Teaching in Australia: Key to fixing workforce challenges

The most promising initiatives to address challenges facing teachers are those that reduce workforce strain and boost student outcomes, writes Dr Pete Goss.

Respect to the men and women who get up each day to teach at schools all over Australia, managing classrooms of 25 or so students.

Unfortunately, teachers often don’t feel respected and the workforce is under major strain. Long working hours. Widespread teacher shortages. Growing reports of stress and burnout.

This can’t go on, because when teachers thrive, students thrive.

That’s where the disagreements start. There are lots of good ideas to reduce workforce strain and help teachers thrive, but most involve trade-offs or cost serious money.

Dr Pete Goss leads PwC Australia’s school education consulting practice

Incentives for teachers to move to hard-to-staff schools can be highly targeted. However, higher salaries for teachers who relocate can cause tension with the existing staff. And teachers who move to remote or disadvantaged schools don’t always last the distance.

Reducing red tape always sounds promising. In practice, it’s not that easy to identify and eliminate low value administrative tasks. Some activities, like playground duty, give teachers vital opportunities to spot when a student is struggling and needs extra support.

The most promising initiatives are those that reduce workforce strain and boost student outcomes.

Creating high-quality curriculum materials can reduce how long teachers have to spend preparing for their classes, and make teaching more consistent. The key is to use them in ways that balances standardisation with flexibility and local needs.

Technology also has a role, especially when it is adapted to how teachers work rather than expecting teachers to adapt to technology.

Imagine a student who suddenly starts missing deadlines or underperforming. Their teacher wants to know what else is happening. Is it a one off, or consistent across all their subjects? Has their attendance changed? Or their mood?

This information probably exists somewhere in the school, but it could take hours to pull it all together.

The next generation of connected school management systems will put this information at the teacher’s fingertips. Even better, smart analytics will learn to spot the early warning signs. Teachers can then use their judgment to decide what action to take.

Finally, implementation is key. Whatever initiatives are put in place, our teachers, principals and other school staff need to experience tangible positive change in their roles, and taxpayers need to see student outcomes improve. Because strategy without execution is just wishful thinking.

Dr Pete Goss leads PwC Australia’s school education consulting practice