Australian education - FYA€¦ · This report has been printed on Monza Satin Recycled, an...

a proposal for a national reform agenda

A new federalism in

Australianeducation:jack keating

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2 HowYoungPeopleareFaring2008

AcknowledgementsThisproposalhasbeenpreparedbyProfessorJackKeating,EducationFoundationThoughtLeader.IthasbeenmadepossiblethroughtheclosecollaborationofEducationFoundationandTheR.E.RossTrust.

WeareparticularlygratefulforthesupportprovidedbyAustinPaterson,RebekahLautmanandRosBlack.

Copyright©EducationFoundation,2009

ThisreporthasbeenprintedonMonzaSatinRecycled,anenvironmentallyresponsible,55%recycledpapermadefrom25%post-consumerwaste,FSCmixedsourcecertified.ItismadeinamillwhichoperatesundertheISO14001EnvironmentalManagementSystem.

i

A Title

i

ii Tablesiii Figuresiv Forewordv Prefacevi Highlightsvi ExplanatoryNotesvii KeyFindings

01 Introduction

03 01. EngaginginEducation,TrainingandWork04 Teenagers17 SchoolLeavers22 YoungAdults

28 02. EducationalAttainment29 EstimatesofAttainment33 InternationalComparisons

36 03. TransitiontotheLabourMarket37 YouthLabourMarket43 PathwaysMeasuredAcrossSevenPost-SchoolYears 48 FinalNote50 References52 AppendixTables

ii Foreward

iii Preface

01 A.Introduction:directionsineducationpolicyinAustralia 02 Thepolicycontextandinvestmentinschooling

03 B.Purposeofschooling 03 Purposes 05 Thecommongoodandpublicchoice

07 C.Thefamily,thestateandcivilsociety 07 AnAustraliansettlement?

10 D.PerformanceofAustralianschoolingandtheimplicationsforpolicy 11 Equity 13 Teacherqualityandpolicy

14 E.Mediations 14 Earlychildhoodandtransitionfromschooling 14 Earlychildhood 15 Transition 17 Communityexpectations 19 Socialgeography 21 Institutionalfactors

22 F.Structuralfeatures

25 G.Institutionalsettingsineducation 27 Impacts 27 Earlychildhood 28 Themiddleyearsandadolescentdisengagement 28 Postcompulsoryprograms 29 Fundingandgovernance 29 Publicandprivate 30 PublicperceptionsofschoolinginAustralia 31 Enrolmentdriftswithinsectors 33 Policyscope 33 Politicisation

34 H.Federalism

37 I.AnobjectiveforschoolinginAustralia

40 J.Australianschooling–anidealisedmodel? 41 Earlychildhood 41 Primaryschooling 42 Secondaryschooling 43 Contestedprinciplesandinstitutions 43 Choice 43 Ownership 44 Funding 44 Governanceandaccountability

45 K.Astrategy 46 Twosetsofinitiatives 46 Structuralinitiatives 47 Threenationalprojects 48 Commonfeatures 48 Structuralreforms 49 Funding 49 Benefits 50 Anewfederalism

51 L.Conclusion 52 ReferencesContents

ii AnewfederalisminAustralianeducation:Aproposalforanationalreformagenda

Foreword

“Alonghabitofnotthinkingathingwrong,givesitasuperficialappearanceofbeingrightandraisesatfirstaformidableoutcryindefenceofcustom.”

ThomasPaine,Common Sense

InCommon Sense,ThomasPaineobservesthatunjustrealitiescancometobeacceptedasthenormthroughlongcustom.SadlythisisthecaseinregardtoeducationinAustralia.

Essentialtoanydemocracyistheupholdingofgoodprinciples.Fairness,clearaccountability,respectfordiversity,universalsocialmobilityareimportantprincipleswhichAustraliansholddear.Yetbyaseriesofhistoricmeasures,theseprincipleshavebecomemuddiedandcompromised,lostwithinmanyadhoc,shorttermmeasures.Theresultisthatacountrywhichpridesitselfonfairnessnowoperatesunderaframeworkwhichmitigatesagainstfairnessandequalschoolingopportunity.

ManyAustraliansareunawareofthesingularityoftheireducationalarrangementswithintheworldcommunity.Australia’scombinationoftwolevelsofgovernmentinvolvedinthefundingandoversightofthreedistinctschoolsectorshas,overtime,createdasituationofconfusionandpooraccountability.

Thedamageunderthecurrentframeworkisenormous.Thosechildrenalreadyadvantagedinhomeandlocationenjoythebenefitsofaqualityeducation.Butotherchildren’slifechancesarediminishedfromthestartandalamentablelevelofmediocreachievementistoowidelytolerated.Manynevergaintheeducationthatoffersthemawayoutofintergenerationalpoverty.Andthenationisdiminishedtoobyhugelossoftalent.

Andyet,structuralchangehasseemedtoohard.Familiesjustgetonwithseekingthebestchoiceofeducationfortheirchildren.Eachpoliticalpersuasionofgovernmentswingsthebalanceoffundingonewayoranother.Tensionsflareupregularlyatelectionsandthensubside.Butlittleprogressismadeinaddressingthedeepdynamicthatreinforcestheongoingreality.

Nosolutionispossiblewithoutabravewillingnesstolookattheunderlyinghistoricissueswhichhavebecomeentangledandtoreformulateakeysetofprinciplestotakeusforward.

JackKeatinghasdoneusagreatserviceinhispaperA New Federalism;firstly,byprovidingacarefulanalysisoftheparticularAustraliansituation,bothitshistoricantecedents,andthecurrentconfusionofcomponentsandsecondly,byhisbraveproposalofasteppedapproachtoachieveanewframework,anewreality.

Thispaperistimely.Recentdevelopments,suchastheNationalGoalsforSchoolingandthepassageofcommonaccountability,havestartedtoestablishaclearminimalbasisforthefuture.ButacentralremainingproblemisFederalStaterelationswhereinalackofclarityaboutrolesandfundingresponsibilitiespreventeffectiveaction.

A New Federalismismorethananexcellentacademicpaper.Agreatdealhangsonaddressingtheissueitraises.Atstakeis:1)ourcapacitytomovetoimproveduniversalqualityoflearning;2)Australia’ssocialcohesionandclaimstobeafairdemocracy;and3)thelossofvastmoniesthroughineffectivespendingandthedamagedlivescaughtinanentrenchedhistoryofunderachievementandschoolleaving.

Morethanever,weneedawholeofcommunitycommitmenttoeducationifAustraliaisgoingtoliftitsgameinternationallyandprepareallofitswonderfulyoungpeopleforsuccessinanuncertainfuture.Thestructureofgovernmentcaneitheraidthisorcontinuetoinhibitit.

“Whateveraffectsonedirectly,affectsallindirectly.”MartinLutherKing

EllenKoshlandFounder,EducationFoundation

iii

Preface

Ithasbeensaidthatdemocracyisanunfinishedprojectinthat,bytheirverynature,democraticcommunitiescontinuouslydevelopaccordingtochangingneedsandcircumstances.InAustralia,thisongoingdevelopmenthasinherenttensionsarisingfromacomplexdynamicofhistory,institutionalarrangementsandemergentchangesinthefabricofsociety.ThisdynamicisclearlyevidentintheAustraliancontextwhereintensionsarevisibleinthedevelopmentofschooling.

Democracyandeducationhavealwaysbeenentwinedincomplexways.Fromitsformationinthelatenineteenthcentury,expectationsofpubliceducationinAustraliahavebeenhighasaresultofthisrelationship.In1851,forexample,theDenominationalSchoolsBoardresponsibleforschoolfundinginVictoriasawtheextensionofdemocracyasagoodopportunitytointroduceageneraleducationsystem.TheestablishmentofageneraleducationsysteminthecolonyofNewSouthWaleswaslinkedtodemocracyinsimilarways.

Theemergenceofasystemofpubliceducationduringthe1850sinvolvedconsiderablestrugglebetweentheState,CatholicandChurchofEnglandgroups.Onesourceoftensioninthisstrugglelayindistinguishingbetweenpublicandprivate;namely,whetherreligiousbeliefsweremattersforpublicorprivatelife.WiththecommitmentofthesixAustraliancoloniestoapubliceducationsystemundertheEducation Actsfromthe1870s,structuraltensionswerecarriedintothefederaliststructureofAustralianeducation.TheybecamemanifestincontestationoverfundingandaccountabilityacrossCatholic,othernon-governmentandgovernmentschools.

AsJackKeatinghasnotedpreviously,thesestructuraltensions,combinedwithfactorssuchastheparticularhistoricalcircumstancesoftheCatholicsystemicschoolsandtheelectoralimportanceoftheirconstituencies,contributedtotheuniquefederalistarrangementsunderpinningschoolinginAustralia.

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iv AnewfederalisminAustralianeducation:Aproposalforanationalreformagenda

AttheheartoftheuniqueinstitutionaldevelopmentofeducationinAustraliaistheentityofthestate.Withtheestablishmentofpubliceducationattheendofthenineteenthcentury,wrotehistorianA.G.Austin, “TheStatehadtriumphed.Nowit

hadtojustifyitsvictory,forithadsecuredtheallegianceofsome,andtheneutralityofothers,bypromisingthat,ifittriumphed,itwouldtransformthenatureofsociety.Somehowitnowhadtogetthenation’schildrenintotheschool-room,ithadtoeducatethemwithoutdirectexpensetotheirparents,andithadtoprovethattheseculareducationitintendedtogivewouldpromotesocialharmony,raiseindustrialefficiency,increasepoliticalcompetenceandfosternationalcohesion.Thevanquishedsoughtconsolationinmarkingdowneachunfulfilledpromise.”

Sincethen,publiceducationhasmadeenormousstridesinaddressingmanyofthesepromises.Butthepromiseofpubliceducationasademocraticprojectremainsunfulfilled.Ourunderstandingofthechallengesofschoolingistosomeextentdelimitedbytheinstitutionalwaysinwhichwetypicallyviewpubliceducation.Discoursesofnationbuilding,improvingtechnicalefficiency,andmorerecently,preparingAustraliansforanewknowledgeeconomy,havelackedafundamentalvisionofAustralianschooling.Recently,however,ashiftinthisdiscoursehastakenplacetowardsissuesofquality,equityandtheimportanceofthecommongood.TheMelbourneDeclarationonEducationalGoalsforYoungAustraliansexplicitlyreflectsthisshift.

Therealisationofthisvisionfacessignificantchallenges.AcrossschoolinginAustraliastudentsareincreasinglysegregatedonthebasisofeducationalachievementandfamilyeconomicandculturalassets.Governanceandfundingareinconsistent,fragmentedandinhibitedbypolicyscopethatislimitedthroughshorttermpoliticalconvenience.ThispaperproposesapaththroughthesechallengesthroughanationalreformagendathataddresseswhatKeatingcalls“thewholepicture”.

EducationFoundation,adivisionoftheFoundationforYoungAustralians(FYA),hashadalonginterestinpromotingreflection,discussionandpolicychangeinAustralianschoolingtoimprovetheequityandqualityofeducationforallyoungAustralians.TheproposalsputforwardinthispaperreflectthemostrecenteffortsofEducationFoundationtopromptsolutionstothewideninggapineducationalachievementandprovisioninAustralia.In2004,EducationFoundationlauncheditsCase for Changeproject,whichcommissionedresearchtoshedlightonthesituationwithinAustraliaandfromaninternationalperspective.Thisprojectadvocatedareconfiguredsystemofeducation“baseduponthedemocraticprinciplesofaccessandequalityofopportunityforall,andthefosteringofexcellence.”

TheCase for ChangeincludedaprocessofconsultationacrossAustraliathatrevealedastrongconcernamongallschoolsectors,government,Catholicandindependent,aboutthegrowingdisparitywithinaswellasbetweensectors,andadesiretofindanewwayforward.Adiscussionpaper,Equity, Excellence and Effectiveness: Moving forward on schooling arrangements in Australiawasreleasedin2005tobuildaconstructiveconversationandcollectiveapproachtotheproblemofeducationaldisadvantageandtocreateanewpublicframeworkforAustralianschooling.

ThisnewproposalcomesatasignificanttimeforFYA.Asstatedinits2009StrategicPlan,amajorgoalofFYAistoachieveeducationalreforminAustraliawhichresultsinyoungAustralianshavingequalaccesstoahighqualityeducation.Thisproposalhasbeendevelopedasakeystoneinachievingthisgoal.

Asstatedabove,thisproposalisalsotimelyintermsofthecurrentCOAGagendaandtheMelbourneDeclaration.ThisproposalrepresentsamajorcontributionbyEducationFoundation,incollaborationwithTheR.E.RossTrust,totheachievementoftheseEducationalGoals.EducationFoundationisdeeplycommittedtoworkingwithkeystakeholders,peakbodiesandbothstateandCommonwealthgovernmentsindiscussingandadvancingthisproposal.Inparticular,itiscommittedtopromotingreflection,discussionandultimatelypolicychangeinschoolfundingandgovernancetobettermeettheobjectiveof“thecommongood”.

Inthispaper,JackKeatingexploresnewterritoryinaddressingthedynamicsandimpactofthefederaliststructureofAustraliangovernmentandpublicpolicymakingonAustralianschooling.OurexpectationsofschoolinginAustraliareflectthekindofsocietyinwhichwewantwelive.AsanintegralcomponentofAustraliandemocracy,publiceducationinheritstheongoingchallengesofadaptingtosocial,political,culturalandeconomicchangethatarebothorganicandentwinedwithitshistorical,institutionalandstructurallegacy.

WebelievethatthisproposalprovidesatimelyandambitiousagendaforstrengtheningAustralianschoolingthataddressesstructuralincumbenciesandsegregation.Itprovidesaconstructive,incisivepathwayintoaddressingAustralianschoolingasanunfulfilledpromiseofdemocracy.Attheheartofthis,itprovidesaboldplatformfromwhichwecandevelopavisionofschoolingbasedonqualityandequityforallAustralians.

DrLucasWalshDirectorofResearch,TheFoundationforYoungAustralians

ThispaperpresentsanargumentandaproposedstrategyforstructuralreformsinAustralianschooling.ItnotesthatwhilemanyaspectsofAustralianschoolingarestrong,somemeasuresdonotconsistentlyindicateoptimumperformance,andtherearesignsthatoverallperformanceisweakeningincomparisontotheperformancesoftheschoolsystemsinothereconomicallyadvancedcountries.Inparticular,combinationsoftrendsinsocialgeographyandselectivityinschoolingareleadingtohighconcentrationsofstudentswithhighlevelsofeducationalneed.ThishasnegativeimplicationsforthecommonnationalgoalofhigherlevelsofeducationandskillsacrosstheAustraliancommunityandAustralia’straditionofequalityofopportunityineducationorwhattheMinisterialCouncilforEducation,Employment,TrainingandYouthAffairs(MCEETYA)(2008a)termsthe‘commongood’.

ThecoreargumentofthispaperisthatAustralianschoolinghasanunusualsetofcharacteristicsthathavebeenfashionedthroughtheintersectionoffederalismandgovernmentandnon-governmentschooling.Thesecharacteristicshavecreatedrigiditiesthatareinfluencingthepatternsofaccessto,participationinandoutcomesofschoolinginAustralia.Moreover,theserigiditiesplaceconsiderablelimitationuponthescopeofschooleducationpolicyoptionsatboththestateandnationallevels.Reformstrategiesarecurrentlyconcentrateduponschool,leadershipandteacherdevelopmentalstrategies.Thesestrategiesareimportant.However,asmostlyrecurrentinvestments,theywillnotbefullyeffectiveintheabsenceofanaccompanyingsetofstructuralreforms.

SchooleducationpolicyinAustraliahasrecentlybecomemorecentraltothepolicyambitionsofgovernment.IthasbeennominatedbytheCommonwealthGovernmentasakeypolicyfocusandisstronglytiedtoitseconomicinfrastructureandsocialpolicyambitions(Rudd&Smith,2007).ThisfocushasalsobeensupportedthroughtheCouncilofAustralianGovernments(COAG)andstatementsthatwereinitiatedbythestatespriortotheelectionofthecurrentCommonwealthGovernment(Dawkins,2007).

A Introduction: directions in education policy in Australia

1

2 AnewfederalisminAustralianeducation:Aproposalforanationalreformagenda

Thesepolicydevelopments,thecontinuedinterestinthequalityofAustralianschoolingandtherenewedinterestinequityinschoolingprovideanopportunityformajorreforms.Thecurrentreformeffortsthatarebeingadvancedbygovernmentandschoolsystemauthoritiesarepractice-based.Thispaperarguesthattheseefforts,whileimportant,willhavealimitedimpactintheabsenceofstructuralreforms,especiallyforschoolsandstudentsthatcurrentlyhavetheweakestpatternsofoutcomes.ThispaperthereforeproposesasetofreformsthataredesignedtoloosenrigiditiesthatarelinkedtothefederalistcharacteristicsofAustralianschooling.Someofthesereformscouldbeenactedintheshorttermandbuilduponthecurrentdevelopmentsthathavebeeninitiatedbystate/territoryandCommonwealthgovernments,separatelyandcollectively.Othersthatrelatetothekeyissuesoffinancing,governanceandaccountabilityrequirelongertermprojectsandneedtobebuiltuponsetsofnationalinitiativestargetedatsomekeystagesofandneedsinschoolinginAustralia.

The policy context and investment in schoolingPublicandprivateinvestmentinschoolinginAustraliahasrisenconsistentlyoverthepasttwodecades.Thefactsthatpublicinvestmentintertiaryeducationasapercentageofgrossdomesticproduct(GDP)hasfallenoverthepastdecade,andthatpublicexpenditureoneducationasapercentageofGDPislowerthanOrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment(OECD)averages,havebeenmuchreported(e.g.Tibbitts&Davis,2008).However,thecombinedlevelsofpublicandprivateexpenditureoneducationareatoraboveOECDaverages(OrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment,2008)andpublicexpenditureonschoolinghascontinuedtogrowinbothabsoluteandrelativetoGDPlevelsoverthepastdecade.Furthermore,inAustraliatherateofincreaseofprivateinvestmentinbothschoolandpostschooleducationhasbeenfasterthaninanyotherOECDcountryandisnowamongstthehighestofallOECDcountries(OrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment,2008).

Overthepastdecade,inanationalpoliticalclimatewhereeducationwasnotapriority,state/territoryandCommonwealthgovernmentsfeltcompelledtoincreasespendingonschooling,despitetherelativedeclineintheschoolagepopulation.Thiswassupplementedwithacceleratingprivateinvestmentinschooling.

Theseinvestmentsareindicativeoftheperceptionofincreasedprivateandpublicreturnsfromschooling.Thecharacteristicsofthesereturnsaredifferent,andbothhavesignificantimpactsupontheprocessesforandtheshapeofpolicyineducation.Educationpolicyhasbroadeneditsattachmenttobothprivateinterestsandtothepublicpolicyagenda.Previousconcentrationsofeducationpolicyuponcitizenshipandthebasicsocialandeconomicfoundationsofthenationhavebroadenedtoincludetheaspirational,positioningandeducationalchoiceinterestsofindividualsandfamiliesaswellasbroadersocialandeconomicobjectivesincludingcivics,employmentandskilling.Ideasofsocialandeconomiccapitalnowfrequenttheeducationpolicylexicon.

Publicpolicyoneducationhaschangedinseveralwaysoverthesepasttwodecades.Someofthechangedcharacteristicsincludethefollowing:> Ithasbecomeinternationalised.

SincetheOECDfirstpublisheditsEducation at a Glancein1992(thenathinvolume),theamountandimpactofinternationalcomparativeanalysisoneducationhasgreatlyincreased.AustraliahasbeenamongstthemostenthusiasticparticipantinOECDthematicreviewsandotherstudies.TheimpactoftheOECDProgrammeforInternationalStudentAssessment(PISA)onschoolpolicyhasbeenespeciallysignificant

> Ithasbecomemoredataandmeasurementbased.Inschooling,Australiahasemergedasahightestingnationwithsetsofstate-basedandnownationalleveltests.IncomparisontoEuropeancountries,thistestingregimeisextensive(Eurydice,2008).Measurement-basedpolicyisalsoreflectedindiscoursesaboutteacherandleadershipqualityandschooleffectiveness

> Educationpolicyhasbecomemorecloselylinkedtoeconomicpolicy.ThelinkingofeducationtotheissueofyouthtransitiontoemploymentbytheFraserGovernmentintheearly1980shasmaturedintoanationaleducationpolicybasedupontheobjectiveofhumancapital

> Correspondingly,thishasmadeeducationmorecentraltogovernmentpolicy.ThisisreflectedinstatementsbytheRuddGovernmentthatprioritiseseducationamongstitspolicyagenda(Rudd&Smith,2007)

> Theseandotherstatementsandinitiativeshavecontinuedthemovementofschooleducationfromastatetoanationalagenda.ThenationalagendawasrobustundertheHawkeandKeatingGovernments.ItcontinuedundertheHowardGovernmentandtheRuddGovernmenthastakenstepstowardsitsintensification.

Animpactofthesedevelopmentshasbeentobroadeneducationpolicyfromitstraditionalcustodiansintheeducationcommunity.InsomecountriessuchastheUnitedKingdom,thisshifthasbeenpartofadeliberategovernmentstrategy.TheprocesseshavebeenlessdeliberateinAustralia.Nevertheless,theshiftissignificantandismanifestintheprominenceofbusinessorganisations(AustralianChamberofCommerceandIndustry,2007;BusinessCouncilofAustralia,2008)aseducationpolicyadvocates,businessconsultantfirmsaspolicyadvisers,andthepresenceofpeoplewithwideportfolioexperiencesamongstsenioreducationbureaucratsandministerialstaffers.

Thebenefitsoftheseshiftsarecontested.Theconservative,closedandattimesobduratecultureoftheeducationsectorhasfrustratedgovernments(Barber,2008)andhasprovokedtheshiftofpolicytowardsnewactorsandnewconceptualandphilosophicaldomains.Ontheotherhand,theeducationallegacyhasvalueandthisshiftcancomeatasignificantpriceifitoccurswithoutreckoningforthedeeperculturalunderpinningsofschoolingandthestructuralfeaturesthatwereformedinparallelwiththeindustrial,sociologicalandscholasticculturesofschooling(Young,2007).


PurposesTheideaofaneducatedpersonhasbeenframedhistoricallythroughscholasticculturesandtheirinteractionswiththesocialandeconomiclifeofcommunities.Schoolinggaineditsuniversalcharacteristicswiththeemergenceofliberaldemocraticnationstates(Simon,1985).Thisrelationshiphasframedtheideaofaneducatedcitizenassomebodywhocanparticipateinandcontributetothesocietyanditspolity,andassomebodywhocancontributetoandprosperwithintheeconomiclifeofthecommunity.

Fromthelate19thcentury,governmentsinvestedconsiderableresourcesinschooleducation.Thepurposesofthisinvestmentincludedthoseofbuildingafoundationofeducationthatwouldallowthecitizenrytoparticipateinandsupportthecommonprinciplesandinstitutionsoftheemergingliberaldemocraticstates.However,governmentinvestmentwasprecededbytheinvestmentsoffamiliesandelementsofcivilsociety,especiallythechurches.

Theseinvestments,whilesharingthesocialpurposeofthegovernmentinvestments,alsohadpurposesthatrelatedtothewellbeingandprosperityofindividualchildrenandtotheintergenerationaltransferandmaintenanceofthesystemsofbeliefofthechurches.Theliberaldemocraticstateisbasedupontheaccommodationofadiversityofbeliefsandtoleranceofdifferencesinvaluesandbeliefs.

Today,thepurposesofschoolingarerequiredtolookforwardtothefutureneedsofthecountry.Thehumancapitalpurposeiswelljustifiedbytheglobalisationofthenationaleconomyandtheneedforskillsthatcanunderpinthenewandemerging‘knowledge’industries.Itisalsojustifiedbythestrongevidencethatthefutureeconomicandsocialinclusionofyoungpeopleisstronglyinfluencedbytheireducationaloutcomes(Lamb&Mason,2008).

