Teaching is among the toughest and most important professions in Australia. A teacher, especially in early childhood, does the most work in shaping the young mid into respectable persons in the society. However, as good as the profession may sound, the teacher education sector is wrapped with numerous challenges that often affect the outcome of students. Here are some main challenges that require to be addressed and improve quality of learning in the country.
Designing an inclusive curriculum
The world is changing, and every day there are new trends in every sector of life. However, the Australian teacher education curricula have remained unchanged for over five decades. Due to the lack of an inclusive curriculum when the teachers are ready for work, they come out lacking the fundamental training on how to deal with innovation in their respective fields. Additionally, in the today world, students require specific training as they build their career to ensure they bring something different onboard. With the same teacher education system, nothing much can be given. Therefore, the country will keep performing poorly off compared to other developing nations as Singapore and Korea.
Additionally, another change that requires addressing is the school learning curricula. Teachers are expected to train and try students on age-based approach. Students portray different abilities even if they are on the same age group. Therefore, teachers should be trained on how to grade and judge students against their:
- Progress
- Individual development over time
- And growth
To address this challenge, the learning and teaching processes should be more flexible and personalized based on the individual abilities rather than the usual same-age expectation.
Lack of specialization
Due to the limitation of the teaching profession, most schools do not have qualified teachers who specialize in the subjects they teach. Although the said teacher will introduce the basics to their students, they do not have the spark and enthusiasm to challenge potential students in the same field. The most affected areas include mathematics and science-related subjects.
Raising the professional status
In Australia, the teaching profession does not portray the signify competence in the society. Often, a majority of people who enroll in teaching did not wish to land for the job as their first choice. Therefore, only the applicants with low grades apply to acquire the knowledge. This often results in the lack of qualified staff in respective fields, which in return affects the student’s outcome. The government should, however, improve the status of teachers and ensure they lead a smooth and attractive life. This system will attract the brightest and top school levers to the system. Therefore, the country will have an overflow of qualified teachers in various fields. Eventually, the country will be as competitive regarding innovations and technology as other developing countries.
All the above challenges and several others will require a political implementation to see the country grow to its expectations. However, the school systems also need some adjustments to ensure they have an extensive teaching staff.
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