Recruitment

Intrinsic motivation to teach is an important aspect of teacher retention. The latest Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS 2024) gathered data about teachers’ motivations by asking them about factors of high importance for working in the profession. Here are the top 5 motivating factors for Australian TALIS participants.

Teaching assistants (TAs) and other specialist support staff are important resources in a school. In this edition of Researching education: 5 further readings, we share 5 resources on this topic, including guidance reports designed specifically for leaders and a report on the role of Aboriginal Education Workers.

Australia’s results from the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) have just been released. The survey captures the firsthand knowledge and experiences of school educators. Here we explore some of the key findings on staff wellbeing, collegiality, mentoring support, and use of AI.

Each year, the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership’s (AITSL) Australian Teacher Workforce Data initiative collects data from higher education providers, teacher regulatory authorities and teachers themselves on topics important to the national teacher workforce. In today’s article, Dr Gillian Clark, Alex Allan and Dr Susan-Marie Harding from AITSL provide a snapshot of some of the latest data. 

What made you decide to become a teacher? We’ve been looking at teacher recruitment this month, but perhaps from a different lens that you might think. In this episode, you’ll hear about what young people are saying about teaching as a career, how much schools in Australia are growing year on year, and more.

A US study has explored the different reasons why pre-service teachers (PSTs) decided to pursue a teaching career. Researchers analysed roughly 2,800 essay responses and identified 10 ‘supertopics’. The most common supertopic, appearing in nearly 60% of essays, was ’altruism’, followed by ‘intrinsic motivation’. This infographic gives an overview of the results.

We know the global teacher shortage is impacting many different school contexts, and that encouraging young people to consider a career in teaching is an important part of the long-term picture. Dr Tracy Woodroffe joins us to discuss her 12-month research project that gathered perspectives from Aboriginal students and teachers. These perspectives informed recommendations to encourage more Aboriginal young people in the Northern Territory to consider teaching.  

‘Do you want to be a teacher?’ Is this a question you’ve asked your own students? A new Australian study aimed at boosting the number of First Nations teachers has found that Aboriginal students would like someone to speak to them about teaching as a possible career.

Professor Phil Roberts joins Teacher Editor Jo Earp to talk about the Rural and Regional Education Project, which explores how to lift outcomes for students in these areas. The project included a roundtable event bringing together a range of stakeholders, including the important voices of principals and teachers. We’ll be discussing some of the research findings and feedback from educators.

‘Many teachers sensed … a marginalisation of other key learning areas, including HPE.’ In today’s article, Dr Jessica Amy Sears discusses the findings of an Australian study into the current status, staffing and teaching of Health and Physical Education in New South Wales government schools.