B Purpose of schooling

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Thepurposesofschoolingalsodrawfromthepast.Thecurrentshapeofschoolingincludingtheschoolcurriculumhasbeeninfluencedbydecisionsmadeinpreviouseras.Theinstitutionofschoolingremainsdeeplysocial,anditislargelyorientedtowardstheorganisation,transferandgrowthofknowledgethathasevolvedthroughsocietiesoverlongperiodsoftime(Young,2007).Asnumerouswritershavenoted,schoolstudentsspendmoretimeinsocialsettingsoutsideofthanwithinschools.Onaverage,theyalsospendmoretimewatchingtelevisionandengaginginotherformsofelectroniccommunication(Luke,1996).Giventhewiderangeoflearningexperiencesofyoungpeople,thereisaneedforclarityovertheparticularroleofschoolingintheireducation.Studentslearnawidevarietyofknowledgeandskillsinavarietyofwaysandcontexts.Schoolingisfocusseduponparticularformsofknowledge.Thesearethecodifiedformsthathavebeendevelopedhistoricallyandthattypicallyareorderedintodisciplinesandotherareasofrelativelyformalknowledge.Itistheseformsofknowledgethatarebestlearnedintheformalsettingofschooling.Thisformalknowledge,however,isonlypartofthelearningthatisexpectedfromschooling.Schoolingisalsobaseduponsetsofvaluesthatunderpinsocieties.Thesevaluesarealsosocialandtheyarehistoricallyformed.Asearlyas1818,ThomasJeffersonspeakingoftheobjectivesofprimaryschoolingnoted:

To understand his duties to his neighbours and country, and to discharge with competence the functions confided to him by either. .... And, in general, to observe with intelligence and faithfulness all the social relations under which he shall be placed.

We should be far, too, from the discouraging persuasion that man is fixed, by the law of his nature at a given point; that his improvement is a chimera . . . What, but education, has advanced us? (citedinTomlinson,1986,p214-215).

Thesocialpurposesofschoolingaredeliveredinpartthroughformallearningprocessesandinpartthroughinformalprocessesofsocialisation.Asinstitutions,schoolsareexpectedtosupervisebothsetsofactivities.Theinteractionofthescholasticandsocialpurposesofschoolinghasresultedinamodernemphasisupontheenvironmentofschooling.Schoolsneedtobesafelocationsforstudentsandtohaveculturesofsupportandhighexpectationsforlearning.

Inthissense,thereisamergingofthepurposesandmeansofschooling.Thismergingisaroundtheconceptofcommunity,orasReid(2003)putsit,the‘commons’.Thecommonsincludethescholasticfoundations,theunderpinningvaluesandbeliefs,thesocialexperienceofmixingwithothers,andthecommunalsupportforandexpectationsofstudents.

Schoolingneedstolooktothefuture,butindoingsoitdependsuponthepast.Ithasaroleinadvancingtheeconomicfutureofthesociety,butitcannotdothisunlessitalsounderpinsthesocialfabricofthesociety.Individualstudentoutcomesareanextensionofsocialoutcomes.However,theyarenotthefullexpressionsofsocialvalueassocialbenefitsalsodependupontherelationshipsbetweenpeople.

Itisthesocialpurposesofschoolingthataccountforitsinstitutionalform.Schoolsaremostlyfundedbygovernmentandmostlybaseduponneighbourhood.Theyhavetheuniquecharacteristicsofcompulsoryattendanceandareattendedbyalmostallchildren,andtheydeliveracommoncurriculumthatisalmostuniversallyaccepted.TherecentagreementbyCOAG(2008)toestablishaNationalCurriculumBoardandthesubsequentdecisiontoestablishtheNationalCurriculum,AssessmentandReportingAuthority(ParliamentofAustralia,2008)isindicativeofthisacceptance.Theseinitiativesarepremisedupontheprincipleofuniversalaccessandareexpectedtodeliveraplatformoflearningandvaluesthathavecommonelements.

However,schoolinghasalsoalwayshadwhatmightbecalledpublicandprivatepurposes(Labaree,1997).Privatepurposesincludethoseofpersonalgrowthandthelifechancesofindividuals.Thesepurposesdonotnecessarilyconflictwiththepublicorsocialpurposesofschooling.Schoolingshouldalsobeabletoaccommodatesharedorgrouppurposes,suchasstrengtheningprinciplesthatdrawfromfaith-basedsystemsofbelief.Theinstitutionofschoolingshouldbeabletoaccommodatediversity.

Thepurposesofschooling,therefore,cannotbecapturedbyasinglemantrasuchas‘humancapital’orthe‘nationalinterest’.Theyareexpressedthroughacomplexsetofhistoricallyformedinstitutions,includingthearrayofschoolsandthecurriculumwithitscommonalitiesanddifferences.Herewedefineinstitutionsinbroadtermsas “a relatively enduring collection of rules and organised practices, embedded in structures of meaning and resources that are relatively invariant in the face of turnover of individuals and relatively resilient to the idiosyncratic preferences and expectations of individuals and changing external circumstances” (March&Olsen,1989,p3).Theyshouldincludefuturepurposes,buttheymustacknowledgehistoricalpurposes.

Thisassemblyofinstitutionsacrosstheactivitiesofschoolingconstituteaschoolsystem.Despitesomeclaimstothecontrary,theseinstitutionsarenotisolatedandnowherearetheycompletelyautonomous.Theyarepartofthecontinentofschooling,andthisisbecauseofitssocialcharacteristics.

Schoolsystemsthereforehavestructuralcharacteristics,andthesecharacteristicsdomuchtodefinethesystemsandtheirunderpinningvaluesandpurposes.Thesevaluesandpurposeshavehistoricalrootsthatareignoredatsomeperil.Acompleteabandonmenttoempiricismwithinschooleducationpolicy,suchassomeofthemoreextravaganteducationalmarketparadigms,wouldrequiretheabandonmentofkeyinstitutions,suchasthecurriculum.Therefore,partialabandonmentsuchastheabandonmentofsocialpurposesandtheinstitutionofthecommonschoolthatisopentoallcannotoccurinisolation–thecontinentisthelessfortheirloss.


The common good and public choice ThenationalEducationalGoalsforYoungAustralians(MinisterialCouncilforEducation,Employment,TrainingandYouthAffairs,2008a)includethoserelatedto“Active and informed citizens (who)...act with moral and ethical integrity...(and)...work for the common good.”

Whatconstitutesthecommongoodisnotexploredinthestatementandtoalargeextenthasbeendefinedbythecurriculum.Thecommongoodisacomplexandcontestedconceptthatismanifestinthepresentandthefuture,ineconomicsecurityanditsdistribution,theenvironment,socialsecurityandsocialrelations,andinindividualandsharedvaluesandmorality.

Schoolinghasbroadsocialandindividualfunctionsandthesearereflectedinthedemandingandinevitablyselectivetaskofcurriculumdevelopment.Therearetensionsinthefactthatschoolinghasbeensubjecttonewdemandsforbreadthinaworldofrapidknowledgegrowth,whileatthesametimeithasbeensubjecttoincreasedpressurestoproduceoutcomesthatcanbemeasuredasthevalueofeducationasanindividualpositionalgoodandanationalsocialandeconomicassethasgrown.

Thecomplexityofschooling’sprivateandsocialrolesextendstoitsincreasedimpactuponindividuallifechancesanditsinteractionwithpatternsofsocialandeconomicinclusionandexclusion.Policyframescannotignoretheseoutcomesandinteractionsonthegroundsofsocialjusticeprinciples,communitycohesionandeconomiccapacity.Norcantheyignorethesesocialandeconomicpatternsbecauseoftheirimpactupontheeffectivenessofeducationsystems.Privateandsocialdemandsuponschoolsystemsandunderlyingsocialpatternsinteractwithstructuralandculturalcharacteristicsofschoolingtoinfluenceoutcomes.Inthissense,thestructuralcharacteristicsofschoolingcannotbeneutral.

Schoolingisamixofthecompulsoryandthevoluntary.Onlysmallelementsofmostsocietieschallengethecompulsoryaspectofschooling.Infact,allAustralianstatesandterritorieshaveextendedorareconsideringextendingthecompulsoryagelevel.Yetnosocietiesabandonallormostrightstoaschoolsystem,astendstoapplyinthecaseofcompulsorymilitaryservice,forexample.Therearecommunityexpectationsofopenness,accountabilityanddutyofcare,andparticipationanddialogueaboutkeyelementsofschooling.Therehasalsobeenalongstandingprincipleofchoicebetweenpubliclyfundedandfee-basedschooling,andinrecentdecadestherehasbeenanexpectationofchoicebetweenpublicallyfundedschools.1

Article26.3intheUnitedNationsUniversalDeclarationofHumanRightsstatesthat: Everyone has the right to education.

Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. … Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups….

Italsostatesthat: Parents have a prior right to choose

the kind of education that shall be given to their children (UnitedNations,1948).

ThelatterpartofthisarticlewasestablishedinthewakeofthetotalitarianEuropeanregimesthathadusedtheinstitutionofstate-controlledschoolingasameansofinculcatingvaluesandbeliefsystemsorideologiesdictatedbytheregimes.Whencombinedwiththefirstpart,aclearinterpretationofthearticleisthatparentsshouldhavetherighttochoosethekindofeducationtheywantwithinapubliclyfundedschoolsystem.

Choicehasdemandandsupplysidedimensions.Itcanmeanthecapacityofparentstochooseaschoolethosorcurriculumtypeortochooseatypeofschoolcommunity.Itmightalsomeantherightofparentstomakeextrainvestmentsinschoolingbeyondthosethatarepubliclyprovided.Anotherinterpretationistherightofparentstoparticipateinschoolingandthedecisionsthatwillaffectthewellbeingandlearningoftheirchildren.Onthesupplyside,itcouldmeanthedecisionsofpolicymakerstoestablishdifferenttypesofschools.Alternately,itcouldmeanaderegulatoryapproachthatallowsschoolstorespondtomarketdemandfordiversity.

Choiceisalsoassociatedwiththegovernanceprincipleofthemarket.ThisprincipledrawsitssocialjustificationfromliberalsocialphilosophiessuchasthatofJohnStuartMillwho,whilesupportingtheroleofthestateinenforcingeducation,arguedthat “All that has been said of the importance of individuality of character, and diversity of opinion and modes of conduct, involves, as the same unspeakable importance, diversity of education” (Mill,1975).

Choiceisfurtherassociatedwiththepoliticalandeconomicrationaleofpublicchoicetheorythatseestheuseofmarketmechanismsasameansofbuildinggreaterefficiencyandqualityinschooling(Chubb&Moe,1990).Thecommongoodfoundationofpublicchoiceisthatitwillresultinthemaximumquantumofindividualsatisfaction.Itisalsobasedupontheargumentthattheideaof‘good’drawsitsvaluefromtheautonomousindividual,andindoingsorejectstheideaoforganicorcollectivedecision-makingunits,suchasthe‘community’(Buchanan&Tulloch,1962).

5

1 E.g.Seethe‘Principles’underlyingtheVictorianEducationandTrainingReformBill(ParliamentofVictoria,2006)

Forpublicchoiceprincipleswithindemocraticsocieties,thereareinherenttensionsoversocialinstitutions,whethertheyarebasicpublicfacilitiessuchasstreetsormorecomplexinstitutionssuchaseducationsystems,becausetheseinstitutionswillatsomepointinvolvesomecoercionofindividuals.Libertyinisolationismeaninglessandonlygainsmeaninginsocialsettings.ThisweaknessistakenupbywriterssuchasRawls(1971)whoarguethattheremustbereconciliationbetweentheprinciplesoflibertyandequality.Thepublicgoodismorethanthesumoftheindividualgood.Italsoinvolvestherelationshipsbetweenindividualsandincludesdistributedjustice.Choiceinsocialsettingsthatarebasedupontheprincipleofequaljusticethereforeneedstobecome fair choice.

Thecommongoodandparentalchoicearebothenduringclaimsinschooling.Whiletheyarealwaysinsometension,theywillcontinuetocoexistasdemonstratedbydocumentssuchastheMelbourneDeclarationonEducationalGoalsforYoungAustralians(MinisterialCouncilforEducation,Employment,TrainingandYouthAffairs,2008a).ItisunlikelythateitherwillberejectedinAustralia,eitheratthelevelofgovernmentoratthebroadersociallevel.Itcanbearguedthatneithershouldberejected.


7l

AnAustraliansettlement?Schoolshavetheiroriginsintheinitiativesofparents,governmentandchurchesandotherorganisationsor,morebroadly,elementsofcivilsociety.Thehistoryofthefolk(volk)schoolsinseveralEuropeancountrieshasbeenstrong.InBelgiumandtheNetherlands,churchschoolsformthebulkofpubliclyfundedschools.Williams(1961)remindsusthatattheeveofthereformationinEngland,thereweremoreschoolsperheadofpopulationthanjustpriortothedecadeofthe1870s,duringwhichtimeamorerobustentryofthestateintoschoolingtookplacethroughlegislationandprovision.Noneoftheseearlierschoolswerestateownedorcontrolled.

Mostnationsrecognisethesovereigntyofparentsovertheeducationoftheirchildren,andschoolstypicallyareseenashavingadutyofcareonbehalfofparents.Schoolingcanthereforebedescribedasatypeofsocialcontractbetweenthestate,theparentsandthoseelementsofcivilsocietythathavearoleinschooling,especiallythechurches.ThisisrecognisedintheInternationalCovenantonEconomic,SocialandCulturalRightsthatreferstothe‘‘acceptability”and“adaptability”oftherighttoeducation.Acceptabilityisdefinedintheseterms:“…the form and substance of education, including curricula and teaching methods, have to be acceptable (e.g. relevant, appropriate and of good quality) to students, and in appropriate cases, parents…” Adaptabilityrequiresthateducation“…can adapt to the needs of changing societies and communities and respond to the needs of students within diverse social and cultural settings”(citedinDurbach&Moran,2004,p7).

Inthe19thcentury,JohnStuartMillarguedthat “a general State education is a mere contrivance for moulding people to be exactly like one another (leadingto)a despotism over the mind, leading by natural tendency to one over the body” (Mill,1975).

WhileMill’sassertionsaresomewhatexaggerated,thereisaneedtorecognisethereservationsthatsignificantelementsoftheAustralianschoolingcommunityhavetowardsgovernmentcontrolofschooling,andtheirdesiretomaintainadegreeofautonomyinschoolingfromthestate(Furtado,2001).Thesereservationshaveevolvedforanumberofreasons,includingaperceptionofarelativelycentralisedandpossiblycorporatistcultureof‘state’schooling.Theyhavealsobeencementedbyaseriesofpoliticalsettlementsthathaveallowedalargeproportionofnon-governmentschoolstoretainmuchoftheirautonomyfromgovernmentwhilebecomingmostlypubliclyfunded.

C The family, the state and civil society

7

Millgoesontostatethat“an education established and controlled by the State should only exist...as one amongst many competing experiments...to keep others up to a certain standard of excellence” (Mill,1975).‘OnLiberty’waswrittenjustpriortotheeducationactsthatestablishedthestateschoolsystemsintheAustraliancolonies,constitutingasettlementinAustralianschoolingthatenduredforanothercentury.Onepartofthesettlementwasthatthecolonialandsubsequentstategovernmentswouldonlyfundthestate-ownedand-operatedschools.Anotherpartwastherightofparentstosendtheirchildrentoaschooloftheirchoiceandtherightoforganisationsandindividualstoestablishtheirownschools,providedtheyreachedcertainstandards–allwithinaregimeofcompulsoryschooling.

Thissettlementrecognisedthatthreeentitieshaveadirectroleinschooling:thefamily,thestateandcivilsociety.Therelationshipbetweentheseentitiesconstitutedatypeofsocialcontract,thenatureofwhichvariesacrosscountries.ThiscontractualrelationshipisexpressedstronglyinnationssuchasFlanders,wheretheconstitutionrecognisesa‘freedomofeducation’thatlocatessovereigntyovereducationwiththefamily.Ithasresultedinnetworksofschoolsthatareformallyownedbyelementsofcivilsociety–thechurchesandeventradeunions(Hostens,2008).IntheUnitedStates,itisexpressedinthe‘ownership’ofschoolsbylocalisedcommunitiesthroughlocalgovernment.InEngland,withitstraditionofastateendorsedchurch,itisexpressedinpartthroughasettlementbetweenthestateandthechurchesintheformofcompulsoryreligiouseducation.NewZealandhasasettlementwiththeCatholicsectorthatfullyfundsbutacknowledgesthe‘specialcharacter’ofCatholicschools(Furtado,2001).

ThecoreelementoftheliberalmodelofamixofschoolsandtherightofparentstochooseschoolsasexpressedbyMillhasalwaysexistedinAustralia.However,withtheinformalsettlementbetweengovernmentandthechurch,schoolsbegantounravelasthefinancialcostsofnon-stateschoolingbegantoriseinthe1960s.Thesubsequentsettlementhasinvolvedarelocationoftherelationshipbetweenthechurch,schoolsandgovernmentfromthestatetotheCommonwealthlevel.Inasense,therefore,therearetwosettlementswithdifferentcharacteristics(Wilkinsonetal,2007).ThesedifferenceshavecreatedanongoingtensioninAustralianschoolingthatisexpressedinseveralways.

Oneexpressionistheideaof‘publiceducation’asaninstitutionalformofschoolingcharacterisedbyacentralisedandattimescorporatisedsystem.Thegovernmentschoolsystemsthathavebeensocloselylinkedtostategovernmentshavefailedtodevelopwiderlinkswithcivilsociety.Thishastheinternalcharacteristicofclosureorconfinementofinitiativestothegovernmentschoolsector.Italsohastheexternalcharacteristicofpublicrecognitionofgovernmentschoolingasaninstitutional formofschooling.ItmayhelptoexplainthelowstandingofthegovernmentschoolsystemacrossthebusinessandbroadercommunityinAustralia(seeFigure15below).

Anotherexpressionoftensionisthecontinuedchallengeofwhatmightbecalledthepublicschoollobbytothefundingofnon-governmentschools.Thislobbyhasexistedsincethe1970sandhashadvirtuallynosuccessinengagingwiththepublicpolicyregimesonthismatter,noranyengagementwithanalternativelobbyforamoremixedsystemofpubliclyfundedschoolsasexistsintheUnitedKingdom,Canada,NewZealandandmostEuropeancountries.2

InAustralia,thepost1970ssettlementhasbecomeanimpasseoverthenatureofpubliclyfundedschoolinginAustralia(e.g.seeBonnor,2008).Thereissettlementoverthequestionoftherightofparentstochoosethetypeofeducationtheywishandthecapacityofcommunitiestoestablishschools.However,thereisacontinuedandsignificanttensionovertheissueofthenatureofthe‘contract’betweenthestateandfaithandothercommunityschoolsthatarepubliclyfunded.ThislackoforcontestedsettlementisuniqueacrossOECDcountriesand,asarguedinthispaper,ishavingadamagingeffectuponschoolinginAustralia.Thedamageisespeciallyacuteinthecontextofgrowingprivateandpublicexpectationsthatschoolingshouldimproveitsperformanceandthescholasticandothereducationaloutcomesofstudents.

AgeneralisationisthattheCommonwealthgovernmentseesitsroleprimarilyasfundingnon-governmentschoolsandgivesaslittleaspossibletogovernmentschools.Thestatesseetheirroleprimarilyasfundinggovernmentschoolsandgiveaslittleaspossibletonon-governmentschools.ThisdualbifurcationofinteractionsbetweenschoolsectorsandlevelsofgovernmentisasignificantstructuralweaknessintheAustralianschoolingsettlement.


2 Thecoreoflobbyconsistsoftheteacherunions,principalsorganisationsandparentorganisationsofthegovernmentschools.Italsodrawsfromelementsoftheacademiccommunityandtendstogetsupportfromthesmallerparties–theAustralianDemocratsandtheGreens.

Authority and autonomyAnyresolutionofthisissuewillneedtobebaseduponagreement,whetherovertortacit,abouttheroleofthestateinschoolingandtherelationshipofthestatetothefamilyandcivilsociety.Currently,thestateinAustralia–intheformofbothlevelsofgovernmentseparatelyandincombination–isbeingforthrightinitsroleanditsexpressionofauthorityinAustralianschooling.Theestablishmentofanationalcurriculumandnationalgoals,includingthatofgreaterequity,havefacedonlylimitedchallenge.Thisforthrightstatepositionisessentiallytowardsagenciesineducation(boththosethatarecloselylinkedtogovernmentandthosethataremoreautonomous)ratherthanthecommunity.Itcouldbeinterpretedasatypeofsocialcontractbetweenthestateandthecommunitywheretheacceptanceofthisstateauthorityispremiseduponamoretacitacceptanceoftherightoffamiliestochooseschoolsandultimatelytowithdraworatleastpartiallywithdrawfromtheformalschoolsystemorelementsofitandtherightofnon–stateagenciestoengageintheprovisionofschooling.

Inmostnations,theserelationshipsbetweenthestateandfamiliesandcivilsocietyareacombinationofcodifiedandtacitsettlements.Therearealwaystensionswithinthesesettlementsandthesetensionsattimesbecomeovert.Forexample,Scott(2005)interpretsthebanningofheadscarvesinFrenchpublicschoolsasasymptomofthetensionbetweenthe“growing diversity of the French population…with a theory of citizenship and representation that defines the recognition of difference as antithetical to the unity of the nation” (p127).

InAustralia,itwasthelackofunityoverreligionanditsplaceineducationthatledtothesettlementsofthe1870sEducationActs.ThissettlementprovedtobeunstablebecauseofthechangesintheresourcebaseofthechurchandmainlyCatholicschoolsector,inthesamewayastheFrenchsettlementhastocontendwiththeevolutionoftheconceptofcitizenship.TheAustralian‘secular’settlementalsohasproventobeunstablebecauseithaditsfoundationinsectarianism.Withthedeclineofsectarianism,theconceptof‘thesecular’ledtothechargethatgovernmentschoolslackedavaluesbase(Crabb&Guerrera,2004).Thefragilityofthesecularsettlementwithingovernmentschoolsisalsoexpressedinexpectationsthatstudentsshouldhavetheopportunitytostudyreligioningovernmentschools(e.g.Bachelard,2008).

TheMelbourneDeclarationgivesstrongeremphasistotheunderpinningvaluesofschooling.Theseincludepersonalvalues“such as honesty, resilience, empathy and respect for others”,acting“with moral and ethical integrity”,appreciationof“social, cultural, linguistic and religious diversity”,“commitment to national values of democracy, equity and justice”,communication“across cultures”,aswellasworkingfor“the common good” (MinisterialCouncilforEducation,Employment,TrainingandYouthAffairs,2008a).TheDeclarationandthenationalcurriculummaywellprovetobepartofthefoundationforanewsettlementinAustralianschooling.

Suchasettlementwillalsoneedtodealwithunresolvedissuesconcerningthestructureofschooling.Therelationsofsovereigntyandresponsibilitybetweenthestateandfamiliesinschoolingaremediatedbytheagenciesoftheschoolsandtheirgovernancestructures,whethertheybechurchesorotherinstitutions.Acorehistoricaldifferencebetweengovernmentandnon-governmentschoolshasbeenthelocationofauthoritywithinthegovernmentsectorandthemaintenanceofautonomyfromthestatewithinnon-governmentschoolsand/ortheirsponsoringagencies(Furtado,2001;O’Brien,1999).

Themaintenanceofthisautonomyhasbeenanenduringfeatureofthepost1970ssettlementbetweengovernmentandnon-governmentschools.Thishasbeenadynamicsettlementastheamountandnatureofstatefundinghavechangedandthesectorhasincreaseditsenrolmentsharebyabout12percenttoathirdofthestudentmarket.Ifthistransferisrepeatedoverthenextthreedecades,thenon-governmentsectorwillhave50percentofthemarket.

Autonomyandauthorityareinterlockingandrelativeconcepts.Theauthorityofthestateinaliberaldemocracyisproportionaltotheresponsibilitiesforthegoodofthesocietythatthepublicexpectsofit.Thisresponsibilityisrelativeratherthanabsolute.Itisalsodynamicastheexpectationsattachedtoitincreaseintimesofcrisis.

Soinschooling,aswehaveargued,theauthorityofthestatecannotbeabsolute,andthetypicalsettlementsbetweenthestateandnon-governmentschoolsacrosswesterndemocracieshavebeenthoseoflimitedorrelativestateauthorityandcorrespondinglimitedorrelativeautonomyofnon-governmentschools.Inadynamiccontextwithgrowingpublicexpectationsofschooling’sroleinsupportingthesocialandhumancapitalunderpinningsofsocietyandwherethenon-governmentsectorisadvancingtowardsthemajoritysector,theconditionsfortheautonomyofthenon-governmentsectorarelikelytochange.AsStewart(2005)notes,thehistoricalautonomyofAustraliannon-governmentschoolscanonlybemaintainedinthecontextofastronggovernmentschoolsector.

