Teachers for the Future: The Changing Nature of Society and Related Issues for the Teaching Workforce
Author: Skilbeck, Malcolm
Date: 2004-09-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Social Change,Teaching (Occupation),Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Role,Teacher Responsibility,Preservice Teacher Education,Teacher Employment,Beginning Teachers,Teacher Supply and Demand,Teacher Characteristics,Generational Differences,Teaching Conditions,Educational Trends,Futures (of Society),Knowledge Base for Teaching,Beginning Teacher Induction,Teacher Placement,Teacher Persistence,Faculty Development,Standards,Teacher Evaluation,Teacher Surveys,Questionnaires,Interviews,Focus Groups,Foreign Countries

During the next decade, the teaching profession in Australia will be transformed. Due mainly to age related retirements there will be a massive turnover and a huge influx of new entrants. At the same time, it can be expected that there will be more exacting requirements and expectations of teachers as new professional standards are set to meet the challenges of the knowledge society. In preparation for these changes and to help address the challenge, in March 2003 the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) Teacher Quality and Educational Leadership Taskforce (TQELT) commissioned a study of the teaching workforce, specifically teachers in their first ten years of employment, whether teaching in government, Catholic or independent schools. The aim of the study was to inform the development of advice to MCEETYA and employers about:  (1) strategies for attracting, retaining and regaining quality teachers; and   (2) approaches to working with new generations of teachers. While MCEETYA and employers of teachers are the primary audience, the findings of the study are relevant to teacher educators, professional associations and teacher unions, and to all those with a concern for the quality of teaching and learning in the nation's schools. The study commenced with a literature review (Data Source 1). Drawing on this review, for the second phase of the study a survey instrument was developed and a questionnaire sent to a broadly representative sample of teachers within the first ten years of their teaching career in the four participating states of New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia. Close to three hundred returns, approximately 64 per cent of the sample, were received and analysed (Data Source 2). The conclusions, recommendations and findings arising from the study are presented in three documents: (1) Overview. Conclusions and Directions for Action;   (2) Main Report. A Career of Teaching: the Formative Years; and (3) Data Sources. Evidence from the Field. The &quot;Overview&quot; serves as a summary for the findings and conclusions of the Main Report. 25 brief statements outline key points from the study for the consideration of policy makers, teacher educators, and the broader teaching profession. The &quot;Main Report&quot; draws on the evidence analysed in the reports of the fieldwork, questionnaire responses and the literature survey (Data Sources). These sources show that the educational requirements of growing up in the knowledge society are setting new goals for schools and challenges for the teaching profession. The Main Report, in discussing these, develops the themes of a career in teaching and argues for changes both in employment policy and practice and the initial and continuing education of teachers. &quot;Data Sources&quot; are of three kinds: (1) an initial literature review which provides a comprehensive survey of both Australian and international studies of the teaching profession and of changing trends in career aspirations and lifestyle expectations; (2) an analysis of responses by close to 300 practising teachers in government, Catholic and independent schools in New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia to the project questionnaire; and (3) a report on interviews and focus group meetings by the researchers in the four participating states. Together, these data sources provide the evidence in which the findings, conclusions and directions for action are grounded. Unless otherwise indicated, all references to teachers and their expressed views in the  Overview, Main Report and Data Sources relate to those surveyed in this study, that is, people in their first ten years of teaching in Australian schools. Appended are: (1) Schedule of Site Visits; and (2) Suggested Programme for Visits to Schools and Topics for Discussion. (Contains 17 figures, 11 tables, 10 boxes and 54 footnotes.)