tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/school-education-8573/articlesSchool education – The Conversation2024-03-20T19:04:04Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2261222024-03-20T19:04:04Z2024-03-20T19:04:04Z‘How long before climate change will destroy the Earth?’: research reveals what Australian kids want to know about our warming world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582994/original/file-20240320-16-lx7lnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C19%2C6374%2C4224&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-boy-taking-photos-land-burnt-1563856276">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every day, more children discover they are living in a climate crisis. This makes <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00278-3/fulltext">many children feel</a> sad, anxious, angry, powerless, confused and frightened about what the future holds. </p>
<p>The climate change burden facing young people is inherently unfair. But they have the potential to be the most powerful generation when it comes to creating change.</p>
<p>Research and public debate so far has largely <a href="https://www.hhrjournal.org/2014/07/climate-change-childrens-rights-and-the-pursuit-of-intergenerational-climate-justice/">failed to engage</a> with the voices and opinions of children – instead, focusing on the views of adults.
<a href="https://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322(24)00100-3">Our research</a> set out to change this. </p>
<p>We asked 1,500 children to tell us what they wanted to know about climate change. The results show climate action, rather than the scientific cause of the problem, is their greatest concern. It suggests climate change education in schools must become more holistic and empowering, and children should be given more opportunities to shape the future they will inherit.</p>
<h2>Questions of ‘remarkable depth’</h2>
<p>In Australia, research shows <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264546580_Children's_Fears_hopes_and_heroes_Modern_childhood_in_Australia">43% of children</a> aged 10 to 14 are worried about the future impact of climate change, and one in four believe the world will end before they grow up.</p>
<p>Children are often <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.853">seen as</a> passive, marginal actors in the climate crisis. Evidence of an intergenerational divide is also emerging. Young people report feeling <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378023001103">unheard</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016718520302748?via%3Dihub">betrayed by older generations</a> when it comes to climate change. </p>
<p>Our study examined 464 questions about climate change submitted to the <a href="https://curiousclimate.org.au/schools/">Curious Climate Schools</a> program in Tasmania in 2021 and 2022. The questions were asked by primary and high school students aged 7 to 18.</p>
<p>The children’s questions reveal a remarkable depth of consideration about climate change.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-well-does-the-new-australian-curriculum-prepare-young-people-for-climate-change-183356">How well does the new Australian Curriculum prepare young people for climate change?</a>
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<img alt="teenagers hold signs at rally" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582991/original/file-20240320-30-u8t2vi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582991/original/file-20240320-30-u8t2vi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582991/original/file-20240320-30-u8t2vi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582991/original/file-20240320-30-u8t2vi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582991/original/file-20240320-30-u8t2vi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582991/original/file-20240320-30-u8t2vi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582991/original/file-20240320-30-u8t2vi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The vast majority of children worry about climate change.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-united-kingdom-15th-february-1315212515">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Kids are thinking globally</h2>
<p>The impacts of climate change were discussed in 38% of questions. About 10% of questions asked about impacts on places, such as:</p>
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<p>With the rate of climate change, what will the Earth be like when I’m an adult?</p>
<p>What does the melting of glaciers in Antarctica mean for Tassie (Tasmania) and our climate?</p>
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<p>These questions demonstrate children’s understanding of the global scale of the climate crisis and their concern about places close to home.</p>
<p>How climate change will affect humans accounted for 12% of questions. Impacts on animals and biodiversity were the subject of 9% of questions. Examples include:</p>
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<p>Will climate change make us live elsewhere, eg underwater or in space?</p>
<p>What species may become extinct due to climate change, which species could adapt to changing conditions and have we already seen this begin to happen?</p>
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<p>Approximately 7% of questions asked about ice melting and/or sea-level rise, while 3% asked about extreme weather or disasters.</p>
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<img alt="four children in school uniforms reading book" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582988/original/file-20240320-30-1bimcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6262%2C4694&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582988/original/file-20240320-30-1bimcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582988/original/file-20240320-30-1bimcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582988/original/file-20240320-30-1bimcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582988/original/file-20240320-30-1bimcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582988/original/file-20240320-30-1bimcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582988/original/file-20240320-30-1bimcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Children wonder what Earth will look like when they are adults.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/row-multiethnic-elementary-students-reading-book-143878204">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>‘What can we do?’</h2>
<p>Action on climate change was the most frequent theme, discussed in 40% of questions. Some questions involved the kinds of action needed and others focused on the challenges in taking action. They include:</p>
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<p>How would you make rapid climate improvements without sacrificing industry and finance?</p>
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<p>Around 16% of questions asked about, or implied, who was responsible for climate action. Governments and politicians were the largest group singled out. Other questions asked about the responsibilities of schools, communities, states, countries and individuals. Examples include:</p>
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<p>What can I do as a 12-year-old to help the planet, and why will these actions help us?</p>
<p>If the world knows about climate change, why has not much happened?</p>
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<p>Some 20% of questions suggested action by specific sectors of the economy. This included stopping using fossil fuels and moving to renewable energy or nuclear power. Some suggested action related to food, agriculture or fisheries.</p>
<h2>Existential worries</h2>
<p>In 27% of questions, students raised existential concerns about climate change. This reveals the urgency and frustration many children feel.</p>
<p>The largest group of these questions (15%) asked for predictions of future events. Some 5% of questions implied the planet, or humanity, was doomed. They included:</p>
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<p>Will all the reefs die?</p>
<p>How long before climate change will destroy the Earth?</p>
<p>How long will we be able to survive on our planet if we do nothing to try to slow down/reverse climate change?</p>
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<h2>Why is Earth getting hot?</h2>
<p>Scientific questions about climate change made up 25% of the total. The largest group related to the causes and physical processes, such as: </p>
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<p>What causes the Earth to get hotter due to climate change?</p>
<p>Would our world be the same now if the Industrial Revolution hadn’t happened?</p>
<p>How do they know the climate and percentage of gases, such as methane, in the 1800s?</p>
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<h2>What all this means</h2>
<p>Our analysis indicates children are very concerned about how climate change affects the things and places they care about. Children also want to know how to contribute to solutions – either through their own actions or influencing adults, industries and governments. Children asked fewer questions about the scientific evidence for climate change. </p>
<p>So what are the implications of this?</p>
<p>Research shows that where climate change is taught in schools, it is primarily <a href="http://www.jsedimensions.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Siperstein-JSE-Nov-2015-Hope-Issue-PDF.pdf">represented as</a> a scientific and environmental issue, without focus on the social and political causes and challenges.</p>
<p>While children need information about the science of global warming, our research suggests this is not enough. Climate change should be integrated into all subjects in the curriculum, from social studies to maths to food. </p>
<p>Teachers should also be trained to understand climate challenges themselves, and to identify and support students suffering from climate distress.</p>
<p>And children must be given opportunities to get involved in shaping the future. Governments and industry should commit to listening to children’s concerns about climate change, and acting on them.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-tend-to-be-very-gentle-how-teachers-are-navigating-climate-change-in-the-classroom-212370">'I tend to be very gentle': how teachers are navigating climate change in the classroom</a>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chloe Lucas received funding from the Centre for Marine Socioecology, the University of Tasmania, and the Tasmanian Climate Change Office for the research and engagement reported in this article, as part of the Curious Climate Schools program. She is also funded by the Australian Research Council. Chloe is a member of the Centre for Marine Socioecology, the Institute of Australian Geographers and the International Environmental Communication Association, and is a member of the Editorial Board of Australian Geographer.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charlotte Earl-Jones received funding from the Centre for Marine Socioecology, the University of Tasmania, and the Tasmanian Climate Change Office for the research and engagement reported in this article, as part of the Curious Climate Schools program. She is also funded by Westpac Scholars Trust and the Australian Commonwealth Government Research Training Program. She is a member of the Institute of Australian Geographers. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabi Mocatta received funding from the Centre for Marine Socioecology, the University of Tasmania and the Tasmanian Climate Change Office (now re-named Renewables, Climate and Future Industries Tasmania) for the research and engagement reported here. She is also President of the Board of the International Environmental Communication Association.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gretta Pecl receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment, Department of Primary Industries NSW, Department of Premier and Cabinet (Tasmania), the Fisheries Research & Development Corporation, and has received travel funding support from the Australian government for participation in the IPCC process. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kim Beasy received funding from the Centre for Marine Socioecology, the University of Tasmania, and the Tasmanian Climate Change Office for the research and engagement reported in this article, as part of the Curious Climate School program. She is a member of the Centre of Marine Socioecology and the Australian Association of Environmental Education. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Kelly receives funding from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, and the Centre for Marine Socioecology at the University of Tasmania.</span></em></p>The result shows climate change education in schools must become more holistic and empowering, and children should be allowed to shape the future they will inherit.Chloe Lucas, Lecturer and Research Fellow, School of Geography, Planning, and Spatial Sciences. Coordinator, Education for Sustainability Tasmania, University of TasmaniaCharlotte Earl-Jones, PhD Candidate, University of TasmaniaGabi Mocatta, Research Fellow in Climate Change Communication, Climate Futures Program, University of Tasmania, and Lecturer in Communication, Deakin UniversityGretta Pecl, Professor, at IMAS and Director of the Centre for Marine Socioecology, University of TasmaniaKim Beasy, Senior Lecturer in Curriculum and Pedagogy, University of TasmaniaRachel Kelly, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Future Ocean and Coastal Infrastructures (FOCI) Consortium, Memorial University, Canada, and Centre for Marine Socioecology, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1943242022-12-04T12:36:29Z2022-12-04T12:36:29ZIndigenous spiritual teaching in schools can foster reconciliation and inclusion<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497685/original/file-20221128-14-ge8yuz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C8444%2C5304&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Indigenous spiritual activities have become more common in Canadian public schools in recent years.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/indigenous-spiritual-teaching-in-schools-can-foster-reconciliation-and-inclusion" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p><a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/aboriginal-people-education">Indigenous education</a> has become an area of <a href="https://peopleforeducation.ca/report/what-matters-in-indigenous-education/">growing concern</a> for public schools across Canada. We are living in an era of reconciliation where <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220921/dq220921a-eng.htm">Indigenous populations are growing</a> and interest in confronting our shared histories continues to develop. Part of that involves focusing on how primary and secondary schools are addressing the Indigenous experience in Canada.</p>
<p>The way primary and secondary schools have engaged in Indigenous education has varied from province to province and across divisional jurisdictions. Some have focused <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-indigenous-school-curriculum-1.6335385">on how history and social studies can incorporate Indigenous experiences</a>. A smaller number of schools have <a href="https://www.ualberta.ca/folio/2022/08/project-creates-stem-learning-experiences-for-indigenous-students.html">ventured to develop mathematics and science curricula with Indigenous foci</a>.</p>
<p>There are many different subjects that can benefit from the inclusion of Indigenous perspectives. Yet there appears to be one topic that is common across most school initiatives in Canada — that of spirituality.</p>
