Last week I attended the Teacher Workforce Roundtable hosted by the Commonwealth Department of Education. This was an opportunity for senior officials to come together in Canberra to share insights on national priorities for the teacher workforce following the implementation of the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan.
Like so many industries, our schools are feeling the impact of workforce shortages. When I am speaking with leaders and principals across our Catholic school authorities, the attraction and retention of high-quality teachers are consistently among the top priorities, highest risks and strategic initiatives throughout our sector.
Participating in the forum alongside our colleagues in government education, the association of independent schools, teacher unions and teachers themselves, it was clear these issues are omnipresent. The enormous benefit of growing and supporting quality teachers is fuelling an ever-increasing demand to ensure professionals in our schools are developed, respected, celebrated, and rewarded.
The areas of discussion at the roundtable provide a helpful insight into the areas of workforce development which are central to the national teacher workforce agenda;
- Strengthening the teaching profession through contemporary, nationally consistent accreditation and standards
- Support for teacher and principal wellbeing and workplace safety
- Enhanced teacher workforce data and analysis with effective and efficient governance
At the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) we are working with our state and territory authorities and Religious Institute and Ministerial Public Juridic Person (RI&MPJP) colleagues so our advocacy can influence beneficial reform in these key areas.
We have a current project underway considering initial teacher education and its capacity to prepare our next generation of teachers to flourish in the classroom. We are using data such as the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership Limited (AITSL)’s Teacher Wellbeing Data, Australian Catholic University’s Principal Wellbeing Survey and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) to assess the key impacts on teacher and leader wellbeing with a view to a realistic picture of the profession which can animate practice and policy. We are constantly assessing our own data capabilities to identify workforce metrics which inform support for early career, middle leaders and experienced professionals. Most importantly, we continue to partner with the Bishops of Australia to identify how the spiritual formation of our teachers supports their personal faith and community contribution thus enriching their calling to the vocation that is education.
There is no single answer to these questions but as the conversations are continuing, we look forward to continuing to work across our jurisdictions to support the development of our workforce for the benefit of our most valuable resource – our teachers.
Jacinta Collins
Executive Director
National Catholic Education Commission
Photo: Teacher and students from St Therese’s School, Bentley Park, Qld.