The Morrison Government has today announced Professor Mark Scott AO, Vice Chancellor of the University of Sydney and former Secretary of the NSW Education Department, will chair a new Initial Teacher Education Quality Assessment Expert Panel.
The Panel will develop new minimum and excellence threshold standards for Initial Teacher Education (ITE) courses. The Panel will also advise Government on the application of these thresholds to ITE funding to ensure delivery of quality ITE courses.
Today's announcement comes as the Government releases the final report into quality teacher education. The Next Steps: Report of the Quality Initial Teacher Education (QITE) Review, which was chaired by Ms Lisa Paul AO PSM, makes 17 recommendations and provides a comprehensive examination of the issues facing initial teacher education (ITE) in Australia. The Review received more than 3,000 contributions from individuals and organisations across the education sector.
The report highlights three key areas to help new teachers be most effective:
- attracting high-quality, diverse candidates into initial teacher education,
- ensuring their preparation is evidence-based and practical; and
- inducting new teachers well.
The Morrison Government welcomed the QITE Review report and thanked the review panel.
Acting Minister for Education and Youth, Stuart Robert, said Australians expect a world-class school system for their children and the Morrison Government is committed to returning Australia to being one of the top education nations in the world.
'We are incredibly fortunate to have passionate teachers transforming children's lives every day, however the review has shown how we can continue to lift the quality of teaching in Australia by attracting the best and brightest to the teaching profession and preparing them to be effective teachers from day one,' Minister Robert said.
'The Commonwealth provides around $760 million to support the delivery of Initial Teacher Education in Australia and with this sizable investment, parents deserve the reassurance that people graduate from university or other tertiary institutions with the skills and knowledge they need to hit the ground running when they get into the classroom.'
The Government will undertake further work on mechanisms to strengthen the link between performance and funding of ITE courses, as recommended by the Review.
The Review found that not all providers were adequately equipping ITE students with the skills they need to be ready for the classroom upon graduation.
Professor Scott will work closely with initial teacher education schools across the country and other key stakeholders to identify the characteristics of excellence in teacher education, training and development and to advance an evidence-based approach to policy setting for the system.
The Government will make further announcements in response to other recommendations of the QITE Review in the coming weeks.
The QITE Review was Chaired by Ms Lisa Paul AO PSM (Secretary of the Commonwealth Department of Education 2004-2016), and the panel members comprised Emeritus Professor Bill Louden AM (former Deputy Vice-Chancellor and former Dean of Education at the University of WA), Mr Derek Scott (Principal of Haileybury School and 2019 Australian School Principal of the Year) and Mr Malcolm Elliott (President of the Australian Primary Principals Association).
