Graduate Teachers Professional Learning Program in the Southwest Region of Victoria

The challenge

The Graduate Teachers Professional Learning Program (GTPLP) was developed and delivered by Deakin academics, in consultation with graduate teachers and on behalf of Beyond the Bell (BtB), through the Professional Learning Education Hub at Deakin University. This project sought to provide a series of professional learning activities to teachers who were in their first to fourth year of teaching, across schools in the Southwest region of Victoria.

Research has shown that teacher attrition is particularly evident in a teacher’s initial years in a school setting and participating in targeted professional development/learning opportunities can impact retention.

Project overview

The Graduate Teachers Professional Learning Program in the Southwest Region of Victoria (GTPLP) was developed based on input from teachers as to their current professional needs. The research questions addressed by this project were:

• What are some of the challenges impacting early career teachers’ likelihood to stay in the profession?
• What professional learning needs do graduate teachers require to support their knowledge and practice?
• In what ways has the Graduate Teachers Professional Learning Program in the Southwest Region of Victoria (GTPLP) supported/extended graduate teachers’ professional knowledge and practice?
• What suggestions do the participating graduate teachers have for retention in the profession?

The project began by sending out a survey to graduate teachers (via their principals) across schools in southwest Victoria. The survey aimed to ascertain the various professional learning needs of the teachers. The data from this survey informed the design of the Professional Learning Program.

The program was delivered over six sessions in term 2 and term 4 of 2023. The delivery was a hybrid of online and face-to-face sessions. We collected data to help us understand how we can enhance the support we provide graduate teachers in Victoria. A variety of qualitative and quantitative methods were used to better understand the experiences of graduate teachers and the efficacy of the program.

The Graduate Teacher Professional Learning Program 2025 was developed for graduate teachers working in the Great South Coast Region of Victoria and was built upon the findings and recommendations of the Graduate Teacher Professional Learning Program 2023. The 2025 program was designed around the research literature and recent Australian workforce data, which led to the development of the question:

• How can we continue to support graduate teachers in the Great South Coast Region of Victoria?

Outcomes

This research benefits graduate teachers, policy makers and other stakeholders through improved pre-service and graduate teacher support and development processes.

Key recommendations from each of the projects have been published in the two separate reports.