Somewhere out there: Regional educators, professional learning and the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers

Establishing professional standards which reflect what teachers can do,and what they need to do,to maximise student achievement has long been associated with the educational reform agenda in Australia. The contextual setting of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL, 2011) emerged from competency driven policies in the late 1980s and 1990s which attempted to standardise teacher practice. Professional competencies as they emerged during this time,continued to be developed by professional groups and government agencies to establish greater understanding of standardised practice.The period between 1990-2011 is characterised as a time of scrutiny as associations and government agencies continued to challenge the purpose and development of standards of teaching practice. With the release of the 2011 Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, and January 1, 2018 set as the date when New South Wales teachers must engage with the Standards; many schools have begun the process of familiarisation. Given that all teachers are expected to apply the Standards to verify their professional accreditation, can the Standards mean the same thing to all teachers, irrespective of their context? This case study has investigated the ways regional teachers in New South Wales have engaged with the Standards as they work somewhere out there.