Radical reforms to education degrees mean students will need higher ATAR

A major shake-up of education degrees will mean more student teachers will have to meet higher ATAR requirements. See the radical reforms.

More aspiring teachers will have to meet higher ATAR requirements under radical reforms to education degrees.

In a bid to attract high-performing students, a national taskforce has announced a higher proportion – which is yet to be determined – must have an ATAR of 80.

In a major shake-up, mid-career workers will be lured into teaching courses with shorter degrees, paid employment opportunities and part-time study options. Student teachers will also spend more time on practical skills and less time on the history and philosophy of education.

Universities will now be required to disclose dropout rates and course quality. They will be eligible to receive grants of up to $5m to improve the quality of their teaching degrees and up to $2.5m if they have strong and improved student outcomes.

The Teacher Education Expert Panel – set up by the federal government last August to improve teaching courses and address workforce shortages – detailed the changes in its final report, released on Thursday.

Emma Darvas says learning about mental health is ‘critical’ before stepping into a classroom. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

University of Sydney vice-chancellor and panel chairman Mark Scott said the changes would make a “crucial contribution” to addressing workforce shortages.

Dropout rates in teaching degrees are among the highest industry-wide, sitting at about 50 per cent. The report shows a 10 percentage point increase in initial teaching education retention rates would result in nearly 3000 extra graduates each year.

“Teachers make a huge difference to the lives of our children and young people, but teachers work in a challenging environment,” Professor Scott said.

“Preparing teachers to confidently and successfully step into the classroom relies on quality initial teacher education.”

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said the changes would ensure more teachers stayed in the profession.

“Teaching is a tough and complex job, and this is all about making sure they are better prepared from day one,” he said.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare says the changes will ensure more teachers stay in the profession. Picture: Liam Kidston

But Australian Education Union president Correna Haythorpe said the report didn’t address unsustainable workloads and uncompetitive salaries.

“The reality is, we can’t fix the teacher shortage unless we fix wages and workloads. And we can’t fix that without full and fair funding for public education,” she said.

It comes as university students say there should also be a bigger focus on learning about teacher mental health.

Emma Darvas, 23, who is studying a Bachelor of Education at Australian Catholic University, said learning about mental health as a teacher was “critical” before setting foot in a classroom.

“I recently did a unit on how to support teacher mental health and develop a self-care plan, and I think every student should be made to take this class – it was a godsend,” she said.

“I did it right before placement. If I didn’t have the guidance from this unit, I don’t know if I could have gotten through it.

“I was in a really high-stakes and challenging school with many students from very complex backgrounds.”

Ms Darvas said all students needed to be taught strategies to cope with being a teacher.

“I think it would really help teachers get through those first five years. They’re critical – that’s where we see most teachers burn out or leave the profession,” she said.

ACU School of Education lecturer Dr Debra Phillips, the creator of the new unit, said that all teachers should have self-care plans.

“To teach well is to be well,” she said.