with the subject that accounted for the largest share of their time.

A rather small number of secondary teachers (148 responses) participated in the survey, hence the findings of this section should be regarded with caution.

Table 7 shows that the majority of teachers were teaching the subject in which they had a qualification but some were teaching other subjects. The survey did not seek out why those teachers were teaching outside their area of qualification. It should be acknowledged that teaching outside their field is not necessarily a negative. Some teachers might chose to broaden their professional experience by teaching a part of their load in another subject area, or have gained informal expertise due to personal interest.

Table 7. Teachers' qualification, subject they currently teaching and qualified to teach by subject

Subject

Teachers' qualification (number of responses)

Number of teachers currently teaching

Number of teachers currently teaching

and qualified to teach

Maths 33 38 28 Science 38 37 34 English 40 41 36 Studies of Society & the Environment 47 39 32 Technology 23 24 17 Visual & Performing Arts 26 21 19 Health & Physical Education 32 40 31 Languages other than English 9 5 5 Vocational Education 6 9 5 Special Education 8 9 7

Of those 38 teachers currently teaching Mathematics, only 28 (73.7 per cent) were qualified in Mathematics. The remaining ten teachers taking Mathematics outside of their qualifications, five had Science qualifications; two had Technology qualifications; two had Health & Physical Education qualifications; and one had English qualification as their first subject in which they were qualified to teach.

In the subject area of Science, only three teachers were teaching Science as a subject outside of their qualifications. Their first subject qualifications were in Mathematics, Technology and Health & Physical Education.

The majority of teachers currently teaching English (87.8 per cent or 36 responses) were qualified in English. Five teachers were teaching English outside of their qualifications, two had Studies of Society & the Environment; one had Technology; and two had Visual & Performing Arts as their first subject qualification.

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Around one in three teachers were teaching a Technology subject outside of their qualifications (29.2 per cent or 7 responses). Their first subject qualifications were in Mathematics (1 response); Science (1 response); English (1 response); Studies of Society & the Environment (2 responses); and Visual & Performing Arts (2 responses). Teachers teaching Languages other than English were all qualified in that subject area.

As shown in Chart 5 of the sample of teacher responding, far more female teachers had qualifications in English; Studies of Society & the Environment; Visual & Performing Arts; Languages other than English; Vocational Education; and Special Education than their male counterparts.

Mathematics was the only subject in which more male teachers were qualified than female teachers. An almost equal number of male and female teachers had Technology and Health & Physical Education qualifications. Interestingly, there were more female teachers qualified in Science than male teachers.

Chart 5. Secondary teachers’ qualification by gender

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

MathsScience

English

Studies of Society & the Environment

Technology

Visual & Performing Arts

Health & Physical Edcucation

Language other than English

Vocational Education

Special Education

Subject

Response

Female Male

Grades taught (first list)

Young teachers were asked to list up to three different grades that they were teaching. Of those first list of grades, around one in two (53.0 per cent or 195 responses) young teachers were teaching a particular primary grade (i.e. kindergarten to grade 6) followed by secondary school grades (23.6 per cent). About 17.4 per cent of young teachers were teaching all secondary grades and only 6.0 per cent were teaching all primary grades. This is logical, given that the majority of primary teachers are assigned to teach a specific group of students according to their grade.

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Of those young teachers who had worked less than 5 years as a teacher, 60.5 per cent were teaching primary grades and 39.5 per cent were teaching secondary grades.

By comparison of the young teachers who had worked between 5 to 10 years as a teacher, 56.2 per cent were teaching primary grades and 43.8 per cent were teaching secondary grades.

Some 62.5 per cent of young female teachers were teaching primary grades while 37.5 per cent were teaching secondary grades. Equal proportions of young male teachers were teaching primary (50 per cent) and secondary (50 per cent) grades.

Table 8. Grades currently taught (first list) by years worked and gender (per cent)

Primary grades Secondary grades

Years worked

< 5 yrs 60.5 39.5

5–10 yrs 56.2 43.8

Gender

Female 62.5 37.5

Male 50.0 50.0

Workload and time spent on teaching and non-teaching activities

The survey included questions related to the allocation of teachers’ work time. Young teachers were asked to estimate the time (in terms of percentage) spent on each of their teaching activities per week.

On average, young teachers spent 56.9 per cent of their time on ‘Face-to-face teaching’; 27.6 per cent on ‘Preparing and grading’; 10.3 per cent on ‘Non-teaching activities’43; and 5.3 per cent on ‘Assigned roles’44.

By comparison, all teachers from the National Survey of Teachers spent 51.5 per cent of their time on ‘Face-to-face teaching’; 26.5 per cent on ‘Preparing and grading’; 11.1 per cent on ‘Non-teaching activities’; and 10.8 per cent on ‘Assigned roles’.

Generally young teachers spent similar proportions of their time on teaching activities as the total teaching population. However, young teachers (5.3 per cent) seem to spend less time on ‘Assigned roles’ than all teachers (10.8 per cent). This could be a reflection of young teachers’ lack of experience and lack of seniority in their schools.

On average, part-time teachers spent more time on ‘Face-to-face teaching’ (58.5 per cent) and ‘Non-teaching activities’ (13.4 per cent) than full-time teachers, as shown in Table 9.

43 Examples of non-teaching activities are staff meetings, playground duty and helping out with school plays. 44 Examples of assigned roles are being a department head, sports coordinator or counsellor.

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Table 9. Average proportion of time spent by type of activity and employment status (per cent)

Employment status

Face-to-face teaching

Preparing and grading

Non-teaching activities

Assigned roles

Full-time 56.8 27.6 10.1 5.5

Part-time 58.5 26.0 13.4 2.2

The majority of both female (76.5 per cent) and male (73.1 per cent) teachers responded that they spent over half of their work time on ‘Face-to-face teaching’.

Chart 6. Proportion of time spent on ‘face-to-face teaching’ by gender

0.4

5.7

17.4

30.3

43.2

3.0

0.0

3.9

23.1

43.3

26.9

2.9

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

1% to 19% 20% to 39% 40% to 49% 50% to 59% 60% to 79% 80% to 97%

Proportion of time spent

Pe

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Female Male

Chart 7 shows that more primary (84.6 per cent) than secondary (62.2 per cent) school teachers spent over 50 per cent of their work time on ‘Face-to-face teaching’.

Some 46.4 per cent of primary school teachers spent 60 to 79 per cent of their time on ‘Face-to-face teaching’ compared to 27.0 per cent of secondary teachers.

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Chart 7. Proportion of time spent on ‘face-to-face teaching’ by school level

0.02.3

13.2

33.6

46.4

4.6

0.7

9.5

27.7

34.5

27.0

0.7

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

1% to 19% 20% to 39% 40% to 49% 50% to 59% 60% to 79% 80% to 97%

Proportion of time spent

Pe

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Primary Secondary

Around 37.5 per cent of both female and male teachers spent 20 to 29 per cent of their time on ‘Preparing and grading’.

Over 40 per cent of primary school teachers spent 20 to 29 per cent of their time on ‘Preparing and grading’ while slightly less (33.1 per cent) of secondary school teachers spent their time on this activity.

Table 10. Proportion of time spent on ‘preparing and grading’ by gender and school level (per cent)

Gender School Level Proportion of time spent Female Male Primary Secondary 1% to 9% 3.4 1.9 3.2 2.7 10% to 19% 20.5 18.3 21.8 16.9 20% to 29% 37.5 37.5 40.5 33.1 30% to 39% 23.1 29.8 22.7 28.4 40% to 59% 14.8 12.5 11.4 18.2 60% to 79% 0.8 0.0 0.5 0.7

The vast majority of young female (87.1 per cent) and male (86.5 per cent) teachers spent 5 to 19 per cent of their time on ‘Non-teaching activities’. Slightly more primary school teachers (89.1 per cent) spent 5 to 19 per cent of their time on ‘Non-teaching activities’ than secondary school teachers (83.7 per cent).

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Table 11. Proportion of time spent on ‘non-teaching activities’ by gender and school level (per cent)

Gender School Level Proportion of time spent Female Male Primary Secondary 0% to 4% 7.2 7.7 6.8 8.1 5% to 9% 41.7 41.4 42.3 40.5 10% to 19% 45.5 45.2 46.8 43.2 20% to 39% 5.3 4.8 3.6 7.4 40% to 96% 0.4 1.0 0.5 0.7

Young teachers were also asked to identify the nature of their assigned roles. Of the 368 young teachers, 166 responded (45.1 per cent) that they were undertaking assigned roles.

Of those young teachers undertaking assigned roles, 67.5 per cent were female teachers and 32.5 per cent were male teachers.

Young female teachers listed ‘Coordinator’ (69.6 per cent) and ‘Year advisor’ (10.7 per cent); as their top two assigned roles.

The top two assigned roles for young male teachers were ‘Coordinator’ (70.4 per cent) and ‘IT Administrator’ (13.0 per cent).

Table 12. Type of ‘assigned roles’ by gender (per cent)

Assigned roles Female Male

Coordinator 69.6 70.4 Year advisor 10.7 3.7 Lead Teacher 8.0 3.7 Dept head 4.5 1.9 Assistant Principal 3.6 0.0 Counsellor 1.8 0.0 Union representative 0.9 0.0 OHS Officer 0.9 1.9 Welfare coordinator 0.0 3.7 IT Administrator 0.0 13.0 Sports Coach 0.0 1.9

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4. Perceptions and attitudes towards the teaching profession Pre-teaching working experience

The vast majority (87.5 per cent or 322 responses) of young teachers did not have another career before entering teaching.

Of those young teachers who did have another career before entering teaching (12.5 per cent or 46 responses), more primary school teachers (54.3 per cent) responded that they had another career before they became a teacher than secondary school teachers (45.7 per cent), and over two-thirds (67.4 per cent) were government school, compared to 32.6 per cent of non-government school teachers.

The majority of teachers who had worked less than 5 years as a teacher (82.6 per cent or 38 responses) had pre-teaching working experiences. Chart 8 shows the types of careers that young teachers had prior to entering the teaching profession.

Some of the secondary teachers’ former career and current teaching area were related. Of those three teachers currently teaching Science as their first main subject, two teachers worked as Scientist/Chemist and one teacher worked as a Tradesman. Table 13 shows the relationship between secondary teachers' first subject teaching and former career.

Chart 8. Young teachers’ career before entering teaching

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Admin/Clerical

Finance/Banking

Hospitality

Recreation

Sales

Tradesman

Defence Force

Manager

Accountant

Design

Nurse

Scientist/Chemist

Child Care

Emergency Services

IT Lifeguard

Real Estate

Social Worker/Counsellor

Teacher Aide

Type of career

Pe

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Table 13. Secondary Teachers' first teaching subject by former career

Number of responses

Maths Defence Force 1 IT 1 Tradesman 1

Science Scientist/Chemist 2 Tradesman 1

English Admin/Clerical 2 Defence Force 1

Studies of Society & the Environment Accountant 1 Finance/Banking 1 Sales 1

Technology Finance/Banking 1 Visual & Performing Arts

Design 2 Health & Physical Education

Hospitality 1 Nurse 2 Real Estate 1

Language other than English Recreation 1

Special Education Sales 1

Initial reasons for becoming a teacher

Young teachers were asked to identify their biggest motivation for becoming a teacher. The most common response for both female and male young teachers was ‘Enjoy working with children’ (female 35.2 per cent; male 27.9 per cent). ‘Scholarship’ (0.8 per cent) and ‘Rate of pay’ (0.4 per cent) received the lower responses from female teachers and no responses from male teachers.

The four most popular responses given by female teachers were ‘Enjoy working with children’ (35.2 per cent); ‘Desire to teach’ (24.6 per cent); ‘Recruitment campaign or positive impact of role model’ (12.9 per cent); and ‘To make a difference’ (11.4 per cent).

By comparison, male teachers’ top four responses were ‘Enjoy working with children’ (27.9 per cent); ‘Recruitment campaign or positive impact of role model’ (20.2 per cent); ‘Desire to teach’ (16.4 per cent); and ‘To make a difference’ (14.4 per cent).

A higher proportion of primary school teachers (40.0 per cent) listed ‘Enjoy working with children’ as their biggest motivation for becoming a teacher than secondary teachers (23.0 per cent). More secondary (14.9 per cent) than primary (1.4 per cent) school teachers considered ‘Enjoyment of subject area’ as their motivation. This is understandable, given that the majority of primary teachers are regarded as “generalists”.

