Every child deserves an excellent education

Volume 6 Number 10 October 11 - November 7 2010

One of the core objectives of the Melbourne Graduate School of Education’s Masters of Teaching, which will enter its fourth year in 2011, is to work with schools in low socio-economic status (SES) communities, particularly in Melbourne’s northern and western suburbs and in rural areas. Katherine Smith reports.

A physics teacher in her homeland of Montenegro, Melbourne Graduate School of Education (MGSE) Master of Teaching candidate Olga Polovic Lazovic, who is now studying to be a mathematics teacher, doesn’t believe these ‘challenging’ subjects are any more difficult than others. “It’s all about the teacher’s approach,” she says. “If students struggle in these subjects it’s only because they are not being taught effectively.”

For Ms Lazovic, the challenges of effective maths teaching were heightened by her most recent placement at St Albans Secondary College, where she was supported by a scholarship from the school, the first one offered by a Government school to a Master of Teaching candidate.

Ms Lazovic was placed at St Albans two days every week of second semester, supported by her school-based Co-operating Teacher and Teaching Fellow and a university-based Clinical Specialist. Many of her students come from challenging backgrounds, with nearly 50 per cent born overseas, and many living in Australia without their parents.

She says that because they are far from their families, schoolwork and life more generally can be a bit of a struggle for these students, compounded by the challenge of communicating in English. “But they are aware of the big responsibility they have to make the most of the opportunities that their families are providing for them, and they are very, very hard working - in my opinion more so than some students from more affluent school communities.”

Ms Lazovic also says she gained the impression from these students that they have increased respect for teachers who they can see are working to help them achieve academic success.

“St Albans Secondary College is quite progressive in this way”, she explains. “They [the teachers] are working really hard to engage the students. They want to make a difference for them.”

According to Dean of the Melbourne Graduate School of Education Professor Field Rickards, the Graduate School supported St Albans’ new scholarship as it complements its broader goal of collaborating with more schools serving diverse communities.

The Graduate School is building Master of Teaching partnerships with school groups in Melbourne’s outer west and north, with a new group established in the Werribee / Hoppers Crossing area this year. The number of rural placements is also growing, with teacher candidates now on placement in the Mansfield, Alexandra and Camperdown regions.

Professor Rickards says it’s particularly important to work in partnership with other agencies to maximise the impact of MGSE’s work with schools with diverse student populations

“We work closely with the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development on their school improvement agenda, and we are the academic partner in Teach for Australia, an initiative designed to tackle educational disadvantage by attracting and supporting high achieving graduates to teach in disadvantaged schools for two years, while also earning a teaching qualification from MGSE.

“Our research agenda also has a very strong focus on this area. We have a number of high profile studies currently investigating this critical issue of educational disadvantage.”

According to Professor Rickards, every child deserves an excellent education. “Teaching is one of the most challenging professions there is”, he says. “Every child can learn, and every child deserves to have the opportunity to learn. By working with our partners in the Masters of Teaching program, as well as with our partners in Government and other key organisations like the Catholic Education Office Melbourne, I believe together we really can make a difference.“

As for Ms Lasovic, she has been very impressed by the work ethic demonstrated by her St Albans students. “They know they have to study hard and apply themselves and be both resourceful and a credit to their families. They sometimes do struggle with some cultural differences – for instance they may hesitate to admit they don’t understand something when asked - but, in the end, I have been very impressed” she says.