Find out more teachforaustralia.org/passiton TeachForAustralia
KIDS ARE THROUG EDUCATI
YOU D THEY SHO
TEACH AUSTR
E FALLING GH THE TION GAP.
DIDN’T. OULDN’T.
H FOR RALIA.
FINISH SCHOOL.
A DEGREE AS THOSE L IN THE CITY.5
x2 WHAT’S THE PROBLEM? 75% OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM DROPPED OUT OF SCHOOL BEFORE YEAR 10.6
KIDS FROM HIGH INCOME HOUSEH ARE TWICE AS LIKE TO GO TO UNI AS THOSE FROM LOW INC HOUSEHOLDS.7
3
YEARS KIDS FROM LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS ARE ALMOST THREE YEARS BEHIND IN SCHOOL THAN THOSE FROM HIGH INCOME HOUSEHOLDS.1
If a child is born in the “wrong” postcode, lives in a low-income household or has parents who didn’t finish high school, that child is less likely to have access to a quality education.
Ultimately, this impacts the child’s sense of self-worth and our families, our communities and our country all suffer the repercussions of this fundamental injustice.
A child’s opportunities in life, including quality of health, further education, job attainment and income, diminish because of this educational disadvantage.
Teach For Australia is a not-for-profit organisation committed to tackling this urgent problem.
1. Source: Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012: How Australia measures up, 2013: http://bit.ly/1zzmcUp.
Australia’s education system is one of the least equitable in the developed world.
55% OF AUSTRALIAN ADULTS HAVE LOW-LEVEL MATHS SKILLS.2
2 IN 5 AUSTRALIAN ADULTS HAVE LOW-LEVEL READING SKILLS.3
1 IN 2 ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER ADULTS DIDN’T FINISH SCHOOL.4
PEOPLE LIVING IN THE COUNTRY ARE ALMOST HALF AS LIKELY TO HAVE A DEGREE AS THOSE LIVING IN THE CITY.5
x2 75% OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM DROPPED OUT OF SCHOOL BEFORE YEAR 10.6
3
KIDS FROM HIGH INCOME HOUSEHOLDS ARE TWICE AS LIKELY TO GO TO UNI AS THOSE FROM LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS.7
2,3. Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, Australia, 2011-12: http://bit.ly/1ymXtBE. 4. Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey: Updated Results, 2012-13: http://bit.ly/1yie1qO. 5. Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Perspectives on Regional Australia: Non-School Qualifications in Regions, 2011 (comparing Bachelor degree attainment and above of people living in major cities and people living in regional and remote areas, based on Statistical Area Level 4 2011 boundaries): http://bit.ly/1M3VCIq. 6. Source: Australian Institute of Criminology (Prichard and Payne), ‘Alcohol, drugs and crime: A study of juveniles in detention’, 2005 (based on a findings of a survey of 467 young people in juvenile detention centres across Australia): http://bit.ly/1Kys03W. 7. Source: Productivity Commission, Deep and Persistent Disadvantage in Australia, 2013: http://bit.ly/1AQLkYJ.
“THERE’S NO OTHER GRADUATE PROGRAM THAT FORCES YOU TO CONFRONT AND ACTIVELY WORK ON YOUR OWN STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES IN SUCH AN INTENSE AND INTENTIONAL WAY.” Ramya Madhavan
Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical and Electronic) | Bachelor of Arts Cohort 2010 Associate
WHAT CAN YOU DO? “ONCE YOU BECOME AN ASSOCIATE, YOU’LL ALWAYS BE PART OF THE TEACH FOR AUSTRALIA FAMILY. WE’RE ALL WORKING FOR THE SAME PURPOSE.” Shane Woon Bachelor of Science | Bachelor of Fine Arts Cohort 2012 Associate
Educational inequity is one of the most persistent and corrosive social problems that our country faces. It’s unfair and unacceptable but you can help us tackle it. You can join us and help create an Australia where all children, regardless of background, attain an excellent education. Teach ForSCHOOL AustraliaPARTNERS Associates don’t start OF OUR out as teachers. We both graduates ARE IN REGIONAL, attract REMOTE and OR professionals RURAL AREAS.who represent a range of academic disciplines and career aspirations.
