As the 45th Parliament draws to a close, the House Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training has released a paper for its Inquiry into the Status of the Teaching Profession.
The Chair of the Committee, Mr Andrew Laming MP, said ‘the Committee received 90 submissions to its inquiry, and held public hearings in Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. The Committee is keen to share with interested stakeholders some of the issues raised during the inquiry, to date.’
‘This paper aims to provide people with an overview of issues raised and discussed at the Committee’s public hearings, as well as lay the foundation for any further examination of these matters in a future Parliament’, he said.
Some key themes identified for attracting, retaining and developing Australia’s teachers include:
- Affording higher levels of respect and recognition for teachers and the profession;
- Supporting teachers through proper induction and mentoring programs;
- Increasing funding to help schools manage the range of social, behavioural and health related issues of students;
- Alleviating out-of-hours work undertaken by teachers, and improving administrative support within schools; and
- Supporting continuous professional learning and development of teachers, and providing a career trajectory.
The Committee would like to thank everyone who made a contribution to its inquiry, particularly those teachers and educators who took time to make a submission and appear at public hearings.
