Teaching crisis – what are the facts?

Everyone seems to be an expert when it comes to teaching. How difficult can it be to teach small children? Certainly expert teachers make it look so simple. The front page of The Age on the 18 January screamed “teacher entry ranking tumbles,” stating that many prospective teachers are entering faculties of education with ATARs of between 45 and 60 and proclaiming that teaching is in crisis in Australia.

The article was republished on many websites, tweeted and variously commented on in social media as well as attracting 128 comments variously ranging between standard teacher bashing:

“Teachers already are in one of the highest-paid professions and enjoy the most generous working conditions in the country. More than 10 weeks annual leave every year (plus those ridiculous 'student-free' days).”

Others were supporting teachers:

“Most teachers work very long hours indeed. They deserve to be well paid – and our children deserve to have teachers who can do the very difficult job of teaching well. If you want to attract the top students to teaching, you have to offer them a better future than if they studied useless things like business or management.”

A few days later the same paper also ran an editorial stating “To lift Australian education, focus on teacher quality”.

But these articles ignore five critical points:

1. Teaching (and Nursing) is traditionally the career for aspirational working and lower middle class women, especially those who are "first in the family" to enter university.

2. Education (and Nursing) is a Federal government priority discipline and as a result student fees are lower than other courses.

3. Federal funding for universities has continued to decline as a percentage of university income and universities more and more are reliant on self-generated research funding.

4. Since the uncapping of university enrolments non-research intensive universities have lowered entrance requirements for enrolments in education and so many courses like education have become cash-cows.

5. Finally and most significantly in Victoria, high achievers might think twice about joining a profession which is continually maligned as responsible for declining results and where the state government has reneged on its promise to make our teachers the best paid in Australia, offering less than cost of living increase. Since 1995 teachers in the upper salary levels have gone backwards in comparison to peers in commensurate professions after 10 years on the job.

Federal School Education Minister Peter Garrett said there needed to be a strong focus on teacher training standards ''Under the National Plan for School Improvement, entrants to the teaching profession will need to be in the top 30 per cent of the country for literacy and numeracy,'' he said. ''If people starting their university courses aren't meeting that requirement but can demonstrate potential, universities will have to work with them to ensure they reach these standards before they graduate.''

Well that won’t happen if the funds for faculties of education are not available.