Teaching In Australia

Old May 30th 2012, 8:18 am
  #1  
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Default Teaching In Australia

Hello, I am currently still in 6th form in the UK and will hopefully be going to university to study History. I then plan to do a PGCE in secondary education. I have been to Australia twice and love it and am most certainly considering emigrating.

I have a few questions which I hope you can help answer:

After finishing the PGCE how many years teaching experiance do you need to apply for a visa?

Is teaching in Australia good in comparison to the UK?

Is getting a teaching post in Australia hard? I know a few years ago there was a shortage not sure if this is the case anymore?

Any other tips or information would be fantastic!

Thanks
Elliot
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Old Jun 5th 2012, 5:40 pm
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Default Re: Teaching In Australia

Under the current system you need 12/24 months recent work experience, so you need to get that first. At some stage get your skills assessed by AITSL. (keep all your degree/PGCE docs). Of course, all this will probably change in the coming years- get your experience, and then look again. All the best!
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Old Jun 7th 2012, 2:15 pm
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Default Re: Teaching In Australia

Teaching jobs in Australia are easy to come by IF :
1. you are in key teaching areas where there are shortages
2. you have some experience under your belt and can show you are a good teacher
3. you are willing to go outside the main cities.

So -

1. if for example you are a high school Science or Maths teacher (like me) you are almost guaranteed a job in just about any location you want! If you are an English or PE teacher you are likely to be waiting for a permanent position in the main cities for years as there are LOTS of Aussie trained English and PE teachers that don't get contract or permanent jobs until they are in their 5-7th year of teaching. Primary teaching - again there is usually a wait in the major centres.

2. Many schools will 'give you a go' as a relief teacher first - get you in and see what you are like - if you are OK then you will 'move up the list'.... get more regular supply work, then short term contracts (2-6 wks), followed by 10wk or 6mth positions and then eventually a permanent position. If you already have good references and apply for a position then you would have a better chance of getting the position outright.

3. If you are prepared to "go bush", that is, go to a small country school that is not in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or any of the main areas - little places (population of several 1000 in a rural area spread over many thousands of square km's) which are going to be at least a 6 hour drive from a major centre then again you will pick up a position fairly easily.

Money wise - I don't know what you are paid in UK - but in Aust starting salaries are around A$50-60 with the top of scale being $80-85K (before tax) if you are a basic teacher (not in a promotion position). Tax rate in Aust for this type of salary is 35-40%. If you are "out bush" there are often additional payments to help with rent/travel/increased expenses. If you are in a major city the rents are quite significant - but still is OK if you are single and find others to flat with.

There is also a process of registration/report submission/training/PD that you would need to go through - but you may get some RPL for anything similar that is done in England and exact details are dependant upon the state you are teaching in. This process is compulsory however, so you won't escape it and will not be allowed to teach until it is completed/started.

My advice : get your qualification - preferably in an area where you are 'indispensable', get some experience and do some googling about registration requirements in a variety of states so you know what you need.

Good luck!
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Old Jun 7th 2012, 3:13 pm
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Default Re: Teaching In Australia

Thanks a lot, much appreciated. I am planning to study History at university, not sure if that is in demand in Australia?

What is the quality of schooling like in Australia, compared to the UK?
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Old Jun 7th 2012, 5:58 pm
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Default Re: Teaching In Australia

History not in much demand - but there are positions - is often better to link 2 subjects together - i.e. History/English.

Standard is very closely linked to UK - our benchmarks are very close to yours - new Australian curriculum has used UK curriculum as a comparison standard - but my understanding of your senior subjects is that they are a little more rigorous than ours - at least in Chemistry and Biology! Mind you we go to Year 12, there is no 'Year 13' - so some of that stuff is covered in 1st year University courses. The NSW curriculum is generally regarded as the most rigorous in Australia - you can find the curriculum documents at : http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/
QLD and VIC aren't too bad - you can find links for them on the BOS site somewhere I'm sure.

There are good schools and bad, good students and bad - you might teach in a very challenging school with a high proportion of disadvantaged students or it might be middle-class or selective with very gifted students or a small country school where your 12 students might be in 3 different grades....... depends on the school.

The other main difference in History there is some ancient history (Egypt, Babylon, Rome etc) whilst the Modern History traditionally has a very strong focus on Australia - Federation, Shearers Strikes, WWI & II involvement and battles, Aboriginal Land Rights, Women, Vietnam conflict, Cold War etc each topic that involves the world is based around Australia's involvement etc...Senior courses are split into Ancient or Modern.

They are about to start writing the Australian Curriculum - but each state will take this fairly broad curriculum and write their own documents that will match it - there will end up being some differences - at least this is what has happened with the Science, English & Maths areas over the last few years.
You can check it out here : http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/c...zenship_1.html

Cheers
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Old Jun 12th 2012, 2:39 pm
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Default Re: Teaching In Australia

It is likely that there will be a fair number of teaching vacancies across the board in the next few years due to a large number of baby boomer teacher retirements (at least in Sydney, where most of the teachers look ancient).

Teaching in Sydney public (govt) schools is not for the fainthearted. Don't expect anyone to listen to you if you do casual teaching.
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Old Jun 13th 2012, 7:27 pm
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Default Re: Teaching In Australia

Thanks a lot for all the information. I'm not sure if on the PGCE in the UK you can do two subjects. The reason being is I want to do History but speak fluent Spanish so that would also be a possibility, however I wouldn't do a uni degree in it as I already speak it!

If I could do that would that increase chances of employment in Australia?

I like the idea of teaching about the country you are in, here in the UK it is all about America and Nazi Germany! Not much mention of Britain which is a shame for all students.

