Section A of the survey instrument sought information on age, gender, parents’ or caregivers’ first language, and identification as an Aborigine or Torres Strait Islander.
Age
The overall age mean, median and mode (n=9627) of the respondents to the survey are: Mean: 41.18 years, Median: 42 years, Mode: 47 years. Over forty percent (43.5%) of respondents were 40 years of age or younger at the time of the survey, 82.2% were 50 years or less, half (56.4%) were older than 40 years, and the largest proportion were 41 to 50 years. Approximately 40% of teachers in Government schools, just over 50% of teachers in Catholic schools and almost 44% of teachers in the Independent sector were aged 40 years or less.
Gender
Female teachers outnumber males by 2:1. The trend will be reinforced in the future given the continuation of the pattern reflected amongst teachers aged 21 to 30 years where women outnumbered men by some 3:1. The gender balance varies across the levels of schooling. Females were most highly concentrated at the early childhood and lower primary years. Also variations occurred across specialist and subject areas. Students in ESL, LOTE and the Arts were more likely to have a female teacher than those in Mathematics, particularly in the senior secondary years. By sector, Independent schools have a larger proportion (42.3%) of male teachers than Government (33.1%) and Catholic (32.4%) sectors. Despite their numerical predominance, proportionally, females occupy significantly fewer formal and informal positions of responsibility within schools than males. Males were nearly twice as likely as females to be occupying executive/managerial positions. Females were more likely to be Class Teachers (59.7%) than to hold executive/managerial positions in schools (24.3%). Males outnumbered females in the position of Deputy Principal, Associate Administrator and Head of Department/Section. Although there were more females than males occupying positions as Teacher-in-Charge, the proportion of males (11.7%) was larger than the proportion of females (8.6%).
Ethnic Background
Four out of five respondents reported Australia as their country of birth with another 7.6% nominating the United Kingdom or Ireland. Of the teachers who were born overseas, nearly 60% had lived in Australia for 20 or more years. The distribution of Australian born teachers was similar across the Government (84.4%) and Catholic sectors (85.3%) but lower in Independent schools (78%). Almost ninety percent (89.4%) of the respondents came from English speaking backgrounds. Approximately 1 in 10 teachers had a parent or caregiver whose first language was not English. The Catholic sector (13.6%) had the largest and the Independent sector (8.6%), the smallest proportion of teachers who had a parent or caregiver whose first language was other than English. Just less than two percent (1.8%) of the total number of respondents were Aborigines or Torres Strait Islanders (ATSI). A larger proportion of the respondents from the Catholic sector (3.6%) identified themselves as Aborigine or Torres Strait Islander than from the Government (1.1%) or Independent (1.7%) sectors. Notably there were more male (2.8%) than female (1.3%) ATSI teachers.
Household Income While a School Student
The prime sources of the respondents’ parents’ or caregivers’ income were paid work (80.7%) and investment/business (15.1%). Females (17.4%) were more likely than males (10.8%) to have lived in a household where investment/business was the main source of income. Almost six percent (5.8%) of respondents aged 21 to 30 years were raised in households in which a Government pension or benefit was the main source of income compared with 3.3% of respondents in the 41 to 50 years age-band, and 1% in the group aged 61 years or older. Home duties was the most common mothers’ occupation (60.3%) followed by ‘Clerical and service’ (12.6%) and ‘Professional’ (11.8%). ‘Skilled trades’ (23.3%), ‘Professional’ (21.9%), ‘Managerial’ (17.5%) and unskilled workers (5.8%) were the most commonly nominated fathers’/male caregivers’ occupations. Respondents aged 21 to 30 years were more than twice as likely as respondents aged 41 years or older to nominate ‘Professional’ as their mother’s or female caregiver’s main occupational category during their schooling years. This was the only group whose mothers/ female caregivers were less likely to have been engaged in home duties than to have had other occupations. They were also more likely to report their father’s or male caregiver’s occupation as ‘Professional’, ‘Managerial’ or ‘Skilled trades’ with 30.2% nominating ‘Professional’.
Occupations Other Than Teaching
One in three respondents had worked full-time in other occupations, mainly in ‘Clerical and service’ (27.5%), ‘Unskilled workers’ (18.8%), ‘Semi-skilled workers’ (16.4%), Managerial workers’ (7.8%) and in ‘Skilled trades’ (6.1%).
Access to Information and Communication Technology
Nearly every respondent (96.6%) reported having access to a telephone at home and at school, and to a fax (95.4%). 96.5% had access to computer facilities, the Internet (89.3%) and e-mail (84.6%) at school. Four fifths (79.3%) used a computer at home and almost half had the Internet (46.5%) and e-mail (45.7%) at home. There were no marked access differences in terms of gender or schooling sectors. Teachers aged 41 to 50 years were most likely to have both school and home access to a computer, and to Internet and e-mail technologies. Period at Current School
The majority of teachers reported being in their current school for a relatively short time. Approximately one third had been there for two years or less, and some 50.5% for four years or less. Four percent (4%) had been at the same school for 20 years or longer. Mobility was highest amongst teachers in the Government sector and was higher for females and younger teachers.
