Mathematics

and included participants from Special Settings such as Developmental
Schools with small numbers of participants from secondary, middle years or P
– 12 settings. The participants from Intake 2 were mainly from secondary
schools.
Compulsory education in Australia starts at the primary level, usually when
children are aged five. Depending on the state/territory primary education lasts
six or seven years. Secondary school (called high school) starts at age 12 to
13 and continues until age 17 or 18. School grade levels are numbered Year 1
to Year 12, following the initial preparatory year or kindergarten year (see
http://australia.angloinfo.com/family/schooling-education/). In Victoria the first
year of school was called the Prep year but since the introduction of our
Australian Curriculum the first year of school is now called Foundation. The
Middle Years are usually from Years 5 to 8. Table 1 includes the participants’
school type for 152 of the 153 participants.
Intake
Primary Secondary
Middle
Years
P - 12
Special
Settings
Intake 1 27 5 2 4 2 40
Intake 2 7 29 3 1 0 40
Intake 3 31 5 0 2 2 40
Intake 4 21 4 0 5 2 32
Total 86 43 5 12 6 152
Table 1: Participants' school type (n = 152)
Total
While Leading Numeracy was advertised as a leadership program and some
teachers were in leadership positions others were not confident that they
would be in a leadership position in the foreseeable future. Participants also
varied in experience from a new graduate to Principals.
There is now a set of professional standards for Australian teachers (AITSL,
2014). The four career stages (Graduate, Proficient, Highly Accomplished and
Lead) in the Standards provide benchmarks to recognise the professional
growth of teachers throughout their careers. The descriptors across the four
career stages represent increasing levels of knowledge, practice and
professional engagement for teachers. Progression through the stages
describes a growing understanding, applied with increasing sophistication
across a broader and more complex range of situations. The usual
progression for Victorian teachers when the Leading Numeracy course was
offered was to start at the Graduate level and then successively move through
Accomplished and Expert levels before becoming a Leading Teacher.
Typically, Leading Teachers are responsible for coordinating a number of staff
to achieve improvements in teaching and learning. Their focus is on the
introduction of changes in methods and approaches to teaching and learning.
However, they will also be responsible for the management and leadership of
a significant area or function within the school to ensure the effective
development, provision and evaluation of the school's education program.
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