An Analysis of Teacher Quality Policies in Australia

Running head: AN ANALYSIS OF TEACHER QUALITY POLICIES 1
AN ANALYSIS OF TEACHER QUALITY POLICIES IN AUSTRALIA
Name
Institution

AN ANALYSIS OF TEACHER QUALITY POLICIES 2
Introduction
Raising standards in the education system are not as a result of accident. It is a result of
devoted efforts by different stakeholders. The quality of teachers and school leaders is critical in
determining the quality of students produced by the learning institution. Policy formulation and
implementation play a great role in ensuring that a high-quality teaching workforce is produced
(Baroutsis & Lingard, 2017). Countries that have high-quality teaching workforce puts a lot of
efforts in proactive measures such as recruitment in controlling the quality of teachers rather than
using reactive measures such as firing unproductive teachers.
Australia has made several efforts to raise the quality of teachers and school leadership.
The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) is a body that was formed
in 2010 to provide national leadership in the education system. In the same year, the Professional
Standards for Teachers were formulated to outline the skills that teachers in different career level
are required to demonstrate. Professional Standards for Schools Principals and the National
Partnership on Improving Teacher Quality has led to increased attention to teacher quality and
school improvement ( Luke, 2018).
To improve teacher quality, AITSL concentrates on the following major areas:
conducting research and producing high-quality materials for teachers and school leaders;
national approaches that ensure that training of teachers in an institution of higher learning is of
high quality and raising the quality of teaching and school leadership. The key actors in the
education policy in Australia include the government, the teachers and the parents (Weldon,
2015).
Philosophical understanding of education
The definition of education can be approached from both a broader concept and a narrow
concept. Broadly, education is a learning process that takes place in the entire life of human
beings. It commences when one is born and continues through the entire life of an individual.
Knowledge is acquired through many agencies such as the school, home, workplaces among
others. The universe is simply a learning place for humanity (Cochran-Smith & Maria Villegas,
2015). Daily experiences of life also offer a rich learning opportunity.

AN ANALYSIS OF TEACHER QUALITY POLICIES 3
On the hand, education when viewed from the narrow concept it is defined as
dissemination of knowledge and instruction within a classroom. The definition of education in a
narrow sense indicates that education must be: formal; take a specific duration; follow a
curriculum; and is provided by a teacher (Waldow, Takayama & Sung, 2014).
Schooling
Schooling entails going to school to receive the formal education. Teachers are the main
actors in the dissemination of knowledge to learners. In schools, learners are equipped with
practical skills, interaction skills, cultivation of moral values among others (Darling-Hammond,
2015).
Western thinkers view on education and schooling
This paper is going to consider some of the western thinkers and their views on education
and schooling.
1. Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712- 1778)
Jean Jacques Rousseau was born in Geneva Switzerland in 1712. He was the propagator
and a believer of education according to the nature of the child. He viewed nature as the best
instructor and corrector of a child. He believed in the negative education of the child. According
to Rousseau, negative education entails protecting a child from the negative influences of
character. He also advocated that a learning environment should be free from pollution. He
added that there should not be segregation of learners from different backgrounds in schools.
Both rich and poor should study together (Covay Minor, Desimone, Caines Lee & Hochberg,
2016).
2. John Dewey (1859- 1952)
Dewey was born in Burlington, America. He viewed education as a life necessity that
helps an individual to live and meet the social standards of living. Dewey argued that education
should be of benefit to both individuals and society as a whole. He viewed school as the best
place for imparting knowledge to learners. During his time, he carried out experiments in

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laboratory schools with an intention of finding out the training that should be imparted to
learners (Reagan, Schram, McCurdy, Chang & Evans, 2016).
Teacher quality discourses
Definition of teacher quality
Several meanings are usually attached to the term teacher quality. These meanings
usually illustrate the perspective taken by different writers and policymakers. Some people view
teacher quality as academic qualifications while others view it as how best a teacher can deliver
in classroom (Au & Ferrare, 2015) Teacher quality is composed of both ‘quality teaching’ and
‘quality teacher’ and therefore entails the teacher’s qualities and skills and the impact the teacher
has to the students’ performance. Since teacher quality is defined by two terms, that is, quality
teaching and quality teacher, it is prudent to give a further definition of these two components
(Santoro & Kennedy, 2016).
Quality teaching is that teaching that has a positive result to the student. This definition
lays emphasis on student outcome. For a teaching to be a quality one, then it must produce a
positive result for a student. On the hand, a quality teacher is that teacher who possesses the
required skills, knowledge and experience of teaching a certain subject effectively (Vermeer, van
IJzendoorn, Cárcamo, & Harrison, 2016).
Teacher quality entails the following aspects:
1. Competence: a competent teacher is one who possesses knowledge and skills to
effectively teach. These skills and knowledge are acquired through training, both on job
training and college training. Competency also includes the ability to think critically and
reflective capabilities.
2. Teacher professionalism: professionalism in teacher entails abiding by the professional
standards set by the relevant professional body. They ought to behave in a professional
manner. Professional freedom is a component of professionalism which gives teachers
the freedom to be diverse and creative when teaching (Roberts, 2016).