CHAPTER 6 Teachers
6.18 The annual survey of class sizes carried out by the South Australian Institute of Teachers, which covered over 92 per cent of
high schools and all technical high schools in the first week of second term 1970, shows class sizes by years of secondary schooling. In apply- ing the criteria that the maximum desirable class size should be 30 for first, second and third years, 25 for fourth year and 20 for fifth year, the Institute found that:
11 5
3
2 1
20 68
7 7
б 4 79
5 3 79
— 5
- 20 1 58 4 104 3 89
1
1 1 2 1
fi 9 11 7 2 —
2
-
2
1
-
8
4 3 - 1 31
13 21 7 4 68 12 16 7 2 58 13 12 6 3 52 13 10 3 3 52
4 2
— —
384 5
7 б 12
3
2 12
8 7
3
2 5 10 8
4 13 5 11 13
TEACHERS
(a) lsт, 2ND AND 3RD YEARS: Seventy per cent of all classes, and 88 per cent of classes at this level in metropolitan high schools, were above 30.
Table 6.12
NимвEк оF FIFTH-YF.AR CLASSES BY 512E IN ALL HIGH AND TECHNICAL HIGH SCHoots, AND IN METROPOLITAN limit SCHOOLS
SouгІі Aus-RAI.IA, JUNE 1969 All High and Technical High Schools
Class Sizes
<10 11-15 16-20 21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45
English 2 4 13 28 21 32
Latin 22 2 1 — — —
French 16 6 5 4 — — German 4 2 — — 1 - Japanese — 1 — — — - Ancient
History 10 5 1 1 2 1
Modern
History 4 14 14 14 11 8
Classical
Studies — — 3 — — -- Economics 5 2 3 6 — 3
Geography 8 11 17 10 3 5 3
Maths. I 3 3 9 14 18 22 24
Maths. II 2 2 13 13 16 14 19
Physics — 7 9 16 8 16 13
Chemistry 1 5 9 15 16 15 10
Biology 6 20 8 16 14 5 2 — —
Music 4 — — — — —
71 4 X45 Total
- 116 25 31 7 1
Total 87 84 105 137 110 121 88 30 15 777 Per cent 11.2 10.8 13.5 17.6 14.2 15.6 11.3 3.9 1.9 100.0 Metropolitan High Schools
English Latin French German Japanese Ancient I listory Modern History Classical Studies Economics Geography Maths. I Maths. II Physics Chemistry Biology Music
14 б 2 2 2 1 1 1
- 2
1 1
- 1
- 1
1 2
4 —
2 2 6
4 16 14 26 9 3
1
5 4
75 17 21 5 8 37
Total Per cent
32 21 50 82 80 94 78 26 13 476 6.7 4.5 10.5 17.2 16.8 19.8 16.4 5.5 2.7 100.0
91
(b) 4тн YEAR: Seventy-one per cent of all classes had 25 or more pupils, and in metropolitan high schools 88 per cent were above 30.
(c) 5тн YEAR: Seventy-two per cent of all classes, and 81 per cent in metropolitan high and technical high schools, had more than 20 pupils.
6.19 At thе request of die Committee, the Secondary Division of the Education Department carried out a survey of class size and teacher qualifications by individual subjects in fifth-year secondary classes, most of which are matriculation classes, in June 1969. Table 6.12 sets out the results. The most common size of fifth-year secondary classes was between 21 and 25 for all schools including metropolitan high schools, and between 31 and 35 for metropolitan high schools.
The largest classes were in English, mathematics, physics and chem- istry. In these subjects class sizes reflect the shortage of well-qualified teachers. Considerable strain has been placed on staling at this level because of the rapid increase in retention rates. Although 35.5 per cent of all fifth-year classes bad fewer than 20 students, and 57.3 per cent of classes 80 or fewer, the situation in the most popular subjects was markedly different, as is illustrated in Table 6.13.
