How are pre-service teachers in Australia being prepared for teaching literacy and numeracy to a diverse range of students?

An Australia-wide project gathered beginning teachers' and experienced teachers' views on how well preserviceteacher education courses had prepared them to teach literacy and numeracy. One focus was how well prepared thebeginning teachers felt to teach students who had diverse learning needs. It was found that a good percentage of teachersdid not feel adequately prepared to teach students with diverse learning needs. In particular, knowledge to teach phonicsand spelling was a concern. A highly regarded model for preservice teacher training was a placement in a clinical settingwhere individual assessments and programs were written and implemented.