Helen Dempsey PhD

The worldwide teacher shortage is widely discussed in the media, schools and with politicians. One strategy to help fill the void in Australia is to use pre-service teachers. The permission to teach is not a new phenomenon; however, how policy and conditions exist in each state in Australia vary considerably. How do pre-service teachers navigate the world of permission to teach? What are the conditions and concerns expressed by those in this setting?

This presentation examines the conditions that exist in two separate but contextually similar jurisdictions within Australia. Both jurisdictions discussed in this presentation have a history of granting permission to teach, particularly in rural and remote areas. Comparing policy, conditions and support materials from Teacher Regulatory Authorities provides insight into how pre-service teachers are informed about the conditions that exist. Join with me as we explore the gaps and overlaps of information and communication available to pre-service teachers as they navigate this complex space between university study and employment in a school.

What do they feel are reasons for beginning teaching before course completion? This presentation looks at why undergraduate pre-service teachers undertake teaching as an unqualified teacher and identifies four key drivers that are discussed by participants. The voices of participants provide a strong emphasis on how this engagement provides real-life experiences, improves classroom management skills, promotes confidence and fills the needs of employers in an environment of teacher shortages.

Across the globe, we have seen an increase in the number of unqualified teachers working in schools before receiving formal qualifications. Unqualified teaching is not new, it has been used to fill gaps in the teaching workforce for several decades, typically in hard to staff, rural and remote locations. This strategy has now been included in the Australian policy setting by being one of the recommendations within the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan. The conditions for unqualified teachers vary across Australian states and between employment processes. The progression in their course, work fractions and other conditions for employment vary greatly.

What is less known is why pre-service teachers choose to become an unqualified teacher before course completion. There is even less evidence around why undergraduate pre-service teachers choose this pathway, their course progression, the impact that the role has on them and their retention in the workforce. The qualitative research reported here is the first phase of a longitudinal study and investigates the perspectives of a group of undergraduate pre-service students who have or want to undertake unqualified teaching.  Key drivers of why they have chosen or intend to choose this path are highlighted through their voice using a case-study approach. A range of drivers are explored along with future directions for the research study.

There is an unprecedented worldwide shortage of teachers that is expected to reach beyond 40 million by 2030. In Australia, this number was reported to surpass 4,000 in 2025. One strategy being promoted to fill the gaps in the workforce is utilising unqualified teachers who are studying an initial teacher education qualification. Conditions for unqualified teachers within Australia vary depending on the state, and Western Australia has had unique requirements in comparison with the remainder of the country. The call to utilise unqualified teachers relies on little evidence of impact and outcomes for those involved and the system overall. Little evidence is currently available on why undergraduate pre-service teachers choose this pathway, the impact the role has on them and their course progression, and ultimately, their retention in the workforce. This longitudinal qualitative research seeks to understand what motivates pre-service teachers to undertake teaching before course completion within the Western Australian context from a participant’s perspective. Key motivations are identified and explored, leading to further research directions and links to evidence to support unqualified teachers in the future.

Australian teacher education programs must include a summative, capstone assessment of students' achievement against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (a teaching performance assessment). This program accreditation requirement seeks to ensure graduate teachers are adequately prepared for the academic and practical demands of career entry. Research has examined a range of issues related to these assessments however examination of school-based teacher educators' contributions to this process is limited. School-based teacher educators work across school and university settings with pre-service teachers, drawing on their knowledge of both settings to enhance teacher preparation. This research explored the perceptions of these teacher educators as trained panellists involved in the assessment of one teaching performance assessment. Using constructs drawn from Carlile's work on boundary objects (2002), researchers analysed the meaning (knowledge), language (syntax) and pragmatics (practice) emerging from their movement between the intersecting worlds of university and school. Findings highlight the teaching performance assessment acted as an influential boundary object which reshaped par-ticipants' practice, on both sides of this boundary. Participants reported expanded knowledge of university and school practices for preparing pre-service teachers. The implications of this include enhanced practice, increased knowledge of conducive conditions for preparing pre-service teachers and improved assessment enactment. These findings illustrate the benefits of expanded engagement of these educators and their effective transfer of inherent knowledge back and forth across the threshold between their intersecting teaching contexts.

For some time in Australia, there have been concerns expressed from the political sector about the high rate of burn-out in early career teachers and the teacher shortage that currently exists in Australia. In response to political pressure regarding these concerns, Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership sought to ensure that graduate teachers were effectively prepared to manage academic and practical demands of their early teaching career, by introducing a teaching performance assessment (TPA) into the course accreditation framework. Subsequently, it was mandated for Australian teacher education programs to include a TPA as a summative, capstone assessment of students' achievement in relation to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.

To date, research relating to school-based teacher educators' experiences of the TPA process has been limited. Understanding this space is significant because school-university partnerships underpin the effective preparation of pre-service teachers to manage the complexities of teaching. However, there is not always a willingness for school-based educators to process and transfer knowledge about teacher preparation across school and university boundaries. Our qualitative research explored the perceptions of school-based educators through semi-structured interviews, enabling participants to share their experiences when engaging in the delivery of the TPA. Findings identified the TPA as an influential boundary object with potential to shape school-based teacher educators' practice on either side of this boundary.

