Unqualified used to fill persistent job vacancies (in special education

Sydney Morning Herald, July 6, 2010 Paul Bibby Workplace

AUSTRALIA has been suffering a critical shortage of key education and health workers for a decade, forcing some staff to fill important roles for which they are not qualified, a government analysis reveals.

The revelation is contained in an explanation of the Skilled Occupations List, which sets out the occupations Australia offers as a pathway for overseas workers seeking permanent residency.

The analysis paints a picture of entrenched skills shortages across a range of occupations from engineering and construction project management, to medical administration and secondary teaching.

Among the occupations most desperately in need of new recruits was special education teaching.

The analysis shows that these positions often go unfilled in schools because they require specialist training and experience that most teachers do not have. As a result experienced teachers with no special needs training were being forced to fill these roles in some cases.

The deputy president of the NSW Teachers' Federation, Gary Zadkovich said this reflected an increase in the number of special needs students going into public schools, while training funding for it dropped relative to funding in other areas.

''As a young teacher starting out, choosing special education within the array of teaching options one might have, has become extremely difficult'' Mr Zadkovich said.

This article prompted a letter to the editor from Assoc Prof Jennifer Stephenson from the Macquarie University Special Educaiton Centre, published 7/7/2010:

Specialist jobs need experienced hands
It was good to see that the severe shortage of teachers with qualifications in special education has been recognised (''Unqualified used to fill persistent job vacancies'', July 6). This has not been acknowledged by education authorities, and is particularly desperate in NSW.

Only about 60 per cent of teachers in NSW special schools working with children with severe disabilities and the most complex learning needs are qualified to do so. There is no requirement by the Institute of Teachers for teachers in special education positions, even in executive roles, to have appropriate qualifications.

The situation is even worse for children with disabilities and difficulties in regular classes. Only 53 per cent of itinerant teachers providing support for such students in Sydney have appropriate qualifications. Support positions in schools can be filled by anyone, even teachers in their first year.

We would not accept children with complex medical conditions being treated by GPs without specialist support, yet this seems perfectly acceptable in education.