Employment Status
The majority of teachers (88.2%) were permanently employed on full or part-time status with permanent full-time status more common for males (89.1%) than females (72.2%). There was little intersectoral variation. Queensland had the highest incidence of teachers employed on permanent full-time status and South Australia, the greatest proportion on permanent part-time status (16.2%). New South Wales and Western Australia had the highest incidences of casual employment. Younger teachers (21 to 30 years) were the most likely to be employed on contract. Contracting was more prevalent in the Catholic and Independent sectors than in the Government sector and more commonly reported by females than males.
Specialist Areas
Teachers were asked to indicate which of seven specialist areas they had taught (see Table 1). Fifty three per cent (52.7%) responded, suggesting 47.3% had not taught any of these areas.
| SPECIALIST TEACHING AREA |
RESPONDENTS |
|
No. |
% |
| English as a Second Language(ESL) |
1342 |
13.4 |
| Migrant Education |
275 |
2.7 |
| Languages other than English (LOTE) |
1174 |
11.7 |
| Information Technology (IT) |
1879 |
18.8 |
| Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies (ATSI) |
510 |
5.1 |
| Special Education |
1836 |
18.3 |
| Gifted & Talented Programs |
1686 |
16.8 |
Table 1. Respondents with experience in nominated specialist teaching area
One fifth (18.8%) of the respondents nominated experience in teaching Information Technology followed by Special Education (18.3%), Programs for the Gifted and Talented (16.8%), ESL (13.4%), LOTE (11.7%), ATSI Studies (5.1%) and Migrant Education (2.7%). Interstate and Territory variations occurred. For example, 31.4% of respondents (about double the overall survey average) from the Northern Territory indicated experience in ESL teaching, compared with 8.6% from Queensland (about half the overall survey average). The proportions of teachers with experience in teaching IT were slightly smaller than the survey average in New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania. Responses for Special Education varied from 11.2% in Victoria to 26.4% in the ACT and 26.5% in Tasmania. The ACT and New South Wales had the largest proportions of teachers with experience in Programs for the Gifted and Talented. The largest proportion of teachers who had taught ATSI Studies was in the Northern Territory (11.2%) and South Australia (9%). Females were more likely than males to have taught ESL, Special Education, LOTE and Migrant Education. Males predominated in the areas of IT and to a lesser degree in Gifted and Talented Programs. Older teachers were more likely to have taught ESL, Migrant Education and LOTE but less likely to have taught ATSI Studies or IT.
Official Position
The data on official position aggregated into three categories, Executive/managerial (Principal, Deputy Principal, Associate Administrator, Head of Department/Section and Teacher-in-Charge), ‘Class Teacher’, and Support (Remedial/Resource Teachers, Specialist Teachers, Librarians, Counsellors/Guidance Officers and Others) show that overall, almost fifty-five percent (54.7%) of the respondents nominated ‘Class Teacher’, 32% ‘Executive/managerial’ (11.7% Heads of Department/Section, 9.7% Teachers-in-Charge, 4.9% Principal) and 10.3% ‘Support’.
|
CATEGORY OF OFFICIAL POSITION |
GENDER |
| MALE |
FEMALE |
| No. |
% |
No. |
% |
| Executive/managerial |
1547 |
45.9 |
1509 |
24.3 |
| Class Teacher |
1533 |
45.5 |
3709 |
59.7 |
| Support |
291 |
8.6 |
991 |
16.0 |
| Total |
3371 |
100.0 |
6209 |
100.0 |
Table 2. Category of official position occupied by male and female respondents
As indicated in Table 2 above, gender differences occurred in official positions. Females were significantly more likely to be Class Teachers and Librarians, and more likely to occupy Remedial/Resource and Specialist Teacher positions. Counsellor/Guidance Officer positions were the most equitably distributed among males and females.
Males were nearly twice as likely as females to be occupying executive/managerial positions. By contrast, female respondents were much more likely to be Class Teachers (59.7%) than to hold Executive/managerial positions in schools (24.3%), and were also more likely than male respondents to occupy Support positions (16%, compared with 8.6%). Although there were more females than males occupying positions as Teacher-in-Charge, the proportion of males (11.7%) was larger than the proportion of females (8.6%).
The data suggest that there are proportionally more promotional positions in Non-Government schools than in Government schools. Proportionally more teachers in Government schools held the official position of Class Teacher (59%) than in either Catholic (52.5%) or Independent schools (47%).
Four-fifths of Principals/Heads (81.3%) and of Deputy Principals (83.2%) were aged 41 years or older. Associate Administrators and Heads of Department/Section were somewhat younger with approximately one-third of Associate Administrators (36.4%) and of Heads of Department/Section (35.6%) aged 21 to 40 years.
