In recent Pearls and Irritations posts, James Guthrie, Adam Lucas and Alessandro Pelizzon have signalled the need for a Royal Commission into higher education in Australia. Their advocacy could not be timelier. (more…)
What is the core purpose of a university? Is it to share knowledge and engage in research? Or is it to make money? Our analysis of university management rhetoric versus financial reality for Australian public sector universities finds that they have drifted far away from their core mission to become property development and financial investment vehicles. (more…)
Trevor Cobbold’s recent review of Waiting for Gonski, how Australia failed its schools, will resonate with many. He is generous in his praise, forthright in his criticisms, and remains focused on his preferred policy options for the future. But his critique side-steps the big problems facing Australia’s schools, and he fails to recognise the key ingredients in any solution to the inequality (and ineffectiveness) of Australia’s school system. (more…)
Australia is not doing enough to improve clean air in post-secondary education and training environments. Given the COVID-19 pandemic will be with us for a very long time to come, training providers and universities need to invest more in ventilation and air quality to ensure that students can learn in the safest environments possible. (more…)
Equity in education has long been a key national goal for schooling. Most recently, it is one of the key goals in the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Declaration of national goals. However, it has never been clearly defined. This deficiency has resulted in a variety of interpretations, inadequate target, limited reporting and lack of accountability for improving equity. Equity in education should be well-defined in order to effectively guide education policy and funding, measure equity and monitor progress in improving equity. (more…)
Universities should take an expanded leadership role in regional development, the Distributed University model provides a mechanism. (more…)
Anthony Albanese and Tanya Plibersek taunt Scott Morrison, calling on him to identify who is actually education minister – the disgraced Alan Tudge or the disgraceful Stuart Robert – but Labor has questions of its own to answer. (more…)
What should be the top priorities of any incoming Federal Government concerning tertiary education in Australia after decades of cost-cutting, restructuring and corporatisation? (more…)
If any serious policy issues are aired during this election, it’s unlikely school education will feature. Yet our framework of schools is an evolving disaster. And while there are critical differences between the parties, none of the policy offerings address the root causes of our educational malaise. (more…)
NSW private schools are massively over-funded by the Commonwealth Government. Estimates based on official figures presented to Senate Estimate show that the NSW Catholic education system and nearly 40% of Independent schools will be over-funded by $865 million by the Commonwealth Government from 2022 to 2028. (more…)
The Federal Budget has identified the need for increased skilled workers as a critical area. In analysing some of the Budget’s promises and what commentators had to say, it appears there is a lot more to be done. (more…)
Despite accumulated evidence published in this journal and more broadly of gross and growing inequality in Australia’s schools funding arrangements, this did not rate a mention in the Coalition’s Budget nor feature in responses to it from Labor. (more…)
Federal ministers often reveal their inability to deal with complexities in their portfolios, none moreso than Coalition education ministers. Acting minister Stuart Robert has just demonstrated how things can easily unravel. (more…)
Public schools in NSW face a funding crisis. Combined Commonwealth and NSW Government funding for private schools has increased by three times that for public schools since 2009-10. Projected funding estimates show that private schools will be over-funded by $2 billion for the rest of the decade while public schools will be under-funded by $21 billion. (more…)
The growth in private schooling has long been accompanied by declining overall levels of student achievement, hence the ‘why’ question is long overdue. (more…)
Research shows parents believe private schools will provide a better education for their children, and better set them up for success in life. But the evidence on whether this perception is correct is not conclusive. (more…)
The Gonski Report on School Funding was published 10 years ago this month. It promised much to increase equity in education. However, its promise was undermined by fundamental flaws in Labor’s new model and trashed by Coalition governments. (more…)
Faith-based schools demand respect for their religious sensitivities, but turn those sensitivities on or off depending on their best interests.
It is critical that we don’t just return to normal but take advantage of Covid disruption to address structural flaws in Australia’s education system.
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Unless there is a dramatic change in school funding policies the vast inequity in school outcomes will continue for the rest of the decade.
Teachers and students returning to school in NSW won’t find themselves in Covid-safe conditions, John Frew writes.
Academic freedom has been slowly and steadily eroded, with academics turned into service providers and students into consumers.
Highly profitable private schools raked in millions from JobKeeper, underlining the deep flaws and inequality in Australia’s school funding system.
A scheme designed to save Australia from long unemployment queues has been a gravy train for the private schools serving the most advantaged families.
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Vocational education needs investment and reforms to ensure Australia’s prosperity: Anthony Albanese has revealed how Labor will meet the challenge.
The first strike in a decade by public school teachers in NSW demands an answer to the question of how much a teacher is worth
The rise of middle management and the non-democratic nature of university governance are undermining Australia’s higher education system.
The international education juggernaut is under scrutiny for reliability as figures show some students make scant effort — and there are implications for NAPLAN. (more…)
The failure to properly resource Asian studies in Australian schools and universities is a problem for Australia’s long-term security.
Wage theft is widespread at Australian universities. Independent prudential oversight and democratic reform of Australia’s public universities is long overdue.