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Table 14. Motivation to become a teacher by gender and school level (per cent)

Gender School Level Female Male Primary Secondary

Enjoy working with children 35.2 27.9 40.0 23.0 Desire to teach* 24.6 16.4 25.5 17.6 Recruitment campaign or positive impact of role model

12.9 20.2 13.2 17.6

To make a difference 11.4 14.4 12.7 11.5 Enjoyment of subject area 6.8 6.7 1.4 14.9 Employment conditions** 5.7 10.6 4.1 11.5 Fallback option*** 2.3 3.9 2.7 2.7 Scholarship 0.8 0.0 0.5 0.7 Rate of pay 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.7

* ‘Desire to teach’ is a combination of ‘desire to teach’ and/or ‘share skills/knowledge with students’. ** ‘Employment conditions’ is a combination of ‘job security’, ‘working hours/holiday provisions’ and/or ‘mobility of position/allow for travel’. *** ‘Fallback option’ is a combination of ‘only option available’, ‘dislike previous career’, ‘injury sustained from previous career’ and/or ‘needed a job/fell into teaching’.

Slightly more government (34.6 per cent) than non-government (30.5 per cent) school teachers became a teachers because they ‘Enjoyed working with children’.

Chart 9. Young teachers’ motivation to become a teacher by school system

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Enjoy working with children

Desire to teach

Recruitment campaign or positive impact of role model

To make a difference

Enjoyment of subject area

Employment conditions

Fallback option

Scholarship

Rate of pay

Motivation

Percentage

Govt Non-govt

40

Almost one in five (19.3 per cent) non-metropolitan school teachers entered the teaching profession through a recruitment campaign or because of the positive impact of a role model.

Chart 10. Young teachers’ motivation to become a teacher by school location

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Enjoy working with children

Desire to teach

To make a difference

Recruitment campaign or positive impact of role model

Enjoyment of subject area

Employment conditions

Fallback option

Scholarship

Rate of pay

Motivation

Percentage


Quality of teacher education received Young teachers were also asked to rate the quality of their initial teacher training on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 was ‘low’ and 5 was ‘high’.

One in three (32.9 per cent) young teachers felt their initial teacher training was of a high quality (rating 5 or 4) and 38.9 per cent rated it as ‘moderate’ (rating 3). Over one-quarter (28.3 per cent) of young teachers rated their initial teacher training as low quality (rating 1 or 2).

As shown in Chart 11, young teachers were somewhat less likely to rate their initial teacher training highly (rating 5 or 4) than teachers of all teachers45 from the National Survey of Teachers (young teachers 32.9 per cent; all teachers 37.1 per cent). However, young teachers were more likely to record a moderate rating 3 (38.9 per cent) than all teachers (33.1 per cent).

More female (36.0 per cent) than male (25.0 per cent) teachers rated their teacher training highly (rating 5 or 4). An average rating for female teachers was 3.1 while for male teachers it was 2.9.

Secondary school teachers (39.2 per cent) were more likely to rate their initial teacher training highly (rating 5 or 4) than primary school teachers (28.7 per cent). Secondary school teachers (7.4 per cent) were also more likely to give a lowest rating ‘1’ to their initial teacher training than primary school teachers (5.5 per cent).

45 All teachers refer to a total population of the National Survey of Teachers.

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Government school teachers (7.9 per cent rated ‘1’; 7.1 per cent rated ‘5’) were more likely to record extreme ratings of 1 or 5 than non-government school teachers (3.1 per cent rated ‘1’; 4.7 per cent rated ‘5’). The other ratings are shown in Table 15.

Chart 11. Initial teacher training rating for young and all teachers

6.3

38.9

6.38.7

21.1

33.1

27.6

9.5

22.0

26.6

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1 (Lowest) 2 3 4 5 (Highest)

Rating

Percentage

Young teachers All teachers

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Table 15. Quality of initial teacher training rating by gender, school level, system, location and young teachers’ age group (per cent)

Lowest rate Highest rate

1 2 3 4 5

Average rating

Gender

Female 6.1 19.7 38.3 29.6 6.4 3.1

Male 6.7 27.9 40.4 19.2 5.8 2.9

School level

Primary 5.5 25.0 40.9 22.3 6.4 3.0

Secondary 7.4 17.6 35.8 33.1 6.1 3.1

School system

Government 7.9 20.8 39.2 25.0 7.1 3.0

Non-government 3.1 24.2 38.3 29.7 4.7 3.1

School location

Metropolitan 7.5 20.3 36.4 28.9 7.0 3.1

Non-metropolitan 5.0 23.8 41.4 24.3 5.5 3.0

Age group

Under 25 3.6 20.7 36.0 32.4 7.2 3.2

25 to 30 7.4 22.6 40.1 24.1 5.8 3.0

43

Difficult aspects of being a teacher

Young teachers were asked to identify the single most unpleasant or difficult aspect of being a teacher. Around 34.2 per cent (or 126 responses) of young teachers listed ‘Lack of resources or time’ followed by ‘Community/Parent attitudes’ (22.3 per cent or 82 responses) and ‘Student welfare issues’ (16.3 per cent or 60 responses) as the top three most unpleasant or difficult aspects of being a teacher. ‘Lack of males in the profession’ (0.3 per cent) and ‘Large class sizes’ (3.8 per cent) received the least responses from young teachers. The other aspects are listed in Table 16.

Table 16. Young teachers’ views on the most unpleasant or difficult aspect being a teacher

Per cent Frequency Lack of resources or time Overly demanding/tiring work, stress 15.8 58 Lack of time 7.1 26 Lack of administrative support 4.4 16 Lack of resources, facilities 4.4 16 Too much paper work 2.7 10 Sub-total 34.2 126

Community/Parent attitudes Under-valued by community/low public image 13.0 48 Parent attitude 9.2 34 Sub-total 22.3 82

Student welfare issues Student behavioural problems/lack of motivation 14.7 54 Level of responsibility for children 1.1 4 Low quality of service to children 0.5 2 Sub-total 16.3 60

Employment conditions other than pay Other Staff 4.6 17 Contract arrangements 3.0 11 Poor Leadership 1.9 7 Lack of promotion opportunities 1.4 5 Sub-total 10.9 40

Lack of autonomy or creativity Constant changing curriculum 2.2 8 Lack of autonomy 1.9 7 Sub-total 4.1 15

Remuneration/salary 4.4 16 Large class sizes 3.8 14 Unknown/No response 3.8 14 Lack of males in the profession 0.3 1

Total 100.0 368

Chart 12 distinguishes male and female teachers’ views on the most unpleasant or difficult aspect of being a teacher. Female teachers were more likely list ‘Lack of resources or time’ (female 37.9 per cent, male 25.0 per cent); ‘Community/Parent attitudes’ (female 22.7 per cent, male 21.2 per cent); and ‘Large class sizes’ (female 4.6 per cent, male 1.9 per cent) as their

44

most unpleasant or difficult aspect of being a teacher than male teachers. More male than female teachers responded that ‘Student welfare issues’ (male 21.2 per cent, female 14.4 per cent); and ‘Employment conditions other than pay’ (male 14.4 per cent, female 9.5 per cent) were the most unpleasant or difficult aspect of being a teacher.

Chart 12. Young teachers’ views on the most unpleasant or difficult aspect being a teacher by gender

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Lack of resources or time

Community/Parent attitudes

Student welfare issues

Employment conditions other than pay

Lack of autonomy or creativity

Remuneration/salary

Large class sizes

Unknown/No response

Lack of males in the profession

Unpleasant or difficult aspect

Pe

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Female Male

Chart 13 shows that a higher proportion of primary than secondary school teachers listed ‘Community/Parent attitudes’ (primary 25.0 per cent, secondary 18.2 per cent); and ‘Large class sizes’ (primary 5.0 per cent, secondary 2.0 per cent) as the most unpleasant or difficult aspect of being a teacher.

45

Chart 13. Young teachers’ views on the most unpleasant or difficult aspect being a teacher by school level

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40






Remuneration/salary

Large class sizes

Unknown/No response



Pe

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Primary Secondary

Slightly higher proportion of non-government than government school teachers were bothered by ‘Lack of resources or time’ (non-government 38.3 per cent, government 32.1 per cent); ‘Community/Parent attitudes’ (non-government 24.2 per cent, government 21.3 per cent); and ‘Large class sizes’ (non-government 4.7 per cent, government 3.3 per cent) (Chart 14)

Chart 14. Young teachers’ views on the most unpleasant or difficult aspect being a teacher by school system

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45






Remuneration/salary

Large class sizes

Unknown/No response



Pe

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Govt Non-govt

46

Young teachers working in metropolitan areas were almost seven times more likely than teachers working in non-metropolitan areas (metropolitan 7.5 per cent, non-metropolitan 1.1 per cent) to identify the ‘Remuneration/salary’ issues as the most unpleasant or difficult aspect being a teacher (Chart 15).

Chart 15. Young teachers’ views on the most unpleasant or difficult aspect being a teacher by school location

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40






Remuneration/salary

Large class sizes

Unknown/No response



Pe

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5. School environment and working conditions The survey asked young teachers to consider a series of factors related to their school environment and teaching conditions. Survey participants were asked to rate the factors that were important to them in making decisions about being a teacher or in choosing between teaching positions. They were given a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 meant the factor was ‘not important’ and 5 meant it was ‘very important’.

Young teachers considered ‘Effective measures for handling student behaviour’ (78.0 per cent); ‘Good leadership’ (73.4 per cent); and ‘High job security’ (68.5 per cent) as the top three factors that were ‘very important’ to them in making decisions about being a teacher or in choosing between teaching positions.

‘Workload’ (14.1 per cent) and ‘Nice facilities’ (19.0 per cent) received the least responses as ‘very important’ factors for young teachers’ career decisions. The other factors that were ‘very important’ to young teachers are listed in Table 17.

Table 17. Factors rated ‘very important’ in making decisions being a teacher or in choosing between teaching positions (per cent)

Factors Per cent

There are effective measures for handling student behaviour 78.0 There is good leadership 73.4 Job security is high 68.5 You are familiar with the subjects you teach 63.6 Administrators and managers are supportive and recognise achievement 60.1 Teaching resources, including materials and equipment, are readily available 56.5 There is financial support for professional development 45.7 Professional development is generally encouraged 44.3 Occupational health is well managed 43.2 Class sizes are relatively small 41.3 There is a safe neighbourhood 40.2 Community and parents are involved 39.1 You have autonomy or control over your work 38.0 You are able to move between schools as your career progresses 36.7 The salary is high 34.0 There are generous holiday provisions 32.3 Promotion opportunities exist 29.4 The year or level taught is close to what you prefer 23.1 There are nice facilities - buildings and grounds 19.0

The workload is relatively light 14.1

Five of the top ten factors that young teachers considered ‘very important’ in making decisions about being a teacher or in choosing between teaching positions were related to school policies (behaviour management, leadership, support from managers and administrators, occupational health management and class sizes).

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Chart 16 shows male and female teachers’ views on the top ten factors that were ‘very important’ to them in making decisions about being a teacher or in choosing between teaching positions. Both male and female teachers rated the top ten factors similarly but slightly more female than male teachers rated ‘Effective measures for handling student behaviour’ (female 81.1 per cent; male 70.2 per cent) as important; and ‘Teaching resources are adequate’ (female 59.9 per cent; male 48.1 per cent); as well as ‘Professional development is generally encouraged’ (female 47.7 per cent; male 35.6 per cent) as ‘very important’ factors.

Chart 16. Top 10 factors rated ‘very important’ in making decisions being a teacher or in choosing between teaching positions by gender

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Effective measures for handling student behaviour

Good leadership

Job security is high

Familiarity with subjects taught

Administrators & managers are supportive and recognise achievement

Teaching resources are adequate

There is financial support for professional development

Professional development is generally encouraged

Occupational health is well managed

Class sizes are relatively small

Factor

Percentage

Female Male

Primary school teachers were more likely than secondary school teachers to consider the following factors as ‘very important’ to them in making decisions about being a teacher or in choosing between teaching positions:

• ‘High job security’ (primary 71.4 per cent; secondary 64.2 per cent);

• ‘Financial support for professional development’ (primary 49.6 per cent; secondary 39.9 per cent);

• ‘Professional development is generally encouraged’ (primary 49.6 per cent; secondary 36.5 per cent); and

• ‘Class sizes are relatively small’ (primary 47.3 per cent; secondary 32.4 per cent).

Slightly more secondary than primary school teachers considered ‘Familiarity with subjects taught’ (primary 62.3 per cent; secondary 65.5 per cent) and ‘Administrators & managers are supportive and recognise achievement’ (primary 59.1 per cent; secondary 61.5 per cent) were ‘very important’ factors.

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Chart 17. Top 10 factors rated ‘very important’ in making decisions about being a teacher or in choosing between teaching positions by school level

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90


Good leadership



Administrators & managers are supportive and recognise achie...






Factor

Percentage

Primary Secondary

More non-government (75.8 per cent) than government (72.1 per cent) school teachers elected ‘Good leadership’ as a ‘very important’ factor in making decisions about being a teacher or in choosing between teaching positions.

Chart 18. Top 10 factors rated ‘very important’ in making decisions about being a teacher or in choosing between teaching positions by school system

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90


Good leadership



Administrators & managers are supportive and recognise achi...






Factor

Percentage

Govt Non-govt

50

6. Past career and/or school change and reasons Young teachers were presented with a series of specific questions related to their absences from teaching, such as the period of absences, their main occupation during absences, and their main reasons for moving away from teaching.

