AUSSIE EDUCATOR

BEGINNING TEACHERS

Beginning teachers can face anticipation, uncertainty, stress, concern, even fear when first taking up a teaching position. They have to implement all they have learned in the most effective way, create relationships with students, other staff and parents, become part of a system, a school and a staff with all this implies, match the desirable with the possible and finally, cope with the physical demands of teaching full-time.

While this can prove rewarding, and hopefully does for new teachers, it makes for interesting times until the final moment when you know you made the right decision.

This page gives access to procedures and programs used in each state & territory, special reviews, reports and surveys, resources & tools, books, even Survival Guides. It looks at induction, mentoring and other special programs.

For further information be sure to visit — the Professional Development page and, in particular, the Teacher Employment page.

AUST. CAPITAL TERRITORY

ACT EDUCATION DIRECTORATE

  • Casual Teachers
    This information is included as many beginning teachers have found casual teaching may initially be the teaching option most available.
  • New Educator Support Professional Learning
    The first paragraph on this page is a clear indication of their approach to assisting beginning teachers.
  • Support for New Educators
    ‘New educators are supported during the early years of their career through a variety of programs’. Specifics can be found on the Professional Learning page.
  • Recruitment
    Teacher Registration – ACT Teacher Quality Institute; How to Apply to Teach in ACT public schools; Advice to applicants; Supporting documents for your application and other information to assist with your application and interview.
  • Supporting Staff
    ‘The wellbeing of staff is core business for the ACT Education Directorate. Everyone has a duty to safeguard and nurture the personal wellbeing of themselves and others at work. The following resources can be of assistance to support staff wellbeing’.
  • Teach in the ACT [ACT Teacher Quality Institute]
    Four different aspects relating to registration are covered.
  • Work In Canberra
    ‘What we offer and other employment information’. ACT Government site covering all areas of employment including aspects such as ACT information through to Employee tool kits.
  • Working with Us
    Looks at teaching in the Education Directorate system. Check sections in the menu at the left.

TEACHER QUALITY INSTITUTE

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NEW SOUTH WALES

AIS NSW

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

  • Beginning Teachers Support Funding Policy
    ‘States the department’s policy for the provision of funding support to schools for eligible permanent and temporary beginning teachers’.
  • Casual and Temporary Teaching
    ‘The majority of teachers commence their careers in the NSW public education system as casual or temporary teachers. As a casual teacher you are employed on a day-to-day basis to meet relief needs within the school. As a temporary teacher you are employed full-time for four weeks to a year, or part-time for two terms or more. Casual and temporary employment provides valuable experience for teachers’.
  • Further Support for In-school Mentors
    ‘These resources support in-school mentors and provide effective practice focused support to beginning teachers’.
  • Further Support for Reflection
    ‘Reflective practice is integral to a teacher’s professional growth. The following resources can support beginning teachers to reflect on their practice against the standards at the proficient career stage’.
  • Strong Start Great Teachers
    ‘Every beginning teacher deserves a quality induction program in their first critical years of teaching - a program that is structured, comprehensive and school-based. Strong start great teachers [SSGT] provides schools with the induction support to achieve this’. Important sections are linked below :
  • Teacher Induction and Probation
    ‘During your first year of a career in teaching, induction plays a critical role in supporting your development as a capable and confident professional. For those not already accredited as Proficient teachers, your first year will be your probationary year’
  • Teachers Handbook
    ‘The Handbook will contain the current conditions of employment for teachers in the Teaching Service, and list their responsibilities. The Teachers Handbook is currently being revised. Completed chapters will be included progressively on this site’.

NSW CATHOLIC EDUCATION

  • Teaching in a Catholic School
    This page from one diocese provides an example of what is expected and, as in the last two paragraphs, what special support is provided. It is anticipated each other diocese would be similar in approach.

NSW TEACHERS FEDERATION

  • Beginning Teacher Conferences
    ‘Beginning Teacher Conferences are open to all new [beginning] teachers who are employed as full time, temporary or casual teachers by the DET in the schools sector and located within a reasonable travelling distance of the conference’.
  • Graduate Survival Kit
    ‘The transition from student teacher to permanent, temporary or casual teaching is a daunting process. The Federation has produced this information and advice to assist student teacher members in their dealings with the DEC’s employment and staffing procedures’.
  • New Educators Network
    ‘The New Educators Network is a network of teachers in their first five years of teaching who are interested in understanding more about and becoming involved with their union - the NSW Teachers Federation’.

