A new book shows how casual educators and teachers play a crucial role in education. But many face underpayment and uncertainty juggling too many contract jobs.
- Associate Professor in Education, University of Newcastle
Fifty to 80% of undergraduate teaching in Australia is done by casual or sessional staff
Three decades of efforts to improve equal access to university have not worked. A new book, based on ten years of research, aims to look beyond narrow, impersonal definitions of ‘equity’.
Research on the impacts on schooling of COVID and bushfire and flood disasters has found academically the kids are mostly OK. It’s their well-being and recovery from trauma that demand our attention.
The problem of insecure employment for academics came to a head during the pandemic. The neglect of this issue is eroding our intellectual capital along with education and employment opportunities.
We compared the educational progress in years 3 and 4 in 2019 with 2020 – the year normal schooling was disrupted by the pandemic. Overall, students progressed at the same rate in both years.
Hundreds of casual academics have lost work in the COVID-19 crisis. They make up the majority of the teaching workforce at universities but they don’t quality for any government assistance.
An alternative to costly teacher professional development courses is already improving teaching in our classrooms.
Pressure on schools to make rapid improvements discourages deeper thinking about long-term solutions. Education can learn a lot from “slow” movements.
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