Christopher Back (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I present the report of the Education, Employment and Workplace Relations References Committee Teaching and learning—maximising our investment in Australian schools, together with the Hansard record of proceedings and documents presented to the committee.

Ordered that the report be printed.

by leave—I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

I commend the report to the chamber. I thank all who have been involved in the preparation of the report, appeared as witnesses and put in submissions. I particularly applaud the secretariat for the excellent job they have undertaken in the preparation of this report. There were 59 submissions to the inquiry, and there are 23 recommendations which emanate from the report.

The report is based around six pillars. The first relates to disadvantaged students. The second is parental involvement and the essence of parental involvement in the education of the child—along, of course, with the involvement of the school and the teachers. The third is a movement towards autonomy in the administration and management of schools. The fourth relates to student behaviour. The fifth is ensuring that we select quality applicants as student teachers and have the highest quality of education for student teachers. The sixth is professional learning for teachers in their classrooms. I will now speak briefly to these six pillars.

Australia stands very highly against international education standards. But we are not improving, despite expenditure of funds. It is recognised that there are four large groups of disadvantaged students—those from low socioeconomic backgrounds, those with disability, Indigenous students and students living in rural and remote areas. But the committee rejects the thinking that students from these four disadvantaged backgrounds need to be condemned to poor educational outcomes because of their demographic or whatever background. Recommendations point to areas in which, this committee believes, the disadvantage faced by students from these backgrounds can be addressed and overcome. It should not be the case that students from such backgrounds are condemned to not being able to perform to the best of their ability in the Australian education system.

The second pillar is parental involvement. It came through as evidence to the committee that chief among the influences on student achievement are parental engagement, parental as well as teacher expectations, effective behaviour management and teacher quality But of all of those it is critical that parents believe that their child will do their best at school, that they will experience success and that they will move into employment or a trade or a university qualification. I would urge those interested in this area to examine the evidence of the witnesses that speaks to those points. Education is a team effort. It is the parents and, by association, grandparents and others in the family; it is the school, its management and its teachers; it is the environment; and, at the end of the day, we also recognise that there is a role for governments—be they state or territory, which actually deliver education, or the Catholic or independent school systems and the federal government, which is involved in funding.

I will be brief because I know that others wish to speak. The committee was impressed by the argument from many of the submitters and witnesses that school autonomy, the role of the principal guided by a board, is the best model, where it is appropriate. They should be well trained, well skilled and well supported to be able to identify where the local needs are for students in that community. As I look at research into Finland, which is always placed before us as a country of excellence in education, what impresses is in fact the local decision making that takes place in the Finnish education system. There are recommendations in the report pointing to this.

I come to the question of student behaviour and very compelling evidence by a witness, who said:

[W]ell-behaved children learn a great deal better and a great deal more than poorly behaved children.

If there is one point to come out of this report over some of the 30 reports over 30 years into education in Australia, it is recognition that the teachers should be allowed to get on with the job of teaching in their schools and not be in the role of babysitters or disciplinarians. As one witness said to us:

If I have had to deal with a classroom bully, by the time I deal with that child, get them out of the room, when I go back into that room, I may have 25 or 26 scared children who are in no position to learn.

Again I am proud to say that the committee has made recommendations pertaining to behaviour. Again if I can draw the Finnish analogy, only last August did its minister for education introduce legislation into the parliament to allow exactly that—greater authority and greater stimulus for teachers to be able to teach in the classroom.

The fifth of those pillars is quality teaching students going into courses in Australia. We should select those who are most appropriate to teaching. The committee was impressed by evidence that there are definitely criteria for those applying to go into teaching and we can identify those who are most likely, both academically and in having an aptitude, to be the best teachers. There is no doubt at all that we have far too many people in teacher training in this country—100,000 bodies, representing some 66,000 full-time equivalents. The other interesting evidence that came before the committee was that, prior to their making a decision to go into that career, prospective students should be informed of which disciplines are in demand and which are not. We had evidence that in some schools only one or two teachers are qualified to teach mathematics or science in a secondary school, but eight or nine may have qualifications in the arts or in physical education and sport. We think it is essential that those matters are addressed.

The last of those six pillars I spoke of was the need for the ongoing professional learning and support of classroom teachers throughout their teaching careers. If teachers are being asked to teach out of field and if it is the case that the best teachers are those who are across their subject, then surely we must give professional learning to those who are being asked to teach out of field. The enormous benefit both to newer teachers and to more experienced teachers is having the opportunity to have someone observe them in the classroom, be they a mentor or be they a mentee. A lot came out of this inquiry, and the secretariat was good enough to provide in an appendix the recommendations of many of those 30 inquiries of the last 30 years. I am very pleased to say that by consensus this committee has come up with recommendations that are not over the top in terms of cost to the Australian taxpayer but that are designed to enhance teaching and learning in Australian schools. I commend the report to the Senate.