Teacher shortage crisis and career change teachers
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 130 No 2, 11 April 2025, page no 23.
Historically, and globally, career-change teachers have been heralded as a silver bullet solution to teacher shortages. However, career-change teachers have higher rates of attrition compared to their first-career colleagues.
The current teacher shortage crisis is impacting upon schools globally, and its chronic impact is felt inside many of our Queensland schools. Both the Commonwealth and Queensland Governments have developed teacher workforce recruitment and retention plans, and these include recruiting career change teachers. However, there is scant reporting on the needs and interests of career change teachers as they transition into the teaching profession.
The QTU has been supporting new research that seeks to understand the economic, cultural, and political factors that constrain or enable the transition of career change teachers. In 2023, a working group of QTU Conference delegates supported the design of a career change teacher survey. Then, in 2024, the QTU and other research partners distributed the survey, which was completed by more than 340 career change teachers from across Queensland.
The data is useful for the QTU, as well as for policy makers and school leaders, because it shows what is needed if schools are to retain and benefit from this employee cohort.
Analysis of the demographic information that participants provided indicates that the survey participants broadly reflect Queensland’s wider teaching profession.
Twelve participants (3.5 per cent) identified as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person.
Participants were then asked about their most recent job/role before they started teaching and how long they were in that industry. The most common prior career was “other education” (12.5 per cent), with examples including teacher-aide, childcare educator, and private tutor. Other common prior careers were administrative/executive assistant (8.4 per cent), retail/hospitality worker (8.1 per cent), accountant/finance (6.4 per cent), scientist (6.1 per cent), and tradesperson (6.1 per cent).
Duration of prior career
Particpants were also asked to consider 48 statements and assign values of strongly agree to strongly disagree. Here are some of the responses.
“If I could decide again, I would still choose to work as a teacher” − 66.1 per cent strongly agree or agree
“Teaching aligns with my values and passions” − 87 per cent strongly agree or agree
“I strongly identify as a teacher” − 85.5 per cent strongly agree or agree
“I see myself more as [previous career] than as a teacher” − 72.2 per cent disagree or strongly disagree
“I have received sufficient training at university in managing a classroom” − 60.5 per cent disagree or strongly disagree
“My teacher education program prepared me well to teach diverse students” − 59.4 per cent disagree or strongly disagree
“Administrative tasks (e.g., meetings) take up too much of my time” − 81.2 per cent agree or strongly agree
“The workload in my position is manageable” − 68.7 per cent disagree or strongly disagree
“Compared with my previous profession, I feel that my salary is fair” − 33 per cent agreed, but 24.6 percent disagreed
“I believe that my salary adequately reflects the level of responsibility and effort required in my role” − 69.4 per cent disagree or strongly disagree.
Further reports on the project will be provided to QTU State Council and standing committees. On request, the research team can be made available to area councils or branch meetings. QTU members can find out more here (https://www.qtu.asn.au/qtu-education-researchers)