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Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER)

Teacher Education and Professional Development

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Articles 1 - 30 of 67

Full-Text Articles in Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research

Learning Through Play At School Ukraine: Final Research Report, Rachel Parker, Amy Berry, Kellie Picker, David Jeffries, Prue Anderson, Oksana Zabolotna Apr 2024

Learning Through Play At School Ukraine: Final Research Report, Rachel Parker, Amy Berry, Kellie Picker, David Jeffries, Prue Anderson, Oksana Zabolotna

Student learning processes

The Learning Through Play (LTP) at School Research Study Ukraine was a four-year intervention study funded by the LEGO Foundation and implemented by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and the Ukrainian Educational Research Association (UERA). The intervention was a two-year professional learning program that blended online, and face-to-face learning called the Teacher Innovative Play Program (TIPP). The TIPP was designed based on documented evidence that reports that teachers need opportunities to experiment and reflect to change practice. The study was guided by three research questions which were revised following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian armed forces …

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Learning Through Play At School: Ukraine, 2019-2024, Rachel Parker, Amy Berry, Kellie Picker, David Jeffries, Prue Anderson, Oksana Zabolotna Jan 2024

Learning Through Play At School: Ukraine, 2019-2024, Rachel Parker, Amy Berry, Kellie Picker, David Jeffries, Prue Anderson, Oksana Zabolotna

Student learning processes

The Learning Through Play at School Research Study Ukraine was a four-year longitudinal intervention study funded by the LEGO Foundation and implemented by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and the Ukrainian Educational Research Association (UERA). The study was implemented between 2019 and 2024, during COVID-19 and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian armed forces. Despite, at times, insurmountable challenges, the professional learning intervention was successful in supporting most teachers to progress from a surface level understanding of learning through play to a deep level. In addition, almost all children’s literacy and social-emotional skills grew significantly from start …

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Halt Certification: Reducing The Workload, Increasing The Rigour And Cutting The Cost, Lawrence Ingvarson, Hilary Hollingsworth Oct 2023

Halt Certification: Reducing The Workload, Increasing The Rigour And Cutting The Cost, Lawrence Ingvarson, Hilary Hollingsworth

Teacher workforce and careers

In December 2022, federal, state and territory education ministers released a National Teacher Workforce Action Plan to improve teacher supply and retention in the profession. While recognising the important role that Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher (HALT) certification could play, the plan also recognised that the current approach to certification was cumbersome for teachers and called for it to be ‘streamlined’. At the request of the education ministers, the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) has produced a revised Framework for the Certification of HALT Teachers. Guided by the Framework, certifying authorities across state and territory school systems …

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Professional Learning Conversations: Adaptive Expertise For Schools. Supplementary Digital Materials, Helen Timperley Aug 2023

Professional Learning Conversations: Adaptive Expertise For Schools. Supplementary Digital Materials, Helen Timperley

Educational leadership

School leaders face complex challenges, that typically have multiple causes and often persist despite everyone’s best attempts to address them. Addressing complex challenges requires juggling both the big picture, and the specific parts of the challenge. Without a roadmap, this process is fraught and unlikely to succeed in improving outcomes. In order to make a difference, schools need adaptive expertise; a skill which can be learnt through professional conversations and inquiry. In Leading professional conversations, Emeritus Professor Helen Timperley deftly outlines the key enablers for effective professional conversations – relationships, resources, processes, knowledge and culture – which support teachers to …

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Building Capacity For Quality Teaching Rounds – Victoria. Final Report, Tanya Vaughan, Sarah Richardson, Toby Carslake, Trisha Reimers, Greg Macaskill, Toby Newton, Nathan Zoanetti, Andrew Mannion, Martin Murphy Jun 2023

Building Capacity For Quality Teaching Rounds – Victoria. Final Report, Tanya Vaughan, Sarah Richardson, Toby Carslake, Trisha Reimers, Greg Macaskill, Toby Newton, Nathan Zoanetti, Andrew Mannion, Martin Murphy

Professional learning for teachers and school leaders

The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) was commissioned by the Teachers and Teaching Research Centre (TTRC) at the University of Newcastle to conduct an independent randomised controlled trial (RCT), with the goal of examining effects of Quality Teaching Rounds (QTR) on student outcomes and teachers’ practice in Victorian high schools. A total of 19 schools participated in Quality Teaching Rounds in 2022, with 20 schools in the wait list control. Data were gathered in an ongoing manner during the evaluation with: Progressive Assessment Tests in Mathematics (PAT-M) and reading (PAT-R) – baseline and follow up; student self-efficacy and aspiration …