Analysis was conducted by use of constructs drawn from Carlile's work on boundary objects (2002), to examine the meaning (semantics), language (syntax) and practice (pragmatics) in relation to the movement of school-based educators across boundaries between the university and school to engage with TPA. In engaging with the assessment, participants demonstrated a willingness to transfer knowledge and action between university and school and back again and were proactive within the TPA. Implications include enhanced awareness of the influential nature of school-based teacher educators in driving initiatives within initial teacher education and strengthening the outcomes.

What does migration politics have to do with education? How might culturally diverse teachers impact the teaching and learning cultures in Australian schools? What happens if teachers do not identify with the system? Teacher attraction, recruitment, and retention in the Australian education system are in focus at a time when Australia is experiencing a critical labour shortage. Meanwhile, recent shifts in politically charged immigration policies and changes to education policies and curriculum are transforming the Australian school landscape. Despite the diversity of the populations in Australia and Australian schools, the teaching workforce does not reflect this diversity, with teachers from Sub-Saharan African backgrounds being particularly under-represented. This mixed-methods study explores the unique perceptions of these teachers regarding the challenges, barriers, and opportunities they face within the Australian education system. By examining their lived experiences, the research aims to understand how these factors influence their perceptions and participation in shaping school culture. The study follows a multi-dimensional conceptual framework and employs a sequential explanatory research design, allowing for an in-depth exploration of relational realities in critical multicultural spaces within Australian schools. This research contributes to a better understanding of the experiences of Sub-Saharan African migrant teachers, with the goal of informing strategies to enhance their attraction and retention and fully leverage their cultural capital. It is hoped that the insights gained will aid in developing policies and practices that foster a more inclusive and supportive environment for all educators, thereby enriching the educational landscape in Australia.

Impactful initial teacher education can be characterised by significant industry engagement between stakeholders within schools and universities. School-university partnerships ensure the content of initial teacher education courses are responsive to the needs of the profession. Collaboration within these partnerships provide opportunities for knowledge generation, innovation and effective resolutions to the challenges faced by educators. As a result, these relationships enhance opportunities for pre-service teachers to learn about the profession in powerful ways. These partnerships, then, enhance the outcomes for both learning contexts. As part of our ongoing school-university partnerships,industry partners have been strategically involved in the assessment processes of the teaching performance assessment (QTPA). This paper presents the perspectives of school leaders and teachers who have participated in assessing QTPA written submissions and sitting on QTPA assessment panels. Analysis of data emphasises the voice of school-based colleagues and their important role in the preparation of graduate teachers. Drawing on interview data, participants reflect on their experiences in the QTPA process. From this, two key perspectives emerge. Firstly, school leaders’ perspectives highlight the value of school-university collaboration on the QTPA assessment for the value it has for preparing graduate teachers for future teaching contexts and roles. Secondly, leaders emphasise the value that exists for schools in adopting shared practices and language for strengthening teacher practice.

Developing relationships with colleagues has been identified as one way to enhance teacher resilience and assists in negotiating a professional identity. For early career teachers, opportunities to participate in induction and mentoring programmes and engage in professional learning can assist in developing these relationships. However, for early career teachers who can only obtain casual work and work intermittently often in many different schools, these opportunities may be limited. This chapter presents longitudinal, qualitative research that explores how early career casual teachers negotiated their teacher identity. Drawing on data from focus groups, semi-structured interviews and reflective tasks, the chapter shares insights into how relationships are pivotal in the development of a strong teacher identity.

The aim of this research was to explore the experiences of Early Career Casual Teachers (ECCTs) and how their professional identities are negotiated and constructed in multiple communities of practice. Early career teachers are increasingly beginning their teaching careers in casual employment (Bita, 2015; Bryan, 2015; K. Jenkins, 2013) and despite the increasing number of ECCTs, there is limited research regarding their experiences. The fragmented nature of casual teaching may also constrain negotiation and construction of a professional identity (Pietsch & Williamson, 2007). This qualitative study was longitudinal in design and used a case study method. Participants were early career teachers who had been employed as day-to-day casual teachers, commonly referred to as “relief teachers” in Australia. There were two phases of the research conducted over an eighteen-month period. The first exploratory phase consisted of focus group discussions with ECCTs, and the second phase followed the journeys of six early career casual teachers gathering data through interviews and reflective tasks. Wenger’s (1998) communities of practice framework was adapted and used to investigate ECCTs’ experiences and professional identity negotiation and construction. Relationships and engagement were found to be critical in the complex negotiation and construction of professional identity. Access to both school and professional communities was a major challenge reported by ECCTs. For some, prior engagement with a school community provided brokerage into the school community, and for others sustained engagement with a school community provided access to formal professional communities. In addition, developing strong relationships with students, colleagues and parents assisted ECCTs to develop deep connections with a school community and contributed to a sense of belonging. Professional identity was constructed through integration of personal and professional identity and was negotiated through experiences in both school and professional communities. The research findings provide new insights for universities, education departments, professional authorities and schools in their endeavours to assist ECCTs as they negotiate and construct their professional identity, potentially enhancing commitment to the teaching profession.