Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics - IEA

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PART 2: AUSTRALIA 53 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.
54 TEACHER PAY AND STUDENT MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT Tables 12 and 13 show that the mean weekly incomes for male teachers in both 1996 and 2001 were considerably below the mean weekly incomes for males in other mathematics- and science-oriented occupations and, indeed, in all other occupations employing males with Bachelor’s degrees. 7 The difference between the occupational sets was somewhat smaller in 2001 than in 1996. There was very little difference across both years in terms of whether the individuals held a Bachelor’s degree or a postgraduate degree. The mean weekly incomes of female teachers were also lower than the mean weekly incomes for females in other mathematics/science professions in both years, but female teachers with a Bachelor’s degree earned more than females with a Bachelor’s degree working in other professions. Teachers with postgraduate degrees earned lower weekly incomes than both mathematics and science professionals and females in other professions. This situation was evident in both 1996 and 2001. A female teacher with a Bachelor’s degree, 30 to 34 years of age, earned about one-third less than a female of the same age with a Bachelor’s degree in a mathematics/science profession in both 1996 and 2001. Although this difference varied somewhat for different ages and for different levels of education, these teachers received lower rates of pay than their counterparts in mathematics and science professions, and the difference was fairly large. The data on median incomes presented in Figures 2 to 5 confirm these patterns. Table 12: Australia, Mean Weekly Earnings of Males and Females in Mathematics/Science Occupations and Teaching, by Level of Education and Age, 1996 Males with Bachelor’s Degree, 1996 Females with Bachelor’s Degree, 1996 Age Maths/Science Teachers All Other Maths/Science Teachers All Other Occupations Occupations Occupations Occupations 20–24 650 524 506 607 516 475 25–29 851 647 741 772 612 630 30–34 1,015 767 916 838 647 665 35–44 1,065 833 991 816 675 652 45–54 1,077 858 1,025 823 746 678 55–64 993 793 952 734 734 629 Males with Postgraduate Degree, 1996 Females with Postgraduate Degree, 1996 Age Maths/Science Teachers All Other Maths/Science Teachers All Other Occupations Occupations Occupations Occupations 20–24 622 548 503 613 541 479 25–29 826 639 728 734 592 625 30–34 997 742 896 835 635 680 35–44 1,054 824 974 844 668 676 45–54 1,050 848 997 839 740 720 55–64 984 795 917 842 686 657 Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (1996). Income variable indicates the gross income (including pensions and allowances) that the person usually receives each week. Applicable to persons aged 15 years and over. 7 The most recent census survey is for 2006, but this information was not available in late 2006 when we made these estimates. We expect, however, that little change in relative incomes occurred between 2001 and 2006.
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