9

PerformanceTheOECDPISAstudieshavehadamajorimpactuponeducationdebateandpolicyinAustralia.ThetwooutcomesforAustraliaofhighoverallperformanceandmiddlerankinglevelsofequityhavebeenwidelyreported.ThePISAstudieshavepromptedthemuchcitedMcKinseyreport(McKinsey&Company,2007)tolinkhighnationalschoolsystemperformancewiththefeaturesofthequalityanddistributionofteachersacrossschools.

Thereareinstitutionalfactorsinthesefeatures,asthestructuralandoperationalfeaturesofschoolsystemswillinfluencethedistributionofteachersand,astheMcKinseyreportpointsout,thepatternsofinterventiontosupportstudentswhoareatriskofscholasticfailure.Furthermore,iftheparticipatingcountriesaredividedintothosewiththestructuralfeaturesofgeneralistandtrackedsecondaryschoolsystems,thereisanobservabletendencyforthecountriesthathavegeneralistsystems,suchasAustralia,tohavestrongeroutcomes.

Figure1comparesAustralia’saveragescoresinreadingacrossthethreePISAstudieswiththoseofasetofcountriesthatalsohavegeneralistuppersecondaryeducationsystems.Australia’sresultswhencomparedwiththesecountriesremainstrong,althoughtheyaresignificantlyhigherthanonlyafewcountries.Itappearsthatthestructuralcharacteristicofgeneralistornon-streamedsecondaryeducationhasinfluencedthemostlyhighscoreforthissetofcountries.Thesepatternsarereflectedintheotherareasofmathematicsandscientificliteracy.TheyalsoconfirmpreviousOECD(2001)observationsabouttheimpactofgeneralistandtrackedsystemsandlinkthestructureofthecurriculumtotheperformanceofschoolsystems.


D Performance of Australian schooling and the implications for policy

Figure 1 PISAAverageReadingScores,generalistbasedsystems,2000,2003,2006

404244464850525456

Aus Ca Fi Fra Ire Nor NZ Swe UK

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Source:OECDPISAdatabase:http://www.oecd.org/pages/0,3417,en_32252351_32236130_1_1_1_1_1,00.html*UKresultsforthe2003studywerenotincludedbecauseofsamplingproblems.

AlthoughAustraliahasscoredhighlyinthethreePISAstudies,theaveragescoreshaveprogressivelyfallen,especiallyinreadingandmathematics(Figure2).This,andthefactthatthereadingscoresofallofthecountriesinFigure1havefallen,suggestemergingweaknesseswiththegeneralistsystems,orproblemswiththevariabilityoftestitemsand/orsamples.Theseweaknessescouldbeagradualmovementawayfromgeneralistsystemsinsomeofthesecountries,includingAustralia,throughincreasedselectionwithinschoolinginthesecountries.

Figure 2 AveragePISAscoresforliteracy,mathematicsandscientificliteracy,Australia,2000,2003,2006

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Source:OECDPISAdatabase:http://www.oecd.org/pages/0,3417,en_32252351_32236130_1_1_1_1_1,00.html

PISAmeasuresoutcomesfor15yearolds.TheTrendsinInternationalMathematicsandScienceStudy(TIMSS)measuresscienceandmathematicsoutcomesatYear8andresultsforaselectionofcountriesincludingAustraliainthe1999and2003studiesareshowninFigure3.Australia’sresultsareclosertomiddlelevelrankingsintheTIMSSstudies,andlikethePISAresultstheyaredeclining,albeitmodestly.TIMSSmeasuresdifferentaspectsoflearning.However,thedownwardtrendsinboththePISAandTIMSSresultsshouldprovokepolicyreflections.

Figure 3 TIMSSaveragescores,Year8mathematicsandscience,1999,2003

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ThePISAstudyhasincitedaconsiderableamountofdiscussionabouttheperformanceofAustralianschoolingandthefactorsthathavethegreatestinfluenceuponeducationaloutcomes.Performanceistypicallyidentifiedastheaveragescoresandthelevelofequityineducationaloutcomes.Equityismeasuredeitherasthebroaddistributionofoutcomesortheextenttowhichvariationsinoutcomesreflectthesocialandeconomicbackgroundofstudents.

EquityWhilealmostallresearchersacknowledgethatstudentbackgroundfactorshaveanimpactuponoutcomes,theextentofthisimpactandtherelationshipbetweenthesevariablesandothervariablesofschoolcharacteristicsarecontested.Therearetwofactorsthatconfronteducationsystemsinregardstoequity.Thefirstistheextentofinequity.

ThedegreeofequityofeducationaloutcomesinAustraliaisalittleelusive.ThebroadPISAresultssuggestthatAustraliahasahighoveralloutcomewithmoderatepatternsofdistribution.Ontheotherhand,whenthelevelsofdistributionarecomparedwiththoseofsomeoftheotherhighperforminggeneralistcountriessuchasCanada,FinlandandNewZealand,thepatternsofdistributionarepoor.The2001PISAstudyattributed17percentofthevarianceinAustralia’sreadingliteracyoutcomestostudents’socio-economicbackgrounds,comparedwithanOECDaverageof20%(OrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment,2001).

ThePISAstudiesarebaseduponasufficientlylargesampleofstudentstominimiseerrorinitsresults.Thebackgroundinformationonstudentsandtheirschoolsprovidesarichdataset.TheAustralianstatesholddatasetsofeducationaloutcomesforpopulationsofstudents,andtheseshouldalsobeconsideredinrelationtothequestionofequity.

11

Forexample,Figure4showsthedistributionofYear7meanschoolreadingresultsbystudentfamilyoccupationforVictoria.DrawnfromtheAIM(AchievementImprovementMonitor)tests,theseresultsarefromastudentpopulation,butaregroupedasindividualschools’meanstudentresults.ThecharthaslessdivergencefromthetrendlinethanthePISAresultsandtheyindicateamoreconsistentrelationshipbetweenstudentfamilyoccupationandthereadingresultsattheschoollevelthantherelationshipsbetweenPISAscoresandsocioeconomicstatusorSES(socioeconomicstatusisacompositemeasurebasedonparentaleducation,parentaloccupationandassetsinthehome).Thisistobeexpectedgiventhenormativetendencyofschoolaverages.

However,thechartalsoshowsthatthereismorevariationfromthetrendatthelowestlevelsofSES.ThissamepatterncanbefoundinotherdatasetssuchastheLongitudinalStudyofAustralianYouth(seeKeating&Lamb,2004).Thereasonsforthisgreatervariationareunclear.Themostcommonpolicyresponsehasbeentoattributeittomoreeffectiveschools.Thisislikelytobeasignificantfactor,butitdoesnotexplainwhythereismorevariationamongstlowercomparedwithhigherSESschools.Anotherpossibleexplanationcouldincludepatternsofselectionwithinsecondaryeducationthataresociallyandeconomicallyneutralbutarescholasticallybiased,giventhatSESisonlyaproxyforscholasticadvantageanddisadvantage.

Figure 4AIM7MEANSBYSTUDENTFAMILYOCCUPATION

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Thesecondfactoristhecauseofunequaloutcomes.Therehavebeensomestudiesthatsuggestthatstudentsocioeconomicbackgroundhasrelativelylittleimpactuponeducationaloutcomes(e.g.Marks,2006).Moststudiesacknowledgetheclearrelationshipbetweensocialbackgroundandeducationaloutcomes.Someeducationalprogramsrecognisethisinfluencebylinkingparentallearningtothelearningoftheirchildren,suchastheHomeInteractionProgramforParentsandYoungsters(HIPPY)thatisbeingsupportedbytheAustralianGovernment.Educationpolicymakershavebeeneagertoidentifythefactorswithinschoolsystemsthatmostinfluencethelevelsanddistributionofoutcomes.

Overthepastdecade,PISAandotherstudieshavepromptednumerousinternationalandAustralianpublicationsthathaveidentifiedthequalityofteachersasthemainvariableininfluencinglevelsandpatternsofeducationaloutcomes(e.g.McKinsey&Company,2007;Rowe,2002).Theseoutcomesarestronglyintuitiveandtheconsistencyofthefindingsindicatesthecentralityofteachingpracticeinstudents’learningoutcomes.

However,acomparisonbetweenthePISAdataandtheVictorianAIMdataalsoleadstothehypothesisthatthereisamoreconsistentrelationshipbetweenschoolpopulationcharacteristicsandeducationaloutcomesthanbetweenindividualstudentcharacteristicsandeducationaloutcomes.Thatis,theinstitutionalorstructuralformsofschoolinghaveamediatingimpactuponthepatternsofindividualoutcomes.


Teacher quality and policyPoliticalleadersinAustraliahavealsorecentlyandfrequentlycitedthequalityofteachingasthemostsignificantinputvariableineducationaloutcomes(Gillard,2008;Nelson,2003).Thisfactorhasassumedaprioritystatusineducationpolicyasafocusforinterventionsthatwillimproveperformance,participationandequityinschooling.Thecentralityofteacherqualitywithinpolicyregimesraisesseveralquestionsrelatedto:thecriteriafor,andidentificationandmeasurementof,teacherquality;theconditionsthatinfluenceteacherpracticeandeffectiveness;thenurturingandgrowthofteachereffectiveness;andthedistributionofeffectiveteachersacrossandwithinschools.

Teacherqualityisseductiveforpolicymakersasitsimplifiesthehighlycomplexsociologyofschooling.Asamantra,itneedstocontendwithdisagreementabouttheextentofitsimpactcomparedwiththeimpactoftheschoolcontext(Fullan,2003);alackofagreementaboutthecriteriaforteacherqualityandthemeasuresforitsimpact(Wayne&Youngs,2003);theneedforgreaterclarityoverthetypeandcapacityofinterventionstoinfluenceteachereffectiveness;parallelpoliciestooptimisetheconditionsforeffectiveteaching;andmeansofdistributingteachersbothacrossandwithinsystemsinamannerthatlocatesthemosteffectiveteacherswheretheyaremostneeded.

Theseareallcomplexpolicyissueswhicharemostlyunresolved.Policymechanisms,suchasthesystemsforandimpactofperformancepayandmechanismstoattractqualityteachersto‘hardtostaff’schools,arerelativelyunformulatedanduntested.Areasonforthecomplexityoftheapplicationoftheapparentlysimplepolicymantraofteacherqualityisthatitismediatedbytheinstitutionofschooling.Teachingisnotanisolatedrelationshipbetweentheteacherandthestudent.

Whileschooleducationpolicydoesneedtofocusuponthepracticeofteachingandthecapacityofschoolleaderstomaximisethequalityofteaching,italsoneedstoattendtothemediatingfactorsthatdirectlyinfluencetheoutcomesofschooling,thecharacteristicsofschoolsandtheenvironmentforandchallengesforteachingandlearning.Foursetsofmediationsaresuggested:> Earlychildhoodandtransition

fromschooling;> Communityexpectations;> Studenthouseholdandlocations,

orsocialgeography;and> Institutionalfactorswithinthe

educationandtrainingsystem.

Thesemediationsinfluencethecharacteristicsofschoolsandtheirpopulations,thedirectionsofanddemandsuponschoolsandschoolsystems,andpatternsofparticipationandoutcomes.

Thecoreargumentofthispaperisthatgiventhecomplexsetsofinteractionsthatthesemediationsprovoke,theinstitutionalcharacteristicsofschoolingarenotneutralandhaveasignificantinfluenceupontheseinteractionsandconsequentlythepatternsofparticipationandoutcomes.Whilethevariablesofteachereffectivenessandschoolleadershipcapacitydohavesignificantimpactswithinthesettingsofclassroomsandschoolssystems,neitherofthesesettingsarestructurallyneutral.Thislackofneutralitysignificantlyinfluencesoutcomes.

13

0? Title

EarlychildhoodandtransitionfromschoolingSchoolingisbracketedbetweenearlychildhoodeducationincludingpreschooleducationandtheprocessesanddestinationsthatconstitutetransitionfromschooling.Neitheroftheseinstitutionsissociallyneutral.

Early childhoodThereisvariationintheestimatesoflevelsofparticipationinpreschooleducationacrossAustralia.TheReportonGovernmentServices(ProductivityCommission,2008)statesthat87.2percentofallfouryearoldchildrenattendedstateandterritorygovernmentfundedand/orprovidedpreschoolintheyearimmediatelybeforetheycommencedschool.However,the2001Censusshowedthat56percentoffouryearoldsattendedpreschool(AustralianInstituteofHealthandWelfare,2005),ascomparedwiththeReportonGovernmentServicesestimatesforthatyearof85percent.Thevariationmaybeduetoapercentageofshorttermanddualenrolmentdatainthehigherestimatescomparedwiththepointintimedatafromthecensus.3Patternsofparticipationinpreschooleducationreflectlocation,indigenousstatusandhouseholdincome(AustralianInstituteofHealthandWelfare,2005)andaresimilartopatternsofearlyschoolleaving.

Mostpreschooleducationisfee-based,withdailyfeesrangingfrom$13to$25perdayandaveragepublicspendinglevelsperstudentof$2179perannum.Thisisaboutaquarteroftheaveragecostofpublicspendingonschoolstudents(MinisterialCouncilforEducation,Employment,TrainingandYouthAffairs,2006).In2007,publicspendingonpre-primaryeducationwas0.1percentofGrossDomesticProductcomparedwithanOECDaverageof0.5percent(OrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment,2008).PreschooleducationinAustraliathereforeischaracterisedbylowlevelsofpublicinvestment,relativelyhighlevelsoffeecostsforparents,andsignificantpatternsofnon-participation,especiallyamongstlowincome,non-metropolitanandindigenoushouseholds.

E Mediations

3 TherearesimilarpatternsoflargercalculationsofenrolmentsinVocationalEducationandTrainingadministrativedatacomparedwiththecensusdata.


Preschooleducationneedstobeconsideredinconjunctionwithchildcareprovisionandparents’roleintheirchildren’seducationundertheumbrellaofearlychildhoodeducation.In2004,48.7percentofthreeyearoldsinAustraliausedlongorfamilydaycareservices,withanother21.9%usingsomeotherformofchildcare(AustralianBureauofStatistics,2005).TheOECD(2006)haslocatedAustraliainagroupofcountrieswhere“Early childhood education and care systems tend to be more fragmented under governments that see early care as a private responsibility for parents, and not a public responsibility” (p46).

Theimportanceofearlychildhoodeducationanddevelopmenthasbeenendorsedbyinternational(e.g.Heckman,2006)andAustralian(e.g.Edwards,Fleer&Nuttall,2008)research.Earlylearningsuccessisthebestpredictorofsuccessinformaleducation,includingschoolcompletion.Thesecondstrongestpredictorissocialbackground.Therefore,thecombinationofearlychildhoodeducationandsocialbackgroundhasstrongimplicationsforsocialinclusioninthesubsequentyearsofeducation.TheAustralian‘system’isamixtureofcommunityandprivateprovision,mostlyfee-based,weakparentalleaveprovisionandnon-universalprovision,withtheweakestpatternsofparticipationinformalprovisionamongstthemostsociallyandeconomicallyvulnerablegroups.Thisdoesnotconstitutea‘strongstart’forsocialinclusionineducation.

TransitionThethreedecadessincethelate1970shaveseentheeconomiccontextexertaneverincreasinginfluenceuponeducation,includingschooling.Thecapacityofschoolingtodeliverstudentsintoworthwhileemploymentandprovidetheknowledgeandskillsneededbyindustryandtheeconomyhasbeenattheforefrontofeducationalinvestmentstrategies.

AustralianstatesandterritorieshavemaintainedobjectivesofhighlevelsofschoolcompletionsincethepublicationoftheFinnreview(1991).Thereviewproposedatargetof95percentof19yearoldstohavecompletedYear12oraninitialpost-schoolqualificationorbeparticipatinginformallyrecognisededucationortrainingbytheyear2001.

Despitetheconsiderableinvestmentsinseniorsecondarycurriculumandtransition,theFinntargethasnotbeenachievedandthelevelsofschoolcompletionarelowcomparedwiththoseofothercountries.Apparentretentionratesforsecondaryeducationpeakedin1992at77.1percent.In2007,theywere74.3percentafteraperiodofdeclineinthe1990sandariseintheearly2000s(AustralianBureauofStatistics,2007).Theyappeartohavenowplateaued.The2001censusindicatedthat67percentof19yearoldsand72.8percentof24yearoldshadachievedYear12oraCertificateIIIorhigher.Thesefigureshadincreasedto71.3percentand74.8percentrespectivelybythe2006census.4

TheAustralianBureauofStatistics(ABS)SurveyofEducationandWorkindicateshigherratesofYear12completion.Nevertheless,boththecensusandSurveyratesarebelowthoseofmostotherOECDcountries.Furthermore,thepercentageof25to35yearoldsinAustraliawhohavecompletedsecondaryeducationoritsequivalentisnothighcomparedwithmostotherOECDcountries(OrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment,2008).

TherehavebeenimprovementsinthelevelsofeducationalattainmentinAustraliaoverthepasttwodecades.Thepercentageof25to34yearoldswithuppersecondaryeducationoritsequivalentwasabout79percentin2003comparedwitharateofabout60percentforthe45to54agegroup(Lamb&Mason,2008).Thisapparentrateofincreaseofabout19percentishighbyOECDstandards.However,thepercentagefor25to34yearoldsremainslowbyOECDandEuropeanUnionstandards(OrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment,2008).Theseresultsindicatethatthesignificantgainsachievedinthe1980shavebeenfollowedbyweakergainsoverthepast15years.

15

4 TheABSSurveyofEducationandWorkhasresultedinhigherfigures(over80percentof20to24yearoldshavingcompletedYear12oritsequivalentby2007).Thereasonsforthediscrepancycanbedebated.However,asthecensusisapopulationsurveyandtheSurveyofEducationandWorkisdrawnfromatelephonesample,thecensusislikelytobemoreaccurate.

Figure 5Uppersecondarygraduateratesandthepercentageof25to34yearoldswithatleastuppersecondaryeducationoritsequivalent,OECDcountries,2005

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Source:OrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment,2008.

GivenAustralia’sstrongPISAresults,itslevelsofpostcompulsoryparticipationcouldbeconsidereddisappointing.Itispossiblethatthestrengthofthelabourmarkethasactedasanincentiveforearlyschoolleaving.TheAustralianlabourmarkethasbeenstrongoverthepast15yearsandtheunemploymentrateataround4.5percentisbelowthoseofmostOECDcountries.Aswell,thereisarelativelyyouth-friendlylabourmarkerwithstrongemploymentdemand,highlevelsofpart-timeandcasualwork,andayouthwage.Yetyouthunemploymentisover10percentandalsoisrelativelyhighbyOECDstandards,althoughnotintheregionsof15percentormoreofsomecountries(Figure6).Furthermore,thepercentageofteenagerswhoarenotineducationoremploymentinAustraliaisrelativelyhighcomparedwithotherOECDcountries(OrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment,2008).

Figure 6 Youthunemploymentrates,selectedOECDcountries,2006(aspercentagesoffull-timelabourmarketparticipants)

DenNeth

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lFra

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Source:UNHumanDevelopmentReport,20072008:http://hdrstats.undp.org/indicators/193.html

AustraliahasajuxtapositionofstrongPISAresultsandastronglabourmarketontheonehand,andweaklevelsofschoolcompletion,mediumlevelsofyouthemploymentandhighlevelsofnon-participationineducationandwork,ontheother.Itseemsunlikelythatthiscontrastcanbeattributedprimarilytovariationsinteacherquality.

Thereissubstantialliteratureonearlyschoolleaving.Whilethemostcommonstatedreasonsforearlyleavingarepositiveintheformofwantingajobandtoearnmoney,thesepersonalobjectiveshaveapoorrateofrealisationforearlyleavers.Theyalsocomewithnegativereasonsassociatedwithscholasticfailureandnotlikingschoolandteachers.Thelinksbetweenearlyschoolleavingandstudents’socialandeconomicbackgroundsarestrongandconsistent(Lambetal,2004)andthepatternsofpost-schooldestinationsarelinkedtosocialbackground,asindicatedinFigure7.


Figure 7Studentpost-schooldestinations,lowandhighSES

0102030405060

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ipTAFE

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Source:LSAY95cohort

ThecontrastbetweenAustralia’sstrongperformanceinschoolingfor15yearolds(thePISAstudies)anditsweakperformancefor17yearolds(lowlevelsoffull-timeparticipationineducationandhighlevelsofmarginalengagementinwork)suggestthatthatinstitutionalattributesofschoolingandespeciallypost-compulsoryeducationandtrainingarehavinganimpactuponthesepatternsofparticipationandtransition.

Furthermore,thechallengesofaddressingthesepatternsarenotdistributedevenlyacrosssecondaryschools.Groupsofschoolsandtheirteachersandleadersfacegreaterchallengesinhelpingtoaccessandlinkstudentstomultiplepost-schoolpathways.

Community expectationsTheconceptofsocialcapitalismuchdisputedanddifficulttomeasure.AuthorsvariouslyidentifiedlittlechangeindirectlymeasuredlevelsoftrustthroughsurveyssuchastheAustralianSocialAttitudesSurvey(Bean,2005),todeclininglevelsassignalledbydecreasingmembershipofprominentinstitutionsofcivilsocietysuchasunions,politicalpartiesandchurches.

Whilethereisnorealdeclineinparticipationinschooling(althoughhomeschoolinghasincreasedinallstatesinAustraliaoverthepastdecade),5thepurposesofparticipationinschoolingmayhavealtered.

Socialcapitalhasbeendividedintobonding, bridging and linkingsocialcapital(OECD,2001a).Withinschooling,bondingandbridgingsocialcapitalremainstrong.Schoolingcontinuestoplayastrongroleinpeerfriendshipandnetwork-buildingorbonding,anditretainsastrongidealofenablingthetalentedindividualtotranscendorbridgepersonalbackgroundtoachieveeducationalandsocialandeconomicprogression.However,thepurposeofschoolinginlinkingstudentsofdifferentsocialandeconomicbackgroundsisdeclining.Acrossmostdevelopedcountries,students-especiallyatthesecondarylevelandinurbanareas-areincreasinglylesslikelytobelinkedwithinschoolsonthebasisofneighbourhoodorschooling.Increasingly,theyaregroupedonthebasisoffamilyincome,scholasticperformanceandbeliefsystems(Jenkins,Micklewright&Schnepf,2006).

BarryJones(2006)hasarguedthattheadventoftheThatcherGovernmentintheUnitedKingdomin1979signalledaprocessofreplacingtheideaofthenationstate(whichintheliberaldemocraticnationstatehasbeenbaseduponaformofsocialcontractbetweenthecommunity,civilsocietyandgovernment)withakindof‘market’statethatisbuiltuponrelationshipsbetweenautonomousindividualsandthemarket,withgovernmentplayingaroleofregulatorandproviderofsafetynets.Thedeclineofvoluntarysocialinstitutionssuchasthechurchesandunions,andadeclineinconfidenceingovernment,mightberegardedasevidenceofthis.6Suchadeclineininstitutionalaffiliationandtrustmayleadtohigherformsofindividualisedinvestmentsthroughmoreimmediatefilialandgrouptiesandlife-chancesreturnsthrougheducation.

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5 BasedupondatafromtheVictorianRegistrationandQualificationsAuthority.6 Tradeunionmembershipwas20percentoftheworkforcein2007,downfrom22percentin2005

(ABSCatNo6310);The2001NationalChurchLifeSurveyfounda6percentdeclineinchurchattendancebetween1996and2001http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&q=national+church+life+survey&btnG=Search&meta=crpercent3DcountryAU

Adeclineintheimportanceofbridgingsocialcapitalinschoolingcouldbelinkedtochangesintheprivatereturnstoeducation.Overthepastthreedecades,theprivateeconomicratesofreturnfordegree-leveleducationhaveincreasedsignificantlyacrossdevelopedcountries,includingAustralia(OrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment,2008).Almostallpersonalsocialandeconomicbenefitssuchasincome,employment,longevity,healthandlowcrimeandincarcerationratescorrelatestronglywitheducationallevels(CentreforResearchontheWiderBenefitsofLearning,2006).Therefore,thepersonallifechanceincentivesforinvestingineducationhaveincreasedatthesametimeasschooling’straditionallinkingroleshavecomeunderpressure.Thesepressuresappeartobeexpressedinparents’attitudestowardsschooling.TheCommonwealthGovernmentParentSatisfactionSurveyshowsdeclinesinthelevelsofsatisfactioninschoolsandteaching(Figure9).Giventhesignificantinvestmentinteachingqualityoverthisperiod,theseoutcomesaremorelikelytobeasignofincreasingexpectationsthanrealdeclinesinthequalityofschoolsandteaching.