<h2>Indigenous spirituality in schools</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.edcan.ca/articles/bringing-spiritual-teachings-into-education/">Indigenous spiritual activities have become more common in Canadian public schools in recent years</a>. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s (TRC) final report and Calls to Action highlighted the need for improved school programming. In order to understand many aspects of the Indigenous experience, understanding the <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2021/09/12/indigenous-culture-teachings-traditions-on-curriculum-at-north-end-winnipeg-school.html">spiritual dimensions of those experiences and their associated ceremonies are necessary</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497710/original/file-20221128-16-ahv7rd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Teacher reading to school children wearing uniforms in a classroom." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497710/original/file-20221128-16-ahv7rd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497710/original/file-20221128-16-ahv7rd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497710/original/file-20221128-16-ahv7rd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497710/original/file-20221128-16-ahv7rd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497710/original/file-20221128-16-ahv7rd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497710/original/file-20221128-16-ahv7rd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497710/original/file-20221128-16-ahv7rd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The TRC’s final report highlighted the need to improve teaching about Indigenous Peoples in Canadian schools.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>The TRC’s Calls to Action on “<a href="https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1524504501233/1557513602139">education for reconciliation</a>” were rightly understood as change that <a href="https://blog.teacherspayteachers.com/how-to-amplify-indigenous-voices-in-the-classroom/">required collaboration with Indigenous Peoples</a>. In this collaborative ethos, something emerged regardless of the discipline or subject being discussed — <a href="https://empoweringthespirit.ca/cultures-of-belonging/">the spiritual orientations of Indigenous Peoples</a>. </p>
<p>Ceremonial observances like smudging, and inclusion of Indigenous spiritual leaders and Elders, became <a href="https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/iid/elders.html">necessary components of any educational initiative in which Indigenous perspectives are prioritized</a>. The imperative here is clear: Indigenous perspectives in school curricula are best understood within the context of their respective Indigenous worldviews. </p>
<p>Say, for example, a school wanted to adjust its social studies teaching about family relationships in traditional community settings. Organizing principles espoused by Indigenous Peoples would be a necessary part of the curriculum. <a href="http://lss.yukonschools.ca/uploads/4/5/5/0/45508033/clans.pdf">Students learn about kinship systems such as clans, hereditary leadership and Elders’ roles</a>. And as they enter into these areas of experience, the spiritual elements and traditional understandings become important to consider.</p>
<h2>School-based initiatives</h2>
<p>One of the more publicized examples of Indigenous spirituality in public school programming comes from the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/anishinaabe-culture-school-minecraft-manitoba-1.5903746">Louis Riel School Division (LRSD) in Winnipeg</a>. The LRSD aimed to develop a <a href="https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/about-minecraft">Minecraft world</a> that would reflect the traditional Anishinaabe territories of Southern Manitoba for use in schools.</p>
<p>In the 2019-20 school year, the LRSD invited Indigenous students, staff and community members (including respected Elders) to confer on the development of the Minecraft world. The eventual product was <a href="https://education.minecraft.net/en-us/lessons/manito-ahbee-aki">Manito Ahbee Aki (Anishinaabemowin for “the place where the Creator sits”)</a> which allows students to explore the traditional perspectives of the territories. The product continues to be a great resource for students.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497688/original/file-20221128-16-z7q4u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A child playing Minecraft on a computer." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497688/original/file-20221128-16-z7q4u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497688/original/file-20221128-16-z7q4u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497688/original/file-20221128-16-z7q4u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497688/original/file-20221128-16-z7q4u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497688/original/file-20221128-16-z7q4u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497688/original/file-20221128-16-z7q4u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497688/original/file-20221128-16-z7q4u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Schools have used games like Minecraft to teach students about Indigenous culture and spirituality.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>The factual aspects of the project, such as geographical and linguistic considerations, were important. In addition, the spiritual dimensions of such things as the <a href="https://www.nwpolytech.ca/services/indigenous/sacred_teachings.html">Seven Sacred Teachings</a> and the role of Indigenous Knowledge Keepers as in-game characters were central to this development. When the final product was unveiled, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0QcDvRrKzE">it was done at a traditional feast led by local Indigenous Elders who led pipe ceremonies</a>.</p>
<p>The LRSD Minecraft example is one of <a href="https://www.canadianliving.com/life-and-relationships/family/article/new-minecraft-world-brings-sacred-teachings-to-life-for-the-new-generation">many school-based initiatives across Canada incorporating Indigenous spirituality</a>. From customs like <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/kamloops-school-district-powwow-1.6467784">powwows</a> to ceremonial activities involving <a href="https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/iid/publications/pdf/smudging_guidelines.pdf">smudging</a>, Indigenous spirituality has become an important part of public schooling in much of Canada. It is seen as, among other things, an important aspect of <a href="https://www.edcan.ca/articles/truth-reconciliation-classroom/">the reconciliation journey</a>.</p>
<p>Although the progress achieved by schools has been welcomed by many, and even viewed as an organic part of school activities, this progress isn’t without its challenges.</p>
<p>Indigenous school staff and community members who have tried to initiate activities that involve Indigenous spirituality have faced push-back from school administrators, the larger community and <a href="https://www.jccf.ca/bc-public-school-smudging-case-returns-to-court/">even the laws and policies that govern school operations</a>.</p>
<p>Change is not always easy. But it is the efforts of brave advocates for Indigenous education that have <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/inner-city-report-winnipeg-reconciliation-1.3892536">helped create spaces in our schools where Indigenous students may learn and grow</a> in a way that honours their identities. Our Canadian social fabric is all the better for it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194324/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Frank Deer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Spirituality is a vital part of Indigenous identities. Incorporating spiritual education can create space in schools where Indigenous students can learn and grow.Frank Deer, Professor, Associate Dean, and Canada Research Chair, Faculty of Education, University of ManitobaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1843132022-06-15T20:01:56Z2022-06-15T20:01:56ZTime in hospital sets back tens of thousands of children’s learning each year, but targeted support can help them catch up<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468635/original/file-20220614-18-r7p1do.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4718%2C3147&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.nap.edu.au/">NAPLAN</a> scores can tell us about a child’s learning, but can they also help us to support learners who have had a serious injury or a long-term chronic illness like asthma or epilepsy? </p>
<p>Children who spend time in hospital for these reasons miss out on time in class and are at risk of performing below the <a href="https://www.nap.edu.au/results-and-reports/how-to-interpret/standards">national minimum standard</a> (NMS) in numeracy and literacy as measured by NAPLAN. A serious injury or chronic illness can have a cumulative effect, resulting in lower educational performance, non-completion of high school, and potentially limiting their social, educational and later employment opportunities. </p>
<p>Knowing these risks in advance means parents and educators can plan to support children before the shock of poor school or NAPLAN results. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/every-teacher-needs-to-be-a-literacy-teacher-but-thats-not-happening-in-most-australian-schools-184557">Every teacher needs to be a literacy teacher – but that's not happening in most Australian schools</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Serious injury, asthma, mental health, epilepsy and diabetes impact more than a million children each year. More than 100,000 end up in hospital. </p>
<p>We compared their NAPLAN results with kids of the same age and gender who lived in the same area but who had not been hospitalised for those conditions. We found spending time in hospital for these conditions did set back learning, with the exception of type 1 diabetes. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1450099372927164422"}"></div></p>
<h2>What did the study find?</h2>
<p><strong>Injury</strong></p>
<p>About <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-021-02891-x">70,000 people</a> under the age of 16 are hospitalised with an injury each year in Australia. This can disrupt their ability to attend school or concentrate and learn. </p>
<p>Recovery from injury can be unpredictable. Some young people may fully recover. Others experience ongoing difficulties at school.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-021-02891-x">Compared to matched peers</a>, students who had been hospitalised with an injury had a 12% higher risk of not achieving the NMS in numeracy on NAPLAN and a 9% higher risk of not achieving the NMS in reading.</p>
<p><strong>Asthma</strong></p>
<p>Around <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/children-youth/australias-children/contents/health/asthma-prevalence-children">460,000 young people</a> have asthma in Australia. If asthma is not adequately controlled, it can have a wide-ranging impact on their lives, including on their performance at school.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cea.14022">analysis</a> of 28,114 young people hospitalised with asthma showed a difference between the sexes. Young males’ risk of not achieving the NMS was 13% higher for numeracy and 15% higher for reading compared to matched peers. In contrast, females hospitalised with asthma showed no difference.</p>
<p><strong>Mental illness</strong></p>
<p>Around 14% of young people experience a mental illness in Australia that can affect their health, relationships and school life. In our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00048674211061684">study</a> of 7,069 young people hospitalised with a mental illness, young males had almost twice the risk of not achieving the NMS on NAPLAN for both numeracy and reading compared to their peers. Young females had a 1.5 times higher risk of not achieving the NMS for numeracy and those with diagnosed <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/conduct-disorder">conduct disorder</a> had twice the risk of not achieving the NMS for reading.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-transition-into-adolescence-can-be-brutal-for-kids-mental-health-but-parents-can-help-reduce-the-risk-180487">The transition into adolescence can be brutal for kids' mental health – but parents can help reduce the risk</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Epilepsy</strong></p>
<p>Across the country, about <a href="https://epilepsyfoundation.org.au/about-us/media-room/#:%7E:text=1%20in%20200%20Australian%20children%20live%20with%20epilepsy.">one in 200 children</a> are living with epilepsy. Epilepsy can affect attention, concentration and memory, all which can be a barrier to performing well at school. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seizure.2022.05.014">study</a> of 2,383 young people hospitalised with epilepsy found young males and females had a three times higher risk of not achieving the NMS on NAPLAN for both numeracy and reading compared to peers.</p>
<p><strong>Type 1 diabetes</strong></p>
<p>Type 1 diabetes was the exception and showed no adverse impact on school performance. In Australia, an estimated 6,500 young people have type 1 diabetes. Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/pedi.13317">analysis</a> of 833 young people hospitalised with type 1 diabetes did not find any difference in achieving the NMS in numeracy or reading on NAPLAN compared to matched peers.</p>
<p>This finding is likely explained by improved glucose control and type 1 diabetes management. It is also possible that school assessments, such as NAPLAN, do not capture everyday difficulties that students with diabetes experience.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-parents-can-do-to-make-a-childs-chronic-illness-easier-41359">What parents can do to make a child's chronic illness easier</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How can we support these students’ learning?</h2>
<p>It is essential that we identify students who are likely to need learning support because of an injury or chronic illness. Supports can include online learning options, flexible programming or mobilising peer support to enable sharing of class notes and homework activities. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1361455225442295808"}"></div></p>
<p>Monitoring students’ progress when they return to school will help to identify ongoing learning support needs.</p>
<p>There are also ways to manage symptoms and enhance performance at school. With asthma, for example, a comprehensive asthma management plan, using medication to manage symptoms, and <a href="https://www.schn.health.nsw.gov.au/find-a-service/health-medical-services/asthma-improvement">healthcare co-ordination</a> between GPs, hospitals and community services can all reduce the chance of ending up in hospital. For epilepsy, learning to identify seizure triggers, lifestyle and medication management are <a href="https://www.epilepsy.org.au/strong-foundations/overview/">key</a>.</p>
<p>Improving teachers’ understanding of symptom management for chronically ill or injured students is important too. For example, a New South Wales program, <a href="https://education.nsw.gov.au/early-childhood-education/whats-happening-in-the-early-childhood-education-sector/resource-library/asthma">Aiming for Asthma Improvement in Children</a>, encourages self-paced training for school staff on asthma management and first aid, along with resources for managing asthma in schools. For epilepsy, Strong Foundations provides <a href="https://www.epilepsy.org.au/strong-foundations/learning-and-participation/">advice</a> on the skills children with epilepsy need to manage in the classroom and playground.</p>
