Languages on the National Scene: Aligning AFMLTA and AITSL Standards for languages teaching

Abstract

Teachers in Australian schools, in all jurisdictions, at all levels and in all subject areas, are now required to consider their practice against national standards, developed by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL 2012) will guide professional practice, be used as the measure for teacher registration and reregistration, inform professional learning and indicate career levels of performance. AITSL describes them as providing a 'public statement of what constitutes teacher quality', through making clear the 'knowledge, practice and professional engagement required across teachers' careers' (AITSL 2012). A major purpose of the AITSL standards is to allow others to be able to see the profession measuring and publically demonstrating good practice, with the aim being to 'raise the status of the profession' (AITSL 2012). While the thinking behind the AITSL standards is laudable, and certainly the profession needs recognition of its high status, it must be remembered that these are levelled standards that necessarily provide descriptions of progressive accomplishment over the course of a career. As such, they are also a tool of measurement of teachers' work - they are accountability standards. The entry level Graduate Standard is used for initial registration of teachers. Graduating teachers need to be able to demonstrate that they meet the standards at this level, across the seven standards, divided into the three domains of Professional Knowledge, Professional Practice and Professional Engagement. To become fully registered, teachers need to meet the next level, Proficient Standard, which requires incrementally higher performance. The Highly Accomplished Standard is another incremental advancement, recognising very high achievement, and finally the Lead Standard is used to denote very skilled practice, in which teachers not only perform at a very high standard in their own practice, but crucially share their knowledge and learning with others, in leadership roles and capacities. These top two levels will 'inform voluntary certification' (AITSL 2012). That is, these levels of merit are nationally assessed and bring a small pecuniary reward for teachers gaining these certification levels (AITSL 2012).