Search For Class Graduates
Sun Herald
Sunday December 21, 2008
Education students will need to be career-long learners, writes Claire Halliday.
WITH Federal Government plans for a national curriculum, debates about greater benchmarking of school performance, recurring complaints about student literacy and numeracy levels, a shortage of good secondary-level maths and science teachers, lack of permanent positions for many NSW teachers and ongoing tension about resources for public and private schools, the quality of teacher education is also under the microscope.Associate professor at the University of Technology Sydney Geoff Riordan says the teachers of tomorrow will need to have "a fundamental interest in and commitment to learning and young people". Riordan, who is the associate dean of arts and social sciences, says they will need to be career-long learners."Rapid advances in science and technology, as well as new understandings of the social world, will see both the content of what is taught and the activities associated with teaching and learning evolve at an increasing pace," he says.With universities recognising that effective educators must be well educated, UTS, Riordan says, focuses on three elements: subject content, teaching and learning theory and professional practice."These elements are integrated in our extensive in-school professional experience program," he says."We are also actively engaged through our teaching and research in digital technology and its relation to teaching and learning."At UTS, the graduate entry secondary program requires people to have completed undergraduate degrees in their chosen teaching discipline, while the undergraduate primary teacher education course typically has Universities Admission Index cut-offs in the 80s."We only discriminate among applicants on the basis of their ability," Riordan says.The lack of male teachers working in the profession, he says, is something that should be addressed by employers and the community."One of the many unfortunate consequences of the abuse of children by pedophiles is that young men fear that they will be under suspicion themselves if they express an interest in primary school teaching," he says, adding that teachers' employment conditions can also play a large part in an individual's career choices.At the University of Western Sydney, the bachelor of science pathway program aims to build on the campus's history of educating much-needed science and mathematics teachers.Students in the new course will complete a bachelor of science degree - requiring them to specialise in one or more aspects of mathematics and science and giving them up-to-date expertise as a fully qualified mathematician or scientist. The course has been designed so that students can meet the NSW Institute of Teachers requirements for secondary teachers in mathematics, biology and chemistry. The benefits of the flexible course structure, a UWS spokeswoman says, is that it allows students to combine their core studies with electives from education and other disciplines - ensuring that they are well prepared for a master in teaching degree. Success in the profession then requires real dedication."A great teacher is passionate about learning," Riordan says. "I also think that good teachers are people who are good role models for young people."
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