Governments have long known that teaching quality is the most important in-school driver of student performance. What governments haven’t done yet is put that knowledge into practice to inform how teachers are recruited,developed,remunerated and supported so that they are able to meet the high expectations we rightly have for our schools.
Sustaining effective classroom teaching day in,day out,does not just happen. It requires expert knowledge and skill,as well as substantial time for preparation and practice. Expertise develops gradually,as teachers’ knowledge and classroom proficiency builds. Working with instructional experts and coaches,both inside and outside the classroom,is key.
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But for too long,teaching as a profession has failed to find meaningful ways to recognise and deploy teaching expertise. Australia’s best teachers are under-utilised. They are often confined to their own classrooms,or lack the time and support needed to provide professional learning to others. This is a waste of their skills,and a missed opportunity.
Existing efforts to identify expert teachers and help them help others do not go far enough. Coaching programs chop and change,and designated roles in industrial agreements are often under-resourced and rarely subject-specific. A 2019 Grattan Institute survey found that instructional leadership roles in schools today lack the necessary support and credibility,and rarely lead to changes in teaching practice.
The existing teaching career path needs urgent reform.
The NSW government should pay its best teachers more. But the extra money should not simply be a reward for the number of years served or for classroom performance in any one year.