Western Sydney University helping fast-track more teachers for Western Sydney classrooms
Western Sydney University is helping tackle the critical shortage of teachers in Western Sydney – taking part in a national program designed to train more primary and high school teachers to work in the classrooms where they are needed most.
The University’s School of Education has been awarded more than $3 million over the next three years as part of the Australian Government’s High Achieving Teachers (HAT) program pilot expansion.
Under the program, the University will deliver a career pathway designed to prepare and fast-track new primary and secondary school teachers – particularly those from diverse socio-cultural and linguistic backgrounds – to enter the classroom.
Dean of the University’s School of Education, Professor Michele Simons, said the University’s pilot program will draw 100 applicants from a talented network of Community Language Teachers who among them teach more than 80 different languages.
Professor Simons said Western Sydney University is proud to be doing its part to help develop teachers from a wide variety of backgrounds to work in Western Sydney’s schools and address the long-term workforce challenges currently facing the teaching profession.
“Our schools in Western Sydney are among some of the most culturally and linguistically-diverse in the country. We want our initial teacher education programs to also reflect that incredible community diversity. We need more highly-skilled teachers who can bring their own unique multilingual and cross-cultural capabilities into the classroom,” said Professor Simons.
Research from the University’s own Centre for Western Sydney reveals that 40.9% of the Western Sydney region’s residents were born outside of Australia.
Figures from the NSW Department of Education show that 37% of students in public schools come from homes where languages other than English are spoken. The diversity of language backgrounds of students in government schools also increased by 12% in 2020 to more than 240 languages.
“Many of our community language teachers come to Australia having previously worked in education in their countries of origin as teachers and school leaders, or they want to retrain.
“These are exactly the kinds of passionate future teachers we want for the profession. Most critically, they already have much-valued graduate or postgraduate qualifications in vital learning areas such as maths, science, English, business and technology.
“This program is all about creating a more sustainable pipeline of highly-qualified graduate teachers to work in our classrooms.”
ENDS
30 September 2024
Amanda Whibley, Manager, Media & Public Relations
Photo credit: Sally Tsoutas
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