Growing Great Teachers

Nearly one in two Australian teachers is leaving the profession within 3-5 years of beginning their practice. While the sting of this attrition rate is felt throughout the education system, this burden particularly weighs on disadvantaged Australian schools.

The aim of the SVA Growing Great Teachers (GGT) project is to improve the quality of teaching by early career teachers in disadvantaged communities. GGT is focused on sharing examples of great practice that’s developing exceptional early career teachers in the schools that need them most.

We have developed 11 case studies of great practice, showcasing programs and approaches that are attracting, retaining, and developing exceptional early career teachers in low socioeconomic status (SES) schools. These case studies, from around Australia and the US, include initiatives from schools, non-profit organisations, the government, and private organisations.

We know that if we support our teachers to develop professionally, we improve the quality of teaching. And if we improve the quality of teaching, we increase student outcomes. As early career teachers are most likely to teach in low SES schools, focusing on their development is critical to overcoming educational disadvantage in Australia.

We hope the SVA Growing Great Teachers project will increase the practical understanding of how to develop quality early career teachers in low SES schools in Australia, supporting better decisions on how to replicate and scale effective early career teacher initiatives.

Please follow this link to review the case studies, and feel free to share them with your colleagues and socialise through your networks.

Together, we can move these ‘Bright Spots’ of Australian education toward a bright system.

Growing Great Teachers case studies

Download the Growing Great Teachers case studies overview (PDF, 530KB)

Download the Growing Great Teachers literature review (PDF, 333 KB)

Teachers Matter

In 2014 a scoping project was undertaken in partnership between Social Ventures Australia (SVA) and the Australian Council of Deans of Education (ACDE), funded through the Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT). The scoping project was overseen by ACDE’s Network of Associate Deans of Learning and Teaching in the Discipline of Education (NADLATE).

The two deliverables of the scoping project were:

  1. an audit of current practices within Australian initial teacher education providers for preparing pre-service teachers to effectively teach in schools in disadvantaged and low SES communities; and
  1. a literature review of recent research relating to recruitment, development, support and retention of teachers in schools in low SES communities. (Available as a separate download on the SVA website). This report synthesises the audit survey and literature review to provide a summary of the current landscape. The report highlights effective practices and cases of practice. It also identifies gaps in existing support as well as opportunities for further research and collaborative partnership to address such gaps.

Download the Teachers Matter: Models for Effective Teaching in Low SES Schools (Executive Summary of Final Report 2014) (PDF, 605KB)

Download the Teachers Matter Literature Review (PDF, 1.23MB)