They were also asked about their experiences of changing of schools, such as changes of school system (government or non-government); between State or Territory; and their main reasons for changes of school.

Past experience of career(s) change and reasons Only one in fifty (2.2 per cent or 8 responses) young teachers had left teaching to work in another occupation. Of those young teachers who responded that they had taken time off from teaching, on average, they left teaching 1.1 times with an average period of absence of 1.5 years. Given that these respondents are generally in the early stages of establishing their career in teaching, the small number of absences by respondents is to be expected.

The main occupations during the absences were:

• Administration (2 responses or 25 per cent);

• Banking (1 response or 12.5 per cent);

• Carer (1 response or 12.5 per cent);

• Casual (1 response or 12.5 per cent);

• Hospitality (1 response or 12.5 per cent);

• Information Technology (1 response or 12.5 per cent); and

• Unemployed/home duties (1 response or 12.5 per cent).

The main reasons for absence from teaching were:

• Career break, time out (3 responses or 37.5 per cent);

• Work overseas/travel (2 responses or 25.0 per cent);

• Family Formation (1 response or 12.5 per cent);

• Personal commitments (1 response or 12.5 per cent); and

• Too demanding/stressful (1 response or 12.5 per cent).

Past experience of changing schools and reasons Nearly one in five young teachers (19.0 per cent or 70 responses) had changed schools in the past two years; 17.3 per cent of male teachers and 19.7 per cent of female teachers.

Secondary school teachers (20.3 per cent) were more likely to have changed schools in the past two years than primary school teachers (18.2 per cent).

Some 20.3 per cent of young teachers employed in the non-government school sector had changed schools, compared to 18.3 per cent of government school teachers.

Young teachers in metropolitan schools (24.6 per cent) were almost twice as likely to have changed schools in the past two years than young teachers in non-metropolitan schools (13.3 per cent).

51

The survey also asked young teachers for details of their last change of schools. Of those young teachers who responded that they had changed school, 20.0 per cent had moved between government and non-government school sectors and 7.1 per cent involved a move to a different State or Territory.

The most commonly reported reason for the latest change of school for young teachers was ‘End of contract’ (27.1 per cent) followed by ‘Different lifestyle/change’ (21.4 per cent). ‘Higher pay/Promotion’ (15.7 per cent); and ‘Closer to home’ (12.9 per cent) were also listed in the top four main reasons given by young teachers.

Table 18. Main reasons for changing schools (per cent)

Per cent

End of contract 27.1 Different lifestyle/change 21.4 Higher pay/Promotion 15.7 Closer to home 12.9 Forced Transfer 7.1 Returned from overseas 4.3 Challenge 2.9 Disliked previous school 2.9 Dissatisfied with govt sector 2.9 Maintain permanency 2.9

A higher proportion of female teachers (30.8 per cent) nominated ‘End of contract’ as their main reason for changing schools than did male teachers (16.7 per cent).

Male teachers were more likely to have changed schools than female teachers because of ‘Different lifestyle/change’ (33.3 per cent); ‘Higher pay/promotion’ (22.2 per cent); ‘Closer to home’ (16.7 per cent); ‘Returned from overseas’; and ‘Maintain permanency’ (5.6 per cent each).

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Chart 19. Main reasons for changing schools by gender

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

End of contract

Different lifestyle/change

Higher pay/Promotion

Closer to home

Forced Transfer

Returned from overseas

Challenge

Disliked previous school

Dissatisfied with govt sector

Maintain permanency

Reason

Percentage

Female Male

The top three main reasons given by young primary school teachers for their latest changes of school were ‘End of contract’ (32.5 per cent); ‘Different lifestyle/change’ (22.5 per cent); and ‘Closer to home’ (15.0 per cent). Secondary school teachers’ top three main reasons were ‘Higher pay/Promotion’ (26.7 per cent); ‘End of contract’ (20.0 per cent); and ‘Different lifestyle/change’ (20.0 per cent).

53

Chart 20. Main reasons for changing schools by school system

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

End of contract

Different lifestyle/change

Closer to home

Higher pay/Promotion

Forced Transfer

Returned from overseas

Disliked previous school

Maintain permanency

Challenge

Dissatisfied with govt sector

Reason

Percentage

Primary Secondary

7. Future career plan and education Current or future study plans Young teachers were asked about their current and future study plans. Of the 368 young teachers who participated in the survey, 25.5 per cent or 94 were currently studying or planning to undertake study.

Young teachers were also asked about the type of degree or qualification they were aiming to secure. About 38.3 per cent responded that they were aiming to secure a Masters degree, followed by a Bachelors degree (26.6 per cent); a specialist or graduate diploma (18.0 per cent); and retraining (16.0 per cent). One (1.1 per cent) response was for a Doctorate qualification.

Table 19 shows that some 66 (or 70.2 per cent) of those respondents currently studying were female, and 28 (or 29.8 per cent) were male. More male than female teachers were aiming to secure Masters (male 46.4 per cent; female 34.9 per cent) and Bachelor (male 28.6 per cent; female 25.8 per cent).

Slightly more primary teachers (53 responses or 56.4 per cent) responded that they were currently studying or planning to studying than secondary teachers (41 responses or 43.6 per cent). About 48.8 per cent of secondary teachers and 30.2 per cent of primary teachers were aiming to secure a Masters degree.

54

Table 19. Teachers undertaking study by gender and school level (per cent)

Gender/ Level

Bachelor degree

Masters Doctorate Retraining Specialist/ graduate diploma

Total

Number

Gender

Male 28.6 46.4 0.0 10.7 14.3 28

Female 25.8 34.9 1.5 18.2 19.7 66

School level

Primary 30.2 30.2 1.9 15.1 22.6 53

Secondary 22.0 48.8 0.0 17.1 12.2 41

Of those young teachers who responded that they were currently studying or planning to undertake study, 48 responses (or 51.1 per cent) identified ‘Education’ as their major field of study followed by ‘Society and Culture’ (17 responses or 18.1 per cent).

More male than female teachers were studying or planning to study ‘Education’ (male 57.1 per cent, female 48.5 per cent) or ‘Information Technology’ (male 10.7 per cent, female no response).

The major field of study was ‘Society and Culture’ for around 22.7 per cent of female teachers compared to 7.1 per cent for male teachers. The other major fields are listed in Table 20.

55

Table 20. Major field of current/future study by gender (per cent)

Gender Major field of study Female Male

Total Number

Education Education 27.3 42.9 30 Religious Education 10.6 3.6 8 Special Education 9.1 3.6 7 Early Childhood 1.5 0.0 1 Health & Physical Education 0.0 3.6 1 Vocational Education 0.0 3.6 1 Sub-total 48.5 57.1 48

Society and Culture Counselling/welfare/psychology 13.6 0.0 9 Language other than English 4.6 0.0 3 Society & Environment 3.0 3.6 3 English 1.5 3.6 2 Sub-total 22.7 7.1 17

Natural and Physical Sciences Mathematics 4.6 0.0 3 Science 4.6 0.0 3 Sub-total 9.1 0.0 6 Information Technology 0.0 10.7 3 Visual & Performing Arts 3.0 0.0 2 Behaviour Management 1.5 0.0 1 Hospitality 1.5 0.0 1 Other 12.1 25.0 15 Unknown 1.5 0.0 1 Total 100.0 100.0 94

Reasons for choosing to study When young teachers were asked about the main reason for choosing to study, 43.6 per cent listed ‘Personal development/change’; 22.3 per cent ‘Personal interest’; 16.0 per cent ‘To shift to another role within education industry’; 12.8 per cent ‘Secure permanent position/ promotion’; 3.2 per cent ‘To get out of teaching profession’; and 2.1 per cent ‘To obtain work in private system’ as the reasons for undertaking or planning to undertake further study.

Chart 22 shows the male and female respondents’ views on their main reasons for choosing to study. ‘Personal development/change’ (45.5 per cent); and ‘Personal interest’ (24.2 per cent) were the top two main reasons for young female teachers.

Male teachers’ views differed slightly to their female counterparts. They listed ‘Personal development/change’ (39.3 per cent) as their main reason, followed by ‘To shift to another role within education industry’ (21.4 per cent).

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Chart 21. Main reason for choosing to study

43.6

22.3

16.012.8

3.2 2.1

0

10

20

30

40

50

Personal development/change

Personal interest

To shift to another role within education industry

Secure permanent position/promotion

To get out of teaching profession

To obtain work in private system

Reasons

Percentage

Chart 22. Main reason for choosing to study by gender

45.5

24.2

3.0 3.0

21.4

17.9

3.6

0.0

10.613.6

17.9

39.3

0

10

20

30

40

50

Personal development/change

Personal interest

To shift to another role within education industry

Secure permanent position/promotion

To get out of teaching profession

To obtain work in private system

Reasons

Percentage

Female Male

57

Future career plan

Young teachers were asked if they were likely to leave the teaching profession before retiring from work altogether. Around one in two (52.2 per cent or 192 responses) young teachers indicated that they were likely to leave the teaching profession.

More female (66.7 per cent) than male (33.3 per cent) teachers were likely to leave the teaching profession. A slightly higher proportion of young teachers in metropolitan areas (52.1 per cent) were likely to leave the teaching profession than young teachers in non-metropolitan areas (47.9 per cent).

Chart 23 shows the age distribution of those young teachers who responded that they were likely to leave the teaching profession. The majority (72.4 per cent) of those respondents were aged between 25 and 30.

Chart 23. Career change by age

5.7

8.9

13.0

9.4

12.0

9.910.9

17.2

13.0

0

5

10

15

20

22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Age

Percentage

58

8. Factors that are important in retaining and attracting young teachers Young teachers’ suggestions on encouraging current teachers to remain in the teaching profession The survey sought young teachers’ suggestions about how to encourage current teachers to stay in the profession. The top three suggestions were ‘Increased resources/reduced workload’ (27.5 per cent); ‘Lift remuneration (salary)’ (23.1 per cent); and ‘Improved employment conditions other than remuneration’ (20.1 per cent). Some 7.3 per cent (27 responses) of young teachers did not provide any suggestions.

Interestingly, while only 2.2 per cent of young teachers suggested that ‘Better management of student behaviour’ would encourage current teachers to stay in the profession, 78.0 per cent of young teachers rated the factor ‘There are effective measure for handling student behaviour’ as ‘very important’ when making decision about being a teacher or choosing between teaching positions (refer to Table 17 on page 24 of this paper).

Table 21. Young teachers’ suggestions for retaining teachers

Suggestions Per cent No. of response Increased resources/reduced workload* 27.5 101 Lift remuneration (salary) 23.1 85 Improved employment conditions other than remuneration** 20.1 74 Improve professional standing in community 10.3 38 Reduce class sizes 8.4 31 Unknown 7.3 27 Better management of student behaviour 2.2 8 Greater flexibility from employers 1.1 4 Total 100.0 368

* ’Increased resources/reduced workload’ is a combination of ‘greater support’, ‘reduced workload’, ‘improved conditions for facilities and resources’, ‘offer apprenticeships like student teacher assistant’ and ‘allow for more time for preparation and consultation’. ** ‘Improved employment conditions other than remuneration’ is a combination of ‘create or fund more opportunities for professional development or promotion’, ‘improved leadership’, ’improved job security’, ‘more permanent instead of contract work’, ‘encourage movement between schools’ and ‘allow for professional development in own time’.

Chart 24 shows that young female teachers’ top response for their suggestions to retain teachers was ‘Increased resources/reduced workload’ (female 28.8 per cent; male 24.0 per cent). By comparison, male teachers’ top response was ’Lift remuneration’ (male 28.9 per cent; female 20.8 per cent).

More primary (25.5 per cent) than secondary (19.6 per cent) school teachers felt that ‘Lift remuneration’ would help to retain teachers.

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Chart 24. Young teachers’ suggestions for retaining teachers, by gender

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Increased resources/reduced workload

Lift remuneration

Improved employment conditions other than remuneration

Improve professional standing in community

Reduce class sizes

Unknown

Better management of student behaviour

Greater flexibility from employers

Suggestion

Percentage

Female Male

Chart 25. Young teachers’ suggestions for retaining teachers, by school level

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Increased resources/reduced workload

Lift remuneration

Improved employment conditions other than remuneration

Improve professional standing in community

Reduce class sizes

Unknown

Better management of student behaviour

Greater flexibility from employers

Suggestion

Percentage

Primary Secondary

Almost one in three (31.3 per cent) young government school teachers suggested that ‘Increased resources/reduced workload’ would retain teachers while one in five (20.3 per cent) non-government school teachers nominated the same suggestion.

60

The top two suggestions received from young teachers working in metropolitan areas were ‘Increased resources/reduced workload’ (30.0 per cent) and ‘Lift remuneration’ (26.7 per cent). Young teachers working in non-metropolitan areas offered ‘Increased resources/reduced workload’ (24.9 per cent) and ‘Improved employment conditions other than remuneration’ (20.4 per cent) as their top two suggestions to retain teachers.