<p>Early identification and recognition that an injured or chronically ill student may need learning support at school and at home are critical to ensure they are not left behind academically.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article is part of The Conversation’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/breaking-the-cycle-119149">Breaking the Cycle</a> series, which is supported by a philanthropic grant from the Paul Ramsay Foundation.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184313/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Mitchell has received funding from the NHMRC, the MRFF, the ARC, and various state and federal government departments for past projects. This research was funded by a philanthropic donor to Macquarie University. This article is part of The Conversation's Breaking the Cycle series, which is about escaping cycles of disadvantage. The series is supported by a philanthropic grant from the Paul Ramsay Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne McMaugh has received funding from the Australian Research Council for past projects. This research was funded by a philanthropic donor to Macquarie University</span></em></p>A study of thousands of students hospitalised with an injury or illness confirms they are likely to fall behind their classmates. But good management and targeted help with learning cut the risk.Rebecca Mitchell, Associate Professor Health and Societal Outcomes, Macquarie UniversityAnne McMaugh, Senior Lecturer in Educational Psychology, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1830392022-06-08T01:09:44Z2022-06-08T01:09:44ZRemote learning was even tougher for migrant parents. Here’s what they want schools to know in case lockdowns return<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467313/original/file-20220606-20-jzflup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4361%2C2909&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When COVID forced school closures, many parents found themselves more involved than ever with their children’s learning. <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/11/6/302">For some</a> <a href="https://adc.bmj.com/content/archdischild/107/3/e5.full.pdf">parents</a>, it was hard work but broadly achievable. Many migrant parents, however, found themselves at a distinct disadvantage.</p>
<p>Parental engagement is <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Engaging-Hard-Reach-Parents-Teacher-Parent/dp/0470516321">strongly linked</a> to student learning outcomes.</p>
<p>With learn-from-home likely to return the next time there is a pandemic or other emergency, it’s important we understand why many migrant families found this mode of education delivery so incredibly challenging – and how the system can be improved.</p>
<p>We interviewed 20 migrant parents from Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan who told us about the complex challenges they faced during lockdowns.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/remote-learning-is-even-harder-when-english-isnt-students-first-language-schools-told-us-their-priorities-for-supporting-them-166957">Remote learning is even harder when English isn't students' first language. Schools told us their priorities for supporting them</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Language and technological barriers</h2>
<p>Many of our interviewees told us limited English language proficiency made it hard to engage with their children’s learning. Understanding school and government messages was often a struggle. One parent said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>My daughter has a very native accent, and it is difficult for me to understand what she says […] Sometimes I do not understand what she wants or how I should help her. When I approached the school, they sent me English emails that I didn’t understand.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The pandemic also highlighted Australia’s <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/01/covid-digital-divide-learning-education/">digital divide</a>; some participants struggled to set up their digital devices.</p>
<p>Limited parental digital literacy makes difficult to monitor student learning, especially in large families. Some parents told us they knew their kids only pretended they were on school tasks, while really watching YouTube or playing games.</p>
<h2>Financial pressure and competing demands</h2>
<p>Our interviewees also reported intense financial stress during lockdowns. As children stayed home for an extended period, grocery and utility bills soared. One parent told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>You need to spend more. They eat more; they want to play in the bathtub. They watch TV; I have to use the vacuum cleaner and washing machine more often.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Parents had to also buy tablet devices and printers for children to participate in remote learning. Worrying their children were not doing schoolwork properly, some paid for tutoring and spent more on books.</p>
<p>Many parents worked full time during the pandemic and had limited time to educate their children. One participant reflected:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I have to work and be a teacher at the same time. It is not possible.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I am a single mum with four kids from Year 1 to year 7. […] I have to deal with four different age groups, four schools, four classes, and four iPads. […] Sometimes, I need to cut my sleep hours, which again makes me wake up tired.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467316/original/file-20220606-12-ojmqx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467316/original/file-20220606-12-ojmqx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467316/original/file-20220606-12-ojmqx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467316/original/file-20220606-12-ojmqx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467316/original/file-20220606-12-ojmqx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467316/original/file-20220606-12-ojmqx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467316/original/file-20220606-12-ojmqx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467316/original/file-20220606-12-ojmqx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some parents felt what was expected of them was too complex.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Uncertainty and withdrawal</h2>
<p>Some parents eventually withdrew from their children’s education:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I have asked my children to do their duties on their own. […] In the case of my little son, I only know that he progresses through his course, can pass his units, and proceed to the next year, but I am not aware of his academic situation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Reflecting on his inability to support his children’s learning during the lockdowns, one parent told us, “it’s out of my hands”.</p>
<p>Another told her child’s school:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Look, you need to provide me with simpler guidance. I’m not a teacher; provide me with a bit simpler communication; what they need to study, what they need to learn.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/learning-from-home-is-testing-students-online-search-skills-here-are-3-ways-to-improve-them-165752">Learning from home is testing students' online search skills. Here are 3 ways to improve them</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A sigh of relief</h2>
<p>Almost all parents who participated in our study reported remote learning was exhausting.</p>
<p>One parent said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>You get tired of your children; you’re connected to them, that is good, but now it’s too much. I can’t wait until they get back to school.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Some parents worried about the potential strain of remote schooling on their relationships with their children.</p>
<p>One single mother, working full time while her child was home alone, told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I had to teach him while he was very impatient and expected me to know the answer for everything. When I was a little unsure about any subject, he got angry and miffed. So, I decided not to help him […] I told him: ‘Look, do whatever you can and leave the rest undone; when you get back to school, ask your teacher.’ I came to the conclusion that the bond and the relationships between a son and a mother are far more important than schooling and learning.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Others in the study also reiterated the importance of not putting too much pressure on already distressed children.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467317/original/file-20220606-15990-n8mwmf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467317/original/file-20220606-15990-n8mwmf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467317/original/file-20220606-15990-n8mwmf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467317/original/file-20220606-15990-n8mwmf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467317/original/file-20220606-15990-n8mwmf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467317/original/file-20220606-15990-n8mwmf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467317/original/file-20220606-15990-n8mwmf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467317/original/file-20220606-15990-n8mwmf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some parents told us they knew their kids only pretended they were on school tasks, while really watching YouTube or playing games.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Emergency remote learning may return</h2>
<p>Our research showed migrant parents faced myriad challenges during the remote learning period, with some only able to engage in a limited way with their children’s education.</p>
<p>Remote learning may very well return in future when the next disaster strikes, so it’s crucial we prepare for such disruption by improving equitable access to education delivered online and at home.</p>
<p>To achieve this, we must ensure:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>all students have access to digital remote learning devices</p></li>
<li><p>disadvantaged families receive additional support (including financial and language support) during remote learning periods</p></li>
<li><p>all parents are well informed about their roles and responsibilities, and</p></li>
<li><p>school messages are easy to understand.</p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p><em>The authors would like to acknowledge the work of research team members Dr Hossein Shokouhi and Dr Ruth Arber.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183039/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tebeje Molla works for Deakin University. He has received funding from the Australian Research Council, the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, and Deakin’s Faculty of Arts and Education. Tebeje has published on refugee education and is a member of the Refugee Education Special Interest Group (<a href="http://www.refugee-education.org">www.refugee-education.org</a>). This story is part of The Conversation’s Breaking the Cycle series, which is about escaping cycles of disadvantage. It is supported by a philanthropic grant from the Paul Ramsay Foundation.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amin Zaini works for Deakin University, School of Education where he obtained his PhD. Amin is a lecturer, a unit chair, and a Chief Investigator, at Deakin, and has already received an internal grant to work on migrant and refugee families. His areas of expertise and interest involve Education, social justice, as well as the analysis of power relations in the society. </span></em></p>With learn-from-home likely to return during the pandemic or other emergency, it’s important we understand why many migrant families found this mode of education delivery so challenging.Tebeje Molla, Senior Lecturer, School of Education, Deakin UniversityAmin Zaini, Lecturer, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1078952018-12-03T23:57:09Z2018-12-03T23:57:09ZThe Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians: what it is and why it needs updating<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248324/original/file-20181203-194953-pbm163.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Melbourne Declaration provides a national vision of what education in Australia should be for.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan has <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/tehan/updating-melbourne-declaration">announced</a> the government will update the <a href="http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/national_declaration_on_the_educational_goals_for_young_australians.pdf">Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians</a>. This document sets out the agreed national purposes and role of schooling in order to deliver high-quality education regardless of cultural, linguistic and economic background. </p>
<p>It also aims to ensure schooling contributes to a socially cohesive society that continues to strengthen Australia as a democracy. The Melbourne Declaration is an important document nationally because it provides the basis of the <a href="https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/">Australian Curriculum</a>. </p>
<p>As a nation, we face a range of national and international challenges such as <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/featurearticlesbytitle/D2799C9AA38B5E0DCA25741700118E71?OpenDocument">mobile populations</a>, so-called “<a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/fake-news-33438">fake news</a>”, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/08/25/youth-radicalization-is-on-the-rise-heres-what-we-know-about-why/?utm_term=.c26319313282">youth radicalisation</a>, religious fundamentalism and a decline in public confidence in political and social institutions. A rigorous and quality education will provide students with the skills and knowledge to make sense of these and other challenges. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-sort-of-people-do-we-want-young-australians-to-be-33178">What sort of people do we want young Australians to be?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Four key changes could be made to help develop students into the skilled, knowledgeable and rational individuals Australia needs. These are:</p>
<ul>
<li>a greater emphasis on the development of <a href="https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-are-soft-skills-2060852">soft skills</a></li>
<li>a rethink of the ways teachers assess student learning in the classroom</li>
<li>a strengthening of <a href="https://www.uts.edu.au/current-students/support/helps/self-help-resources/academic-writing/critical-thinking-skills">critical thinking skills</a></li>
<li>closer attention to the language we use when talking about education.</li>
</ul>
<h2>What it’s about</h2>
<p>The Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs issued the Melbourne Declaration in 2008. It was preceded by the <a href="http://www.educationcouncil.edu.au/EC-Publications/EC-Publications-archive/EC-The-Hobart-Declaration-on-Schooling-1989.aspx">Hobart</a> and <a href="http://www.scseec.edu.au/archive/Publications/Publications-archive/The-Adelaide-Declaration.aspx">Adelaide</a> Declarations. </p>
<p>As the overarching vision for Australian education, the document articulates two main goals: </p>
<ol>
<li>the promotion of equity and excellence in Australian schools </li>
<li>that all young Australians become successful learners, confident and creative individuals and active and informed citizens. </li>
</ol>
<p>These two goals are intended to ensure all students get high-quality schooling free from discrimination so they develop into knowledgeable, capable and articulate citizens. </p>
<h2>Criticisms</h2>
<p>A number of education experts have criticised the Melbourne Declaration. One, <a href="http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/10816/">for example</a>, argues a main driver behind the Melbourne Declaration is the promotion of education as a commodity, competing with other commodities in a global market. As a result, other important aims related to the development of students’ personal attributes as communicative, respectful and thoughtful individuals are not fully targeted in the document.</p>
