Teaching Degrees Should Not be Limted to High ATAR Students

Tanya Plibersek, Deputy Leader,
Federal Opposition (Labor Party),
on ATAR.

Media reports indicate a Labor government would bar low-scoring ATAR students from becoming teachers. However, while students with higher ATARs have proven to be better teachers, this is not the most important factor. Wurf and Croft-Piggin(2015) found that engagement, and motivation were more important that ATAR.

Instead of increasing the ATAR, I suggest improving the quality of teaching degrees, particularly using "dog-fooding". Students should be provided with structured education using digital technology, working in teams, with support from tutors. University instructors should focus on improving the engagement and motivation of their students, and teach how this support can be provided to school students.

Reference 

Wurf, G., & Croft-Piggin, L. (2015). Predicting the academic achievement of first-year, pre-service teachers: the role of engagement, motivation, ATAR, and emotional intelligence. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 43(1), 75-91. URL https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1359866X.2014.932328