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Teacher Development Multi-Year Studies. Using Case Studies To Investigate And Understand Teaching Quality And Student Learning: Initial Lessons Learned, Jennie Chainey, Debbie Wong, Elizabeth Cassity, Hilary Hollingsworth Jan 2022

Teacher Development Multi-Year Studies. Using Case Studies To Investigate And Understand Teaching Quality And Student Learning: Initial Lessons Learned, Jennie Chainey, Debbie Wong, Elizabeth Cassity, Hilary Hollingsworth

Education Analytics Service

This paper presents some initial lessons learned about the use of case studies as a key form of evidence regarding teaching quality and student learning in a multi-year teacher development study series. This study series, commissioned by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), involves the investigation of teacher development initiatives in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos), Timor-Leste and Vanuatu. The overall aim of the study series is to understand the extent to which the Australian investment has improved teaching quality and student learning. This paper discusses the processes used to design, implement, analyse and report case …

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Online Training On Formative Assessment For Early Language, Literacy, And Numeracy (Elln) In The Philippines: Final Report, Rti International Nov 2021

Online Training On Formative Assessment For Early Language, Literacy, And Numeracy (Elln) In The Philippines: Final Report, Rti International

Teacher education

This report describes findings and lessons learned from an online teacher training course in the Philippines. "Becoming a Learning Detective" is a 5-day online course that focuses on the design and use of formative assessment to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes in Kindergarten to Grade 3 (K–3) classrooms. The emphasis is on classroom-based assessment strategies that are embedded within daily teaching and learning experiences, involving an active partnership between teacher and students. The course brings together asynchronous and synchronous elements, as well as whole group, small group, and individual learning experiences. The course was implemented for the first time among …

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Teachers Report Card 2021: Teachers’ Perceptions Of Education And Their Profession, Australian College Of Educators Oct 2021

Teachers Report Card 2021: Teachers’ Perceptions Of Education And Their Profession, Australian College Of Educators

Australian College of Educators - National

Teachers play a central role in the development of Australia’s young people. It is essential that their voices are heard by those who make and decide policy, and by others who influence their learning and development. The NEiTA-ACE Teachers Report Card 2021is based on a survey of amplifying the voices of teachers on the state of education and on their profession.

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2018 Australian Talis-Pisa Link Report, Kylie Hillman, Sue Thomson Sep 2021

2018 Australian Talis-Pisa Link Report, Kylie Hillman, Sue Thomson

OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS)

Australia was one of nine countries and economies to participate in the 2018 TALIS-PISA link study, together with Cuidad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (Argentina), Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Georgia, Malta, Turkey and Viet Nam. This study involved coordinating the samples of schools that participated in the Program of International Student Assessment (PISA, a study of the performance of 15-year-old students) and the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS, a study that surveys teachers and principals in lower secondary schools) in 2018. A sample of teachers from schools that were selected to participate in PISA were invited to respond to …

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Teacher Development Multi-Year Study Series: Evaluation Of Australia’S Investment In Teacher Development In Lao Pdr: Baseline Report, Debbie Wong, Hilary Hollingsworth, Prue Anderson, Paul R. Weldon, Louise Ockwell, Renee Kwong, Clare Ozolins Jul 2021

Teacher Development Multi-Year Study Series: Evaluation Of Australia’S Investment In Teacher Development In Lao Pdr: Baseline Report, Debbie Wong, Hilary Hollingsworth, Prue Anderson, Paul R. Weldon, Louise Ockwell, Renee Kwong, Clare Ozolins

Teacher education

This report constitutes the Baseline Report of the multi-year study of the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (DFAT) investment in teacher development in Lao PDR through the Basic Education Quality and Access in Laos program (BEQUAL). This Lao PDR study is part of a three-country multi-year study series on teacher development, in response to DFAT’s Office of Development Effectiveness’ 2015 Investing in Teachers report. This study is framed within the context of Lao PDR’s staged introduction of a new primary education curriculum, and accompanying in-service teacher professional development support. The overall aim of this study is to …

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Professional Learning Modes. Literature Review, Anna Dabrowski, Pru Mitchell Jun 2021

