Teacher shortages around Australia mean there is an ongoing debate about how to attract, retain and educate more teachers. One part of the push to increase teacher numbers is encouraging people to swap their current career for a teaching role. Mid-career or “career change” students are increasingly common in teacher education programs. The most recent Australian data shows as of 2017, one-third […] … learn more→
Tag Archives: teaching
Working with kids, being passionate about a subject, making a difference: what makes people switch careers to teaching?
Teacher recruitment target missed in England – why people don’t want to enter or stay in the profession
The Department for Education has managed to recruit less than 60% of the new secondary school teachers expected this year in England, recent figures show. This is unsurprising for those of us working in education. Since 2015, the Department for Education has only been able to meet its secondary teacher recruitment target once, in 2020. These figures are […] … learn more→
Australia’s teacher shortage won’t be solved until we treat teaching as a profession, not a trade
Today, state and federal education ministers will meet in Canberra to discuss the teacher shortage. In their first in-person meeting for more than a year, they will also speak to principals, teachers and education experts about the crisis. Not only do we need more people to take up teaching as a career, experienced teachers are leaving the […] … learn more→
‘Teaching has always been hard, but it’s never been like this’ – elementary school teachers talk about managing their classrooms during a pandemic
As the omicron wave spikes across the United States, K-12 education is one of many systems buckling under the weight of expanding needs. Recent headlines highlight staff and busing shortages, parental anxieties about both in-person and distance schooling and disputes between unions and districts. Yet teachers’ experiences in their classrooms can be overlooked in these conversations. As part of […] … learn more→
Should teachers love their students to help them succeed?
Despite the accumulation of data on the place of emotions and feelings in learning, many actors in the education system still consider that affects have no place in school. A standard remains strong in France: teachers must demonstrate professional distance with students. This standard, for lack of a clear conceptualization, often suggests that one should not establish an […] … learn more→
Helping teachers ‘practise what they teach’ could help them stay teaching for longer
Early career teachers are more likely to stay on if they practise what they teach in their own time. We found that practitioner-teachers – such as art teachers practising art and biology teachers observing nature – see themselves as better quality teachers when measured against key principles of learning and teaching. These principles include providing clear assessment […] … learn more→
We need more teachers of color, so why do we use tests that keep them out of the classroom?
Students of color seldom see teachers who look like them. This is because many aspiring teachers of color are pushed out of the profession before they have a chance to start. It’s not poor performance in college courses or teaching internships that take the biggest toll. It is the standardized tests aspiring teachers must pass to earn a teaching license. Critics say these […] … learn more→
Helping teachers get better at ‘how’ to teach as well as ‘what’ to teach
It’s always difficult to step out of your comfort zone. This is true for teachers too; research has shown that many educators are resistant to change. This manifests in many ways. Some don’t want to try out new assessment methods. Others are reluctant to use technology for teaching. And some resist any sort of professional development […] … learn more→
Good teaching = More debt
Most folks think that the reason “for profit” schools are more expensive than “public” schools is because the former are trying to make a buck. It seems a good working hypothesis, but “non profit” schools are also (often) wildly more expensive than state schools, and all too often are clearly as motivated by profits as […] … learn more→
Does a shorter week help kids with their learning?
How would you react if you were told that your local public school planned to change the schedule from the traditional Monday-through-Friday model to a schedule that contained four longer school days? Would you worry about long days for young children, their academic accomplishments and, of course, childcare? Across the US many public school districts […] … learn more→
