ALA

Tuesday 14 October 2008

Teaching Australia and the Business Council of Australia are hosting a national symposium on using standards to recognise advanced teaching and school leadership, in Canberra on Wednesday 15 October.

The symposium will bring together key stakeholders with a shared interest in quality teaching, including employers, unions, regulatory bodies, parent groups and the profession.

Speakers include the Hon Julia Gillard, the Minister for Education, Dr Joseph Aguerrebere, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in the USA and Angelo avrielatos, President of the Australian Education Union.

“The teaching profession recognises the benefits of advanced standards to students and the community and is strongly committed to moving forward with national professional standards for advanced teaching and for principals“, said Fran Hinton, Chief Executive of Teaching Australia.

The business community has proposed a new national standards-based certification system recognising excellent teachers. Chief Executive of the Business Council of Australia, Ms Katie Lahey, said “Australian business leaders want to see reforms to school education that improve learning outcomes and opportunities for all students”.

“We need to place a greater value on the contribution of teachers by providing a career path that recognises and rewards excellence in teaching.”

The symposium is an opportunity to draw on international experience with voluntary certification systems using standards and to review current developments in Australia.