Equity through exceptional teaching: National Exceptional Teaching for Disadvantaged Schools (NETDS)

On 23 November 2016, the Premier and the Minister for Education announced the Excellence in Teacher Education reforms to initial teacher education in Victoria. The reforms promote teaching as a profession of choice for committed and capable people from a range of backgrounds.
In Victoria, there is a need for high quality teaching graduates in disadvantaged communities, and proven successful programs such as National Exceptional Teaching for Disadvantaged Schools (NETDS) can help address this.
OBJECTIVES:
The NETDS program selects, prepares and deploys pre-service teachers to low SES schools. The program focuses on:
1. Attracting the highest achieving pre-service teachers into a specific program targeting disadvantage
2. Creating a modified curriculum around social justice
3. Mentoring pre-service teachers during challenging low SES professional experience placements
4. Engaging the teaching profession in strategic partnerships to ensure graduate employment post study
5. Further researching the outcomes and impact of the NETDS model in terms of quality teaching in low SES schools.
The intent is that NETDS graduates will be attracted to and well prepared for employment in disadvantaged schools. NETDS participants report an increased sensitivity to issues of disadvantage, enhanced knowledge of poverty and disadvantage (including Indigenous disadvantage), higher expectations of their students, and enhanced efficacy and ability to impart knowledge (such as literacy and numeracy) to their students.
Information regarding school principal response to the program, assessment of the effectiveness of the initiative, graduate destinations, and retention will inform consideration of the impact and future potential for the initiative.