Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics - IEA

PART 2: AUSTRALIA
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secondary education, 16.2% specialized in physics, chemistry, or mathematics, and 4%
specialized in information and communication technology (ICT). Of the graduates with
Master’s degrees entering secondary education, an even higher proportion specialized
in chemistry, physics, or mathematics (Ballantyne et al., 2003).
Over the last two decades, fewer mathematics and science graduates have entered teacher
education programs or teaching directly. A 2003 report published by the Ministerial
Council on Employment, Education, Training, and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) noted
that only six percent of mathematics degree holders, six percent of life science degree
holders, and three percent of physical science degree holders entered teacher education
programs or the teaching profession. In 1998/1999, 61% of Grade 8 mathematics classes
were being taught by teachers with a degree major in mathematics, and 72% of Grade 8
mathematics classes were being taught by teachers with a major in either mathematics
or mathematics education. During the same period, 70% of Grade 12 mathematics
teachers and 80% of Grade 12 science teachers had a three-year or beyond mathematics
or science degree, respectively.
Teacher salaries
Average teacher salaries in Australia for new teachers and teachers with 15 years of
experience are close to the means for the OECD countries. Salary distributions vary
across the states and territories, however. Australian teachers tend to reach the summit
of the salary scale (140% of the starting salary) after about 8 to 11 years. The starting
salaries of teachers are generally higher than those of other professionals, but the
shortened salary schedule for teachers means that teachers reach their maximum salary
band more quickly than other professionals reach theirs.
By referring to ABS employee salary and hours data for 2000, and on the assumption
that teachers have only four weeks of annual leave, in line with the leave complements
of other occupations, Webster and colleagues (2004) found that teachers and other
professionals have the same average hourly wage rate of $AU25.00. However, on taking
the leave complement as 12 weeks, the researchers found that teachers had a 20%
higher hourly wage rate, and that their wages were exceeded only by IT professionals.
Webster et al. (2004) additionally controlled for age, experience, education level, and
other background and job-related characteristics, and found that teachers’ salaries were
somewhat below those of other professionals.
Data from the 2001 Census of Population and Housing (ABS, 2001) showed teachers
earning more than the average worker per week ($AU897 versus $AU799). The census
also reported secondary school teachers earning more than elementary school teachers
per week ($AU956 versus $AU841). Male teachers generally were earning more than
their female counterparts: the average weekly salary of a male secondary school teacher
at the time was $AU1,038 compared to $AU878.
A 2003 report by the Committee for the Review of Teaching and Teacher Education
noted that the starting salaries of recent teacher education graduates exceeded those of
average graduates. As expected, holders of dentistry, medicine, optometry, engineering,
law, computer science, and mathematics degrees had higher starting salaries, while
graduates with earth, physical, and biological science majors had slightly lower starting
salaries.