Education presentation TASA conference ANU 2009

1. Attraction and Retention of Staff in Queensland Secondary Schools Lindsay Greer & Delwar Akbar - TASA 2009

3. meets the needs of a 21st century

5. underpin economic and social progress.Acknowledgement: This project received funding from Education Queensland through the EIDOS Institute Pty. Ltd. Disclaimer: The information and opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the author and not necessarily of Education Queensland and the Queensland Government

6. Reforms indicated Better leadership and support Embrace new incentives and attract high performing professionals Target lifestyle factors Reward quality outcomes Reward innovation and creativity Provision for external partnerships Increased funding

7. Aim of research Identify the barriers and enablers to effective attraction and retention of teachers Investigate the innovative strategies that contribute to attraction and retention of teachers Broader narrative around ‘quality outcomes’

8. Background on teaching Overall teaching workforce is in balance (from HR perspective) Difficult areas exist however: Sciences, Mathematics, Technology, LOTE, Special Education Difficulties in rural and remote areas

9. Teacher workforce – Aust 2007 276,822 working teachers (ABS,2007) Teaching for 17 years (ave.) School leaders 25 years (ave.) 1 in 10 have worked in remote location 1 in 5 have resign then returned later to teaching Salary range $50-70K/annum 32% of teachers work in other field (health, gov’t, business etc.)

10. Student trends Student’s interest in science, mathematics and technology (SM&T) declines from primary to secondary Undergraduate enrolment in SM&T relatively consistent However - Education SM&T have fallen (not attracting SM&T students) Extra teaching year cited as barrier

11. Recruitment and retention challenges High mobility for trained SM& T teachers 8,000 teachers leave Aust. each year Ageing workforce – 86,000 over 55 by 2009 – 48,000 btw 2010-2014 Competition from other industry sectors Competition from other professions 50% special education teachers leave within five years

12. Challenges Horizontal salary scales – beginning salaries competitive but quickly plateau Salary doesn’t take into account prior work experience Incentive payments were rarely applied due to ‘entrenched values surrounding workplace norms and wage equivalence’ Limited career progression Cost of professional development Teachers teaching ‘out-of-field

13. Challenges Some evidence that salary and status are more important for those students that don’t teach – this suggestsa filtering of the workforce – impacts on quality of workforce Predicted national shortages in some key areas (SM&T) - 400 unfilled vacancies for Mathematics and 300 for Science teachers (2007)

14. Study method Exploratory approach and mixed method Face to face, telephone and online interviews and paper based surveys 4 groups: Year 12 (239), University students (1243), teachers (91), para-professional groups (5) -1633 in total Analysis: descriptive statistics, weighted average, factor analysis and thematic content analysis

16. Survey design – Y12, Uni students & Teachers Demographics General career aspirations – what is important (Y12 & Uni) Attitudes toward teaching as a career Attraction measures for teaching Knowledge of teaching as a career Career incentives (Teachers & Principals) Systemic improvements (Teachers & Principals)

17. Results Y12 62.5% aspired to undertake university study and 16% TAFE studies. - Teacher education studies were a QTAC preference for 28.8% of students. 64% rank job highly 34% rank pay below average 74% would not work in a rural location

18. Results Uni students 45% reported a poor knowledge of teaching career pathways 60% don’t understand EQ recruitment process 62.3 % poor knowledge of para-professional employment opportunities in EQ

19. Results Secondary teachers 54.4 % Status could be improved by increased professionalism Highest satisfaction for teachers is ‘feeling part of an effective team and the importance given to extra-curricula activities’. 63% cited ‘job satisfaction’ as reason they stay. 30% cited ‘employment conditions and benefits

20. Results Secondary Teachers Improved recruitment to teaching Increase time trainee teachers spend in paid training within the school system Increase practical and relevant training within university education training programs. Re-evaluating the teaching position description to capture the changing expectation of teachers within communities particularly in rural and remote location

21. Results Principals Main barriers to recruitment Poor pay scales Declining work conditions Declining professional status Limited training and development opportunities

23. Employment flexibility (hours & location)

24. Stronger professional networks (Isolation)

25. Better allowances to attend training

26. Recruitment at universities (across faculties)

29. With other professional sectors

30. Recognition of prior expertise

31. Focus on recruiting high quality para-professionals

32. Differentiated pay scales/incentive packages

33. Increased professionalism and status

34. Higher cut off for Higher Ed enrolment

35. Course/training improvements

37. Greater flexibility in the recruitment system to allow for:

38. Individual work location choice

39. Greater mobility based on merit selection by individual school principals and leadership groups.

40. High quality recruits encouraged to re-locate once they have been recruited into DETA

41. Targeted recruits should be given location incentives

43. Revise teacher training course structures

44. Enhance the practical training aspects of teacher training

45. Expand assistant teacher roles to include:

46. Student teacher traineeships and

48. Conditional agreements for regional employment subject to satisfactory performance

49. Within degree school placement (work experience) targeted at working in the regions.

50. Targeted recruitment - Years 10-12 within schools

52. Professional development based on the clear needs of the profession

54. Promote job security (recession proofing)

55. Factor cost of living differences between states and in regional areas into incentive schemes

57. Communications should be carried through multiple delivery platforms, i.e. print and electronic media, promotional materials etc.

59. Strategies forsalary parity and stilted career pathways should align with the federal gov’tfunding initiatives designed to improve quality outcomes

60. Introduce more selective recruitment practices (de-centralised) targeted for specific positions and locations

62. Economic modelling (long term) of the recommendations in the report should be undertaken (cost benefit analysis)