Also I've done a year of helping out in classes in the UK and plan to do so at university which would be 3 years, not sure if that would help?


Thanks for all the advice
Elliot
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Old Jun 14th 2012, 7:23 am
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Default Re: Teaching In Australia

There are two aspects to teaching here in NSW. (1) You must first be accredited by the Institute of Teachers (NSWIT). (2) Then you need to find a job.

For foreign-educated people, point (1) is not trivial because the subject degree has to have a certain structure that is common in Aus but not in the UK. I took the route of obtaining a teaching diploma in NSW, which means that NSWIT doesn't scrutinize my UK degree so much.

If you got a UK degree + PGCE + experience, you might still fail to satisfy some bureaucratic requirement. It is very difficult to give definitive information about this.

Where experience would count is in the search for a permanent job, after accreditation.
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Old Jun 14th 2012, 8:04 am
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Default Re: Teaching In Australia

Spanish is a subject - but it is not often taught. Usually it is native speakers who attend weekend school or do it via correspondence classes. Most often the languages taught in school are German /French or Asian languages like Japanese/Chinese/Indonesian.

Australian schools will try to employ you within the area you are qualified - BUT - if they find you have another skill that would lend itself to another subject area then they would put you there - so even if you only do History - they would expect that you would also be able to teach junior level geography or english, so if you speak Spanish and they have a class, then they would put you on it! I am Science trained only - but have taught Maths since my first year out. In addition, as I play several musical instruments I have also taught first year high school music.

bra_boy is correct in as much as you will have to deal with the red tape of registration wherever you go - but I would urge you to NOT go to NSW in the first place - I would encourage you to go to Victoria or Queensland (or any other place except ACT). NSW registration is NOT recognised by any other registration body in the country, yet they recognise the others - so as a registered teacher in QLD/VIC you would get a 'tick and flick' registration in EVERY other state in Australia. If you do NSW Institute accreditation, you will still have to go through the full accreditation process in any of these other states.

This is the link to the registration for overseas qualified teachers in Victoria :

http://www.vit.vic.edu.au/registrati...rseasQual.aspx

You would need DOCUMENTATION for this - so I suggest that you read it and make a note of what to collect as you go along - for instance - each of your courses would probably give you a statement of course outcomes - keep a copy to include so that they can see exactly what was covered. If you do any professional development courses i.e. on collaborative learning etc or have the opportunity to attend extra courses/conferences then keep a record - or get a piece of paper that said you attended/what was covered. Keep a record of your teaching experience - formally - in a letter from the school saying what you have taught when how long etc...... camps attended, activities organised involved in.......this will all help with the registration process.......

yes, you may still have gaps, there is no guarantee - and they will let you know what they are..... but if you have a few years of teaching experience or volunteer experience as you have mentioned and have collected this paperwork as you go and have the documentation to back it up then there is unlikely to be a problem....... you may even supply enough to get provisional registration which allows you to teach, and the school will then help you follow the processes required for full registration.
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Old Jun 27th 2012, 7:21 pm
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Default Re: Teaching In Australia

Thanks for that, much appreciated.

Does anyone know whether the secondary school teacher will remain on the SOL? Is it something that is in high demand and won't be taken off the list,
especially History teachers?

I'm off on holiday to Melbourne in 2 weeks so will be able to have a look and possibly find some places to get information from!
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Old Jun 30th 2012, 8:20 am
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Default Re: Teaching In Australia

Originally Posted by Elliot-Ross
Thanks for that, much appreciated.

Does anyone know whether the secondary school teacher will remain on the SOL? Is it something that is in high demand and won't be taken off the list,
especially History teachers?

I'm off on holiday to Melbourne in 2 weeks so will be able to have a look and possibly find some places to get information from!
Nobody would know mate, Australian immigration changes all the time, and sometimes the changes are completely unexpected!
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Old Jun 30th 2012, 9:47 am
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Default Re: Teaching In Australia

Originally Posted by Jen1977ni
Nobody would know mate, Australian immigration changes all the time, and sometimes the changes are completely unexpected!
Ok thanks

How many years experiance do they like you to have for immigration and for getting a teaching post in Australia?
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Old Jun 30th 2012, 9:57 am
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Default Re: Teaching In Australia

Originally Posted by Elliot-Ross
Ok thanks

How many years experiance do they like you to have for immigration and for getting a teaching post in Australia?
I came here with ten years experience. I think you have to have at least a year, but I'm not really sure what the requirements are these days... Also, I'd say the likes of Maths and Science would be more in demand than History, but as I said previously, nobody knows what the future holds for skills in demand in years to come!
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Old Jun 30th 2012, 10:17 am
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Default Re: Teaching In Australia

Thanks
Will have to see what happens in the future then and hope that history teachers or spanish teachers are needed!

Is there anything I could find out in Australia about teaching when I go to Melbourne in a week or two? Not sure if there is any place which may have some information?
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Old Jun 30th 2012, 10:47 am
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Default Re: Teaching In Australia

Originally Posted by Elliot-Ross
Thanks
Will have to see what happens in the future then and hope that history teachers or spanish teachers are needed!

Is there anything I could find out in Australia about teaching when I go to Melbourne in a week or two? Not sure if there is any place which may have some information?
The History you'd be learning would be BRITISH history, which would have some relevance to here, but not much. And Spanish? I don't think Spanish would really be taught here, Japanese/Chinese maybe....but not Spanish! lol

I think you should work on finishing school, then getting your degree and some experience, then come here on a WHV and do a recce then, when it'll be more relevant...
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