Changes, challenges, and successes facing secondary pre-service teacher education in Australia

In December 2008, the Australian Government was presented with a report from a Review of Australian Higher Education known as the ‘Bradley Review’. The report clearly articulates many challenges that lie ahead; it questions the structure, organisation and financial position of Australia to effectively compete in the global economy. This paper provides a succinct discussion of some of the challenges and dilemmas encountered at a metropolitan Australian university in Melbourne within the Faculty of Arts and Education in the School of Education. The courses will be reaccredited in 2016 and has to comply with the new Australian Qualification Framework (AQF), the Australian Teaching Standards Framework (AITSL) and the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT). By employing narrative inquiry, reflective practice and document analysis as methodology, I discuss the Bachelor of Teaching (Secondary)/Bachelor of Arts course (degree), the largest secondary pre-service teacher education course at a university in Melbourne presenting some strategies and inviting international dialogue in relation to some of the challenges faced regarding increased numbers of students and lower entrance scores. Limitations of the current course are acknowledged and generalizations cannot be made to other education courses at universities across Australia. However, some new initiatives in the faculty are offered.