Table 22. Young teachers’ suggestions for retaining teachers, by school system and location (per cent)

School system School location Suggestions Govt Non-govt Metro Non-metro Increased resources/reduced workload 31.3 20.3 30.0 24.9 Lift remuneration 22.9 23.4 26.7 19.3 Improved employment conditions other than remuneration 19.2 21.9

19.8 20.4

Improve professional standing in community 9.6 11.7

8.6 12.2

Reduce class sizes 7.5 10.2 7.5 9.4 Unknown 6.7 8.6 4.8 9.9 Better management of student behaviour 1.7 3.1 1.1 3.3 Greater flexibility from employers 1.3 0.8 1.6 0.6

Young teachers’ suggestions on encouraging people to enter the teaching profession Young teachers were also asked for their thoughts on how to encourage people to enter the teaching profession.

Nearly one in three (31.3 per cent or 115 responses) young teachers suggested that ‘Improve public image of teaching, positive promotion of the profession’ would encourage people to enter the teaching profession and ‘Increase remuneration’ was also suggested by a quarter (25.0 per cent or 92 responses) of young teachers.

One in five (19.8 per cent or 73 responses) young teachers suggested ‘Improved teaching training’ such as ‘Linking education training at university to classroom work (more prac work)’; ‘Giving greater support/mentoring, especially to new teachers’; and ‘Offering scholarships’ as recruitment incentives. The other suggestions are listed in Table 23.

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Table 23. Young teachers’ suggestions for recruiting teachers

Per cent

No. of responses

Improve public image of teaching, positive promotion of the profession 31.3 115 Increase remuneration (salary) 25.0 92 Improved teaching training Link education training at university to classroom work (more prac work)

9.8

36

Give greater support/mentoring, especially to new teachers 6.3 23 Offer scholarships 3.8 14 Sub-total 19.8 73 Should be a personal decision 5.4 20 Improve teaching conditions other than pay Offer permanent jobs instead of contract work 3.5 13 Increase opportunities for promotions 0.8 3 Sub-total 4.3 16 Promote males to the profession 1.6 6 Rewarding to impart knowledge 1.6 6 Improved facilities/resources 1.4 5 Introduce better behaviour management strategies 0.3 1 Unknown 9.2 34 Total 100.0 368

Chart 26 shows that male and female teachers’ suggestions on how to encourage people to enter the teaching profession were very similar. The top three suggestions for both male and female teachers were:

• ‘Improve public image of teaching, positive promotion of the profession’ (male 32.7 per cent, female 30.7 per cent);

• ‘Increase remuneration’ (male 23.1 per cent, female 25.8 per cent); and

• ‘Improved teaching training (male 20.2 per cent, female 19.7 per cent).

Slightly more primary (21.8 per cent) than secondary (16.9 per cent) school teachers suggested that ‘Improved teaching training’ would encourage people to enter teaching profession (Chart 27).

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Chart 26. Young teachers’ suggestions for recruiting teachers by gender

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Improve public image of teaching, positive promotion of the ...

Increase remuneration (salary)

Improved teaching training

Should be a personal decision

Improve teaching conditions other than pay

Rewarding to impart knowledge

Improved facilities/resources

Promote males to the profession

Introduce better behaviour management strategies

Unknown

Suggestion

Percentage

Female Male

Chart 27. Young teachers’ suggestions for recruiting teachers by school level

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Improve public image of teaching, positive promotion ..









Unknown

Suggestion

Percentage

Primary Secondary

63

The top suggestion to encourage people to enter the teaching profession for both government (30.0 per cent) and non-government (33.6 per cent) school teachers was to ‘Improve public image of teaching, positive promotion of the profession’.

Around 27.9 per cent of government school teachers suggested ‘Increase remuneration’ would encourage people to enter teaching. By comparison, 19.5 per cent of non-government school teachers made the same suggestion (Chart 28).

The top three suggestions received from the young teachers teaching in metropolitan areas were:

• ‘Increase remuneration’ (34.2 per cent);

• ‘Improve public image of teaching, positive promotion of the profession’ (28.9 per cent); and

• ‘Improved teaching training (16.6 per cent).

The suggestions of young non-metropolitan teachers differed significantly from their metropolitan counterparts: only 15.5 per cent of non-metropolitan school teachers thought that ‘Increase remuneration’ would encourage people to enter teaching profession (Chart 29).

Chart 28. Young teachers’ suggestions for recruiting teachers by school system

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Improve public image of teaching, positive promotion of t..









Unknown

Suggestion

Percentage

Govt Non-govt

64

Chart 29. Young teachers’ suggestions for recruiting teachers by school location

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40


Improve public image of teaching, positive promotion of t..








Unknown

Suggestion

Percentage

Metro Non-metro

65

9. Summary and conclusions This paper examined the characteristics and issues related to young teachers and found the following:

• the average age of young teachers was 26.2 years old;

• they had worked an average of 3.6 years as teachers;

• over 90 per cent were born in Australia;

• the majority (83.7 per cent) were employed on a permanent basis;

• nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) held a Bachelor degree followed by a Postgraduate Diploma of Education (25.3 per cent) and a Masters degree (1.9 per cent);

• about 88 per cent did not have another career before entering teaching;

• over one-quarter (26 per cent) were currently studying or planning to undertake study; and

• on average, young teachers spent 56.9 per cent of their time on ‘Face-to-face teaching’; 27.6 per cent on ‘Preparing and grading’; 10.3 per cent on ‘Non-teaching activities’; and 5.3 per cent on ‘Assigned roles’.

Some of the young teachers’ views were similar to the views of teachers of all ages from the National Survey of Teachers46. Both young and all teachers identified ‘Enjoy working with children’ as their biggest motivation to become a teacher (young teachers 33.2 per cent; all teachers 30.7 per cent); and ‘Lack of resources or time’ as the most unpleasant or difficult aspect being a teacher (young teachers 34.2 per cent; all teachers 37.1 per cent).

The National Survey of Teachers found that ‘Effective measures for handling student behaviour’ (77.2 per cent); ‘Good leadership’ (75.6 per cent); and ‘Familiarity with subject taught’ (69.5 per cent) were the top three factors rated ‘very important’ in making decisions about being a teacher or in choosing between teaching positions. By comparison, young teachers considered ‘Effective measures for handling student behaviour (78.0 per cent); ‘Good leadership’ (73.4 per cent); and ‘High job security’ (68.5 per cent) as their top three factors.

Different views were also found on suggestions to encourage current teachers to stay in the profession; and encourage people to enter the teaching profession. Young teachers suggested that ‘Increased resources/reduced workload’ (27.5 per cent) would encourage current teachers to stay in the profession while all teachers listed ‘Improved remuneration’ (24.6 per cent) as their top suggestion. Nearly one in three (31.3 per cent) young teachers suggested that ‘Improved public image of teaching/positive promotion of the profession’ would encourage people to enter the teaching profession.

Around half (52.2 per cent) of young teachers responded that they were likely to leave the teaching profession before retiring from work altogether. This figure was notably higher than the 27.6 per cent for all teachers. However, given that about 88.0 per cent of them did not have another career before entering teaching, it is reasonable to assume that young teachers may be more likely to explore other career options before retirement than older teachers in the profession who may have already had previous careers.

46 Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) (2002).

66

Attachment A QUESTIONNAIRE

TEACHER SUPPLY & DEMAND PHONE SURVEY

COVER SHEET Teacher name: _______________________________________

Phone number: _______________________

School name: ________________________________________________ State (e.g. NSW or WA): _______

Postcode: |___|___|___|___|

School level (Primary or Secondary): ____ Some teachers may teach at both levels or teach mixed classes. Here, judgement is needed to pick either primary or secondary as the main employment level.

School system (Govt or Non-Govt): ____ School type (Co-ed or Single Sex): ____

Introduction to interview

Hello, my name is _______________________. I’m calling from the Education Department in

Canberra. As you probably are aware, you’ve been nominated for a national survey of teacher

opinions. A letter introducing the survey should have been sent to you some time ago.

The survey consists of questions about your work, your school and yourself. It usually takes

less than 20 minutes. Would it be all right to do the survey now? (IF NOT, ARRANGE A MORE

SUITABLE TIME). Good. Thanks for participating. Your honest opinions would be appreciated

so the results are as accurate as possible. Any information you provide is confidential and will

only be used in assessing the overall opinions and characteristics of teachers.

67

I EMPLOYMENT STATUS

To begin, I’d like to ask some questions about your employment status.

1.1 About how many years have you WORKED as a teacher?

Years: ______

[round down to nearest year, so ”0” if < 1 year, “1” if < 2 years, etc.]

1.2 How long have you been with your CURRENT SCHOOL?

Years: ______

1.3 What is your EMPLOYMENT STATUS in the school?

(i) Permanent OR ……………………………...…. P

Fixed-term contract OR …………………….…. F

Relief/casual/temporary ……………………..… R

(ii) Full-time OR ……………………………......…. F

Part-time …..………………………………..…. P

Would you PREFER to be employed under a different arrangement?

No → GO to Item 1.4

Yes ↓ What would you prefer?

Preferred

(iii) Permanent OR ……………………………...…. P

Fixed-term contract OR …………………….…. F

Relief/casual/temporary ……………………..… R

(iv) Full-time OR ……………………………......…. F

Part-time ……..……………………………..…. P

1.4 Could you tell me what QUALIFICATIONS you have for teaching?

Bachelor (B.Ed, B.Teach) ………..……………. BA

Diploma (Dip. Ed)……………...……………..... DI

Master (M.Ed, M.A in Education) ……...…….... MA

Doctorate (PhD in Education or EdD)..…....…... DO

68

1.5 Which GRADES (i.e. years) do you currently teach?

Grade(s) (0 to 12): ____ ____ ____ [up to 3 different grades]

[Code “-1” if teach all primary grades, “-2” for secondary]

THE NEXT TWO QUESTIONS ARE FOR SECONDARY TEACHERS ONLY.

GO TO 1.8 IF THE RESPONDENT IS A PRIMARY TEACHER

1.6 For the next question, we would like to know the subjects you are actually QUALIFIED

to teach. Could you please list them in order, beginning with the subject for which you

have the highest qualifications or which accounted for the highest proportion of your

teacher education.

Write “1” next to the subject identified first, “2” against the next subject, etc.

Maths ………………………………………..[ ] MA

Science …………………………...……...…..[ ] SC

English …..…………………………………..[ ] EN

Studies of Society & the Environment …........[ ] ST

Technology ………………………………......[ ] TE

Visual & Performing Arts ……………..…......[ ] VI

Health & Physical Education …………..…….[ ] HE

Language other than English …………..…….[ ] LA

Vocational Education ……………...…..….….[ ] VO

Special Education ………...…….…....…...…..[ ] SP

[Note that “qualified” includes accreditation achieved through Recognised Prior Learning] [ST includes history, geography, economics, politics, sociology, anthropology, law, psychology,

ethics. TE includes Computer Studies, Ag. Science, Business Studies, Home Ec., Manual Arts,

Industrial Technology and Design.]

69

1.7 The next question concerns the SUBJECTS you currently teach. Could you please list

them in order, beginning with the subject that accounts for the largest share of your

time? Rank

Maths ………………………………………..[ ] MA

Science …………………………...……...…..[ ] SC

English …..…………………………………..[ ] EN

Studies of Society & the Environment …........[ ] ST

Technology (includes Computer Studies) …...[ ] TE

Visual & Performing Arts ……………..…......[ ] VI

Health & Physical Education …………..…….[ ] HE

Language other than English …………..…….[ ] LA

Vocational Education ……………...…..….….[ ] VO

Special Education ………...…….…....…...…..[ ] SP

1.8 Now I’d like to ask you to estimate how your WORK TIME is ALLOCATED. In

answering, it might help to think in terms of an average or typical week. There are four

types of activity to consider. First, is face-to-face teaching. Next is preparing and

grading. A third category is non-teaching activities such as staff meetings, playground

duty and helping out with school plays. The last category is any special assigned roles

such as being a department head, sports coordinator or counselor. You may not have

an assigned role.

Could you please estimate roughly what percentage of time you spend on each of the

activities. Note that the percentages don’t have to add up to exactly 100. We’re just

interested in relative amounts of time. If you prefer, you can estimate in terms of hours

per week. What proportion of your time would you spend on …

% or hours Face-to-face teaching ….……………..[ ]

Preparing and grading ………………..[ ]

Non-teaching activities …………...…..[ ]

Assigned roles (0 if don’t have one) .....[ ]

During an average week, about how many hours would you spend on the activities in

total? Hours: _____

IF Assigned Roles % > 0:

70

Could I ask what assigned role you have or, if you have two or more, the role that

accounts for the largest amount of your time? Assigned role: ___________________

Thank you for that information. Now, I’d like to ask about why you became a teacher.

