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West Australian educators have defended the state’s controversial one-year teaching degrees after the Victorian government banned its graduates from working in its public schools.
The Victorian government announced today it would close the loophole in its education recruitment policy, preventing WA teachers from working in government schools if they have not met the nationally agreed minimum two-year, post-graduate study requirement.
That requirement was set in a national agreement in 2014, but last year WA’s Teacher Registration Board reintroduced the one-year registration as the state aimed to combat its teacher shortage.
The degrees were available at Edith Cowan and Curtin universities.
The national agreement includes mutual recognition of studies, meaning those who have completed their course in WA are eligible to teach anywhere in the country.
Victorian Deputy Premier and Education Minister Ben Carroll said the one-year degrees “undermined” the standards of other states and territories under the two-year full-time study requirement.
Ben Carroll said Victorian students deserved the “best education possible”.Credit: The Age
But WA Minister for Education Sabine Winton defended the one-year qualification.
“Western Australia has a high-quality and dedicated teaching workforce who deliver excellent outcomes for students right across our state,” she said.
“The re-introduction of graduate diplomas has strengthened our ability to attract a variety of people into the profession, particularly those with valuable and relevant qualifications and experience outside teaching.
“This entry pathway maintains a high standard – requiring at least three years of prior university study – while responding swiftly to workforce demands across our schools.
“It has been overwhelmingly well-received in WA schools.
“It is important to note that any teacher, no matter their entry pathway, must still meet the same rigorous standards set by the Teacher Registration Board of WA to be deemed fit to teach.”
A spokesperson for Curtin University said while its students were well aware of the limitations around the one-year course, it still had a strong backing by education authorities.
“It is a regulated, rigorous program developed in consultation with the WA Department of Education and the Teacher Registration Board,” they said.
“While we respect that other jurisdictions set their own requirements, Curtin remains committed to delivering high-quality teacher education and to supporting the needs of schools and students.
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“At a time when the demand for teachers is high across the country, we want to see as many passionate and qualified graduates as possible supported to contribute to our classrooms.”
Curtin’s graduate diploma in education is specifically designed for registration in Western Australia only, with students required to apply for mutual recognition if needed.
Edith Cowan University declined to comment.
Victoria is the first state to decide to ban WA graduates of the degree, and the State School Teachers Union of WA said it still saw the two-year minimum requirement as imperative to ensuring teachers were properly trained before going into a classroom.
“We certainly support the national standards,” senior vice president Natalie Blewitt said.
“Whilst we appreciate the efforts that are being made to address the teacher shortage, having a fully qualified teacher in front of every class is not to be compromised.
“We need to make sure that we have fully qualified teachers in our classroom to ensure that the students in our public schools receive the best possible education that they can.”
Blewitt said the one-year graduate degree could increase the chances of teachers leaving the profession all together.
“As a classroom teacher myself of more than 20 years, it is essential that we are equipped with the right skills, and that we are fully qualified, to ensure that teachers remain in the profession,” she said.
“Having teachers brought in too early, ones that are not quite ready or not fully qualified, is a short-term solution that leads to burnout and can ultimately be further detriment to our profession.”
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