The Age | 7 November 2013
At Melbourne University, aspiring teachers must now navigate an online test that looks for personality traits that will help them get the most from their training.
This year about 1500 students with undergraduate qualifications used the survey tool, which also tests verbal communication and numerical ability. Only about a quarter of the applicants who took the test will be accepted.
Students who want to graduate as teachers from Melbourne University must complete postgraduate qualifications in education.
Melbourne University education professor John Hattie said the test assesses a broad range of traits from extroversion and agreeableness to neuroticism and cultural sensitivity.
He said the tool will help find students who were open to new experiences and could adapt to a range of demands. Hattie said university entrance ranks and interviews are insufficient to find the best students.
We know from research that interviewing is one of the more hopeless methods. They don’t actually add a lot of value.
The quality of teachers and pre-service training has been the subject of debate in Victoria recently, as elsewhere. Earlier in November, the state government announced it will review the quality of teaching courses to examine how well they prepared graduates.
The government will also establish 12 teaching academies of professional practice, which will include a leading school, a network of other schools and at least one university.