OF APPLICANTS MEET ENTRY BENCHMARKS, REFLECTING THE PROGRAM’S HIGHLY SELECTIVE NATURE.
No matter where they come from, each Associate will have a transformational impact while experiencing significant personal development. Associates are driven by their sense of social justice. They share our belief that the cycle of disadvantage is escapable and that education is the circuit breaker.
OUR THEORY OF CHANGE We believe that to achieve systemic change, inspirational leaders are needed in schools, communities, business and government. There are three core elements to our approach: We recruit outstanding graduates and professionals from all academic disciplines, who commit to teaching in an educationally disadvantaged school for at least two years.
We support them through our award-winning Leadership Development Program to become exceptional teachers, who lead their students to dramatic and enduring academic outcomes and personal growth. We’re growing a movement of individuals, who progress to positions of leadership in education and beyond. In their own way, they will continue to influence change within education so that our shared and ambitious vision comes ever closer to reality.
HOW DOES TEACH FOR AUSTRALIA WORK? With Teach For Australia, you become part of a lifelong movement of leaders. Whatever pathway you ultimately choose, you will work towards systemic change in education from a position of influence within your chosen sector.
Outstanding individuals We recruit outstanding individuals with academic expertise as well as a range of skills and experience to become Associates who commit to teach in an educationally disadvantaged school for at least two years. Initial Intensive Your journey begins in mid-September, when you will begin studying online towards your Master of Teaching (Secondary). In late November you’ll meet the rest of your cohort during a six-week in-residence program delivered in collaboration with our partner, Deakin University. This will give you a theoretical and practical foundation for teaching in a low socioeconomic community. By the end of the residential program you will have completed approximately one quarter of a Master of Teaching (Secondary) degree. The program is made up of lectures, thought-provoking dialogues, practical workshops, group and individual assessments and a two-week teaching practicum, which will provide you with
many of the skills that you’ll need to be successful in the classroom. Exceptional teachers After the Initial Intensive, you’ll begin teaching at a secondary school with full salary and benefits. You’ll teach 80 per cent of a full time load to allow time for ongoing study. Additionally, you’ll be in regular contact with your support team, including your in-school mentor, Teach For Australia teaching coach, and Deakin University School Academic Mentor as well as fellow Associates and Alumni. This support team will guide you throughout the program to lead students to achieve significant gains inside the classroom. Inspirational leaders The responsibility of leading students to increased educational outcomes cannot be overstated. Through our Leadership Development Program, you develop the knowledge, skills, relationships and qualification necessary for having an impact.
After two intense, challenging and unbelievably rewarding years, you’ll have completed the Leadership Development Program, gaining a set of unique and highly sought-after skills of which few others can boast. By the end of the program, you’ll have earned a nationally accredited Master of Teaching (Secondary) degree on scholarship. For many of you, this will mark the next step in your teaching career as you strive towards having even more impact on your students and continuing to master the art and science of being a transformational teacher. For others, it’s the opportunity to launch an exciting new phase of your career, taking with you the invaluable skills and experience that you have obtained over the previous two years and moving onto your next challenge.
Systemic change Whatever path you choose, you’ll become part of a lifelong movement of leaders, working to see systemic change in education from positions of influence across all sectors of society. Teach For Australia will continue to partner with you along your journey and help you make that important next step. Our Alumni movement is designed to help you to achieve positions of influence across a variety of sectors and in a wide range of contexts in order to help orient you towards making lasting contributions to the Australian education system.
OF OUR SCHOOL PARTNERS ARE IN REGIONAL, REMOTE OR RURAL AREAS.
