Latest news with #educationCrisis
News.com.au
07-07-2025
- News.com.au
Southern Cross University faces shock claims of a crisis in one of their early childhood courses
Southern Cross University is facing claims that its 10-month graduate diploma in early childhood education is in crisis. Staff at the university told the ABC's 7.30 program the course, which could bring in $150m in fees for the SCU with the course cost set at $25,000 per student, was 'very low quality'. The institution was reportedly pushing the course 'hard' with an estimated 6000 students enrolled in the past two years, journalist Adele Ferguson reported. 'We've gone from having classes with 200 students in a unit, which was considered a lot, to over 2000 students,' a whistleblower said. The program alleged that the graduate diploma had received massive enrolments from international students, with the course heavily marketed through immigration agents as a pathway to residency. Immigration agent Mark Glazbrook told 7.30 the situation should 'concern every Australian'. 'We have people coming into Australia on student visas that are studying courses just to use that pathway to get permanent residency in Australia and they're looking after our children, and in some cases, they're not attending their classes.' In one claim, the program aired emails showing the university had asked staff to join 'phone sprints' to help find placements for students after the level of enrolment left it struggling to meet demand. 'One email described the situation as a significant crisis, threatening the viability of the faculty, with 400 placements needed by May, and another 2381 by July,' Ferguson reported. The staff who found the most placements for students reportedly received a gift card. The program went on to allege that SCU was placing students in childcare centres that were not meeting minimum national safety standards. The program said regulatory documents had exposed widespread gaps in basic care, including educators not understanding child protection policies, mandatory reporting duties, or even safe sleep and hygiene practices. Abigail Boyd, NSW Greens MLC said the situation struck her as absurd. 'How on earth is it giving those students any kind of good education,' Ms Boyd said. Southern Cross University has been contacted for comment. SCU declined 7.30's interview request and did not respond to detailed questions about enrolment numbers, staff turnover, student distress, or course quality and placement issues. In a statement it said the graduate diploma was a 'rigorous, high-quality program' attracting strong interest, and was fully accredited by the national higher education regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), and the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA).
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Teacher shortages persisted this school year. What's being done to fill the gap for the next?
For several months this year, Katherine Korakakis' kids had substitute instructors that were "not qualified to teach the subject," said the Montreal parent, whose province started this school year thousands of teachers short. "It wasn't a math teacher who was teaching math. It wasn't a French teacher who was teaching French." She was already worried about learning loss after the pandemic, and scrambled to get her teens extra tutoring, a luxury she knows not everyone can afford. "Having a child score in the high 90s … one year in math and then having a non-qualified teacher coming in the second year and the child scoring a 50 — there's something wrong here," she said. Teacher shortages have become an issue in nearly every province and territory. Kids facing one substitute teacher after another. French taught by a non-speaker. Relying on uncertified adults to supervise classrooms. While some governments suggest an aging workforce and growing populations are behind the shortages, teachers themselves point to working conditions. So what's being done to improve the situation for next year? 'Just getting through the day' In Surrey, B.C., Anne Whitmore noted that in her children' 17-class elementary school, four teachers were on leave as the school year concluded. Whenever a classroom teacher was away, her kids said, they sometimes got a substitute for part of the day, but also likely saw another class's teacher, the librarian, the music instructor and the principal fill in. "How do you learn in an environment where you have no continuity?" Whitmore asked. "They're trying to scramble and have some kind of educational content, but really they're just getting through the day." Constantly backfilling others leaves fellow teachers, support staffers, guidance counsellors and administrators delaying their own responsibilities to students, "who now don't have access to those adults when they need them," said Brampton, Ont., high school science teacher Jason Bradshaw. Alison Osborne, who served as president of the Ontario Principals' Council this year, describes the situation as the worst she's seen in her 17 years as a principal, with administrators "constantly monitoring our phones just to see what the situation we're going to be walking into the next day," she said. What's influencing shortages? The overall number of educators in K-12 public schools rose slightly — around three per cent — from 401,286 in 2018-2019 to 413,667 in 2022-2023, according to Statistics Canada, but depending on the region, the figures have wavered during that period. CBC News asked each provincial and territorial ministry of education about teacher shortages, with B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec and New Brunswick responding. Some cited retirement of an aging workforce and rapid population growth as key factors influencing current shortages. Limited housing and a higher cost of living have perennially