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NORTHERN TERRITORY

  • Induction for New Teachers [Teach in the Territory]
    ‘As a new teacher in the Northern Territory, you will be offered induction and mentoring to help you settle in to your new role and workplace’.
  • Induction for Teachers [Department of Education]
    ‘Teachers will commence in schools at varying stages of their careers with a range of knowledge and experiences. Induction is a highly valuable process that provides a foundation for career-long professional growth. The stages of induction are : Prior to commencement; On arrival with a face-to-face central orientation program and local induction at the school; and Ongoing support through professional learning, mentoring and network opportunities’. Information for two areas are provided by the following links. Each has pages you can download :

N.T. REGISTRATION BOARD

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QUEENSLAND

  • BETA
    ‘Strives to assist in maximising the effective induction of beginning and establishing teachers as professional educators in schools’.

CATHOLIC EDUCATION

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

  • Beginning Teacher Basics
    ‘Get started; Soak up support from the department; Take care of yourself; Crunch your curriculum planning; School up on the standards; Other tips for getting started’; Other links.
  • Beginning Teachers
    ‘If you have just commenced work, returned from leave or started a new teaching position in a Queensland state school, this website will help you. It is a useful resource and reference point, and contains information that may assist you in your role within the department. Covers : Getting Started; Schools; My Teaching Space; Accessing Support; Supply Teachers’.
  • Department of Education and Training induction website.
  • Charters Towers School of Distance Education - Teacher Induction
    Even a distance education centre has a plan similar in most ways to every other school.
  • Developing Performance
    ‘The Employee Performance, Professional Development and Recognition Policy promotes a constructive and supportive workplace culture where employees and supervisors have regular and meaningful (informal and formal) performance exchanges about standards of conduct, performance expectations and opportunities for developing capability’.
  • Early Childhood Mentoring Beginner Teacher Program
    ‘Assists schools to support Early Childhood Teachers [ECTs] to progress from provisional teacher registration to full registration’.
  • Flying Start Induction Toolkit for Beginning Teachers
    Not the newest information but it has a wide range of items which may prove useful. A Department of Education production.
  • Induction
    ‘The Department of Education [DoE] is committed to providing induction for all employees who are beginning new roles and responsibilities. Induction is both an individual and collective responsibility, and is delivered at all levels of our department. Induction is tailored to a location such as a central office, regional office or state school’.
  • Induction Guidelines - Queensland State Schools
    ‘These guidelines outline requirements for induction of all employees including newly appointed, transferred and promoted employees, and those returning from extended leave as well as central and regional resources available to support school leaders in designing a quality induction program’.
  • Induction Resources
    ‘The department provides a range of resources to support team leaders to develop and contextualise induction at a local level and teachers to gather appropriate information for their new role. Provided are : Mandatory annual training ready reckoner [PDF, 288KB]; Mandatory induction program; Induction guidelines; Teacher Induction and Development program; Orientation checklists for teachers’.
  • Mentoring Beginning Teachers
    ‘The Mentoring Beginning Teachers [MBT] program focuses on the professional development and growth of our beginning teachers with an aim to improve teaching quality and support beginning teachers to transition from graduate level to proficient level with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. Principals will have the flexibility to make local arrangements to support the mentoring of beginning teachers according to their school context and needs’.
  • Queensland State Schools
    Multiple sections, several of which are also listed here and related to a positive induction process.
  • Support for Beginning Teachers
    ‘Before you start; Teacher Learning Centres; Beginning Teacher Induction Conference; Teacher networking events; Professional learning and support; Beginning teacher learning suite’.

QLD. COLLEGE OF TEACHERS

QLD. TEACHERS UNION

  • Basic Guide to : Beginning your Teaching Career
    ‘This basic guide provides QTU members with information on their entitlements and can be used by school administration to help in timetabling’.
  • Beginning your Teaching Career - QTU
    ‘Internships; Teacher Registrations; Applying to become a teacher; Probation; Mandatory Induction; Beginning teacher mentoring; Action : Five easy steps to your professional rights’.