II MOTIVATION FOR TEACHING

2.1 Did you have another career before teaching? No → GO to NEXT ITEM

Yes ↓ What was your main occupation before becoming a teacher? ____________________

2.2 The next question is an important one. However, I’d appreciate if you could provide a

fairly concise answer to help with information recording. Could you please identify the

biggest motivation behind you deciding to become a teacher?

_______________________________________________________________

2.3 Could you rate how well your initial teacher education prepared you for the role. Did

your experience at college or university allow you to build a reasonably strong platform

for starting teaching? Please give a rating from 1 (low) to 5 (high) on the quality of

training. Rating (1 to 5): ______

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III SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Thanks for your input so far. Now I’m going to ask you to rate 20 individual aspects of the

school environment and teaching. We’d like to know how important each factor is to you in

making decisions about being a teacher OR in choosing between teaching positions.

Just from your personal perspective, I’d appreciate if you could indicate HOW IMPORTANT

each of these factors is to you. Could you please provide a rating from 1 to 5. 1 means the

factor is not important while 5 means it is very important. You should give 5 to the factors that

have a big influence on your career decisions.

HOW IMPORTANT is it to you that you work where Rating

3.1 There is a safe neighbourhood

3.2 There are nice facilities - buildings and grounds

3.3 Occupational health is well managed

3.4 There are effective measures for handling student behavior

3.5 You are familiar with the subjects you teach

3.6 The year or level taught is close to what you prefer

3.7 Class sizes are relatively small

3.8 The workload is relatively light

3.9 You have autonomy or control over your work

3.10 There is good leadership

3.11 Teaching resources, including materials and equipment, are readily available

3.12 Professional development is generally encouraged

3.13 There is financial support for professional development

3.14 Promotion opportunities exist

3.15 Administrators and managers are supportive and recognize achievement

3.16 Community and parents are involved

3.17 The salary is high

3.18 There are generous holiday provisions

3.19 Job security is high

3.20 You are able to move between schools as your career progresses

Thank you. The next section deals with moves away from teaching and with recent changes of

school.

72

IV CAREER AND SCHOOL CHANGES

Have you ever left teaching to work in ANOTHER OCCUPATION? Yes → GO to 4.1

No ↓

Have you CHANGED SCHOOLS in the last two years? Yes → GO to 4.6

No ↓

OK. Since you haven’t left teaching at any stage or recently changed schools, we’ll skip this

section and move onto the next one. This deals with your STUDY AND CAREER PLANS. ↓

GO to SECTION V

4.1 How many times have you taken time AWAY from teaching to work in another

occupation? Number of times: ______

4.2 Thinking about your LONGEST ABSENCE, how long was it? Years: ______

[round down to nearest year, so ”0” if < 1 year, “1” if < 2 years, etc.]

4.3 What was your MAIN OCCUPATION during that period? ____________________

4.4 In a few words, could you describe the MAJOR REASON for your move away from

teaching? ____________________________________________________________

4.5 Have you CHANGED SCHOOLS in the past two years? (Circle “No” or” Yes”) No → GO to the box at end of section

Yes ↓

4.6 Did your LAST change of school involve: Tick if “yes” A move between GOVT and NON-GOVT school sectors? ……….... Did it involve a change of STATE or TERRITORY? …………...…...

73

4.7 Could you describe in a few words the MAJOR REASON for your LATEST change of

school? In answering, we are interested in knowing if the move was prompted by any

major positives about the new job or any major negatives about the old job.

_____________________________________________________________________

Thanks for completing that section. Now, I’d like to move on to questions dealing with your

study and career development plans.

V STUDY AND CAREER PLANS

5.1 Are you currently undertaking or planning to undertake any FORMAL STUDY? No → GO to item 5.4

Yes ↓

Which type of DEGREE/QUALIFICATION you are aiming to secure?

[May want to prompt answers]

Bachelor degree…………………………………... BA

Retraining or upgrade teaching certificate……….. RE

Specialist or graduate diploma…………………… SP

Master degree…………………………………….. MA

Doctorate…………………………………………. DO

5.2 What is the MAJOR FIELD of your current/future study? _____________________

5.3 What would you say is the MAIN REASON for choosing to study?

_____________________________________________________________________

5.4 Do you think you are likely to LEAVE the teaching profession before retiring from work

altogether? (Y/N) _____

5.5 For this next question, I’d like you to identify the single thing that most BOTHERS you

about teaching. In a few words, could you please describe what you find to be the single

most unpleasant or difficult aspect about being a teacher instead of working in another

profession or trade?

_____________________________________________________________________

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Thanks. We’re almost at the end of the survey. The next two questions ask you to suggest any

strategies or measures that might help encourage people to STAY in teaching or that might help

ATTRACT people to the profession.

VI SUGGESTIONS

6.1 Based on your experience, do you have any suggestions about what could be done to

encourage current teachers to STAY in the profession? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________

6.2 Can you think of anything that could be done to encourage people to ENTER teaching in

the first place? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________

VII DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

Finally, I’d like to ask a couple of demographic questions. The information would only be used

to make statistical comparisons between different groups of respondents.

7.1 Write down the respondent’s gender (M/F): ___

7.2 Were you born in Australia? Yes → GO to NEXT ITEM

No ↓

In which country were you born? _____________________

What year did you arrive in Australia? ______

7.3 Could you please tell me the year you were born? Year: ____

OK. THAT’S THE END OF THE INTERVIEW. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.

Time taken for the interview. Minutes: _____

75

3. Australian Graduates working overseas in the education profession

(from the Australian Emigration Survey 2002)

Executive summary This report presents the findings of a subgroup of Australian emigrants from the Australian Emigration Survey 2002 conducted by Hugo et. al. (2003), specifically Australian expatriates who were working overseas in the Education profession (including school teachers).

The Teacher Quality and Educational Leadership Taskforce has expressed interest in the extent of Australian teacher losses to emigration; the factors leading teachers to emigrate; and factors influencing Australian teachers to remain overseas. To some degree, the Teacher Quality and Educational Leadership Taskforce’s interest in Australian teacher losses to emigration can be addressed based on findings of this report.

The survey found that the top three main reasons Australian expatriates who were working overseas in the Education profession left Australia to live overseas were ‘Better employment opportunities’ (37.5 per cent); ‘Higher income’ (28.3 per cent); and ‘Professional development’ (27.7 per cent).

Their intentions regarding a return to Australia to live and the main reasons for them to do so were as follows:

• around two out of five (43.0 per cent) planned to return to Australia to live but not in the near future (59.5 per cent responded that it would be after 2 years or longer); and

• the two main reasons for them to return to Australia were ‘Lifestyle’ (38.4 per cent) and ‘Family’ (29.5 per cent).

Of those Australian expatriates, who did not plan to return to Australia to live, their top three main reasons were:

• Established in current location (55.6 per cent);

• Marriage/partnership keeps me here (50.8 per cent); and

• Children grown up here (47.6 per cent).

The findings from the data on Australian expatriates working overseas in the Education profession were very similar to those of all Australian expatriates who participated in the survey.

This report found that there does not appear to be a mass exodus of Australian Education Graduates working overseas but that Australia generally gains more School Teachers from overseas than it loses through emigration.

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1. Introduction The Teacher Quality and Educational Leadership Taskforce has expressed interest in the extent of Australian teacher losses to emigration; the factors leading teachers to emigrate; and factors influencing Australian teachers to remain overseas.

A subgroup of Australian emigrants from the Australian Emigration Survey 2002 conducted by Hugo et. al. (2003), specifically Australian expatriates who were working overseas in the Education profession (including school teachers), were analysed to address the Taskforce’s concerns. This data subset has not previously been released.

This report outlines the characteristics of subgroup of survey respondents; current and previous employment situations; reasons for leaving Australia to live overseas; reasons for intending to return to Australia; and reasons for not returning to Australia to live.

In March 2004, the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) made a submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional References Committee Inquiry into Australian Expatriates47. The Submission reported that Australia’s experience of losing large number of highly skilled people to other countries was consistent with international experience of ‘brain circulation’. The Submission pointed out that ‘Government policy changes’ and ‘Economic and labour market issues’ were contributing factors to international migration flows. The ‘Government policy changes’ were driven by the need to attract foreign labour to offset domestic skill shortages and concerns with population ageing. The ‘Economic and labour market issues’ such as relatively tight labour markets with comparatively low unemployment; and emerging skill shortages in the advanced OECD economies were other contributing factors. The Submission concluded that Australia was experiencing a ‘brain gain’, in terms of overall numbers and in most skilled occupations.

Birrell et al (2004) showed that the total net inflow of persons with a skilled occupation to Australia over the five year period to 2002-03 was 151,735. This net inflow was equivalent to 4 per cent of the stock of Australian employed in skilled occupations in 200148. Significant gains were noted (as percentage of 2001 stock of persons employed in respective occupations) for economists (37 per cent); building and engineering professionals (17 per cent); and university lecturers and tutors (8 per cent). Other sizeable to moderate gains were noted for computing professionals (14 per cent); accountants (8 per cent); natural and physical science professionals (6 per cent); and nurses (3 per cent). The lowest net gain amongst the professionals was school teachers (1 per cent).

Chart 1 shows the net loss of Australian school teachers through migration; and the net gain from long-term temporary residents and settler arrivals who reported a skilled occupation as school teacher over the period of 1995-96 to 2002-0349. The overall net movements show a surplus of school teachers over the same period, except in the 1998 - 99 period.

47 Department of Education, Science and Training (2004), Submission to The Senate Legal and Constitutional References Committee on Inquiry into Australian Expatriates, Submission number 664, March 2004, available at http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committe/. 48 Stock of 4,273,981 persons were employed in skilled occupations in August 2001 (from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census 2001). 49 Birrell, B., Dobson, I.R., Rapson, V. and Smith, T.F. (2004), Skilled Movement in the New Century: Outcomes for Australia, Centre for Population and Urban Research, Monash University, pp10-13.

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These data, however, are no cause for complacency in relation to teacher supply issues. As the MCEETYA report acknowledged "Many English-speaking countries who are also facing teacher supply problems are recruiting aggressively in overseas markets including Australia”.50

A pattern of net gains may not continue. Equally, a net gain of school teachers through migration does not mean that Australia has gained teachers in the subject areas in most demand. For example, the MCEETYA report identified the secondary Key Learning Areas of Mathematics, Science and Technology as presenting the most concerning recruitment difficulties across Australia, while demand for generalist primary school teachers was, in most instances, easily met.51

Chart 1. Net loss, gain and movement of school teachers, 1995-96 to 2002-03

-4,000

-3,000

-2,000

-1,000

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03

Persons

Net loss* Net gain** Net movement

* through migration of Australian residents who reported a skilled occupation as school teachers. ** from long-term temporary residents and settler arrivals who reported a skilled occupation as school teacher to Australia. Source: Birrell et al (2004) , Skilled Movement in the New Century: Outcomes for Australia, pp10-13.

50 p.100, MCEETYA, Demand and Supply of Primary and Secondary School Teachers in Australia, 2002, MCEETYA, Melbourne at http://www.mceetya.edu.au/pdf/demand/demand.pdf. 51 Ibid, pp.19-22.

78

2. Background The data in this report are drawn from the Australian Emigration Survey 2002. The survey was funded by an Australian Research Council (ARC) linkage grant and conducted by the National Centre for Social Applications of GIS (GISCA); University of Adelaide; the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA); and the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA).

The survey findings were reported as Australia’s Diaspora: Its Size, Nature and Policy Implications (Hugo et. al., 2003) and based on 2,072 responses. The survey indicated that a total of 3,967 questionnaires were distributed to recent graduates through the Australian universities’ alumni associations using their members’ address records. Of these, 1,327 were returned, representing a response rate of 33.5 per cent. The other 745 responses were received from advertising the survey technique, publicising the survey on websites, and newsletters to a group of alumni associations and invited Australia-born emigrants, or Australian citizens currently resident overseas to complete the questionnaire online. A copy of the survey questionnaire is in Attachment A.

The authors (Hugo et. al., 2003) of the report on the survey’s findings also discussed a few biases presented in the survey sample. They were :

• Over-representing recent departures from Australia;

• Under-representing expatriates who were not linked with alumni groups or expatriate organisations;

• Biased towards the computer-literate and with internet access; and

• Over-representing professionals and under-representing managerial and administrative workers.

Hence, as the data used in this report are subject to bias, the reported results should be regarded with caution.

3. Broad characteristics of respondents Of the 2,072 Australian Emigration Survey 2002 respondents, 293 responses or 14.1 per cent were Australian expatriates working overseas in the Education profession. The findings in this paper are based on an analysis of this sub-group of respondents. The proportion of male and female responses were 47.4 per cent and 52.6 per cent, respectively.

Over 76 per cent (225 responses) of respondents were born in Australia, while 23.2 per cent (68 responses) were born overseas. The main countries of birth for overseas-born respondents were UK/Ireland (55.9 per cent); Asia (11.8 per cent); New Zealand (10.3 per cent); America (10.3 per cent); Western Europe (5.9 per cent); Other Oceania (4.4 per cent); and Africa-excluding North Africa (1.5 per cent).

