Teachers need practical skills to teach reading

THE findings of the NSW audit are too serious to be ignored.

IN a memorable admission on ABC TV’s Q&A in 2012, University of Sydney vice-chancellor Michael Spence said tertiary education courses were primarily “about teaching critical thinking’’ and “making sure teachers understand the way children learn’’. The consequences of such a theoretical approach have left many primary teachers poorly prepared for teaching the basics. It is not surprising, as Justine Ferrari reported yesterday, that a NSW audit of teaching degrees found the teaching of reading was mired in theory, with too little focus on practical skills. That systemic shortcoming has left thousands of students struggling without the vital educational building block of good reading. As a result, many have found themselves unable to succeed at more advanced subjects such as science or literature, or function productively in the workforce later.

NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli’s initiative in ordering the independent evaluation, the first of its kind in Australia, should benefit schools in all states. It was conducted by the NSW Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards, which examined 68 teaching courses in 14 institutions in NSW, from sandstone universities to small Christian colleges. Mr Piccoli was right when he said the Abbott government should now pursue the issue and use its coercive powers through funding arrangements to hold universities to account. The NSW audit will provide Education Minister Christopher Pyne with valuable insights to complement the federal review of teacher training led by Australian Catholic University vice-chancellor Greg Craven.

Despite irrefutable evidence about the importance of phonics in teaching reading, one of the NSW report’s most telling findings was the absence of phonics from some university teaching courses. In others, it was played down in favour of other methods. Board of Studies president Tom Alegounarias was right when he said every teacher needed to be able to teach phonics — the sounds that made up words. It was not about ideology or philosophy but about evidence: “Doctors don’t have a belief in penicillin, penicillin works. Phonics works, full stop.’’ It is disappointing, as Mr Alegounarias said, that after decades of research into the best way of teaching reading, universities had not reached a consensus, resulting in too much variation between degrees. Nor would parents be reassured to learn that while universities had programs to improve their teaching students’ own literacy skills — which would be unnecessary under a better school system — little was done to assess their ability to teach reading to the next generation.

Teachers need to begin their careers with the expertise and skills to teach well, supported by in-service training, mentoring from experienced teachers and leadership from principals. Being unsure about how to teach reading or how to control a rowdy class is as problematic for teachers and their students as graduate doctors or nurses being unable to care for patients or junior journalists being steeped in media theory but unable to interview or write a simple news report.

In her 2013 study “Why Jaydon can’t read: The triumph of ideology over evidence in teaching reading’’, Centre for Independent Studies research fellow Jennifer Buckingham noted that in the National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy that year, 11.5 per cent of Year 3 students — about 32,000 children across Australia — achieved only the very low minimum standard for reading, or worse. That was despite four years of schooling and billions of dollars spent on literacy programs. The NSW audit has pinpointed one of the reasons why.

School assessment and reporting have been improved and curriculum reform is under way. Rather than reverting to arguments over funding or class sizes, the focus on lifting standards should now extend to improving the quality of teaching degrees. After falling behind east Asian and some European systems, education authorities should not tolerate teaching courses that pay little heed to proven approaches to teaching reading. Universities cannot be allowed to retreat behind the veil of academic freedom on this issue. As the NSW report recommends, guidelines are needed to stipulate core content for teaching degrees and strike a better balance between theory and practice.