Teacher quality debate is 'bullying' DEBATE about teacher quality has been hijacked and often amounts to bullying of the profession, an education expert says. Teachers are being unfairly blamed for all problems in the nation's education system, Professor Stephen Dinham will tell the Australian College of Educators in a speech on Thursday. The chair of teacher education at the University of Melbourne says the "misinformed, persistent, harmful rhetoric and indeed bullying" in the current debate are going largely unchallenged. As well, there's a fixation with international measures of student achievement that's eroding teachers' self-belief and confidence. "There are growing and worrying signs that the quality teaching movement is in danger of being hijacked," Professor Dinham will say. Rather than regarding teachers as our most precious asset they are now being seen as our biggest problem when students fail to learn. Prof Dinham advocates a stronger focus on professional learning for teachers and halting a downward slide in entry standards for undergraduate teacher training courses. "We need to stop looking for quick-fix solutions which have been found wanting elsewhere," he says, calling many of the proposed fixes "ill-informed" and "half-baked." We need to concentrate on policies that support our teachers. These would include ongoing professional learning, recognition and reward for teachers who upgrade their skills, excellent training for future leaders and methods for attracting and retaining the most able people. Prof Dinham will deliver the annual Phillip Hughes Oration in Canberra on Thursday night.