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SOUTH AUSTRALIA

AIS SA

CATHOLIC EDUCATION

  • Early Career Teacher Program [CESA]
    This includes Systematic requirements which apply to all teachers employed in SA Catholic schools. Among these are : Induction; Accreditation to Teach; “Made in The Image of God; plus services including Frequent emails, Online Resources and School Visits”. Click on titles to access details.

DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION

  • connectED Induction
    ‘It is important for new employees to gain an understanding of the organisation and the people who are part of it. connectED has been designed to help you navigate your way around the department’. Monitor for event details.
  • Early Career Teachers [Facebook]
    ‘We invite Early Career Teachers to use the page to stay in touch with events and resources, share classroom ideas and work together to discuss issues that arise in teacher’s day to day work’.
  • Early Career Teachers : Preparing for the Profession
    ‘Tells the story of a group of early career teachers working in the Barossa Valley during their first year out of university’. This is part of a larger collection of TV webisodes which, though several years old, provide a range of information and options.
  • Induction Checklist
    An example of the type of induction process previously used.
  • Working as a teacher
    Multiple section provide a range of information from the practical to professional areas.

S.A. REGISTRATION BOARD

TEACHER UNIONS

  • New Educators [AEU SA]
    ‘As a new educator, the AEU stays in touch with your needs through the New Educators Network which helps shape all the union’s activity for beginning teachers’.
  • The IEU is People Like Me
    ‘Many of us in the IEU office [and Executive] are, or were, teachers. We are people like you. This makes the IEU your ideal support team, enabling you to focus on teaching’.

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Tasmania

DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION

  • 2021 Meeting the Standards : Induction for Early Career Teachers [Professional Learning Institute]
    ‘Induction is a responsibility shared across the teaching profession. This four day program will explore the practice of teaching through the focus areas of the Standards and include current research about effective learning and teaching, and how to practically implement strategies in the classroom’. Details from the site.
  • BeTTR
    ‘The Beginning Teacher Time Release to engage with the variety of supports available within the the Department of Education’. A listing of the components is provided. There are also links to an application for this, an Induction Policy, the Induction Procedure and the Principal’s Induction Checklist for New Teaching Employees and more. [You can only access these by logging in to the Staff Intranet].
  • Professional Learning Institute
    ‘The Department’s Professional Learning Institute offers a number of courses for school leaders and teachers’, including an Early Career Teacher Induction program.

TAS. REGISTRATION BOARD

TEACHER UNIONS

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VICTORIA

CATHOLIC EDUCATION

  • Beginning Teachers
    ‘In Catholic education, we have a responsibility to strengthen ways in which we provide access for early career teachers to high-quality induction and mentoring. Once teachers are employed in Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, they are supported in various ways’. The situation is similar in each of the other diocese.

DEPT. OF EDUCATION/TRAINING

  • Effective Mentoring Program
    ‘The Effective Mentoring Program [EMP] equips experienced teachers with mentoring skills to support provisionally registered teachers at the beginning of their careers and guide new teachers through the process to become fully registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching’. A Reflective Guide to Mentoring is found here.
  • Graduate Teacher Learning Series
    ‘The Learning Series will connect you with the right people and the right resources at the right time. Designed as 12 editions spanning the teaching year, everything in the Learning Series is written for you, a graduate teacher starting out in the teaching profession’.
  • Initial Teacher Reforms
    ‘The single most important thing we can do to improve student outcomes is to improve the quality of teaching and learning in every classroom. Teachers play a pivotal role in building the Education State and are at the core of workplace reform’.
  • Mentoring for Early Childhood Teachers
    ‘This page provides details on how provisionally registered teachers can find a mentor, and how experienced teachers can become mentors’.
  • New Teacher Induction Plan Checklist for Principals
    Copy of a checklist which covers various steps over two years.
  • Pedagogical Model
    ‘When implemented together with the practice principles, the pedagogical model enables teachers to maintain a line of sight between their own professional development and school-wide improvement based on FISO’. You can download a copy of the Pedagogical Model here.
  • Starting at a school, Training and Professional Development
    ‘Learn how to become a teacher in Victoria, find training opportunities and build your professional skills’. Multiple sections.
  • Starting a Job in a Government School [Induction]
    The first section is For new and beginning teachers and provides access to the Graduate Teacher Induction Guide while a second section, For principals who are welcoming new teachers gives access to Principal and School Leader Guide to Induction Of Graduate Teachers which covers much of the induction and mentoring process new teachers will experience. The General induction resources section provides videos on several topics. It is also recommended you familiarise yourself with the information about the Graduate Teacher Conferences.
  • Teaching Academies of Professional Practice
    ‘Teaching Academies of Professional Practice [TAPPS] are partnerships between a cluster of schools and one or more universities for the purpose of improving initial teacher education [ITE]. They are cross-sectoral, with membership from government, Catholic and independent schools’.

INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

TEACHER UNIONS

VIC. INSTITUTE OF TEACHNG

  • Effective Mentoring Program [VIT]
    ‘The Effective Mentoring Program is comprised of a two-day professional learning program developed and delivered as a partnership with the Department of Education and Training. The EMP is open to experienced [fully] registered teachers working in government, Catholic and independent schools and early childhood services. FAQs about the program; Professional Guides; Links’.
  • Moving to [full] Registration
    ‘Newly qualified teachers with provisional registration can access information and resources required to apply for full registration’.
  • Victorian Institute of Teaching
    Check this site for further involvement with beginning, and early career, teachers.

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WESTERN AUSTRALIA

CATHOLIC EDUCATION

  • Teaching Roles [CEWA
    ‘All our schools select and recruit their own staff, offering choice and flexibility for teachers to find the school that best fits their needs and preferences. Teachers will have opportunities to broaden their professional and learning experiences through professional learning, accreditation and leadership development programs’.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

  • Benefits and Support
    ‘Working for the Department of Education means you will enjoy a range of employee benefits. Benefits include competitive salaries, flexible working arrangements, comprehensive salary packaging options, attractive leave provisions and training and career development opportunities’.
  • Graduate Careers
    ‘When you join us, we support you in your transition from university with ongoing professional development opportunities and guidance from our senior leaders and mentors’.
  • Staff Induction Policy
    ‘The Staff Induction policy outlines the mandatory requirements for implementing a formal induction program that introduces all newly appointed employees to the Department, its policies, procedures, and orients them to their worksite’.
  • WA Graduate Teacher Induction Program [GTIP]
    ‘The Western Australian Institute for Professional Learning [WA IPL] delivers a Graduate Teacher Induction Program to all government school graduates. The GTIP supports beginning teachers to make the transition from pre-service training to effective classroom teaching’.

INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

  • AIS WA Member Schools
    Use the search option on this page for finding an appropriate school, then see what is offered both as positions and support. If employed, you will be able to access their Professional Learning and Online Learning pages.

TEACHER UNIONS

  • Education and Training Centre
    ‘Whatever your role or career stage, the SSTUWA’s Education and Training Centre can provide high quality industrial, professional, career development, financial and occupational health and safety courses to support your needs’.
  • Independent Education Union of Australia WA Branch
    ‘The IEUA WA Branch represents the interests of employees in Catholic and Independent Schools, English Language Colleges and Registered Training Organisations across Western Australia. Whether you’re full or part time, have years of experience or are just starting in the field, there’s a membership option for you’.

W.A. REGISTRATION BOARD

  • Teacher Registration Board of WA
    Information will apply primarily to the registration process for beginning teachers as well as information regarding professional learning options.

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OTHER INFORMATION

BOOKS/OTHER PUBLICATIONS

  • Beginning Teacher’s Handbook
    ‘Takes you through the challenges you will face in joining a school community, establishing positive relationships with parents from day one, and engaging the students you are given’. Fee-based.
  • New-Teacher Toolbox
    US, but still applicable. Available through Amazon. ‘Description; Contents; Reviews; Features; Preview’.
  • Beginner Teachers : Induction and Mentoring
    ‘Induction and mentoring are not ‘new’, with substantive research available in the area. In most of these studies though, induction and mentoring are usually associated with teacher retention. The case is different in Australia, where the focus of induction and mentoring is placed squarely around quality teaching and the need to support our next generation of teachers in developing their knowledge, expertise and professional competency ’. Teacher Magazine.