Table 6.13
PROPORTION OF FIFTH-YEAR CLASSIB IN ENGLISH, MATItEMATIСs, PHvslcs & CHEMIsTRY AsovE STATED Sizes
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS, JUNE 1969
Classes with more than 20 Pupils Classes with more than 30 Pupils
Metropolitan Metropolitan
All Schools High Schools All Schools High Schools per cent per cent per cent per cent
English 83.6 90.6 41.3 50.7
Maths. I 85.5 92.6 54.8 66.2
Maths. II 80.9 86.2 47.2 64.0
Physics 79.7 92.3 49.3 65.4
Chemistry 71.0 96.2 41.7 55.8
Source: Education Department.
6.20 The May 1970 survey conducted by the South Australian Institute of Teachers, which covered 45 high schools and 10 technical high schools having fifth-year classes, uses different class intervals from the 1969 survey conducted by the Department, making direct com- parison between them impossible. According to the Institute survey, the percentage of fifth-year classes in the most popular subjects which had 30 or more pupils was as follows: English, 37; mathematics, 53;
physics, 36; chemistry, 39. There were 10 classes in English, 27 in mathematics, 7 in physics and 10 in chemistry which had 40 or more pupils at fifth-year level. These figures indicate an apparent improve- ment in 1970 over 1969. However, a high proportion of fifth-year secondary classes is still large. In subject fields where qualified teachers are in short supply, notably science, mathematics and English, the heaviest teaching loads operate. This in turn discourages people
TEACHERS
qualified to teach at senior levels in these areas from entering teach- ing, so perpetuating the teacher shortage.
Interstate Comparisons
6.21 Interstate comparison of class sizes is difficult in Australia because few State departments make official figures available, although teachers' organisations annually conduct surveys. The Victorian Education Department publishes details of primary class sizes, but the basis of the statistics differs from that used in South Australia, making comparison impossible. For primary schools the Committee was unable to gain sufficient evidence to make interstate comparisons possible.
6.22 For secondary schools the Scott Committee drew attention to similar difficulties in New South Wales. It was able to compare New South Wales secondary class sizes with the average for five States, including New South Wales, but figures for individual States were not available for publication. Table 6.14 places South Australian percentages for secondary classes in English beside those quoted in the Scott Report and those for Victorian high schools in 1969. The 1969 figures are used for South Australia because the class sizes of the 1968 statistics do not correspond to those used in the Scott Report.
Secondary classes in South Australia included a higher proportion with 41 and more pupils, and a lower proportion with fewer than 8G than New South Wales or the average of the five States. The position appears to have been considerably better in Victoria than in South Australia in 1969, and the fact that both Victoria and New South Wales have a six-year secondary system and South Australia a five-year one makes the South Australian position even less favourable in relation to these States than the above figures suggest.
Table 6.14
Sizes 0І
35 and under 86-40 41 and over
ENGLISH SECONDARY CLASSES OF SON
Five Australian N.S.W. States (a) (1968) (1968) per cent per cent
65.2 66.2
28.8 26.8
6.0 6.8
tE AUSTRALIAN SтATES
Victorian S.A. High Schools' (1969) (1969) per cent per cent
58.7 70.1
27.8 1 29.9
13.5 f Source: Scott Committee and South Australian Education Department.
(a) Including N.S.W.
Changes in Class Size
6.23 Very large classes of 46 or more pupils have been all but eliminated in primary schools, where in 1954 they represented 44 per
' Figures published by Statistics Branch, Victorian Education Department. The average size of classes for compulsory subjects in Victorian high schools was 31.6 in 1969, and for other types of Victorian secondary schools 25.2. High schools are numerically the most important type of Victorian secondary schools, covering 4,780 classes in 1969, as against 141 in other types of secondary schools.
cent of all classes. However, 81 per cent of all classes in primary schools still had 31 or more pupils in 1969. In secondary schools a reduction in the number of very large classes has also occurred, but the most common class size in secondary schools in 1969 was that of 36-40 pupils, 28 per cent of all classes falling in this group. In high schools, 54 per cent of all classes had 36 or more pupils, and 75 per cent 31 or more. Fifth-year secondary classes in English, science and mathematics were particularly large in metropolitan high schools. To sum up, it may be said that the number of classes with 31 or more pupils remains high in both primary and secondary schools, although very large classes have been reduced to an insignificant proportion of the whole in both cases. In relation to desirable levels, as will be dis- cиssед later, class sizes in South Australian schools in 1969 remained high, and at fifth-year secondary level the situation was particularly disturbing if the need at this level for classes smaller than those of the early secondary years is accepted.
