Interim Chair of Teacher Quality Institute appointed

Today I announced the appointment of Professor Denis Goodrum as the interim Chair of the ACT Teacher Quality Institute.

Professor Goodrum is a highly experienced educational researcher who has made a significant contribution to teaching standards across Australia. His appointment brings a wealth of experience and leadership to the Institute.

The ACT Teacher Quality Institute will commence operations in 2011 and will be responsible for teacher registration, accreditation of pre-service teacher education programs, and certification of teachers in the ACT against national standards.

The ACT Government committed $3.9 million over four years in the 2010-11 Budget to establish the Institute. This is an important step towards ensuring that ACT schools continue to attract and retain the very best teachers in our classrooms. I welcome Professor Goodrum and look forward to his contribution to further improving education in the ACT.

Professor Goodrum is a former Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Canberra and has served on numerous state and national boards, including the Board of the Australian Deans of Education, Questacon, Scitech and the ACT Curriculum Renewal Taskforce. He also has extensive experience in teaching standards and a number of international teacher education projects.

Professor Goodrum has had an illustrious career in the field of education and, in particular, science education. In 1998 he was a visiting scholar at the National Research Council in Washington DC working on a project examining the National Science Education Standards.

In 2000 Professor Goodrum led a research team that completed a significant and extensive national study for the Commonwealth into the status and quality of teaching and learning of science in Australian schools.

In 2009 Professor Goodrum prepared the framing paper for the Australian Science Curriculum and remains a guiding influence on its subsequent development.