Teacher Work Force Planning
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V I C T O R I A Auditor General Victoria Teacher work force planning Ordered to be printed by Authority. Government Printer for the State of Victoria No. 116 - Session 1999-2001 ISSN 1443 4911 ISBN 0 7311 8869 1 The Hon. B.A. Chamberlain MLC The Hon. A. Andrianopoulos MLA President Speaker Legislative Council Legislative Assembly Parliament House Parliament House MELBOURNE MELBOURNE Sir Under the provisions of section 16 of the Audit Act 1994, I transmit my performance audit report on Teacher work force planning. Yours faithfully J.W. CAMERON Auditor-General Contents Foreword vii Part 1 Executive summary _____________________________ 1 Introduction 3 Audit objectives and scope 4 Overall audit conclusion 4 The teacher labour market 5 Audit findings 6 Recommendations 9 Part 2 Background___________________________________ 15 Government goals and targets for education 17 The Victorian school system – a brief overview 17 Audit objectives and scope 18 Compliance with auditing standards 19 Period covered by the audit 19 Assistance to the audit team 19 Part 3 Teacher labour market and work force planning_____ 21 Introduction 23 Teacher labour market 23 Teacher work force planning 28 Part 4 A statistical overview of teacher supply and demand 33 Introduction 35 Limitations of information 35 Number of schools, students and population, Statewide 36 Supply of teachers from universities 38 Demand for teachers by schools 44 Key issues and trends emerging from data analysis 54 Part 5 DEET projections of teacher supply and demand ____ 55 Introduction 57 Current approach 58 Future program for work force planning 61 Part 6 School work force planning______________________ 69 Introduction 71 Our audit methodology 71 Work force planning factors 72 Work force planning findings and recommendations 75 Teacher work force planning v CONTENTS Part 7 Initiatives to increase teacher supply ______________ 81 Introduction 83 Existing initiatives 83 The Teaching Scholarship Scheme 85 Teacher Graduate Recruitment Program 91 Possible options to address teacher supply and distribution 94 Part 8 Co-ordination between the key stakeholders ______ 107 Introduction 109 Operation of the Teacher Supply and Demand Reference Group 109 Future directions 111 Appendix 1 Audit criteria _________________________________ 115 vi Teacher work force planning Foreword The provision of high quality school education plays a critical role in promoting an individual’s learning and development, as well as being of vital importance to the Victorian economy and Australia’s international competitiveness. The availability of appropriately trained and qualified teachers is a prerequisite for quality schooling. Work force planning is, therefore, of vital interest to government, relevant government bodies and industry. With over 800 000 primary and secondary students throughout Victoria, there is widespread community interest in both the quantum and quality of the teacher work force. This audit has identified an urgent need to ensure an adequate supply of teachers to prevent any prospective shortage of teachers in Victoria. Matching the demand for teachers with an appropriate supply is a critical input into teacher work force planning. The work force planning process is made more difficult by the number of important stakeholders in the process at both a State and Commonwealth level. Under current arrangements for the planning and funding of higher education, there is a need for greater co-ordination to ensure an adequate number and appropriate distribution of teacher education places to supply the need for teachers in schools. A number of emerging issues will impact on teacher supply and demand in the near future such as the ageing of the government teacher work force, and the emergence of hard-to-staff schools and subjects. These factors only serve to emphasise the need for robust work force planning processes. Work force planning by the Department of Education, Employment and Training will need to become increasingly sophisticated in order to ensure an adequate supply of teachers both generally and in particular curriculum and geographic areas. The importance of effective teacher work force planning cannot be underestimated and has led to my decision to examine this issue. This report should provide a basis for increasing general understanding of key issues and encouraging continuous improvement of teacher work force planning processes. J.W. CAMERON Auditor-General 21 November 2001 Teacher work force planning vii Part 1 Executive summary 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION 1.1 In February 2001, there were 2 223 primary and secondary schools with over 800 000 students in Victoria. In the government school system, there were 1 5421 primary and secondary schools with 528 565 students. The government school system accounts for approximately 70 per cent of all schools and nearly 66 per cent of all students. 1.2 In October 2000, the Victorian Government established a number of education and training objectives to increase participation levels and educational attainment across both government and non-government school sectors. These objectives were: x to improve the standards of literacy and numeracy in primary schooling; x to increase the percentage of young people who successfully complete Year 12, or the equivalent; x to enable more adults to take up education and training, and so increase the overall level of educational attainment and literacy levels in Victoria; x to increase the level of participation and achievement in education and training in rural and regional Victoria, and among groups where it is presently low; and x to make near-universal participation in post-school education and training the norm in our society. 1.3 The Government has also set 3 specific targets as benchmarks to measure progress towards these objectives. These are: x By 2005 – Victoria will be at, or above, national average benchmark levels for reading, writing and numeracy as they apply to primary students; x By 2010 – 90 per cent of young people in Victoria will complete Year 12 or its equivalent; and x By 2005 – the percentage of young people aged 15 to 19 in rural and regional Victoria engaged in education and training will increase by 6 per cent. 1.4 A critical prerequisite for achieving the Government’s objectives is the availability of appropriately trained and qualified primary and secondary teachers for all Victorian schools. Within this context, teacher work force planning should be a key aspect of Department of Education, Employment and Training’s (DEET) long-term planning and policy development activity. 1 In addition to the 1 542 primary and secondary schools, there are 79 special schools and 4 language centres. Teacher work force planning 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AUDIT OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE 1.5 The objective of the audit was to determine whether effective arrangements are in place for planning and managing the supply and demand for government primary and secondary school teachers. Specifically, the audit assessed: x whether DEET undertakes appropriate work force planning activities; x how well DEET undertakes teacher work force planning; x how well schools plan for and manage their teacher requirements; x the effectiveness of initiatives to ensure the required numbers and types of teachers are available; and x the effectiveness of linkages between key stakeholders involved in teacher work force planning. 1.6 The audit included coverage of: x the dual role of DEET as an employer and funder of primary and secondary teachers and the Statewide education policy-maker and planner; x universities’ role as suppliers of graduates to meet teacher demand; and x the role of government schools as employers of teachers acting on behalf of DEET. OVERALL AUDIT CONCLUSION 1.7 We concluded that current arrangements for planning and managing the supply and demand for teachers should be re-focused to reflect DEET’s role in overseeing the provision of teachers across the government and non-government sectors. 1.8 Government school vacancies are usually filled. However, there are some schools that report difficulties in recruiting teachers and some subject areas which are difficult to staff. Schools continue to use other strategies to fill vacancies such as teachers teaching outside subject area and changes to curriculum and teacher allotments. The outlook is for staffing difficulties to continue. The supply of teachers is funded by the Commonwealth and managed by universities. DEET must, therefore, inform and influence these stakeholders. 1.9 Specifically, we concluded that: x the Victorian Government’s education objectives relate to both government and non- government schools and the teacher labour market is affected by trends in both the government and non-government sectors; x current work force planning activities by DEET have been limited in their effectiveness due to a lack of focus on both government and non-government sectors and particular segments of the teacher labour market; x work force projections should focus on particular segments of the teacher labour market, in addition to aggregate teacher numbers; 4 Teacher work force planning EXECUTIVE SUMMARY x while most schools undertake some form of work force planning as part of their local school-based management responsibilities, integrated information and planning tools, better training and support, are required; x initiatives such as the Teaching Scholarship Scheme, designed to ensure an appropriate supply of government school teachers, have had only marginal