A topic of great current interest in education, and a most concerning one at that, is that of the teacher shortage facing Australia schools.
This is not a new problem, nor is one peculiar to Australia alone.
This really is a crisis in school education and does not bode well for the educational futures of our children.
With this in mind, we should all collectively take a proactive interest in what our governments propose doing to address this dire situation.
Jason Clare, the federal Education Minister has flagged the critical importance of this issue by conducting a national teacher workforce roundtable.
That’s promising news. Of course, the devil will be in the detail for, as has been widely acknowledged, there is no easy short-term fix.
Reasons often cited by teachers as to why they leave the profession include – a lack of respect for the profession, intolerable work demands, poor career structures and low pay.
The lack of respect for the profession is a most interesting one.
Simply ‘talking up’ the profession, as has been tried in the past, has failed dismally.
Words without action are simply window dressing and don’t fool anyone.
The shift to increased accountability and compliance in schools has certainly impacted on workload and the relatively low pay across the board in the profession remains a significant disincentive to embark on a teaching career.
Furthermore, it does nothing to enhance the status of the profession.
Henry Grossek
Principal
Berwick Lodge Primary School