GENERAL SITES

INDUCTION & MENTORING

INDUCTION

  • Improved Beginning Teacher Induction
    ‘Induction plays a critical role in building on the knowledge and skills developed through initial teacher education as well as providing the support needed for beginning teachers as they embark on a new phase of their career’. AITSL.
  • Induction and Mentoring [Education Council NZ]
    ‘An induction and mentoring program supports newly qualified teachers or overseas trained teachers, new to the New Zealand teaching profession, to develop effective teaching practices for diverse learners in a New Zealand teaching context’.
  • National Induction Program for Teachers
    ‘Aims to support the induction of newly qualified teachers into the teaching profession in primary schools in Ireland’. A very detailed example of what occurs in other countries.
  • Teacher Induction in California
    ‘The second tier of preparation is a two-year job-embedded individualised induction program that is focused on extensive support and mentoring to new teachers in their first and second year of teaching’. USA.
  • The New Teacher Induction Program
    Ontario Ministry of Education, Canada. ‘Supports the growth and professional development of new teachers. A step in a continuum of professional learning for teachers to support effective teaching, learning, and assessment practices. Provides another full year of professional support so that new teachers can continue to develop’.

MENTORING

RESOURCES

AITSL is the abbreviation for the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. ‘At AITSL, we believe that student learning comes first. We’re committed to improving teacher expertise’.

  • Building the Right Foundation : Improving teacher induction in Australian schools
    ‘This report was developed to provide a meta-analysis of the key research in the area of new teacher induction’. Contains three major sections.
  • Graduate to Proficient
    Australian guidelines for teacher induction into the profession. ‘The guidelines for teacher induction into the profession, frame support for beginning teachers to make the transition from the Graduate to the Proficient Career Stage, based on the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers’.
  • Induction Environment Scan Report
    ‘This review examines induction activity across a range of organisations, sectors and jurisdictions. It seeks to identify better practice and innovations that could be instructive for the induction of Australian school teachers. Download a copy of the report [PDF, 740.25kB] here’.
  • Initial Teacher Education : Data Report 2018 [AITSL]
    ‘This report brings together the available data on initial teacher education [ITE] in Australia. It includes information on ITE students and graduates, as well as ITE institutions and programs. Download a copy of this report [PDF, 22.72MB] here’.
  • My Induction App
    ‘The My Induction app brings together resources and activities to support your development in the first few years of teaching. It also provides advice and strategies for maintaining your personal wellbeing while transitioning to life as a working teacher’. Available in both Apple and Android formats.
  • Prepare for Practice
    ‘Whether you’re a pre-service teacher or a recent graduate, these resources are designed to help you prepare for your teaching practice’.
  • Reflect on your Leadership
    ‘Reflecting on where you are now and how to move forward can help you improve your leadership practice. Our self-assessment and reflection tools allow you to explore your leadership and plan your pathway towards improvement’.
  • Research on Induction Best Practice
    Annotated Bibliography, Induction environment scan, case studies, videos, more.
  • Start your Career
    ‘Your first years as a teacher can be as challenging as they are rewarding, so it's important that you receive the right support and guidance to develop your skills. Our resources can help you get used to the classroom and improve your practice as you transition to the Proficient career stage’.
  • Support Beginning Teachers
    ‘Providing quality induction and support is critical to improving learner outcomes and developing the teacher's skills at the start of their career’. Includes video, case studies and more.
  • Beginning Teachers Lounge
    ‘I help beginning teachers who feel overwhelmed and stressed like I did when I started teaching 20 years ago, to regain their confidence through mentoring, nurturing and inspiring ... so you can grow into the teacher you have dreamed of being !’
  • Must Reads for New Teachers [neaToday]
    American based, but clearly described and still appropriate.
  • New Teachers
    Edutopia. An extensive listing of topics designed to assist new teachers. Current topics [2022] back several years.
  • New Teacher Resources
    ‘We surveyed the TeacherVision community, and together with our Advisory Board of veteran teachers, we curated a collection of resources just for new teachers. Whether you’re a first year teacher of elementary school, middle school or high school, these resources will help you grow and thrive as a new teacher’. US-based. Very extensive and may prove useful in an Australian setting.
  • TeachersFirst - Newbies
    ‘Ideas and help for new teachers, those teaching something new, and their mentors. We offer you four basic strategies to get you started’.

