Starting off on the wrong foot: how to improve Initial Teacher Education in Australia

The effective preparation of teachers is a key aspect of education policy that many school systems grapple with. But, unfortunately, Australian teachers have not consistently benefitted from high quality preparation, resulting in decades of near-constant reviews into the sector's performance. Despite many missed opportunities for reform, Australia's policymakers have begun to make policy inroads for improvement, but additional commitment toward reform will be necessary to reverse decades of underperformance of the teacher training. In this paper, the authors provide a detailed analysis...  [+] Show more

The effective preparation of teachers is a key aspect of education policy that many school systems grapple with. But, unfortunately, Australian teachers have not consistently benefitted from high quality preparation, resulting in decades of near-constant reviews into the sector's performance. Despite many missed opportunities for reform, Australia's policymakers have begun to make policy inroads for improvement, but additional commitment toward reform will be necessary to reverse decades of underperformance of the teacher training. In this paper, the authors provide a detailed analysis of teacher training in Australia and further opportunities for reform. It puts reform efforts in international context, assesses the drivers of both the commencements to, and completions from, teacher training qualifications, discusses the suitability of the current training market, the suitability of current content in training degrees, and options for improving the accountability of Australia's ITE providers. With a comprehensive range of supports, teacher preparation can be a lever for sustained improvements in the Australian teacher workforce - and ultimately the outcomes of students. The authors offer a series of recommendations that could chart reform into the years ahead.

Excerpt from publication.