Figure 8Parents’viewsonqualityofchild’sschool

Parents'viewsonqualityattheireldestchild'sschool-satisfied/verysatisfied

-2003and2007

65.0%

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85.0%

Qualityofschool/education* Quality/standardofteaching

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*Questionsphraseddifferentlyinthetwosurveys

Source:DepartmentofEducation,ScienceandTraining,2007

Theseexpectationsaremostintenseamongstthemostaspirationalparentgroupsandthosewiththemeanstoinvestdirectlyintheirchildren’sschooling.Differentialsupplysideresponsestothesepatternsofdemandareinevitable,andsectionsoftheschoolsystemwillhavedifferentcapacitiesandmotivationstomeetthesedemands.Thesecapacitiesandmotivationsareinfluencedbytheinstitutionalformsofschooling,includingpatternsofregulation,autonomyandresources.


Social geographyThereareseveralmeasuresoftherelativelevelsofeconomicequalityandinequality.OneistheGiniindex,whichat35.2forAustraliaisrelativelyhighbyOECDstandardsbuttowardsthemiddlelevelsofdevelopedAnglophonecountries.Broadlyovertheperiodofglobalisationfromthelate1970s,theGiniindicesofdevelopedcountrieshaveincreased,reversingapatternofgeneraldecreaseinthepostWorldWarIIperiod.InAustralia,afteralongperiodofdecline,itbottomedatapproximately26.0inthelate1970s.Ithasbeenincreasingsince.ThissuggeststhateducationsystemsindevelopedcountriesincludingAustraliahavetocopewithinacontextofgrowingeconomicinequality.

Ontheotherhand,thesameperiodhaswitnessedamajorincreaseinhouseholdwealthoveralloftheoriginalOECDcountriesincludingAustralia.ThesepatternsarereflectedinchangestoaveragehouseholdincomeoverthepastdecadeasshowninFigure9.Thedataindicatethatallincomegroupshavehadanincreaseinabsolutelevels,butthatthehighestquintilehashadanincreaseatmorethandoubletherateofthatforthelowestquintile.Overthisperiod,householdsinthelowestquintilehadanincreaseof$48comparedwith$190forthoseinthehighestquintile.

Overrecentdecades,therehasbeenagrowingconcentrationofschoolagechildreninpoorhouseholds(Nicholson,2007;TheSenateCommunityAffairsReferencesCommittee,2004).Inacontextofincreasingprivatereturnstoeducationandinvestmentineducation,thesepatternscreatetwoeffects:wealthierhouseholdshavegreaterincentivesandcapacitiestoinvestprivatelyineducationandexploiteducationalchoice,andpoorerhouseholdsfacegreatereducationalcostsandrestrictedchoicesineducation.

Figure 9Averagehouseholdincome1994/5–2003/4,byquintiles

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The2007UNICEFreportrankedAustralia14thandinthemiddlegroupofdevelopedcountriesbythelevelofchildpoverty.Inonesense,thisisapoorresultasAustraliahasrecentlygonethroughitsmostsustainedperiodofeconomicgrowthandhasoutperformedallbutoneortwooftheOECDcountries.Fromthisstableplatform,itshouldhavebeenpossibletoreducethelevelofchildpoverty.Inanother,theseresultsaretobeexpectedasthoseAnglophonecountrieswithmarketorientedeconomicpoliciestendtohavehigherGiniindicesandtohavewidenedeconomicinequalityoverthepastthreedecades.

ThereareseveralothersocialpatternsthatarerelevanttoschoolinginAustralia.Theyincludethefollowing:> Thereportalsonotedthatover9.2

percentofchildreninAustraliaarelivinginhouseholdswherenobodyisinemployment.ThisisthesecondhighestlevelamongstdevelopedcountriesafterHungary

> Measuredaslessthan50percentandaslessthan60percentofmediumincome,9.4percentand20.2percentofchildrenrespectivelyinAustraliawereinhouseholdsbelowthepovertylinesin2005-6(Saunders,Hill&Bradbury,2008)

> Againstallrelative(butnotabsolute)measures,theoveralllevelofpovertyandthelevelsofchildpovertyincreasedoverthepastdecade,despiterapideconomicgrowth,increasesinrealaveragewagesandfallinglevelsofunemployment

> Butinthepreviousdecade,levelsofchildpovertyfelldespitehighlevelsofunemployment,declineinrealaveragewagesandweakereconomicgrowth.Theseoutcomessuggestthatpolicyinterventionscanmakeadifference

> Between1986and2001,thenumberofone-parentfamiliesinAustraliaincreasedby53percent(Healy,2004).Levelsofpovertyamongstthesefamilieswere11.4percentand32.1percentmeasuredagainstthe50percentand60percentbenchmarks,respectively.

> In2004,15.7percentofchildrenundertheageof15werelivinginfamilieswherenoparentswereemployed.7ThisisahigherlevelthanthatreportedbyUNESCOforafewyearsearlier

> Whilethereissomeevidenceofaneighbourhoodeffectuponthemeasuresofsocialexclusion,itappearstobelessimportantthanindividualandfamilyfactorsindeterminingdisadvantageinAustralia(Daly,2006)8

> TheBrotherhoodofStLaurencehasfoundthatamongstpoorfamilies,“most parents reported having difficulty paying for aspects of their children’s education during the last year: 69 percent had difficulty paying for sport or recreation, 62 percent for camps and a similar proportion (60 percent) for books. Almost half struggled to pay for equipment (48 percent) and excursions (47 percent)” (Bond&Horn,2008).

SomeimplicationsforschoolinginAustraliaoftheseobservationsincludethefollowing:> Levelsofchildpovertyhasa

degreeofindependencefromothereconomictrends,includingeconomicgrowthandemployment;

> Thisisdemonstratedbytheimpactofgovernmentpolicy,notablytheHawkeGovernment’seffortstoreducethelevelsofchildpovertyfromthemid1980stothemid1990s,ortheabsenceofsuchinterventions;

> Somesocialtrendscanhavetheimpactofconcentratingsocialfactorsthatareespeciallychallengingforschooling,notablyfamilybreakupandintergenerationalunemployment;and

> Althoughneighbourhoodeffectsarenotdominantinlevelsofpovertyandotherformsofsocialstress,patternsofschoolselectioncanconcentratepovertyandotherformsofsocialdisadvantageinschoolstoagreaterextentthantheneighbourhoodeffect.

Thesepatternsleadtothepropositionthattheinstitutionalformofschoolingcaninteractwithsocialgeographyandothertrendstoeitherreduceorconcentratetheirimpact.Theschooltraditionofneighbourhoodthatisespeciallystrongattheprimarylevelhasbeenpremiseduponthebeliefinthesocialandindividualbenefitsofstudentsmixingwithalltypesfromtheircommunity.Thishasbeenseenashavingthebenefitsofbuildingknowledge,understandingandtrustinstudentsandthusofstrengtheningandprovidingabondingfunctioninaspatialorgeographicsenseandabridgingfunctioninaculturalsense.Programssuchasthoseformigranteducationandstudentswithdisabilitieshavealsobeenpremisedupontheseprinciples.Apartfrombenefitingtheindividualstudentthroughtheopportunitytoparticipateinmainstreamschooling,theyhavebenefitedthewholestudentbodythroughtheirknowledgeofotherstudentsandtheirchallenges.


7 ABSCat:41020.0(2007)8 Thisfindingappearstounderminethelegitimacyofthe

CommonwealthGovernmentSES(SocioEconomicStatus)modelfornon-governmentschoolfundingusingpostcode-basedmeasurementsofSES.Itisacrudemeasurethathaslimitedcorrelationswiththerelativewealthofthefamiliesofthestudentsthatentertheseschools.

Institutional factorsWhiletheeducationpolicycommunitynowextendsbeyondeducationalprofessions,thepredominantorganisationalmodesofschoolingcontinuetobecloselylinkedtotheprofessions.Teaching,especiallyinthegovernmentsector,isoneofthemostregulatedandindustriallycentralisedofoccupations.Theseindustrialstructuresmergeintothegovernancearrangementsforschooling.Thegovernancemodeshavebeenhistoricallyformedandhavebeencementedthroughtheirinteractiverelationshipswiththeindustrialmodesandcultures.Whiletheprincipalactorsineducationpolicyhavechanged,schooleducationpolicyremainsframedbytheseindustriallyformedgovernancemodes,whichremainremarkablystableintheirfundamentals.

Theseorganisationalandindustrialmodesstronglyandconsistentlyframeeducationalpractices.Asaconsequence,thenewdiscoursesofeducationpolicyaresuperimposeduponthesestructuresandculturesandcantendtoignorethemortreatthemasneutral.Thisisexpressedmostemphaticallyintheuniversalismofschoolimprovementstrategiespremiseduponteacherqualityasthekeyvariableininfluencingeducationaloutcomes.Contextualfactorsofschoolenvironmentsandstudenthistoriesandgroupings,aswellasschoolsassocialsettings,canbetreatedasneutralwithinhighleveleducationpolicydiscourses.

Forexample,themantraofteacherqualityisheavilyconditionedbycontextinseveralways:> Thereareclearrelationships

betweenschoolsocioeconomiccontextsandeducationaloutcomes(Holmes-Smith,2006)andteacherqualityisalsoinfluencedbybothclassroomconditionsandthewiderschoolenvironment,includingitsleadership

> Thedistributionofteacherqualityisstronglyinfluencedbyorganisationalmodesandcareercycles.Teachers’capacitytochooseschoolsincreaseswithexperience.Thisisafactorinbothcentralisedandlocalisedteacherappointmentsystems.Thisresultsinunequalpatternsinthedistributionofexperiencedteachersacrossschoolsand,increasingly,acrosssectors

> Thereisasimilarpatternwithinschools.Forexample,inschoolswithhighnumbersofstudentsfromlowSEShouseholds,thereisastrongertendencyforlessexperiencedteacherstobegivenjuniorclassesthaninschoolswithstudentsfrommainlyhigherSESbackgrounds.9

StructuralfactorshavebeenidentifiedassignificantininfluencingtheeffectivenessofAustralianindustry,thehealthsystem,andwatersupplyanduseinAustralia.Theyalsopremisedthereformsinthevocationaleducationandtraining(VET)andhighereducationsectorsinthelate1980sandearly1990s.

Yetstructuralfactorshavenotbeenseriouslyaddressedinrecentpolicydiscoursesonschooling.Thismaybebecauseofthepoliticalsensitivityofschoolingandtheinherenttensionsaroundsectoralrelations,especiallyschoolfunding.Yetmostoftheinterventionsproposedforschooleffectivenessaremediatedbystructuralfactors.Theseinterventionsincludeteachereffectiveness,leadershipqualityandorganisationalculturesofschools.Structuralfactorsinfluencethesocialmixandscholasticbackgroundsofstudentenrolments,publicperceptionsofschoolsandschoolsectors,themarketopportunitiesanddifficultiesforschools,andtheresourcesthatcanbeassembledbyschoolsandtheprogramsthattheycanprovide.Theyalsoinfluencecommunityperceptionsofschooling,whichinturninfluencetheirmarketstrength.

Thepracticeofschoolleaders(especiallyinthesecondaryschoolsector)offrequentlyfilteringtheirdecisionsaboutenrolmentpractices,programsandmarketingthroughjudgementsaboutmarketsegmentisafactorthatisgivenlittleacknowledgementwithinschooleffectivenessdiscourses.YetahighdegreeofmarketsegmentationisreadilyapparentinAustralianschooling.Ithasitsrootsinstructuralcharacteristicsofthewiderschoolsystemandtheirinteractionswithsocialandeconomiccharacteristicsofthecommunity,mediatedbyfundingandaccountabilitysystems.Theeffectivenessofteachersandschoolleadersiscentraltothequalityofschooling.However,therealisationofthecapacitiesandthededicationofschoolpersonnelandtheirdistributionacrossthewiderschoolsystemisstronglymediatedbyparentalandcommunityperceptionsandexpectations,patternsofsocialgeographyandinstitutionalfactors.

21l

9 Analysisof2007datafromtheVictorianDepartmentofEducationandEarlyChildhoodDevelopment

0? Title

TherearestructuralrigiditiesinAustralianschoolingthatarerestrictingthequalityofeducationandeducationpolicyinAustralia.Theserigiditiesarelocatedinrelationshipsbetweenthestateeducationsystems,thenon-governmentsectorsandfederalism.Structuralrelationshaveproducedsectoralandpoliticalculturesthatservetoreinforcetherigiditiesandlimitthescopeofeducationalpolicy.Asaconsequence,macropolicydiscourses,suchasthoserelatingtoteacherquality,aredecontextualised.

F Structural features


Thestructuralrigiditiesaremanifestinthefollowingforms:> ��State-based�school�systems�

�that�are�institutionally�bound Thestateschoolsystemsformedthe

historicalbasisfor‘publicschooling’inthelate19thcentury(Austin,1972).Asaconsequence,aninstitutionalconceptofpubliceducationhaspervadedtheschoolsystemandthishasbeenreinforcedbyotherinstitutionalfeatures,especiallytheindustrialcultures.

Despitethefactthatathirdofstudentsattendnon-governmentschools,allofwhichreceivepublicfunding,stategovernmentsthathaveresponsibilityforeducationhabituallylimittheirpolicyandagencyscopetothegovernmentschoolsector.Alackofengagementwiththenon-governmentsectorservesto:

– reinforceaculturewherenon-governmentschoolsarenotexpectedtoshareinthepublicmissionofschooling;and

– strengthenacompetitivegovernancestructureandculturewithinandacrosssectors.

Thehistoricalseparatistculturesofthestateschoolsystemshavebuiltacentralisedindustrialsystemandculture.Thiscontinuestohaveastronginfluenceuponpolicy,andespeciallyresourcingpolicies.Industrialconditionsagreementsestablishconsiderablepressureforresourceequalisationacrossschoolsandforstandardisationofschoolorganisationalmodes.

> Separation�of�government��and�non-government�schooling

AustraliaisuniqueamongstOECDcountriesinthewayinwhichitseparatesgovernmentandnon-governmentschooling.Theuniquenesshastwomajorcharacteristics:thereareinconsistentandincompletelinksbetweenthelevelsofpublicandprivateorfee-basedresourcing,andtheregulatoryandmanagementarrangementsareradicallydifferentbetweenthegovernmentandnon-governmentsectors.Asaconsequence,thegovernanceandfundingarrangementslackconsistencyandtransparency.

Thesinglevariableofgovernment–non-government(orpublic–private)hidesgreaterfluidityinschooltypes,rangingfromlowfeefaithschoolsinlowincomeareastoacademicallyselectivegovernmentschoolsthatcanassembleconsiderablelevelsofprivateresourcessuchasvoluntaryfeelevelsashighas$1600(Bond&Horn,2008).Yetpolicyregimestendtoignorethisfluidityinthefaceofthestructuralrigiditiesinfundingandgovernance.

> State�and�Commonwealth�responsibilities

TherespectiverolesoftheCommonwealthandthestategovernmentsinschoolinghavemutatedoverthepast40years.ThismutationhasnotfollowedplannedorlogicalpatternsbuthasbeendrivenbythepoliticalimperativesoffundingandCommonwealthpolicyinterventions.

Themixofrolesisfarfromoptimal,withpatternsofintersectingandoverlappingfunding,fracturedpolicydiscoursesandinconsistentpatternsofinterventionsandinitiatives(Lingard,2000).

Thesestructuralfeatureshavebeenhistoricallyformed.Theeducationalsettlementsintheformofthe1870colonialeducationactsmadeacleardelineationbetweenpubliclyfundedandessentiallyseculareducationandfaith-basedandprivatelyfundedschools.Thiswasaninstitutionalsolutiontoasocialissueofsectarianism,andthestructuralsolutionwassubsequentlyreinforcedthroughthesocialandpoliticalmovementofnationalismthatculminatedinfederation(Furtado,2006).

Forthecenturyfromthe1870stothe1970s,thestructureandcultureofAustralianschoolingwasdominatedbythesehistoricalthemesandassociatedinstitutionalsettings.Thesesettingsalsoservedtobuildandreinforceacultureofstatecentralismwithgovernmentschoolsystemswithgovernanceculturesunsulliedbyaheterogeneousmixofschooltypes,andthuscreatedthetwinfeaturesofAustralianschooling,privateschoolingandcentralism,thatwereobservedbythevisitingAmericaneducatorFreemanButts(1955).

Theconfluenceinthe1970sofsocialchange,theSecondVaticanCouncilandaWhitlamgovernmentopenedaplatformforapartialrealignmentofthehistoricalsettlementbaseduponthesociallyprogressivethemeofeducationalneeds(Karmel,1973).Therealignmentwaspartialinthatitmadeonlyminimalinroadsintothestate-basedgovernmentschoolsystems.Itexploitedfederalismandthenewsocialpolicyenvironment,butreducedthepressuresuponthestatesystemstomoveawayfromtheircentralisedcultures.10

23

10 Atthesametime,theNewZealandGovernmentreachedasettlementwiththeCatholicChurchthatallowedfullstatefundingofCatholicschoolsbutthemaintenanceofsomeautonomyfortheCatholicschoolcentre(Furtado,2001).

Thesedevelopmentsinfluencedsomemajorthemesinschoolingacrossthesubsequentdecades.Ataninstitutionallevel,theylaidthefoundationsforAustralia’suniquesystemofstateownedandstatefundedgovernmentschoolsandmostlyCommonwealthfundednon-governmentschools.Theyalsobuiltapolicydynamicofthreesectoral(government,Catholicandindependent)comparisonsandcompetition,fedbyanaverageenrolmentdriftof.4percentfromthegovernmenttothenon-governmentsectors.Athirdandperhapsmoretenuoustrendhasbeenanearlytendencytowardsschoolselfmanagementandautonomy.11

ThehistoricalsettlementsinschoolingthatwerereachedacenturyaparttogetherwiththeculturalandinstitutionaloverlaysofnationalismandfederalismhaveshapedAustralianschoolingtodaywithitsinstitutionalfeatures,itsdynamicsanditslimitations:> Itsinstitutionalfeaturesinclude

thesectorswiththeirseparateandinconsistentfundingandgovernancearrangements.Theyalsoincludethelargelyderegulatedgovernmentschoolsystemsthatmaintainstronglycentralisedindustrialsystems;

> Thedynamicsincludethehighlymarketisedcultureandtheassociatedpatternsofmarketsuccessandfailurebetweenandwithinsystems;and

> Thelimitationsincludethelackofpolicycoherenceandconsistency.

ThepostWorldWarIIhistoryoffederalismhasexacerbatedthesetendencies.Verticalfiscalimbalancehasnotbeenaplatformforeithercooperativeorcompetitivefederalisminschooling(Walsh,2007).TheshiftinrelativelevelsoftaxationresourcesfromthestatetotheCommonwealthgovernmentssuperimposeduponthedifferentialsectorfundingregimeshasnotledtotheproductivepolicydynamicorbroadeningoftheelectoralvoicethatitmayhaveinotherareasofpublicpolicy.TheCommonwealthhasbeenasignificantinitiatorofprogramsbaseduponsocialandeconomicpolicyinschooling(Lingard,2000).However,theseinitiativesarerelativelymarginalinthecontextofanevergrowingdemandforrecurrentfundingfromthenon-governmentsector.12

Schooling’sinstitutionalcharacteristicsanditssocialandelectoralattachmenthavealsolimitedtheCommonwealthGovernment’scapacitytotranscendboththeinstitutionally-basedinterestsandthesocialinterestsattachedtoschooling.TheoptionfortheWhitlamGovernmenttoreachasettlementwiththeCatholicsectoratthetimeoftheNewZealandsettlementwasgreatlyweakenedbyoppositionfromthestateschoolsectors.SeniorCommonwealthpoliticianshavearguedthatmostfaithschoolsinAustraliashouldbefullyfunded,consistentwiththeprevailingmodelsinmostOECDcountries(Furtado,2006;O’Brien,1999).13ThisoptionhasnotbeenviableinAustraliaduetothenatureoftheeducationpolityanditshistoricalbaggage.WhileitwouldhavebeendifficultfortheWhitlamGovernmenttonegotiatethefullfundingofCatholicandotherlowfeeschoolsinthefaceofalliancesbetweenelementsoftheCatholicChurchhierarchyandtheindependentschoolsector(O’Brien,1999),thisoptionwasalsonotviableinthefaceofoppositionfromthegovernmentschoolsectorandorganisations.

SchoolingreformsinEnglandhavebeencarriedthroughuponthebasisofnationalinterest.Thishasinvolvedtherecruitmentofsignificantsocialandeconomicstakeholders,notablytheConfederationofBritishIndustriesandthereductionoftheinfluenceoftraditionalmembersoftheeducationpolicycommunity,includingtheLocalEducationAuthoritiesandtheteacherunions.AsimilarapproachwasusedforVETreforminAustraliawherebusinessandtheunionswereusedbythefederalgovernmentasameansofcounteringthetraditionalinstitutionalinterestsintheVETsector.

ItismoredifficulttomobilisetheseinterestswithinthefederalandsectorallydividedstructuresofAustralianschooling.Thismaybeviewedasamixedblessing.Nevertheless,itservestodemonstratetheconstrictionsthatfederalismplacesuponeducationpolicyinAustralia.


11 ThisisevidencedbythefactthatAustraliawasamongstthefirstOECDnationstomovetowardsdevolutionandschoolselfmanagement,andthiswasinthefaceofthegovernancecharacteristicofstatecentralism.Theargumentisthatthiswasinresponsetothechallengesthatwereincreasingfromthenon-governmentsector.Selfgovernancebringsthemixedblessingsofinnovationandpotentialforschoolimprovementandimpactofcompetitionuponsocialjusticeandinclusion

12 In2008,totalCommonwealthassistancetonon-governmentschoolswas$5,944millionand$2,651millionforgovernmentschools.Thesefigurescomparewith$426millionforLiteracy,NumeracyandSpecialLearningNeeds(CommonwealthofAustralia,2008).

13 Futarto(2006)notesthisviewexpressedbyDavidKemp,theCommonwealtheducationministerundertheHowardGovernment,andO’Brien(1999)recountsstatementsfromGoughWhitlamintheParliamentpriortohisbecomingPrimeMinisterin1992

Schoolsystemsinallcountriesarehistoricalconstructs.Theiruniversalcharacteristics,thenumberofyearsthatchildrenspendinthemandtheamountofresourcesthatareinvestedinthem,areembeddedinthenationalcultureandcommunityinfrastructure.Theyarenotimmutable,buttheychangeslowly,andtheirhistoricalconstructsaresuchthattheydonotnecessarilyrepresenttheoptimalinstitutionalformstomeetcontemporarycommunityandnationalsocialandeconomicpurposes(Ringer,1987).

Therearenumerousfederalsystemsofschoolingattheinternationallevel,allofwhichhavesomeflaws.AllOECDcountriesalsohaveamixtureofpublicandprivateorgovernmentandnon-governmentschools,andtherearetensionsaroundtheserelationshipsacrossalmostallofthem(e.g.Eurydice,2005;Hirsch,1994).

TheevolutionofthesetwosetsofrelationswithinAustralianschoolinghasledtoasetofinstitutionalsettingsthatareunusual.Australianschoolingwassystematisedinthelatedecadesofthe19thcentury,andinthepastfourdecadeshasmovedfromasituationwherepublicschoolingwasintheformofschoolsfundedandmanagedbystategovernmentstoamixtureofstateandCommonwealthfundingforamixtureofgovernmentandnon-governmentschools,withindifferentgovernancearrangements.AcrosstheOECDthereareseveralotherfederations:theUnitedStates,Canada,Germany,SwitzerlandandBelgium.NoneofthesecountrieshaveadoptedAustralia’spracticeofdividingtheresponsibilityforfundinggovernmentandnon-governmentschools,respectively,betweenthetwolevelsofgovernment.