The majority of respondents were Australian citizens (73.0 per cent or 214 responses). About 16.4 per cent held Australian/British or Australian/Other country dual citizenship. Some 5.8 per cent were USA citizens; 1.4 per cent were UK citizens; and citizenship of other country represented 3.4 per cent of the responses.

79

The state/territory distribution of respondents’ residences at the time of leaving Australia was as follows:

• New South Wales, 29.8 per cent (compared to 33.6 per cent of the national population (ABS 2001));

• Victoria, 14.7 per cent (compared to 24.5 per cent of the national population);

• Queensland, 14.0 per cent (19.3 per cent);

• Western Australia, 13.0 per cent (9.8 per cent);

• South Australia, 17.8 per cent (7.7 per cent);

• Tasmania, 4.8 per cent (2.4 per cent);

• Australian Capital Territory, 4.8 per cent (1.6 per cent); and the

• Northern Territory, 1.0 per cent (1.1 per cent).

Two in five respondents (41.0 per cent) left Australia to live overseas in the 1990’s; 17.8 per cent left during the 1980’s; 15.7 per cent in 70’s; 13.7 per cent between 2000 and 2002; and 12 per cent before 1970.

The respondents were also asked to name the country where they were living at the time of the survey. About 34.5 per cent of respondents were living in the UK/Ireland/Other European countries; 30.0 per cents in the USA and Canada; 20.1 per cent in Asia; 10.9 per cent in New Zealand and other Oceania countries; and only 4.4 per cent were living in other countries.

The majority of respondents (70.3 per cent) were married (including de facto); 20.5 per cent had never married; 8.5 per cent were separated or divorced; 0.7 per cent responded were widowed at the time of survey.

Age distribution Almost 38 per cent of respondents were aged over 50 at the time of the survey. About 28.3 per cent were aged between 40 and 49; 25.6 per cent were 30 and 39; and 8.5 per cent were between 20 and 29 years old. Chart 2 shows the details of respondents’ age group distribution.

The respondents were also asked about their age at the time of leaving Australia to live overseas. The majority (58.0 per cent) of respondents left Australia in their 20’s; 21.2 per cent in their 30’s; and 14.7 per cent in their 40’s. Only a small minority of respondents left Australia when they were aged under 20 (3.4 per cent) or over 50 (2.7 per cent) (Table 3).

Table 1 shows that just over half of respondents (53.9 per cent) in the under 35 age-group were living in the UK/Ireland/Other European countries. Of respondents aged between 35 and 49 29.7 per cent were living in the UK/Ireland/Other European countries; 28.8 per cent were living in Asia; and 28.0 per cent were living in the USA/Canada. The largest proportion (40.0 per cent) of respondents over 50 were living in the USA and Canada.

80

Chart 2. Age distribution of respondents at the time of survey

1.4

7.2

13.7

12.0

14.7

13.7

15.7

10.9

7.5

3.4

0

5

10

15

20

20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-45 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65+

Age Group

Pe

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Chart 3. Age distribution of respondents at the time of leaving Australia

3.4

25.6

32.4

11.39.9

14.7

2.7

0

10

20

30

40

Less than

20

20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-49 50+

Age Group

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Table 1. Age group of respondents at the time of survey by current residence

Age group USA/Canada (%)

UK/Ireland/Other Europe

(%)

Asia (%)

NZ/Other Oceania

(%)

Other countries

(%) <35 16.9 53.9 18.5 6.2 4.6

35-49 28.0 29.7 28.8 8.5 5.1 50+ 40.0 28.2 11.8 16.4 3.6

81

Educational background52

The respondents were asked about their educational background related to their highest completed educational qualifications such as award titles; field of education; name of university; and year of award.

About 72.5 per cent of respondents held postgraduate degree qualifications; 26.5 per cent had undergraduate degree qualifications; only 1.0 per cent of respondents had other qualifications. Chart 4 shows the respondents’ highest completed educational qualifications by gender.

Chart 4. Highest completed educational qualification by gender

66.7

32.0

1.3

79.0

20.3

0.7

0

20

40

60

80

100

PG UG Other

Highest Qualification

Pe

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Female Male

Over 44.6 per cent of qualifications were in the Education field; 19.4 per cent in Society & Culture; and 18.3 per cent in Natural & Physical Sciences. Other fields of qualifications are listed in Table 2.

Table 2. Field of qualification for highest qualification

Field of Qualification Percent Education 44.6 Society & Culture 19.4 Natural & Physical Sciences 18.3 Management & Commerce 5.9 Health 4.5 Creative Arts 3.1 Information Technology 2.1 Engineering & Related Technologies/ Architecture & Building/ Agriculture, Environmental & Related Studies 2.1

52 Two inconsistent responses related to the educational background were found and omitted from the educational background part of analysis (i.e. survey responses reduced from 293 to 291).

82

Some 26.9 per cent of postgraduate degree qualifications were PhD awards; 27.6 per cent were Master’s awards; and 25.9 per cent were postgraduate and/or undergraduate Diploma of Education awards. Table 3 shows the other award titles for the respondents.

Table 3. Award title for highest qualification Award Title Per cent PhD 26.9

Master's including M Ed/M Sc/MBA/MB/M Ec/M Comm/M Music/M Teach 27.6

Diploma of Education (PG/UG) 25.9

Bachelor's including BA/B Sc/MD/B Ec/B Nursing/ LLB/CPA/B Hlth Magt 12.4

Other Diplomas and Certificates 7.2 The majority of respondents (80.4 per cent) received their highest qualifications from Australian universities; and 11.2 per cent from USA/Canada universities. Some 7.7 per cent gained their highest qualifications from universities in the UK and 0.7 per cent from other overseas universities.

The respondents were also asked the year they received their highest qualifications. Almost three out of five respondents (58.5 per cent) received their qualifications between 1990 and 2002; 19.0 per cent in 80’s; 14.8 per cent in 70’s; and 7.8 per cent received before 1970. Of those respondents who received their qualifications between 1990 and 2002, over 71 per cent were awarded at postgraduate level. Details of year of award by level of course are listed in Table 4.

Table 4. Year of award by level of course for highest qualification (per cent)

Year of award Postgraduate level

Undergraduate level Other level All Responses

(n=284) before 1970 72.7 27.3 0.0 7.8 1970 - 1979 81.0 19.1 0.0 14.8 1980 - 1989 70.4 27.8 1.9 19.0 1990 - 2002 71.1 28.3 0.6 58.5

4. Current and previous employment status The survey participants were asked about their current and previous main occupations. The vast majority of respondents (96.9 per cent) were currently employed as Professionals and only a small minority of them were employed as Managers and Administrators (1.7 per cent); and Associated Professionals (1.4 per cent).

Some 25.6 per cent of participants (75 responses) did not provide responses on their main occupations prior to leaving Australia. Of those who responded (218), 86.2 per cent (188 responses) were previously employed as Professionals; 4.1 per cent (9 responses) as Managers and Administrators; 3.7 per cent (8 responses) as Associated Professionals; 3.2 per cent (7 responses) as Advanced Clerical and Service Workers; and other occupations

83

accounted for 2.7 per cent of responses. Table 5 shows current main occupation by previous main occupation for 218 responses.

Survey participants were also asked if their current employment status was full-time or part-time. About 82.3 per cent of participants were employed as full-time and 17.7 per cent as part-time. Of those whose current employment status was full-time, 62.2 per cent were employed full-time before leaving Australia; 14.9 per cent part-time; 18.7 per cent were students; 2.9 per cent were unemployed; and 1.2 were not in workforce. The details of current and previous employment status are listed in Table 6.

About 53.5 per cent of respondents’ current employment position was permanent; 42.8 per cent was contract; and 3.8 per cent was “other”. Over 90 per cent of respondents were working for wages, salary or commission in their current occupations; 5.2 per cent were in their own business but not employing others; 3.8 per cent were in their own business and employing others.

Table 5. Previous main occupation by current main occupation (number of responses)

Previous main occupation Professionals

Managers and Administrators /

Associated Professionals

Row Total

Managers and Administrators 7 2 9 Professionals 184 4 188 Associated Professionals 8 0 8 Advanced Clerical and Service Workers

7 0 7

Intermediate Clerical, Sales and Service Workers/ Elementary Clerical, Sales and Service Workers/ Labourers & Related Workers

6 0 6

Column Total 212 6 218 Table 6. Previous employment status by current employment status (per cent)

Current employment Status Previous employment status

Full-time Part-time Full-time 62.2 61.5 Part-time 14.9 11.5 Unemployed 2.9 3.9 Student 18.7 15.4 Not in workforce 1.2 7.7

84

Around two out of five respondents’ (40.3 per cent) annual incomes (estimated in Australian dollar) were between $50,000 to $99,999; 29.4 per cent were less than $50,000; 13.7 per cent were between $100,000 to $149,000; 8.9 per cent were between $150,000 to $199,999; and 7.9 per cent were $200,000 or more annual income range.

Chart 5 shows that 43.9 per cent of male respondents, currently employed overseas in the education industry, were earning over $100,000 per annum. In contrast, only 18.2 per cent of female respondents were in this annual income range. Many female respondents’ (43.5 per cent) annual incomes were in the $50,000 to $99,999 bracket.

Chart 6 shows the respondents’ current annual income ranges by age group. As expected, a significant proportion (92.3 per cent) of young respondents, less than 35 years old, were earning less than $100,000 per annum. About one-third (31.4 per cent) of those aged between 35 and 49 and 42.7 per cent of those aged over 50 were earning more than $100,000 per annum.

Over 47.7 per cent of respondents living in the USA and Canada were earning $100,000 or more per annum, compared to 37.3 per cent of respondents living in Asia. Most respondents living in New Zealand/Other Oceania countries (93.8 per cent); other parts of the world (84.6 per cent); and UK/Ireland/Other European countries (79.2 per cent) were earning less than $100,000 per annum. Table 7 shows a distribution of current annual income by major destination countries for the survey participants.

The survey asked the respondents to indicate any salary package entitlements that make their current job attractive. Most respondents (79.1 per cent or 91 responses) replied that the housing, utilities and health packages attracted them to their current job. Other reported salary package entitlements are listed in Table 8.

Chart 5. Current annual income (estimated in $A) by gender

19.4

36.7

18.0

10.8

15.1

38.3

43.5

9.77.1

1.3

0

20

40

60

<$50,000

$50,000-$99,999

$100,000-$149,000

$150,000-$199,999

$200,000+

Current Annual Income

Pe

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Male Female

85

Chart 6. Current annual income (estimated in $A) by age group

38.5

53.9

6.2

0.01.5

16.1

11.0

4.2

15.5

33.1

35.6

11.8

20.0

15.5

37.3

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

<$50,000

$50,000-$99,999

$100,000-$149,000

$150,000-$199,999

$200,000+

Current Annual Income

Pe

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nta

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<35 35-49 50+

Table 7. Current annual income by major destination countries

Current annual income (A$)

USA/Canada (%)

UK/Ireland/ Other Europe

(%)

NZ/ Other Oceania

(%)

Asia (%)

Other (%)

<$50,000 14.8 32.7 50.0 32.2 38.5 $50,000-$99,999 37.5 46.5 43.8 30.5 46.2 $100,000-$149,000 14.8 11.9 6.3 18.6 15.4 $150,000-$199,999 17.1 3.0 0.0 13.6 0.0 $200,000+ 15.9 5.9 0.0 5.1 0.0

Table 8. Salary package entitlements for current employment based on 115 responses

Entitlement Percent Housing, utilities, health 79.1 Tax relief 5.2 Bonuses 4.4 Pension/social security 3.5 Holiday leave 3.5 Flexible work conditions 2.6 Shares/stocks 1.7

86

When respondents were asked about their financial situations since they moved to overseas, 72.8 per cent responded that their financial situations were ‘improved’; 15.9 per cent replied that they ‘stayed about the same’; and 11.4 per cent said that they ‘got worse’.

Of those respondents whose financial situation had ‘improved’ since they moved overseas, 44.8 per cent of respondents reported ‘Higher salary/career/promotion’; and 33.9 per cent reported ‘Gained better employment’ as the reasons for their financial improvement. The other reasons for the ‘improved’ financial situation are listed in Table 9.

Table 9. Reasons for ‘improved’ financial situation based on 192 responses

Reason Percent Higher salary/career/promotion 44.8 Gained Better employment 33.9 Spouses occupation 8.3 Exchange rate/cost living 5.2 Tax gains/OS allowances 4.7 Change in employment status/ personal circumstances 3.1

5. Reasons for leaving Australia to live overseas The survey asked the respondents a series of questions related to their main reasons for leaving Australia to live overseas. The top three responses were ‘Better employment opportunities’ (37.5 per cent); ‘Higher income’ (28.3 per cent); and ‘Professional development’ (27.7 per cent). Details of other reported reasons can be found in Chart 7.

