Education — Inherent Requirements

Behavioural stability is required to function and adapt across a range of diverse and challenging educational settings.

Student demonstrates:

• Behavioural stability to work constructively in diverse and challenging academic and educational environments.
• Consistency in responding appropriately to children, young people and families’ needs in stressful and challenging situations.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Behavioural stability is required to work effectively and sensitively in changing and unpredictable educational settings where work includes diverse groups of children and young people, and adults.

Adjustments must enable pre-service teachers to function effectively and sensitively in both academic and professional/field experience settings.

Exemplars:

• Being receptive and responding appropriately to constructive feedback.
• Demonstrating sensitivity and consistency in responding appropriately to children, young people and adults in all situations, particularly those which are stressful and challenging.

Verbal communication, in English, is an essential requirement to teach well, particularly with diverse linguistic and cultural groups and individuals, in formal and informal social contexts.

Student demonstrates:

• Effective verbal communication at formal and informal levels in tutorials, with peers and lecturers/tutors, in small and large groups.
• The ability to provide clear instructions and presentation of ideas to individuals and large groups relevant to the learning context.
• The capacity to use verbal language in a range of different social situations with children and adults during professional/field experience.
• The ability to communicate effectively with diverse linguistic and cultural groups and individuals across a range of social contexts.
• The capacity to use a range of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) that support verbal communication with individuals and small groups during professional/field experience and for learning/assessment purposes.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Verbal communication is the primary medium of communication in an educational setting.

Adjustments must ensure clarity, effectiveness and accuracy that models communication and ensures safety.

Exemplars:

• Providing clear instructions and presenting ideas to individuals and groups relevant to the learning context.
• Using effective and appropriate communication in English in both formal and informal situations with staff, peers, children and young people in all learning contexts.

Pre-service teachers must demonstrate sufficient aural function to comprehend and perform the required range of tasks.

Student demonstrates:

• Sufficient aural function to perform and comprehend the required range of tasks.
• Active listening in tutorials and lectures with tutors, lecturers and peers and during professional/field experience with families and children.
• Appropriate use of ICTs that support aural communication with individuals and small groups for learning and assessment purposes and during professional/ field experience, such as audio-visual equipment and mobile phones and technologies.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Competent aural communication is required to effectively access course content and to be responsive to the demands of the profession.

Reasonable adjustments to address the effects of a hearing impairment must be effective, and support a timely response to auditory inputs.

Exemplars:

• Using effective aural communication formally and informally in tutorials with peers and lecturers/tutors in small and large groups and during professional/field experience in a range of different social situations.
• Being an active listener in diverse social and linguistic contexts.

Non-verbal communication is essential to teaching and should be respectful, clear, attentive, empathetic, non-judgemental and honest.

Student demonstrates:

• The capacity to recognise, interpret and respond appropriately to behavioural cues and gestures.
• Consistent and appropriate awareness of own behaviour.
• Sensitivity to individual differences.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• The ability to observe, understand and respond appropriately to non-verbal cues is essential to build the trust and respect necessary to develop effective academic and professional relationships.

Adjustments must enable the recognition, initiation of, or appropriate response to effective non-verbal communication in a timely and appropriate manner.

Exemplars:

• Using appropriate professional conduct, behaviour and appearance that is sensitive to individual and cultural differences.
• Recognising, interpreting and responding appropriately to behavioural cues and gestures in all learning situations.

Written communication is fundamental to teaching with professional and legal ramifications.

Student demonstrates:

• The capacity to construct and model coherent written communication appropriate to the circumstance.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Written communication, in English, is a professional and social expectation of teachers and should be demonstrated at all times.

Adjustments must meet and model required standards of clarity, expression, and accuracy to facilitate effective planning, delivery, reporting, evaluating and synthesis of information in all teaching and learning contexts.

Exemplars:

• Constructing a range of written assignments to ethical and academic standards.
• Producing reports, lesson plans, student profiles, assessments, evaluations and other written forms of communication that meet professional standards.

Consistent and effective cognition skills must be demonstrated in all teaching and learning contexts.

Student demonstrates:

• The capacity to locate appropriate and relevant information.
• The ability to process information relevant to practice.
• The ability to integrate, reflect on and implement theoretical knowledge in tutorials, professional/field experience settings.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Teaching relies on the ability to access, understand and apply knowledge in varying professional contexts to facilitate learners’ cognitive skills.

Adjustments must ensure that the acquisition of knowledge is not compromised in a learning context.

Exemplars:

• Conceptualising and using appropriate knowledge in response to academic assessment items.
• Identifying and applying knowledge of policy and procedures in professional/field experience settings.
• Interpretation of a wide range of information in order to provide a safe and productive learning environment.

Foundational literacy skills are essential to teaching.

Student demonstrates:

• The ability to accurately acquire information and convey appropriate messages.
• Ability to read and comprehend a range of texts for teaching and learning purposes.
• The capacity to understand and implement academic conventions to construct written text in a scholarly manner.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Competent English language and literacy skills (reading, comprehending, interpreting, synthesizing information), and the ability to acquire and convey information accurately, are essential for the effective teaching and learning of these skills by pre-service teachers’ future students in schools.

