GRAHAM, John McKay

The Australian Education Union (AEU) Victorian Branch acknowledges with sadness the passing of John Graham.

John dedicated more than 50 years to a career in public education.

In his early career John was a secondary teacher at Princes Hill Secondary College and Coburg High School. John was a union member and loved teaching, but after 14 years sought a change and found that working on behalf of teachers in the public system was his ideal job.

John worked in research positions with the Department of Education for a period of time before commencing employment with the union, initially as the Assistant Secretary (Curriculum) with the Victorian Secondary Teachers Association (VSTA), a predecessor of the AEU, in 1988 and then as a Research Officer with the AEU. He spent the next 34 years working on behalf of AEU members conducting important research for the Branch, providing advice to the union’s leadership, preparing submissions to inquiries and writing extensively on professional issues through the Professional Voice journal and through online career teacher network newsletters. The federal AEU was also a frequent beneficiary of his knowledge and insights.

John was deeply invested in protecting and improving the professional status of teachers and for identifying and addressing issues which impacted them as workers and as a profession including in the areas of teacher education, the organisation and funding of public education and curriculum change.

John was central to convening the Victorian Teacher Education Forum (VTEF), working closely with universities and teacher education providers. John was also the Secretary of Education Services Incorporated and played a key role in maintaining important funding for Professional Development of School Leaders.

In more recent years John enjoyed travel and retired from the AEU in 2022.
The AEU pays tribute to his many years of service and significant contribution. Vale.