Analytical framework for mapping the professional education ecosystem for out-of-field teachers in Australia

The long-term teacher shortage facing schools has reached crisis point. Whilst increasing teacher supply is paramount, development of an adaptable teaching workforce is critical for quality education but hampered by cultural norms that undervalue re-specialisation of out-of-field (OOF) teachers. Using an ecological approach from Bronfenbrenner, this project integrates multiple perspectives from across the professional education (PE) ecosystem (principals, teachers, PE providers, subject associations, education system governing bodies, policy makers, universities, and other organisations) to map and represent both the current and ideal professional education ecosystems that caters for multiple pathways for teachers to become in-field. Ecological systems theory allows for: examination of the culture surrounding PE and OOF teaching; a focus on the enduring forms of interaction that lead to teacher capacity building; and representation of the varying perspectives from across the PE ecosystem. The theoretical lens shifts the analysis of OOF teaching towards understanding the underlying culture around teaching quality and specialisation, teacher learning, government imperatives, contestations at the levels of subject and broader education, and societal attitudes towards the teaching profession. This presentation will outline an analytical framework derived from relevant policy documents, subject association websites, professional education and learning initiatives, and the literature that highlights the PE ecosystem for out-of-field teachers and the factors at play. These factors relate to teaching quality and specialisation, teacher learning, government imperatives and teacher workforce imperatives, contestations at the levels of subject and broader education, and societal attitudes towards the teaching profession. This analytical framework will be used to inform future data collection that will lead to imagineering of an ideal PE ecosystem.