Class Teachers were relatively equally split between those aged above and below 41 years of age with the substantial majority (85.6%) aged 50 years or less.
Primary Type of Duty
The majority of respondents (87%) indicated teaching as their primary duty. Another 9.6% mainly performed administrative roles, and the remaining (3.4%) provided support services. The pattern of responses was similar across the States/Territories and the school sectors with the Independent sector recording the lowest proportion of teachers whose primary area of duty was solely teaching.
Current Level of School System in which Teachers Worked
Respondents nominated from a list of nine levels ranging from kindergarten through primary to senior secondary and special education, the level of the school system in which they currently worked.
Some Interstate/Territory and intersectoral variation occurred. The most significant differences were in terms of gender and age. Gender differences ranged from near parity at the senior secondary level (51.9% female, 48% male) to the dominance of females (81.6%) at the lower primary level. With respect to age, primary and secondary special education teachers were older than teachers at the other levels. In secondary education, while age appeared to be no barrier to young teachers (21-30 years) at the junior level, they were the least likely to report working at the senior level (16.3%). This was more the domain of senior staff with 24.5% of senior school teachers aged 51 to 60 years.
Duties Other Than Teaching
Respondents indicated main areas of responsibility additional to their teaching, by selecting one or more of a number of listed options. Professional development was the most common area in which teachers had other duties (25.9%), followed by curriculum design and development (20%), school planning (17.7%), marketing (12.7%), community relations (11.9%), information technology (10.9%), and workplace health & safety (8.7%). School finances, and assets and facilities management were the areas of responsibility in which teachers were least likely to exercise extra responsibilities.
In most cases, only minor variations occurred across States and Territories. However, considerable intersectoral variation was recorded. Only respondents working in the Government sector had additional responsibilities in the areas of school finances, and assets and facilities management. Moreover, Government school teachers were the most likely to have additional responsibilities in the areas of information technology, workplace health and safety, school planning, and curriculum design and development. Teachers in the Catholic and Independent sectors were significantly more likely than those in the Government sector to be involved in marketing.
Male teachers were more likely than female teachers to carry additional responsibilities with respondents aged 21 to 30 years being the least likely to have additional duties.
Relationship Between Teaching and Other Administrative Duties
Almost half (49.4%) of the respondents carried out full-time teaching roles with no time officially allocated for administrative duties. A further 38.7% had some time allocated to administrative duties, while the remaining 11.9% had most or all of their working time dedicated to administration. Male teachers were more likely than their female colleagues to have all, most or some of their working time scheduled for administration. Fifty-five percent (54.9%) of female respondents had no time scheduled for administrative duties, compared with 39.6% of the males.
Key Learning Areas Taught
Respondents were asked to identify which of the Key Learning Areas (KLAs) they taught in the compulsory years of schooling. English (44.4%) was the most common KLA nominated, followed by Mathematics (42.7%), Studies of Society and Environment (40.3%), Science (37.6%), Arts (33.1%), Technology (32%), Health and Physical Education (31.6%) and LOTE (8.2%).
With some noteworthy exceptions, the proportions of respondents involved in teaching each KLA were similar across the States/Territories. The proportion of respondents who reported teaching English ranged between 38.9% in Western Australia and 43.2% in Victoria to 48.4% in the Northern Territory and 55.2% in Tasmania. Tasmania also had the largest proportion of respondents who reported teaching Technology (43%), while Queensland had the smallest (25.2%) with 30-35% the most common figure amongst the other States/Territories.
The data indicate that, for all eight KLAs, the largest proportions of teachers who indicated some teaching involvement were from the Government sector, followed closely by the Catholic sector with the Independent sector recording markedly lower participation rates.
Vocational Subjects
Over one thousand (1,109) teachers indicated that they taught subjects with a vocational component. Queensland had the highest incidence of subjects with accredited vocational components being taught and Tasmania the lowest. Strong similarities were evident across the three schooling sectors. A significantly larger proportion of males than females were engaged in teaching these subjects.
Approximately 90% of the survey respondents completed their initial training in Australia, principally in the State, but not the Territory, in which they were currently working. There were, however, varying degrees of interstate mobility. Approximately 88% of South Australian and New South Wales respondents had completed their preservice training in their ‘home’ State compared with 76.4% of Queensland teachers. Most commonly, teachers in the ACT and the Northern Territory had qualified initially in New South Wales or Victoria. Younger teachers, particularly those in the 21-30 years age-band, appeared to be more mobile interstate than their older colleagues.
Of the teachers who completed initial training overseas, the largest proportion (40.6%) were from the United Kingdom or Ireland, but these teachers constituted less than 3% of the entire survey sample. A further 15% of respondents to this question indicated that they had undertaken their preservice teacher training in North America, 13.7% in New Zealand, and 9.8% in Africa (excluding North Africa). Together, these three groups made up more than three quarters (79.1%) of the teachers trained overseas, and one twentieth (5.1%) of all teachers surveyed.