kept more teachers from certain regions, including remote and rural areas, said Clint Johnston, president designate of the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF), the national group representing the unions of more than 365,000 K-12 teachers and education workers. Yet Johnston says today's working conditions are what's behind current shortages, as teachers bail on the traditional 30-to-35-year teaching careers. "There's a lot of certified individuals in most of our provinces and territories, but … they're not sticking with it," Johnston said from Vancouver. "There's not enough support workers. There's not enough teachers … everyone's workload has gone up and become untenable." An online CTF survey last fall drew nearly 5,000 responses from Canadian teachers, education workers and principals. While not statistically representative of the 365,000 educators represented by its members unions, those who chose to respond paint a difficult picture. Nearly 80 per cent of respondents reported struggling to cope, 55 per cent had experienced violence or aggression over the year prior and 77 per cent called students' needs "significantly more complex" than five years earlier. The constant pivoting educators were forced into during COVID-19 also took a toll, says science teacher Bradshaw. Given that a key pandemic lesson was to take better care of ourselves, "that can mean stepping away from stressful work … where you feel you're being overextended." Job 'isn't worth the conditions that we're facing' Some areas are struggling to attract young people to the field, with even brand new teachers experiencing burnout. Having found engineering work isolating after obtaining a bachelor's in biology, Jadine Kirst chose to become a teacher instead since she loved working with kids, felt inspired by lifelong educators she knew and saw the need for more teachers. Her enthusiasm quickly evaporated, however, after just one year teaching Grade 8 in a francophone school in New Brunswick. "We had students figuring out loopholes so that they could look at pornography on their in-class iPads. We had a few students who threatened my life — one of [whom] needed to have their locker searched for weapons," she said. Once, asking a student to stop talking mid-lesson sparked a barrage of insults and profanity, with Krist feeling "futile" as she tried to calm his screaming. "I couldn't call the principal; the principal was probably too busy dealing with other students," she said, recalling feeling alone, without any recourse and worn down. She still works in education, but no longer in the classroom. "People who aren't aware of the reality today still look at teaching as an excellent job with two months off and a great pension, but it isn't worth the conditions that we're facing." What's being done about shortages Several ministries of education that responded to CBC News' queries noted ongoing efforts to address the problem, including: Funding programs for rural and remote teacher candidates to train in their home communities (B.C. and Alberta). Ontario and New Brunswick are allowing teachers' colleges to accept more students, while several regions have also floated the idea of accelerating or condensing teacher training, including in Ontario (which had initially doubled the length of study a decade ago to stem a vast supply of new teachers outstripping jobs available for them). Streamlining educator training is of course possible, says Brock University professor David Hutchison, yet he thinks it would likely cut into the invaluable time aspiring teachers spend inside real schools. He also predicts a negative impact to the parts of teacher training that were added more recently, for instance about student mental health, use of technology and artificial intelligence, or teaching students whose first language isn't English or French. "These are the new realities of being a student in Ontario and other provinces as well and we have an obligation to prepare [new teachers]," he said. While Ontario principal Osborne welcomes any effort to entice people to education, she worries whether they'd stick around without real change to classroom conditions. "When we talk about recruiting new teachers, new education workers, I'm not sure it's always an appealing environment to work in," she said. Science teacher Bradshaw wants to see deeper, ongoing investment versus short-term fixes. "If [governments] want to show teachers that they are valued and respected and give people a reason to come into … and stay in this profession, we have to know that they're going to invest in us long term," he said, including pay that keeps up with inflation (versus sign-on bonuses) and increased mobility, since where a teacher starts may not be where they want to stay. What do aspiring teachers think? "Knowing that teachers are needed everywhere is awesome," said teacher-candidate Serzna Issadien, who's nearing the end of a Brock University program mixing an undergraduate degree with a bachelor's of education. Still, she's uneasy about initiatives that may "just flood the market with more teachers" without adequate training, given the chaotic reality she's already seen, having filled in as an emergency substitute in the St. Catharines, Ont., region. Bridgette Walpole, another teacher-candidate close to completing her Brock training, is eager to dive into her dream profession despite a belief that most don't really understand the job nor the mix of classroom challenges today. "From a student's perspective, you see [teachers] handing out assessments. You see them standing at the front of the class delivering content," she said. "You don't see them creating the actual materials for each and every student that learns in a bunch of different ways. You don't understand the many different hats that they wear…. You're really everyone all at once."
