The aim of this paper is to describe a project currently being undertaken by the Board of Teacher Registration in Queensland. The aim of the presentation at the conference is to present this description and to seek comments on the project (content and/or process) from conference participants. The paper begins with a brief overview of the Board and then relates the origins, aims and processes of the project.

The Board of Teacher Registration Queensland (BTR) is one of only three teacher registration authorities in Australia, the others being in Victoria (non-government schools only) and South Australia (although a number of other states are seriously considering setting up similar bodies).

The Board is a statutory authority responsible to the State Minister for Education. Established in 1989, it took over from the Board of Teacher Education which had operated since 1971. The BTR operates under the Education (Teacher Registration) Act 1988 which sets out its constitution, functions and powers. The Board is funded entirely through teacher registration fees. All teachers in Queensland schools must be registered with the BTR; this applies to both government and nongovernment schools, including preschools, primary, secondary and special schools.

Membership of the Board as set out in the Act is broadly representative of the education community. Its 16 members include representatives of teacher employing authorities, teacher unions, registered teachers, teacher education institutions, and parent and community groups, and nominees of the Minister. The Board meets monthly. Members undertake their work in a voluntary capacity.

The Office of the Board has a staff of approximately 20 professional and administrative officers who are public servants.

The Board's main functions are to maintain a Register of Teachers, to keep teacher registration under review, and to consult on standards of teacher education programs for registration purposes.

The Board of Teacher Registration has legislated responsibilities in relation to acceptable preservice teacher education programs, conditions attaching to provisional registration, and maintenance of registration. Through these legislated functions, and its policies and processes, the Board can influence teacher education and continuing professional development. The Board's responsibilities in each area are outlined below.

Under the Education (Teacher Registration) Act 1988, the Board is required 'to confer and collaborate with teacher employing authorities, teacher education institutions, the teaching profession, teacher organisations and the general community in relation to standards of courses of teacher education acceptable for the purpose of teacher registration and to advise the Minister accordingly'. The processes and content of teacher education programs are therefore of major interest and concern to the Board.

To assist it to discharge this key area of responsibility, the Board has established a widely representative Professional Education Committee (PEC). The Professional Education Committee publishes Guidelines on the Acceptability of Teacher Education Programs for Teacher Registration Purposes to assist institutions to develop preservice programs which will enable graduates to be registered as teachers in Queensland. The Guidelines include sections dealing with: the institutional context in which the program is offered; the goals, structure, content, and processes of the program including practical experiences; and suggested procedures for collaboration in the development of programs.

The current process for acceptance of programs for teacher registration purposes is largely based on the institution's submission, prior to the program's first offering, of printed information detailing how the program will meet the Board's Guidelines. Institutions are required to provide a brief annual report on the program's implementation, and a slightly fuller report after its first complete offering (ie when the first cohort has graduated).

Registration of teachers in Queensland is normally provisional in the first instance. To gain full registration, teachers must teach for one year in Queensland to the satisfaction of the Board. (In some cases, additional conditions are imposed, such as upgrading of qualifications, and meeting English language proficiency requirements.) Assessment of provisionally registered teachers is carried out with the assistance of school principals, who are asked to complete a report on the teacher's performance towards the end of their first year of teaching. (This report is separate from, and uses different criteria from, the probationary report used by Education Queensland.) The report form seeks comments on the teacher's performance in four areas, as well as a recommendation as to

whether the teacher should be given full registration, or whether their provisional registration should be extended or cancelled.

While the Board expects that beginning teachers will receive a comprehensive induction program, it recognises that the nature and extent of induction varies considerably across schools.

In a trial conducted in selected schools during 1997 and 1998, the Board used a report form based on the National Competency Framework for Beginning Teaching (developed by the National Project on the Quality of Teaching and Learning, and published in 1996). The trial also entailed a statement -- signed by the beginning teacher, their mentor teacher, and the school principal -- that an induction plan had been developed for the provisionally registered teacher consistent with recommendations in a Board-supplied brochure on induction. These arrangements were well received by those involved in the trial.

Under present requirements, teachers renew their registration annually simply through the payment of a fee (currently $25). Persons not currently teaching are also able to retain their registration in the same way. (Some 40 percent of those on the register are not currently teaching in a school.) The Board is acutely aware that such a situation is increasingly difficult to justify. In 1998 the Board, together with the Teachers Registration Board in South Australia, commissioned a review of the relationship between ongoing professional registration and continuing professional development in other professions and in the teaching profession overseas.

Late in 1999 the Board decided to take a "fresh look" at teacher education in Queensland. While the Board's Guidelines on preservice courses have been frequently revised since their first publication in 1990, it is now over 13 years since a major study of teacher education and teacher registration in the State has been undertaken (the Board of Teacher Education's 1987 Project 21: Teachers for the Twenty-First Century). A number of recent reports and developments in education in Queensland and elsewhere have suggested a need for teacher education in this State to be carefully considered to ensure it continues to meet the needs of teachers, students and the education system. Teacher education is reportedly widely perceived by teachers themselves to be in need of review. A further triggering factor was media and political interest in the quality of teachers and the nature of teacher education.

The Board considered that it was important to respond to criticisms arising from various quarters and that it would be appropriate for the Board itself to initiate a study. The project was to be a fresh look at teacher education and its relationship to registration, not a review of the Board's performance, and it was therefore appropriate for it to be undertaken by the Board as the only body in the State where the major relevant stakeholders met regularly on a collegial basis and with legislated responsibility for the matters involved.

