Print this page Increase text size Decrease text size

Professional learning

National survey of teachers professional development

In 2007, the TRBNT collaborated with other Australian registration authorities to commission the Australian Research Group to undertake a nationwide survey into teachers’ professional development attitudes, experiences and future needs. The Western Australian College of Teaching, the Queensland College of Teachers, the teacher registration boards of South Australia and Tasmania and the Victorian Institute of Teachers were the partners in the research project. While each authority sought findings relevant to their jurisdiction, the study also provides a unique insight into the current views of teachers throughout Australia, their experience of professional development and its importance to their professional lives.

More than two million pieces of information were collected across all jurisdictions with 6753 teachers across Australia participating in the survey.

Methodology for the Northern Territory

All Northern Territory registered teachers were sent an email invitation to participate in an online survey. The invitation generated a response from 469 teachers. The median length of time to complete the survey was 28 minutes.

There is almost unanimous agreement on the value of professional learning in the lives of teachers in the study - both in the NT(91%) and for all states (92%). A similar number highly value the sharing of professional knowledge among teachers.

Key findings

Some of the Northern Territory findings show that:

  • Overall, NT teachers are showing relatively high levels of satisfaction with their PD
  • Close to seven out of ten NT teachers rated the quality of their professional development as good or very good (67%) and the overall relevance of the PD was rated at a similar level (68%)
  • Only four in ten teachers report that their school provides the main source of funding for their PD, substantially lower than the all states average of 56%; while the 24% provide the main source of funding themselves - on a par with ‘all states’ averages
  • Almost all teachers in the NT, as elsewhere, report that they have modified their teaching based on what they have learnt in structured PD (95% said they had done so ‘occasionally’ or ‘frequently’ - with just under half saying they had done so ‘frequently’)
  • Nine in ten teachers in the NT place a high or very high value on being part of a professional learning community of teachers/principals who come together to share knowledge; and there is almost unanimous agreement on this point in the NT and elsewhere
  • 58% of the NT’s primary teachers say they have frequent opportunities to implement learning arising from PD compared with 29% of NT secondary teachers
  • Availability of replacement teachers and time needed to attend are the major barriers to accessing PD for NT teachers, with 69% citing replacement teachers availability as a major barrier and 65% finding the time needed to attend a major barrier. Availability of replacement teachers is a much greater barrier to accessing PD for NT teachers than for teachers in other parts of Australia, where it is an issue for 46% of teachers
  • There was a strong demand for development of skills in teaching students with social, emotional and communicative disabilities (69% of NT teachers said such training would have a ‘high’ or ‘very high’ value - the same figure as for all states)
  • There was also a very high level of interest in further training in skills to teach indigenous students - with 67% of NT teachers considering this a priority for the next 12 months
  • A high proportion of NT teachers had an interest in furthering their skills for teaching students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds – 65% compared with 52% nationally

Thank you to those teachers who generously gave their time to participate in the survey. The TRB Board has reported the Northern Territory findings to the Minister for Employment, Education and Training. The data from the NT survey will be of value to all teachers and educators who are interested in teachers’ professional learning and will assist the Board in developing implementation guidelines for the introduction of Provisional Registration and the role of professional learning in the renewal of registration.

Other findings from the research will be published on the Board’s website in the coming weeks.