“EVERY YEAR, MORE ALUMNI ARE TAKING UP POSITIONS, WHICH ALLOW THEM TO RAISE THE PROFILE OF EDUCATION AND HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO AUSTRALIA’S FUTURE” Edwina Dohle Bachelor of Arts | Bachelor of Laws (Honours) Cohort 2010 Associate
ADAM ROSS Bachelor of Commerce | Bachelor of Laws Assistant Principal Horsham College Cohort 2012 Associate
Adam Ross didn’t know that he wanted to be a teacher. He did know that he had seen his peers in the public education system miss out on too many opportunities and that the kids, whom he had worked with in Darwin’s Aboriginal communities, deserved a better start in life. He also knew that he wanted the skills that he’d developed as a lawyer to have a wider social impact than they would by practising commercial law. Like most high achieving students, Adam’s career trajectory was ticking along as planned. He excelled in his commerce and law degrees and was quickly snapped up for a career in commercial law, which took him to the United Kingdom. It was his overarching aspiration to contribute to society in a broader capacity that made him seek a different pathway for impact. After some Googling and soulsearching, Adam realised that Teach For Australia’s mission aligned with the experience that he was seeking.
OF ASSOCIATES ARE ELIGIBLE TO TEACH LANGUAGES.
And, it was quick to deliver, with his two years as a Teach For Australia Associate at Portland Secondary College in Victoria equipping him with the invaluable experience to ultimately earn a position as Assistant Principal at Horsham College.
He also observed professional and personal changes in himself.
“Through teaching, I’m working to alleviate some of the educational inequity and opportunity issues,” says Adam. “I’m really committed to this pathway.”
“Every day in teaching, you’re working with up to 80 different people, who all have different stories. You need to be able to understand where those people have come from, to best work with them.”
“Without Teach For Australia, I don’t feel that my leadership skills would have been developed to a point where I’d be willing and ready to take on an Assistant Principal role in such a short time,” he says.
That ability to identify with his students’ unique backgrounds put Adam in a strong position for working with at-risk kids in a regional school context.
Adam’s time as a Teach For Australia Associate in a regional school presented many challenges but the measurable changes in his students, both academically and behaviourally, and the strong relationships that he built count as some of Adam’s proudest achievements.
“Over the past four years, I’ve really developed the ability to empathise and understand different contexts in others,” he says.
“I’m really excited about working with a range of teachers to ensure the best possible outcomes for these kids in our regional community.”
“THE LEADERSHIP COMPONENT OF TEACH FOR AUSTRALIA IS A MASSIVE STRENGTH. OF OUR SCHOOL IT’S THE REASON I’MPARTNERS AN ACTING ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL ARE IN REGIONAL, REMOTE AFTERORJUST FOUR YEARS IN THE CLASSROOM.” RURAL AREAS.
RAMYA MADHAVAN Bachelor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering | Bachelor of Arts (Development Studies) Country Director, Nepal Street Child Cohort 2010 Associate
Life hasn’t gone to plan for Ramya Madhavan. Instead, it’s exceeded the former engineering student’s expectations, landing her in Bangladesh, Sierra Leone and Colombia to advise governments on education. “Teach For Australia put me on a completely different path,” says Ramya, who was part of the program’s first cohort. Ramya spent two years teaching after completing her Bachelor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Ramya embraced the “challenging and unorthodox experience” of classroom teaching but initially intended to return to engineering. Over time, however, “The program allowed me to figure out that this is my purpose,” says Ramya. Her determination to improve educational equality has since taken her around the world, working with international non-government organisations in developing countries to establish schools and advising governments on curriculum frameworks. Ramya says that like many students, she went into university hoping to achieve meaningful, immediate outcomes.
She also wanted to challenge herself both personally and professionally. Teach For Australia perfectly suited her ambitions.
Getting into a school made me realise that I needed to be able to reach out to people for support and to be honest about what I was having problems with.”
“I really don’t think that there’s another graduate program that forces you to confront and actively work on your own strengths and weaknesses in such an intense and intentional way,” she says.
It was also important to quickly build resilience, “the ability to go home every day and not feel like, ‘it’s all over’ but to be able to start afresh the next day”. Ramya discovered the benefits of offering her students a fresh start every day as well as giving herself a break, when she made inevitable first year mistakes.