The proportion of overseas-trained teachers working in the Independent schooling sector was almost double that in the Government sector. Finally, older respondents (35.2% of respondents aged 51 or more) were more likely to have completed their preservice training overseas than their younger colleagues (1.9% of those aged 21 to 30 years).
Length of Preservice Course
Three out of five teachers (59.7%) had completed preservice courses of four or more years duration. Twenty-eight per cent (27.8%) were three-year and 12.1% were one or two-year trained. The proportion of four-year trained teachers was greatest in Tasmania (66.9%) with Queensland the only State/Territory where less than half of the respondents had completed four or more years of preservice training.
Strong similarities occurred between the Government and Catholic schooling sectors in terms of the length of preservice training courses undertaken by their teachers. In both these sectors over half had completed courses that were four years or longer in duration. Teachers working in the Independent schooling sector indicated they had undertaken longer preservice training courses. More than fifty-five percent (55.5%) had completed four-year courses, while another 14.7% had completed five or more years of initial training. However, the Independent schooling sector had the largest proportion of teachers with one year or less of initial training.
More males (63.5%) than females (57.7%) had completed preservice courses of four or more years duration but proportionally more males had completed only one year’s training or less.
The data show a strong relationship between respondents’ ages and the length of the preservice teacher training courses completed. Teachers aged 21 to 30 years were more likely to have completed four-year courses than their older colleagues.
Respondents who trained as secondary and special education teachers tended to have a higher level of initial qualification than those who trained for primary school or early childhood teaching.
Highest Qualifications of Australian Teachers
Slightly less than half of the respondents (44.1%) reported that their highest academic qualification in education was a Bachelor Degree, one fifth (21.1%) a Diploma, and (18.8%) a Postgraduate Diploma. Among the remaining respondents, the largest proportion (8.2%) held a Master degree in education.
According to the data, relatively few respondents (12.8%) gained their highest academic qualification in education prior to 1974, and more than half (51.9%) had gained it in 1987 or later. It is possible that these results are related to policies, introduced during the 1980s and 1990s, which established the Bachelor Degree as the minimum preservice qualification for teachers.
The data indicate that a little less than one third (29.8%) of all survey respondents (n=10,019) held qualifications in a discipline other than education. More than half of these (55.7%), representing 16.5% of the total sample, reported that a Postgraduate Certificate was their highest academic qualification outside education. Another 3.6% of the total sample indicated that a Diploma was their highest non-education qualification, and 3.1% reported that they held a Bachelor Degree in a discipline other than education. The proportions of survey respondents who indicated that their highest academic qualification outside education was at any other level were less than 3% in all cases.
The responses indicate that teachers were most likely to have gained their highest qualification outside the field of education relatively recently. Fifty-one per cent (50.8%) claimed to have completed their highest non-education qualification since 1985, and nearly 39.9% of them during the 1990s. However, 25.1% of those respondents who reported both the level of their highest academic qualification outside education and the year in which they gained it, had achieved the qualification during the 1970s.
Academic Qualifications Related to Teaching Year 12
Respondents who were currently teaching Year 12 students indicated their highest academic qualification in each of 23 nominated curriculum areas they taught.
Of those respondents who indicated they taught English at Year 12 level (n=591), 58.9% had undertaken studies in English to third-year university or College of Advanced Education (CAE) level, while another 23.7% had an Honours degree or higher qualification in English. This latter group included eight respondents (1.4%) with a Doctoral degree in English. Two percent (2.2%) had either studied English only to their final year of secondary school or had done no formal study in English.
At least three quarters of respondents who taught Year 12 students in each of the Science curriculum areas (ie, General Science, Biological Science and or Physical/Earth Science) reported that they had studied the relevant Science to at least third-year university or CAE level, and one fifth had a relevant Honours degree or higher qualification. However, a small number of respondents in each area indicated that they had completed little or no formal study in the Science curriculum area in which they taught.
Responses from teachers who taught Mathematics at Year 12 level (n=629) followed much the same pattern as for science. Over half (56%) of these respondents indicated they had undertaken curriculum studies in Mathematics to third-year level at a university or CAE, 8.1% had studied Mathematics to Honours degree level, 4.3% held a Master degree in Mathematics; and 1.9% held a Doctoral degree.
Among respondents who taught Information Technology (IT) to final year students (n=172), 34.3% had completed studies in that area to third-year university or CAE level, 7% held an Honours degree in Information Technology, and 5.8% had a relevant Master or Doctoral degree. Nearly 18.6% had undertaken little or no formal study in IT.
Types of Teaching Experience
Teachers’ professional experience of teaching in metropolitan, urban, rural and remote settings reflects national demographics. The majority spend the greater part of their professional lives teaching in metropolitan and city settings. Some 10.5% had taught in an isolated area, the majority of them for less than 5 years. Males (61.2%) were more likely than females (54.1%) to be in a metropolitan area. Teachers aged 21 to 30 years were least likely to have taught in these schools.
