[A blue screen appears with text that reads ‘Subject Matters: A guide to teaching in Victoria. Vodcast hosted by Gorgi Coghlan’. ]
Gorgi Coghlan, Host:
Hello and welcome to Subject Matters. The vodcast series that aims to share all you need to know about teaching in Victoria. My name’s Gorgi Coghlan. I’m an Australian TV presenter and former secondary school teacher, with a passion for science and storytelling.
Gorgi:
Welcome to episode 4, today we are talking about teaching and new horizons. We’re chatting to Sam Wooster and Ashley Duggan about career opportunities, teaching in regional victoria and the packages that are available to new teachers entering the profession.
Sam Wooster, Graduate teacher:
Yeah. I'm Sam Wooster and I'm a graduate teacher based in the Otway region in Southwestern Victoria, and I'm an Indonesian and English teacher.
Ashley Duggan, Education policy:
Hi there, Gorgi, great to be here. My name is Ash and I currently work in education policy for the Department of Education, Victoria.
Gorgi:
Okay. Today's a bit of a forward looking episode, where we're going to be looking at job security, relocation packages, professional development, and I suppose career development in general, within teaching. So, when you start teaching, what are the different pathways and the journeys and avenues that you can take, and that's really diverse and really exciting. Sam, you’ve had a pretty full on year, home schooling of course, that’s pretty stressful and very demanding on your energy. And also you had some professional development. Is that something that has surprised you at how much you can learn if you want to learn in a graduate year?
Sam:
Yeah, definitely. I guess the role that I took this year was a special role, in the sense that the government has provided financial incentive to move to a regional area. In that position, they have extra funds available to do professional development, but otherwise there's still funds allocated for professional development. Currently I am engaging in a leading virtual teacher course that the department has funded, so that's come through my principal who offers it to the staff. So I've said yes to that, which is run through a university in Melbourne, and it's the professional development that was offered to me, it's separate to the budget I get as a graduate teacher, it's an additional thing offered by the department, which I have accepted and shown interest in.
Gorgi:
That's great. How does that make you feel in terms of skills and support, given that you are a graduate teacher and it's pretty overwhelming? Does that help?
Sam:
Yeah, it's a really nice feeling being in control of your career in that regard. You can say yes to opportunities all the time, and knowing that each thing that you say yes to, it's expanding your professional skill set and making you a better teacher, but just making you a stronger person and more capable in your work. And skills that you take with you into your career.
Gorgi:
So, can you take us through a little bit more of that, because I think that would be really appealing to someone that's in industry, loves what they do, but has decided to make the change, is looking at teaching. How would you, if you were going to, Ash, and your marketing hat on, how would you get them over that line and say, "come across to teaching and this is why." What main points would you say to them, as someone who has worked in industry as well?
Ashley:
I guess, the two things were for me, right? The two things for me that made me come back to education, one was feeling like I was doing work that was contributing to a greater purpose and meaning that I really believed in. What is the thing that you are doing Monday to Friday, what role and impact is that having on society? So that pull was really strong for me to come back to education. The second thing was what sort of things do you enjoy doing day in and day out? What gives you energy and do you find joy doing it?
Ashley:
Schools are some of the most dynamic and energising places to work, and so I think, if you're thinking about a change, if there's something about your current job that isn't hitting the spot, then they'd be some of the things that I would consider.
Gorgi:
Oh, great tips. And, Sam, you're in the thick of it, you're six months in. What would you say?
[Sam Wooster, Graduate teacher]
I guess, taking a step back, before going to teaching I was thinking about doing a master's in counselling. After much deliberation and discussions with family members and friends, and self reflection, I chose teaching. The reason being is that I can achieve all of those things through teaching. Those broader career aspirations and what I actually wanted to do was to work and help people, and currently I'm in conversations with leadership around doing extra study in the mental health space.
Gorgi:
That's a great example of a fusion of your two passions, and also your skills, that you end up, as you say, going on to do more study in psychology and counselling and being someone that can be an educator but also a counsellor within a school. Let's maybe just talk about more of those maybe traditional structure roles, and how that can help certain people that maybe have those aspirations to move out of the classroom within the school?
Ashley:
Yeah, totally. I think the career pathways, they're so diverse. You can go into specialist classroom teaching roles. There's a new classification that was introduced in Victoria recently, learning specialists, which are kind of identified as master teachers, in a way, who work at building the practice across their schools and between schools. But then there's the leadership pathways as well, where you can go coordination, leading teacher, assistant principal, and up into principal. And the great thing, I guess similar to the diversity, is subject areas and topics that you can specialise in as a classroom teacher, it's the same when you go into school leadership. You might want to specialise in student engagement and wellbeing leadership, or you might want to specialise in curriculum and assessment leadership, or pedagogical and coaching instructional practices leadership.
