Teach For Australia
The Melbourne Graduate School of Education (MGSE) is part of the Teach For Australia (TFA) program.
Teach For Australia is an independent, not-for-profit social enterprise that aims to improve student outcomes in areas of educational disadvantage by attracting and supporting outstanding graduates from any discipline to teach in disadvantaged schools for two years. It is supported through the Council of Australian Government’s Smarter Schools – Improving Teacher Quality National Partnership.
MGSE’s contribution is the design and delivery of the program's academic curriculum and mentor development aspects. Throughout their two-year teaching placement, Teach For Australia Associates study towards a Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching, through a combination of intense on-campus blocks of study and self-paced distance study. They are supported throughout their placement by a network of In-school Mentors, MGSE Clinical Specialists, and TFA Training and Leadership Advisers.
At the end of the two years, the Teach For Australia Associates will have met the requirements to apply for VIT registration in Victoria, and registration in the ACT. Associates will have the opportunity to return to their studies any time over the following 5 years and complete a further semester to receive the Master of Teaching.
The network of schools involved in Teach For Australia has been developed by the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development and the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Education Office, and the ACT Government’s Department of Education and Training, in partnership with Teach For Australia. The program is expanding into additional jurisdictions for the third cohort.
The inaugural cohort of Associates completed in December 2011. A third intake started in November 2011, a fourth cohort will commence in late November 2012.
For more information, please see www.teachforaustralia.org.
For more information on MGSE’s role in Teach For Australia, please contact our Teach For Australia Project Manager Hilary Smith on (03) 8344 3589 / h.smith@unimelb.edu.au
Media enquiries should be directed to Catriona May, on (03) 8344 3357 / catriona.may@unimelb.edu.au.