The Australian Catholic University (ACU) has launched a new program which will help new teachers with more employment-based pathways as well as access to fully funded undergraduate and postgraduate teaching degrees.
Called the All Points to Teaching (APTT), the program will be giving scholarships to 285 students which will help them complete either a Bachelor of Education (secondary or secondary and special education) or a Master of Teaching (secondary) while they work in schools in New South Wales and Queensland.
The program is funded a grant from the Australian Government Department of Education High Achieving Teacher Program that is worth $11,637,692 together with a $5,452,767 donation from the ACU.
A revolutionary program for the education sector
Professor Zlatko Skrbis, the vice-chancellor and president of the ACU, said that the partnership between the university and the Australian government for the APTT served as evidence of its reputation as a leader in the education industry.
“We have long been leaders in educating high-quality teachers across the country and our new APTT program will further cement this tradition of delivering more 21st Century educators for 21st Century learners,” said Skrbis.
Professor Mary Ryan, ACU’s executive dean of education and arts, pointed out how the program will be helpful to the education industry as it faces shortages in the teaching workforce.
“Our APTT program is designed to connect low socio-economic and hard to staff schools, secondary students, and future teachers together from the get-go. The APTT cohort will be placed in schools most in need from the outset while they study their degrees and receive support from the intensive wraparound scaffolds required for their success and career longevity,” said Ryan.
Starting next year, the program will begin with 285 students which will be taking on the new employment-based pathways between the years of 2025 and 2031. While studying, the students will be compensated as they work in the government, independent, and Catholic secondary schools as teacher aides, school learning support officers, and paraprofessionals. For the final year of their studies, the students will be working as teacher interns.
The areas which the students will study as part of their online teaching degrees include mathematics, English, history, and geography. They will also be assigned to one of the seven ACU support hubs that are linked to partner schools, the governments of New South Wales and Queensland, Catholic dioceses, and community organisations.
Through the support hubs, the students will get intensive professional learning in areas such as advanced classroom management, literacy support, AI, learner diversity, and Indigenous culture.
Ryan further said that the program aimed to increase the participation of students who belong to groups that are often underrepresented in higher education as well as those that are part of the teaching profession from regional, rural and remote areas, First Nations and mature-age students, and persons with disabilities.