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Teacher shortages persisted this school year. What's being done to fill the gap for the next?
For several months this year, Katherine Korakakis' kids had substitute instructors that were "not qualified to teach the subject," said the Montreal parent, whose province started this school year thousands of teachers short. "It wasn't a math teacher who was teaching math. It wasn't a French teacher who was teaching French." She was already worried about learning loss after the pandemic, and scrambled to get her teens extra tutoring, a luxury she knows not everyone can afford. "Having a child score in the high 90s … one year in math and then having a non-qualified teacher coming in the second year and the child scoring a 50 — there's something wrong here," she said. Teacher shortages have become an issue in nearly every province and territory. Kids facing one substitute teacher after another. French taught by a non-speaker. Relying on uncertified adults to supervise classrooms. While some governments suggest an aging workforce and growing populations are behind the shortages, teachers themselves point to working conditions. So what's being done to improve the situation for next year? 'Just getting through the day' In Surrey, B.C., Anne Whitmore noted that in her children' 17-class elementary school, four teachers were on leave as the school year concluded. Whenever a classroom teacher was away, her kids said, they sometimes got a substitute for part of the day, but also likely saw another class's teacher, the librarian, the music instructor and the principal fill in. "How do you learn in an environment where you have no continuity?" Whitmore asked. "They're trying to scramble and have some kind of educational content, but really they're just getting through the day." Constantly backfilling others leaves fellow teachers, support staffers, guidance counsellors and administrators delaying their own responsibilities to students, "who now don't have access to those adults when they need them," said Brampton, Ont., high school science teacher Jason Bradshaw. Alison Osborne, who served as president of the Ontario Principals' Council this year, describes the situation as the worst she's seen in her 17 years as a principal, with administrators "constantly monitoring our phones just to see what the situation we're going to be walking into the next day," she said. What's influencing shortages? The overall number of educators in K-12 public schools rose slightly — around three per cent — from 401,286 in 2018-2019 to 413,667 in 2022-2023, according to Statistics Canada, but depending on the region, the figures have wavered during that period. CBC News asked each provincial and territorial ministry of education about teacher shortages, with B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec and New Brunswick responding. Some cited retirement of an aging workforce and rapid population growth as key factors influencing current shortages. WATCH | How teacher shortages came to 'a crisis point': Limited housing and a higher cost of living have perennially kept more teachers from certain regions, including remote and rural areas, said Clint Johnston, president designate of the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF), the national group representing the unions of more than 365,000 K-12 teachers and education workers. Yet Johnston says today's working conditions are what's behind current shortages, as teachers bail on the traditional 30-to-35-year teaching careers. "There's a lot of certified individuals in most of our provinces and territories, but … they're not sticking with it," Johnston said from Vancouver. "There's not enough support workers. There's not enough teachers … everyone's workload has gone up and become untenable." An online CTF survey last fall drew nearly 5,000 responses from Canadian teachers, education workers and principals. While not statistically representative of the 365,000 educators represented by its members unions, those who chose to respond paint a difficult picture. Nearly 80 per cent of respondents reported struggling to cope, 55 per cent had experienced violence or aggression over the year prior and 77 per cent called students' needs "significantly more complex" than five years earlier. The constant pivoting educators were forced into during COVID-19 also took a toll, says science teacher Bradshaw. Given that a key pandemic lesson was to take better care of ourselves, "that can mean stepping away from