Professional Learning Modes. Literature Review, Anna Dabrowski, Pru Mitchell

Professional learning for teachers and school leaders

This literature review summarises evidence from education research to describe and compare different modes of professional learning. It applies the findings to the question: ‘what works best, and for whom’ in terms of modes of professional learning for Australian teachers, with particular focus on early childhood teachers, casual relief teachers and teachers in rural and remote teaching contexts. A key professional learning challenge common to these teachers is isolation – which can be physical, pedagogical, technological and/or social isolation. The review sought to identify research on modes of professional learning and in particular any studies that compared different modes of …

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Teaching And Learning International Survey, Australian Council For Educational Research Jun 2021

Teaching And Learning International Survey, Australian Council For Educational Research

Assessment GEMS

The Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) gathers data about school teaching environments from teachers and school leaders, in close to 50 countries in its most recent cycle. TALIS is a tool to assist educational reformers to improve the quality of teaching. TALIS data is based on the opinions, perceptions, beliefs and accounts of teachers and school leaders, as reported by them in a self-completion questionnaire. This publication, presents an overview of TALIS and covers its origins and context, purpose, measurement objectives, background information collection, target population and sampling methodology, assessment administration, reporting and dissemination and influence.

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Developing Strategic Plans For An Aligned Approach To 21st Century Skills Integration, Claire Scoular, Ian Teo Mar 2021

Developing Strategic Plans For An Aligned Approach To 21st Century Skills Integration, Claire Scoular, Ian Teo

Assessment and Reporting

This report describes an online course developed to support education systems to build an aligned and sustainable approach to integration of 21st Century Skills (21CS). 21CS are those skills that are considered particularly important to succeed in today’s knowledge-based society in which innovation and technology are predominant. Prominent examples include critical thinking, creative thinking, and collaboration, and such skills need to be better understood in order for them to be integrated. While different countries may have their own frameworks or priorities surrounding 21CS, a consistent approach to integration can still be achieved with a shared understanding from all stakeholders within …

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Peer Observation: A Collaborative And Mutually Rewarding Activity, Deepali Dharmaraj Jan 2021

Peer Observation: A Collaborative And Mutually Rewarding Activity, Deepali Dharmaraj

Teacher India

Peer observation is an effective tool for improving teaching instructions and career development, says Deepali Dharmaraj.

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Peer Observation: Enhancing The Experience Of Giving And Receiving Feedback, Deepali Dharmaraj Jan 2021

Peer Observation: Enhancing The Experience Of Giving And Receiving Feedback, Deepali Dharmaraj

Teacher India

In this article, Deepali Dharmaraj explores the role of feedback in the context of peer observation and identifies key principles and practices that enable the experience to be mutually beneficial for both the observer and observed.

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Teacher Wellbeing During A Pandemic: Surviving Or Thriving?, Anna Dabrowski Oct 2020

Teacher Wellbeing During A Pandemic: Surviving Or Thriving?, Anna Dabrowski

Teacher workforce and careers

As cases of COVID-19 surge across the world, research has begun to emerge which considers the implications of school lockdowns on student learning, engagement, and achievement. Yet as face-to-face teaching and learning recommences, it is not only students who will need help adjusting to "the new normal". While 2020 has seen a dramatic increase in the workload of teachers, many of whom have negotiated a continuity of learning in adverse circumstances, we must remember that long before COVID-19 disrupted schools, teachers were already at risk of burnout. The novel coronavirus has further exacerbated the stresses facing teachers, and as countries …

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Validation Of The Myanmar Teacher Competency Standards Framework (Tcsf) Final Report, Anna Dabrowski, Jeaniene Spink Sep 2020

Validation Of The Myanmar Teacher Competency Standards Framework (Tcsf) Final Report, Anna Dabrowski, Jeaniene Spink

Teacher education

This final report provides background to the four domains of the Myanmar Teacher Competency Standards Framework (TCSF), and the validation study design, stages and methods which sought to answer the focus question: Does the TCSF describe effective teaching in Myanmar? The study included expert review, a teacher survey and case studies of teaching practice in a sample of effective teachers. The report presents key findings and next steps from validation of the TCSF to implementation.

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Assessment Of Children As Connected With And Contributing To Their World In Early Childhood Education And Care: Literature Review, Kate Noble, Jen Jackson, Pru Mitchell Jul 2020

Assessment Of Children As Connected With And Contributing To Their World In Early Childhood Education And Care: Literature Review, Kate Noble, Jen Jackson, Pru Mitchell

Early Childhood Education

This literature review unpacks the concept of connection and contribution from the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF), which includes developing a sense of belonging to groups and communities, and an understanding of the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary for active civic participation; responding to diversity with respect; becoming aware of fairness; and becoming socially responsible and showing respect for the environment.