SchoolinginAustraliahasstronginternationaltestingoutcomesandstrongpoliticalsupportfromgovernmentandfromoppositionparties.Italsoenjoystheactivesupportofsignificantelementsofcivilsocietyincludingbusinessandunions,thechurchesandawiderangeofcommunityagencies.Thereisalsobroadsupportamongstparentsforschooling.The2007CommonwealthParents’andCommunityMembers’AttitudestoSchoolingsurveyshows“that the majority of parents of school aged children were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with the quality of their eldest child’s education (75.1 percent) and with the quality of teaching at their eldest child’s school (72.2 percent).”

G Institutional settings in education

25

Althoughtherearehighlevelsofparentalsupportfortheirschools,thisisnotreflectedinoveralllevelsofparentalsupportforallschools.Figure10indicateslevelsofparentalsatisfactionwiththequalityofprimaryandsecondaryschoolingintheirstateandterritory.Thelevelsofsatisfactionareconsiderablylowerthanfortheirownschools.Furthermore,thelevelsofbroadercommunitysatisfactionarelowerthanthoseofparentsofchildrenwhoareatschool(O’Loughlin,Spindler,Rooney,Read&Fitzgerald,2004).Thesedatasuggestthattherearesomeunderlyingcommunityfactorsthatmilitateagainstcommunitysupportforschooling.Therearesimilarpatternsincommunityattitudestowardsotherpublicservicessuchastransportandhealthwhereindividualswhoaresatisfiedwiththeirownuseoftheseserviceshaveaperceptionthatthewiderservicesareunsatisfactory.

Thesebehavioursandissuesconcerningtheculturesandvaluesbaseofschoolsraiseissuesforthegovernmentorpublicschoolsectoraboutitsrelationshipswiththecommunityandcivilsociety.Inacontextwheretheneighbourhoodbaseofschoolinghasweakened,thereisachallengetomorestronglylinkgovernmentschoolingwithsetsofcommunitypurposesandvalues.

Figure 10

Parents'generalimpressionsonschoolingintheirState/Territory-good/verygood

0.0%

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Source:DEST,2007.


ImpactsTherearedifferentrelativeadvantagesanddisadvantagesofthevariouscharacteristicsofAustralianschoolingwhencomparedwiththoseofothercountries.Ashistoricalcharacteristics,theyhavebeenformedthroughtheinteractionsofgovernmentandcivilsocietyandtheobjectivesandactionsofparents.Somecharacteristicssuchasthestructureofsecondaryschoolingarethedirectresultofgovernmentdecisions,whileothershaveevolvedthroughmoreindirectprocesses.ThethesisofthispaperisthatstructuralcharacteristicsinAustralianschoolingthatareeitherrelatedtoorhavebeenreinforcedthroughfederalismhaveledtofeaturesthatthreatentoundermineitseducationalperformanceandtoweakenlevelsofequity.Theseimpactsaremanifestinanumberofareas.

EarlychildhoodAustraliahasthelowestlevelsofgovernmentexpenditureandthesecondlowestlevelsoftotalexpenditureonpreschooleducationamongstOECDcountries(OrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment,2006).Insearchingforhistoricalreasonsforthissituation,thestatecentralistcharacteristicofthegovernmentschoolsystemsisalikelyculprit.Historically,thesesystemshavebeenbuiltupontightboundariesofprimaryandsecondaryeducationsystemsandtherehasbeenareluctancetomovetowardsamorecommunity-basedprovisionthatisacharacteristicofpreschoolinginmostothercountries.Also,itwasnotafocusforthechurchschools,especiallytheCatholicschoolsectorwithitsemphasisupontheresponsibilityofthefamilyintheearlyyearsofchildhood.Asaconsequence,earlychildhoodeducationinAustraliaischaracterisedbylowfundedcommunity-basedprovision,privatefor-profitprovision,andamostlyunprofessionalisedandlowpaidworkforce.

Federalismhasreinforcedthesecharacteristics,withreluctanceonthepartofstategovernmentstomoveearlychildhoodeducationintotheirschoolsystemsbecauseofthecostimplications.ItisalsorelatedtotheincapacityoftheCommonwealthGovernmenttousethefavourablebudgetsituationtomakeamajorinvestmentinearlychildhoodeducation.ThiscompareswiththerecentandmajorinvestmentmadebytheBritishGovernmentinpreschooling:14

The relationship between early learning and subsequent educational performance are well known. Early childhood education ‘systems’ that are predominantly fee based have obvious implications for equity. This is especially the case in Australia, where poverty is concentred upon households with school age and preschool age children (The Senate Community Affairs References Committee, 2004).

Figure 11Percentageofalleducationexpenditureonearlychildhoodeducation,sampleofcountries2003

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14 Australiaalsotendstobiasitspublicandprivatespendingonschooleducationtowardssecondaryeducation(Angus,2008;OECD,2008).Thismaybearesponsetodemandcausedbytheintensepositionalcompetitivepressures(Marginson,1997)insecondaryeducation.

ThemiddleyearsandadolescentdisengagementArguably,themostchallengingareaofschoolingisthemiddleyears,especiallytheearlysecondaryyearsoradolescentstage.Teachersaremostreluctanttoteachintheseyearsandprincipalsconsistentlyreportthatthisisthestageofschoolingthatrequiresthemostattention.15Yetlevelsofinvestmentintheseyearsarerelativelylow,andinexperiencedteachersaremorelikelytobeallocatedtotheseyearlevels,especiallyinschoolswithhighconcentrationsofstudentsfromlowSEShouseholds.16

Manyindependentschoolsaredevotingextraresourcesandintroducingspecialprogramssuchasextendedcampsandappliedlearningprogramstothemiddleyearsinrecognitionofthechallenges.However,inthosegovernmentandCatholicschoolswheretheseprogramsaremostneeded,thereisanincapacitytointroducesuchprograms.Thisisbecausetheseschoolstypicallyhavelowerthanaverageenrolmentsandtheirpercapitaresourcelevelsdonotallowthesetypesofprograminvestment.

TwostructuralaspectsofAustralianschoolinghavecontributedtothissituation.First,theindustrialstructureoftheAustralianschoolsystems-especiallythegovernmentschoolsystemand,toalesserextent,theCatholicschoolsystem-createpressureforresourceequalisationacrossschoolsandwithinschools.Thelevelofextraresourcesthataredevotedtoschoolswithhighlevelsofeducationalneedsisminimalandisquicklynegatedbytherelativeincapacityoftheseschoolstoraiserevenuefromprivatesourcesandthediseconomiesofscalethattheyface.17

ThesecondrelatestotheroleoftheCommonwealthGovernment.IthasbeenamajorinitiatorofprogramsinschoolsforthepastthreedecadesandinparticularhasconcentrateduponeducationalneedsthroughprogramssuchastheDisadvantagedSchoolsProgramandprogramsdirectedtowardsruralstudents,girls,indigenousstudents,andmigrantstudents.Theinitiativesalsohaveincludedthosedirectedtowardsthemiddleyears.However,theCommonwealthstrategyistoinitiateprogramswiththeexpectationthat,ifsuccessful,theywillbetakenupbytheeducationsystems.Thishasnotproventobethecaseinthemiddleyears.Asaconsequence,thereisaninconsistentandunsustainedpatternofinvestmentinthesecriticalyears.

Australian states and the Commonwealth Government have set targets for higher levels of school completion in Australia. After major gains throughout the 1980s, we have effectively stalled in Year 12 completion growth. Numerous studies (e.g. Lamb et al, 2004) have pointed to disengagement from learning in the middle years as a key factor in early school leaving. Yet structural characteristics of Australian schooling work against the assembly of resources and programs to deal with this issue in the critical stages of the middle years.

PostcompulsoryprogramsAustralia’sapproachtopostcompulsorycurriculumandcertificationisunusualinthemarkeddifferencesacrossthestatesandterritories.Ontheotherhand,alloftheseapproachesserveacommonoutcomeofrelativestudentrankingsthatarticulateacrossstateboundaries.

ThesedifferentandcomplexarrangementshavebeenlamentedbysuccessiveCommonwealthgovernments.Thebenefitsofthisdiversitycanbedebated.However,oneareaoftheseniorsecondarycurriculumthatisunsatisfactoryisVocationalEducationandTraininginSchools(VETiS).DespitetheexistenceofanationalVETsystemwithcommonawardsandsetsofTrainingPackages,theseprograms:> Aredifferentacrossallofthe

jurisdictions;> AremainlyatCertificatelevelsIand

II,despitethenationalpriorityforCertificateIIIandabove;and

> Frequentlyinvolvestudentfeepayments,inacontextwherestudentsfromlowSEShouseholdsaremorelikelytoenrolinVETiSprograms(Polesel,2008).

Australia’s failure to deliver strong vocational programs, especially to the students who most need them in the senior years, is related to the structure of the school systems and their competitive orientation towards university preparation and entrance. While the federalist structure in schooling has not necessarily caused this situation, it does mitigate against a solution that would involve a single set of VETiS programs, and consistent and planned provision and funding.


15 Baseduponinformalinterviewswithprincipals.16 Thoseschoolsandsystemsthathavejunior(7-10)andsenior(11-12)collegesconsistentlyhavemore

teacherapplicationsfortheseniorcolleges.Onaverage,schoolsdevotemoreresourcestothesenioryearsthanthejunioryears,yetprincipalswheninterviewedhaveidentifiedthemiddleyearsasneedinggreaterinvestment.Wheretheschoolenrolmentsarelarger,theresourceallocationsarerelativelyevenandthissuggeststhatthesubjectdemandsofthesenioryearsareresponsiblefortheunevenresourceallocations(informationdrawnfromVictorianDepartmentofEducationandEarlyChildhoodEducationandinterviewswithprincipals).

17 ThereisastrongtrendacrosssecondaryschoolsinparticularforstudentsfromlowSESbackgroundstobeconcentratedinsmallschools(Lamb,2007).In2007,theCommonwealthGovernmentprovided$426,587,000forallAustralianschoolsunderitstargetedprograms.Theseconsistofthreeparts:Literacy,NumeracyandSpecialLearningNeedsProgramme;EnglishasaSecondLanguage-NewArrivalsProgramme;andCountryAreasProgramme(CommonwealthofAustralia,2008).Thefirstoftheseisbaseduponeconomicdisadvantageandwasapproximately$100million.Victoria,forexample,receivesapproximately$23millionofthisandaddsthistoanother$48millionof‘equityfunds’.Thisallowsabout3percentoftheschoolsbudgettobeneedsbased.However,withschoolsraisingapproximately7percent(althoughthemediumlevelislower)oftheirfundsthroughprivatemeans,thenetoutcomesisthatlowSESschoolshavelowerlevelsofpercapitafunding.However,secondaryschoolsalsoreceiveabasefundingandbecauselowSESschoolshavelowerenrolments,thepercapitaimpactisgreater.However,thisisdiscountedthroughdiseconomiesofscale.TherearesimilarpatternsinNewSouthWalesthroughthePrioritySchoolsProgram.

FundingandgovernanceSchoolsacrossAustraliareceivefundingfromacombinationofCommonwealth,stateandprivateresources.Theoverlayofgovernmentrolesandcategoriesoffunding,patternsofprivaterevenue,andspecialarrangementsthathavebeenbrokeredmainlywiththeCommonwealthGovernmenthasresultedinafundingsystemthatisinconsistentandlackstransparency.Thebroadimpactofthisincludesthefollowing:> Fundingremainshighlycontested

andisasourceofdivisionandantagonismwithintheAustralianschoolcommunity;

> Therules,accountabilitiesandresponsibilitiesthataccompanyfundingregimesareinconsistentanddivisive;

> TheprincipleofeducationalneedhasbeenreplacedbyanSESmeasurethatappearstoresultinsignificantanomaliesinCommonwealthnon-governmentschoolfundingwheresomerelativelyhighfeeschoolsgainlargeramountsofpublicfunds;and

> PrivateinvestmentinschoolinginAustraliaishighbyinternationalstandardsandisgrowingatafasterratethananyotherOECDcountry.Twofeaturesofthispatternarethe‘voluntaryfees’ingovernmentschoolsthatcancreatepressureonpoorfamiliestopayfees,andthepressuresuponlowfeechurchschools.Thesepressuresareexacerbatingthetendencyforschoolingtosegregatestudents.IntheCatholicsector,theyhaveledtoalossofstudentsfromlowincomehouseholdsandthreatenthehistoricalmissionofthissectortoeducatethepoor(CatholicEducationCommissionofVictoria,2004;Croke,2007;NewSouthWales&AustralianCapitalTerritoryCatholicBishops,2007).

Put crudely, school funding in Australia can be characterised as a government school system funded mainly by the state governments and a non-government school system funded mainly by the Commonwealth Government. Furthermore, the two ‘systems’ are competing against each other for enrolment share and public standing. These arrangements are directly linked to federalism. Considered in this way, they seem irrational and create dynamics that undermine the wider school system.

PublicandprivateThejuxtapositionofpublicandprivateschoolinginAustraliaisquixotic.Ontheonehand,therearecleardifferencesinthefundingandgovernanceofthetwobroadsectors.Ontheother,thereisconsiderablediversitywithineachofthesectorsand,asaconsequence,manygovernmentandnon-governmentschoolshavemuchincommon.Forexample,lowfeechurchschools,especiallythoselocatedinlowincomeareas,haveasimilarmission,studentpopulationandalmostidenticalcurriculumtothatofmostgovernmentschools.

SeveralOECDcountries(Belgium,NetherlandsandIreland)havenon-governmentschoolsectorsthathavealargershareofenrolmentsthantheshareofthenon-governmentsectorinAustralia.Severalothers(France,SpainandItaly)havesmallerbutsubstantialnon-governmentsectors.Inmostofthesecountries,thechurchschoolstendtobefullystate-fundedandtheirenrolmentprofilesaresimilartothoseofgovernmentschools.

InAustralia,therelationshipisdifferent.Itispossibleandfrequentfornon-governmentschoolstoreceiveaquantumofgovernmentandprivatefundingthatisgreaterthantheaveragelevelofgovernmentschoolfunding,whichconflictswiththeneedsbasedprinciple.Asnotedabove,thisoutcomealsoexistsinthegovernmentschoolsector,albeittoalesserdegree,wheresomeschools’capacitytoraiseprivaterevenuegivesthemaconsiderableresourceadvantage.

Thesefundingarrangementsexacerbatetheinherenttendencyfornon-governmentschoolstoenrolstudentsfrommainlyhigherincomehouseholds.ThispatterninAustraliaisshowninFigure12.Whilenon-governmentschoolsinmost(butnotall)countriestendtohaveskewedenrolments,fewifanyothercountrieshavesectorally-basedsocialskewinginschoolingonthescalethatexistsinAustralia.

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Figure 12 Schoolsectorenrolmentbystudents’householdincome

GrossAnnualHouseholdIncomes

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Source:DEST,2008

Thesedifferencesaregreaterwhenschoolingisdividedintothreesectors:government,Catholicandindependent.Figure13indicatesthepercentageofenrolmentswithineachofthesectorsbaseduponSESquintilesforseniorsecondarystudentsinVictoria.Furthermore,thesedifferencesaregrowing,withamovementofhighSESstudentsintotheindependentsector,lowincomestudentsintothegovernmentsectorandmiddleSESstudentsintotheCatholicsectorattheexpenseoflowandhighSESstudents.ThesetrendshavebeenapointofconcernfortheCatholicEducationCommissionsinVictoriaandNewSouthWales(CatholicEducationCommissionofVictoria,2003;NewSouthWales&AustralianCapitalTerritoryCatholicBishops,2007).

Figure 13StudentSESbackground(quintilesofSES),byschoolsector:Year11VCEstudents,Victoria,2005(percent)

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Thereareseveralsubsequenteffectsofthisskewing.

PublicperceptionsofschoolinginAustraliaThefirstisthattheseparationofthesectorscreatessector-differentiatedpublicperceptionsofthequalityofschooling.Figure14showsthepercentagesofparentswithchildreninprimaryschoolsineachofthesectorsinVictoriathatarehappywiththequalityoftheirchildren’sschoolandallprimaryschoolsinthesector,andthepercentagesofthewidercommunityandemployerswhoarehappywithschoolsineachofthesectors.Itcanbeseenthatparentalapprovalof‘theirschool’isrelativelyevenacrossthesectors,buttherearemarkeddifferencesinparentalperceptionsofallschoolsintheirsectorandoftheperceptionsofthewidercommunityandemployers.Thosepeoplewhohaveadirectexperienceofschoolshaveastrongpositiveviewoftheirquality,yetthischangestoasignificantextentforCatholicschoolparentsandevenmoresoforgovernmentschoolparents.Thesepatternsmatchthoseforemployersandthewidercommunity.

Theseoutcomessuggestthattherearefactorsthatareindependentoftheactualoperationandperformanceofschoolingthatinfluencepublicperceptions.Theperceptionsarebaseduponthesectoraljuxtapositioningthatinteractswiththesocialpatternsofenrolmentsand,reinforcedbysuchfactorsasthemedia,servestocreatebothadifferentialandaninaccurateperceptionofschoolquality.Itispossiblethattheperceptionsarealsoinfluencedbytheattachmentofgovernmentschoolstostategovernments.Overall,thepublichasaperceptionthattheCommonwealthismoreeffectivethanthestategovernments(Brown,2008).

Thesecommunityperceptionsofsectorcharacteristicscontradictevidencethatparentschooseschoolsratherthansystems.Forexample,ofthefamilieswithtwoormorechildrenthatsendoneormoreoftheirchildrentoCatholicschools,25percentchoosetosendtheirchildrentobothCatholicandotherschools.Ofthese,thevastmajority(84percent)sendoneormoreoftheirchildrentogovernmentschools(Smith,2008).


Figure 14Parent,communityandemployersatisfactionwiththequalityoftheirschoolandallschoolsintheirsector,2004

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Source:DPC,2004(unpublisheddata)

It is am unhealthy situation where the majority of the community, employers and parents have a poor perception of the quality of the schools that serve two thirds of all children. This is especially so when these perceptions are contradicted by the direct experience of parents who use these schools. The sectoral segregation of schooling in Australia invites selective media and political reporting of schooling and breaks up a common parental voice for schooling that would otherwise counter this reporting. These perceptions cannot be directly attributed to federalism as they are located in family educational and economic aspirations and are fed by the different outcome patterns of the school sectors at the secondary level. However, the federalist structures and processes have helped to maintain and arguably exacerbate the sectoral fragmentation that is the foundation for these perceptions and associated media and political behaviours.

EnrolmentdriftswithinsectorsAsecondimpactistoextendsocialselectionintothegovernmentand,toalesserextent,theCatholicschoolsectors.Figure15indicatesthemeanenrolmentsforquintilesofVictorianhighschoolsbaseduponthemeanSESlevelsoftheirenrolmentsfrom1980to2004.ThedataindicateasteadypatternofenrolmentgrowthinhighSESandenrolmentdeclineinlowSESschoolsoverthisperiod.Theseresultssuggestthatoverthepastthreedecades,therehasbeenaconsistenttrendofsocialseparationofstudentsintolarger,betterperformingschoolsandsmallerschoolswithpoorerresults.

Increasedsocialsegregationofstudents,especiallyinurbanareasandatthesecondarylevel,iscommoninmostdevelopedcountries(Kerbow,1996;Mickelson,Bottia&Southworth,2008;Reay,2004).Itisrelatedtoresidentialpatterns,increaseddisposableincomeamongstthemiddleclasses,deregulationofenrolments,andtheheightenedaspirationalinvestmentsineducation.However,thereisevidencethatinsomeAustraliansettingsthissegregationisreachingextremeforms,withsomelocalhighschoolsenrollinglessthan20percentoflocalstudents.18Thisisleadingtoanunderclassofresidualisedschoolsthatareservingstudentswiththegreatesteducationalneed.

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18 BaseduponanalysisofdatafromtheVictorianmetropolitanschoolregions.

Figure 15 AveragegovernmentsecondaryschoolenrolmentsxSESquintilebands,1980-2004,Victoria

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DougWhilmshasnotedthat:“The socio-economic composition of a school’s population is an even stronger predictor than individual home background. PISA shows, for example, that two students with the same family characteristics going to different schools – one with a higher and one with a lower socio-economic profile – could expect to be further apart in reading literacy than two students from different backgrounds going to the same school” (citedinFullan,2003,p13).

Thisimpactwillbeevengreaterwherestudentsarelocatedinschoolswithdecliningenrolmentsandtheirassociatedproblemsoflackofstaffrenewalandthelikelihoodoflowmoraleandlowexpectations.Abroadtrendofsocialseparationofstudentswithinschoolingisnothealthyforeitherthesocialoreconomicaspirationsofthenation.Schoolsystemswereestablishedbythestateprimarilyfortheirroleincommunityandnationbuilding.Theyhavebeenthegreatcommunitymeetinggroundwherechildrenfromdifferentbackgroundsaccessandshareknowledgethatisbaseduponacommonsetofvalues.Theemergenceofresidualisedor‘sink’schoolsthatarehighlyconcentratedgeographicallywillunderminetheobjectivesofachievinghighlevelsofschoolcompletionbecausetheresidualisedareastypicallyhavehighlevelsofearlyleaving(Lambetal,2004).ThesepatternsarenottheresultofthefederalistcharacteristicsofAustralianschooling.However,theyareanationalissueandshouldbeaddressedthroughthefederalplatformsthatareavailable.


PolicyscopeAthirdimpactisuponpolicyscope,especiallyatthestatelevel.Stategovernments,asthe‘owners’ofthegovernmentschoolsystems,aretroubledbytheenrolmentdriftofstudentsandespeciallymiddleclassandmorescholasticstudentstonon-governmentschools.Theyareconsciousoftheimpactofthecombinationofparentaleducationalaspirations,thescholasticmixandenvironmentthatmanynon-governmentschoolsareabletobuild-frequentlysupplementedwithscholarshipprograms-andtheimageofgovernmentsecondaryschoolsthathasspreadacrossthecommunity.

Asaconsequence,mostofthemainlandstateshaverecentlyannouncedorintroducedmoreformsofstudentselectionbaseduponacademicoutcomes.Several(Victoria,QueenslandandWesternAustralia)haveannouncedextraselectiveentryhighschools,andmosthaveintroducedmoreselectivestreamsinsomeschools.Thepurposeoftheseinitiativesistorecapturesomeofthemorescholasticandmostlymiddleclassstudentsandthusstrengthenthescholasticimageofthegovernmentschoolsector.

Theimpactofgroupingstudentsinmixedandstreamedabilitygroupingsiscontested.Theoutcomesareinfluencedbyotherfactorssuchasthemethodsofselection,thedegreeofflexibilityinstudentgroupings,expectationsofdifferentgroups,andtheinstructionalpracticesthatareused(Ireson&Hallam,2001).Broadly,itdoesseemthathighabilitygroupsdogainfrommorehomogeneousgroupings,butlowabilitygroupsdonot.Thequantumorbalanceofoutcomesislikelytobenegative.

Thepotentialproblemsthatincreasedinstitutionalselectivitycreatesarethattheyarelikelytoleadtoenvironmentsandpracticesthatexacerbatethedisadvantagesthatsomestudentsfaceintheirschooling.Selectioniszerosum,andthedilutionofscholasticallycapablestudentswithinschoolsandacrosssystemsincreasestheintensityofeducationalneedwithinclassesandschools.Italsohasthepotentialtoreducethefactorsthatareassociatedwithstrongoutcomes,includingflexibilityinstudentgroupings,highexpectations,appropriatepedagogiesandwhattheFrenchterm‘pilot’studentswhoprovidescholasticleadership.Thisisespeciallythecasewhenlessexperiencedteachersaremorelikelytobelocatedinschoolsandyearlevelsthathavethegreatesteducationalandsupervisionchallenges.19

The decisions on the part of state governments to introduce more selectivity in secondary schooling are essentially strategic and are designed to protect the image and capacity of the government school sectors to provide schooling at a level of excellence equivalent to that provided by non-government schools. They also are likely to be conscious of the potential consequences of these measures but feel that there is little alternative, especially when polling has shown that these measures are politically popular.20Thus the sectoral institutional structure of Australian schooling, which is buttressed by federalism, is leading to policy frames of increasing selective practices that restrict other policy options.

PoliticisationEducationpolicyandespeciallyfundinginAustraliaareinherentlypolitical.Politicalculturesandprocessesalwayshavethecapacitytoinhibitgoodpublicpolicyandadministration.However,thisimpactcanbeinfluencedbythenatureofgovernancestructuresandcultures.AustraliaisunusualamongstOECDcountriesintheregularprocessesofseparatesector-basednegotiationsoverfundingatstateandCommonwealthlevels,frequentlypriortoelections.Thesenegotiationsareconductedwithgovernmentsandoppositionpartiesandmakeitalmostimpossibletodevelopconsistentandrationalfundingandaccountabilitysystemsinschooleducation.Thisismanifestinthe‘hitlist’debateovertheAustralianLaborPartyproposalpriortothe2004electiontoredistributefundingfromhightolowfeenon-governmentschools.