Level of Teaching Experience
The patterns of duration of teacher experience in any one of 8 nominated levels of the schooling system were disparate. The nominated levels were Pre-school/ Kindergarten/ Reception/, Junior and Senior Primary, Middle School, Junior and Senior Secondary, Primary and Secondary Special Education. From zero to five years teaching experience was the most common response for any single level. However, diversity occurred both within and across levels. Pre-school/Kindergarten/Prep/Reception level (68.4%), and the Special Education Secondary level (66.8%) had concentrations of teachers with 0-5 years teaching at those levels. On the other hand, 37.5% of Senior Secondary staff had 16 or more years of experience teaching at this level and 52.6% of Junior Secondary staff had done so for 11 years or longer.
Respondents indicated their career intentions over the next three years with respect to the options in the following table. The positive responses only are displayed below.
|
CAREER INTENTIONS OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS |
RESPONDENTS
|
| No. |
% |
| Apply for promotion |
2539 |
25.3 |
| Apply for transfer |
2345 |
23.4 |
| Apply for appointment to other duties |
1682 |
16.8 |
| Seek employment outside the education sector |
1272 |
12.7 |
| Leave employment for reasons such as home duties, study or travel |
1335 |
13.3 |
| Retire |
703 |
7.0 |
Table 3. Affirmative responses to career intentions over the next three years (n=10019) (note that the options for no response or multiple responses mean that percentages do not total 100)
One quarter of all survey respondents indicated that they intended to apply for promotion, a similar percentage (23.4%) indicated they would apply for a transfer, and 16.8% stated they would seek appointment to other duties. Males were more likely than females to report an intention to apply for a promotion, for appointment to other duties and/or to seek employment outside education.
Interstate and Territory variations were recorded. Most survey respondents who indicated their career plans were most likely to be planning to apply for promotion. The exceptions were South Australia and the Northern Territory, where respondents most commonly indicated an intention to apply for a transfer (SA 31%, NT 36.6%). The parallel result for Queensland was 18.3% and for Victoria 18.8%. While 11.2% of teachers from New South Wales reported their intention to apply for other duties, teachers from Victoria were more numerous in selecting this option (23.3%).
While the possible overlap of responses should be taken into account, the results suggest that as many as 35% of female teachers and up to 30% of male teachers indicated an intention to leave the teaching profession within three years of the survey. Females (17.1%) were more likely than males (6.7%) to report an intention to leave their current employment for reasons such as home duties, study or travel.
The data indicate that substantial numbers of teachers, irrespective of age intended to leave the teaching service within the three years following the survey.
The most marked difference between the three schooling sectors related to transfers. However, these can be explained in the main by the different opportunities for relocation characteristic of each sector.
Retirement
The overall survey data on retirement indicate that of all respondents:
- one quarter (24.8%) intended to retire from teaching at the age of 55 years;
- 4% planned to retire between the ages of 56 and 59 years;
- a further one-fifth (20.8%) nominated 60 years as their intended retirement age;
- 1.5% planned to retire from teaching between age 61 and age 64, inclusive; and
- 11% planned to continue teaching until retirement at the age of 65 years.
Females nominated 51 to 55 years as the preferred retirement age and males 56 to 60 years. Males were more likely to indicate 61 to 65 years. One third (32.4%) of the teachers in the Government school sector indicated that they planned to retire between the ages of 51 and 55 years, compared with 18.8% from the Catholic and 17.7% from the Independent sectors whose teachers were more likely to nominate a planned retirement age in the 56 to 60 years age group. The State/Territory data showed significant variations with respect to retirement plans. Almost eleven per cent of ACT teachers reported an intention to retire within the next three years compared with approximately five percent of South Australian teachers.
Of the 10,019 respondents to the survey claiming to have participated in formal professional award courses during 1997-98, the Northern Territory registered the highest participation (27.6%) followed by Western Australia (21.8%). The other States and Territories ranged from 17-19%. Master (5.4%) and Bachelor (5%) degree studies involved the largest numbers of teachers followed by Post-Graduate Certificate courses (3.6%). Forty people were enrolled in Professional Doctoral Courses and 35 in PhD studies.
Approximately one fifth of both males and females undertook professional award studies during 1997-98. Almost a fifth of respondents aged from 31-40 and from 41-50 and 14.6% aged 51-60 were enrolled in formal award courses.
In the Catholic sector 26% of the teachers reported being involved in formal study with 20.9% from the Independent and 15.6% from the Government sectors. Part-time external courses are the preferred type of enrolment irrespective of gender and age followed by part-time internal study.
