Together, we are shaping the future of education. The human spirit that animates our work is resilient, purposeful and ultimately irrepressible. In this edition of Australian Educational Leader, we consider the sustainability of our profession, one that enables societies to evolve with hope for the future.
In 2015, the Queensland Executive of ACEL researched the criteria of established professions, with a view to ascertaining whether there exists a common set of criteria that comprise a profession. It was agreed that teaching clearly meets all but one of the criteria evident in the research. What was missing was a deep statement of ethically based values and beliefs that complements existing legislative and regulatory instruments. Through wide consultation across Australia’s educational community, this group led the development of the Statement of Commitment to the Profession. This statement is a voluntary declaration of commitment to a set of values and beliefs for the teaching profession in Australia. It invites every teacher to bring optimism, resilience, and hope; to commit to continuous learning; and to honour the deep trust placed in them by young people, families, and society. It provides a frame for us to ensure, through actions, the sustainability of our profession.
Dr Bruce Addison, speaking to early career teachers at the recent ACEL Early Career Teacher Breakfast, articulated with characteristic grace: “teaching is, at its core, a deeply human endeavour. We may teach subjects, ideas and skills, but, above all, we teach young people”. In doing so, we engage in one of the most meaningful acts of human connection available to us. Dr Addison reminded our newest colleagues, each teacher brings to their career unique talents and perspectives, what Emeritus Professor Frank Crowther AM has called our personal pedagogical gifts. These gifts are not incidental to the profession. They are the essence of an educator.
Ask any educator to describe a teacher whom they admire and their stories capture something no workforce strategy or policy document can manufacture. The irreplaceable, transformative power of a teacher’s presence in a young person’s life. It is this quality of connection that makes teaching not merely a job, but a vocation. The sustainability of any profession perhaps relies not merely on numbers or economic conditions, although these do matter, what truly matters is the depth of meaning our practitioners find in their work. In considering this measure, our teaching profession stands apart.
An emphasis on community is a coherent theme present in articles across this edition. Teaching is not and never has been a solitary act. “None of this work is done alone. It is strengthened through colleagues, enriched through partnerships with families, and deepened through the accumulated wisdom of those who have gone before us” (Addison, 2026). Professional associations such as our Australian Council for Educational Leaders exist to cultivate this community. Through State and Territory Branches, National initiatives we connect and give volume to the voices of early career educators across sectors and systems, we are actively building the connective human infrastructure that sustains our profession across generations. Fresh perspectives, robust dialogue and a renewal of professional energy that benefits the entire educational community is evident in our early career educators.
Equally central to the sustainability of our profession is intellectual vitality. Dr Deborah Netolicky (2025), Principal of Walford Anglican School for Girls, recently hosted Professor Erica McWilliam AM on her Edu Salon Podcast. What unfolds is a compelling conversation of joy in the rigour of learning. The “pleasure of the rigour”, that deep satisfaction that comes from grappling with complex ideas, supporting students to think boldly and persist through difficulty, and celebrating the delight of learning as a shared enterprise between teacher and student (Netolicky, 2025). Their observations confirm what many of us know from our own classrooms, when teachers are intellectually engaged and empowered to pursue their subject interests, the energy in schools becomes palpable and self-sustaining. Rigour and joy truly are companions in our profession.
In an acknowledgment of the profound social importance of education as a profession, and not merely a policy statement, The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL, 2022) affirm that teacher quality is the single most important factor influencing student achievement. We know that when we invest in teachers, in their professional recognition, their continuous learning, their wellbeing and their autonomy, we are investing in the futures of every young person. As leaders of learning with both formal and informal roles we have a responsibility as to how this investment can be enacted at the school level. Culture that is intentionally designed, collaborative professional development and the recognition that a sustainable profession is built one conversation, one school community, at a time.
As we navigate a world increasingly influenced by artificial intelligence, digital complexity, and social fragmentation, the teaching profession stands as one of society’s most essential anchors. Technology may amplify our capabilities; however, it cannot replace the human relationship at the heart of learning. That relationship is attentive, empathetic, morally purposeful and is the irreducible core of what we do.
We are members of a profession that will sustain and enable societies around us to evolve because we choose, to be present and believing, always, in the possibility of every young person before us, reinforcing the purpose and humanity that exists in our noble profession.
References
Addison, B. (2026, March 20). The beauty and joy of teaching. ACEL Queensland Branch Aspiring and early career teacher breakfast. Australian Council for Educational Leaders.
Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL). (2017). A statement of commitment to the profession of teaching. https://media.acel.org.au/Branch/QLD/Statement%20of%20Commitment%20[v.3].pdf
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). (2022). The Australian professional standards for teachers. https://www.aitsl.edu.au/standards
Netolicky, D. (2025, December 10). Erica McWilliam on joy and challenge in learning and teaching. Edu Salon. Retrieved from https://www.podbean.com/media/share/dir-4mwwj-2967880d