Teachers  trained for 6 weeks before entering the classroom are likely to be better suited for  fits of teaching as opposed to being be fit for teaching, according to a leading education academic who is critical of findings made in a report commissioned by the Queenslander College of Teachers .

Associate Professor Ken Purnell of CQUniversity Australia says 6 weeks pre-service training for so-called "associates", highly-skilled professionals or graduates who switch to teaching from their main area of knowledge, is flawed in terms of the mentoring associates would get, the cost of the program and negative messages being sent to the community about teaching.

"These ‘associates' are professionals who can easily transfer their skills to other employment with much higher salary packages...  It's likely the novelty-factor of teaching could soon wear off for the teacher and their students," said Professor Purnell.

Initial enthusiasm runs down when you have to be there for the long-haul - for both the students and the teacher according to Purnell.

"Substantive professional knowledge and good practice based upon quality contemporary research are the hallmarks of most good teachers.  A key message from the last half-century of educational research is: What teachers know and do makes the biggest difference in learning gains by students," he added.