TheseseparateprocessesalsocontributetowardsotherformsofpoliticisationofschoolinginAustralia.ThedebateoverthevaluesbaseofgovernmentschoolsthatwasinitiatedbythePrimeMinisterin2005wasbaseduponanimpliedbutunsubstantiateddistinctionbetweenthepracticesofgovernmentandnon-governmentschools.Differencesinfundingandgovernancewereassumedtoresultindifferencesinvaluesfoundations.

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19 ThisisthecaseinVictoriansecondaryschools,forexample.ThefollowingFigureshowstheamountofresources(mostlyteachertime)andcosts(teachertime+paylevels)forVictoriangovernmentsecondaryschools.Itindicatesthatbotheffectiveschools(basedupontheiroutcomesandstudentperceptions)andotherschoolsgenerallyhavemoreseniorstaffteachingattheseniorlevels.

Patternsofresourceallocations(teachertime)andcostallocation(teachertime+paylevels)foreffectiveandotherschools,VictorianGovernmentsecondaryschools,2007

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20 Interviewswithformerstateeducationministerandministerialadvisers(VictoriaandNewSouthWales),2008.

TheargumentinthispaperisthattherearestructuralrigiditiesintheAustralianschoolsystemthatthreatentoundermineitslongertermstrengthandtheassociatedsocialandeconomicaspirationsofthenation.Allsystemsbytheirverynaturehaverigidities,manyofwhicharenecessaryandsomeofwhicharemorenecessarythanothers.Systemsandtheinstitutionalarrangementsthatformthemarehistoricalconstructsandassuchcomewithculturalattachments.Asanessentiallysocialinstitution,schoolingislinkedtosetsofbeliefsandexpectationsofparents,civilsocietyandbureaucraticcultures.Structuralforms,therefore,cannotbetakenlightlyasbelowthesurface,theyarebuttressedbysetsofbehavioursandexpectationsthathavelongbeeninformationandpractice.

H Federalism

However,ashistoricalconstructs,theinstitutionalformsarenotimmutable.ThepaperhasarguedthatthreecorecharacteristicsofAustralianschoolinghaveledtoinstitutionalrigidities:thecentralisedcharacteristicsofstatesystems,thepublic–privateschooldivision,andtherespectiverolesoftheCommonwealthandstateandterritorygovernments.Together,thesethreecharacteristicshavecontributedtowardsanumberofaspectsofAustralianschoolingthatareproblematic.Theseaspectsincludefundingarrangements,governance,publicperceptions,marketbehavioursandassociatedstudentgroupings,participationandoutcomes,andgovernmentpolicyframes.

Thiscaseisextendedbythepropositionthatthethreecorecharacteristicsareinterrelated.Thecentralisedindustrialandstate-centricmodeofthegovernmentschoolsystemswouldnotbepossiblewithinabroaderpublicsystemthatincludedmostnon-governmentschools.Australia’sfailuretoreachasettlementwiththechurchschools,suchasthosethatoccurredacrossthe20thcenturyinEngland,CanadaandNewZealand,isrelatedtotheentrenchedcentralistandstate-centriccharacteristicsofthegovernmentsystems.Australia’sfederaliststructure,whichinthepost-waryearsunequallyallocatedtaxrevenuetotheCommonwealthGovernment,divertedthepressuresuponthestatesystemsinthe1960sand1970stodealwiththeCatholicschoolstowardstheCommonwealthGovernment.IthassubsequentlyconditionedtheinstitutionalarrangementsandorganisationalexpectationsthatcharacteriseAustralia’ssectorally-basedschoolsystem,includingthemaintenanceofthestate-centricgovernmentschoolcultures.


Thethreewayrelationshipbetweenthesesetsofcharacteristicshasproventoberemarkablyimmutableinthecontextofmajorcontextualchangesandintensedebateandcontestation.DespitetheapparentuniquenessoftheAustralianarrangements,patternsofinconsistenciesandinequities,anapparentgradualbutsteadyresidualisationofelementsofthegovernmentsystemsandanerosionofpublicconfidenceinthemajoritypublicsector,thebroadsetofinstitutionalarrangementshasremainedrelativelyimmutable.Itishighlysensitivepoliticallyandappearstobelockedin.

FederalismanditsassociatedadministrativearrangementsthereforeemergeasthecentralbulwarkinthepolicyimpasseonschoolinginAustralia.Thisrolehasbeenstrengthenedthroughfederal–statecontestationthathasmadecooperativeandconcertedpoliciesandinitiativesdifficult,especiallywhenstategovernmentsaresoinstitutionallytiedtotheirsystems.

Walsh(2007)hasarguedthatcompetitivefederalismhasthepotentialtomeettheneedsofcitizensinthedeliveryofpublicservicesatleastequallywithcooperativefederalism.However,thisseemsunlikelytobethecaseinschooling,wheretheinstitutionalstructuresareacombinationofsomecommonregulationsbutdifferentfundingandotherdifferentiatedregulatoryarrangements.Furthermore,thedifferentinstitutionalstructureshavedifferentsetsofrelationswithindustrialandparticipantorganisationsandculturesandwithdifferentsocialgroupingsandaspirationalpatterns.TheresultsofthesedifferencesarereadilyapparentinAustraliaintheformsofpatternsofparticipation,outcomesandpublicperceptionsofschoolculturesandquality.

Federalism,therefore,providesthekeyforanychallengestothestructuralrigiditiesinAustralianschooling.ItprovidedthehistoricalsafetyvalveforgrowingpressureswithintheCatholicschoolsinthe1960sand1970s(Furtado,2001)andsubsequentlyhaspreventedwhatmighthavebeenanaturalevolutionofabroaderAustralianpubliclyfundedschoolsystem.ItisimportanttostressthatfederalismisnotjusttheCommonwealthGovernment.ItistheCommonwealthandstateandterritorygovernmentsandtherelationshipsbetweentheminpolicy,institutionsandservices.Anyreformofthefederalistprocessesinschoolingthereforeneedstobemulti-level.

AsubstantialliteraturesuggestsweaknessesintheAustralianmodel,withthegrowingimbalancebetweenthepowersandresponsibilitiesoftheCommonwealthGovernmentbeingthemostobviousissue(BusinessCouncilofAustralia,2006;Craven,2005;Fenna,2008).Thereisanexplorationacrosstheliteratureofdifferentapproachestofederalism–collaborative,coordinateandcompetitive(Galligan,2008),andthereisagrowingsetofproposalsforstructuralandprocessreformsinAustralianfederalism(e.g.BusinessCouncilofAustralia,2007;Twomey,2007;Twomey&Withers,2007).

TheoptionofamajorrestructureofAustraliangovernmentsuchas‘abolishingthestates’orasignificantconstitutionalchangethatwouldmoreclearlydelineatestateandCommonwealthgovernmentrolesisremote.Themajorityofthepublicprefersthethreelevelsofgovernment(Brown,2008)andthelikelihoodofconstitutionalreformreachingandsurvivingareferendumisweak(Galligan,2008).Furthermore,thereisevidencethatthefederalistformofgovernmentworkscomparativelywell(Galligan,2008).

Ontheotherhand,thegrowthinfederalistactivitiesandinstitutionssuggeststhatpublicpolicyandadministrationneedstolinkgovernanceatthestateandnationallevels.MinisterialcouncilshavebecomemoreprominentinpublicpolicymakingoverthepasttwodecadesandCOAGhasassumedanunprecedentedprominenceinrecentyears.ThestateshavefelttheneedfordefensiveactioninthefaceofCommonwealthpowerbyformingtheCouncilfortheAustralianFederationin2006(Tiernan,2008)andtheagendaforMCEETYAhasbeendominatedbytheCommonwealthoverthepastdecade(Jones,2008).However,allgovernmentstakefederalismseriouslyandmostareasofpublicpolicynowengagegovernmentattheintra-andinter-governmentlevels.

Federalistreformsthatdonotrequireconstitutionalchangecanbepursuedthroughformsofcooperationandcoordination,includingjointlegislation.TheBusinessCouncilofAustralia(2007)hasidentifiedNationalCompetitionPolicyasanexampleofsuccessfulfederalistactivityandnationalwaterpolicyasanareaoflackofsuccess.Educationrepresentsoneofthemostobviousandsignificantareasofpublicpolicyandadministrationthatinvitesfederalistreforms.Nationaltrainingreformandtheformationofanationaltrainingsysteminthe1990scouldalsobecitedasanareaofsuccessfulfederalismreform.

TherehasbeenasubstantialliteratureonthehistoryandthenatureofthefederalistarrangementsinAustralianschooling(e.g.Lingard,2000;Wilkinsonetal,2007),andcritiquesofthesearrangements(e.g.Connors,2007;McMorrow,2008).However,therehasbeenlittleworkonreformingthesearrangementswithinthecontextoftherealitiesoftheAustralianpolity.Therehavebeenproposalsforchangesinthefundingsystemforschooling(O’Loughlin,Spindler,Rooney,Read&Fitzgerald,2004;Furtado,2006),buttherehasbeenlittleinvestigationofhowsuchchangeswouldbenegotiatedandhowtheymightfitintothebroadergovernancearrangementsforschoolinginAustralia.

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In2008AnnaBligh,theQueenslandPremier,proposedanewsetofarrangementsforthepolicyandadministrativearrangementsforschooleducationinAustralia(Bligh,2008).SheproposedthatinreturnforafullertransferofresponsibilityforVETtotheCommonwealth,theadministrativeandfundingresponsibilityforallschooling,governmentandnon-government,shouldbereturnedtothestates.TheCommonwealthwouldhaveacentralroleinestablishingandmaintainingnationalframeworksforcurriculumandoutcomes.

Thisproposalwouldfacepotentialoppositionfromelementsofgovernmentanddifferentstakeholdersineducationandtraining.StategovernmentsmightbereluctanttoabandonVET,ofwhichtheyarethemajorityfunders,tothenationalgovernment,andelementsofthenon-governmentsectorwouldfeelvulnerableiftheyweresolelydependantuponstatefunding.Bligh’sproposalhasaprecedentinasimilarproposalputbythethenPrimeMinisterPaulKeatingin1992,whichwasrejectedbymost,butnotall,ofthestates.MorerecentlytheBradleyReviewofHigherEducation(Bradley,etal,2008)hasrecommendedthattheCommonwealthGovernmentshouldtakefullfinancialandadministrativeresponsibilityforVET.Itwasunderstandablysilentonschooling.

Brown(2008)makesthepointthatwithinfederalism “Australians’ public attitudes help explain the currency of existing approaches - including both ‘knee-jerk’ responses to federal dysfunctions, and the value of securing collaborative improvement to the functioning of federalism in the short term. However public attitudes also reinforce the need for a more strategic approach, capable of addressing the structural dilemmas that afflict Australia’s system and capturing improved approaches to governance in the long term”(p26).

AnnaBlighwasalsomakingasimilarpointinherAustralianandNewZealandSchoolofGovernment(ANZSOG)speech.HerrestructureisproposedasasensibleandoptimalsetofarrangementsforeducationandtrainingwithinthematurefederationofAustralia.Itrepresentsasetoflongertermpossibilitiesthatwouldneedtobeaccompaniedbyotherarrangementsthatprotectthelegitimateinterestsofparticulargroupsandthebroadercommunity,anditsimplementationwouldrequireengagementwithotherorganisationsandagenciesineducationandtraining.


TherehavebeensomeopportunitiesinthepasttochangethegovernancearrangementsforschoolinginAustralia.Themostnotablewasthe1970sandtheadventofthesociallyreformistWhitlamGovernmentanditsSchoolsCommission,whichessentiallyrecommendedthebuildingofabroadlybasedanddefinedpublicsectorthatwouldincludechurchschools.Asimilar,albeitlessobvious,opportunitycameintheearly1980swiththeadventoftheHawkeGovernment.

Inbothcases,theopportunitieswerenotgraspedinthefaceofresistancefromthestatesystemsandtheirorganisations(suchassometeacherunions)andthechurchschools’attachmenttotheirautonomy.Inthe1970s,theSchoolsCommissionandtheWhitlamGovernmentbotharticulatedavisionforabroadlybasedpublicsystemthatwouldhaveallowedforthefullpublicfundingofchurchschools(Whitlam,1985).However,itfailedtoaddressthestructuralencumbrancesoffederalism.Bytheearly1980s,publicfundingofnon-governmentschoolshadbecomesocontestedthattheHawkeGovernmentwasunabletoreachanewsettlementofthistype.

Thereisasensethatathird,andperhapslast,opportunityisbeingformedthroughaconfluenceofcurrentpoliticalinterestinareformedfederalismineducation,arevivedinterestineducationalequityandtheidentificationofeducationasapolicyandinvestmentenvironmentinAustralia.Thereisacasetobemadethatitisalsobeingformedthroughagrowingcrisisingovernmentsecondaryeducation.

Thisopportunity,however,needstobeframedbyavisionofhowthegovernancearrangementsforapubliclyfundedschoolsystemshouldandcouldbeconstituted.Itisnotfeasibletoachieveamajorstructuralalignmentthatwouldinvolveradicalchangesinthefunding,governanceandaccountabilityarrangementsforAustralianschoolingintheshortormediumterm.An‘integratedmodel’oftheNewZealandorUnitedKingdomtypesinAustraliaisunlikelytobenegotiated.Apartfromthelogisticaldifficulties,adirectassaultonthecurrentarrangementswouldprovokeconfrontationsanddestroyanyprospectforabroadnationalconsensus.

I An objective for schooling in Australia

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Nevertheless,thereappeartobesignificantopportunitiestobegintheprocessesofstructuralchangethatareintheinterestsofthewidercommunity.Suchchangeswouldbebaseduponbroadagreementaboutthepurposesandprinciplesofschoolingandbethefoundationsforchangedrelationshipsbetweenschools,schoolsandgovernment,andschoolsandthewidercommunity.Italsoisimportanttorecognisethatseveralpubliclyfundedschoolsystems,suchasthoseinFlandersandOntario,affordsubstantialautonomytochurchschoolsub-sectors.

ThegoalshouldbetomoveschoolinginAustraliatowardsamorecoherentsetofstructuralarrangementsthatwillbetterfacilitatethewiderschoolsystemtoachieveahighqualityeducationforallthroughtheencouragementratherthaninhibitionofmorecohesiveandmutuallysupportiverelationshipsandpractices.

Astrategycouldbeoneofusingfederalismasameansofhelpingtobreakdownstructuralrigiditiesratherthanbuttressingthem.Thiswouldinvolvesomeclarityaboutthefollowing:> Thecoresocialandeconomic

purposesofschooling,itsroleinmeetingtheaspirationsofthenation,andtheunderlyingsocialprinciplesthatsupportthesepurposesandaspirations;

> TheaspectsofAustralianschoolingthatarebestalignedatanationallevel;

> Clarityaboutwhatgovernmentpaysforinschooling;

> Theminimalandthereforecommonregulatoryarrangementsforregisteredandpubliclyfundedschools;

> Fundingsystemsthatlocateresourceswheretheyaremostneededandaccountabilityfortheuseoftheseresourcestoaddresstheseneeds;and

> Conditionsthatallowtheseresourcestobeusedinanoptimalmanner.

Alloftheseitemshavebeenraisedinthepast.Therehaveeitherbeenlimitedattemptstointroducethemorstalematesinthefaceofwhatappearstobeintractablesectoralandstakeholderresistance.However,theyallrepresentkeycomponentsofwhatshouldconstituteanewandhealthyfederalistsettlementonschoolinginAustralia.Thechallengeistoshapeandimplementanagendathatcanprovidethefoundationforthesecomponents.

Someofthesecomponentscanbeadvancedimmediately,andindeedsomehavealreadybeeninitiated.AgreementonthecoresocialandeconomicpurposescanbedevelopedthroughtheCOAGprocessesandasubsequentprocessofstakeholderengagementandcontribution.TheMelbourneDeclaration,withitsstrongeremphasisuponsocialoutcomes,isasignificantadvanceupontheAdelaideDeclaration.Somestateshavealreadymovedtowardsmorecommonregulatorysystems,anditwouldalsobepossibletoadvancesomenationalbenchmarksonminimumqualitystandardsinschoolingthatwouldechothevisionoftheKarmelReportof1974.Minimuminputstandardswouldcomplementthegovernmentalagreementforanationalregimeofstage-relatedtestingasoutputmeasures.Suchagreementwouldinalllikelihoodachievesubstantialstakeholderbuy-inasitwouldbeseenasacommitmentfromgovernmentratherthananotheraccountabilitymeasure.

Thecomponents,however,wouldbeinsufficienttobreakdownthestructuralrigiditiesthataremostmanifestinthefunding,governanceandaccountabilityarrangements.Thesecomponentsneedtobeaddressedinalesshead-onmannerandbeseenaslonger-termprojects.

ThesestructuralelementsofAustralianschoolingareonlymeanstoanend.Theendisqualityschoolingforallinacurrentcontextwherealldonotautomaticallyhaveaccesstoqualityschooling.Publicfundingandassociatedaccountabilityandfundingarrangementsshouldbedesignedtoenhanceratherthaninhibitqualityandshouldhelptoincreaseaccessforthosewhomostneedit,ratherthanexacerbatelackofaccess.

Oneapproachtotacklingthestructuralbarriersistodevelopasetofnationalprojectsthatwillinitiallyinviteandeventuallynecessitatereformedstructuralarrangements.Theseprojectsshouldbedevelopedandimplementedinconjunctionwithsomemoreimmediateinitiativesthatmoredirectlyaddressthestructuralissues.

Inthisregarditisusefultoconcentrateuponthreesetsofquestions:> WhatelementofAustralian

schoolingmostneedandbestinviteasharedCommonwealth-stateeffort?

> Isitpossibletolookatdeliverymodelsthatgobeyondthesingleandautonomousschoolsothatgovernmentandnon-governmentschoolsandotheragenciessharecommonobjectivesbaseduponasetofsharedprinciples?

> AretherecommunitiesacrossAustraliathatmostneedaconcertedeffortonthepartofgovernmenttoaddresstheissueofparticipationandachievementineducation?

Threesetsofprojectsstandout.Theyrelatetoearlychildhoodeducation,theissueofmiddleschooldisengagement,anduppersecondarypathways–especiallyintheareaofvocationaleducation.Betweenthemthesethreesetsofprojects:> Coverthebroadobjectivesand

locationsoftheCOAGstrategy;> Provideopportunitiesformajor

initiatives;> Invitegovernmentandnon-

governmentschoolparticipation;> Canbeaddressedatleastinpart

onanareabasis;and> Allowengagementwithstructural

arrangementsinfunding,governanceandaccountabilitythatneedreform.


Early childhood educationinAustraliaisalmostagreenfieldssiteintermsofpublicinvestment.Itisencumberedwiththeproblemthatthesectorhasbeendominatedbyasinglefor-profitenterpriseandthisraisesthechallengingpolicyquestionofwhetheralargescalepublicinvestmentshouldbechannelledlargelyintothisenterprise.

Thisissuesuggestsacommunity-basedstrategyinvolvingpartnershipsbetweenlocalgovernment,primaryschools(governmentandnon-government)andstateandCommonwealthgovernments.GiventhesignificantcostsofbuildingpublicinvestmenttoOECDstandards,aprocessofindentifyingpriorityareasbaseduponneedsshouldbeestablished.Atthesametime,awiderandlongerprogramofbuildingtheprofessionalismandthecurriculumofthesector,largelyconductedbystategovernmentsbutwithinanagreednationalframework,couldbeinitiated.

Middle yearsdisengagementisprobablythemostchallengingprobleminschooling.Disengagementismostmanifestintheearlytomiddlesecondaryyearsandisexpressedinformsofschoolresistanceandfrequentlylinkedtohistoriesofscholasticfailure.Somestudentsneedsomealternativelearningsettingsandexperiencesandformsofmentoring.Numerousprogramssupportedbybothlevelsofgovernmenthavebeenimplementedacrossthestatesandterritoriesoverthepastthreedecades.However,therehasbeennocomprehensiveandsustainedeffortbaseduponfirmresearchevidenceofwhatworksbestforthesestudents.Thelevelofdisengagementishigherinsomeschoolsandsomeregionsofthecountry.

Therefore,ajointCommonwealth–states/territoriesinitiativecouldalsobeginbytargetingareaswithhighlevelsofearlyschoolleaving,possiblyinpartnershipwithsomenon-governmentorganisations.Itcouldutilisetheavailableresearchonstudentdisengagementandcurrentpracticesthathavebeenproventoworktofashioninterventionsthataredesignedinthefirstinstancetoassiststudentstoreengagewithmainstreamschooling.Bydefinition,itwouldbelocatedinschoolsthathadthestrongestcommitmenttodealingwiththisissue.

Upper secondary schoolingPost-compulsoryeducationiscurrentlyamixtureofstateandnationalcurriculum,qualificationsandfunding.Inparticular,VETinSchoolsandassociatedprogramssuchasschool-basedvocationalprogramsareacomplexmixofstate-basedandnationalarrangements.Theseprogramsexistintheshadowsofthemainstreamacademicprogramsthatproducethetertiaryentrancerankinitsvariousformsacrossthestatesandterritories.ThereisanopportunitytoenhancethevocationalprogramsthroughCommonwealth–state/territorypartnerships.

TheCommonwealthisalreadytakingamajorinitiativethroughtheinvestmentintradetrainingcentres.Fortunately,mostoftheseareconsortia-based,althoughmostarenotcross-sectoral.However,inmostcasesschoolsarecontinuingtodeliverCertificatesIandIIandtheprogramswillcontinuetohavearesidualstatuswithintheschoolprograms.Thereisaneedforaninvestmentinprogramenhancementtomatchtheinvestmentinfacilitiesenhancement.VETinSchoolsshouldbeprogram-basedratherthansubject-based.ThisapproachrequirescoursedevelopmentandaccreditationbeyondtheTrainingPackagesandthedevelopmentofpackagesthataredesignedtolinkschool-basedVETwithlocalworkplaces,apprenticeships,andtertiarypathways.ThecurrentsetofCommonwealthinitiativesinVETandintheNationalCurriculumBoard/NationalCurriculumAssessmentandReportingAuthoritycanbebroughttogetherasanationalprojectdesignedtostrengthenuppersecondarypathways.

Thesethreesetsofinitiativeshavefoursetsofattributes:> Theyallarelocatedinareasof

weaknessinAustralianschooling:underinvestmentinearlychildhoodeducation,highlevelsofearlyschoolleaving,andweakuppersecondaryprovisioninvocationalprogramsandweaknon-universitypathways,respectively

> Theyareallneeds-based:investmentinearlychildhoodeducationinareasofhighestneed;investmentinmiddleyearsreengagementprogramsforschoolsthatmostneedandaremostcommittedtothisobjective;andinvestmentinuppersecondaryVETthatistypicallyprovidedbyschoolswithstudentsfromlowSEShouseholds

> Theyareallpotentiallycross-sectoralbybeingarea-focussedandbyestablishingcriteriaforparticipationthatareindependentofsectordifferences

> Thecostscanbeminimisedbyestablishingcriteriafortheinitiativesandthroughstagedimplementations.

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Thereisnoidealformofschooling.Studentneedsandstudentandparentalexpectationsaresodiversethattherewillalwaysbecompetingdemandsuponschoolsandschoolsystems.IntheAustralianformofliberaldemocracy,thereisanacknowledgementoftherightofparentstohavechoiceinschoolingandanexpectationthatnotallschoolswillbestateownedandrun.Asaconsequence,thereareinherenttensionsoverquestionsrelatedtothedegreeofchoice,theconditionsforfunding,andtheconditionsforownershipandtheoverarchingcurriculumrequirements.

J Australian schooling – an idealised model?

TheMelbourneDeclarationpossiblyrepresentsthemostambitiouspublicstatementinAustralia’shistoryontheinstitutionofschoolingwithinaframeworkoftheidealsofdemocracyandsocialinclusion.Itbalancestherightsandaspirationsoftheindividual,theeconomicfutureofthenation,andthesocialobjectivesofcommunitycohesionandthecommongood.TheDeclaration,however,isanidealisedstatementthatshouldprovidethebeaconwhichAustralianschoolinganditsvarioussubsystemsusefortheirpolicysettings.ThemoresubstantialchallengeistoconsiderhowtheinstitutionsandculturesofAustralianschoolingcanservetheidealsoftheDeclaration.Thatis,ideallywhatmighttheylooklike?