Chart 8 shows there were some differences between male and female respondents’ views on main reasons for leaving Australia to live overseas:

• ‘Better employment opportunities’ (43.2 per cent); ‘Professional development’ (36.7 per cent); and ‘Higher income’ (30.2 per cent) were the top three reasons for male respondents.

• Female participants views were similar (32.5 per cent for ‘Better employment opportunities’ and 26.5 per cent for ‘Higher income’) but only 19.5 per cent of female participants listed ‘Professional development’ as main reasons. Instead ‘Marriage/partnership’ (27.9 per cent) ranked second.

87

Chart 7. Main reasons for leaving Australia to live overseas

37.5

28.3 27.7

22.2 21.219.1

16.413.7

12.0

6.1

2.1 1.4

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10

20

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Bet

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Chart 8. Main reasons for leaving Australia to live overseas by gender

0

10

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Main reasons

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Male Female

Table 10 shows that similar views were shared among different age groups. Regardless of respondents’ gender and age ‘Better employment opportunities’ was the top reason for leaving Australia for all age groups (41.5 per cent for under 35 age group; 40.7 per cent for 35 to 49 age group; 31.8 per cent for over 50 age group).

88

The second-ranked reason for both under 35 (30.8 per cent) and 35 to 49 age groups (33.9 per cent) was ‘Higher income’. The over 50 age group ranked ‘Professional development’ (24.6 per cent) as the second main reason.

‘Better employment opportunities’ did not rank highly for respondents residing in Asia and NZ/Other Oceania regions. The respondents living in Asia listed ‘Higher income’ (55.9 per cent), while 28.1 per cent of respondents living in NZ and Other Oceania regions listed ‘Marriage/partnership’ as their main reason for leaving Australia to live overseas.

Table 10. Main reasons for leaving Australia to live overseas by age group (per cent)

Reason <35 35-49 50+

Better employment opportunities 41.5 40.7 31.8 Higher income 30.8 33.9 20.9 Professional development 30.8 28.8 24.6 Marriage/partnership 27.7 19.5 21.8 Promotional/career advancement 23.1 21.2 14.6 Lifestyle 21.5 31.4 10.0 Partner's employment 15.4 13.6 12.7 Overseas job transfer/exchange 10.8 11.9 12.8 Education/study 9.2 13.6 23.6 To establish, relocate or expand a business 3.1 2.5 0.9 To be close to family/friends 1.5 6.8 8.2 Separation/divorce 1.5 2.5 0.0

6. Reasons for returning to Australia Respondents were asked about their intentions to return to Australia, and the main reasons why they would return to Australia to live. Around two out of five survey participants (43.0 per cent or 126 responses) planned to return to Australia to live; 35.5 per cent were undecided; and 21.5 per cent had no plan to return to Australia to live.

Of those respondents who planned to return to Australia, 11.1 per cent intended to return to Australia within 6 months; 9.5 per cent within 12 months; 19.8 per cent within 2 years; and ‘longer period’ responses were 59.5 per cent.

Chart 9 shows male and female respondents’ main reasons for indicating they would return to Australia to live. Both male and female responded that ‘Lifestyle’ (male 33.3 per cent; female 42.9 per cent) and ‘Family’ (male 23.2 per cent; female 35.1 per cent) were their main reasons for intending to return to Australia.

89

Chart 9. Main reasons for intending to return to Australia by gender

33.3

23.2

7.34.4

42.9

35.1

8.4

3.3

0

10

20

30

40

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Lifestyle Family Work Education

Main reasons

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ge

Male Female

The majority of those respondents who listed ‘Lifestyle’ and ‘Family’ as their main reasons for intending to return to Australia, planned to return to Australia after 2 years or longer. Over 40 per cent of them were aged between 35 to 49; over 65 per cent held postgraduate degrees as their highest qualifications; over 41 per cent were earning between $50,000 to $99,999 per annum; about 40 per cent were living in UK/Ireland/Other European countries; over 41 per cent of them were currently renting, and living in a couple only household. Table 11 shows more details of their profiles.

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Table 11. Profile of respondents who listed ‘Lifestyle’ and ‘Family’ as their main reasons for returning to Australia (per cent)

Characteristic Lifestyle (n=112) Family (n=86) Anticipate a return to Australia:

Within 6 months 8.1 9.3 Within 12 months 8.1 10.5 Within 2 years 18.0 19.8 Longer period 65.8 60.5

Sex: Male 41.1 37.2 Female 58.9 62.8

Age group: < 35 30.4 33.7 35-49 42.9 44.2 50+ 26.8 22.1

Highest completed education qualification:

Postgraduate degree 67.0 65.1 Undergraduate degree 33.0 34.9

Annual income (A$):

<$50,000 27.7 29.1 $50,000-$99,999 42.0 44.2 $100,000-$149,000 15.2 11.6 $150,000-$199,999 9.8 10.5 $200,000 5.4 4.7

Current residence: USA/Canada 19.6 24.4 UK/Ireland/Other European countries 39.3 41.9 Asia 31.3 26.7 NZ/Other Oceania countries 7.1 5.8 Other 2.7 1.2

Present family/household situation: Lone person household 16.1 14.0 Couple only household 47.3 40.7 Families with children 30.4 38.4 Other 6.3 7.0

Current housing tenure: Home owner 34.8 32.6 Purchasing home 11.6 12.8 Renting 42.0 45.4 Other 11.6 9.3

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Respondents who reported that they would return to Australia were also asked where they would live and the type of work they would be seeking when they returned. Table 12 shows that the majority of respondents intended to return to the same State/Territory of their residence at the time of leaving Australia. For example, of those respondents who intended to return to New South Wales, 73.3 per cent were previously lived in New South Wales and 26.7 per cent were previously lived in other States.

Over 27 per cent of males and 17.6 per cent of females responded that they would be retired when they returned to Australia. More female (21.6 per cent) than male (18.2 per cent) respondents would be seeking academic work. About 18 per cent of male and 13.5 per cent of female respondents would be seeking consultancy work. The details of the other types of work that the respondents would be seeking when they returned to Australia are in Table 13.

Table 12. State/Territory of respondents’ residences at the time of leaving Australia by intended State/Territory of residence when returning to Australia (n=132)

State/Territory intend to live State/Territory at the time of leaving Australia

NSW (%)

VIC (%)

QLD (%)

SA (%)

WA (%)

TAS (%)

NT (%)

ACT (%)

Undecided (%)

NSW 73.3 5.9 25.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 50.0 25.0 VIC 6.7 76.5 0.0 0.0 7.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 8.3

QLD 6.7 5.9 62.5 6.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 20.8

SA 3.3 0.0 8.3 87.5 7.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 20.8

WA 3.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 78.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 12.5 TAS 6.7 0.0 4.2 0.0 7.1 100.0 50.0 0.0 8.3

NT 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.3 0.0 0.0 50.0 0.0 0.0

ACT 0.0 11.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 50.0 4.2

Table 13. Type of work respondents would be seeking when they returned to Australia (n=129)

Type of work Male (%)

Female (%)

Retire/none 27.3 17.6 Other 18.2 28.4 Academic 18.2 21.6 Consultancy 18.2 13.5 Undecided 12.7 8.1 Science 1.8 1.4 Health/clinical 1.8 1.4 Law 1.8 1.4 Human resources/Management 0.0 4.1 Social work 0.0 2.7

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7. Reasons for not returning to Australia Of those survey participants who had no plans to return to Australia to live (63 responses), 61.9 per cent were male and 38.1 per cent were female.

The majority were over 50 years old (57.1 per cent); holding postgraduate degrees as their highest qualifications (73.0 per cent); earning less than $100,000 per annum (66.7 per cent).

About 39.7 per cent of them were living in the USA/Canada and 30.2 per cent were living in the UK/Ireland/Other European countries. Over 66 per cent were also home owners in their country of residence and 43.6 per cent were living in a couple-only household. Table 14 shows this group of respondents’ profiles in more detail.

The survey also asked those respondents who said that they had no plan to return to Australia to live, why they did not plan to return to Australia.

The majority (55.6 per cent) listed ‘Established in current location’ as their top reason followed by ‘Marriage/partnership keeps me here’ (50.8 per cent); and ‘Children grown up here’ (47.6 per cent).

Male respondents’ top three reasons for not planning to return to Australia were ‘Established in current location’ (64.1 per cent); ‘Children grown up here’ (46.2 per cent); and ‘Marriage/partnership/family/friends keeps me here’ (41.0 per cent).

By comparison, female respondents gave ‘Marriage/partnership keeps me here’ (66.7 per cent); ‘Children grown up here’ (50.0 per cent); and ‘Lifestyle more attractive here’ (45.8 per cent) as their top three reasons.

Interestingly, of those respondents who said that they had no plan to return to Australia to live, over 49 per cent of them considered Australia their “home”.

Table 14. Profile of respondents with no intention to return to Australia (n=63)

Characteristic Per cent Sex:

Male 61.9 Female 38.1

Age group: < 35 11.1 35-49 31.8 50+ 57.1

Highest completed education qualification:

Postgraduate degree 73.0 Undergraduate degree 23.9 Other 3.2

Annual income (A$):

<$50,000 27.0 $50,000-$99,999 39.7 $100,000-$149,000 9.5 $150,000-$199,999 7.9 $200,000 15.9

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Current residence:

USA/Canada 39.7 UK/Ireland/Other European countries 30.2 Asia 15.9 NZ/Other Oceania countries 9.5 Other 4.8

Present family/household situation: Lone person household 12.9 Couple only household 43.6 Families with children 37.1 Other 6.5

Current housing tenure: Home owner 66.7 Purchasing home 14.3 Renting 17.5 Other 1.6

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8. Conclusion This report provides some useful insights’ about Australian expatriates working overseas in the Education profession (including school teachers) – not withstanding the biases presented in the survey sample (as stated on page 3 of this report).

To some degree, the Teacher Quality and Educational Leadership Taskforce’s interest in Australian teacher losses to emigration in terms of the factors leading teachers to emigrate; and factors influencing Australian teachers to remain overseas can be addressed based on the findings in this report.

The top three main reasons for this group of Australian expatriates, who were working overseas in the Education profession, to leave Australia to live overseas were:

• Better employment opportunities (37.5 per cent);

• Higher income (28.3 per cent); and

• Professional development (27.7 per cent).

Their intentions and main reasons for them to return to Australia to live were as follows:

• around two out of five (43.0 per cent) planned to return to Australia to live but not in the near future (59.5 per cent responded that it would be 2 years or longer); and

• the two main reasons for them to return to Australia were ‘Lifestyle’ (38.4 per cent) and ‘Family’ (29.5 per cent).

Of those Australian expatriates, who did not plan to return to Australia to live, their top three main reasons were :

• Established in current location (55.6 per cent);

• Marriage/partnership keeps me here (50.8 per cent); and

• Children grown up here (47.6 per cent).

The findings from the data on Australian expatriates working overseas in the Education profession were very similar to those of all Australian expatriates who participated in the survey. However, as the data used in this report are subject to bias, the reported results should be regarded with caution.

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References Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Census of Population and Housing-Selected Social and Housing Characteristics 2001 publication, 2015.0, ABS, Canberra, 2001. Birrell, B., Dobson, I.R., Rapson, V. and Smith, T.F. (2004), Skilled Movement in the New Century: Outcomes for Australia, Centre for Population and Urban Research, Monash University. Department of Education, Science and Training (2004), Submission to The Senate Legal and Constitutional References Committee on Inquiry into Australian Expatriates, Submission number 664, March 2004, available at http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committe/ Hugo, G., Rudd, D. and Harris, K. (2003), Australia’s Diaspora: Its Size, Nature and Policy Implications. Final Report of an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant, National Centre for Social Applications of GIS, University of Adelaide, the Committee for Economic Development of Australia and the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, July. Hugo, G. (2002), Emigration from Skilled Australians: Patterns, Trends and Issues. Paper presented to DIMIA Immigration and Population Issues Conference, ‘Migration: Benefiting Australia’, Australian Technology Park, Sydney, 7 May.

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Attachment A

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4. Teachers Exit Rates and Labour Mobility

Executive summary This report examines exit rates53 and labour mobility for teachers and those of other occupations using the 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002 unpublished Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Labour Mobility Survey data.

The ABS Labour Mobility Survey data on Australian school teachers revealed that the total number of teachers who changed their occupation decreased from 8,882 in 1996 to 4,601 in 2002. This was a decrease of 48.2 per cent, despite the more buoyant labour market in 2002. Of those teachers who changed their occupation in the 1996, 1998 and 2002 survey years, one in two were secondary teachers (58.1 per cent in 1996; 41.7 per cent in 1998; 54.1 per cent in 2002).

The average exit rates for teachers and those of all occupations over the four ABS Labour Mobility Survey cycles were 2.5 per cent and 5.8 per cent, respectively, meaning that for every hundred teachers less than three left the teaching workforce, while for every hundred people, around six people left the workforce in all occupations.

