Tell A Teacher encourages positive perceptions of the teaching profession

The state’s teaching regulator has launched a new campaign aiming to change the way we talk about teachers.

The Queensland College of Teachers (QCT) Tell A Teacher campaign promotes how the simple act of speaking more positively about teachers can help lift perceptions of the teaching profession.

The campaign includes a new video featuring three primary school teachers, whose surprised and emotional reactions after hearing about their positive impacts on former students demonstrate the profound effect of kind words.

Its intention is to encourage students, parents, colleagues and communities to reflect on how teachers are treated and spoken about – and to let a teacher who impacted their life know about the difference they made, reminding them why they chose the profession.

The campaign comes as the annual Australian Teacher Workforce Survey closes soon in Queensland. Current survey data shows the Australian teacher workforce is under pressure: about 35 per cent are unsure if they’ll stay in the profession until retirement and 39 per cent intend to leave before retirement.

While the main reasons they’re intending to leave are related to either workload or wellbeing, student and parent behaviour have emerged as other key reasons (both increasing by 9 and 5 per cent respectively from 2022 to 2023).

The data also reveals the lengths teachers go to for their students’ learning. Half of full-time teachers report working beyond their weekly hours, spending considerable time alongside face-to-face teaching per week on:

• lesson planning (40 per cent spend 10 or more hours)
• administration duties (over 50 per cent spend 5 or more hours)
• marking and assessing students’ work (nearly 50 per cent spend 5 or more hours)

Australian teachers also draw on many years of practice, with 66 per cent of the workforce having at least 10 years’ experience. The QCT’s own data shows Queensland’s registered teachers have high levels of expertise, with 92 per cent attaining at least four years of higher education.

QCT Director Deanne Fishburn said Tell A Teacher is about letting teachers know they’re valued.

“Through this campaign, we want to remind the community about the importance of showing greater respect for the profession by speaking with kindness and appreciation about teachers,” Ms Fishburn said.

“Positive words can have a powerful impact, not only on the morale of teachers, but also on how the profession is valued more broadly.

“We don’t tend to talk about other professionals the way we talk about teachers, who we feel deserve the same respect as doctors, nurses, engineers, and other trusted professions.

“Teachers dedicate themselves to shaping young lives and strengthening our communities, and it’s time we speak about them with the recognition and regard their work truly deserves.”

As regulator of the teaching profession in Queensland, the QCT maintains a register of more than 121,000 teachers – making sure they’re qualified, current in their practice, and suitable to teach – and promotes the profession through various initiatives, including the annual TEACHX Awards.