How do we solve the maths teacher shortage? We can start by training more existing teachers to teach maths

By Ian Gordon, The University of Melbourne, Mary P. Coupland, University of Technology Sydney, Merrilyn Goos, University of the Sunshine Coast

Imagine if you enrolled your child in swimming lessons but instead of a qualified swimming instructor, they were taught freestyle technique by a soccer coach.

Something similar is happening in classrooms around Australia every day. As part of the ongoing teacher shortage, there are significant numbers of teachers teaching “out-of-field”. This means they are teaching subjects they are not qualified to teach.

One of the subjects where out-of-field teaching is particularly common is maths.

A 2021 report on Australia’s teaching workforce found that 40% of those teaching high school mathematics are out-of-field (English and science were 28% and 29%, respectively).

Another 2021 study of students in Year 8 found they were more likely to be taught by teachers who had specialist training in both maths and maths education if they went to a school in an affluent area rather than a disadvantaged one (54% compared with 31%).

Our new report looks at how we can fix this situation by training more existing teachers in maths education.

Why is this a problem?

Mathematics is one of the key parts of school education. But we are seeing worrying signs students are not receiving the maths education they need.

The 2021 study of Year 8 students showed those taught by teachers with a university degree majoring in maths had markedly higher results, compared with those taught by out-of-field teachers.

We also know maths skills are desperately needed in the broader workforce. The burgeoning worlds of big data and artificial intelligence rely on mathematical and statistical thinking, formulae and algorithms. Maths has also been identified as a national skill shortages priority area.

What do we do about this?

There have been repeated efforts to address teacher shortages, including trying to retain existing mathematics teachers, having specialist teachers teaching across multiple schools and higher salaries.

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