Media Release - Teacher Education Accreditation Proposal is too little, too late

12 October 2006, 9:27am

Pre-service teacher education is a critical component of enhancing and supporting the profession. However, this aspect must be seen as part of the ongoing professional life of a teacher's career and not in isolation. Over twenty years of research and reports have already pointed to ways to develop the pre-service arrangements. Teachers hope that Teaching Australia's dabble is not just another shelved report.

In response to Teaching Australia's consultation paper on the establishment of an Australia-wide system for accrediting teacher preparation programs, Federal Secretary of the Independent Education Union Lynne Rolley today supported the notion that high quality pre-service teacher education is an important foundation for a strong teaching profession. "Along with others, we have been saying this for a long time." said Ms Rolley

"However, their proposal is not strong enough. It's too little, too late. What is missing from Teaching Australia's proposal is the notion of the learning continuum," she said

"Teacher education must be seen as part of a professional continuum and not something that just happens at the beginning of the profession. No pre service course can equip teachers for the full range of schooling circumstances they will encounter. This highlights the importance of the notion of a continuum of learning from pre service through induction to skilled practitioner" said the Federal Secretary.

This has been argued in many inquiries into teacher education including in the November 2000 report ‘Quality Matters - Revitalising Teaching: Critical Times, Critical Choices'. Thisset out the need for teaching to be conceptualised as a continuum, with appropriate standards established at key points including graduate and higher levels of accreditation."

Given that the author of that report was Mr Gregor Ramsey who is now the Chair of Teaching Australia, it is disappointing that it is not a key principle in the consultation paper.

"The evidence is clear about the importance of a quality pre-service program for teachers, coupled with strong partnerships between teacher educators and schools and underpinned by well-resourced induction and ongoing professional learning programs " said Ms Rolley.

"Unfortunately, such recommendations and research for more than twenty years have failed to be supported and resourced by Government" she said.

Ms Rolley also noted that a further weakness in Teaching Australia's paper is the notion that accreditation might be voluntary.

"It cannot be a voluntary system with some institutions in and some out. That will only undermine the whole basis of the national accreditation system which is based on ensuring that both the institutions and the courses they offer are high quality and meet agreed standards" said Ms Rolley.

Ms Rolley also noted that teacher education has been one of the most ‘inquired into' activities in the whole education endeavour over the past 25 years - with very few recommendations from those inquiries being implemented.

"As recently as May 2005, the IEU made a submission to the House of Representatives Inquiry into Teacher Education. Very little came out of that exercise. The IEU will use much of this research as well as its own submission and policy work to inform this current Teaching Australia consultation process.

Downloadable files

Inquiry into Teacher Education (132kb)

Contact details

Lynne Rolley
Federal Secretary
Ph: 03 9254 1830
Fax: 03 9254 1835
ieu@ieu.org.au