This is the context in which we are preparing the next generation of citizens. What we need to ask ourselves is how we are supporting our teaching profession to face these demands. Content' in teaching, as everywhere else, is vital now, and in the future. For example, we must look at the implications of the fact that there has not always been sufficiently relevant or interesting 'content' to prepare our young people to become citizens of Australia. We need to ensure that all prospective members of the profession meet basic standards of competence and behaviour.
Codes of ethics are staples of professional life.
An opportunity should exist for the profession to publicly define what it stands for and to guide the highest standards of behaviour. The levels and standards of qualification of our current workforce is unprecedented, but as the incidence of retirement increases over the next decade, we must have an insurance policy to ensure that no short cuts are taken with the level of competence demanded of our teachers. We need to have standards which to help to define and support teachers' work. I am alert to the difficulty of framing standards which capture but do not confine the complexity of teachers' work. Standards should comfortably accommodate variations in teachers' personality, style and professional philosophies and really do help to make teaching more vital and effective.