By Sarah Tartakover
In 2023 VU, in partnership with Africause and Spectrum Migrant Resources, was successful in receiving a Department of Education grant to create the Master of Applied Teaching (Secondary Education) course.
This course is an intensive, employment-based program which supports people who already have an undergraduate degree to become effective classroom-teachers. The program aims to diversify the teaching workforce in Victoria by encouraging graduates from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds to join the teaching profession. VU has been working with Africause to prioritise recruiting applicants from African Australian backgrounds to increase their representation in secondary schools and therefore improve the learning outcomes of African Australian school students.
As we near the end of the second year of the program, the first wave of graduates has now entered schools to take up full-time teaching positions. There are nine pre-service teachers in the program from African-Australian backgrounds – five men and four women. They represent a range of African backgrounds including South Sudanese, Ugandan, Somalian, Nigerian and Eritrean. These pre-service teachers have expertise in a broad range of areas such as Design and technology, commerce, physics and science, and are qualified to teach these subjects in secondary schools.
Program Overview: The Master of Applied Teaching (Secondary Education) is divided into 3 x 6 months phases:
Phase 1: Intensive study for 6 months while undertaking placement in a Victorian Government secondary school
Phase 2: Employment as an education support employee for 6 months at 3 days a week
Phase 3: Employment as a paraprofessional teacher under Permission to Teach (Internship) for 3 days
University subjects are delivered online in real time on Mondays throughout the course.
Financial and other support: The Department of Education offers a scholarship to successful applicants to assist with living expenses and to cover their university fees. Additional financial support is offered for those who would like to experience a regional or rural teaching experience. The program is responsive to the needs and the unique experiences and knowledge of pre-service teachers in each cohort. A unique feature of the program is that each pre-service is paired with a VU university colleague who meets regularly with them to support them through the course as well as visiting them in their school and liaising with their school mentor teacher. Tailored professional development and additional academic support is offered where needed.
By increasing the diversity of our teaching profession, the Master of Applied Teaching (Secondary Education) aims to improve the educational outcomes of all students –particularly those from CALD and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds – by preparing pre-service teachers to be culturally inclusive and draw on their own experiences to be responsive to student diversity.
Eligibility: Applicants must have Australian citizenship or permanent residence, an undergraduate degree, and be from a CALD or Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander background.
To find out more about the course, or to apply, please visit:
vu.edu.au/courses/master-of-applied-teaching-secondary-education-emat
