Page 1387 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 13 May 2014
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The institute emphasises collaboration across all sectors in school education, professional learning and networking between sectors, and provides online facilities for teachers to maintain professional development records in a simple and accessible form.
Through the implementation of the Australian professional standards for teachers and the certification of teachers against them, the institute is also ensuring that teachers who demonstrate best practice are recognised. Mandatory professional learning for teachers also ensures the continuing development of all our teachers. I commend to the Assembly the institute’s short video on professional learning, which is on their website.
The leading nature of the institute’s work has been recognised at a national level by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, who are promoting to other jurisdictions the professional learning framework that has been developed by our institute here in Canberra. This national recognition is complemented by the recognition locally from all sectors of both the quality of the work undertaken by TQI and the manner in which it goes about its task.
MADAM SPEAKER: Supplementary question, Ms Porter.
MS PORTER: Minister, can you update the Assembly on literacy and numeracy testing for new teachers to improve teacher quality, and outline how the work of the TQI will align with that testing?
MS BURCH: I thank Ms Porter for her interest. The government is currently working with the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership to further strengthen teacher quality by ensuring that new applicants for ACT public schools have literacy and numeracy levels equivalent to the top 30 per cent of the population. This initiative will ensure that we have the best and brightest teachers in our public schools. An online test has been developed which provides a high level of consistency and confidence that the same high standards we expect within the ACT are being achieved from initial teacher education programs across the country.
Not all of our teachers enter our system through universities. Therefore the government is broadening the literacy and numeracy testing of teachers to all who apply, regardless of the way they come to us. The literacy and numeracy testing of new recruits aligns with the initiatives of the Teacher Quality Institute, which have their focus on improving the entrants to the teaching profession as a whole. The TQI has very effectively integrated the Australian professional standards for teachers into all of its regulatory and quality improvement frameworks. Graduate entrants to the profession are assessed against the requirements of the standards and undertake a range of qualification and suitability-to-teach assessments as part of their registration. The institute is continuing to work this year with the ACT universities to improve the professional practicum experience of pre-service teachers. This is expected to improve the transition from learning to be a teacher to commencing work as a member of the profession.
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