Of those undertaking award study, Catholic sector teachers (85.7%) are proportionally higher users of Universities than Independent (76.5%) and Government sector teachers (74.3%). Again, of those teachers undertaking award study, Private Colleges or Institutions are used by more Independent school teachers (13.2%) than either Catholic (4.5%) and Government school teachers (15.2%). However more Government school teachers (15.6%) use TAFE Colleges/Institutes than Independent (7.9%) and Catholic school teachers (5.8%).
Approximately eleven percent of women and men completed their formal award courses in 1997-1998. The highest proportion of teachers completing their formal award studies was in the 21-30 year age band (86.3%). This age group also contained the lowest proportion of studies still in progress (39.3%).
The numbers of teachers with studies in progress are lower than those for completions. The data indicate that the enrolment rates for Government and Independent school teachers declined in the period 1997-98 by 2-3%.
The responses to the delivery mode employed in award courses are displayed in Fig.1.
Face-to-face and text based modes were the most common mode of delivery with limited use made of electronic technologies.
For non-award professional development activities, face-to-face delivery again predominated accounting for approximately 61% of responses on the delivery modes experienced. The incidence was higher amongst classroom teachers (64%) than administrators (55%). Video accounted for some 12% of reported experiences, followed by text-based delivery (10%), tele-tutorials, and audio tapes (5%), Internet (3%) and CD Rom (2%). The profile indicates the nascent use of electronic modes for delivering inservice activities.
Figure 1: Overall survey findings on the delivery modes used by teachers participating in formal award Professional Development Activities
Venues and Initiation of Non-Award Programs
Seventy per cent (69.8%) of teachers nominated their own school as the site at which they had undertaken non-award inservice education. A neighbouring school (38.7%) or a teachers’ centre (38%) were also highly used. Over a third (34.6%) had participated in an activity run in a conference centre, and approximately 18% at a university, hotel or club. Used least often were teachers’ homes and union/association facilities. The pattern of venues was similar across the States/Territories with conference centres registering a higher usage in Victoria, Queensland and South Australia than in the other States. With respect to organisation, teachers’ own schools (23.6%) were responsible for most of the inservice activities. Other providers were Central Office (10.2%), Subject/professional associations (8.3%) and Clusters or groupings of schools (6.5%). Universities, Teachers Federations/Unions and School Support Centres were minor providers of inservice education.
Focus of Non-Award Activities
The following three tables display the data on the main focus of non-award professional development activities attended in the period 1997-98 in terms of three categories – Classroom related inservice, School management related inservice and Specific program related inservice.
|
CLASSROOM RELATED INSERVICE |
RESPONDENTS |
|
No. |
% |
| Subject matter |
4572 |
45.6 |
| Teaching processes |
4602 |
45.9 |
|
Student assessment |
3856 |
38.5 |
| Information Technology |
4444 |
44.4 |
| Counselling |
973 |
9.7 |
| Classroom management |
2369 |
23.6 |
| Curriculum design and development |
3542 |
35.4 |
| Behaviour Management |
2956 |
29.5 |
| Other |
209 |
2.1 |
Table 4. Participation in classroom related inservice professional development activities by teachers 1997-98
In classroom related inservice, subject matter, teaching processes, assessment and curriculum design were major inservice foci followed by classroom and behaviour management.
|
SPECIFIC PROGRAM RELATED INSERVICE |
RESPONDENTS |
| No. |
% |
| Marketing |
337 |
3.4 |
| Community Relations/communication |
530 |
5.3 |
| School Planning |
1929 |
19.3 |
| Legal issues |
1298 |
13.0 |
| Departmental/section leadership |
827 |
8.3 |
| Curriculum evaluation |
2452 |
24.5 |
| School evaluation |
1524 |
15.2 |
| School Finances/budgeting |
609 |
6.1 |
| Assets and Facilities Management |
263 |
2.6 |
| School Leadership |
1393 |
13.9 |
| Other |
96 |
1.0 |
Table 5. Participation in school management related inservice professional development activities by teachers 1997-98
In school management related inservice, curriculum evaluation was the major priority along with school planning, school leadership and school evaluation.
|
SPECIFIC PROGRAM RELATED INSERVICE |
RESPONDENTS |
|
No. |
% |
|
Literacy |
3762 |
37.5 |
|
Numeracy |
2134 |
21.3 |
|
English as a second language |
497 |
5.0 |
|
Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Education |
558 |
5.6 |
|
Information Technology |
3049 |
30.4 |
|
Vocational Education and Training |
764 |
7.6 |
|
Workplace Health and Safety |
1244 |
12.4 |
|
Education of the gifted and talented |
1139 |
11.4 |
|
School governance |
342 |
3.4 |
|
Equity/Social Justice |
892 |
8.9 |
|
Multicultural education |
479 |
4.8 |
|
Parent involvement |
576 |
5.7 |
|
Geographically isolated students |
80 |
0.8 |
|
School effectiveness/efficiency |
873 |
8.7 |
|
Drug and alcohol education |
1264 |
12.6 |
|
Civics and citizenship education |
403 |
4.0 |
|
Staff performance appraisal |
1499 |
15.0 |
|
Other |
479 |
4.8 |
Table 6. Participation in specific program related inservice professional development activities by teachers 1997-98
In specific program related inservice, literacy and information technology dominated teachers’ participation. Approximately 5% of the respondents had been on an organised professional development study tour. A higher number of teachers who participated in organised study tours came from the Government sector than from either the Catholic or Independent school sectors.
