Universities struggling to place student teachers

Better partnerships between universities and schools will be needed to strengthen Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and ensure future teachers stay on the job long-term.

According to Australian Catholic University's Dean of Education Professor Mary Ryan, one of the major issues around ITE is a lack of funding directed towards placing teaching students into schools.

"Universities keep ringing schools and sometimes begging them to take students for placement," Professor Ryan told Education Review.

"Teachers are very busy, and it's not always something they would put their hand up to do because of what's going on in the school.

"We need to do a lot more around providing schools with resources so they can have dedicated positions that look after the pre-service teachers and help them become the next generation of teachers."

Professor Ryan joined Education Review to discuss the future of teaching in Australia.