Making teaching attractive to mid-career professionals who want to do something more meaningful with their lives or are disaffected by the incursion of technology on their roles would need income-earning options and more in-class training as they gain the proper credentials, says the head of a government panel that will recommend reforms to initial teacher education.

Mark Scott, who will chair an expert panel that advises the federal government on reform of university-based teacher education courses, said the single most influential way to improve Australia’s waning performance on international tests, was to make teaching a desirable profession to people from a range of backgrounds and who have a track record of high academic performance.