SURVIVAL GUIDES

VIDEOS

  • AITSL - YouTube
    A vast number of videos of different lengths covering a wide range of topics relevant to beginning teachers. One example is the Induction for Beginning Teachers animation.
    INTERNATIONAL. [3:04].
  • Beginning Teacher Talk
    ‘Our mission is to give beginning elementary teachers access to the tools, tips, and secret tricks of the trade that they didn’t learn in university’.
    USA.
  • Behaviour Management for Beginning Teachers
    ‘Mark explores the different issues that affect behaviour within the classroom other than just ‘telling pupils off’. What do you think are the most important things a teacher can do to build a positive learning atmosphere in the classroom ?’
    UNITED KINGDOM.
  • Videos [Edutopia]
    ‘Explore videos that showcase evidence-based learning practices in K-12 schools, and see our core strategies and key topics in action’. You may find a number of useful videos in this US-based collection. Not specifically geared for beginning teachers but still relevant.
    USA.
  • New Teachers - Videos [Google Search]
    A simply massive collection of videos from a vast array of sources and countries. You will surely find something of use.
    INTERNATIONAL [including AUSTRALIA].

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RESEARCH/REPORTS/SURVEYS

AUSTRALIAN

  • New ! Fish out of Water : Investigating the ‘Readiness’ and Proficiency of Beginning Drama Teachers in Western Australian Secondary Schools

    2020; Christina C Gray, Kirsten Lambert, Sarah Jefferson. ‘The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers [AITSL, 2011] stipulate that graduating teachers need to be classroom-ready and able to perform at a ‘graduate standard’. However, recent research indicates that nearly 50% of beginning teachers lack readiness, are overwhelmed with stress and will leave the profession within five years. This paper seeks to elucidate this disconcerting reality by providing a nuanced focus on the experiences of beginning drama teachers. Findings indicate that while participants in this study began feeling confident and ready for teaching drama, they were largely unprepared for the unwritten requirements of the profession - namely, coping with systems, policies and bureaucracy and extensive extracurricular responsibilities. This article posits several strategies for enabling beginning drama teachers to successfully ‘manage’ their induction into the profession, and ultimately achieve teacher identity salience’.
  • New ! How professional development can improve recruitment and retention

    TES. ‘In 2022, we surveyed teachers working in Australian schools about professional development. In our free report we break down the results and discuss how we can support schools in Australia looking to recruit in the current challenging market. Key topics covered : Professional development – the current state of play; Finding time for professional development; Becoming an employer of choice; and The future of Australian education. Just fill in the form to download your free copy’.
  • New ! Impact of Enrolment Growth on demand for Teachers

    NSW Public Schools to 2031. 2021; Adam Rorris. ‘This briefing paper has been commissioned by the NSW Teachers Federation. The purpose of the paper is to examine the impact of enrolment growth on the future demand for teachers in the NSW public school system [Kindergarten to Year 12]. The projections for teacher demand only model the impact of future enrolment growth to the year 2031. The projections do not include the existing teacher shortages within the NSW public school system. In the background section of this briefing paper, there are citations to reports and statements from senior Department of Education, [the Department] officials and NSW Education Minister that make abundantly clear there are incredibly significant existing teacher shortages. The existing shortages relates to difficulty in placing teachers within hard to teach locations, insufficient teachers for certain subjects and specialised teachers for students with disabilities. This paper only calculates the additional teachers that will be required because of enrolment growth’.
  • New ! Mentoring for effective literacy teaching : Australian preservice teacher’s perspective

    2021; Sarah M James. ‘The PSTs [Pre-Service Teachers] involved in this investigation were in their final-year of their initial teacher education program and were completing degrees in early childhood/primary, primary, primary/secondary or secondary education. Results indicated that, while 70% or more of the PSTs self-reported their MTs had the personal attributes, modelled practices and provided feedback during mentoring, it seems fewer MTs shared the system requirements [52%] and pedagogical knowledge [63.6%] for effective literacy teaching. Further analysis of the data showed variances in the perspectives of the PSTs depending on their initial teacher education program. Following the analysis of the survey data, one-to-one semi-structured interviews were conducted. The interviews were implemented to expand information gathered from the survey. The interview responses suggested that some MTs may have had limited understanding of the Australian Curriculum literacy documents and, as a result, only mentored literacy when they felt confident to do so. The PSTs reported there needed to be more explicit communication through mentoring and clarity in the sharing of the system requirements for literacy teaching’.
  • New !Teaching - A valued Profession

