Status of the teaching profession – attracting and retaining teachers

In light of the Parliament of Australia’s present inquiry into the status of the teaching profession, it is timely to consider what motivates teachers to, and discourages them from entering and remaining in the profession in current times. While there is nothing new in the federal government instigating inquiries into teaching and teacher educa-tion, the need to attract teachers and stem attrition, including from the pre-service stage, is no doubt a key motive force for this current review. The rate at which teachers are leaving the profession continues to increase and the figures are, by many measures, alarming. Christina Gray, Peter Wright and Robin Pascoe underscore this predicament in this current issue, citing teacher attrition during the first five years of teaching as close to 50%. Therefore, it is not surprising that the federal government is seeking to take action, the more so given escalating teacher shortages, including in core subject areas, with many schools forced to rely on teachers teaching out of field (Hobbs, 2013).