Professional Development for National Priority Teaching Areas
Respondents indicated the preservice and/or inservice training they had undertaken in teaching and assessment strategies in seven priority areas, six of which are displayed below.
| PRIORITY AREA |
RESPONDENTS |
TOTAL
% |
| Preservice training only |
Inservice training only |
Both pre- & inservice training |
No response |
| No. |
% |
No. |
% |
No. |
% |
No. |
% |
|
Literacy |
732 |
7.3 |
3388 |
33.8 |
1875 |
18.7 |
4024 |
40.2 |
100.0 |
|
Numeracy |
848 |
8.5 |
2106 |
21.0 |
1493 |
14.9 |
5572 |
55.6 |
100.0 |
|
ESL |
602 |
6.0 |
1197 |
11.9 |
345 |
3.4 |
7875 |
78.6 |
100.0 |
|
ATSI students |
500 |
5.0 |
1206 |
12.0 |
256 |
2.6 |
8057 |
80.4 |
100.0 |
|
Indigenous Studies |
372 |
3.7 |
808 |
8.1 |
194 |
1.9 |
8645 |
86.3 |
100.0 |
|
Information Tech. |
462 |
4.6 |
3189 |
31.8 |
718 |
7.2 |
5650 |
56.4 |
100.0 |
Table 7. Types of training that respondents had undertaken in nominated priority areas (n=10019)
In relation to all six priority areas above, the proportion of teachers who ticked none of the possible responses was the largest, ranging from 40.2% for literacy to 86.3% for Indigenous Studies. While these results indicate the respondents had received neither pre- nor inservice training in the specified aspects of that area, it does not preclude them having completed training in other aspects of the priority areas. In relation to each of the six areas, the majority of teachers who indicated that they had undertaken training in the priority areas had done so on an inservice basis, although for many teachers the inservice training had been additional to preservice training in the nominated aspects of the priority area.
Literacy
More than half (52.5%) of the respondents had completed inservice training in one or more aspects of literacy education in teaching strategies for early literacy intervention (primary); teaching strategies for literacy intervention (secondary); and assessment strategies. For one third (33.8%), this had been the only training received in these aspects of literacy education, but for one fifth (18.7%) it supplemented preservice training. Some 40% of teachers appear to have had neither preservice nor inservice training in the nominated strategies although they may have had pre-or inservice training in other aspects of literacy education.
Numeracy
Forty-four percent (44.4%) of survey respondents had undertaken some training in one or more of the teaching strategies for numeracy intervention (primary or secondary), and in assessment strategies. One third of these (or 14.9% of all respondents) had completed both pre- and inservice training. The data suggest that as many as 55% of survey respondents may have had no training in any of the specified aspects of numeracy education.
English as a Second Language
The results in relation to ESL suggest that less than one quarter (21.4%) of participants in the survey had undertaken any training in any of the aspects of teaching strategies for primary or secondary students; and in assessment strategies. Three per cent (3.4%) indicated that they had completed both pre- and inservice training.
Teaching ATSI students
The data indicate that four fifths (80.4%) of survey respondents had completed neither preservice nor inservice training in teaching strategies for primary or secondary students and assessment strategies.
Indigenous Studies
Fourteen per cent (13.7%) of respondents, the lowest response for any single priority, indicated that they had undertaken training in these aspects of this priority area. Less than half (5.6% of all respondents) indicated that they had preservice training, 1.9% of all respondents had this preservice training and inservice training, and 8.1% of all survey respondents had undertaken inservice only.
Information Technology
Forty-four per cent (43.6%) of survey respondents had completed pre- and/or inservice training in teaching strategies for primary or secondary students, and assessment strategies in information technology. Nearly three quarters of the teachers (31.8% of all survey respondents) who indicated that they had undertaken training in one or more of the nominated aspects listed, had received only inservice training. Twelve per cent (11.8%) reported having had preservice training in the specified aspects of Information Technology education. Most of these (7% of all respondents) also had completed some inservice training.
Vocational Education and Training (VET)
Three quarters (76.2%) of survey respondents had no industry experience in any areas relevant to the seventh priority area - VET. The distribution of those with experience, which typically was more than one year, was retail (9.6%), hospitality (9%), administration/management (5.8%), tourism (2.5%), information technology (2.2%), engineering (1.5%), automotive (0.8%) and racing (0.4%). There were noteworthy differences between the States/Territories in relation to some of the seven priority areas:
- Approximately two thirds of teachers reported that they had relevant pre- and/or inservice training in literacy education with the exception of teachers in Victoria and Queensland (52.9% and 52.7% respectively).