Adjustments to address literacy issues must demonstrate students capacity to effectively acquire, comprehend, apply and communicate accurate information.

Exemplars:

• Conveying a spoken message effectively in a given context, such as professional/field experience or university classrooms.
• Demonstrating acceptable professional literacies including digital, written, and visual, in a range of contexts, using appropriate spelling, punctuation and conventions of writing.

Foundational numeracy skills are essential to teaching.

Student demonstrates:

• Ability to interpret and correctly apply data, measurements and numerical criteria in a range of contexts.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Competent and accurate numeracy skills are essential for the effective teaching and learning of these skills by preservice teachers’ future students in schools.

Adjustments must demonstrate foundational numeracy skills.

Exemplars:

• Demonstrate competency in applying numeracy skills to interpret and solve problems across a range of educational, professional, and everyday contexts.
• Demonstrate competency in applying numeracy skills in the teaching of numeracy.

Teachers are expected to demonstrate contemporary knowledge and use of ICT in a range of academic and professional contexts.

Student demonstrates:

• Knowledge of, and confidence in, the use of ICT in academic, professional and curriculum context.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Effective use of ICT is fundamental to effective teaching and learning.

Adjustments must enable the demonstration of a capacity to comprehend, interpret and use ICT.

Exemplars:

• Using ICTs to enable interaction with peers and University staff when organising information to accomplish academic tasks.
• Using ICTs to keep accurate records, produce quality student reports, develop curriculum materials, and to assess and evaluate students’ learning.
• Student demonstrate appropriateness in all communications, including emails and SMS.

Teachers must demonstrate appropriate interpersonal competence to engage sensitively and confidentially with children, young people, parents/carers, staff and community members in diverse settings.

Student demonstrates:

• The ability to work effectively, sensitively and confidentially with children, young people, parents/carers and community members.
• The ability to create rapport with peers, academic and professional staff conducive to effective working relationships.
• Cultural competence, sensitivity and willingness to work with individual children and young people in a complex and diverse Australian society.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Interpersonal engagement is essential to working effectively and respectfully in professional and diverse educational settings.

Adjustments must enable appropriate levels of interpersonal engagement and behaviours that, in independent unsupervised settings, are sensitive to the social and cultural context.

Exemplars:

• Communicating a viewpoint in a respectful and culturally competent manner in educational settings.
• Interacting with mutual regard, equity and dignity towards others.

Adequate visual acuity is required for teaching to effectively monitor children and young people's behaviours and safety.

Student demonstrates:

• Sufficient visual acuity to perform the required range of skills.
• Sufficient visual acuity to monitor children and young people's behaviour and safety.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Adequate visual acuity is required to provide safe and effective teaching and supervision of children and young people in a range of educational and community settings.

Adjustments must address the need to perform the required range of tasks and practices in caring for and supervising children and young people, and in teaching and learning activities.

Exemplars:

• Monitoring children and young people's safety and well-being at all times and in all contexts.
• Effectively negotiating unfamiliar settings and/or behaviours.

Teaching requires fine and gross motor function to provide safe and effective education and care.

Student demonstrates:

• The ability to move and perform gross motor function within the scope of practice.
• The ability to use fine motor skills to provide safe effective education and care.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Teaching requires manual dexterity and fine and gross motor skills to deliver consistent and safe education and care, and instruction to learners. Such motor skills are necessary to participate in the physical activities and movement required to function effectively in educational settings.
• Strength and mobility associated with manual lifting and handling of young children is required in some settings.

Adjustments must facilitate functional effectiveness, safety of self and others, and a capacity to provide appropriate education and care.

Exemplars:

• Using, recording, observing, documenting, and modelling the use of equipment such as scissors, pencils and other such equipment.
• Manipulating resources and using ICT equipment during learning activities.
• Setting up learning resources and equipment to ensure a safe learning environment.
• Demonstrating physical teaching activities that may include but are not restricted to sitting, lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, standing, twisting and bending.

Teachers must maintain consistent and sustained levels of performance including concentration, physical energy, cognition, professional behaviours and appropriate communication in all educational settings.

Student demonstrates:

• Consistent and sustained level of physical energy to complete a specific task in a timely manner.
• The ability to perform all required activities with a level of concentration that ensures a capacity to focus on the activity until it is completed appropriately.
• The capacity to maintain consistency and quality of performance throughout the designated period of academic or professional/field experience.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Physical, interpersonal and cognitive endurance is a professional requirement in the teaching profession that ensures safe and effective participation in all teaching, field, and professional/field experience activities.

Adjustments must enable consistent and sustained performance over a given period.

Exemplars:

• Preparing for and participating in sustained teaching and learning activities including tutorials, lectures and professional/field experience.
• Providing consistent quality supervision, instruction and care for children and young people.