Early career teachers' perceptions of their preparedness to teach 'diverse learners' : Insights from an Australian research project

In 2012, early career teachers in Queensland and Victoria (Australia) were invited to complete the Studying the Effectiveness of Teacher Education graduate survey. The survey included a 'Preparation for Teaching Scale' that provided opportunities to self-report on how well their teacher education program prepared them for 46 areas of work. Ten items addressed preparation for teaching students from diverse linguistic, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, students with a wide range of abilities, and students with a disability. 971 teachers completed the Scale. On a 5 point Likert scale the overall mean for the 46 items was 3.61. Mean scores for items relating to diverse learners ranged from 2.94 for preparedness to teach to linguistic diversity to 3.3 for preparedness to develop inclusive classroom. This paper presents and analyses these results in order to identify implications for schools, teachers and teacher education. [Author abstract]