General News
2 April, 2024
Local solution to teacher shortage
Local schools are a step closer to overcoming the chronic shortage in teachers and educators, but will have to wait another three years before seeing any positive change.
Local schools are a step closer to overcoming the chronic shortage in teachers and educators, but will have to wait another three years before seeing any positive change.
But, projections based on school enrolment numbers and staff attrition indicate the problem may get worse before it gets better.
As many as 200 new education and training sector workers could be needed across the region next year alone.
So far, Federation University's Wimmera campus only has 20 students studying the Bachelor of Education, with a midyear intake possible, if numbers warrant.
The university is still pushing for funding to support the entire program but, regardless, insists that students will have an available pathway to complete three- or four-year degrees.
The university says students will be able to undertake year two of their degree at the Horsham campus, allowing them to study closer to home and maintain community ties.
Governments are keen to push teacher training after statistics released by the Victoria Skills Authority revealed a dire need faced by most schools statewide.
Federation University's Professor Jenene Burke confirmed that Horsham-campus students would complete practical hands-on teaching in Wimmera schools if they did not choose to go elsewhere.
She said the shortage of teachers in the Wimmera warranted the training program and assistance from the Department of Education, and has put out a call to local schools for education support staff willing to enrol in the teacher-training course.
"We can also consider including students who are not currently working in schools in our mid-year intake," she said.
"Three staff are employed to work with the students, but this number will increase each semester.
"Students can qualify as a registered teacher within four or 4-and-a-half years of full-time study - the minimum length of a teaching degree," she said.
For this, they would take some electives online, Prof Burke said.
"This is so we can offer both primary and secondary teaching, within a range of teaching disciplines."
Another alternative was for students to complete a three-year Bachelor of Education Studies and continue onto a Master of Teaching in secondary, primary or early childhood, studied online from the Ballarat Campus.
The three-year degree prepares students for many learning and education roles, including developing courses for a wide range of industries, or as a school integration aide.
The Horsham campus has two Wimmera-based lecturers, with a third commuting from Ballarat.
“The university is very excited to add higher education to our growing delivery in the Wimmera," Prof Burke said.
"The use of connected-classroom technology means that distance isn’t a barrier to study.
"People in the region can take the opportunity to enhance their careers and study locally."
She said students were already embedded within the Wimmera community, and support from the Victorian Government meant they were more likely to stay in the region and teach there when qualified.
* Federation University Australia dates back 150 years, and is Victoria’s premier regional dual-sector university, with campuses at Ballarat, Berwick, Gippsland and the Wimmera.
It has the nation's highest ratio of "first-generation" students - students who are the first in their family to attend tertiary education.