Thefirst of these was not actually a recommendation of the TEMAG report,
since the proposed literacy and numeracy test had already been planned as yet
another accountability measure of initial teacher education. It could be argued that
most of the other recommendations highlighted in the Minister’s media release
served to reassure the public that the government was taking strong action (and
‘Action now’) about the supposed low standards for programme entry and exit.
43.4 TEMAG and‘Classroom Readiness’
Core to the report’s findings is the notion of pre-service teachers’ levels of
‘classroom readiness’. However, the notion of classroom readiness is open to
debate. In one sense, this concept plays into the increasing vocational orientation of
university programmes that prepare graduates for specific professions (such as law,
accounting, engineering, etc.), so that a university education is seen as no more than
advanced training for employment. On the other hand, the requirement to be
classroom ready at graduation suggests that there is no need for further learning or
development throughout a career. Neither of these interpretations sits well with the
view that teaching is a profession involving lifelong learning.
Because classroom readiness is so prominent in shaping the key directions
proposed by the TEMAG report, it is worth examining the report’s recommenda-
tions to discover how classroom readiness is conceptualised—especially in relation
to the role of research in teacher education. This analysis has three parts: (1)whatis
required to be classroom ready, for example, in terms of knowledge, understanding,
skills, dispositions; (2)howis classroom readiness to be determined; and (3) against
whatstandardsis classroom readiness to be measured?
43.4.1 Classroom Readiness—What?
The TEMAG recommendations are not explicit in setting out what is required to be
classroom ready. Instead, there are references to equipping pre-service teachers with
various kinds of skills. For example, Recommendation 15 states that higher edu-
cation providers should equip pre-service teacher with‘data collection and analysis
skills to assess the learning needs of all students’, while Recommendation 16 asks
providers to equip pre-service teachers with‘the skills to effectively engage with
parents about the progress of their children’. Knowledge and understanding of two
types are mentioned that could be part of the‘what’ of classroom readiness.
Recommendation 17 requires higher education providers to‘equip all primary and
secondary pre-service teachers with a thorough understanding of the fundamentals
of teaching literacy and numeracy’, and Recommendation 18 involves a departure
from the practice of most Australian teacher education programmes in calling for
providers to ‘equip all primary pre-service teachers with at least one subject
644 M. Mills and M. Goos