What if some of the teacher shortage isn’t showing up in the numbers? The OECD’s Education at a Glance 2026 takes a close look at teacher shortages — but it doesn’t measure out-of-field teaching. In this episode, I unpack what the report does tell us about subject shortages, teacherqualifications, retention, and Australia’s unusually high proportion of second-career teachers. And I ask a bigger question: if every classroom has a teacher, doesthat mean the shortage has been solved?

Links

OCED Education at a Glance 2026 report

https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/2026/09/education-at-a-glance-2026_3bce4131/full-report/teacher-shortages-and-the-attractiveness-of-the-teaching-profession_074961e4.html

My LinkedIn article https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/shortage-behind-what-oecds-education-glance-2026-us-03psc/

Dr Amber Hughes, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Newcastle (UON), talks about decolonising mathematics education in Australia. Her work asks whathappens when we look beyond access to the existing curriculum and think more deeply about whose knowledges are recognised, represented, and valued in mathematics. We discuss the limits of ‘Closing the Gap’ framings, the role ofAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges, why listening and humility matter, and why teachers do not need to have all the answers before they begin.

For out-of-field maths teachers, this conversation opens up a different way of thinking about mathematics teaching: not as a rush to the ‘right’ method, but as relational, reflective, and open to students’ intuitive and creative ways of knowing. Amber is also part of the Teachers and Teaching Research Centre at the UON.

Links:

https://www.newcastle.edu.au/profile/amber-hughes

https://www.newcastle.edu.au/research/centre/teachers-and-teaching

The Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) has begun its review of the professional teaching standards. Should dispositions be part of the new-look standards? Find out more about my responses (and argument), plus hear an update about my mid-PhD-candidature review.

Links:

OOFTAS 2026 symposium links to recordings of sessions https://ooftas-collective.org/2026-symposium

AITSL webpage about the APTS review https://www.aitsl.edu.au/standards/review-of-the-teacher-standards

Skourdoumbis, A. (2019). Theorising teacher performance dispositions in an age of audit. British Educational Research Journal, 45(1), 5–20. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3492

Call, K. (2018). Professional teaching standards: A comparative analysis of their history, implementation, and efficacy. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 43(3), 93–108. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2018v43n3.6

https://blog.aare.edu.au/what-should-an-australian-teacher-look-like-now-this-is-your-chance-to-help-decide/

https://www.education.gov.au/quality-initial-teacher-education-review/resources/strong-beginnings-report-teacher-education-expert-panel

More info about my PhD project and how to get involved https://blogs.deakin.edu.au/success-stories-ooft-maths-science/phd-research-project-a-netnographic-exploration-of-self-perceptions-of-success-of-out-of-field-teachers-of-mathematics-and-science/