“Also, the concept of working with individual children really appealed to me, particularly to be able to guide them in their approach to learning, their understanding of the importance of education and why it’s critical to leading a meaningful and valuable life.” To achieve her goals for the classroom Ramya needed to develop and enhance a different set of skills from those required for engineering but skills that would prove to be valuable in any field. “The first one was the ability to ask for help,” Ramya says. “I’d gone through an engineering degree and become accustomed to working independently and solving problems through trial and error.
“TEACH FOR AUSTRALIA PUT ME ON A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PATH. IT CHANGED MY TRAJECTORY AND BECAUSE OF THAT IT CHANGED WHO I’VE BECOME.”
“It’s really important to be gentle on yourself as a teacher,” she says, “especially when coming directly from a university environment that focused on striving for perfection.” For Ramya, the biggest personal developments to stem from her Teach For Australia experience were her passion for OF ASSOCIATES ARE education and the scale of change she ELIGIBLE TO TEACH could influence in her career. LANGUAGES. “The decisions that I make now are not based on whether a job allows me to contribute but whether a job contributes in a huge way. And that’s why I’ll take it.”
OF ASSOCIATES ARE ELIGIBLE TO TEACH STEM.
KEY INFORMATION Support in the classroom You’ll access an extensive support network to ensure your ongoing success and wellbeing: • Y our in-school mentor is a highly experienced teacher, who will help you integrate into life at school and within the local community. This mentor will provide you with day-to-day support, observation and feedback. • Y our Teaching and Leadership Adviser will support your professional and leadership development via rigorous and ongoing coaching. • Y our fellow Associates in your school or region will act as your peer-support network. Together, you will lean on one another, share wins and grow throughout the two years. Earning your Master of Teaching (Secondary) By the end of the program, you will have earned your Master of Teaching (Secondary) from Deakin University, on scholarship. This degree qualifies you to teach in schools across Australia. Salary and Benefits Teach For Australia Associates receive full salary and benefits, while completing the program.
They are employed by their relevant state or territory government education department for the duration of the program. Their salaries are comparable with other beginning teachers and increase with experience. The vast majority of program costs are covered by your scholarship from Teach For Australia. As an Associate, you will be required to contribute a small portion of the overall cost of your qualification. You will have access to FEE-HELP for these payments (provided that you meet the eligibility criteria). Placements Our first priority is to place you in the school where you can have the greatest impact. This might be in a metropolitan, regional, rural or remote setting and could be in any of the states or territories in which we work, so we encourage you to be as flexible and open as possible with your placement preferences. Throughout the process of matching you to a vacancy at a school partner, we’ll work together to find you the best fit for your skills and talents. We’ll also try to meet your location preferences and place you in the kind of community that you’d love to work in. At the time of printing, Teach For Australia places Associates in schools in the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory, Victoria and Western Australia.
Our network is always growing, so head to our website for the most up-to-date information on placement regions. What subjects can you teach? You will teach in subject areas that directly relate to what you majored and minored in through your degree. All Associates teach secondary school level classes ranging from Year 7 to 12. Furthering your leadership A core focus of the Alumni movement is to ensure that you continue with your leadership journey and meet your own ambitious career goals. During your second year as an Associate, you can choose to be connected with a leadership coach from a field of your choice. Whether you aspire to school leadership, to work in business or to set up a not-forprofit, we will endeavour to match you with someone who can help you develop the best path to achieve your goals. A global movement Teach For Australia is part of the global Teach For All network, working to break the cycle of disadvantage through teaching and leadership in education. Visit www.teachforall.org for more information on our global network partners.
“WE’RE NOT JUST SIGNING ON FOR TWO YEARS; WE’RE REALLY SIGNING ON TO A NETWORK OF LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE WHO REALLY WANT TO MAKE AN ONGOING DIFFERENCE WITHIN EDUCATION.” Michaela Epstein Bachelor of Science | Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Cohort 2012 Associate
WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR? Teach For Australia Associates don’t start out as teachers – in fact, they come from all academic disciplines and a variety of backgrounds. As such, there is no “ideal” candidate profile.
