Teachers in Strong Demand

The careerone website currently lists over 3000 positions vacant in the Education and Childcare field. A quick scan of the teaching vacancies reveals openings in every state, as well as opportunities for Australian-trained teachers to work in the UK, Hong Kong and other overseas destinations.

Currently studying a Master of Educational Practice, Bond University student Gabriela Pereira has first-hand experience of the demand for teachers – she secured a position at one of the Gold Coast’s leading private high schools a good two months before completing her degree.

“I starting applying for jobs at the beginning of the last semester,” says Gabriela, who will start at St Stephen’s Anglican College, Coomera, in the new year.

“Within a matter of weeks, I had interviews lined up with two local high schools, as well as one in Tasmania and another in Japan. There were certainly plenty of jobs to choose from.”

For this former Bachelor of Communications graduate, the decision to pursue a career in teaching evolved from her life experience.

“I initially wanted to be a journalist so I did a Bachelor of Communication, doing internships with major media organisations like A Current Affair, Channel Nine News and the Queensland Times,” says Gabriela.

“After I graduated, however, I headed off to Japan and found myself working as an English teacher.

“I ended up living there for two years, teaching at about ten different schools at primary, middle and junior high level, as well as conducting classes for adults.

“I never thought I’d have the confidence to stand up in front of a class but when the opportunity came my way, I found that this is what I’m good at; that this was what I wanted to do with my life.”

Gabriela could have happily stayed on permanently in Japan but she decided to return to Australia and gain formal teaching qualifications.

“What really appealed to me about Bond’s Master of Educational Practice was that I could achieve a Masters-level qualification in only one year.

“Studying at a smaller university, I quickly came to appreciate the huge difference class numbers make. We only have 15-17 people in the class, so you get to know everyone. We’re all from different backgrounds which makes life interesting, and we’re all very competitive, pushing each other to excel and celebrating each other’s successes.

“The personal attention we get from our teachers also has an enormous impact on the educational experience. We all have an excellent rapport with our lecturers and know that we can call on them for help at any time.

“You just don’t get that at a big university where there might be 200 students in your group.”

Gabriela now intends to ‘pay it forward’ by giving that same level of attention to her charges at St Stephen’s Anglican College when she signs on as their new Spanish teacher in January.

According to Dr. Marian Williams, Head of Bond’s Education Department, the Master of Educational Practice is ideal for people, like Gabriela, who want to change their career pathway to pursue teaching.

“We have people from all walks of life wanting to move from the corporate professions into teaching,” she said.

“It’s part of the ‘sea change’ phenomenon where more and more people are looking for a career that really makes a difference and enables them to contribute to the community.

“The Education program at Bond University is focused on the “practice” of teaching. We also focus on Excellence in creating true “professional educators”.

“Our Master of Educational Practice and Postgraduate Diploma in Education degree programs meet the Queensland Board of Teacher Registration criteria to work as an early childhood, primary, middle school or secondary school teacher.”

Applications are now open for the January, May & September intakes for the Master of Educational Practice & Postgraduate Diploma in Education offered by Bond University’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Phone 5595 52522 for more information.