The latest ABS 2002 survey year exit rate of 1.8 per cent for teachers was only one-third of the exit rate for all occupations. Overall, the exit rates for teachers showed a decreasing trend, while those of all occupations were relatively stable over the four survey cycles.

In general, the rates of teachers departing from the teaching profession indicated a decreasing trend. To some degree, the data reflects the issues raised in recent years - mainly, the increasing influence of the ageing of the teaching workforce in causing movement from the teaching profession.

1. Introduction One of the major issues on which the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) requested additional research following the publication of the 2003 MCEETYA report, Demand and Supply of Primary and Secondary Teachers in Australia in 200254, was the extent of losses of teachers from their profession and factors leading to their resignation. Ministers also sought advice on how losses from teaching compared to losses in other professions. To some extent, this can be addressed through analysis of data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Labour Mobility Survey.

This report’s findings are based on 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002 unpublished data from the ABS Labour Mobility Survey, a biennial survey that provides information on job mobility and job tenure for persons aged between 15 and 69. The survey collects details about jobs held during the 12 months ending February of the survey year55.

53 The exit rate is defined as the proportion of people who leave from the workforce. 54 Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) (2002), Demand and Supply of Primary and Secondary School Teachers in Australia in 2002, is available from the MCEETYA website http://www.curriculum.edu.au/mceetya/public/demand.htm 55 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2002), Labour Mobility, Cat No. 6209.0, February 2002, Canberra.

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A particular focus of the report was a subgroup of people who were teachers 12 months previously and had changed occupation at the time of the survey. In the context of this report, this data is referred to as Labour Mobility Data for Teachers.

2. Labour Mobility Data for Teachers - caveats on the data The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) indicated that the subgroup with respect to the Labour Mobility Survey sample that had changed occupation from February to February of survey cycles was very small, around 3 per cent of each survey cycle. People who were teachers made up an even smaller portion of this small subgroup.

The ABS expressed concern that such small sample sizes of teachers who changed occupation made it difficult to produce statistically accurate estimates at the required level of detail. For this reason, an estimate with a low accuracy has been marked with asterisk (*) and a relative standard error (RSE). An estimate with a RSE of between 25 per cent and 50 per cent was marked with one asterisk and a RSE of greater than 50 per cent was marked with two asterisks.

ABS stated that due to confidentiality constraints, they were unable to release estimates derived from less than three sample units. Where there were still cells with small sample sizes, the classification groups were combined.

This limitation of small sample sizes of Labour Mobility Data for Teachers resulted in analytical problems and prevented us from obtaining more accurate information on some issues.

3. Number of teachers who changed occupation An estimated 489,788 people aged between 15 and 69 changed occupation during the 1996 survey year. Of those, only a small minority (1.8 per cent or 8,882 people) were teachers.

As shown in Table 1 below, in the 1998 survey year, the total number of people who changed occupation reduced from 489,788 in 1996 to 460,868, a decrease of 5.9 per cent. A significant decrease (42.9 per cent) in numbers from 8,882 in 1996 to 5,070 was recorded for teachers in the same survey year.

The proportion of teachers who changed their occupation, compared to other occupations during the 2000 survey year was 1.0 per cent (or 5,337 people); and the 2002 survey year was 0.8 per cent (or 4,601 people).

Table 1. Estimated number of people who changed occupation by survey year

Survey year Occupation in Feb. previous year Feb. 1996 Feb. 1998 Feb. 2000 Feb. 2002

Teacher 8,882 5,070 5,337 4,601 Other 480,906 455,798 548,629 541,445 Total 489,788 460,868 553,966 546,045

The total number of teachers who changed their occupation decreased from 8,882 in 1996 to 4,601 in 2002. This was a decrease of 48.2 per cent, despite the more buoyant labour market in 2002. Over the nine years to 2002, the employed persons in Australia generally increased from 7,634,000 in January 1993 to 9,245,900 in January 2002, an increase of 1,611,900

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persons (21.1 per cent). Over the same period, the unemployment rates fell steadily from 10.7 per cent in January 1993 to 6.7 per cent in January 200256, as shown below in Chart 1.

Chart 1. Unemployment rates, 1993 to 2002

5

7

9

11

13

JAN.1993

JAN.1994

JAN.1995

JAN.1996

JAN.1997

JAN.1998

JAN.1999

JAN.2000

JAN.2001

JAN.2002

Source: ABS Labour Force publication, various years, cat. No. 6202.0

Percentage

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report, The Quality of the Teaching Workforce57, stated that the size of the teaching workforce was considerable in all OECD countries and teaching was the largest employer of graduate labour. The report also indicated that on average, school teachers of OECD countries comprised 2.6 per cent of the total labour force. By comparison, Australian school teachers comprised around 2.7 per cent of the total Australian labour force, according to figures from the ABS.

Charts 2 and 3 show that between 1996 and 2002, the total number of teachers in Australian schools increased by 14.2 per cent to 255,055. Over the same period, the Australian workforce increased by 11.1 per cent to 9,266,200. The growth in the teacher workforce was slightly higher than the growth in the total Australian workforce.

Table 2 shows the estimated number of teachers who changed occupation in each survey year, classified by the Australian Standard Classification of Occupation (ASCO).

Of those teachers who changed their occupation during the February 1995 to February 1996 survey year, over half (58.1 per cent) were secondary teachers.

In the 1998 survey year, of the teachers who changed occupation, 30.8 per cent were primary school teachers and 41.7 per cent were secondary school teachers. The remaining 27.6 per cent of teachers who changed occupation were combined pre-primary and special education teachers.

56 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force publication, various years, cat. No. 6202.0 57 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2004), The Quality of the Teaching Workforce, OECD Observer, February 2004, is available from the OECD website http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/17/9/29478720.pdf

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In the 2000 survey year, more primary teachers (45.5 per cent) changed their occupation than secondary teachers (32.6 per cent), compared to the two previous survey years. One in five (21.8 per cent) special education teachers also changed their occupation.

In the 2002 survey year, some 4,601 teachers changed occupation. Of those, 2,491 secondary teachers changed their occupation (54.1 per cent of all teachers who changed their jobs); and 2,110 or 45.9 per cent were pre-primary and primary teachers changed their occupation, while no special education teachers changed their occupation.

Chart 2. Number of teachers in Australian schools, 1996 to 2002

200,000

210,000

220,000

230,000

240,000

250,000

260,000

Source: ABS Schools publication, various years, cat. No. 4221.0

Persons

Persons 223,432 227,469 230,815 239,325 243,997 249,629 255,055

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Chart 3. Number of Persons employed - Australia, February 1996 to February 2002

7800

8000

8200

8400

8600

8800

9000

9200

9400

Source: ABS Labour Force publication, various years, cat No. 6202.0

Pers

on

s (

'000)

Persons ('000) 8338.8 8420.6 8549.3 8718 8978.6 9123.5 9266.2

Feb.1996 Feb.1997 Feb.1998 Feb.1999 Feb.2000 Feb.2001 Feb.2002

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Table 2. Estimated number of teachers who changed occupation by survey year and teacher group

Survey year/Teacher group classified by ASCO# Estimated number Per cent

Feb. 1996 Pre-Primary (2401), Primary (2403) and Resource Teacher (2407) Combined@ 3718 * 41.9 Secondary (2405) 5,164 58.1 Sub-total 8,882 100.0

Feb. 1998

Pre-Primary (2411) and Special Education (2414) Combined@ 1,398 * 27.6 Primary (2412) 1,560 * 30.8 Secondary (2413) 2,112 * 41.7 Sub-total 5,070 100.0

Feb. 2000

Pre-primary school teacher (2411) 0 0.0 Primary (2412) 2,429 * 45.5 Secondary (2413) 1,742 * 32.6 Special Education (2414) 1,166 * 21.8 Sub-total 5,337 100.0

Feb. 2002

Pre-primary (2411) and Primary (2412) Combined@ 2,110 * 45.9 Secondary (2413) 2,491 * 54.1 Special Education (2414) 0 0.0 Sub-total 4,601 100.0

# In 1996, the first edition of ASCO was used to classify the teacher group. In subsequent years, the second edition of ASCO was used. @ indicates combined teacher group due to small sample sizes. * indicates an estimate with a RSE of between 25 per cent and 50 per cent.

4. Exit rate for teachers The exit rate for teachers is defined as the proportion of teachers who leave the teaching workforce. The average exit rates for teachers and those of all occupations over the four Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) survey years were 2.5 per cent and 5.8 per cent, respectively, meaning that for every hundred teachers less than three left the teaching workforce, while for every hundred people around six people left the workforce in all occupations.

Table 3 shows the exit rates for teachers and all occupations over the four ABS survey cycles. In the 1996 survey year, the exit rate for teachers was 4.0 per cent. By comparison, the exit rate for all occupations was 5.9 per cent in the same survey year.

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In the 1998 ABS survey, the exit rate for teachers almost halved to 2.2 per cent, compared to the 1996 rate and remained constant until the 2000 survey year. The teachers’ exit rate further decreased to 1.8 per cent in the 2002 survey year.

The exit rate for all occupations decreased, from 5.9 per cent in 1996 to 5.4 per cent in 1998. In the 2000 survey year, the exit rate for all occupations increased to 6.2 per cent then dropped to the 1996 level of 5.9 per cent in 2002.

The exit rates for teachers showed a decrease over the survey years. A significant decrease from 4.0 per cent in 1996 to 2.2 per cent was recorded in the 1998 survey year and has remained low. The latest 2002 survey year exit rate of 1.8 per cent for teachers was one-third of that for all occupations (Table 3).

By comparison, the MCEETYA publication Demand and Supply of Primary and Secondary Teachers in Australia reported that the separation rate58 for primary teachers working in the government sector in 2001 was 3.4 per cent, up from 2.9 per cent in 1996. The exit rate for secondary teachers was 4.8 per cent in 2001, compared to 4.0 per cent in 1996. The separation rates for primary and secondary teachers in the non-government sector in 2001 were 10.2 per cent and 10.6 per cent, respectively59.

The separation rates for non-government primary and secondary teachers were sourced from the Non-government Staffing Survey which was conducted for the first time in 2002, hence a comparison over time was not possible.

58 The MCEETYA report defined the separation rate for teachers as the proportion of teachers who separated from the teaching workforce. The separations for teachers included retirements, teacher resignations, contract expiration and other categories such as deaths and dismissals. 59 Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) (2002), Demand and Supply of Primary and Secondary School Teachers in Australia in 2002, pp45-46, is available from the MCEETYA website http://www.curriculum.edu.au/mceetya/public/demand.htm

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Table 3. Estimated exit rates by survey year and occupation

Survey year Occupation in Feb. previous year Feb. 1996 Feb. 1998 Feb. 2000 Feb. 2002

Estimated number of exits for teachers 8,882 5,070 5,337 4,601

Number of teachers in Australian schools*

223,432 230,815 243,997 255,055

Exit rate for teachers 4.0 2.2 2.2 1.8 Estimated number of exits for all occupations

489,788 460,868 553,966 546,045

Estimated all persons aged 15 and over employed**

8,338,800 8,549,300 8,978,600 9,266,200

Exit rate for all occupations 5.9 5.4 6.2 5.9 * Source: Schools, Australia, various years (ABS cat, no. 4221.0) - the statistics in this publication collected through the National Schools Statistics Collections (NSSC) which is an annual census of schools in Australia. ** Source: Labour Force, Australia (ABS cat, no. 6202.0)- the estimates in this publication derived from the Labour Force Survey component of the monthly population survey. Chart 4. Exit rates by survey year and occupation

4.0

1.8

5.9

2.2

2.2

5.9

5.4

6.2

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Feb. 1996 Feb. 1998 Feb. 2000 Feb. 2002

Survey year

Pe

rce

nta

ge

Exit rate for teachers Exit rate for all occupations

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5. Summary and conclusion This report examined exit rates and labour mobility for teachers and those of other occupations using the 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002 unpublished ABS Labour Mobility Survey data.

The data showed that the average exit rates for Australian teachers and those of all occupations over the four survey cycles were 2.5 per cent and 5.8 per cent, respectively. The latest 2002 survey year exit rate of 1.8 per cent for teachers was only one-third of the exit rate for all occupations. Overall, the exit rates for teachers decreased in inter survey periods, while those of all occupations’ exit rates remained relatively stable over the four survey cycles.

The data revealed that the total number of teachers who changed their occupation decreased from 8,882 in 1996 to 4,601 in 2002. This was a decrease of 48.2 per cent, despite the more buoyant labour market in 2002. Of those teachers who changed their occupation in the 1996, 1998 and 2002 survey years, half were secondary teachers (58.1 per cent in 1996; 41.7 per cent in 1998; 54.1 per cent in 2002).

Overall, the rates of teachers departing from the teaching profession indicated a decreasing trend. To some degree, the data reflects the issues raised in recent years-mainly, the increasing influence of the ageing of the teaching workforce in causing movement from the teaching profession.

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