Christian Colleges program lets teaching students learn and earn on the job

A program paying student teachers to learn on the job, like an apprenticeship, will be rolled out in a bid to stem the shortage of qualified teachers.

University students studying teaching degrees will be sent into classrooms to earn and learn on the job, like apprentice plumbers and builders, under a plan being put forward by the nation’s Christian School body.

Australian Association of Christian Schools chief Vanessa Chang said the move was in response to the national shortage of teachers and aimed to get more staff in the pipeline.

“The national teacher shortage is being felt across all school sectors, whether that be state, private or Christian,” she said.

“We believe a wide-scale rollout of this program will help curb the growing rates of teacher attrition across the country, and ensure the next generation of teachers will be well-equipped and supported as they pursue a career in education to make a positive contribution in the lives of children and our nation’s future.”

The wide-scale rollout will attempt to replicate the success of an apprentice teacher program operating over the past four years in St Philip’s Christian Colleges located in Newcastle, the Hunter, Port Stephens and the Central Coast.

St. Philip’s Christian College teacher Beth Knaus with students Josiah Wilk, 10, (left) and Geneva Wellham, 7. Picture: Peter Lorimer

That program started with 12 university students and now includes 40 apprentice students working in schools while enrolled in education degrees.

St Philip’s Christian Education Foundation chief executive Graeme Irwin said it meant prospective teachers discovered immediately if they were on the right career path.

“We find out if they’re really cut out for it in the first few weeks because you can’t fake it,” he said.

“You’re with real teachers, in real school situations — you either love it or you hate it

“We’ve had a few people say ‘it is not for me’.”

Apprentices are assigned a “mentor teacher” who is instructed on how to guide the university student.

“We train the mentor teachers in how to integrate what (the students are) learning at university into their lessons. It is very intentional — they have to understand what their responsibilities are to their class and the syllabus outcomes,” Mr Irwin said.

One of the added benefits was helping the schools to secure the requisite number of staff: “This is a long-term attempt to overcome those supply problems.”

Beth Knaus said the program gave her a good tastes of school life. Picture: Supplied

Beth Knaus began the program four years ago and has now secured a job at St Phillip’s Christian College at Waratah as a primary school teacher.

She said the program, which saw her in the classroom two days a week while studying, was beneficial because academic content she learnt at university could immediately be put into practice.

“I was technically hired as a teaching assistant, but I would do lessons as well and take the class. It increased responsibility-wise as you go on and you gain confidence,” she said.

Ms Knaus said the program offered a lower-pressure environment than doing additional practical placements as part of her university course.

Early in her placement, when she devised a lesson plan, her mentor gently gave her some frank advice.

“They said ‘you’ve probably got about four lessons in that one lesson plan, just relax and space it out a bit’,” she said.

Ms Knaus said it was also beneficial because it clarified a lot of things never explicitly mentioned during her teaching degree.

“I am experiencing the ebbs and flows of a school year — I am experiencing how to start a year, how to go through report systems, I am learning how to look at school assessment, school photo day,” she said.

“It means I have way less surprises when I get my first class after completing my degree.”