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Validation Of The Myanmar Teacher Competency Standards Framework (Tcsf): Phase Iii Case Studies, Anna Dabrowski, Rachel Parker, Amy Berry, Jeaniene Spink Jul 2020

Validation Of The Myanmar Teacher Competency Standards Framework (Tcsf): Phase Iii Case Studies, Anna Dabrowski, Rachel Parker, Amy Berry, Jeaniene Spink

Teacher education

Case studies form the third phase of the validation study for the Myanmar Teacher Competency Standards Framework (TCSF) in advance of its implementation in 2020. As the purpose of the case studies is to ensure that the TCSF is culturally and contextually appropriate, this paper outlines the results of data analysis on the Case Study component. This report focuses on responding to four key research questions: Which standards, minimum requirements and indicators were easiest and hardest to demonstrate? How is effective teaching demonstrated by the selected teachers in Myanmar? How does the evidence of effective teaching differ in different contexts? …

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Teacher Development Multi-Year Study Series: Timor-Leste: Interim Report 2, Elizabeth Cassity, Jennie Chainey May 2020

Teacher Development Multi-Year Study Series: Timor-Leste: Interim Report 2, Elizabeth Cassity, Jennie Chainey

Teacher education

The interim reports present the findings from the first and second years of a multi-year study on Timor-Leste's Apoiu Lideransa liuhosi Mentoria no Aprendizajen (ALMA). The study focuses on understanding the extent to which education stakeholders, including school leaders and teachers, develop teaching knowledge and change teaching practice over time. It also explores the extent to which participation in the program leads to improvements in learning outcomes for students. This study is framed within the context of Timor-Leste's introduction of a new National Basic Education Curriculum.

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Environmental Scan: Topical Areas To Inform A Future Review Of The Australian Professional Standards For Teachers, Kerry Elliott, Pru Mitchell, Hilary Hollingsworth, Charlotte Waters, Jenny Trevitt Feb 2020

Environmental Scan: Topical Areas To Inform A Future Review Of The Australian Professional Standards For Teachers, Kerry Elliott, Pru Mitchell, Hilary Hollingsworth, Charlotte Waters, Jenny Trevitt

Teaching standards and teacher evaluation

The brief was to conduct a broad sweep of literature that has surfaced since the publication of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers in 2011, and to consider how this literature could inform any future review of the standards. This multi-pronged scan method identified eleven topics that have increasingly influenced teachers' work over the past decade. The environmental scan report provides a critical review of current educational research and policy literature for each of the 11 topics. Findings provide a description of the topic, key sources, an outline of the changing landscape as it relates to teaching, examples of how …

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Assessment Of Children As Confident And Involved Learners In Early Childhood Education And Care: Literature Review, Dan Cloney, Jen Jackson, Pru Mitchell May 2019

Assessment Of Children As Confident And Involved Learners In Early Childhood Education And Care: Literature Review, Dan Cloney, Jen Jackson, Pru Mitchell

Early Childhood Education

This literature review is one of a series of reviews to support Victorian early childhood professionals to assess children’s learning and development in relation to the five Learning and Development Outcomes in the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF). This literature review documents the research that underpins and defines learning for children from birth to eight years, and outlines children’s trajectory as confident and involved learners. The resource aims to equip early childhood professionals with the knowledge to identify and assess children’s progress towards the VEYLDF Outcome: 'Children are confident and involved learners'.

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Teacher Development Multi-Year Study Series: Timor-Leste: Interim Report 1, Elizabeth Cassity, Jennie Chainey, Sheldon Rothman Apr 2019

Teacher Development Multi-Year Study Series: Timor-Leste: Interim Report 1, Elizabeth Cassity, Jennie Chainey, Sheldon Rothman

Teacher education

The purpose of this Interim Report is to present the findings from the first year of a multi-year study of Timor-Leste’s Professional Learning and Mentoring Program (PLMP). The study focuses on understanding the extent to which education stakeholders, including school leaders and teachers, develop teaching knowledge and change teaching practice over time. It also explores the extent to which participation in the PLMP leads to improvements in learning outcomes for students. This study of the PLMP is framed within the context Timor-Leste’s introduction of a new National Basic Education Curriculum.

