Minimum standards demanded for trainee teachers

Education Minister Trevor Mallard will consider the call.

Minimum standards should be developed for entry into teacher training courses, a three-year inquiry into teacher education has found.

A parliamentary committee said many believed there was a correlation between the proliferation of teacher education providers and a lower standard of students entering courses before going on to teach in schools.

"Concerns were raised that the equivalent full-time student funding model encourages providers to lower their entry standards to attract great numbers of students, thereby securing more government funding," their report said.

However, the perception of lowered standards was not necessarily the reality, the education and science committee said.

It added: "It is difficult to determine whether standards are improving or declining given the lack of empirical evidence from submitters on baseline standards for entry into teacher training courses.

"Further, there appears to be a general lack of clarity regarding selection criteria for entry into teacher training courses, and what agency is responsible for setting them.

"We consider that there should be minimum standards for entry into teacher training courses, and that these should be uniform across providers."

The committee also recommended consistent and transparent graduation standards for new teachers; many submitters had pointed out that other professions, such as medicine and accounting, required compliance with specific standards to achieve registration.

"The Tertiary Education Commission supported this view and believes that uniform national exit standards would be a valuable quality assurance mechanism and should be phased in over time."

Other recommendations included:

* the establishment of bridging programmes for people who demonstrated potential but did not hold the prerequisite academic qualifications to train as teacher;

* greater recognition of prior learning;

* that primary teachers be capable of teaching core curriculum subjects to a competent level;

* that primary teachers have the chance to specialise in at least one other subject area beyond the core curriculum; and

* reviewing the role of normal schools and their attachment to traditional providers.

A spokeswoman for Education Minister Trevor Mallard said he would consider the recommendations.

- NZPA