Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Education, Senator Payne. Can the minister please advise the Senate how the coalition government is supporting the improvement of teacher quality in Australia?

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator McKenzie for her interest in this area, noting the professional experience she brings to her role as a senator. What this government understands is that improving student outcomes is not just about funding; it is also about quality teaching, a robust curriculum, principal autonomy and parental engagement. We think that quality teaching is critical to the future prosperity of young Australians and to their productivity, and we are committed to building an absolutely world-class education system. We intend to lift the quality and status of the teaching profession and believe that action needs to start when teachers are gaining their qualifications.

In February, the Minister for Education announced the Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group, the TEMAG, which will advise how teacher education programs can be improved in their preparation of new teachers and in ensuring those teachers have the right mix of academic and practical skills for the classroom. The advisory group is going to undertake a consultation process. It will host up to four national meetings with key stakeholders across the country. It will also consult with the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, Universities Australia, the Australian Council of Deans of Education, teacher employers, teacher regulatory bodies, key representative bodies of the education sector and relevant education experts.

This is all about a much broader, much more focused approach to what makes quality teachers. It is about giving participants in the sector an opportunity to have their input into the advisory group and making sure that their views on quality teaching, a robust curriculum, principal autonomy and parental engagement are heard loud and clear by the advisory group. Professor Greg Craven will chair the advisory group and there will be a number of other leading experts in the area on it. They will ensure that, as they undertake their public consultation process, all those voices are heard.

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Could the minister further explain to the Senate the government's expectations of the Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group and what it will be required to achieve?

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The advisory group will adopt an evidenced based approach because we think that is the best way to identify world's best practice in teacher education. There is going to be a particular focus on pedagogical approaches, on subject content and on professional experience. The terms of reference themselves, which were made by public by the minister at the time, state that the work of the advisory group will focus on three areas. The terms of reference identify these as:

1.   Pedagogical approaches—Ways of teaching and learning, including assessing learning related to specific areas and matched to the capabilities of students

2.   Subject content … and

3.   Professional experience … Improved university and in-school professional experience opportunities for pre-service teachers and better support from experienced mentor teachers.

The third area is about making sure that those who have already grown and learned in the profession can assist those who wish to engage in the profession to learn more and to learn the best.

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister advise the Senate of the membership of the Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group?

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I can advise the Senate, as I mentioned earlier, that Professor Greg Craven, who is the Vice-Chancellor of the Australian Catholic University, is the chair of the group. He is joined in the TEMAG by Dr Ben Jensen, the School Education Program Director at the Grattan Institute; by Professor Field Rickards, Dean of the University of Melbourne's Graduate School of Education; by Professor Eeva Leinonen, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Education at the University of Wollongong—an excellent New South Wales university; by Professor Kim Beswick, Professor in Mathematics Education at the University of Tasmania; by Ms Michelle Green, the Chief Executive of Independent Schools Victoria; by Mr Trevor Fletcher, the Principal of Eastern Fleurieu School in South Australia; and by Mr John Fleming, the Deputy Principal at Haileybury College, also in Victoria. Members of the public are able to access further information about the TEMAG at studentsfirst.gov.au. But, most importantly, we intend for this country to have a first class education system with first class teachers who have the best possible access to training. (Time expired)