Communication and influencing ability
Minimum eligibility requirements
Are you a clear and confident communicator and are you able to influence and motivate others? Do you have maturity and presence? Are you an active listener?
• Applicants must be a citizen or Permanent Resident of Australia.
Teaching may or may not be something that you have previously considered. We look for well-rounded and passionate individuals, who have the qualities to create change, inside the classroom and beyond.
Problem solving
We recognise that these competencies can be developed through a range of experiences and all applications are looked at holistically.
Are you able to think critically, analyse information and generate relevant solutions to problems? Organisational and planning ability Are you able to plan, organise and prioritise your activities effectively to meet deadlines?
• Applicants must have completed (or be in the final stage of completing) at least a Bachelor degree in any discipline. • Applicants must not already have a degree in education. • Applicants must have achieved a high-credit average or above in their degree(s), except in exceptional circumstances.
Do you work hard with optimism to overcome obstacles? Do you relish a challenge and are you driven to succeed?
• Applicants must have already completed (or be on track to successfully complete) a major study in at least one of the learning areas listed at www.teachforaustralia.org/ passiton
Have you gained significant, measurable results in your extracurricular activities and/or work? Have you demonstrated leadership and achievement in your endeavours?
Humility, respect and empathy
Diversity
Do you operate with humility? Do you show respect and empathy towards others? Do you look for the best in the people around you?
Commitment to mission
Learning and self-evaluation
We harness different perspectives, experiences and talents in order to continually learn and best serve our culturally diverse school communities.
Are you eager to bring about change and make a difference in the lives of the students you teach? Do you passionately and actively believe in the power of education as a force for social justice?
Are you driven to succeed? Are you open to learning from others? Do you seek out opportunities to do so? Do you take ownership of your own personal and professional development?
We believe that great teaching is great leadership and this can be broken down into a number of critical competencies: Leadership and achievement
Resilience
We are committed to ensuring that all applicants are treated fairly and with respect, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, age, race, religion or ability. We are happy to discuss reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process to accommodate your particular circumstances.
“THE SOLUTION TO CLOSING THE GAP IN EDUCATION FUNDAMENTALLY COMES DOWN TO TEACHING AND LEARNING” Jacqueline Magee Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Cohort 2011 Associate
“TEACH FOR AUSTRALIA IS THE BEST PATHWAY THAT YOU COULD TAKE OUT OF UNIVERSITY. YOU’LL GROW AS A PERSON, WHILE WORKING TO COMBAT SUCH A CRITICAL PROBLEM FOR THIS COUNTRY.” Saul Wakerman
Bachelor of Laws | Bachelor of Media and Communications Cohort 2011 Associate
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO? 1. Online application
2. Phone interview
3. Selection day
Head to www.teachforaustralia.org/ passiton, click ‘Application’ and start your application today. You’ll be asked to provide details on your background, leadership experience and aspirations.
If your online application is successful, you will be invited to participate in a phone interview.
If you progress past the phone interview, you’ll be invited to a selection day. Selection days consist of assessment activities, ranging from one-on-one interviews to a group activity and a sample teaching lesson.
During the phone interview, you’ll chat to a Teach For Australia representative for approximately 30 minutes about your application. This will allow us to better understand your experiences and motivations for applying.
4. Acceptance to Teach For Australia If you are successful, congratulations! From here, the process of matching you to an eligible placement school will begin. The matching and placement process takes into account the subjects that you’re eligible to teach, the flexibility of your placement preferences and the needs of our school partners.
Selection days allow you to best demonstrate your qualities and attributes.
5. Placement Once you have accepted your offer, a school placement is identified and ideally confirmed before November. While we strive to take into account location preferences, we expect that you show willingness to be placed where the need is greatest as part of your commitment to the program.
INTERESTED? BRILLIANT. The first step is to complete the first two pages of your application, which include your contact and personal details. We can then get in touch to help you out if you’re confused or unsure about what to do next. Visit www.teachforaustralia.org/passiton
Find out more teachforaustralia.org/passiton TeachForAustralia
The Australian Government Department of Education and Training is a major supporter of the Teach For Australia initiative.