stressful work … where you feel you're being overextended." Job 'isn't worth the conditions that we're facing' Some areas are struggling to attract young people to the field, with even brand new teachers experiencing burnout. Having found engineering work isolating after obtaining a bachelor's in biology, Jadine Kirst chose to become a teacher instead since she loved working with kids, felt inspired by lifelong educators she knew and saw the need for more teachers. Her enthusiasm quickly evaporated, however, after just one year teaching Grade 8 in a francophone school in New Brunswick. "We had students figuring out loopholes so that they could look at pornography on their in-class iPads. We had a few students who threatened my life — one of [whom] needed to have their locker searched for weapons," she said. Once, asking a student to stop talking mid-lesson sparked a barrage of insults and profanity, with Krist feeling "futile" as she tried to calm his screaming. "I couldn't call the principal; the principal was probably too busy dealing with other students," she said, recalling feeling alone, without any recourse and worn down. She still works in education, but no longer in the classroom. "People who aren't aware of the reality today still look at teaching as an excellent job with two months off and a great pension, but it isn't worth the conditions that we're facing." WATCH | Teachers' federation leader on past classroom challenges on his mind 'to this day': What's being done about shortages Several ministries of education that responded to CBC News' queries noted ongoing efforts to address the problem, including: Funding programs for rural and remote teacher candidates to train in their home communities (B.C. and Alberta). Ontario and New Brunswick are allowing teachers' colleges to accept more students, while several regions have also floated the idea of accelerating or condensing teacher training, including in Ontario (which had initially doubled the length of study a decade ago to stem a vast supply of new teachers outstripping jobs available for them). Streamlining educator training is of course possible, says Brock University professor David Hutchison, yet he thinks it would likely cut into the invaluable time aspiring teachers spend inside real schools. He also predicts a negative impact to the parts of teacher training that were added more recently, for instance about student mental health, use of technology and artificial intelligence, or teaching students whose first language isn't English or French. "These are the new realities of being a student in Ontario and other provinces as well and we have an obligation to prepare [new teachers]," he said. While Ontario principal Osborne welcomes any effort to entice people to education, she worries whether they'd stick around without real change to classroom conditions. "When we talk about recruiting new teachers, new education workers, I'm not sure it's always an appealing environment to work in," she said. Science teacher Bradshaw wants to see deeper, ongoing investment versus short-term fixes. "If [governments] want to show teachers that they are valued and respected and give people a reason to come into … and stay in this profession, we have to know that they're going to invest in us long term," he said, including pay that keeps up with inflation (versus sign-on bonuses) and increased mobility, since where a teacher starts may not be where they want to stay. What do aspiring teachers think? "Knowing that teachers are needed everywhere is awesome," said teacher-candidate Serzna Issadien, who's nearing the end of a Brock University program mixing an undergraduate degree with a bachelor's of education. Still, she's uneasy about initiatives that may "just flood the market with more teachers" without adequate training, given the chaotic reality she's already seen, having filled in as an emergency substitute in the St. Catharines, Ont., region. Bridgette Walpole, another teacher-candidate close to completing her Brock training, is eager to dive into her dream profession despite a belief that most don't really understand the job nor the mix of classroom challenges today. "From a student's perspective, you see [teachers] handing out assessments. You see them standing at the front of the class delivering content," she said. "You don't see them creating the actual materials for each and every student that learns in a bunch of different ways. You don't understand the many different hats that they wear…. You're really everyone all at once."
