Teacher Salaries Making Headlines in Australia

Very often, the word "teacher" does not emerge in the education policy discussion. Thus, it was refreshing to see teachers and their respective salaries at the forefront this week in Australian news.  Numerous constituencies including education experts, government officials and business leaders are stepping out in support of teacher compensation reform. In fact, last week one of Australia's territories broke new ground by proposing six-figure pay for qualified, experienced teachers who also assume a mentorship role with their professional peers. Interestingly, the article notes the common occurrence of teachers assuming more administrative roles later in their career which often pay a great deal more than strictly teaching positions.

While this article is novel in actually looking at the teachers' perspective and career path, reoccurring themes do emerge. The salary topic is simply not surfacing because people feel that teachers are underpaid and overworked. Rather, it fits into the larger global assessment measures of educational achievement and success. The article notes specifically that the salary increase could "improve school outcomes." Once again, it appears that teaching for a standardized test/benchmark versus quality, lifelong learning may be taking precedence in policy agendas. Additionally, the closing section of the article reverberates the constant debate over funding as well as the decentralization/centralization of education issue. A spokesperson for the Australia's Minister of Education clearly noted that "employing teachers was a matter for state governments, however we support any teachers being recognized for excellence."

Link to article: http://www.news.com.au/national-news/education-experts-gonski-architect-lead-push-for-six-figure-teaching-salaries/story-fncynjr2-1226613558962