Teachers 'being unfairly targeted'

UNIVERSITY deans have hit back at claims that quality is at risk from falling minimum ATARs for teaching degrees.

UNIVERSITY deans have hit back at claims that quality is at risk from falling minimum ATARs for teaching degrees, saying they distract from the need to improve student placements and mentoring for new graduates.

The NSW government has said it wants higher entry levels for teaching and the Gillard government, backed by the teachers' union, is pushing for students to be drawn from the top 30 per cent of achievers in literacy and numeracy.

But the Australian Council of Deans of Education said only 30 per cent of students entered teaching courses on the basis of school scores and most came in as graduates or through other pathways.

Among school leavers who applied for teaching courses, only 15 per cent of offers went to students with Australian Tertiary Admission Ranks under 60.

"We just have to get a grip and think about what makes a good teacher," council president Brenda Cherednichenko told The Australian before appearing at a Senate inquiry on teaching today.

In its Senate submission, the council says ATARs are often a better reflection of social advantage than capability. It argues that the best learners don't necessarily make the best teachers as communication and engagement are key.

The deans argue that more funding is needed to boost the quality of practical student placements in schools.

The incoming president of the Australian College of Educators, Stephen Dinham, has backed calls for higher entry standards. "It is time the issue of the standard of entrants to teaching is addressed. In fact, it's overdue," he said in a speech in Canberra last week.

But Professor Dinham said teachers were being unfairly targeted in the debate over quality when more investment was needed in learning and skills throughout teaching careers.

He criticised the "invective and panic" over international assessments of school learning, especially the comparisons with Singapore, Shanghai and Korea.

Tertiary Education Minister Chris Bowen yesterday attacked changes being considered by the NSW Liberal government to lift entry requirements for teaching courses. "This proposal by Mr (Barry) O'Farrell is a very blunt instrument," ' he told Sky News's Australian Agenda program.