TEACHING LOAD OF SECONDARY TEACHERS
6.24 The Committee studied the number of periods taught in 1970 by teachers of various levels in a stratified sample of 12 high schools chosen from the 64 schools of this type grouped according to size taken from a full record supplied by the Education Department.
Table 6.15
PRоI.ORTION OF TOTAL PERIODS TAUGHT BY ТEACHEØ EMPLOYED AT VARIOUS LEVEIS IN A SAлгРLE oP 12 SouTн AusmRALIAN HIGH SCHOOIs 1970
Teachers Deputy Seniors Assistants Senior Assistant All School Employed Head Head (Gen.) (Gen.) (Craft) (Craft) Teachers
per cеnt per cent per cent per cent per cent per cent per cent
1 12 45.0 - 76.3 77.9 - 78.8 74.8
2 15 43.3 - 71.6 80.7 - 76.4 75.8
3 19 44.0 - 71.5 77.2 - 80.5 75.0
4 27 30.7 58.8 71.8 84.8 - 88.0 80.2 5 27 48.6 64-2 73.0 83.2 - 82.6 78.7
6 39 0 38.8 67.9 79.6 - - 73.6
7 42 10.0 27.5 62.1 73.2 - 75.0 68.8 8 43 32.5 68.8 71.5 81.3 62.5 84.1 78.2 9 48 12.5 35.0 64.2 80.6 65.0 79.6 74.3 10 66 0 15.8 63.2 79.5 63.2 75.6 73.6 11 69 5.0 38.7 71.7 77.0 67.5 79.4 74.6 12 78 0 37.5 69.3 75.0 55.0 81.0 72.7 Average 22.6 43.1 68.4 78.4 61.4 80.1 74.3
The number of periods into which the teaching week was divided varied somewhat between schools, making the use of percentages necessary for purposes of comparison, though seven of the 12 schools used a 40-period division. In Table 6.15 the schools are ranged according to size, beginning with a small country high school. The percentage of periods taught is an average for teachers of that group employed in the school where more than one is employed. On the basis of a 40-period week, the average number of periods taught by all 94
TEACHERS
teachers including heads was between 29 and 30, that for secondary general assistants between 31 and 32, and for general seniors between 27 and 28. In the smaller schools both heads and deputy heads do a considerable amount of teaching, and the heaviest average teaching load was that of art and craft assistants who usually teach smaller groups. The number of extra spare periods available to senior masters as compared with assistants is small. For assistants as well as for seniors a considerable amount of work beyond school hours would be required to keep abreast of preparation and correction. It needs also to be taken into account that duties of teachers during school hours extend beyond periods taught and that teachers are frequently re- quired to teach in their "spare" periods as replacements for colleagues who are absent. The pattern of workloads in South Australia is similar to that operating in secondary schools in New South Wales in 1969 as shown in the Scott Report, which also found little variation in this regard between the Australian States.
QUALIFICATIONS OF TEACHERS
6.25 Academic qualifications do not of themselves make good teachers, but, other things being equal, teachers holding formal quali- fications of a reasonably high level are more likely to exemplify the intellectual skills which it is the unique function of the schools to promote. Hence the academic level, including the level of profes- sional preparation, reached by teachers is an important factor in estimating the quality of a school system.
Primary Teachers
6.26 The only information collected by the Education Depart- ment about the qualifications of primary teachers relates to awards made by a university or by the Roseworthy Agricultural College and to the diplomas available since 1965 through the teachers colleges.