<p>Similarly, <a href="http://fellowship.austcolled.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/27.-Prof-Ed-Oct-2013.pdf">other experts argue</a> the document advocates a new type of education promoted by the OECD, which requires creative thinking, the ability to work flexibly and the ability to adapt to changes in the workplace and wider society. They argue the document is couched in language that promotes the economic aims of education and the economic prosperity of the nation over student well-being, environmental sustainability and democratic participation. </p>
<h2>How can it be improved?</h2>
<p>The scope for improvement in the Melbourne Declaration lies in the second goal, which focuses on the development of soft skills. The Melbourne Declaration needs to clearly require curriculum and educational policy across Australia to be geared towards developing students who are highly literate and numerate, able to solve problems (especially in the workplace), communicate effectively and develop and maintain positive relationships within and beyond the family unit. </p>
<p>Second, we need to rethink how we assess student learning in the classroom. Rather than being geared towards classmate-versus-classmate competition through tests and examinations, it should acknowledge and reward achievement in an ongoing way. For example, a student may try to write a narrative early in the year and then, following further learning and practice, re-attempt the writing activity. The teacher may identify specific features to track over the two attempts and provide feedback on the quality of those features. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248348/original/file-20181203-194950-1nq1aoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248348/original/file-20181203-194950-1nq1aoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248348/original/file-20181203-194950-1nq1aoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248348/original/file-20181203-194950-1nq1aoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248348/original/file-20181203-194950-1nq1aoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248348/original/file-20181203-194950-1nq1aoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248348/original/file-20181203-194950-1nq1aoq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students should be encouraged to compete with themselves, not their peers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>This approach to assessment is called <a href="https://blog.questionmark.com/what-is-ipsative-assessment-and-why-would-i-use-it">ipsative</a> assessment. A student’s performance is not measured against their peers’ performance, but against their last attempt at a similar task. This approach eliminates competition with peers and the <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/662684_tgta_accessible_final_0.pdf">potential negative consequences</a> of such competition. </p>
<p>It’s similar to approaches outlined in the <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/662684_tgta_accessible_final_0.pdf">Gonski 2.0</a> report. The Melbourne Declaration includes advice on approaches to assessment, but the inclusion of ipsative assessment would be a good option for schools. </p>
<p>We also need to be mindful of the language we use in education. In recent decades, education has increasingly been seen and talked about as a commodity. The language of the marketplace has infiltrated education with terms such as “agile”, “nimble”, “flexible” and “innovative” appearing in policy documents. These words narrow the goals of education to the development of workplace skills and little else.</p>
<p>An example of this is the <a href="https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/wcm/connect/d210fd41-8c61-4754-aa45-7476b9305b1d/stronger-hsc-standards-bostes-blueprint.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID">New South Wales Stronger HSC Standards Blueprint</a>, which states curriculum reform needs to be “agile and flexible”. This document as a whole is an example of the heavy emphasis on workplace skills and aptitudes at the expense of the development of individual, interpersonal skills. </p>
<p>We need to be mindful of the terms we use – education is more than a product to be consumed. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gonski-2-0-teaching-creativity-and-critical-thinking-through-the-curriculum-is-already-happening-95922">Gonski 2.0: teaching creativity and critical thinking through the curriculum is already happening</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We live in a era of information saturation and overload. In an important Australian study, the <a href="http://www.canberra.edu.au/research/faculty-research-centres/nmrc/digital-news-report-australia-2018">Digital News Report: Australia 2018</a> found that 65% of Australians grapple with what’s real and what isn’t in the news. Another <a href="https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/1331847/EMBARGOED_to_Monday,_November_20,_2017._News_and_Australian_Children,_How_Young_People_Access,_Perceive_and_are_Affected_by_the_News-small1.pdf">study</a> found only 34% of young Australian respondents said they can identify fake news stories from real ones. Some 32% said they are unable to do so. </p>
<p>A revised Melbourne Declaration needs to emphasise critical thinking. This is the capacity to spot faulty arguments, generalisations and unfounded assertions. </p>
<p>Highlighting critical thinking will help equip students with the tools to identify how language can be used to persuade, compel and deceive. This capacity is increasingly important in democracies in an era of “fake news”, social media platforms and information saturation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107895/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Don Carter receives funding from the Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation for a project evaluating the Literacy and Numeracy Action Plan K-2 Phase 2.</span></em></p>The Melbourne Declaration is now ten years old. It acts as a national guide for education policy, practice and delivery in Australian schools.Don Carter, Senior Lecturer, Education, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/996402018-11-18T18:58:31Z2018-11-18T18:58:31ZHow to talk to your child about their school report<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227354/original/file-20180712-27036-wi3vq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Remember to look for the positives in your child's report.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/plus-student-report-card-grade-class-195941033?src=pDjotY_mAuvoE08IZa4NTw-1-8">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s that time of year again when you receive your child’s school report. For some parents and carers, understanding what it means can be challenging. Some children will be happy and others may be disappointed.</p>
<p>Parents and carers need to interpret the information in the report so you can determine the strengths of your child, work out how their learning is progressing and what areas they’re having difficulty in. This may involve having a discussion with your child or a follow-up meeting with your child’s teacher.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/some-school-reports-valuable-for-parents-others-just-a-mystery-30822">Some school reports valuable for parents, others just a mystery</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>It’s important to remember to be supportive, consider the personality of your child and focus on their progress.</p>
<h2>Achievement standards: A-E grades</h2>
<p>Primary and secondary schools (not including the senior years) in most Australian states use <a href="http://www.acaca.edu.au/index.php/schooling/assessment-and-reporting/">A-E grades</a> to describe the learning progress of children.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227504/original/file-20180712-27024-1g3dycc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227504/original/file-20180712-27024-1g3dycc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227504/original/file-20180712-27024-1g3dycc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227504/original/file-20180712-27024-1g3dycc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227504/original/file-20180712-27024-1g3dycc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227504/original/file-20180712-27024-1g3dycc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227504/original/file-20180712-27024-1g3dycc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">We’re not all strong in the same subjects.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<p>So what do the letters A to E on your child’s report card actually represent?</p>
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<p><iframe id="x4Ufm" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/x4Ufm/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
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<p>The A-E grades may also be used to report on a child’s effort in a curriculum area. So a child may have a high grade for effort but a lower grade for achievement. If effort is basic (D) or low (E), this may be of concern. </p>
<h2>Talking about the report</h2>
<p>It’s important to ask your child: what do you think of the grade (for the subject)? Talking about this helps you open up a conversation about whether the report is close to what your child thinks they’ve achieved. If your child thinks they are not doing very well, focus on their achievements in one subject as well as pointing out their achievements outside of school. Focus on their progress. </p>
<p>If you are not familiar with what your child has been learning, find out what they have been doing in each subject. You can ask: what tasks have you been doing in class? Have you been finishing the tasks? What did you find easy? What was hard for you? </p>
<p>If their grade is based on a single test, it provides little information on what your child’s strengths are or their difficulties. With a range of tasks (completed in class and at home), the grade may be a better representation of your child’s achievement. So ask them: do you know how you got this grade? What assessments have you done in class? If they or you can’t answer these questions, you may both be unhappy because you don’t understand how the grades were calculated. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227503/original/file-20180712-27039-1d8obii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227503/original/file-20180712-27039-1d8obii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227503/original/file-20180712-27039-1d8obii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227503/original/file-20180712-27039-1d8obii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227503/original/file-20180712-27039-1d8obii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227503/original/file-20180712-27039-1d8obii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227503/original/file-20180712-27039-1d8obii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">It’s important to discuss academic strengths and weaknesses with your child.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>This might be the time to talk about the grades for effort in the subject, which can tell you how much your child is trying. Ask: I notice you have been putting a lot of effort into (subject). That’s good. You’re trying hard. Or, what is happening in (subject) that’s affecting your effort? What can your do to improve?</p>
<p>This enables you to have insight into what’s going well and in which subject, which may reflect their interests, dislikes and challenges. </p>
<p>It also opens up discussion of what they’re finding difficult and why. Find out if they weren’t interested or the work was too hard for them. Different children have different interests, skills and passions which may not be reflected in their report card. Children also have different personalities that influence their learning, their progress and their report. We’re not all academically inclined.</p>
<p>If your child is disappointed point out the positives. Say: you tried really hard in (subject). I know you are having some difficulties, but look at what you have learnt this year. </p>
<p>A child’s answers can be an opportunity for discussing their progress with the teacher and what adjustments can be made to ensure continued progresses. This may be at the school organised teacher-parent interview, or you can ask for an interview with the teacher. You can then talk to your child about these adjustments and frame them along the lines of: your teacher thinks you’ll start to enjoy reading more if you and I do some more reading at home.</p>
<h2>The comments section</h2>
<p>Comments also highlight the strengths and weaknesses of your child as a learner. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/testing-times-making-the-case-for-new-school-assessment-13076">Testing times: making the case for new school assessment</a>
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<p>What does the comment say about the child? Does the comment hint at an area of concern, either academically, socially or behaviourally? Does the comment reflect what you know about your child? If it doesn’t, you need to make time to speak with their teacher. Again, use the opportunity to ask your child, after reading the comments aloud: what do you think of this comment? Why has the teacher made this comment? </p>
<p>Throughout the conversation with your child about their report, remember to look for the positives: your child’s strengths, the progress they’re making. Talk about what might help them in areas they’re doing well in, as well as those they are finding challenging. Explain the report to them and help them understand what it means.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99640/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katina Zammit does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>School reports are coming soon. Here’s a guide for how to interpret and make best use of your child’s school report.Katina Zammit, Deputy Dean, School of Education, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1052132018-10-30T18:57:40Z2018-10-30T18:57:40ZNo state has all the answers in school education<p><em>This week we’re exploring the state of nine different policy areas across Australia’s states, as detailed in Grattan Institute’s <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/?post_type=report&p=6974&preview=true">State Orange Book 2018</a>. Read the other articles in the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/state-of-the-states-2018-61464">here</a></em>.</p>
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<p>School education in Australia is generally good, but it should be better. </p>
<p>The federal government provides about one-third of total funding for school education, but it’s state and territory governments that run schools. State government policy is therefore a key lever for lifting student outcomes. </p>
<p>The Grattan Institute’s <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/state-orange-book-2018/">State Orange Book 2018</a> shows how state and territory governments are performing on the issues that matter to Australians, and what they should do to improve.</p>
<h2>Where we are</h2>
<p>No set of metrics can cover everything that matters in schooling. For this report, we chose four metrics that provide a high-level snapshot and highlight some important differences among states:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>student progress (learning growth) in primary school, taking account of differences in school advantage</p></li>
<li><p>the proportion of students achieving at high levels in Year 9 NAPLAN reading and numeracy</p></li>
<li><p>the proportion of students at or below the national minimum standard in Year 9 NAPLAN reading and numeracy</p></li>
<li><p>government funding to state government schools as a proportion of their funding target.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Student progress and achievement are two sides of the same coin. Progress is the best way to understand how much schools contribute to learning. Achievement in Year 9 reflects what students can do as they get closer to leaving school.</p>
