New report finds Teach For Australia strengthening school leadership pipeline amid principal shortage fears

Teach For Australia is helping respond to growing concern about the strength of Australia’s school leadership pipeline, with new findings showing its Alumni are moving into leadership positions faster than the broader teaching workforce.

Transforming Schools and Changing Systems: The Impact of Teach For Australia Alumni draws on the career pathways of more than 1200 Alumni who have completed Teach For Australia’s flagship Leadership Development Program since its launch in 2009.

The report found that more than 2 in 3 Alumni working in schools hold a leadership role within 5 years of completing the program, outpacing the national average of 31% (less than 1 in 3).

This is helping build a stronger leadership pipeline that can support better student outcomes, particularly for schools in communities experiencing disadvantage.

That impact is reflected in the careers of Teach for Australia Alumni, who are driving transformative change in schools. One example is Lachlan Yeates, a former economics graduate and policy analyst who is now a principal in Victoria, where his leadership has helped lift NAPLAN results and dramatically improve attendance rates.

These findings come amid a sharper national focus on leadership attrition in Australian schools, with recent Australian Catholic University research pointing to a substantial reduction in experienced school leadership and impending nationwide leadership vacuum.

The report also shows Teach For Australia is responding to one of the nation’s biggest education challenges – keeping talented teachers in classrooms for longer – with 71 out of 100 participants commencing the program still teaching after 3 years, compared with 41 out of 100 commencing traditional postgraduate initial teacher education pathways.

This adds to previous independent evidence that found Teach For Australia is a cost-effective employment-based ITE program and cost competitive with traditional postgraduate pathways in converting participants into teachers, despite exclusively placing teachers in schools serving communities experiencing educational disadvantage.

Alumni are also driving system-level change through roles in education policy, research, and mission-driven organisations working to improve opportunities for students.

Teach For Australia Chief Executive Officer Edwina Dohle said the report highlights the significant contribution Alumni are making – mostly in classrooms and school leadership – and across the wider education system.

“Our Alumni are making a meaningful difference – teaching in classrooms, leading schools and contributing to research and policy that helps strengthen Australia’s education system,” said Ms Dohle.

“At a time when schools across the country are grappling with workforce pressures, retention challenges and the need for greater stability, these findings show that when teachers are well-prepared and connected to purpose, they are likely to stay and make a lasting contribution.”

Teach For Australia places participants in schools serving communities where students face the greatest barriers to opportunity, including across regional, rural and remote communities.

ENDS

Media contact:
Caitlin Paroczai
Media and External Affairs Manager, Teach For Australia
0419 748 290
caitlin.paroczai@teachforaustralia.org