- Nearly 60% of teachers from Tasmania had undertaken pre- and/or inservice training in the aspects of numeracy education nominated. By contrast, only 38.3% of respondents from Victoria had undergone any relevant training in this priority area.
- The largest proportion of teachers with training in the ESL aspects nominated was in the Northern Territory (41.5%) compared with 12.1% of teachers from Queensland.
- Teachers from the Northern Territory were the most likely to have trained in at least one of the aspects of teaching ATSI students and in teaching Indigenous Studies.
Sector Differences
Several intersectoral differences were identified.
- Up to 52% of respondents from Independent schools had completed neither pre- nor inservice training in the aspects of literacy education listed compared with 39% of respondents from Catholic schools and 36% from Government schools.
- With respect to ESL, teachers from the Catholic sector (25%) were most likely to have undertaken relevant pre- and/or inservice training compared with 21% of respondents from the government and 19% from the independent sector.
- 19% of respondents from the government sector reported that they had undertaken inservice training in at least one of the specified aspects of teaching ATSI students compared with 13% of respondents from the Catholic and 7% from the independent sector.
- Less than one tenth of respondents from the Independent sector reported that they had training in teaching primary or secondary school level Indigenous Studies compared with 17% from the Catholic and 14% from the government sector.
- The largest proportion of teachers who had pre- and/or inservice training in any of the nominated aspects of the priority area of Information Technology (IT) was in the government sector (48%). For the majority of these teachers the relevant training had been inservice education with 11.7% of these respondents having had relevant preservice training. About two thirds of them (7.3% of respondents) had also completed inservice training in at least one of the specified aspects of this priority area. Teachers in the Catholic sector were markedly more likely than those in the independent sector to have trained in at least one of the specified aspects of the priority area of Information Technology, but they were markedly less likely to have such training than their government sector counterparts. For most Catholic sector teachers, the relevant training had been completed on an inservice basis, although in the case of 7.4% of respondents this inservice training had supplemented relevant preservice training.
- A significantly smaller proportion of teachers from independent schools responded to any of the options on Information Technology (IT) indicating that teachers in this sector were less likely than their Government sector colleagues to have completed any training in the specified aspects of IT education.
Gender
Noteworthy features of these results cross tabulated by gender are outlined briefly below.
- While two thirds (67%) of female respondents reported that they had pre- and/or inservice training in at least one of the aspects of literacy education specified, only 49% of male respondents indicated this.
- Nearly half (48%) of female respondents indicated that they had pre- and/or inservice training in one or more of the aspects of numeracy education listed, compared with only 40% of male respondents.
- Female teachers were markedly more likely than their male colleagues to have some training (preservice, inservice or both) in the priority area of ESL. One quarter of female respondents had training in at least one of the specified aspects of this priority area, compared with 15% of male respondents.
Age-band
A larger proportion of teachers in the 21 to 30 years age-band, compared with other age-bands, had only preservice training in the relevant priority area, possibly due to a lack of access opportunities. At the same time, younger teachers were more likely than older teachers to have pre- and/or inservice training in relevant aspects of most of the priority areas due in part to an increased focus on these areas in preservice courses in recent years. While only 22% of teachers aged 61 years or older had preservice training in any of the specified aspects of literacy education, 42% of teachers aged 21 to 30 years reported having undergone such preservice training. Teachers aged 21 to 30 years were also markedly more likely than their older colleagues, including those in the adjacent 31 to 40 years age-band, to have training in aspects of teaching ATSI students.
Time and Frequency of Inservice Activities
The majority of activities were conducted out of school hours. Variations were recorded across the three sectors. Government teachers report the most frequent use of outside school time (60%), followed by Independent (58%) and Catholic sector teachers (46%). Over 80% of respondents reported having participated in four days or more of inservice education over the two-year period 1997-98. 13% had participated in 2-3 days while less than two percent had undertaken no inservice training in the two years prior to the survey. There was little intersectoral variation.
Of the teachers who volunteered information on their memberships, over a fifth belonged to no educational organisations. Almost three-quarters belonged to one or more organisations. Teachers’ Federations and unions registered the highest incidence of membership followed by subject associations. The data showed some gender differences in the patterns of membership. Higher proportions of men (22.2%) were members of educational administration organisations than women (10.6%), a pattern repeated for Principals’ Associations (Men: 11%, Women: 5%) but reversed for membership of Teachers Federations/Unions (Women: 71%, Men: 68%). With respect to community organisations, one third belonged to a sporting club or association (35%) or church (32%). Only 2% nominated membership of a political organisation. More women than men participated actively in Charitable organisations, Social Clubs and Churches, while more men than women participated in Service clubs, Sporting clubs and Political organisations.