Table 6.16 shows, for selected years since 1954, the percentage of primary teachers holding such qualifications. The percentage shown with "degrees, etc." includes teachers holding the sub-graduate uni- versity qualification of Associateship of the University of Adelaide and diplomas gained through the Roseworthy Agricultural College.
The proportion of primary teachers holding university qualifications has fallen over the period. An unknown number of teachers holding teachers college diplomas also held university qualifications. The total of these two categories in 1969, assuming that the number of teachers involved is the same as the number of qualifications held, was 22 per cent of all primary teachers, a higher proportion than that shown as holding "degrees, etc." in 1954. Among the primary teachers who held university qualifications in 1968, the 157 who held degrees constituted fewer than 3 per cent of all primary teachers. No person holding a degree in science was employed in the Primary Division of the Education Department at any level. This disturbing fact emphas- 95
ises the difficulty primary schools have had in retaining teachers well qualified in fields where there was a shortage in secondary schools.
Table 6.16
QUALIFICATIONS HELD BY PRIMARY TEACHERS SOuтн А usТRALІА N GOVERNMENT SснoоLS 1954-1969
Degrees, etc. Teachers College Diplomas per cent per cent
1954 14.0 -
1957 12.3 -
1960 12.1 -
1963 11.7 -
1966 10.9 7.6
1969 9.0 13.5
Source: Education Department.
6.27 The Education Department places teachers in a particular classification according to qualifications and experience. The classi- fication of primary teachers therefore gives a rough guide to the level of their qualifications. The requirements for classification have been changing, and, beyond the lowest level, experience and skill marks have been taken into account as well as academic background. Before 1966, subjects gained in Public Examinations Board examinations were accepted as units in establishing qualifications for classification purposes. For a period between 1966 and 1969 both secondary-school examinations and tertiary units were accepted as well as such subjects as needlework, conducted and examined by the Department. The system is now based entirely on tertiary units gained through study at university, teachers college or other tertiary institution. The academic qualifications for employment at the various levels within the assistant range, including the category of unclassified assistant which was abolished in September 1970, are as follows:
(a) UNCLASsIFТED TEACHERS hold qualifications below those required for classification at B level.
(b) cEASSiFICAтloлг В requires four classification units, including cer- tain units of professional study in the theory and practice of educa- tion or qualifications which are accepted as equivalent in the case of direct entrants to teaching who have not come through a teachers college, and a skill mark of 21.
(c) CLnssiFтCАТiоN A requires five classification units, including the same specified units in education and some experience of teaching and a skill mark of 31.
(d) Teachers may be certificated if they hold six units, including the same requirements of professional study in education and some experience as a classified teacher. The required periods of service range from six months for a teacher who has completed three or more years at a teachers college to two years for a teacher with two years' training. A skill mark of 41 is required of a certificated teacher; skill marks are awarded on the basis of assessed teaching abilities.
TEACHERS
Tab1c 6.17 shows the percentage of primary and infant teachers at each level in 1967, 1969 and 1970. Since experience as well as formal qualifications influences the level at which teachers are classified, only limited conclusions may be drawn from this Table. The pro- portion of teachers lacking the four units necessary for classification was twice as high among women as among men teachers, and approxi- mately one-eighth of all primary teachers were unclassified in February 1970. This proportion is slightly lower than that in December 1967, when 14 per cent of all teachers at primary level were in this category.
The number of unclassified teachers rose between December 1969 and February 1970, and at a total of 735 at the latter date still constitutes a considerable number of teachers. Since no untrained teachers have been recruited into the primary branch over recent years, we may assume that the more recently employed of these unclassified teachers have come into the schools from the re-employment of previously employed teachers and from poorly qualified exit students from the colleges. Many unclassified teachers will have been recruited in periods of more extreme teacher shortage and will now have had considerable experience which must be balanced against their low levels of formal qualification.
