Addressing the need for teachers

Murdoch University’s School of Education is working with the Department of Education and Training (DET) to address the increasing need for highly qualified Early Childhood and Primary teachers in the Kimberly and Pilbarra regions.

The program offers students in the North-West the opportunity to enrol in Murdoch’s fully accredited Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Primary) part time and externally.

Program coordinator Dr Anne Price, Murdoch’s Education lecturer in Curriculum and Professional Development, says this means participants can continue to live and work in their communities while undertaking their teaching degree.

“Murdoch University and the WA Department and Education and Training are collaborating to upgrade the qualifications of Australian Indigenous Education Officers (AIEOs), Teacher Assistants (TAs) and as a new initiative Child Care Workers to meet this growing need.”

“As part of the program we’re providing mentoring support and the provision for Recognition of Prior Learning to the students on a case by case basis, depending on their individual experience and levels of skill,” Dr Price said.

“On completion of the four year fulltime equivalent course, students will be fully qualified teachers and able to teach from Kindergarten to Year 7.”

DET is supporting successful applicants with a scholarship, and on completion of their degree students will have 50 per cent of their HECS debt paid.

Recently Dr Price and her colleague Libby Mathews visited the first cohort of scholarship students in Broome, Port Hedland, Karratha and Tom Price.

“The visit provided us with an important opportunity to meet the students face to face,” Dr Price said.

“It gave us an opportunity to assist them with their first assignments, help them get on line and develop networks with each other, as well as visit several of the local schools.”

“It was good to see first hand how the communities work - one student in Broome had just about the whole of Broome city puzzling over a question in the first maths unit and discovering the wonders of an Earth population website!”

The program is set to be extended into next semester with a new round of applicants starting mid year.