Daily Mail
18-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
UK universities including Oxbridge fall down world rankings - as academics nationwide reveal fears teaching controversial topics will get them cancelled
Oxford, Cambridge and more than 50 other UK universities have tumbled down the global rankings amid funding and free speech crises. The respected Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings demoted the majority of our institutions, saying they are not improving as fast as those in other countries. It comes as a poll found a fifth of academics around the country said they did not feel 'free' to discuss controversial topics such as gender. Of the 90 UK universities ranked in the survey, published today, 54 institutions — 61 per cent – slipped down, while only 24 improved and 11 stayed the same. Oxford slipped from third place to fourth in the world, while Cambridge slipped from fifth to sixth. World-renowned science university Imperial College London retained its second place, while US university Massachusetts Institute of Technology was first. It comes as many UK universities grapple with financial problems due to a drop in lucrative international students following visa rule changes. In addition, many are having to dedicate time and resources to dealing with free speech controversies and student protests. The rankings are based on a range of metrics including research, employment outcomes and academic reputation. Jessica Turner, chief executive of QS, said that while some UK universities had improved their scores, 'the picture for the wider country as a whole is more worrying'. She said: 'The UK has until now been one of the countries to dominate QS World University Rankings, but institutions in the country are facing heightened competition internationally. 'Universities across the country will need more support to ensure their stability going ahead. 'Global competitors are seeing their governments increase investment in higher education and research, leading to international peers gaining and, in many cases, overtaking UK universities.' A total of 17 of the UK universities included feature among the top 100. However, the QS researchers said that 'universities worldwide are improving at a faster pace than their UK counterparts'. Others slipping down included Edinburgh, Manchester, the London School of Economics, Warwick, Glasgow, Leeds, Southampton and Durham. Seven of Ireland's eight ranked universities improved this year, as did nine out of 13 universities in the Netherlands, and six of Hong Kong's seven. The QS rankings evaluates more than 1,500 institutions across 106 countries and territories. Its authors said UK universities face further problems due to Government plans to slash capital funding in higher education, introduce an international student levy and shorten the length of the graduate visa route to 18 months from two years. They said: 'This could accumulate in a negative impact on the quality and breadth of higher education courses and research undertaken across the country.' A recent report by the Office for Students showed 43 per cent of universities face a deficit in 2024/25. Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK, said: 'The UK's universities are world leading, and continue to punch above their weight in global league tables and research partnerships. 'But other governments around the world are making the decision to invest in their universities at a time when our government is being slow to do so. 'This decline isn't inevitable. 'Universities are already working extensively to transform their work in the face of funding pressures, and, with a commitment from government to a long-term and lasting funding settlement, this slight downturn can be reversed.' A spokesman for the Department for Education said: 'This government inherited a sector facing serious financial risk and has taken tough decisions to fix the foundations of higher education to deliver change for students and staff. 'Universities are independent from government, but we remain committed to boosting the sector's long-term financial sustainability, through our Plan for Change and restoring universities as engines of opportunity, aspiration and growth. 'The government has refocused the efforts of the Office for Students on monitoring financial sustainability, to help create a secure future for our world-leading sector.' Fifth of academics feel restricted on topics such as gender One in five academics do not feel 'free' to teach heated topics like gender as they fear being cancelled, a new poll shows. A survey by the Office for Students (OfS) found 21 per cent feel restricted in discussing challenging topics in lectures. Sex and gender was the most troublesome topic, with 63 per cent saying they were not free to discuss it, while more than 50 per cent said this of race, religion and immigration. One in 20 of those polled said they were afraid of physical attacks if they included controversial topics in their teaching. The weighted poll of 1,200 academics was released alongside new guidance telling universities to stop cancelling gender-critical events and avoid blanket bans on 'misgendering'. Arif Ahmed, director of freedom of speech at the OfS said: 'The results of this poll are deeply disturbing, and show that a sizeable minority of academics from across the political spectrum do not feel free to teach, research or discuss controversial topics. 'This cannot stand, and should concern vice-chancellors up and down the country.' The OfS guidance, released today, aims to help universities prepare to comply with the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill, which comes into effect in August. The bill, introduced in 2023 under the Tories, has been watered down by Labour so that universities cannot be sued by individuals. However, the guidance places heavy duties on universities, including taking action against foreign states accused of using their influence to enable censorship of debate – such a China. It says universities must 'amend or terminate' agreements with such countries. In addition, it says students and staff should not be 'punished' for expressing a lawful viewpoint, including one critical of the institution. And universities must no longer require applicants for academic jobs or promotions to show commitment to a viewpoint. It also says if a university cancels a professor's seminar about gender-critical views because of student protests, it is likely to be in breach of the law. And any blanket ban on 'misgendering' transgender people is likely to be in breach too. It comes after dozens of professors have spoken of how their universities turned against them due to their political views. Last year, Professor Jo Phoenix won a constructive dismissal claim against the Open University, which 'told her off' and 'discriminated' against her due to her gender-critical beliefs. This year, the University of Sussex was fined £585,000 for failing for uphold free speech for Professor Kathleen Stock, who was hounded out of her job by transgender activists.
