197Immersion Programs: Australian Context
There have been numerous reviews, agreements and blueprints in Australia that
have advocated for stronger collaborative partnerships between initial teacher edu-
cation and schools to connect theory and practice in order to produce teachers who
are ‘classroom ready’. The latest Australian report into initial teacher education, the
Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group’s (TEMAG) Action Now: Classroom
Ready Teachers Report ( 2015 ), centred on five main themes that are leading to sig-
nificant policy reform as follows:
- Stronger quality assurance of teacher education courses
- Rigorous selection for entry to teacher education courses
- Improved and structured practical experience for preservice teachers
- Robust assessment of graduates to ensure classroom readiness
- National research and workforce capabilities
Immersion programs can be linked to three of the five themes from the Action
Now Report in that preservice teachers are immersed within a school for an extended
period of time. Immersion provides opportunities for the preservice teacher to be a
teacher in the classroom, thus experiencing the planning, teaching and assessment
cycle in an authentic context. Immersion also provides the opportunity for robust
assessment of a preservice teacher’s practice against the Australian Professional
Standards for Teachers (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership,
2011 ). Immersion programs that offer an internship as a component of the extended
placement contribute to specific workforce capabilities by providing high-quality
graduates that are ‘classroom ready’ (Broadley & Ledger, 2012 ).
Surveying how Australian universities structure their professional experience
placements, the Studying the Effectiveness of Teacher Education Report ( 2015 )
found that only 8% of graduates were involved in placements that lasted between 13
and 15 weeks, with the majority completing internships of 4–6 weeks (63%). There
was no evidence of immersion programs, internships or extended placements
beyond 15 weeks in the document. The professional experience component of
newly graduated teachers around the nation reveals a diverse combination of place-
ment scheduling within their initial teacher education programs. Less than 1% of
3480 respondents had experienced a distributed practicum (1 or 2 days per week) as
well as an internship, whilst only 11% had experienced the combination of a block
practicum, a distributed practicum and an internship. There was a perception from
respondents, including the cohort of principals, that preservice teachers who com-
pleted an internship were more prepared than those who did not. The findings from
the Longitudinal Teacher Education and Workforce Study Report ( 2013 ) also high-
lighted the importance of extended professional experience in schools, with the
Studying the Effectiveness of Teacher Education Report ( 2015 ) stating that teacher
education graduates typically are underprepared for the teaching profession.
The four immersion programs discussed in this chapter contest these findings, as
each includes an extended school placement, opportunities for observations and
12 Immersion Programs in Australia: Exploring Four Models for Developing...