1.1
While this report is published in the 46th Parliament, the views represented are those which were endorsed by members of the Committee in the previous Parliament. Members of the Committee in the current Parliament do not necessarily share the views, however feel very strongly that the work of the previous committee, and the commitment demonstrated by the stakeholders and participants in the inquiry of the last Parliament, deserve to be acknowledged.
1.2
The Committee in the current Parliament therefore makes a single recommendation, following a brief review of the work of the Committee during the inquiry. All the records of the inquiry, including submissions received and transcripts of public hearings, remain on the webpage from the Committee during the 45th Parliament.
Conduct of the previous inquiry
1.3
The inquiry commenced towards the end of the 45th Parliament. It was the fourth substantial inquiry conducted by the Committee during that Parliament, and a final report was not presented before the prorogation of the Parliament prior to the May 2019 general election.
1.4
The Committee received 90 submissions and public hearings were held in six locations, in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Lists of submissions received, and locations for hearings, are included in Appendices A and B to this report. The Committee was particularly interested in hearing from witnesses with teaching experience, and thanks those who took the time to contribute to the inquiry. Key matters arising from the public hearings were canvassed and subsequently published in April 2019 as a summary of issues, which is included as Appendix C to this report.
Summary of issues arising
1.5
In the April 2019 document, the Committee identified key themes on which evidence had been collected through the inquiry process. Many of these were initially raised in written submissions, and further investigated during public hearings. The Committee had a strong preference to gather information in ‘round table’ discussions, where input could be thematic and inclusive. Witnesses were able to join a dynamic group discussion, and themes and issues could be explored by several individuals or representatives of organisations concurrently rather than consecutively. To that end, the views and observations of the Committee in its final document are reflective of broad stakeholder interests and their commonly-expressed opinions and experiences.
1.6
Because the Committee did not conclude its report, specific recommendations were not made to Government. In acknowledgement of the work of all who participated in the inquiry, the Committee is keen to receive a response from Government to the views raised during its inquiry.
1.7
One of the key themes that arose was the workload of teachers and support staff, and the Committee then and now appreciates the significant additional time and effort involved in participating in an inquiry. Rather than re-visit all the information generated through its previous inquiry, the Committee agreed that a government response be sought to the discussion paper as a whole document. In this way, stakeholders will be able to know more about how their views and concerns might be dealt with at a policy level.
1.8
Key points outlined in the discussion paper include broad acknowledgement of evidence of a deficit model, and that while the status of teaching remains high in communities, the social status of teaching has suffered greatly. There was a widespread acceptance of the need to afford higher levels of recognition and respect to the profession. Observations were grouped under the following headings:
Teaching, Education and Student Data
Professional Development and Leadership
Rural and Regional Teachers
Collaboration and Professional Learning Communities
1.9
The Committee recommends that the Australian Government consider the summary document published by the Committee in April 2019 (Appendix C of this report), so that the Committee can advise inquiry stakeholders as to how their views are being incorporated into policy approaches and solutions.
Mr Andrew Laming MP
Chair
23 October 2019