<p>The picture that emerges from these metrics is nuanced. </p>
<p>Queensland was the star performer in primary school progress, but its Year 9 achievement was some way below the highest-performing states. </p>
<p>New South Wales and Western Australia were good at supporting high-achieving students in secondary school. They also reduced the proportion of Year 9 students who were at or below minimum standards. But the rate at which their students learn in primary school was middle-of-the-pack.</p>
<p>The ACT performed well in Year 9 NAPLAN, largely due to its relatively advantaged population. But on a like-for-like basis, ACT students made two to three months less progress than the national average in primary school. Our recent <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/measuring-student-progress/">Measuring Student Progress</a> report showed the same is true in secondary school.</p>
<p>In 2017, Victoria spent the least on its government schools. Does this mean Victoria is more efficient than other states? That’s a hard argument to make when it didn’t out-perform in the other three metrics. </p>
<p>South Australia needs to lift its game; it performed below average on the outcome and equity metrics, whether or not socioeconomic advantage was taken into account.</p>
<p>Tasmania and the Northern Territory both performed better than expected in primary school, once their socioeconomic disadvantage was taken into account. But they still have the highest proportion of students at or below the Year 9 national minimum standard, perpetuating intergenerational disadvantage.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/will-sorting-classrooms-by-ability-improve-marks-it-depends-on-the-mix-94172">Will sorting classrooms by ability improve marks? It depends on the mix</a>
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<h2>Where we should be</h2>
<p>School education in Australia needs to improve in three distinct ways.</p>
<p>First, we need to improve the teaching of core academic skills. Content still matters, even in the era of Google. Mastering content helps underpin more advanced abilities such as the ability to appraise and apply knowledge. </p>
<p>Second, we must go beyond traditional academic skills and content. </p>
<p>Skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, resilience and initiative are important in preparing young Australians for their lives after school. We need to figure out how best to measure and teach these skills. </p>
<p>Third, we need to reduce the gaps between the educational haves and have-nots.</p>
<p>Looking beneath the headline metrics, the students making the slowest progress in every state are those in the most disadvantaged schools. And, as we showed in our 2016 report <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/widening-gaps/">Widening Gaps</a>, the students who miss out most are bright children in disadvantaged schools. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-improve-naplan-scores-teach-children-philosophy-64536">Want to improve NAPLAN scores? Teach children philosophy</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>How to get there</h2>
<p>There are pockets of great teaching practice across Australia, but also pockets where teaching needs to be more effective. We should build on what is working best, as well as learning lessons from overseas.</p>
<p>To lift teaching effectiveness, state governments need to create <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/towards-an-adaptive-education-system-in-australia/">adaptive education systems</a> that enable continuous improvement by design, not by chance. This means getting much better at <em>selecting</em> and <em>spreading</em> what works best.</p>
<p>The goal is not for all teachers to teach the same material in the same way, but for all teachers to use practices that have been shown to work, and to adapt them to meet the needs of their students.</p>
<p>To work this way, teachers need better data on the learning progress of each of their students, as well as their achievement. State governments can help by making it easier for teachers to identify high-quality classroom assessment tools and resources.</p>
<p>State governments should also create explicit jobs for top teachers, to use their subject expertise to spread effective practice within and across schools. Simply reading about what works is not enough to improve teaching; teachers need to see good practice in action, try new ways of working, and get specific feedback. </p>
<p>Most states have tried coaching programs, but they often chop and change, and coaches are not always subject experts. We need a much more systematic approach.</p>
<p>At the same time as investing in supporting front-line teachers, states should work on strengthening the evidence base about what works well in the classroom. This includes randomised controlled trials and quasi-experimental approaches that confirm whether a promising teaching approach really delivers the goods. It also includes better information about what practices are being used in classrooms today.</p>
<p>State education departments need to develop new ways to work – neither centrally controlled nor fully devolved – if they’re to become truly adaptive. Adaptive improvement is happening in schools all over Australia. But too often it is disconnected and led by individuals who may move on, rather than being part of the normal way of working. </p>
<p>At the moment, no state or territory has all the answers. Each should learn from the others and do better, in pursuit of a national imperative: providing the best education for all children.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-poor-kids-continue-to-do-poorly-in-the-education-game-23500">Why poor kids continue to do poorly in the education game</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105213/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Grattan Institute began with contributions to its endowment of $15 million from each of the Federal and Victorian Governments. In order to safeguard its independence, Grattan Institute’s board controls this endowment. The funds are invested and Grattan uses the income to pursue its activitiesnisation. The State Orange Book 2018, from which this article draws, was supported by a grant from the Susan McKinnon Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie Sonnemann is a Board Member on the Song Room.</span></em></p>School education in Australia is generally good, but it should be better.Peter Goss, School Education Program Director, Grattan InstituteJulie Sonnemann, Research Fellow, Grattan InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/987042018-06-25T05:00:11Z2018-06-25T05:00:11ZThe ‘right’ age to start school varies for each child<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224583/original/file-20180625-152168-167d55x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The right age for your child to start school will vary, depending on their readiness, your family situation and the readiness of the school for the child.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Howard County Library System/flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s that time of year again, when the noticeboard outside your local primary school is likely to read “Enrol your child for kindergarten/prep now”. But how do you know what the “right” age to start school is? </p>
<p>There is variation in the ideal age to start school for each child, because it’s not simply about the readiness of the individual child. It’s also about the family context and the readiness of the school for that child to start. In other words, what happens at school once the child gets there is more important than their age.</p>
<h2>The ‘right’ age to start school in Australia</h2>
<p>Since the <a href="https://www.acara.edu.au/home">Australian curriculum</a> was endorsed in 2015, there has been <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-03/calls-for-uniform-school-starting-age/6908846">ongoing public debate</a> about whether there also should be a uniform school starting age. But across Australia, the cut-offs for starting school are still varied:</p>
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<p>At independent schools, the recommended starting age may vary yet again. When parents read <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/education/when-is-the-best-age-to-start-school-how-about-7-20180610-p4zko8.html">media reports</a> of educationally successful countries (such as Finland, Denmark and Sweden) where children start school aged seven, the question of the “right” age becomes even more confusing. </p>
<h2>Questions parents can ask to decide the right age</h2>
<p>A review of the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1747938X1830229X">research</a> on school transitions was published recently by Australian researchers. It shows that while there are different theoretical approaches taken to framing school transitions, six concepts are common: readiness, relationships, transition activities, teaching methods, power, and policy. </p>
<p>In relation to these six concepts, and drawing on ongoing <a href="https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319583273">research</a>, here are some key questions parents can ask to determine whether to send child to school this year.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224585/original/file-20180625-152140-bmb7aw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224585/original/file-20180625-152140-bmb7aw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224585/original/file-20180625-152140-bmb7aw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224585/original/file-20180625-152140-bmb7aw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224585/original/file-20180625-152140-bmb7aw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224585/original/file-20180625-152140-bmb7aw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224585/original/file-20180625-152140-bmb7aw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Social, cultural and other contextual factors particular to your family and the school are as important as the needs of individual children.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Readiness</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><p>How does the preschool/school define readiness? </p></li>
<li><p>are there particular types of knowledge, skills or abilities children are expected to have prior to starting at that school? </p></li>
<li><p>what are the social and emotional skills expected in different contexts, such as during whole class activities, in working independently, when working in small groups or in the playground? </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Parents can reflect on their child’s and family’s needs, and how well matched these are to a school’s definition. Children are often required to increasingly self-regulate, focus and participate independently in a range of activities during the first year of school.</p>
<p><strong>Relationships</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>What is the quality and nature of my child’s peer friendships? Will they have friends starting at the same school? </li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-more-parents-choosing-to-delay-when-their-child-starts-school-59375">Why are more parents choosing to delay when their child starts school?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<ul>
<li>how does the school work with families and local community to establish and develop strong relationships?</li>
</ul>
<p>Relationships are key to children developing a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220670309596617">sense of belonging</a> in their new school.</p>
<p><strong>Transitions activities</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>What formal and informal programs and activities are in place to help children and families settle into school, in the year before school starts and during the first year? </li>
</ul>
<p>These focus on helping the child and family prepare for school, as well as for the school to prepare to meet your child’s needs.</p>
<p><strong>Approaches to teaching and learning</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><p>Does the school emphasise a play-based program, or is there a stronger academic focus in kinder/prep?</p></li>
<li><p>what literacy and numeracy skills and knowledge does the particular school anticipate a “typical” kinder/prep student to start and finish the first year with?</p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224587/original/file-20180625-152160-1hxwov6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224587/original/file-20180625-152160-1hxwov6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224587/original/file-20180625-152160-1hxwov6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224587/original/file-20180625-152160-1hxwov6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224587/original/file-20180625-152160-1hxwov6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224587/original/file-20180625-152160-1hxwov6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224587/original/file-20180625-152160-1hxwov6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Parents need to ask questions about not just academic considerations, but social-emotional readiness and development as well.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Howard County Library System/flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<ul>
<li><p>what are some of the teaching and learning strategies used by class teachers to engage different students (for example, children with disabilities)?</p></li>
<li><p>how structured is the classroom environment in the first year of school? What is expected of children in a typical day? </p></li>
<li><p>is there homework in the first year of school and what does this involve?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>All primary teachers have professional knowledge that prepares them to modify and adapt their teaching and learning to suit wide-ranging student needs. Asking these questions should help parents decide if their child is suited to the approaches that commonly featured in teaching and learning programs at that particular school.</p>
<p><strong>Power</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><p>Are there opportunities for children to participate in decision-making processes in the classroom and at school (for example, is there a student council)?</p></li>
<li><p>how can families become involved and contribute to programs at the school and in the classroom?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Primary schools usually see themselves in partnership with parents in each child’s education. Many schools seek ways to meaningfully involve the children themselves and the parent community.</p>
<p><strong>Policy</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>What school-based policies are there to guide decisions that will enhance the learning of my child? </li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-you-know-when-your-child-is-ready-for-school-42614">How do you know when your child is ready for school?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>While certainly not exhaustive, these questions can provide a basis for conversations you might have within your family and with early childhood educators at your child’s preschool or daycare as well as the school’s principal and kinder or prep teachers.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.acara.edu.au/reporting/national-report-on-schooling-in-australia-2011/schools-and-schooling/school-structures">Australian curriculum</a> assumes students will start school by the time they have turned six. So the learning outcomes in the first year of school have been written to suit “typical” learners of this age. </p>
