Today, the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office released its report entitled “Professional Learning for School Teachers” that looked into the effectiveness of ongoing training for teachers as a way to support better student outcomes.
The report finds that after four years under an Andrews Labor Government the Department of Education and Training has a complete lack of oversight in the way teachers develop and maintain their skills.
The report also finds that the government has no thorough understanding of how $107 million has been run-up by schools in sending their staff to conferences and seminars.
This means teachers might be undertaking professional training that has no proven benefit to important student outcomes such as literacy and numeracy.
Comments attributable to Shadow Minister for Education, Cindy McLeish:
“Our teachers do a great job working with our children, often in difficult circumstances, but to continue that work, they need to be supported with high quality and ongoing professional learning.
The Auditor-General’s report has confirmed that James Merlino has failed to maintain oversight in this space and he cannot guarantee that ongoing teacher training is positively impacting student outcomes.
The Andrews Labor Government boasts that Victoria is the Education State, yet something as basic as professional development for Victoria’s teachers is in urgent need of overhaul.”