[A blue screen appears with text that reads: How secure is a teaching career?]
Gorgi:
And, Ash, what about, in terms of job security, it's one of those rare industries, isn't it? Am I correct to say that we are hungry for more teachers?
Ashley:
I think teaching is really special in one way because I think it's really rare that you get a job that has such amazing security but also such flexibility. Both in terms of the type of work that you do, like opportunities to work part time, flexible work arrangements, but then also the flexibility to travel and do some exciting things like that as well. So, I think finding both of those can be pretty rare.
Gorgi:
And how does that make you feel, Sam, when you hear that?
Sam:
One of the other reasons I got into teaching was the longevity of the vocation. It can really allow you to set up your life in whatever way that you want, and I just think it's a really good, long term solution for a lot of people that... It really allows you to set up your years in a good way. It just adds a lot of structure to your life to give you free time and to balance that with work, and with that ongoing job security it's quite... It's very comforting. And it's very much reinforced my decision to go into teaching, I guess.
Gorgi:
So, Sam, you're in regional Victoria. Take us through why you chose regional Victoria for your graduate year of teaching?
Sam:
There were a few reasons. The first reason would be getting an ongoing position and a full time role. I wasn't necessarily worried about finding work but I was just offered this job very early. The second reason was the package that was on offer for this job specifically. It was part of a targeted financial incentive programme that the department has rolled out, and there's amounts from anywhere from $9,000 to $50,000 one-off payments with ongoing retention payments each year that you stay. So, that's part of the programme that I'm on currently, and for the next three years after this year I'll receive retention payments for staying in this position.
Gorgi:
Regional teaching wouldn't be for everyone, though, Sam. You obviously love regional life and love that sense of community. What sort of person or teacher would be attracted, do you think, to a regional school?
Sam:
I think it's good for all graduates to consider their first year out. You're really afforded a lot of opportunities going to a small school that just don't exist in more metropolitan hubs. There's more opportunities given to you for extra professional development. You're not fighting over opportunities with other staff members, as you might be in a bigger city school. But I think people who are just wanting to develop themselves personally and professionally, and I guess also accepting that there will be challenging aspects to it, but I think they become things that you really look fondly upon, looking backwards. I'm about six months into this role, and I'm starting to feel very comfortable. It was a bit of a transition initially, as it is when you move anywhere, but you just need to find new things to do and there's plenty to do around.
Sam:
I enjoy going surfing and trail running and mountain biking, and also just having more quality time to myself. I have a very small commute, which gives me an extra hour and 20 minutes each day that I wouldn't have if I was living in the city.
Gorgi:
Hey, you've just sold us, Sam. You've mentioned surfing, trail running, no commute. I think everyone that's thinking about regional teaching has gone, "Tick, tick, tick," and not to mention they're in a pandemic, all sounds very attractive. Ash, let's talk about... It's all very well to want to do a job, but everyone wants to know, what opportunities will I have? Will I get a job? How many jobs are out there? Is that something that you can reassure people that are applying for teaching?
Ashley:
Yeah, absolutely. There are tonnes of opportunities that are currently available, both opportunities and pathways to get into teaching. So, we have more than 1,500 schools here in Victoria, and we're looking for around 4,000 new teachers. So, when you think of the scale, the opportunities, they're really significant. In terms of the how and the pathways to get there, let's say if you're a school leaver, there's two main pathways.
[A text box appears on screen. It reads: The minimum ATAR of 70 or above applies to some undergraduate teaching degrees. It does not apply to early childhood, only teaching courses']
If you got an ATAR above 70, you can apply for an undergraduate degree in teaching, so you might want to do primary teaching, secondary teaching, or early childhood teaching.
If you got an ATAR below 70, then there are pathways programmes that you can do that will give you that bridging skills and knowledge that you need to get into an undergraduate degree, so it's kind of the third category. The second category, which I think is a really exciting one in the teaching profession, are people who are thinking about changing their careers.
Ashley:
And so, they might have an undergraduate degree, and if they do then they can apply for a postgraduate course, a master's in teaching and that normally goes for two years or can be accelerated into one year.
[A text box appears on screen. It reads: Accelerated master’s teaching degrees are available which can be completed in 18 months.]