<p>But chronological age is only a crude indicator of the “right” age to start school for any child. Social, cultural and other contextual factors particular to your family and the school are as important as the dispositions, traits and needs of individual children.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98704/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kimberley Pressick-Kilborn is currently engaged in a research evaluation funded by the NSW Department of Education. </span></em></p>There are a number of questions parents should be asking to determine what age is best to send their child to school.Kimberley Pressick-Kilborn, Senior Lecturer and researcher in Education, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/980132018-06-13T20:35:22Z2018-06-13T20:35:22ZHow flexischools could help close the gap in Indigenous education<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222920/original/file-20180613-153665-16rhctj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">All Australian schools should provide high-quality education to all Australian students, including Indigenous ones.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>This year marked the tenth year of the Australian government reporting on targets made to <a href="https://closingthegap.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/ctg-report-2018.pdf">close the educational gap</a> between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian students. The report card showed some slow gains, but overall it was another national wake-up call. New policy approaches are needed to improve educational outcomes for Indigenous peoples. </p>
<p>One aspect of education that has been overlooked in Indigenous education policy over the past decade is the growth of “flexischools” around the country. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/flexischools-have-a-lot-to-teach-mainstream-schools-44589">Flexischools have a lot to teach mainstream schools</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Flexischools support young people who have been excluded (formally through expulsion or otherwise) from mainstream education to re-engage with education. With the recent reminder there’s still a long way to go in improving educational outcomes for Indigenous young people, it’s timely to look at what’s happening in flexischools. We need to consider what role they play in closing the educational gap and why they have been overlooked.</p>
<h2>Why look for gaps?</h2>
<p>Policy approaches to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education in Australia remain focused on the “closing the gap” <a href="https://closingthegap.pmc.gov.au">rhetoric</a> from the government. To some, this means Indigenous education policy is framed around <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/are-white-policymakers-maintaining-the-indigenous-gap-20180427-p4zc1e.html">measuring educational success</a> against non-Indigenous metrics. </p>
<p>The logic of much of this policy is flawed from the outset. Classroom education <a href="http://www.mitchellinstitute.org.au/fact-sheets/socio-economic-disadvantage-and-educational-opportunity-persistently-linked/">research</a> has identified a wide range of factors outside schools that have impacts on educational outcomes.</p>
<p>Social, cultural and economic capital (or lack thereof) means Indigenous students are expected to overcome hundreds of years of entrenched systemic racism and disadvantage, attributed to colonisation, with limited changes to the schooling system. </p>
<p>There is a need to look more closely and critically at aspects of Indigenous education that have been relatively ignored. This may help answer crucial questions about how to improve the system.</p>
<h2>Flexischools and Indigenous young people</h2>
<p>The term flexischools describes a myriad of educational programs or school sites operating outside mainstream education. There are <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF03216865">two defined types</a> of flexischools. One focuses on changing the young person to meet the needs of system. The other involves changing the system to meet the needs of the young person, in the short or long term. </p>
<p>The flexischools at the heart of this article are aimed at changing educational provision to meet the needs of young people. These sites appear to be engaging very high numbers of Indigenous young people. </p>
<p><a href="http://youthplus.edu.au">Recent estimates</a> indicate about 35% of students attending flexischools are Indigenous. This is high when considering Indigenous students represented <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4221.0main+features22017">5.6% of all school students</a> in 2017. </p>
<h2>What we know and what we need to know</h2>
<p>Policymakers could look at this large proportion of Indigenous flexischool students to help understand why they are pushed out of mainstream schooling, what they want to get out of education and, potentially, “what works”. </p>
<p>There have been limited studies on Indigenous students in flexischools. One small <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/australian-journal-of-indigenous-education/article/alternative-education-engaging-indigenous-young-people-flexi-schooling-in-queensland/E8193AB9F9868E31CD22B6FF7C5B71FF">study</a> found evidence of high numbers of both Indigenous students and staff working in them. </p>
<p>A recent <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/107925/4/Marnee_Shay_Thesis.pdf">study</a> on the voices of Indigenous staff reported Indigenous people are choosing flexischools as a desirable place to work in education because of the focus on relationships. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/stop-focusing-on-the-problem-in-indigenous-education-and-start-looking-at-learning-opportunities-71994">Stop focusing on 'the problem' in Indigenous education, and start looking at learning opportunities</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There is no national published data on exactly how many Indigenous young people are enrolled in flexischools. There is no published data on whether flexischools participate in NAPLAN testing. There is no published data on the number of year 12 completions. There are no large-scale studies that investigate the short-term and long-term outcomes for Indigenous students. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222492/original/file-20180610-191943-uj1ob6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222492/original/file-20180610-191943-uj1ob6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222492/original/file-20180610-191943-uj1ob6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222492/original/file-20180610-191943-uj1ob6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222492/original/file-20180610-191943-uj1ob6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222492/original/file-20180610-191943-uj1ob6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222492/original/file-20180610-191943-uj1ob6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222492/original/file-20180610-191943-uj1ob6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">If flexischools are doing Indigenous education better than mainstream schools, we should invest in researching how they work.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The general absence of flexischools in policy aimed at closing the gap is problematic because significant numbers of Indigenous young people attend them. But transparency and accountability are very limited in a number of ways. </p>
<p>The lack of data for flexischools skews closing the gap data, because the same data are not being collected for the large proportion of Indigenous students in flexischools. This means we don’t have a full picture of where all Indigenous young people are in terms of literacy and numeracy.</p>
<p>We need to understand how flexischools ensure Indigenous people are in positions of leadership when there are high numbers of Indigenous young people in these schools. Having Indigenous leadership and governance is vital for accountability to the growing numbers of Indigenous peoples and communities interacting with these schools.</p>
<p>Having Indigenous teachers and leaders in schools <a href="http://matsiti.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/MATSITI-Final-Report-1.0.pdf">is important</a> because Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students “cannot be what they cannot see”. </p>
<p>We need to understand why the work being done in flexischools isn’t being done by mainstream schools. The latter receive additional funding for Indigenous students, yet some Indigenous students are still being pushed out of the mainstream.</p>
<h2>Lessons to be learned</h2>
<p>While more research may be needed on the academic outcomes of students who attend flexischools, <a href="http://www.yanq.org.au/uploads/1/4/1/7/14174316/engaging_students_in_engaging_schools.pdf">research</a> is finding they are successful in attracting, welcoming and supporting youth who, voluntarily or under duress, have left mainstream schools. </p>
<p>Flexibility, a focus on relationships and an inquiry-led curriculum seem more conducive to keeping young Indigenous and non-Indigenous people <a href="https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:727288">engaged</a>. Flexischools generally focus on acceptance rather than discipline, and social justice over regimented learning. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/infographic-are-we-making-progress-on-indigenous-education-78253">Infographic: Are we making progress on Indigenous education?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>If flexischools are doing Indigenous education better than mainstream schools, we should invest in researching how they work. We should also ask them to track outcomes the same way mainstream schools do. We need more accurate (and inclusive) data when looking at whether the educational gap is closing to give us the whole picture. </p>
<p>In the long term, though, we should aspire for there to be no need for flexischools. We should aim for all schools in Australia to provide high-quality education to all Australian students, including Indigenous young people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98013/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marnee Shay receives CRC funding from the Lowitja Institute. She is a board member of the Xavier network of flexischools. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo Lampert does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Flexischools appear to be doing Indigenous education better than mainstream schooling. To close the gap in education, we should look at what these schools are doing and apply it in the mainstream.Marnee Shay, Senior Lecturer and Senior Research Fellow, School of Education and Centre for Policy Futures, The University of QueenslandJo Lampert, Professor, School of Education, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/978662018-06-06T10:04:11Z2018-06-06T10:04:11ZMany Australian school students feel they ‘don’t belong’ in school: new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222088/original/file-20180607-137298-zcan09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Students' sense of belonging at school is linked to how well they do at school.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A report released today by the <a href="https://www.acer.org/">Australian Council for Educational Research</a> (ACER), the managers of the <a href="http://www.oecd.org/pisa/">Program for International Student Assessment</a> (PISA) in Australia, explores Australian students’ sense of belonging. This has been <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220670309596617">shown</a> to play a big part in academic success at school. </p>
<p>Australian students, on average, reported a poorer sense of belonging at school compared to students across the OECD. A lower proportion of Australian students than the OECD average said they “feel like they belong at school”.</p>
<h2>Why does this matter?</h2>
<p>For some students, a sense of belonging is <a href="http://www.oecd.org/education/school/programmeforinternationalstudentassessmentpisa/34002216.pdf">indicative</a> of educational success and long-term health and wellbeing. It has also been <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220670309596617">found</a> to promote positive attitudes towards students’ learning. </p>
<p>What’s more, students who feel part of, and accepted by, their school community are not only <a href="http://www.oecd.org/education/pisa-2015-results-volume-iii-9789264273856-en.htm">more likely</a> to participate in school activities, both academic and non-academic, but will be actively engaged in these activities.</p>
<h2>What were students asked?</h2>
<p>PISA 2015 asked students to rate their reaction to these six statements on how they feel about school:</p>
<ul>
<li>I feel like an outsider (or left out of things) at school<br></li>
<li>I make friends easily at school </li>
<li>I feel like I belong at school<br></li>
<li>I feel awkward and out of place in my school<br></li>
<li>other students seem to like me<br></li>
<li>I feel lonely at school.</li>
</ul>
<p>Student responses (strongly agree, agree, disagree and strongly disagree) were combined to construct the sense of belonging index. This allowed us to compare Australian students with their OECD counterparts and with their peers in different states and territories, socioeconomic groups, and between genders. </p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221945/original/file-20180606-137291-1bnsz45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221945/original/file-20180606-137291-1bnsz45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221945/original/file-20180606-137291-1bnsz45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221945/original/file-20180606-137291-1bnsz45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221945/original/file-20180606-137291-1bnsz45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=686&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221945/original/file-20180606-137291-1bnsz45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=686&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221945/original/file-20180606-137291-1bnsz45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=686&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">ACER/The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<h2>How does Australia compare?</h2>
<p>Across the full spectrum of PISA participants, students in Spain had the highest levels of sense of belonging. This was followed by students in Austria and Albania. Students in Turkey had the lowest sense of belonging, followed by students in Macao (China) and the Dominican Republic. </p>
<p>Ten countries were selected for further comparison with Australia. These included seven high-performing countries – Canada, Estonia, Finland, Hong Kong (China), Japan, Macao (China) and Singapore – who performed significantly higher in scientific, reading and mathematical literacy than Australia, and three culturally similar English-speaking OECD countries – New Zealand, the UK and the US.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ideas-for-australia-why-is-australia-falling-behind-in-maths-science-and-literacy-and-what-can-be-done-about-it-56267">Ideas for Australia: Why is Australia falling behind in maths, science and literacy – and what can be done about it?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Students in the high-performing countries did not necessarily report a greater sense of belonging than Australian students. Macao (China), Hong Kong (China), Singapore, Canada, Estonia and Japan came in below, and Finland above, the OECD average. Students in the other English-speaking countries also reported a sense of belonging below the OECD average. </p>
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<p>Australia performed close to the OECD average on most questions except “other students seem to like me” (88% compared with the OECD average of 82%) and “I feel like an outsider (or left out of things) at school” (77% against the OECD average of 83%). </p>
<p>Fewer Australian students disagreed with the remaining negative statements than the average. This indicates more Australian students feel awkward, out of place, and lonely in school than their OECD peers.</p>
<h2>Sense of belonging in different demographic groups</h2>
<p>We also examined sense of belonging among a number of different groups within Australia.</p>
