Creating gifted teachers

A Productivity Commission (PC) report is urging Governments to improve the skills and effectiveness of the existing teacher workforce.

Workforce quality and proven teaching approaches are the key to raising student performance, improving wellbeing, and creating opportunities for those students to contribute economically to society over their lifetime, according to the PC.

Many teachers are teaching ‘out of field’, meaning they are barely qualified or have completed no qualifications in the discipline they teach.

“Addressing the high levels of teaching out of field will require special recruitment efforts and targeted high quality professional development for existing teachers willing to acquire the knowledge and teaching skills in the relevant disciplines,” the report stated.

“Teaching out of field should be addressed through targeted professional development of existing teachers willing to acquire the relevant knowledge. Teacher salary differentials should also be used to overcome subject-based teacher shortages.”

Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison said the

“Teacher salary differentials should also be used to overcome subject-based teacher shortages.”

Government welcomes the report which reinforces that work already underway.

“We are already pursuing a wide range of policies that will help address the issues the PC has identified, and we will continue to make the right choices to secure the better days ahead, producing more and better paid jobs,” he said.

In the 2016-17 Budget the Australian Government announced a range of measures to improve teacher quality and teacher effectiveness.

These included linking teacher salary progression to demonstrated competency and achievement against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers – rather than just length of service – and providing incentives for high-performing teachers to work in disadvantaged schools.