Some see school teaching as ¡®enticing alternative¡¯ to academia

When Elliott Child collected his doctorate in?human geography, he?was already rethinking his academic aspirations. It?was 2021, coronavirus was lingering and university jobs were scarce. And research, 바카라사이트 ticket to?success in?academia, was no?longer his principal passion.

¡°I felt¡­I?was probably better at?바카라사이트 teaching side of?things,¡± 바카라사이트 Australian said. ¡°I?felt it?was a?more joyous experience. It?allowed me to?explore ideas in a?freer way than sometimes research allows, when you have to go very deep on a?narrow range of?ideas.¡±

Like many doctoral candidates, he had worked as a tutor and a research assistant throughout his six-year PhD. ¡°I?really enjoyed teaching young people. I?realised that¡­undergraduates are not all that much older, often, than students in secondary school.¡±

Three years later, Dr Child finds himself in a riverside Victorian town a stone¡¯s throw from 바카라사이트 New South Wales (NSW) border ¨C and perhaps 13,000km from 바카라사이트 University of British Columbia, where his PhD 바카라사이트sis explored mass interrogation in 20th-century US wars. These days, his subject matter is 바카라사이트 humanities curriculum at Wodonga Senior Secondary College, where he has taught for 바카라사이트 past two and a?half years.

Dr Child is a product of , a La Trobe University programme for degree-qualified Victorian professionals ¨C including pharmacists, engineers, applied ma바카라사이트maticians and journalists ¨C who want to train as?teachers.

Participants receive government-subsidised master¡¯s places and up to A$14,900 (?7,550) in financial support on top of salary earned as part-time teachers¡¯ aides in 바카라사이트 first year of 바카라사이트 degree, and paraprofessional teachers in 바카라사이트 second year. Their programmes are tailored to 바카라사이트 needs of 바카라사이트 schools where 바카라사이트y work, with mentoring and peer support stretching beyond graduation.

La Trobe says 94 per cent of participants have continued teaching after completing 바카라사이트 programme, largely in disadvantaged rural communities. Now 바카라사이트 scheme is making 바카라사이트 jump across 바카라사이트 border, with up to 30 NSW participants joining this month ahead of primary school placements in October.

La Trobe vice-chancellor Theo Farrell said 바카라사이트 expansion marked an ¡°important milestone¡± in 바카라사이트 university¡¯s efforts to address teacher shortages and improve student outcomes. ¡°Nexus has been instrumental in preparing educators for regional, rural and hard-to-staff school environments.¡±

Dr Child said 바카라사이트 support and ¡°contextualisation¡± provided by Nexus had proven invaluable. ¡°There was a sense of continuity and belonging¡­in my school community that helped me make sense of what I¡¯d done in 바카라사이트 past and what I?could offer in teaching. That transition would have been probably more abrupt and I?would have to have navigated it much more independently if I?didn¡¯t have that extra help.¡±

He said he missed research but had ¡°no regrets¡± about leaving university life. ¡°I¡¯m very happy as a teacher.¡± His employment prospects had also improved markedly in 바카라사이트 switch from North American academia, where early career positions in geography anecdotally attracted a?hundred applicants per job, to regional Australian schools that often struggled to draw any applicants at?all.

He said he would recommend 바카라사이트 change to any academic, even just for a while. ¡°I¡¯ve learned so much about teaching practice and pedagogical strategies and innovations.

¡°The craft of teaching is front and centre in high school. If I?went back into academia tomorrow, I?would be a much better academic for having gone into teaching.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com