Latest news with #CharlesSturtUniversity
News.com.au
03-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Australia's Best Teachers: Fixing our maths, science teaching ‘crisis'
Two in five Australian high school students are learning maths from teachers without formal qualifications in the subject. But universities are boosting teachers' skills through new short courses – and are calling for support to rapidly expand them to tackle the nationwide issue. News Corp has this week launched the third year of its Australia's Best Teachers advocacy series to celebrate the positive impact educators have and tackle workforce challenges in our schools. This year's series is presented in partnership with Officeworks, Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools, Education Perfect and Big Ass Fans. Teachers around the country, through no fault of their own, are being forced to teach subjects outside their areas of expertise due to workforce shortages. A 2024 report by the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute found maths was taught by out-of-field teachers 40 per cent of the time. And the most recent Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership workforce survey found 20 per cent of maths teachers, 29 per cent of technology teachers and 11 per cent of science teachers had no formal qualifications in those areas. Southern Cross University and Charles Sturt University have each developed microcredentials to upskill out-of-field teachers in maths, trialling them on pilot cohorts. Maths lecturer and Southern Cross course co-ordinator Lewes Peddell said out-of-field teaching had reached a 'crisis point' where thousands of students went from years 7 to 10 without being taught by a teacher with a maths degree. Dr Peddell's 350-hour course is designed to upskill teachers and improve their 'confidence and competence' in six main areas of the maths curriculum. 'We have to remember that these are qualified teachers – they're just not qualified in mathematics, so it's about finding ways to bridge what they know from their own discipline areas into teaching maths,' he said. 'This micro-credential is a drop in the bucket, but it is a drop.' Mathematical Association of NSW executive director Darius Samojlowicz said out-of-field teaching had become so common that he 'quite regularly' encountered non-maths-trained teachers who have become head of their school's maths faculties. 'We can't solve this problem overnight but we can support those teachers who are in this situation right now,' he said. Dr Janelle Hill coordinates a short course for out-of-field teachers at Charles Sturt. 'There's an overall teacher shortage and a very unequal distribution in regional and rural and remote communities,' she said. 'It's a tricky one to solve, but something like this microcredential is making a big difference.' Kat Crow, head teacher at St Paul's Anglican Grammar School in rural Victoria, said she benefited enormously from the Southern Cross course after feeling 'like a unicorn' among maths teachers. Ms Crow said teachers must be given the time – and money – to access such programs. 'If I didn't have the school assist me with that, I may or may not have been able to make that choice,' she said. Australian Education Union president Correna Haythorpe said STEM graduates were in high demand in the broader economy, so teaching needed better pay and conditions to attract more into the profession. The federal government's $18.5 million micro-credential trial, which includes a range of qualifications besides teaching, will end in June 2026. Education Minister Jason Clare said both student teacher training reform and support for current teachers was needed. 'Part of turning this around is improving teacher training at university to make sure teaching students are taught the fundamentals about how to teach children to read and write and do maths and how to manage disruptive classrooms,' he said.
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
University students wanting to be teachers now required to complete 'woke' mandatory modules before they even step foot in a classroom
The NSW government now requires teachers to be certified in Aboriginal culture and anti-racism in order to work in schools. In the latest push to politicise education, a student studying to be a teacher at Australian Catholic University (ACU) told 2GB's Ben Fordham they need to complete a compulsory module on Aboriginal culture before their placement in a school. ' Woke ideologies are being forced onto students again. All they want is to study and graduate. They don't want to be treated like primary school kids or to endure a shame session about Australian history,' Fordham told listeners on Tuesday. It follows backlash earlier this year over a decree from Sydney 's Macquarie University that all students attend lessons which described non-Indigenous Australians as 'settlers' and 'guests' in their own country. While elsewhere across the state, James Cook University instructs physiotherapy students to learn about 'white privilege', and Charles Sturt University requires students to pay to do yet another course on Indigenous culture. The new training module is from the NSW Education Department and is compulsory for any student studying to be a teacher in NSW. An ACU spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: 'The NSW Department of Education requires all pre-service teachers to complete a mandatory training module on Aboriginal Cultural Education. 'Students can graduate from ACU education courses without this, but can not teach in government schools in NSW unless they complete this mandatory training module.' The cultural module contains six parts including language, significant people and sites, impacts of past government policies, and the journey to reconciliation. 'All staff must complete the mandatory training, Aboriginal Cultural Education – Let's take the first step together... and training on the Anti-Racism Policy and their responsibility to actively challenge racism,' the department states. The department said the module would build students' capacity and responsibility to improve cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. 'This training supports the department's partnership agreement with the Aboriginal Education Consultative Group to respectfully acknowledge and understand the importance and diversity of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories and cultures and see our work through a cultural lens,' it said. 'Many staff are also taking part in 'Connecting to Country' learning which provides deep insight into the myriad of social, cultural, historic, economic and political issues that continue to affect and concern Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities.' The University of Newcastle also requires students to complete the training, according to its online course information.
