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The Age and Qualifications of Special Education Staff in Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 March 2012

Tony Thomas*
Affiliation:
Special Education Consultant, Melbourne, Australia. [email protected]
*
*Address for correspondence: Tony Thomas, 48 Tennyson St, Malvern East VIC 3145, Australia.

Abstract

This article reports on the results of a survey distributed in April 2007 to government special education schools and settings throughout Australia. The survey collected information about the age and special education qualifications of teaching staff. It followed a similar survey that was distributed in May 2006 to Victorian special schools that found that 44.9% of teachers and principals were aged 50 years or more, and 68.9% had a special education qualification. In the current survey, the percentage of principals and teachers aged 50 years or more in the responding schools ranged from 37.5% in New South Wales to 51.0% in the Australian Capital Territory. The percentage of special education qualified staff varied from 53.1% in the Australian Capital Territory to 86.6% in Western Australia. These results are examined in further detail and possible implications discussed.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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