Та Ые 6.17
DI$TRIRÜTIоN OF QUALIFICATIONS OF PRIMARY TEACHERS (PER CENT)
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT SCHOоt3 1967, 1969 AND 1970 (a)
Teach. Cert.
Clasan. А claSsn. н
цпс1аввгбсд
1967 Mаles Females Total
58.3 26.8 16.4 23.8 18.0 52.2 7.3 17.2
1969 laics Females Total 63.8 33.1 43.2 15.2 25.4 22.2 14.9 27.8 23.5 6.1 13.7 11.1
1970 Males Females Total
61.4 30.2 40.3 14.2 22.7 19.9 17.1 32.4 27.5 7.3 14.7 12.3 56.7
21.5 27.8 14.0
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Source: Education Department.
(a) December 1967 and 1969, February 1970.
6.28 The survey conducted by the South Australian Institute of Teachers in May 1970 showed the number of classification units held by primary teachers. Unlike the actual levels of classification, these are not influenced by experience and are therefore a more direct guide to qualifications held. The survey showed 3.6 per cent of teachers in these schools as holding degrees, and 14.4 per cent as holding sub-graduate diplomas, including diplomas in teaching.
There had been an increase in the percentage of primary and infant teachers holding diplomas in teaching since the Institute's previous survey in 1968, and the percentage of teachers holding fewer than six classification units had fallen; the percentage of graduates showed little change. The particular interest of Table 6.18 is the high pro- portion of teachers insufficiently qualified to become certificated. A majority of infant teachers and 45 per cent of primary teachers were
Total 100 100 100 TEACHERS
in this category, since they held fewer than six classification units.
Most primary and infant teachers have had only two years' training, making it impossible for them to gain a diploma in teaching during their pre-service period and causing many to move out of the colleges into the schools with poor qualifications, as discussed in Chapter 16.
Table 6.18
QuALIbICATIoNs of TEACHERS IN GоvERNмENт PRIMARY Sсцoo's Souті AusTRALIA, MAY 1970
Infant Primary Rural Schools Schools Schools per cent per cent per cent
Degree and Dip.Ed. 2 3 —
Degree only — 1 —
Dip.T. only 6 10 15
A.0.A. and Dip.T. 5 4 1
A.U.A. only — 1 -
10 Classification Units 1 3 -
6-9 Classification Units 24 32 41
5 and fewer Classification Units 62 45 44
Number of Teachers 667 3,636 76
Source: South Australian Institute of Teachers.
Secondary Teachers
6.29 Rising retention rates and higher pupil numbers have in- creased the difficulty of providing suitably qualified staff in secondary schools in recent years. In the immediate past, the major increases have occurred in the fourth and fifth years of secondary schooling, as is shown in Table 6.19. For the increasing numbers in senior classes academically well-qualified and professionally trained teachers are essential and their provision will draw away well-educated teachers from more junior classes unless the overall supply of qualified teachers is increasing at a fast enough rate. To the problem of obtaining suffi- cient numbers of teachers is added that of ensuring that enough are available in the various subject fields.
Table 6.19
INCREASE IN ENROLMENTS IN GOVERИМFNТ SECONDARY ScNoms Souri Aus-RAUA 1968 то 1969
Number per cent
Grade VIII 492 (a) 2.4
Grade IX 167 0.9
Grade X 583 3.4
Grade XI 1,222 12.3
Grade XII 766 24.4
Total 3,230 4.6
Source: Education Department.
(a) 181 of these would have been retained in primary schools in special classes for slow learners prior to changed promotion pтocedитes in 1969.
TEACHERS
6.30 Although some teachers of art and craft have university qualifications, the more relevant qualification for such teachers is a specialist diploma gained through a teachers college in conjunction with studies at the School of Art, the South Australian Institute of Technology or a technical college. The Education Department esti- mates that about 60 per cent of art and craft teachers hold a diploma in teaching. The recruitment of well-qualified teachers of academic subjects has presented greater difficulty in the period of rapid sec- ondary expansion, and for these teachers university qualifications or a diploma in teaching (secondary) in science or humanities gained through a teachers college are appropriate. For these reasons Table 6.20 relates to qualifications of secondary general teachers only.
