How the Education Industry Can Counter the Impact of Teacher Shortages on Our Most Marginalised Students

The teacher shortage across Australia is well-documented – it is dire, complex, and with significant impacts on the education and well-being of students. There is a projected shortfall of more than 4,000 high school teachers nationally by 2025, with state schools in Queensland already short by roughly 500 teachers, an increase from 100 last year. Principals across primary and secondary schools have also reported greater challenges in recruiting qualified staff, with about half saying they are “greatly concerned” they would not be able to fill teacher vacancies next year.

Furthermore, recent research from PeopleBench, found the disruptions of COVID-19, paired with teacher shortages, have compounded existing teacher exhaustion. The research highlights that the teacher shortage was cited as the most serious problem facing schools across all sectors, with the majority of the 500 respondents saying it would not be resolved in the next three years.

The new federal government has presented a range of potential policy changes and ideas to address these challenges in the short and long-term. However, amid the current challenges around the teacher shortages and other pressures on schools, it is all too common for specialist needs of marginalised children to go overlooked or unaddressed.

Effective Collaboration and Partnership Between Schools and Specialist Agencies
For children and young people of refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds, their own trauma and intergenerational trauma requires specialist support. Yet, teachers barely have time and resources to be upskilled in core areas of educating, let alone areas that are often considered 'extra' such as therapeutic support to address refugee trauma.

This is where innovative ways of collaborating and partnering can help address some of the underlying issues that traumatised children and young people are facing, to set them up for success in and beyond the classroom.

For example, expressive therapies that combine art, music, play and drama with psychological support make it easier for children and young people to process and heal from their trauma. It also helps them navigate the challenges of settling and learning in Australian schools, particularly when English is not their first language.

We know that students from refugee backgrounds benefit from specialist and early-intervention therapy in schools, supporting them to develop positive coping strategies to deal with the stress and emotions that can result from trauma, and to build positive interpersonal relationships with their teachers and peers. We also know that educators and school communities are asking for more support to understand the impact of refugee trauma and provide safe and responsive school environments. The more support and early intervention students can get, and the more training and upskilling that educators can acquire, the better the outcomes will be for students and our education system as a whole.

Supporting Teachers at the Frontline
Teachers are at the frontline of support for refugee children and young people.

Many teachers and school staff have the desire to improve their ability to provide trauma-sensitive environments, and to identify when a student requires additional trauma support, but resources for ongoing training and professional development for teachers are limited.

While some schools understand the impact of refugee trauma on children, and have taken steps to meet the needs of these students, it is our experience that the lack of consistent, trauma informed approaches across schools pose significant barriers for students and families from refugee backgrounds succeeding within the Queensland education system.

Successful “whole-of-school” support programs have been implemented with trauma recovery services in New South Wales and Victoria to promote systematic changes at the school level to improve achievement, engagement and wellbeing outcomes for students from refugee backgrounds and it would be worth other states, including Queensland, considering similar models.

While it may seem overwhelming for the education industry to change how it supports the needs of marginalised children, it is important to recognise that there are a broad range of specialist agencies and organisations deeply committed to empowering and supporting children and young people. Teachers have a lot on their plates and cannot be expected to “do it all” – and definitely not all at once. The more open-minded the industry is to collaborating and partnering with experts, the more action and change we can expect to improve the outcomes of children and young people of all backgrounds.