<p>Male students in Australia reported a greater sense of belonging than female students. For males, the sense of belonging was similar to the average across OECD countries. But for female students, it was substantially lower. </p>
<p>Boys were more likely to respond positively to all of the statements. The most substantial of these were seen on the negative statements. Some 7% more female than male students reported feeling like an outsider at school, and 7% more female than male students said they felt lonely at school. </p>
<p>Indigenous students reported a much lower sense of belonging than their non-Indigenous peers. The largest difference was on the statement “I feel like I belong in school”, which 8% fewer Indigenous students agreed with.</p>
<p>Students in metropolitan schools responded more positively on all of the statements than students in either provincial or remote schools. In particular, a much lower proportion of students in provincial and remote schools felt they belonged in school (11% difference between students in metropolitan schools and those in remote schools). </p>
<p>There were stark differences in the results for different levels of socioeconomic background. In PISA, the socioeconomic index for students is broken into quarters and compared. </p>
<p>Students in the highest quarter of socioeconomic background scored at the OECD average on sense of belonging. These students’ experience of schooling is very different from that of students in the lowest quarter of socioeconomic background. </p>
<p>The differences are large on every item. The largest, again, was on the statement “I feel like I belong in school”, for which there was a 13% gap between the two groups. Just 65% of students in the lowest socioeconomic quartile agreed with this statement, compared to 78% of students in the highest socioeconomic quartile. </p>
<p>Some 73% of low socioeconomic students said they felt awkward and out of place in their school, compared to 82% of high socioeconomic students. There was a similar difference in the proportion of each group of students who said they felt like an outsider at school.</p>
<p>Finally, foreign-born and first-generation students reported a greater sense of belonging than Australian-born students.</p>
<p>Even when taken individually, some of these differences are disturbing. While the majority of Australian students feel a sense of belonging at school, there is a solid core of students who do not feel this way - roughly one in five, or five students in the average classroom.</p>
<p>But we know the issues in individual schools can be much worse than these figures describe. Other than gender, these characteristics are not randomly distributed across the population. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/to-reduce-inequality-in-australian-schools-make-them-less-socially-segregated-95034">To reduce inequality in Australian schools, make them less socially segregated</a>
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<p>For example, there are schools that enrol a large proportion of low socioeconomic background students. The number of students who feel like an outsider, lonely, or awkward will be much higher in these schools than in schools in which there are few such students. </p>
<p>For provincial and remote schools, the proportions could be further inflated, with more students from Indigenous backgrounds and more students at lower levels on the socioeconomic index.</p>
<h2>Trends over time</h2>
<p>Sense of belonging at school in Australia has declined overall between PISA 2003 and PISA 2015. It has declined across all demographic groups. </p>
<p>The largest decline was on the statement “I feel like I belong at school” - with which 88% of students agreed in 2003 but just 72% agreed in 2015. The difference in the proportion who said they felt like an outsider declined by 15%, while the proportion who said they felt awkward or out of place declined by 13%.</p>
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<p><em>Read the full report <a href="https://research.acer.edu.au/ozpisa/30/">here</a>.</em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97866/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sue Thomson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australian students, on average, reported a poorer sense of belonging at school than the OECD average. But issues with sense of belonging aren’t distributed evenly across the population.Sue Thomson, Deputy CEO (Research), Australian Council for Educational ResearchLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/968532018-05-27T19:57:53Z2018-05-27T19:57:53ZDecluttering the NSW curriculum: why reducing the number of subjects isn’t the answer<p>Recently, the NSW government announced a review of the state’s curriculum, <a href="https://bit.ly/2IAhJ0i">describing</a> it as “a once in a generation chance to examine, declutter and improve the NSW curriculum to make it simpler to understand and to teach”. The review will take place over the next 18 months. </p>
<p>This review is significant because it might result in significant changes to what students study in school. But it needs to focus on the primary school curriculum. It should also take into account the <a href="https://bit.ly/1BIbQ4B">Melbourne Declaration</a> on Educational Goals for Young Australians, and strategically investigate the range of NSW syllabuses and outcomes. These indicate the knowledge, understanding and skills most students are expected to gain by the end of a stage of learning. </p>
<p>Simplistic approaches to this issue may advocate reducing the number of subjects in the primary curriculum. But this would be a backward step and potentially deny students a range of learning experiences.</p>
<h2>Why the review needs to focus on the primary curriculum</h2>
<p>The review needs to focus on the primary school curriculum for three reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>many have long claimed primary schools are being asked to implement what is called a “<a href="https://ab.co/2x3wwem">crowded curriculum</a>”</p></li>
<li><p>in NSW, 20 new senior school syllabuses have already been released for implementation this year. And given the promotion of the <a href="http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/hsc/about-HSC">Higher School Certificate</a> (HSC) by successive governments as the “<a href="http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/media-release/2008/mr-2008-05-01.html">gold standard</a>”, it’s hard to imagine significant changes to the structure of this award</p></li>
<li><p>five new <a href="https://syllabus.nesa.nsw.edu.au/">kindergarten to year ten syllabuses</a> have been implemented in NSW schools over the past four years, so the withdrawal of these documents would cause considerable disruption to schools. </p></li>
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<h2>What can be done about a crowded curriculum?</h2>
<p>So far, the debate about decluttering the curriculum <a href="https://bit.ly/2kmV9cV">has focused</a> on deleting subjects. One recommendation was for children to initially study English and mathematics and delay the study of science, history and geography until year four. </p>
<p>While no-one disputes the importance of developing students’ literacy and numeracy skills, this suggestion would be a retrograde step, potentially denying children learning experiences in and exposure to the knowledge, ideas and skills particular to these other learning areas. </p>
<p>One critical aspect is that NSW is a signatory to the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. It provides the philosophical basis for curriculum development in Australia. It aims to develop students as successful learners, confident and creative individuals and active and informed citizens.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gonski-2-0-teaching-creativity-and-critical-thinking-through-the-curriculum-is-already-happening-95922">Gonski 2.0: teaching creativity and critical thinking through the curriculum is already happening</a>
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<p>This is important because a reduction in the breadth of primary curriculum might be at odds with NSW’s commitment to this agreement. In any case, the NSW curriculum authority <a href="https://syllabus.nesa.nsw.edu.au/english/english-k10/introduction/">states</a> “syllabuses have been developed with respect to some overarching views about education” based on key documents such as the Melbourne Declaration.</p>
<p>So what can be done? One answer lies in revisiting the aims of the 2003 <a href="http://bit.ly/2eLc5XA">Eltis Report</a>. This report, in part, examined the number and role of syllabus outcomes. But this time we need to consider outcomes in the context of the existing mix of new K-10 syllabuses and old (2004) syllabuses. </p>
<p>Currently across the subjects of English; mathematics; science; personal development, health and physical education (PDHPE); creative and performing arts; history; and geography, there are approximately 300 outcomes teachers must integrate into their teaching. Assessment of student performance is based on these outcomes. This is reaching the same exorbitant number of outcomes that sparked the Eltis Report over a decade ago. </p>
<p>Such a review will identify, for example, English, where teachers are advised to spend 25-35% of weekly teaching hours teaching the subject, has 45 outcomes across kindergarten to year six. Yet in the current PDHPE syllabus, where the recommendation is 6-10% of teaching hours per week, the current syllabus contains 52 outcomes. A rationalisation of the volume of outcomes according to recommended teaching hours needs to happen.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-will-changes-to-the-national-curriculum-mean-for-schools-experts-respond-46933">What will changes to the national curriculum mean for schools? Experts respond</a>
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<p>Another step is to change the requirement all outcomes in a subject are to be assessed. Instead, provide teachers with the opportunity to teach all outcomes in a subject but only assess two to three designated key outcomes. </p>
<p>This will provide a more targeted approach to assessment while allowing for the teaching of an appropriate scope of content. As with the Eltis Report, priority might be given to literacy and numeracy outcomes to allow for deep and meaningful engagement by students. </p>
<h2>Don’t oversimplify the task</h2>
<p>“Decluttering” the curriculum is not a simple case of reducing the number of subjects. We need to closely examine the current suite of syllabuses and identify where overlap, duplication and redundancy in outcomes exist and eliminate these aberrations. </p>
<p>We also need to remember primary-aged children are not mini-adults in a pre-employment phase of life. Each child deserves a childhood that nurtures learning across a well-balanced program of learning, fosters the development of imagination and creativity, and provides the skills and knowledge that enables the development of high order literacy and numeracy skills. And importantly, each child deserves to enjoy their school education.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96853/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Don Carter (as part of a UTS research team) receives funding from the NSW Department of Education Centre for Education Statistics & Evaluation to conduct a research project entitled 'Evaluation of the K-2 Literacy and Numeracy Action Plan Phase 2'. This project is current and will conclude in 2020. </span></em></p>The NSW government will review the K-12 curriculum over the next 18 months. Simplistic approaches may suggest reducing the number of subjects, but this would be a backward step.Don Carter, Senior Lecturer, Education, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/920372018-02-26T03:50:52Z2018-02-26T03:50:52ZAn education research institute won’t take politics out of the classroom<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/207782/original/file-20180226-140194-wtusz4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Education research is inherently political, and can never be objective and value-free.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/David Crosling</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Labor Party <a href="https://www.appa.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/announcement.pdf">has pledged</a> to create a A$280 million research institute to “take politics out of the classroom” and “put an end to decades of ideological battles about school education”, if it wins the next federal election.</p>
<p>Announcing the policy, Shadow Education Minister Tanya Plibersek <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/feb/16/labor-pledges-280m-research-institute-to-take-politics-out-of-the-classroom">said</a>:</p>
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<p>Politicians shouldn’t tell teachers how to do their jobs, or be using schools as ideological battlegrounds.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/labors-struggle-to-remain-the-education-party-53309">Labor's struggle to remain 'the education party'</a>
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<p>This “ideological battleground” is not just plucked from thin air for political point-scoring –– it reflects viewpoints that are deeply embedded in Australian society. Schools are sites where social privilege is <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=6GuaCwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=social+reproduction+schools+australia+saltmarsh&ots=v58YzJSxf5&sig=12NdtLztTSSBaf-ZZ1Yc2I31LUI&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=social%20reproduction%20schools%20australia%20saltmarsh&f=false">reflected and reproduced</a> for the next generation, and the disadvantaged have opportunities for <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01425692.2013.816036">economic and social mobility</a>. And teaching and teacher education are <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.3102/0013189X034007003">“inherently and unavoidably political”</a>.</p>
<p>Education research itself is also inherently political and can never be objective and value-free. Yet Labor’s proposal favours a particular and well-critiqued research approach.</p>
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<h2>The medical model won’t work</h2>
<p>Labor’s pledge would inject much-needed funds into education research. But its announcement <a href="https://www.appa.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/announcement.pdf">problematically evoked</a> a biomedical model of research and teaching practice:</p>
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<p>Just as doctors draw on the best new research when they are deciding how to treat their patients, we want to better support teachers do the same for their students.</p>
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<p>When applied to education, the model is less convincing. Dispensing a pill is unlike dispensing a curriculum. The effects of an educational experiment also can’t <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1077800403259491">be easily measured</a> – unlike, say, a reduction in blood pressure. And the medical metaphor is premised on deficit: both students and their communities are <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1077800403259491">seen as problems that need to be treated</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-school-teachers-could-become-the-foot-soldiers-of-education-research-37667">How school teachers could become the foot soldiers of education research</a>
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<p>So, this model – where teachers are viewed as clinicians, and models of teacher education are marketed – hardly seems appropriate. </p>
<h2>The rise of such ‘institutes’</h2>
<p>Over the last 25 years, the number of research institutes designed to gatekeep knowledge production and its distribution in education settings has grown. The US and UK governments have established organisations that are commissioned to producing research programs and filtering policy-sympathetic evidence to schools.</p>
