Equitable Education
By Lynne Bell
Recently, Australia's federal government decided that from this year on, student teachers will be required to pass a national literacy and numeracy test before being allowed to graduate.
Another recommendation made by a national review panel-the Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group-was a plan to launch a new Australia-wide regulator for teacher training. TEMAG's report, according to the country's Education Minister, Christopher Pine: “sets high expectations for everyone involved in initial teacher education, including universities. It also makes a clear case that providers be held accountable for the quality of the teaching graduates they produce.”
Pine also told Australia's ABC News that aspiring educators “have practical training and experience from the first year of university, that they have literacy and numeracy tests for graduates before they leave, before they're allowed to graduate. That they're mentored by experienced teachers with classroom, recent classroom experience and have a specialization in maths, science or languages in primary school.”
What does this have to do with Canada? Well, both countries share a large land mass and varied geography, which means students live in settings that range from urban to remote to everything in-between. Pine's intentions are part of a push to deliver quality, equitable education to students throughout the country, wherever they may live.
In addition, Pine aims to protect the significant investment of time and money that post-secondary students make in their education. More than ever, the educational, financial and career choices that young people make today have consequences that have a long-lasting impact on their future prospects and quality of life.
By focusing on ensuring that young teachers are well-prepared both intellectually and practically for the classroom, pupils throughout the country will receive the best education possible, setting up what is hopefully, a cycle of success.
A quick perusal of a June 2014 study 'How Canada Performs' by the Conference Board of Canada shows significant differences between the provinces in student achievement. Although the country earns a solid “B” under Education and Skills among the western countries surveyed (“A” students were Japan and Finland, in case you were wondering), our provinces earn marks ranging from “B” to an alarming “D-minus” in this portion of the survey. And this trend continues for Canada, in all of the Conference Board's categories.
Aside from the bureaucratic upheaval and expense to taxpayers this would involve, I think Pine's plan makes sense. I certainly haven't witnessed any evidence of teachers here lacking in literacy or numeracy skills, but I think the idea of focusing on preparing young teachers for success in the classroom, wherever they may be teaching-and at at whatever level they may be teaching-will help create a more equitable education system for all students, wherever they may live.
What do you do when an education failure is found?
By Kelly Running
Australia is ranked as number seven around the globe in their Education and Skills according to the website, How CanadA Performs. Australia is ranked just behind Canada – who sits in sixth – and they are planning on finding a way to better their standing.
What do they plan to do? Well they are making changes to how primary school teachers acquire their degree. In an effort to boost literacy and numeracy rates the government is making it mandatory for teachers to pass a national literacy and numeracy test before being allowed to graduate. Now if they are unable to pass the exam, they are able to take it again.
The Education Minister in Australia, Christopher Pyne, told ABC’s AM, “What the review says and what I will be supporting is a much more sophisticated and rigorous selection process. Rather than just churning students through teaching degrees [or] pushing them out into the workforce without the necessary skills able to teach.”
Primary school teachers will also be expected to specialise in science, maths, or language. However, they will still be required to teach all subjects, like our elementary schools, but each specialized teacher will act as a wealth of knowledge for each other. Those who specialize in math will assist other teachers who have specialized in language for example.
Therefore the Australian efforts in improving their education system are ensuring all teachers are prepared for their positions. This change developed when the Australian government gave a literacy and numeracy exam to 5,000 students of which 92 percent passed the literacy test and 90 percent passed the numeracy test. However this meant one in 10 teaching students out of university and looking to begin their jobs did not pass the exams.
This was concerning because each one adds up and it was unapparent as to which teacher a school would be hiring and teaching the minds of tomorrow, so it’s essential that teachers have top shelf literacy and numeracy abilities.
In fact one in 10, on a 5,000 sample means 500 teachers would have otherwise graduated and gotten jobs teaching when they didn’t really understand all of the subject matter.
If a teacher is unable to answer a question, uses poor grammar, is unable to do basic math, etc… while being expected to provide solid foundations to elementary school students, then those students will develop a poor base of education.
Now Canada sits sixth overall in the world with a grade of B, but comparatively Saskatchewan was ranked with a grade of D. This means that we are below average in the country and are pulling down our world education ranking. So, why is our education system lacking?
Whether our teachers need more training or the MABEI system isn’t working the way people originally wanted it to, I don’t know, I haven’t been studying our education trends. I just know the information I saw on How CanadA Performs was slightly worrisome. We as a nation are high on the list, but as a province are pulling down how Canada performs.
So, what can Saskatchewan do to improve their grade?