It was proposed to begin the study by compiling and analysing recent reports and other documents with significant implications for Queensland preservice teacher education, then to develop terms of reference and strategies to address these. Strategies adopted should be open and should involve all major relevant interest groups.

An analysis of selected recent relevant documents was undertaken by a member of the Board's professional staff. Papers based on this analysis were considered by the Board at meetings early in 2000. Further documents were considered at later meetings as they became available. Key issues with implications for teacher education, especially emerging areas where greater emphasis may be needed, were identified.

These documents included those arising from State Government initiatives such as 2010: Queensland State Education and the "New Basics", a draft set of standards prepared by Education Queensland for state government teachers, information on the Queensland Bishops' Catholic Schools Research Project, the terms of reference for the Review of Teacher Education in NSW, findings of an Education Queensland survey of beginning teachers, the report of the Board-commissioned study of links between professional development and licensing renewal in teaching and other professions ("the Barlow report"), and the reports A Class Act and Preparing a Profession.

The above-mentioned reports identify numerous emerging issues regarding the global context, the purpose of education, the changing focus of schools, new emphases for teachers, and emerging kinds of knowledge and abilities needed by teachers. These are indicated in the attached matrix.

The State Minister for Education, to whom the Board is accountable, was informed of the Board's intention to undertake the study. The Minister was appreciative of the Board's initiative and expressed keen interest in the outcome.

At its March 2000 meeting the Board established a small working party of Board members to develop terms of reference and recommend a process for the study. This was later augmented by the addition of other Board members and of senior representatives of Education Queensland. The Working Party met 7 times during the course of the year (in March, May, June, July and September).

Terms of Reference for the project were endorsed by the Board in June. An Action Plan for addressing these was endorsed in July.

The terms of reference, together with a preamble stating the rationale for the project, are reproduced below.

The Board recognises that teacher education and teacher registration requirements must keep pace with changes in education and in society generally. Contemporary society is characterised by unprecedented complexity, diversity and change. The goal of education today is to equip young people with the knowledge, skills and other attributes needed for effective lifelong participation in an evolving 'digital

knowledge' society. Schools are refocussing their operations to meet this goal, becoming more inclusive, flexible and dynamic.

Curriculum is becoming more holistic, and closer relationships are developing among school, parents and the wider community. Schools are expected not only to promote positive academic and social outcomes for students, but also to build the foundations for lifelong learning.

Teachers must therefore have a wide repertoire of knowledge, skills and abilities to provide challenging learning experiences which will meet diverse student needs. For example, they must be able to teach with and about the new technologies, to work in partnership with colleagues and parents, and to understand and facilitate vocational education in schools. They need strong interpersonal and communication skills, and a commitment to engage in their own ongoing learning.

Clearly, even the most comprehensive preservice teacher education program cannot equip teachers with all of the knowledge, skills and abilities they will ever need. The Board has consistently described the critical aspects of teacher education as a continuum, made up of preservice program, induction, and continuing career-long professional development. A preliminary review of recent reports has confirmed this view.

The terms of reference for this project are as follows:

An action plan has been developed for addressing the above terms of reference. A preliminary move was to employ a person part-time to coordinate the project and (with assistance from Board staff members) undertake the writing of the report. The person appointed to this position is a Board member - a widely respected, recently retired, former senior employee of Education Queensland.

The main part of the plan includes three stages; these are outlined below.

The first stage, which concluded at the end of September 2000, was aimed at formulating a set of initial "propositions" in relation to the terms of reference. As part of this stage the Board, through individual letters and the Board's web site, invited all stakeholder groups to help formulate propositions by providing initial comments on issues arising from any or all of the terms of reference. Some 17 responses were received. A summary of these responses, with the names of respondents removed, is enclosed as an indication of the views so far put forward by stakeholders. In general the responses indicate strong support for the project and its objectives. Some cautions are expressed in some areas, particularly the nature of any new requirement for registration renewal.

Drawing on literature reviews, the above submissions and the outcomes of workshops conducted with members at meetings of the Board and the PEC, a series of principles and propositions relating to the terms of reference has been formulated. A table showing the principles and propositions is attached. The principle for each term of reference is intended to indicate its basic underlying assumption. It is hoped that most stakeholders would have no difficulty agreeing with these principles. The propositions, of which there are two or three for each term of reference, indicate a range of future alternative options representing points on a continuum, from a "status quo" position, through a "limited change" position, to a "major change" position.

Stage 2 will run from October 2000 to February 2001. Its focus is refinement of the propositions into draft recommendations. Through individual letters and the Board's web site, written submissions have been invited on the propositions from a wide range of bodies in the Queensland education community, as well as from industry training advisory bodies and the Queensland Industry Training Council.

Respondents have been asked particularly to consider the implications of any or all of the propositions from the viewpoint of their organisation. Responses have been requested by 30 November 2000.

Responses will be used as a basis for a series of focus group discussions. The focus groups will be based largely on interest groups represented on the Board (eg employers, unions, parents, teachers, teacher educators), but will also include peak bodies from business. It is planned to conduct these late in 2000 or early in 2001, in regional areas as well as in Brisbane. A series of internal reference groups will also be established.

In Stage 3, from March 2001 to May 2001, a draft report will be circulated to all stakeholders for further comment. It is expected that a final report will be completed and submitted to the Board in May 2001.

Comments would also be welcome after the conference (see contact details below).

Suggestions as to any source material that may be of assistance (eg journal articles, reports, websites) would also be appreciated.