Graduate teachers would need to complete an additional two years of training according to a proposal by the Australian Council of Deans of Education (ACDE).
In its submission to the federal government’s review of teacher education, the Council recommended that a professional learning framework be implemented that underpins a graduate teacher’s transition from university into the profession and supports a teacher through their first few years until they obtain full registration.
ACDE President, Professor Brenda Cherednichenko, has defended the proposal saying it’s not a bid for extra cash for universities but about framing, rewarding and recognising teacher professional learning in the early transition years.
“You need to think about the beginning teacher from the pre-service teacher through to their first few years in the profession,” Cherednichenko told Education Matters.
“This is about implementing a learning framework, a supported, scaffolded professional learning framework that bridges the gap between graduating a degree – whether it’s a four-year degree or a master’s degree – and becoming a fully competent and capable operating teacher.
“We know that when I leave university, whether I’ve done four years or two years or one year, I am ready to teach – but am I ready for any school and any classroom in any part of the country? Possibly not. So this proposal is about when I’m in that space, how do I go on connecting my pre-service learning to my professional learning to my community and to the student sitting in front of me whether they’re aged 14 or eight. That’s the vision we have with this framework,” Cherednichenko explains.
“Most beginning teachers engage in quite a lot of professional learning so this is about trying to shape it and frame it so that it comes from their teaching to their knowledge base, builds their capability and confidence and then recognises that with an award.”
Training would be in the form of a graduate certificate undertaken online with professional development modules and would be credentialed to universities.