A Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic has condemned outright a proposal to extend a trial short course for new teachers from Victoria into Queensland.

 

Head of the School of Education at CSU in Wagga Wagga, Associate Professor Roslin Brennan Kemmis, says a similar scheme trialled in the United Kingdom (UK) led to high attrition rates.

 

“In the failed UK system, there were very high levels of job dissatisfaction of the graduates who undertook the short course to become teachers,” said Professor Kemmis Brennan.

 

Under the proposal being considered by the Queensland Government, graduates of a Bachelor degree could undertake a six-week intensive training program before entering a classroom. They would then continue part-time study under a supervisor while teaching a class. A similar scheme is underway in Victoria.

 

“To simply master the content required to teach a subject is manifestly not sufficient,” said Professor Brennan Kemmis. “Teaching requires a high level of skill and understanding of the students one is charged with teaching.”

 

“The relationship between teacher and student is very, very complex in our diverse and pluralist society and content-specific training, which is what is offered with a six-week course, is demonstrably wrong.

 

“The proposal simply devalues the status of teachers as a profession,” added the CSU academic.  

 

The Faculty of Education at CSU is one of the largest in Australia, offering programs in teacher education, information studies and human movement studies. In addition to its distance education program, on campus programs are run at Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Dubbo, Wagga Wagga and Ontario in Canada.