The Independent
07-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
The local council trying to recruit a teacher for more than six years
A local council has been trying to recruit a teacher for a remote island primary school for more than six years, according to new figures. The Scottish Liberal Democrats said data they uncovered shows that local authorities have had to readvertise more than 1,350 teaching posts in the last two years. This includes a primary school teacher position on Papa Westray – one of the smallest islands in Orkney – which, at the time the request for information was made, had been vacant since the end of March 2019. Figures released by councils show 692 teaching positions had to be readvertised in 2022-23, with a further 665 posts needed to be advertised again in 2023-24. The Lib Dems said the data, uncovered using freedom of information laws, shows Moray Council has had to readvertise 252 teaching roles over the past two years, while Aberdeen has had to readvertise 206, Shetland 90, and Argyll and Bute 70. Highland Council has had to readvertise 62 teaching posts, according to the data, just ahead of Dumfries and Galloway where the total was 61. In addition, the party noted that Western Isles Council has advertised a PE teacher role nine times, while a post for a home economics teacher in Aberdeen was advertised six times – with East Ayrshire Council also adverting a teaching post six times. Lib Dem education spokesman Willie Rennie said action is needed to 'make teaching an attractive role if we are to tackle these shortfalls'. He said: 'Qualified teachers are enduring years of short-term, zero hours contracts yet some schools are advertising roles over and over again without success. 'This data suggests that there are acute shortages in rural areas and in key subjects like maths. 'Terrible workforce planning has resulted in missed opportunities for so many young people and so many teachers too. If we want every young person to reach their potential, they need teachers who can inform and inspire.' He said the Lib Dems would introduce three-year packages for probationer teachers 'who are willing to take on hard-to-fill roles', and would also bring in 'teacher premiums' in a bid to 'reward the best teachers in schools with the greatest need'. However he warned: 'No-one believes education is high up the SNP's agenda. That's why we need a change of government to get Scottish education back to its best.' A spokesperson for local government body Cosla accepted there are 'long standing recruitment and retention challenges in remote, rural and island areas, and in some secondary school subjects'. The spokesperson said: 'Local authorities work hard to fill vacancies to meet the needs of learners in all areas of Scotland, but there are challenges. 'For example, we know that newly qualified teachers tend to seek posts within the central belt of Scotland. 'Many of the areas which struggle to recruit teachers are beautiful and exciting areas of the country to work in, with unique opportunities for learning and development. 'Cosla and Scottish Government have committed to working together on medium and long-term joint workforce planning, taking into account the importance of responding to issues in a way which addresses differing local needs.' A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'The number of teachers in Scotland's classrooms has increased by more than 2,500 over the past decade as a result of direct funding from the Scottish Government, with the number in permanent posts remaining stable at more than 80% over this period. 'However, we are working hard to ensure that teaching remains an attractive profession, with Scotland's teachers continuing to be the best paid in the UK, and our teaching bursary scheme provides funding to career-changers wishing to undertake a teaching degree in the hardest to fill subjects. 'Ministers have been clear they are laser-focused on improving education and supporting Scotland's teachers. That is why we are providing councils with £186.5 million this year to increase teacher numbers, and why ministers continue to engage regularly with local government and teaching unions. 'The Education Secretary also met School Leaders Scotland this week and agreed to host a roundtable with them, the General Teaching Council for Scotland, Cosla and other professional associations to discuss challenges around teacher recruitment in more detail.'