    2020; Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership Ltd]. ‘The key messages in this Spotlight reveal that : teachers are more valued by the community than they think; the way teachers are perceived in society can impact the entire career lifecycle; from recruitment, retention, job satisfaction and performance there is a positive correlation between how teachers are perceived and student achievement negatively skewed portrayals of teaching in the media do not appear to match community sentiments; recognition of teaching expertise, through programs like Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher certification, can contribute to improving the status of teaching - consequently attracting high-quality candidates to the profession and retaining a strong workforce. [Contents - Introduction, Public perceptions of the profession, How teachers value the profession, Why people become teachers, Attracting and retaining quality teachers, Conclusion and Reference]’.
  • New ! Teacher Attrition and Retention Research in Australia: Towards a New Theoretical Framework

    2015; Shannon Mason, Cristina Poyatos Matas. ‘During the last decades, the search to try to understand why Australian teachers prematurely leave their jobs has become an increasing focus of research interest. This article yields significant insights into the history and potential future of the teacher attrition research field. Using a thematic content analysis methodology, a study of the Australian literature reveals that the field in this country is still in its infancy and is dominated by small-scale, qualitative exploratory studies. Furthermore, it shows the lack of consistency amongst studies discussing teacher attrition, as well as the need for a theoretically informed framework that acknowledges the complex nature of teacher attrition. To fill this void, the authors propose a new theoretical model, arguing that teacher attrition is a complex phenomenon, a product of the interaction of elements from social capital, human capital, positive psychological capital and structural capital intersecting’.
  • New ! The impact of mentoring on a non-native immigrant teacher’s professional development
    2021; Dave Yan. ‘There is a lack of research on investigating the impact of mentoring on in-service immigrant teachers. This autoethnographic study examines the researcher’s lived experience as an immigrant teacher in Australia, specifically concerning how mentoring has impacted his professional life. The qualitative data were mainly drawn from reflective journals, validated by two types of interview techniques. The single-case study proposes a conceptual framework to show how mentorship could facilitate migrant teachers’ professional development. It further discusses how to maximize their professional learning that occurs throughout the mentoring process. The reported findings may be applicable to immigrant teachers in other national contexts’. With suggestions we may look overseas for additional teachers, this report is particularly applicable.

INTERNATIONAL

  • New ! Advancing student teachers’ learning in the teaching practicum through Content-Focused Coaching : A field

    2019; Eva S Becker, Monika Waldis, Fritz Staub. ‘A pivotal role of cooperating teachers is to assist student teachers’ planning, enacting and reflecting of lessons during the teaching practicum. This study evaluated training sessions in elements of Content-Focused Coaching : 59 cooperating teachers were randomly allocated to a t raining session in: : a] pre-lesson conferences for joint lesson planning, b] core issues for lesson designs, c] both elements or d] another educational topic [control group]. Effects on the quality of collaborative exchange in lesson conferences, student teachers’ competency gains and instructional quality [as reported by pupils] were examined during a three-week teaching practicum. Implications for professional development programs are discussed’.
    SWITZERLAND.
  • New ! A Flying Start : Improving Teacher Initial Preparation Systems

    2016; Credence Baker, James Gentry and William Larmer. ‘ In 2016-18 the OECD carried out an initial teacher preparation [ITP] study in Australia, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, the United States and Wales [United Kingdom]. It aimed to identify and explore common challenges, strengths and innovations in ITP, and set out future directions to support countries in improving their ITP systems. Its findings are compiled in the TeacherReady! platform – an infographic-style website that contains all the resources collected and produced in the study in a structured, easily accessible and searchable form for various stakeholders [policy makers, teacher educators, teachers, ITP leaders] and country contexts. Flying Start – Improving Initial Teacher Preparation Systems is the companion of the TeacherReady! platform more targeted to policy makers and researchers. This report discusses the relevance of studying ITP and explores concepts and features of ITP systems that are key for policy design. It lays out some common challenges related to ITP, policies identified in the course of the study as well as the underlying evidence and data and brings together examples and promising strategies from diverse parts of the world that have the potential to address these challenges at each level of the system’.
    INTERNATIONAL.
  • New ! Building great teachers ? Initial teacher education curriculum research : Phase 2

    2020; Ofsted. ‘In December 2018, we published the findings of our 2-year research investigation into the curriculum in schools. This was an important study because it provided a secure evidence base on which we were able to re-focus school, further education and skills [FES] and early years inspection onto the substance of education : the curriculum. Given the success of this research design, we wanted to go down a similar path when considering the valid components of our initial teacher education [ITE] framework. The current framework has been in place since 2012 and recently reached the end of its inspection cycle. In addition, the Department for Education [DfE] has published its ‘Initial teacher training core content framework’, and its ‘Early career framework’, which both have significant implications for the inspection of ITE. The purpose of this research study was, therefore, to develop and test a research model that assessed the quality of an ITE programme’s curriculum. We expected the research to identify valid components of ITE curriculum quality, which could then be refined and used to inform the development of a new inspection framework. The model itself, however, is intended to inform development of the inspection framework rather than to be used directly on inspection’.
    UNITED KINGDOM.
  • New ! Early Career Teachers : Pioneers Triggering Innovation or Compliant Professionals ?