Early childhoodItisapparentthatearlychildhoodeducationhassufferedfromunderinvestmentinAustralia.Earlychildhoodlearningisinextricablylinkedtothehealth,developmentandwellbeingofyoungchildren.Itsmosttangibleeducationalformisinpreschooleducation.HerethefeatureoftheAustralianmodelisthatofmixedprovisionwithaboutthreequartersofallprovidersinthenon-governmentsector.Theseprovidersareamixofcommunityandprivate(for-profit)providers(ProductivityCommission,2008).

OtherfeaturesofpreschooleducationinAustraliaareinconsistentpatternsofattendance,rangingfrom64percentinNewSouthWalesto100percentinQueensland(ProductivityCommission,2008),mainlyfee-basedprovision,lowlevelsoftrainingofstaff,lowstaffsalariesandhighstaffturnover.Thesupervisionofpreschooleducationhasbeenacrossdifferentstategovernmentdepartments.However,therehasbeenarecenttrendtobringitwithintheeducationportfolios.

TheAustralianBackgroundReporttotheOECD’sThematicReviewofEarlyChildhoodandCarePolicy(Press&Hayes,2001)identifiedanumberofweaknessesofearlychildhoodandcareprogramsrelatedtothetwoissuesofqualityassuranceandthenumberofchildrenwhodonotparticipate.ThesubsequentOECDreportidentifiedeightelementsforsuccessfulearlychildhoodeducationandcarepolicy.ThesewerereiteratedinasubsequentOECD(2006)reportandincluded:> Auniversalapproachtoaccess;> Substantialpublicinvestmentin

servicesandinfrastructure;> Aparticipatoryapproachtoquality

improvementandassurance;> Appropriatetrainingandworking

conditionsforstaffinallformsofprovision;and

> Astableframeworkandlongtermapproachtoresearchandevaluation.

Againstthesecriteria,therearesubstantialadvancestobemadeinAustralia.Theneedforstrongerandstableinvestmentpatterns,universalaccess,andstrongerqualitythatislinkedtoaprofessionalisedworkforceisprobablyrecognisedwithinallpolicycommunities.However,thenatureofstableandconsistentpolicyframeworksandtherelationshipsbetweenearlychildhoodeducationandprimaryschoolingaremorecontested,especiallyinthecontextofthehighlydiversifiedownershipofpreschoolproviders.

Thissuggeststhatearlychildhoodeducationshouldbelocatedwithinpolicyframesthatarearea-basedandthatitshouldbelocatedwithineducationportfolios.Theareafocuswouldmatchthestrongandpotentiallystrongercommunity-basedprovisionandprovidetheplatformforrelationshipswithprimaryschools.Itslocationwithineducationportfolioswouldprovideagreatercapacitytoengagewithprimaryschoolinginrelationtolearningdevelopment,andpotentiallyforsomesharingoffacilities.ThisdualfocusalsowouldsupportajointCommonwealth-state/territorygovernmentapproachtofunding,qualityassurance,universalisationandprofessionalisationofearlychildeducationinAustralia.

Primary schoolingPrimaryschoolinginAustraliaenjoysahighlevelofparentalsupportand,onthebasisofthePISAdata,appearstoachievestronglearningoutcomes.Staffmoraleinprimaryschoolsistypicallyhigherthaninsecondaryschools,andstaffabsencesarefewer.Primaryschoolstendtoremainrelativelyneighbourhood-based,andthevastmajorityofprimaryschoolstudentsattendonafreeorlowfeebasis.

Theliteratureaboundswithevidenceoftheimportanceofearlychildhoodeducationincludingearlyprimaryeducationforlongertermscholastic,economicandsocialoutcomes(e.g.Reynoldsetal,2001).Childrencometoprimaryschoolwithdifferentlevelsofculturalandlearningcapitalandthekeychallengeforprimaryeducationistocaterforthosechildrenwhohaveweaklevelsofthiscapital.Thischallengeisexpressedinthenumberandrangeofinterventionprogramsthataredesignedtoacceleratetheformallearning,especiallyinliteracy,ofchildrenwhohavenotreachedageandgradelevelexpectations.Withhighlevelsofpovertyandfamilybreakdown,itmustbeexpectedthatthenumbersofthesechildrenwillcontinueandpossiblyincrease.

Possiblythekeyweaknessofprimaryschoolingisitslimitedcapacitytoapplyandsustaintheseinterventionswhenandwheretheyareneeded.Finlandhasfrequentlybeencitedasacountrythatbringstogetherthreefactorsthatdeliverhighlevelsandstrongdistributionsofeducationaloutcomesinprimaryschooling:relativelyhomogeneousschoolpopulations,highlevelsofstaffcompetenceandmorale,andintenseandsustainedprogramsofinterventionforstudentswhohavefallenorarefallingbehind(Grubbetal,2006).

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Arguably,Australiaisweakerineachofthesethreefactors.EarlylearningneedsofstudentsarenotspreadevenlyacrossschoolsbecausethepatternsofsocialgeographyinAustraliahaveconcentratedlevelsofsocialandeconomicexclusioninsomecommunities(Vinson,2004).Theseconcentrationsareexacerbatedthroughformsofinevitableselectivitybetweentheschoolsectorsandwithinthesectors.Staffinschoolswithhighlevelsofliteracylearningneedsaretypicallylessexperienced,andmanyoftheseschoolsallocatetheleastexperiencedstafftotheearlyyears.Theseschoolsalsohaveaweakercapacitytogainextrafundsthroughbothformalandinformalsourcesfortheintensiveprogramstoaddresstheselearningneeds.21

Onceagain,anarea-basedapproachisneeded.Thishasthecapacitytolocatetheareasofgreatestneed,workacrosstheschoolsectorsandlinkschoolsandtheircommunities.Therealsoislogicinaddressingtheissueoftheweakscholasticorlearningcapitalthatisavailabletoyoungpeopleboththroughtheschoolandthroughthehome.ThisisthelogicoftheCommonwealthGovernment-sponsoredHomeInstructionProgramforPreschoolYoungsters(HIPPY)(seeBaker,Piotrkowski&Brooks-Gunn,1999).Anarea-basedapproachcanfacilitatethesetypesofinterventionsinearlyprimaryeducation,potentiallylinkthemwithpreschoolprogramsandmaintainthelevelsofresourcesupportforthem.Furthermore,jointCommonwealth-state/territorygovernmentarea-basedinvestmentsaremorelikelytowithstandpressuresfortheequalisationofpublicresourcesacrossschoolsandthusreducethecapacitytosustainandextendprogramsthataddresseducationalneeds.

Secondary schoolingSecondaryeducationisamoretroubledareathanprimaryeducationinmostcountries,andthisisalsothecaseinAustralia.Itenjoyslowerlevelsofparentalsatisfaction,andmustdealwithhigherlevelsofschoolresistanceandearlyleaving.Parentalexpectationand/orapprehensionaboutthequalityofsecondaryschoolingaregreaterthanforprimaryschooling.Familiesinvestfarmoreinsecondaryschoolingastheenrolmentstomediumtohighfeelevelschoolsissignificantlylargeratthesecondarycomparedwiththeprimarylevel(AustralianBureauofStatistics,2007).

InAustralia,thechallengesareintensifiedbylevelsofearlyleavingthatarehighbyinternationalstandards,andassociatedandcontinuedproblemsinthetransitionofsomeyoungpeoplefromschooltopostschooldestinations.Thesecondaryphaseisalsotroubledbythedifferentiationofsecondaryschoolinguponsectorallines.Thisdifferentiationismanifestintermsofenrolmentpatternsandoutcomesacrossthesectors.Thesepatternsarethebasisfordiscordwithintheeducationpolicycommunityandtheconsequentialimpasseoverthecomplexandinconsistentpatternsofpublicfundingofschoolingandaccountabilityarrangements.

Thesefeaturesofsecondaryeducationandtheintuitiveandobservablefactthatthedifferencesbetweenthelevelsofstudents’learningoutcomesbecomegreaterthroughouttheschoolyearscreatemoreintensepressuresforsegregatingstudentsatthesecondarylevel.TheNewSouthWalesAuditorGeneral’sreportappearstoendorseLamb’s(2007)findingsinVictoriawhenitstatesthat“Although NSW schools perform well nationally and internationally, NSW has a high concentration of poor outcomes in some schools and some regions” (Achterstraat,2008,p2).ChrisBonnor(2009)hasnotedatendencyforgovernmentsecondaryschoolsinrelativelyisolatedareastoachievestrongYear12outcomescomparedtothosethatareincloseproximitywithnon-governmentandselectivegovernmentschools.Heconcludesthatthisisolationhasensuredabroadmixofstudentsintheseschools.

ThesecharacteristicsofsecondaryeducationinAustraliaareassociatedwiththesectoralstructureofAustralianschoolingandthenatureofthesecondaryschoolcurriculumandthepathwaysthatitpromotes.Inotherwords,therearestructuralfactorsthatinfluencesecondaryeducationtoagreaterextentthanprimaryschooling.Ifthetargetof90percentcompletionofYear12oritsequivalentistobeachieved,andcurrentpatternsindicatethatsecondaryschoolswillhavetocarrymostoftheresponsibilityforthis,thesestructuralfactorswillneedtobeaddressed.

Axiomatically,the90percenttargetmostlydependsuponraisingparticipationratesinareasandschoolswhereparticipationandcompletionratesarecurrentlylowest.Theseareashavethehighestlevelsofsocialandeconomicexclusionandtheirschoolstendtobetheleastequippedtoprovideforthediverseneedsofstudents.Programsofschoolimprovement,leadershipdevelopmentandteacherdevelopmentcombinedwithextraresourcestomeettheseneedswillcertainlyhelp.However,thereisreasontosuggestthatthiswillnotbesufficientintheabsenceofstructuralreforms.Issuesoftherangeandqualityofprovisionandthetypesofpathwaysthatareavailabletoyoungpeoplealsoneedtobeaddressed.Overthelongertermthiswouldincludethefollowing:

Thesecondaryschoolsectorshouldgivelesspolicyandoperationalemphasistocompetitionbetweenschoolsforthesamegroupofstudentsattheexpenseofotherstudents.Allschoolsprizescholasticallycapableandmotivatedstudents.TheyprovidestrongYear12resultsthatraisethestatusoftheschool,arefulfillingtoteach,andprovideapiloteffectintheclassroomforotherstudents.Thestemmingofthelossofthesestudentsfromgovernmentschoolsistherationalefortheincreasednumbersofselectiveprogramsandschoolsacrossmoststates.Ofcourse,selectioniszerosumandpossiblyzerominussum,asitmayintensifyearlyschoolleaving.Therefore,anidealsecondaryeducationsystemintheAustraliancontextwouldbeonewhere:> Themoralpressuresandthe

incentivestructuresinsecondaryschoolingencourageschoolstocaterforthefullrangeofstudents;and

> Thegovernancearrangements,includingfunding,encourageschoolstoworkacrosssectors,especiallyinareaswherecurrentparticipationpatternsareweak.

21 Forexample,in2006intheVictorianGovernmentsector,schoolsthathadhigherSESlevelswereaccessingadisproportionateshareofdisabilityprogramfundsforstudentswith‘specialliteracyneeds’.Thereasonforthiswasthattheseschoolstypicallyhadmoreexperiencedteacherswithknowledgeoftheprogramanditsprocedures,whereasthelowSESschoolstypicallyhadlessexperiencedteachersallocatedtotheseclasses(datafromVictorianDepartmentofEducationandTraining,2005).


Thereshouldbeanalternativeemphasisuponarea-basedprovisionthatguaranteesyoungpeopleafullrangeofprogramsandpathways.Thisalsowouldrequirecooperativerelationshipsbetweenschoolsacrosssectors,especiallythegovernmentandlowfeenon-governmentschools.

Bothofthesemeasureswouldbemoreeffectivewithastrongerprogrambase.AustraliansecondaryeducationisamongstthemostacademicofallOECDsystems.In2006,33.6percentofstudentsenrolledinaseniorsecondarycertificatetookinaVETprogram(NationalCentreforVocationalEducationResearch,2007).Inmostcases,thisinvolvesonesubjectandismostlyatYear11.Secondaryeducationthatisbaseduponage-relatedgradelevelswithinasinglemodalacademiccurriculumcannotpossiblymeetthefullrangeofstudentneedsandinterests.Robustprogramsthatcombinegeneralist,appliedandthemedvocationalstudiesneedtobedevelopedanddelivered.

Withanexpectationthatthemajorityofschoolleaverswillundertakefurthereducationandtraining,thetransitionprocessesneedtohavemorecouplingsthantertiaryselectionprocessesbaseduponscoringsystems.Thisrequiresbetterengagementbetweentheschool,universityandvocationaleducationandtrainingsectors.Morestructuredlinkagesincludingcredit-basedanddirectpathwayprogramsshouldbedeveloped.

Approximately40percentofYear12studentsandthevastmajorityoffull-timetertiarystudents(Lamb&Mason,2008)wereworkingpart-timein2007.Thedualmodeofpart-timeworkandfull-timeeducationneedstobebetterrecognisedandfacilitatedineducationprograms,andpotentiallyexploitedforitslearningcapacity.Thiswouldincludemoreflexibleformsofuppersecondaryprovisionandwidercontextsforlearning.

Contested principles and institutionsAnidealisedformofAustralianschoolingpotentiallywillconfrontsomeissuesthatarehighlycontestedinAustralia.Theyneedtoberecognisedandasfaraspossiblesettled.

ChoiceSchooleducationpolicyinAustraliaoverthepastdecadehasbeencastwithintheprincipleofchoice.Therearethreeaspectsofthechoicedebatethatcanbeasserted:> Therightofparentstosendtheir

childrentoanavailableschooloftheirchoicehasbeenfirmlyestablishedinAustralia

> Theevidenceoftheimpactoftheuseofschoolchoiceasamechanismforsystemimprovementisunclearandcontested

> Thecapacitytoexercisechoiceisnotevenlydistributedacrossthecommunityandassuchittendstocontributetogreaterinequalityinschooling.

Upon this basis, the optimal settlement is to accept the right of parents to choose from available schools, and accept that schools will have to look towards their own quality and performance to maintain and build enrolments. However, the consequential competitive pressures of these practices should be matched with measures that encourage and reward schools to accept a wide range of students, to cater for their needs and to collaborate with each other, including schools across sectors, to maximise the quality and diversity of provision.

OwnershipSchoolsinAustraliaareownedbythestate,nongovernmentorganisations–mainlychurches-andprivately.Allpubliclyfundedschoolsarenot-for-profit.Somecountries,suchasSwedenandSingapore,havepubliclyfundedprivatefor-profitschools.ThearrangementsinAustraliaconstituteaclearsettlement,andonethatcanusefullybeexploited.

Asmanycountrieshaveshown,theownershipofschoolscanhaveaminimalimpactupontheircapacitytoservecommunitiesandthewidersocialorcommongood.Indeed,thereisanargumentthatanactiverelationshipbetweengovernmentandnon-governmentschoolsandagenciesishealthyinademocraticsociety.AsAnthonyGiddenshasargued(1999),thecomplexitiesofmodernsocietymakeobsolescenttheideathatequatespublicserviceswithpublicprovision.

A clear settlement should be the acceptance of diverse ownership of schools on a not-for-profit basis, and with an expectation that the public or common good objectives will be achieved through a combination of national and moral objectives, regulations, and partnership arrangements between government, schools and civil society.

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FundingFundingisalwaysacontentiousissueintheprovisionofpublicservicesandeducationisnoexception.TheissueisespeciallyacuteinAustraliabecauseofthesizeofthenon-governmentschoolsectorandthecomplexsetofrelationshipsbetweenthesectorandgovernment.

MostOECDcountriesprovidefundsfornon-governmentschools.Inalmostallcases,thisiseitherorcombinationsof:> Fullrecurrentfundingandfullor

partialfundingofcapitalcosts;> Partialrecurrentfundingthat

togetherwithfeeincomeequatestoabenchmarkincomelevel;or

> Fullfundingornearfullfundingwithsomeallowanceorleewayforlimitedfeeincome(Eurydice,2000).

In2004,AllenConsultingadvancedaproposalthatcombinedelementsofthesethreeapproaches.Itinvitedlargesectionsofthenon-governmentsectortobecomefullyfundedwithalimitedcapacityforfeecharging–asalreadyexistsinmostgovernmentsystemsinAustralia.Itthenproposedagradualreductionofpublicfundingrelatedtothefeelevelssetbyotherschools,suchthatschoolsthatchargedaboveabenchmarkwouldreceivenofunding.

Whiledefensibleinprinciple,theproposalfacedtwomajorobstacles.Itwouldhavebeenexpensiveandinvolvedalargetransferofpublicfundsintonon-governmentschoolsattheexpenseofafallinprivatecontributions.Thisisacounterintuitivestrategyformostgovernments,whichareeagertogainprivaterevenueforservices,especiallyfromthosesectionsofthecommunitythancanaffordtopay.ThesecondobstaclehasbeentheexpectationsthathavedevelopedinallschoolsinAustralia,includingprivateschools,thattheyare‘entitled’toanamountofpublicfunding,irrespectiveoftheirothersourcesofincome.

GovernanceandaccountabilityAlthoughnon-governmentschoolsinnumerouscountriesareunderthedirectadministrationofgovernmentandgovernment-appointedagencies,thisisnotpossiblewithintheAustralianpolity.InNewZealand,forexample,themajorityofnon-governmentschoolswere‘integrated’aspubliclyfundedschools(Furtado,2001).Itisunlikelythatanyofthemainelementsofthenon-governmentsectorinAustraliawouldbewillingtoacceptthisstatusandterminology.

Governanceentailsdirection,regulation,purchaseandcontracts,andleadership.Onlythefirstoftheseisessentiallyproblematicforthenon-governmentsector.Australiangovernmentsystemshavemostlyreducedcentraladministrationofschoolsandthisprovidesabetterbasisforrelationshipsbetweenthestateandnon-stateschools.However,mostofthenon-governmentsectorwillbeunwillingtosubjectitselftomuchdirectinstructioninmostareasofschoolingsuchasenrolments,industrialrelations,curriculumandhours.

Therefore,thepursuitofanideal,withintherealitiesoftheAustralianpolity,forabroadschoolsystemthatbestmeetsthenationalsocialanddemocraticidealsneedtobemainlythroughtheothermechanisms.Forthisreason,stategovernmentsshouldseparatetheroleofthedirectadministrationofthegovernmentschoolssystemfromthebroaderroleofgovernanceofthewholeeducationandtrainingsystem,ashasoccurredinQueensland.

Theendof2008bringsawatershedwheregovernmentsandotheragenciesacrosstheglobearecallingformoreregulation.Theideasofselfandlighttouchregulationandunrestrainedmarketbehavioursarebeingquestionedinthecontextoftheirapparentfailureinthefinanceandothersectors.AustraliangovernmentshaveanopportunitytoreformattheregulatorystructureofAustralianschooling.Thisshouldincludecommonplatformsandsystemsforgovernmentandnon-governmentschoolsforteacherregistration,schoolregistration,thecurriculum,enrolmentdata,revenuesourcesandexpenditure,andstudentoutcomesdata.Thelocationofmuch-ifnotall-oftherelevantdataonalloftheseitemsshouldbecentralisedormadeaccessiblesothatfullerpicturesofthecosts,clienteleandoutcomesofAustralianschoolingcanbegainedandanalysed.

Consistentwiththeprinciplesproposedabove,publicinvestmentinschoolingshouldbebaseduponsomepurposeratherthaninstitutionalentitlement.Allschoolsshouldbeexpectedtoarticulatehowthepublicfundswillbeusedforthegoodoftheirstudents,theircommunitiesandthewiderinterestsofthenation–thecommongood.Correspondingly,governmentsshouldbecleareraboutwhattheyarepurchasingonbehalfofthepublicwhentheyprovidefundsforschools,governmentandnon-government.Apurchasingarrangementisbaseduponthepremisethatgovernmenthassomeexpectationsofeducationaloutcomesthatarebaseduponitssocialandeconomicpolicies.Thetwosetsofexpectations–governments’andtheschools/schoolsectors’-providethefoundationfortheagreement.Paymentsshouldhaveappropriateandstrategicmixesofrecurrentpayments,grantsandpurchasingagreements.TAFEinstituteshavemovedfromrecurrentfundingtopurchasingagreementsoverthepasttwodecades.

Finally,thereisaneedforvisionandleadershipontheoutcomesofschooling.Thisisnotsimplyaroleforgovernmentasitshouldbearelationshipbetweengovernment,theeducationcommunityandcivilsociety.Arobustrelationshiphastheadvantageofpotentiallystrengtheningthevision,butalsoofbuildingacommitmenttoitacrossthewidereducationcommunity,includingthenon-governmentsector.Itthencanbecomeastrongerplatformfornegotiationsovertheinvestmentinandoutcomesofschooling.


TheunderpinninglogicoftheseproposedinitiativesisthatitisimpossibletodirectlyaddressthestructuralproblemsinAustralia’sfederalistandmixsystemsofgovernmentandnon-governmentschoolingbecauseoftheinevitablesectoralpushbackintopoliticalminefields.Furthermore,whatmightconstituteanewsettlementorsetofsettlementsissomewhatunknown.ThoseofCanada,theUnitedKingdomnationsandNewZealandarenotfeasibleintheimmediatefutureandanewAustraliansettlementwillneedtobebuiltovertime.

Thecoreelementsofthesettlementsarefinancing,governanceandaccountability.Therefore,astrategytoadvanceintheseareasneedstobebuiltupontwosetsofinitiatives:> Thoseinitiativesthatcanbe

advanceddirectlyandimmediately.TheseareinitiativesthatmaywellincitepushbackbutwhichcouldfeasiblybenegotiatedthroughtheCOAGprocessesandshouldnotencounterkeysectorresistance

> Asetofinitiativesthataredirectedatkeyareasofeducationalneedandthatthroughtheirimplementationwillestablishnewsetsofpracticesforeducationaldeliveryacrosstheschoolsectorsandnewprinciplesfortheallocationofandaccountabilityforpublicfundinginschooling.

Suchastrategyisdesignedtoestablishabeachheadfornewprinciplesandpracticeswithinaframeworkthatisdesignedtobuildcommonexpectationsandstandardsforthefundingfor,deliveryofandaccesstoschoolinginAustralia.Itisacombinationofanimmediateandlongtermendeavour.Theimmediateendeavourisasetofnationalprojectstoaddresskeyareasofeducationalunderinvestment,under-performanceandinequityinAustralianschooling.Thelongtermendeavouristousetheseprojects,togetherwithsomemoreimmediatestructuralreforms,asplatformsfordeeperreformsinfinancing,accountabilityandgovernance,includingasettlementonthecorrosiveissueofgovernmentandnon-governmentschoolingthatisbasedupontherealitiesoftheAustralianpolity.

K A strategy

45

Theoptimaloutcomesofthisintermsofstructuralrelationswouldbe:> Amoredirectfocusuponareasof

educationalpriorityandneedthatjustifyconcertednationalefforts;

> Localisedapproachesthatcanbettercoordinateandconcentratethefullrangeofeducationalandotherservicesforschoolandearlychildhoodagedstudentsandcaninitiallyconcentrateuponthosecommunitiesthathavethegreatestneed;

> Bridgeheadsbetweengovernmentandnon-governmentschoolsthatsharecommonobjectivesandresponsibilitiesasaplatformforwiderstructuralreformsinfinancingandaccountability;

> AplatformformoreproductiveCommonwealth–staterelationsinschooling;and

> AbetterfoundationformoreconsistenteducationpolicyinAustraliathatisbaseduponevidenceofneedsandprioritiesratherthanshorttermpoliticalleverage.

Two sets of initiativesThispaperthereforeproposesthattheCommonwealthGovernmentshouldinitiatethroughtheCOAGprocessestwosetsofinitiativesdesignedtoachievesignificantreformsinthefederalistandsectoralrelationsinAustralianschooling.TheimmediatestructuralinitiativesarethosethatfeasiblycanbenegotiatedwiththestatesandthatbuilduponthecurrentCOAGandotherfederalistinitiatives.Thesecondisasetofprojectsthatwillvariouslyrequireandinvitenewsetsoffederalistandsectoralrelationsandthatcanprovideaplatformforfurtherreforms.

