Chief Executive of Universities Australia, Belinda Robinson said that Universities Australia has been working on a high-level national agenda on teaching education quality for over a year to ensure that our school students receive the best possible educational experience.

“In particular, Universities Australia has worked closely with the Deans of Education and the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership on national measures to support teacher education quality,” Ms Robinson said.

“Central to this work has been the contribution of Professor Greg Craven, who has done much heavy lifting in shaping the selection, professional experience and support for student teachers as part of a national bid to ensure high-quality teaching standards.

“The decision by the Minister to install Professor Craven as the Chair of this Advisory Group recognises his undoubted expertise and experience in this field. It recognises the strong role he has played and will build upon the hard work already undertaken.

“Minister Pyne has signalled a strong commitment to the highest teacher education quality, a sentiment shared by Universities Australia. The Commonwealth is well placed to have wide influence in this area,” Ms Robinson said.

Ms Robinson said that the Advisory Group will play a critical role in ensuring teacher quality initiatives recognise that the most successful model focuses on support for students to become high quality graduates rather than on competencies at the commencement of their study.

“We look forward to working closely with the Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group to further advance the quality of our teachers and the quality of our education system as a whole.”