Australia's education system is segregated and losing equity, says visiting professor
By Rebecca Barrett
Posted Wed 18 Jun 2014, 9:25pm AEST
Two men study
PHOTO: One of the world's leading educators says Australia is losing its equity in education.
One of the world's leading educators says Australia is losing its equity in education as the system becomes segregated due to the number of students now attending non-government schools.
Finland's former Director General of Education and now a visiting professor at Harvard University, Pasi Stahlberg, is in Australia this week delivering a series of talks about equity and excellence in education and how Finland has built its highly regarded education system.
Dr Stahlberg says it is "surprising" that Australia is not taking the Gonski school funding model more seriously.
"What has happened to Australia in education is that you have lost some of that equity that you used to have before here and when you lose the equity it seems like this ... is tracking and pulling back the quality," he said.
The Federal Government has committed to fund the first four years of Gonski but not the final two years when the largest share of funding kicks in.
This week, New South Wales agreed to spend a record $14.4 billion on education that will fully fund Gonski and pay for major school redevelopments.
Education Minister Adrian Piccoli says the 2014-15 budget delivers on New South Wales's commitment to fully fund its $1.76 billion Gonski commitment.
"Where the Commonwealth Government refused to fund its share of the agreement beyond 2017, NSW has kept faith with school communities around the state by allocating additional funds across the forward estimates," he said.
Disadvantaged students to benefit most
Some school principals say they are reaping the benefits.
Experts barking up the wrong tree
Those wanting to improve equity in Australia's education system should be looking to increase rather than limit school autonomy and school choice, writes Kevin Donnelly.
Christine Cawsey, the principal of Rooty Hill High School in Sydney's west, says half of her students come from low socio-economic backgrounds.
Speaking in a union "I Give a Gonski" campaign on YouTube, she says Gonski money combined with some extra funding for reading has made a huge difference.
"We've been able to lift the reading levels of our students in Year 7 by one year already. Some of them three or four years in reading," she said.
Dr Stahlberg says four out of five children who come from disadvantaged backgrounds in Australia are educated in public schools.
He says Australia has the lowest share of public school students amongst members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) at a time when many countries, including Singapore, are retreating from private education.
"Many of the things that you have currently in place go against what the most successful systems are doing," he said.
He says "the Federal Government is right when it says more money is not going to solve the problem and improve the quality."
"I think the right question is not how much money you spend but how you spend the money available and there I think Gonski did wonderful work in spelling out how unfairly the money that is available in Australia is spent.
I think the right question is not how much money you spend but how you spend the money available and there I think Gonski did wonderful work in spelling out how unfairly the money that is available in Australia is spent.
"In Australia you are funding inequity within your school system rather spending the money in a way that would enhance and fund equity within the system," Dr Stahlberg said.
But Dr Kevin Donnelly, who is co-chairing a review of the Australian curriculum, argues that Dr Stahlberg has got it wrong.
Writing for ABC's The Drum this week, he says "the belief that all can be winners", as Stahlberg implies with his argument that with enough resources and support every child can do well, is also far from true.
"Not all students have the same ability, motivation and will to succeed, and it is far better to give students a realistic and truthful appraisal of their ability instead of letting them float through school believing all is well," he said.
Dr Donnelly says "those wanting to improve equity in Australia's education system should be looking to increase rather than limit school autonomy and school choice."
The Commonwealth is working to encourage around 1,500 existing public schools to participate in the Independent Public Schools initiative by 2017.
----------
I don't suppose Dr Donnelly is associated with the Liberal Party in some way...?
