What's The Score?

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday November 26, 2005

Dylan Welch

Degree: one. Experience: nil. Dylan Welch has advice for graduates starting their first teaching jobs.

For teacher graduates, January 30 marks the beginning of their classroom careers. They will be among the 1700 to 3000 newly qualified teachers who start work in NSW schools each year. However, it's a big step from the lecture hall to the classroom.

What should new teachers expect?

TEACHER SHORTAGENew teachers can expect to progress quickly. A survey done in 2002 on behalf of the NSW Ministerial Council for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs showed the average age of teachers was 43, with 40 per cent of teachers expected to retire in the next 10 years.

So while there will be potential for rapid advancement in the short to medium term, there is also going to be a dearth of experienced, older teachers to act as mentors.

RETENTION RATES

The looming shortage of experienced teachers is particularly worrying when coupled with a large exit rate. A quarter of teachers quit the profession within the first five years, Federal Government figures show, with young teachers leaving after a few years accounting for the second-highest exit rate after retirements.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The only way to halt this trend is through better professional support and development for teachers who are starting out. The State Government says the NSW Institute of Teachers will play an important role in the drive to retain teachers.

NSW Education Minister Carmel Tebbutt says the Government is trying to support teachers through their first few years in the classroom. She says the institute will help all new teachers with support materials and access to professional development opportunities.

Since 2001, there has been a marked rise in the annual funding per teacher for professional development in NSW. At the beginning of 2001, funding was about $26.50. Funding per teacher, per year is now between $600 to $1000, depending on the area.

MENTORING

The mentor program, started with a pilot round of 50 teachers in 2003, will be an important part of the support provided to new teachers next year, the State Government says. New teachers will be given reduced class loads and a part-time teacher-mentor to improve skills, teaching strategies and class management.

However, the president of the NSW Teachers Federation, Maree O'Halloran, says so far the mentoring program for new teachers has had little effect. "The State Government has put a mentor program into place, but there are 58 equivalent full-time positions for [teacher-mentors] and there's 2200 schools, so really it's a drop in the bucket," she says.

INQUIRY AND REFORM

Many of the changes since 2000 have been the result of reports such as the landmark 2001-2002 inquiry into public education headed by Professor Tony Vinson.

As a result of these inquiries, class sizes from kindergarten to year 2 must fall to prescribed levels by 2007. Changes to the HSC (with the debate over a national qualification still raging), literacy and numeracy practices, and outcomes-based assessment have all had an impact.

SALARY

Last month's pay case - which won an average 4 per cent increase for teachers - was the first time NSW teachers have won a pay increase without industrial action since 1968.

The entry level salary was raised to $50,522 for next year. O'Halloran says the deal means that, "the entry level to teaching is now attractive compared to other professions. Teachers feel, finally, they have some measure of respect from the Government."

© 2005 Sydney Morning Herald

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