Structuralinitiativesa.� �A�reframed�set�of�goals��

and�purposes. Australianschoolinghasadvanced

itsgoalsoverthepasttwodecadesthroughtheHobart,AdelaideandtheMelbourneDeclarations,andmorerecentlythroughtheCOAGstatement.Theambitionofthesestatementshasincreased.ThisshouldcontinuewithamoreambitioussetofgoalsandpurposesthatbuildsuponbutgoesbeyondthehumancapitalagendaoftheCOAGstatementbyincorporatingprinciplesofsocialinclusionandcohesionandastrongcivilsocietyandbylinkingtheseobjectivestotheresponsibilityofallpubliclyregisteredandfundedschools.ThenationalgoalsarebeingaddressedthroughtheCOAGprocesses,anditisimportantthatgovernmentsfashionthesegoalssothattheycansupportstructuralreforms.ThebroadersocialpurposesoftheMelbourneDeclaration,andespeciallyitsobjectiveofthecommongood,shouldbeusedtoexamineandinstitutionalandpolicysettings.

b.�� A�national�curriculum�framework�and�a�national�approach�towards�senior�secondary�programs�and�provision.

TherehavebeenseveralproposalsandattemptstoestablishtypesofnationalcurriculumandcertificatesinAustralia.Thesehavefailedinpartbecauseoflackofclarityabouttheirpurposesandbenefits.ThecurrentinitiativeoftheCommonwealthGovernmentneedstobealignedmorecloselywithnationaleconomicandsocialgoals.Itshouldcombinetheneedforacurriculum,especiallyinthevocationalareas,thatwillbetterservethehumancapitalimperativewithacurriculumwithwhichallstudentsshouldengageasasocialrightandonethatallschoolshavearesponsibilitytodeliver.Inthisageofecologicalthreatandsocialstress,thereisanimperativeforanationalcurriculumtoaddresstheneedsofthewidercommunity.

c.�� Movement�towards�a�common�regulatory�framework.

Thedivisionofregulatoryframeworksforschoolsandteachersonsectorallinesmakeslittlesenseandisnotjustifiedwhenallschoolsarepubliclyfunded.Somestateshavemovedtowardscommonregulatoryplatformsforallschools.Thesereformsshouldcontinuesothatallschoolsworkwithinacommonsetofregulationsinrelationtoschoolregistration,curriculum,teacherregistrationandpossiblyleadershipaccreditation.Governmentsandsectorsshouldreachaclearsettlementaboutwhatareminimalstandardsintheseareasandtheminimalrequirementsforregistrationinregardstothedeliveryofanagreednationalcurriculum.22


22 Thisisnottopresupposeacentralnationalcurriculum.Rather,itisanargumentthatsinceallschoolsareregisteredbystategovernmentsandfundedbybothlevelsofgovernment,thereshouldbereasonablycommonexpectationsabouttheminimalrequirementsfordeliveringacurriculumthatiseitherbaseduponanationalframeworkorisasetofstatebasedcurriculumframeworkswithinanationalframework.

d.�� Reform�of�funding�arrangements. Thereisalreadyaconsensuson

theneedformajorreformstothecomplexandinconsistentfundingofschoolinginAustralia.Althoughthisisthemostsensitiveofissuesandwillrequirealongertermproject,governmentsneedtomoreimmediatelybegintheprojectofreform.Somestepscouldinclude:

– Asetoffinancingprinciplessuchasthoserelatedtominimumstandardsorlevels,needandequity,efficiencyandeffectiveness,transparencyandaccountability,consistencyandstability,etc

– Agreementontherespectiverolesofstate/territoryandCommonwealthgovernmentsinregardtofinance,includingareasofjointresponsibility

– Clarityandspecificityaboutwhatgovernmentpaysfor,andthedesignationoffundingforthesepurposes.23Thisstepwouldcomplementandbeconsistentwiththesecondstep

– Agreementonthepurpose,strategiesandprogramandevaluationrequirementsforneeds-basedfunding.Thiswouldbecarriedoutlargelythroughthethreeprojectsthatareoutlinedbelow.

Thelongtermobjectiveofthesemeasurescouldbetodevelopinter-connectedformulaeforstateandCommonwealthfundingofschooling,potentiallybaseduponcomplementarylegislation(Connors,2008).

e.�� A�national�quality�agency.

Tocomplementthemovementtowardscommonregulatoryframeworksandtheproposedsetofnationalinitiativesthatareoutlinedbelow,anationalqualityagencythatreportstostateandCommonwealthministers(throughMCEETYA)couldbeestablished.TheagencywouldhaveahighlevelofindependencesimilartothatofanauditorgeneralortheProductivityCommission,andwouldhaveresponsibilityforprovidingobjectivedataandanalysisontheperformanceofthenationalschoolsystem.

ThiswouldnotbeaninspectionagencyliketheOfficeforStandardsinEducation(OFSTED)intheUnitedKingdom.Rather,itwouldhavetheroleofmonitoringthequalityanddistributionofparticipationandoutcomesinschoolingacrossthecountry.Itwoulduseinformationbeyondthenationalstagetestsandwouldundertakeorcommissionstudiessuchasregional-basedstudiesthatlinkedschoolingwithsocialgeographyandregionaleconomies.

Itspurposewouldbetobuildconfidenceinschoolingacrossthecommunity,alertgovernmentandsystemauthoritiestoissuesandlocationsofunderperformance,andassembleabroadrangeofdatasetstoinformpolicyandfundingandaccountabilityregimes.Theproposalisbaseduponthegovernanceprincipleofhavinganauditfunctionthatisindependentofbothschoolownershipandschoolregulation,includingfunding.

Three national projectsItisproposedthatasetofnationalprojectsshouldbeinitiatedinordertoaddresskeysetsofweaknessesinAustralianschoolingandasfoundationsforfurtherstructuralreforms.Threeareasforinterventionstandout:earlychildhoodeducation,middleyearsdisengagementanduppersecondaryprogramsandpathways.ThesethreeareascoverthebroadCOAGagendaandeachcanbenefitfromconcertednationalefforts.

f.�� Early�childhood Theunderinvestmentinearly

childhoodeducationhasbeenacknowledgedbypoliticalleaders.Thereareseriousissuesofequityandthelongtermimpactofthelackofaccessofsectionsofthecommunitytoearlychildhoodeducation.Aswell,Australiafacesamajorchallengetoprofessionaliseearlychildhoodeducationandlinkchildcare,preschoolandprimaryschoolservices.

Eachofthesethreeelementsofearlychildhoodeducationisfinanced,governedanddeliveredthroughdifferentmodels.Givencurrentpatternsofaccess,thissuggeststhatanationalinitiativeasapartnershipbetweenstateandCommonwealthGovernmentsshouldbetargetedatmostneedycommunitiesinordertodevelopoptimalmodelsforthedesignanddeliveryofearlychildhoodservices.Thecommunity-basedmodelallowsforawiderangeofservicestobeincorporated.

47

23 Thiswouldbeinrecognitionofthefactthatmostschools,governmentandnon-government,haveprivateincomesourcesandthefactthatgovernmentcannotandshouldnotpayforeverything.ForexampleinFlanderswheremostschoolsarechurchschoolsthegovernmentpaysfor2hoursofreligiousinstructionperweek.Thoseschoolsthatwishtodeliverymorethanthismustuseprivatefundsfortheextrainstruction.

g.�� Middle�years�reengagement DespitethestrengthofAustralia’s

PISAresultsandthestrengthoftheeconomy,thelevelsofearlyschoolleavingandyouthunemploymentremainhigh.Earlyschoolleavingischaracterisedbydisengagementfromschoolingthatismostacuteintheearlyandmiddlesecondaryyears.Severalschools,especiallysomewell-resourcedschoolsintheindependentsector,investinprogramsthataredesignedtogivestudentsnewlearningcontextsanddifferentlearningchallenges.However,thosestudentswhoaremostlikelytobecomedisengagedareleastlikelytobeabletogettheseexperiencesfromtheirschooling.

TherehavebeenseveralCommonwealthandstateprogramstoaddressstudentdisengagement,andtherearenumerousexamplesofinnovationsinschoolsandnetworksofschools.However,therehavebeennosustainedeffortstoaddressthisissue,despitetheanalysesthatindicatethattherearesubstantialeconomicandtaxrevenuereturnsfrominvestmentstoreduceearlyschoolleaving(AppliedEconomics,2006)aswellasthesocialgains(Green,Preston&Sabates,2003;Vinson,2004).

Anationalinitiativecouldtargetregionsacrossthecountrywithhighlevelsofearlyschoolleaving.ItwouldprovideresourcesforschoolsandespeciallynetworksofschoolsthatarecommittedtoretainingtheirstudentsandensuringthattheysuccessfullycompleteYear12.Avarietyofprogramscouldbesupportedthroughthisinitiative.However,theywouldneedtohavethecommonobjectivesofretainingstudentsattheirschoolsratherthanshiftingthemtootherproviders.

h.�� Upper�secondary�pathways Uppersecondaryeducationin

Australiaisstronglyorientedtowardspreparationandselectionforuniversitystudies.TheconsequencesforstudentswhoarenotdestinedforuniversityarecompoundedbythefactthattheyareconcentratedinschoolsthatareleastequippedtodeliverabroadrangeofprogramsincludingVETbecauseofsmallenrolmentnumbers.

SeniorsecondaryschoolinginAustraliaisdominatedbyasubjecthierarchyandcompetitiveschoolmodel.Thealternativemodelisthatofwell-structuredstudentlearningprograms,includingVET-basedprogramsthatarelinkedtopostschooleducation,trainingandemploymentdestinationsdeliveredbyanetworkofproviders(governmentandnon-governmentschools,TAFE,privateRegisteredTrainingOrganisations,etc).Thismodelstrugglesundertheweightofreducedresourcesandweakstatus.

Thechallengeinthiscontextistobuildtheprogramsandthepathwaysandtoprovidetheincentivesforproviderstocooperateintheirdelivery.TheCommonwealthhasalreadyinvestedalargeamountoffundingintradetrainingcentres.ThereisalsoaneedforprogramdevelopmentthatcanallowschoolstodeliverCertificateIIIandaboveVETqualifications.ThiscouldbepursuedthroughtheAustralianCurriculum,AssessmentandReportingAuthority.

Thesedevelopmentscouldprovidethefoundationforathirdnationalinitiative.Onceagain,itcouldbeginbytargetingthoseregionswiththehighestlevelsofearlyleavingandyouthunemploymentandwouldprovideresourcesforthedesignandsupplementthedeliveryofprogramsthatmoredirectlylinkwithpost-schoolpathways.Providerswouldhaveincentivestoworktogetherandeffortswouldbemadetolinkwithlocalindustriesandotherserviceproviders.

CommonfeaturesEachoftheseproposedinitiativeshassomecommonfeatures:> Theyarecrosssectoralandwould

encouragepartnershipsbetweengovernmentandnon-governmentschools;

> Theyarelocationorcommunity-basedwherecommunityandresponsibilitytowardsstudentsfromthecommunitywouldbeseenassharedandthusbecomeaconditionforparticipationandthedeliveryofresourcesthroughtheprojects;

> Theyareneedsbased.Inallthreecases,thenaturalstartingpointsarethosecommunitiesthathavetheweakestpatternsofparticipationandoutcomes.TheyaddressmostofthekeyfindingsfromtheOECD(2007)reviewofequityinschooling;and

> Theyaredevelopmental.Theyaredeliberatelydesignedasmeansofbuildinganewsetofrelationsandeventuallysettlementsfortheissuesoffederalismandgovernmentandnon-governmentinschooling.

StructuralreformsFromthesefeatures,newplatformscouldbegraduallybuiltinthefollowingareas:> Needs-basedfundingthatis

program-andoutcomes-based;> Newsetsoffundingcriteriaand

accountabilitysuchasarea-orcommunity-basedresponsibilitiesandcooperation;

> Commonfundingcriteriaandconditionsforgovernmentandnon-governmentschools.Forexample,non-governmentschoolscouldwidenfeereliefforstudentsfromlowincomehouseholdsasabasisforprogramparticipation;

> Morelocalisedandcollaborativegovernancemodels;and

> TheCommonwealthandstate/territorygovernmentsshouldestablishanagendaofreachingagreementsontheirrespectivelongtermrolesineachoftheseareas.


FundingByOECDstandards,Australia’spublicinvestmentineducationisweak.However,thecombinationofpublicandprivateinvestmentisclosetotheOECDaverageandtheinvestmentinsecondaryeducationisrelativelystrong.Therefore,thispaperisnotsimplyacallformoregovernmentfundingofschooling.

Theproposals,ifadopted,wouldrequirefunding.However,thefirstsetofproposedstructuralchangesshouldberelativelycostneutralandthesecondisproposedasdevelopmental,partiallyinordertoconstraincosts.Inthelongterm,governmentwillneedtoallocatefundingthatisavailablethroughpriority-settingprocesses.Onesignificantadvantageofnationalapproachestokeyareasofschoolingisthattheycanhaveastrongerneedsfocusastheyarelesspronetotheresourceequalisationpressuresthatsostronglyinfluencestatelevelfundingofgovernmentschools.

BenefitsThispaperhasarguedthattherearesetsofstructuralrigiditiesinAustralianschoolingthatareinhibitingthebroadobjectivesofqualityandequity.Furthermore,thereareunderpinningtrendsinpatternsofparticipationandoutcomesthatwillmaketheseobjectivesmoredifficulttoobtaininthefuture.

Structuralfactorsalonedonotmakeforqualityandequity.Otherfactorsincludingthequalityofteachers,thecapacityofschoolleadersandthevisionofschoolsystemsiscritical.Continuedeffortsareneededtoenhanceteachingandleadershipinschoolsandensurethatschoolsgetthebestpossiblesupport.

However,structuralfactorscan-andinAustralia’scasedo-inhibittheseefforts.Theyinfluencethemixesofstudentsintheschools,theexpectationsforthesestudents,therangeandqualityofprogramsthattheyaredelivered,theexperience,qualityandvisionoftheteachersandschoolleadersintheirschools,andcommunityperceptionsaboutthequalityoftheirschools.Nonationaleducationsystemcanignorethesevariablesiftherearenationalobjectivesofhavingaschoolsystemthatproduceshighstandardsoflearningandfromwhichallstudentscanhavereasonableexpectationsofequalopportunitiesintheirschooling.

Theinitiativesthatwehaveproposedaredesignedtoaddressthestructuralissues.Asaprogramofreform,theycanbeseenasworkingalongsidetheinvestmentsinteacherdevelopmentandleadershipdevelopmentthatarebeingsupportedbybothlevelsofgovernment.Wearguethat,ifimplemented,thereformswouldbothenhancetheseeffortstoimprovethestandardsoflearninganddomuchtoincreaseequityoratleastreducepressurestowardsinequityacrossAustralianschooling.Specifically:> Investmentsinearlychildhood

wouldsubstantiallyenhancethelifechancesandlearningofchildrenfromthepooresthouseholds;

> Middleyearsdisengagementcanbereducedandstaying-onratescanbeincreasedthroughsustainedandcoordinatedefforts;and

> Uppersecondarypathwaysandprogramscanbestrengthenedthroughcooperativeandcoordinatedapproachestoprovision.

However,thekeyfocusoftheproposedreformsisastrategytoovercomethecorrosiverelationshipsbetweengovernmentandnon-governmentschoolingandtherestrictionsthatfederalismplacesuponeducationalpolicyinAustralia.Broadlytheproposedsetofreformsisdesignedtoachieve:> Apolitythatcanmorefreelyallocate

resourcesuponthebasisofneedsandevidencedprioritiesratherthanuponthebasisofstakeholdermanagement;

> Publicidentificationofschoolsandassociatedpoliticaldiscoursesaboutschoolsuponthebasisoftheirintrinsicqualitiesratherthantheirsectorallocations;

> Newdeliveryarrangementsthatcombineautonomousschoolsandschoolsectorsthroughasetofcommonprinciples,expectationsandresponsibilities;and

> Throughtheseprinciplesthebuildingoffairer,moreconsistentandmoretransparentfundingandaccountabilityarrangementsthataredirectedtowardseducationalneedandabroadvalueaddedinschooling.

49

A new federalismThereisasubstantialliteratureonthestrengthsandweaknessesofAustralia’sfederalistformofgovernment.Thereappearstobeadegreeofconsensusthatthefederalistformofgovernmenthassomesignificantadvantages,butsomedifferenceinviewsontheextenttowhichtheAustralianfederationisworkingwell.

Ithasbeenobservedbynumerousauthorsthatsinceitsinception,theAustralianfederationhasundergoneashiftoffunctionsandpowerstotheCommonwealthorcentralgovernment.Despitethetendencyfordevolutionofresponsibilitiestoregionalgovernmentsinseveralnon-federaliststatessuchastheUnitedKingdom,thisappearstobeacommontrendinsomefederations(Fenna,2008).Themeritsofthiscanbedebated.However,thistrendservesthepointthattheinstitutionsofgovernmenthavebeenmutableandinalllikelihoodwillcontinuetobeso.

Halligan(2008)makestheobservationthatthechangesinthedistributionofpowersandresponsibilitiesbetweenthenationalandstategovernmentshavebeenagradualprocessratherthanaseriesofsignificanttakeoversbythenationalgovernment.TheaccumulationoftaxationresourcesandarelativelyconsistentlineofjurisprudencewithintheHighCourthaveseenasignificantincreaseintheCommonwealth’sroleinanumberofareas,includingeducation.MoredirectattemptstochangetheconstitutionthroughreferendamostlyhavefailedanddirectinterventionsoverthetopofstategovernmentsbytheCommonwealthinareasofstateresponsibilityhavepassedwithlittleimpact.

Themoregradualorevolutionaryprocesseshavebeenfacilitatedbyfactorsapartfromjurisprudence.Formsofovertortacitagreementbetweenthetwolevelsofgovernmenthavealsofacilitatedchangesinthefederalistbalance.Thecatalystsforthesechangesundoubtedlyincludetheverticalfiscalimbalancebetweenthetwolevelsofgovernment.However,theyalsoareanexpressionofthedeliberationsofstategovernments,ofteninfluencedbysectoralagencies,includingthoseintheprivatesector.

Federalismhasevolvedfromasimpledivisionofareasofpolicyandadministrativeresponsibilityaslaiddowninsection51oftheAustralianConstitution.Acrossdifferentareasofpublicpolicyandadministration,thetwolevelsofgovernmentcooperate,coordinate,competeandhavecollateralactivities.Insomeareas,governmentshavecometogethertointegratepolicyandoperationalfunctions.Theareaofvocationaleducationandtrainingprovidesperhapstheclearestexampleofthisoutcome.Theprocessesofnationaltrainingreformthatwereundertakenintheearly1990shaveresultedinnationalagreements,structuresandprocessesforanintegratednationaltrainingsystemwherethepolicymakingprocessesandthefunding,governanceandaccountabilityresponsibilitiesandprocesseshavebeenestablishedandhaveoperatedsuccessfullyformorethanadecade.

Inrecentdecades,negotiatinganddecision-makingstructuresandprocesseshavebeenestablishedbygovernmentstofacilitatethesemorecomplexsetsoffederalistarrangements.MinisterialcouncilsandnowCOAGareactiveinpolicymakingprocessesinarangeofareasthathavetraditionallybeenstategovernmentresponsibilities:health,crime,transport,andofcourseeducation.

ThisisnottosuggestthatthecurrentstateofAustralianfederalismiswithoutitsproblems.Thereisastrongsenseacrosstheliteraturethattherearedysfunctionalaspectsoffederalism.Someoftheseareexpressionsofthepoliticalprocessesandclimates,suchastheseveralpre-emptiveactionstakenbytheCommonwealthGovernmentovertheheadsofstategovernmentsin2007.24Nevertheless,thesignificantincreaseinCommonwealthpowersandactivitiesaloneissufficienttojustifysomesubstantialexaminationofwhatshouldbeoptimalarrangementswithinAustralianfederalism.Beyondrelativelyextremeandpossiblypopulist(butnotpopular)proposalssuchasabolishingthestates,thereareargumentsthatthedisfunctionalitiesarelocatedincertainareasofpublicpolicyandadministrationandthequestforabetterfederalismshouldbebuiltthroughcross-governmentprojectsinselectivepolicyareas.

Watermanagementhasbeenanobviousexample.However,thereisacasetobemadethateducationprovidesastrongerexample.Thisisbecauseithasdeepsetstructuralproblemsandsetsofinappropriateinstitutionalarrangementsthatarelinkedtodifferentconstituencies,andbecausethefunctionaltrendsthatarelinkedtotheseinstitutionsareindirectionsthatarecountertothegoalsofschoolingthathavebeenarticulatedintheMelbourneDeclaration.Furthermore,astarthasbeenachievedintheformoftheMelbourneDeclaration,theassociatedMCEETYAActionPlan(MinisterialCouncilforEducation,Employment,TrainingandYouthAffairs,2008b),themovementtowardsanationalcurriculum,andtheCOAGproductivityagenda(CouncilofAustralianGovernments,2008).


24 TheinterventionsintheLauncestonHospitalandtheNorthernTerritoryindigenousaffairs.

Theessenceofthisproposalisthewholepicture.Therehasbeenatendencyineducationaldebateandpolicytodeconstructeducationaloutcomesandeducationalinputs.Whileresearch-basedanalysisofschooleffectivenessisimportant,itcanleadtopolicyfragmentation.InacontextofthestructuralcharacteristicsofAustralianschooling,thiscanleadtoapolicyimpasseonkeyissuesoffundingandtheassociatedissuesoftheresponsibilitiesofschoolsandtheiraccountabilityfortheirpractices.

ThepaperarguesthatsomestructuralcharacteristicsarebecomingrigiditiesandthatthisishavingadualimpactofweakeningthecapacityofthewidersystemtodeliverqualityandequityandweakeningorlimitingpolicyoptionsforschoolinginAustralia.

Itthereforetakesawholesystemapproachattwolevels–thenationalandlocal.Thestrategytotacklethestructuralweaknessesthatitproposesislocatedattwolevels:thenationalandsystemlevelwherethemoresociallyaspirationalprinciplesandgoalscanbeestablishedandwherekeyinfrastructurescanbestrengthened,andthelocallevelwherenewdeliverymechanismscanbeestablishedandsubsequentlyserveasplatformsforbroaderstructuralreforms.

Thepaperintrinsicallyarguesforaneducationpolicyparadigmthatisambitiousandmoralinitsprinciples,honestinrecognisingstructuralweaknessesandtheelephantofgrowingsocialsegregationwithinAustralianschooling,strategicinbuildingplatformsforreform,andopportuneintakingwhatcouldbeauniquehistoricalmomentinAustralianschooling.

Thefirsttaskisforgovernmenttoprovideavision.ThecoreobjectivesofqualityandequityarewidelyacceptedacrosstheAustraliancommunity,sotheessenceofthevisionisthecharacteristicsofaschoolsystemthatcandeliverthatvision.Thispaperarguesthatthecurrentanddominantvisionofhighqualityteachersandschoolleadersisinsufficient,notdeliverableacrossallschoolsinthefaceofstructuralbarriers,andunlikelytobesustainedinthelongtermintheabsenceofmajorstructuralreforms.

Thevision,therefore,needstogodeeperandlooktowardsschoolsassocialsettingswithcoresocialpurposes,aswellasindividualschoolpurposes.Theyneedtobebaseduponasenseofbothindividualrightsandaspirationsandcollectiveorsocialrightsandobligations(Rawls,1971).SuchavisionisunlikelytoberealisedifschoolinginAustraliacontinuesitstrendofsegregatingstudentsonthebasisofwealthandeducationalachievement,andoffragmentingitsfundingandgovernanceonthebasisofseparateinterestsandshorttermpoliticalconvenience.

WehavearguedthatavisionforschoolingliesattheheartoftheAustralianfederation.Thisisbecauseschoolinghasincreasinglybecomeanationalenterpriseandisseenascentraltotheeconomicandsocialfutureofthenation.Itisalsobecausethestructuralcharacteristicsand,asaconsequence,muchofthepolicyparameters,arerelatedtotheoverlayoffederalismuponschoolinginAustralia.GiventheparticularhistoricalmomentinAustralianfederalism,thisisthetimetoaddressthesestructuralcharacteristicsandtheirweaknesses.

L Conclusion

51

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