Anonymous #389

Submitter information

Name

Anonymous #389

Where are you located?

Victoria

What type of area do you live in?

Regional or rural

Are you an education professional?
(e.g. teacher, school leader, learning support assistant, teacher’s aide)

Yes

Which sector do you work in?

Secondary

What is your occupation?

Teacher

Elevating the profession

The actions proposed recognise the value teachers bring to students, communities and the economy.

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

Improving teacher supply

The actions proposed will be effective in increasing the number of students entering ITE, number of students completing ITE and the number of teachers staying in and/or returning to the profession.

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

Strengthening Initial Teacher Education (ITE)

The actions proposed will ensure initial teacher education supports teacher supply and quality.

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

Maximising the time to teach

The actions proposed will improve retention and free up teachers to focus on teaching and collaboration.

Somewhat disagree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

I work in a Victorian school where the reduction in face-to-face teaching time has been managed in such a way that does not significantly reduce teacher workload; in fact, in some ways it could be seen to increase workload. My school has managed the transition by reducing the lengths of periods over the course of the week. We still teach the same number of classes except now we have to get through the same curriculum with less class time with our students. This is in a senior secondary context where we already see our students for fewer minutes than many other schools across a week. The structure of the new timetable was decided before the SRP was even received on the basis that the school needed to advance it's planning before waiting to see how much funding would be allocated to implement the agreement. Basically, the reduction from 20 to 18.5 hours was not enough to take a full time teacher from five classes to four, and so this compromise was arrived at despite it not delivering on the spirit of the agreement.

Another, separate issue which no one ever talks about, is the demand placed on teachers by changing curriculum. I teach senior English, and every few years, we are required to change at least some of the texts studied in order to prepare students for their external exams. These texts are mandated so this can only be managed so far at the school level. No school I've worked at has ever recognised the extra workload associated with text change in a meaningful way. English teachers are simply supposed to familiarise themselves with new texts and then rewrite their curriculum and resources every few years to accommodate this. To my knowledge, no other subject is like this with such regular and time-consuming change. I'm not suggesting we all teach the same texts forever, but schools need to have the funding and flexibility to allow teachers the time to prepare when their curriculum is changed. The same problem occurs periodically in other subjects where external curricula are modified by the VCAA and its equivalents around the country. Sometimes these changes can be quite dramatic and require a lot of time to develop new resources.

Better understanding future teacher workforce needs

How effective are the proposed actions in better understanding future teacher workforce needs, including the number of teachers required?

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

Better career pathways to support and retain teachers in the profession

The proposed actions will improve career pathways, including through streamlining the process for Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher (HALT) accreditation, and providing better professional support for teachers to retain them in the profession.

Somewhat disagree

Would you like to provide feedback about these actions?

There needs to be greater focus on retaining teachers in the profession, especially in the first five years of teaching when many find its demands overwhelming and leave. Formal mentoring programs with more experience teachers might help with this in order to put graduates and early-career teachers in contact with people who have learned to manage the demands of the profession. This is problematic as many later career teachers still manage the demands of teaching unhealthily, working many hours of unpaid overtime or using alcohol and other drugs to help them relax at the end of a demanding day.

Teachers early in their career would also benefit from reduced face-to-face teaching time, not just for their first year as is accommodated in Victoria but for two or three years. Teaching is much harder when you're inexperienced and the problem isn't solved after one year!