The University of Notre Dame Australia hosted the Education Minister Dan Tehan and Education Deans from around the country on Thursday 31 October, as part of the Australian Council of Deans of Education (ACDE) Forum.
The University Chancellor, Chris Ellison, welcomed the minister to the Sydney Campus - a site of special significance, where education has been conducted in one form or another for more than 180 years. "Notre Dame is very proud to continue that tradition," said Chancellor Ellison. "We might be a young University, but we are on some old ground when it comes to education."
The minister spoke about the vital role of teachers and education in preventing schisms in society and about the challenges facing teachers in the 21st Century, as well as how the education system can support teachers to get excellence out of every student in the classroom. "Don't underestimate the importance of your role as educators of teachers," said Mr Tehan, describing Australia's educators as "fundamental" to the success of the nation. "It's my belief that if we get our education system right, then we will prevent schisms from occurring between various parts of communities."
In his address to the Deans, Dan Tehan also discussed the progress of the Teaching Performance Assessment and reiterated the Government's commitment to ensuring high standards of literacy and numeracy among students throughout primary and secondary schools.
ACDE President, Professor Tania Aspland, said, "The engagement with Education Minister Tehan provided great hope that ongoing reforms in ITE [initial teacher education] will be broadly supported by Government, the teaching profession and higher education.
"The ACDE also appreciated the Chancellor's warm welcome to such an important historical education space. It was the perfect venue for the day's high-level discussions," she said.
Caption: Minister for Education, Dan Tehan, alongside ACDE President, Tania Aspland, The University of Notre Dame Chancellor, Chris Ellison, and Acting Vice-Chancellor, Peter Tranter.