    2018; Alejandro Paniagua Rodríguez, Angelina Sánchez-Martí. ‘New teachers entering the profession are said to bring with them enthusiasm, idealism and recent training – a promising combination for innovative teaching. However, these early career teachers are also commonly portrayed as professionals facing exceptional challenges, with fragile identities who leave the career in high proportions. Can these new teachers help schools to innovate while trying to perform as effective teachers during their initial years ? This paper argues that the difficulties most early career teachers encounter, which have largely remained unchanged over the last 50 years, are embedded characteristics of the teaching profession. Further, it discusses the importance of the first five years of the teacher career in acquiring critical professional skills and highlights the importance of context over experience per se. The paper concludes by making the case that these first five years could work as a residency for early career teachers – similar to that of medical training – where they could receive support to experiment in sheltered environments’.
    SPAIN.
  • New ! Practicum A Space for Leadership and Mentoring

    2022; Debbie Woolston, Tracy Dayman. ‘Associate teachers [ATs] play a crucial role in supporting beginning teachers but there is little research that identifies the practicum as an opportunity for advancing ATs’ leadership capability. While research identifies mentoring as central to the way ATs support beginning teachers entering the profession, there is little explicit discussion of the leadership skills ATs engage in and model to student teachers during a practicum experience. In this article we draw from a case study located in a provincial New Zealand city and a review of literature to demonstrate that practicum is largely overlooked as a space for early childhood teachers to develop and advance their leadership skills. We argue that mentoring and supervision of student teachers during practicum provides a rich opportunity for ATs to increase their own professional knowledge and expertise as leaders within early childhood’.
    NEW ZEALAND.
  • New ! The role of research in teacher education : Reviewing the evidence

    2014; British Educational Research Association [BERSA]. ‘Policy-makers around the world have approached the task of teacher preparation and professional development in different ways, reflecting their distinctive values, beliefs and assumptions about the nature of professional knowledge and how and where such learning takes place. At a time when teacher education is under active development across the four nations of the United Kingdom, an important question for all those seeking to improve the quality of teaching and learning is how to boost the use of research to inform the design, structure and content of teacher education programmes. The Inquiry aims to shape debate, inform policy and influence practice by investigating the contribution of research in teacher education and examining the potential benefits of research-based skills and knowledge for improving school performance and student outcomes’. Download the report from the site.
    UNITED KINGDOM.
  • New !Understanding beginning teachers’ professional identity changes through job demands-resources theory

    2022; Bing Li, Zheng Li, Mingchen Fu. ‘Teachers’ professional identity is malleable. However, changes in first-year teachers’ professional identity are under-documented in the literature. This study attempted to understand these changes using the job demands-resources [JD-R] model in the context of a two-wave investigation before and after the first year of teaching [Time 1 and Time 2]. A total of 464 elementary and secondary schoolteachers reported twice their perceived professional identity in terms of job satisfaction, occupational commitment, teacher self-efficacy and motivation to teach. School characteristics were captured in terms of job demands and job resources at T2. Findings estimated by the rank-order change, the mean-level change and the Reliable Change Index indicated significant declines in these teachers’ professional identity over one year’ Interesting viewpoint.
    CHINA.
  • New ! What is competent Beginning Teaching ? A review of the Literature

    2016; Anne Reynolds. ‘What does it mean to be a competent beginning teacher ? This review melds findngs from the literature on effective teaching with thoseof learning to teach in order to answer this question. It begins with a discussion of problems encountered in interpretig these bodies of research. Next, differences between beginning and experience teachers are discussed in three broad domains of teaching tasks : preactive, interactive and proactive. In the conclusion, recommendations are offered regarding what should be measured in performance-based assessments for teacher licensure’.
    USA.

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