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Validating Professional Standards For Teachers: A Practical Guide For Research Design: Snapshot Literature Review, Jen Jackson, Yung Nietschke Oct 2018

Validating Professional Standards For Teachers: A Practical Guide For Research Design: Snapshot Literature Review, Jen Jackson, Yung Nietschke

Teaching standards and teacher evaluation

This report aims to establish a strong evidence base for planning a validation study of professional standards for teachers. It presents findings from a rapid "snapshot" review of relevant research literature, to identify previous examples of validation studies, and extract lessons from these about worthwhile methods and considerations in research design. This review was originally conducted to inform the design of a validation study of the draft Myanmar Teacher Competency Standards Framework, but may also have wider relevance to other education systems pursuing similar standards-based reforms. This report presents findings from the literature review. It is divided into four sections: …

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Using The Principal Performance Improvement Tool, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer) Sep 2018

Using The Principal Performance Improvement Tool, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

School and system improvement

The Principal Performance Improvement Tool (PPIT) has been developed to assist school principals and others who aspire to this role to reflect on their current leadership practices. The tool is informed by international research into the kinds of leadership that result in improved teaching and learning. It also draws heavily on the lived experiences of practicing school principals. This booklet is a brief introduction to the PPIT.

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What Remuneration Levels Should Apply To Highly Accomplished And Lead Teacher Certification, Lawrence Ingvarson Jun 2018

What Remuneration Levels Should Apply To Highly Accomplished And Lead Teacher Certification, Lawrence Ingvarson

Teacher workforce and careers

This expert witness report was commissioned by the Queensland Teachers’ Union in April, 2018 as part of evidence to be presented in a submission to the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission. The purpose of this report was to review research that would assist the Commission in arriving at its decision regarding appropriate remuneration levels for certified Highly Accomplished and Lead Teachers.

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Designing Rubrics For Authentic Assessment, Kathryn Richardson, Anne-Marie Chase Jun 2018

Designing Rubrics For Authentic Assessment, Kathryn Richardson, Anne-Marie Chase

Teacher education

This presentation looks at the steps in developing authentic rubrics, from determining the constructs that will be assessed; breaking down the constructs into a set of broad capabilities that need to be observed; transferring capabilities into indicative behaviours (indicators or criteria); and determining the different levels of proficiency.

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The Teaching And Learning International Survey 2018: Australian Non-Response Bias Analysis Report, Katherine Dix, Toby Carslake, Elizabeth O'Grady Jan 2018

The Teaching And Learning International Survey 2018: Australian Non-Response Bias Analysis Report, Katherine Dix, Toby Carslake, Elizabeth O'Grady

OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS)

This non-response bias analysis (NRBA) report was produced due to lower than expected response rates for Australian primary and secondary schools and teachers to the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) surveys. Analysis demonstrates that Australia’s International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 1 (primary) and 2 (secondary) respondents are representative of the broader school and teacher populations. At the school-level, there was no statistically significant bias across stratification variables between the ISCED 1 and 2 participating schools and original selected samples.

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Teacher Development Multi-Year Studies: Conceptual Framework, Hilary Hollingsworth, Elizabeth Cassity, Debbie Wong, Jacqueline Cheng Dec 2017

Teacher Development Multi-Year Studies: Conceptual Framework, Hilary Hollingsworth, Elizabeth Cassity, Debbie Wong, Jacqueline Cheng

Teacher education

The purpose of this conceptual framework for DFAT’s teacher development multi-year study series is to improve the following elements across the series: clarity on the purpose of the series; consistency in terminology and methodology; connections to give the ability to draw common conclusions and explain differences; communication to create a shared understanding of the series and each stakeholder’s role and responsibility, and to use internal and external means to engage strategically and disseminate findings. To date, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu and Laos have committed to undertake multi-year studies of their teacher development investments.

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A Study Of Work Practices In Tasmanian Government Schools: Final Report To The Australian Education Union – Tasmanian Branch, Sheldon Rothman, Lawrence C. Ingvarson, Paul R. Weldon, Ali Radloff, Darren Matthews Oct 2017

A Study Of Work Practices In Tasmanian Government Schools: Final Report To The Australian Education Union – Tasmanian Branch, Sheldon Rothman, Lawrence C. Ingvarson, Paul R. Weldon, Ali Radloff, Darren Matthews

Teacher workforce and careers

The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) conducted an online survey of members on behalf of the Tasmanian Branch of the Australian Education Union (AEU). The survey, which was open to teachers, school leaders (principals and assistant principals) and education support staff working in Tasmanian government schools and offices, was available to the majority of members of the Union in August 2017, and remained open for four weeks during Term 3. The survey was based on one conducted for the Victorian branch of the AEU in 2016. The survey of the work of union members in Tasmanian government schools focussed …

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