The Federal Government says improving teacher quality will help arrest declining academic standards. 

In recent years, Australian students have recorded some of their worst results on international rankings, falling underneath the OECD average in maths and tumbling down global rankings in reading and science.

In an attempt to push the nation back up the international rankings, Education Minister Alan Tudge this week appointed a panel of education experts to conduct a six-month review of initial teacher education courses.

“The review will address two key questions: how to attract and select high-quality candidates into the teaching profession, and how to prepare them to become effective teachers,” an official government statement reads. 

“Since 2006, the number of top students chosing to study education has declined by a third, and many teachers are still graduating from their courses insufficiently prepared to teach in a classroom.”

The review will be conducted by a panel chaired by former Department of Education and Training Secretary Lisa Paul, and will include Malcolm Elliott - President of the Australian Primary Principals Association, as well as Derek Scott – 2019 Australian School Principal of the Year, and Dr Bill Louden - Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Western Australia.

The terms of reference are accessible here.

University of Sydney education expert Dr Rachel Wilson says reviewing teacher education in isolation will not be enough.

“Tinkering isn’t going to fix it. We need a broader review and bolder reforms to the structures of the schooling system. We need a cross-party coalition and 10-year plan to address the issues we are facing,” Associate Professor Wilson told reporters this week.

Australian Council of Deans of Education president Professor Michele Simons also said the review should be expanded.

“We actually need to look at things like providing quality professional learning for all teachers, regardless of their stage of career. Rather than just concentrating on graduate teachers, which make up a very small proportion of the overall teaching workforce,” Professor Simons said.