And there's some really innovative programmes that are happening there, as well, for people who have prior studies. I did one of those newer models where I actually worked for two years as a teacher at the same time as studying my master's. So, for people out there who might have financial responsibilities or something like that, there are opportunities where you can still earn a salary at the same time as doing your degree. And I actually think it was a really nice way to come into teaching, because as you're learning the theory, you're constantly applying it as well. But then, if you're thinking of a career change and you don't have an undergraduate degree, there are those similar bridging courses that you can do, or you might be able to go straight into an undergraduate degree as well, and often those courses will recognise your professional experience.
Gorgi:
So, Ash, what are some of the incentives or packages that are available to new teachers and people wanting to become teachers?
Ashley:
Yeah, there's a number of incentives that are available, and I'm almost a little bit jealous that these weren't around to the same degree when I started. So, there are incentives for people who are specialists in hard to staff subjects. They might be going to positions in rural or metro areas, depending on the school and the needs of the school, where there are a high proportion of disadvantaged students as well. So, the financial incentives, and I think Sam might actually be on one of these, they provide recipients with an initial payment of 9,000 to $50,000 to take that position. So, depending on the school and what tier it is, a really significant financial incentive to take a position. And then there are also, of course, relocation costs, say if you happen to be moving regionally or rurally.
[A text box appears on screen. It reads: Annual retention payments of $9,000 are paid over three years after the 2nd, 3rd and 4th year of employment.]
And then there's also annual retention payments, as well, of $9,000 every year for your first four years, to really recognise the value of teachers staying and contributing to those communities.
Gorgi:
I really love that, Ash, and I think this is really exciting for the teaching profession, because it's a profession, it's like every other profession, and we have so many incentives for medicine, we have incentives for GPs to go off in regional areas.
Gorgi:
Let's talk about the resources that are available to people. Can you guys suggest what, if I'm interested in teaching, I want to take the next step. Are there particular websites that I should be jumping on, should I be talking to teachers in the classroom? Could you help us navigate that?
Sam:
For me, it was, I started with some family members who were teachers. So, I would start by asking friends and family who are teachers to get them to talk about their experience.
[A text box appears on screen. It reads: In Victoria, teaching degrees are offered by nine universities and three non-university institutions.]
I would speak to the universities that are close to you and see what programmes that they have. They may have an 18 month accelerated programme or they might have the two year Master's, this is for post graduate.
[A text box appears on screen. It reads: A number of other Victoria institutions also offer employment-based as/ or accelerated teaching degrees.]
And I'd also consider the other options that are available, such as Teach For Australia, which I have several colleagues there on, and that's where you can do your Master's and work at the same time.
[A blue screen appears with text that reads: Why should people consider a teaching career?]
Gorgi:
Wrapping it up now, I'm going to ask you a challenging question, probably one hard to distill, but starting with you, Ash, what makes teaching special?
Ashley:
I think there are a few things that I would say make teaching really special. The first for me was, I think it is one of the most intellectually challenging and dynamic professions that there is. The breadth of the discipline, the literature, the research, the rigour of what it means to be an excellent classroom practitioner. Not to mention transitioning that and then around school leadership, I think that intellectual stimulation and challenge is really rewarding. The second, I would say, is that that challenge is balanced by the dynamic and fun energy of what it is to be a teacher. I think it's a job where pretty much every day you experience joy and you laugh and you have fun, at the same time as having that real intellectual challenge and rigour.
Ashley:
The other thing I think that I'd mention is the impact that you have. It almost becomes a cliché, right, it's spoken about so much? But it really is true that you're making a difference in your students' lives every day. And I think back to some of the emails and cards that I've received over the years, and you still continue to receive even though I haven't taught for a few years now, there's nothing that beats that and that impact that you're having.
Gorgi:
Oh, that's a beautiful reflection. Sam, what makes teaching special for you?
[Sam Wooster, Graduate teacher]
I think one of the things that first comes to mind is teaching really gives you a space to be yourself. As cliché as that may sound, it really is true, and the more that you are yourself, it gives you an opportunity to help students be themselves and create a really safe environment for them, and to make them stronger people in all senses of the word, I guess. And being able to be your authentic self and creating that environment for young people to help them grow.
Gorgi:
Oh, I love that. They're lucky students, Sam, to have you as their teacher. Sam and Ash, thanks so much for sharing your experiences with us. You've certainly highlighted the fact that teaching has many horizons that we can focus on, and it's been great to chat.
Sam:
Thanks, Gorgi.
Ashley:
Thanks so much for having us.
Gorgi:
That brings us to the end of today’s episode. Thanks for watching Subject Matters, with me, Gorgi Coghlan. For more information about teaching, search Teach the Future.
[End of transcript]
Updated