AMSI commentary has been included in an ABC Online report on Australian teacher shortages.
Digital Reporter Antonia O’Flaherty, reports:
“Almost half of Australian school principals report teacher shortages, with more than half of those managing schools in remote locations and three-quarters in very remote areas, according to data from the Australian Education Union (AEU).
Key points:
- Data from a union survey shows 47 per cent of school principals have experienced teacher shortages in 2020
- More than 70 of the schools surveyed employ science and maths teachers not fully qualified in those subjects
- Nationally, teachers say reducing the workload would help retain the workforce
It comes after years of Australia’s declining mathematics performance in international benchmark tests such as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).
Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI) Director Tim Marchant said the declining mathematics performance was a complicated, multi-faceted problem.
Professor Marchant said it was partly a problem of the way society valued mathematics and its career paths as well as students being taught by out-of-field teachers.
“The number of math teachers is not high enough. The supply of teachers is challenging, so there’s a broad set of issues affecting our PISA results,” he said.
Read more on ABC here.
