ECU program offers ECTs an opportunity to ‘earn while they learn’

Edith Cowan University (ECU) has worked with the Federal Government to launch the High Achieving Teachers program, which will see eligible students studying Early Childhood, Primary or Secondary education at Masters level offered an opportunity to ‘earn while they learn’. 

 

Known as the High Achieving Teachers (HAT) program, the new offering will commence in Semester 1, 2025, and will allow eligible students to be paid while attaining teaching qualifications in an employment-based pathway designed to tackle Australia’s teacher shortage.

 

“We are delighted to be the only Western Australian university to offer the HAT program at ECU,” School of Education Executive Dean Professor Caroline Mansfield said. 

 

“It allows recent non-teaching graduates and career changers looking for something rewarding the opportunity to attain a Master of Teaching while earning an income.”

 

Professor Mansfield believes the program is “an innovative way of boosting the number of people entering the profession” which will enhance the connection between theory and practice.

 

Successful applicants in the HAT program will study one of three Master of Teaching courses, in either Early Childhood, Primary or Secondary Education, with the study program structured around the four Western Australian school terms.

 

“We know this will better align with school needs and in doing so has the potential to enhance theory-practice connections,” Professor Mansfield said.

 

“It also allows for a more convenient transition for those participants with school-age children who won’t be expected to work during the school holidays.”

 

HAT program students will be paid while studying and start work in a classroom from their first year of study.

 

They will be placed in one of ECU’s HAT partnership schools, either public, Catholic or an independent school.

 

The program is open to people with a Bachelor degree who are interested in making the switch from their current field into teaching.

 

This applies to:

 

• recent graduates who hold a non-teaching degree
• final year students who expect to graduate with a non-teaching degree in 2024
• people wanting to switch career to teaching

 

“We are looking for people with strong undergraduate results and there will be some emphasis on graduates who have studied STEM courses,” Professor Mansfield continued.

 

“We will also consider applicants’ personal qualities to assess their suitability, as teaching is a highly personal profession.” 

 

Learn more about the HAT program here.