ABC News
06-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Michael McCormack slams voters as informal ballots rise during federal election result count
Former deputy prime minister Michael McCormack has criticised constituents after a sharp increase in informal votes in his rural New South Wales electorate. So far 11,054 informal votes have been recorded in the division of Riverina, where more than 85 per cent of the vote counted. The informal ballots account for about 10 per cent of the votes counted. In 2022, the electorate recorded 7,794 informal votes, or 7.32 per cent. Nationally 749,809 informal votes have been counted, which equates to 5.27 per cent of the voter turnout. That is slightly higher than during the 2022 election and equal to the 2019 poll. There is a similarly high informal vote of 10.2 per cent in Parkes, which neighbours the Riverina, and 8.4 per cent in Farrer. Mr McCormack said the figures were "shameful" and suggested voters who wasted their ballot should not complain if things did not go their way. "There are 103,000 names on the Roll of Honour at the war memorial so that people could get a free and fair vote," the Riverina MP said. " Anybody who wastes their vote, you know, needs to take a good, long, hard look at themselves. " Michael McCormack says informal voters should hold their tongues if they don't like the outcome. ( ABC News ) Mr McCormack called for the federal system to be made similar to local and state polls, in which voters only need to indicate their preferred candidate. "You can turn up to a state election and just put a one and your vote counts … then you have to number every box in the federal election," he said. "I think that's madness." Confused voters Charles Sturt University political scientist Dominic O'Sullivan said the high rate of informal voting was worrying. The Riverina electorate had 13 lower house candidates – the equal-highest nationally – and he said such a "large number" was known to confuse voters. "We all know who we don't like, but we don't necessarily give a lot of thought to who we like the least of the ones that we really don't want anywhere near the parliament," Professor O'Sullivan told " Sometimes voters find that confusing and that can lead to spoiled ballot papers. " Professor O'Sullivan says more candidates tend to lead to more informal votes. ( Supplied: Charles Sturt University ) Professor O'Sullivan said protest voting was also an issue but suggested some may be casting an invalid vote because they did not understand the system. An Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) spokesperson said the informal vote statistics were "only accurate at this point in time". "The fresh scrutiny process that begins [on Wednesday] is a mandatory second count of all ballot papers that will identify some that were set aside as informal in the first count but actually met the formality rules and will be admitted to the count," they said. "Research shows that the more candidates there are in a contest, the higher the informality rate tends to be."
CNA
06-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
CNA938 Rewind - Things to know about the Australian election result
CNA938 Rewind - Things to know about the Australian election result Polls predicted a tight race in Australia's election, but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has won a second term in a landslide. His rival Peter Dutton has suffered a humiliating defeat, losing even the seat he held for 24 years. Andrea Heng and Hairianto Diman break down the result – and what it means for the country, with Dominic O'Sullivan, Professor, Political Science, Charles Sturt University. 15 mins CNA938 Rewind - All eyes on the make-up of Singapore's 15th Parliament As the general election dust settles, all eyes will now be on the make-up of the new 15th Parliament. With some previous political office holders not contesting in the recent general election, there are positions left vacant. So, who among the current slate of MPs will step up to fill the gaps and will we see a reshuffle of the cabinet ministers? Andrea Heng and Hairianto Diman speak with Nicholas Fang, Senior Advisor of The Asia Group & Managing Director at Black Dot Research, to find out. 14 mins CNA938 Rewind - Warren Buffett retires – How Abel is his successor? In a shocking announcement, Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett expresses his intention to retire at the end of year. He will pass the baton to Greg Abel, who's been his designated successor for years. Andrea Heng and Hairianto Diman speak with Thomas Hayes, Chairman and Managing Member at Great Hill Capital, to find out more about his successor and how he's going to fill the big shoes. 11 mins
CNA
06-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
CNA938 Rewind - Warren Buffett retires – How Abel is his successor?
CNA938 Rewind - Things to know about the Australian election result Polls predicted a tight race in Australia's election, but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has won a second term in a landslide. His rival Peter Dutton has suffered a humiliating defeat, losing even the seat he held for 24 years. Andrea Heng and Hairianto Diman break down the result – and what it means for the country, with Dominic O'Sullivan, Professor, Political Science, Charles Sturt University. 15 mins CNA938 Rewind - All eyes on the make-up of Singapore's 15th Parliament As the general election dust settles, all eyes will now be on the make-up of the new 15th Parliament. With some previous political office holders not contesting in the recent general election, there are positions left vacant. So, who among the current slate of MPs will step up to fill the gaps and will we see a reshuffle of the cabinet ministers? Andrea Heng and Hairianto Diman speak with Nicholas Fang, Senior Advisor of The Asia Group & Managing Director at Black Dot Research, to find out. 14 mins CNA938 Rewind - Warren Buffett retires – How Abel is his successor? In a shocking announcement, Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett expresses his intention to retire at the end of year. He will pass the baton to Greg Abel, who's been his designated successor for years. Andrea Heng and Hairianto Diman speak with Thomas Hayes, Chairman and Managing Member at Great Hill Capital, to find out more about his successor and how he's going to fill the big shoes. 11 mins