Table 6.20
QUALIP'ICAY10NS OF SECONDARY GENERAL TEACHERS IN Go"ERNMENT SECONDARY SCнооcs
Souтн AUsYRALIA 1968 AND 1969
Area, Special Rural
and Higher All Technical Primary Secondary Qualifications High Schools High Schools Schools Schools
1968 1969 1968 1969 1968 1969 1968 1969 Graduate
2 Degrees 25 26 6 9 1 1 32 3&
1 Degree and
Diploma 537 637 173 196 56 53 766 886
1 Degree 301 277 74 75 18 14 393 366
Total 863 940 253 280 75 68 1,191 1,288 As percentage of
Gen. Teachers 48.0 49.2 31.5 33.9 24.6 23.2 41.0 42.5 Non•Graduaie Diplomate (a)
2 Diplomas 101 112 65 65 35 35 201 212
1 Diploma 256 313 176 220 71 81 503 614
Total 357 425 241 285 106 116 704 826
As percentage of
Gen. Teachers 20.0 22.2 30.0 34.5 34.1 39.6 24.2 27.2 All Qualifications 1,220 1,365 494 565 181 184 1,895 2,114 As percentage of
Gen. Teachers 68.0 71.4 61.5 68.4 58.7 62.8 65.2 70.7 Source: Education Department.
(a) Diplomas shown in Table Include diplomas in teaching gained from study at a teachers college.
6.31 In both graduate and other qualifications general teachers in high schools are somewhat better qualified than those in technical high schools, reflecting the greater importance of fifth-year classes in high schools. Table 6.21 shows the progressive improvement in the pro- 99
TEACHERS
portion of graduates and diplomates in high schools from 1965 to 1969. Comparable details for the earlier years are not available for other types of secondary schools.
Table 6.21
QUAuFICA710NS of GENERAL ТEAcНERs IN 11CH SCHOOLS Sоuтн AUsTRALIA 1965-1969
1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
Graduates as Proportion of General Teachers
per cent 45.9 45.4 47.3 48.0 49.2
Diplomates as Proportion of General Teachers
per cent 17.4 18.6 20.6 20.0 22.2
Graduates and Diplomates as Proportion of General Teachers
per cent 63.3 64.0 67.9 68.0 71.4 Source: Education Department.
6.32 An examination of the available data over a longer period shows that the recent improvement in the proportion of secondary teachers holding university qualifications represents a reversal of a strong downward trend. The longer-term record of qualifications is not strictly comparable with the more detailed one collected since 1965. The category of "degrees, etc." includes, as for primary teachers, sub-graduate university qualifications and qualifications gained from the Roseworthy Agricultural College. Since 1966, teachers college diplomas have to some extent become an alternative to sub-graduate university qualifications, which are no longer available. However, when the percentage appearing in Table 6.22 as holding teachers college diplomas is added to that holding "degrees, etc." for the period since 1966, the total percentage is greater than that shown in the detailed surveys made in recent years, indicating a considerable over- lap between the two categories with concomitant double-counting.
Table 6.22
QUALIFICATIONS OF GENERAL TEACHERS IN HIGH AND TECHNICAL 11Cl SCHOOLS
Souти Aus-RAm/t 1954-1969 High Schools
Teachers College
Degrees, etc. Diplomas Degrees, etc.
per cent per cent per cent
1954 65.9 - 51.7
1957 64.1 - 50.1
1960 46.4 39.0
1963 46.5 82.5
1966 48-9 34.2
1969 49.5 30.4
Source: Education Department.
This reservation must be borne in mind when considering the quali- fications of secondary teachers since 1954 as set out in the Table. In
Technical High Schools Teachers College
Diplomas per cent
21.9 40.3
33.9 39.4