<p>The Institute of Education Sciences in the US has a research wing – the National Centre for Education Research – <a href="https://ies.ed.gov/funding/grantsearch/details.asp?ID=1641">which carries out</a> “deep research” focusing on “scientific evidence”. But the infamous <a href="https://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/no-child-left-behind-overview-definition-summary.html">No Child Left Behind</a> reform, which was <a href="https://search.proquest.com/docview/858466528?pq-origsite=gscholar">a “costly disaster”</a> in its inability to tackle disparities in childhood achievement, leveraged the “scientific evidence” of the biomedical model in its formulation.</p>
<p>The UK’s equivalent, the <a href="https://www.nfer.ac.uk/">National Foundation for Educational Research in England and Wales</a>, espouses a broader approach to research than its American equivalent. <a href="https://www.nfer.ac.uk/research/trials-unit/guide-to-trials/">It says</a> the randomised controlled trials of the biomedical model are just one approach to research, and “are not suitable for all research and evaluation”.</p>
<p>There is an assumption underpinning Labor’s assertion that its institute will be independent of government, and that commissioned science can deliver a value-free solution to education issues. This assumption does not account for the politics of senior executive appointments and the research funding decisions that support government promises. </p>
<p>Funding bodies privilege particular kinds of research, located in particular contexts, for particular purposes. This funding is <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/puar.12475/full">often filtered into</a> “policy-informed research”, rather than research that provides evidence to inform policy.</p>
<h2>Australia already has several bodies</h2>
<p>Australia already has an existing national, independent, not-for-profit research organisation: the <a href="https://www.acer.org/research/areas-of-research/school-education">Australian Council for Educational Research</a> (ACER). However, like its UK equivalent, it charges for programs and research. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.aitsl.edu.au/tools-resources">Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership</a> (AITSL) is an additional organisation that produces, brokers and profiles education research for use in schools.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/207791/original/file-20180226-140213-onocxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/207791/original/file-20180226-140213-onocxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207791/original/file-20180226-140213-onocxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207791/original/file-20180226-140213-onocxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207791/original/file-20180226-140213-onocxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207791/original/file-20180226-140213-onocxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/207791/original/file-20180226-140213-onocxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Teachers are best-placed to decide what education research needs to be applied in their classrooms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>How we can enhance the link between research and practice</h2>
<p>Four alternative ideas to enhance the link between research and teaching practice that could easily be implemented are:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Add “education” to the <a href="http://www.arc.gov.au/science-research-priorities">national research priorities</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>Tackle the <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/ArticleDocuments/940/University%20Financing%20Explainer%20April%202017.PDF.aspx">lack of education research funding</a> within Australian universities and support the dissemination of findings into the sector. Newly produced knowledge can be included in teacher education courses and disseminated into schools to enhance practice and fix inequity.</p></li>
<li><p>Although teachers and school leaders may be groomed to look for universal answers to complex problems, any experienced teacher would tell you there are no sure-fire, quick-fix solutions. Further professional development would enable school leaders and teachers to engage with this evidence as both critical consumers and producers of research themselves.</p></li>
<li><p>Support teachers and school leaders in localised research projects (working in partnership with universities) to align professional learning and development with real issues that benefit students and their communities. In this way, teachers and leaders <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-10-3130-4_11">can engage</a> with both local data and research literature to produce relevant knowledge.</p></li>
</ol><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92037/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Charteris does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Labor’s pledge injects much-needed funds into education research, but it problematically evokes a biomedical model of research and teaching practice.Jennifer Charteris, Senior Lecturer in Pedagogy, University of New EnglandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/675162016-10-31T08:30:19Z2016-10-31T08:30:19ZSouth Africa’s #feesmustfall protests: some inconvenient truths<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142752/original/image-20161022-1785-b8p3xl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South Africa's student protests are raising difficult issues, some of which are not being debated openly. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There are a number of inconvenient truths about South Africa’s ongoing <a href="https://theconversation.com/breaking-the-university-impasse-time-to-put-plans-and-research-into-action-67386">#FeesMustFall protests</a> that remain under-stated, or at worst unstated.</p>
<p>High on the under-stated list is the fact that freezing fees, or abolishing them, will make the current higher education system benefit richer South Africans even more than it <a href="https://nicspaull.com/2016/10/16/higher-education-free-for-the-poor-not-free-for-all-my-st-article/">already does</a>. This has been <a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2016/08/11/Rich-should-pay-10-times-more-than-poor%E2%80%9A-Fees-Commission-hears">pointed out</a> and has previously been acknowledged by the <a href="http://www.dhet.gov.za/SiteAssets/Latest%20News/Report%20of%20the%20Ministerial%20Committee%20for%20the%20Review%20of%20the%20Funding%20of%20Universities.pdf">government</a>. Tied to this is the fact that, despite statements to the contrary, the country’s poor are not the real priority of the student movement.</p>
<p>There are two further issues that have received little attention. The first is that the majority of young South Africans are being failed by the government and society at large. This begins long before they reach university. The second is that when commenting on how much the government spends on higher education there is too much reliance on “percentage of GDP” as an economic metric, when it is actually nonsensical as a basis for allocating public finances. </p>
<p>It’s time to face these inconvenient truths head on.</p>
<h2>Failing the young</h2>
<p>Most young South Africans are failed by society and the education system. <a href="http://www.news24.com/Archives/City-Press/Matric-is-just-the-beginning-Nic-Spaull-20150429">Schooling outcomes are bad</a>. The prospects of decent – or any – employment are dire and <a href="http://www.dpru.uct.ac.za/news/youth-unemployment-sa-infographic">have become worse</a>. Cramming students into universities makes it look as though the government is delivering for young people and that prospects are better than they really are.</p>
<p>Recent protests are partly a consequence of selling false hope. After 1994 one of the government’s priorities has been to remedy historical injustice through increasing access to universities by groups that were previously excluded or marginalised. As a result universities have been under tremendous pressure to admit more students. </p>
<p>Between 1995 and 2014 the number of first-time undergraduates entering South Africa’s universities per year grew from 64,000 (excluding North West University due to unavailable data) to 158,000. The total number of students enrolled <a href="http://www.che.ac.za/sites/default/files/publications/CHE_South%20African%20higher%20education%20reviewed%20-%20electronic_0.pdf">increased</a> from 380,000 to 980,000.</p>
<p>Universities have been ill-prepared. Students that are <a href="http://resep.sun.ac.za/index.php/lmip-conference-presents-new-view-on-challenges-of-tertiary-education-in-sa/">being admitted</a> have not arguably been adequately prepared by the basic education system. In addition the <a href="http://www.che.ac.za/sites/default/files/publications/CHE_South%20African%20higher%20education%20reviewed%20-%20electronic_0.pdf">general view among researchers</a> is that funding for universities has not kept-up with student numbers – although this <a href="http://www.econ3x3.org/article/between-devil-and-deep-blue-sea-financing-higher-education">has recently been questioned</a>. And funding for financially needy students <a href="http://www.gov.za/documents/report-ministerial-committee-review-national-student-financial-aid-scheme">has not increased as fast</a> as the increase in their numbers. </p>
<p>The result is that a great many students are struggling. This is evident in high <a href="http://resep.sun.ac.za/index.php/lmip-conference-presents-new-view-on-challenges-of-tertiary-education-in-sa/">drop out and repetition rates</a>. Nearly a third (29%) of students have dropped out of the system entirely after five years. Only 37% completed their undergraduate degree within four years, increasing to 58% after six years. The obvious question is: should South Africa restrain growth in student numbers?</p>
<p>Politicians, bureaucrats and university managers know that a significant number of students in the system should not be there on academic merit, and that funding is insufficient. But no-one wants to suffer the political or social consequences of saying so. </p>
<h2>Poor youth are not the priority</h2>
<p>The rhetoric around #FeesMustFall typically concerns the <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/archive/interview-shaeera-kalla-former-src-president-wits-university-interviewed-kyla-mc-nulty">exclusion</a> and <a href="http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2016-09-20-feesmustfall-south-african-students-reject-nzimandes-subsidy-call-for-free-education/">hardship</a> of the least privileged. But this is at odds with students’ demands.</p>
<p>The vast majority of poor young people do <a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/opinion/2015/11/08/While-the-rich-get-education-SAs-poor-get-just-schooling">not access universities</a>. This is first-and-foremost because their schooling outcomes do not satisfy (low) official <a href="http://resep.sun.ac.za/index.php/lmip-conference-presents-new-view-on-challenges-of-tertiary-education-in-sa/">entrance requirements</a>. The result is that most students come from households that are significantly richer than the South African average.</p>
<p>This is why spending more money on students attending higher education is not the same as helping poor students, or poor young people in general. A <a href="http://www.econ3x3.org/article/how-much-inequality-reduced-progressive-taxation-and-government-spending">recent study</a> on the equity impact of government spending showed that higher education was one of the least progressive forms of social expenditure. </p>
<p>The issue is further muddled by the fact that sloppy, rhetorical use of the term “poor” obscures the limited benefits of proposed policy changes for poor students. For instance, most proposed solutions to the current stand-off involve raising the household income threshold used to assess eligibility for financial aid. </p>
<p>But the threshold used is already well above the poverty lines proposed by various researchers. It may well be the case that there is already enough money to provide free higher education to the poor, if only funding was given first to those who actually qualify as poor. </p>
<p>For poor students the problem is not the threshold, but whether they get allocated enough (or any) funds. Though not set out explicitly, the way the aid scheme works in practice is that it does not prioritise qualifying students by income. As things stand, a student whose annual household income is R20,000 gets no more priority than one whose household income is R122,000. </p>
<p>The Department of Higher Education and Training <a href="https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/21785/">has considered</a> increasing the threshold, and <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Okr6IdEwxNcV9tM3dnb0VxekNlYlRGSTBHQjVDb2hBY01R/view">FeesMustFall has proposed</a> a much higher threshold for “low income students”. But unless there’s a change in the way in which financial aid is allocated, higher thresholds could create even greater unfairness for the poorest students. </p>
<h2>Percentage of GDP is a mindless metric</h2>
<p>One of the few claims that carries broad consensus is that higher education in South Africa is underfunded because government expenditure on higher education relative to GDP is low compared to other countries. This claim has appeared in critical reports such as in Chapter 9 of the <a href="https://nationalplanningcommission.wordpress.com/the-national-development-plan/">2012 National Development Plan</a> and the <a href="http://www.dhet.gov.za/SiteAssets/Latest%20News/Report%20of%20the%20Ministerial%20Committee%20for%20the%20Review%20of%20the%20Funding%20of%20Universities.pdf">2013 Ministerial Committee Review</a> on funding of universities. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, it is wrongheaded. </p>
<p>Criticism of the over-reliance on this metric precedes FeesMustFall. I <a href="http://www.seanmuller.co.za/ESSA_presentation_SAeducfinancing.pdf">provided a critique</a> in an analysis of basic education expenditure in 2013. And raised related concerns when advising Parliament committees on comparisons of South Africa’s tax to GDP ratio to other countries. </p>
<p>The problem is that simplistic comparisons across countries fail to account for a variety of important local factors. In higher education these include the proportion of the population who are young, different structures of higher education funding systems, different forms of post-school education and the quality of basic education.</p>
<p>To illustrate the point about the funding system, consider the fact that university fee income is not included in the total expenditure number (and therefore is not reflected in the percentage). This is because it is not government expenditure. If government scrapped fees, raised the same amount through taxes and gave this back to universities, “government expenditure on higher education” would rise significantly but the resources available to the system would be the same.</p>
<h2>Inequality won’t budge</h2>
<p>Financial need should not be an obstacle to students who qualify to enter university at a suitable academic standard. But in allocating public finances it is critical to recognise that even carefully designed changes in funding will not materially reduce inequality in society as a whole. Based on my calculations using the most recent <a href="http://interactive.statssa.gov.za:8282/webview/">Statistics South Africa Quarterly Labour Force Survey</a> 30.5% of 15 to 34-year-olds are unemployed and only 3.5% are in university education. Removing university fees is not the best way to help South Africa’s young people who are poor.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/67516/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Seán Mfundza Muller does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Demands being made by protesting students in South Africa purport to support the poor. But the most marginalised young people in the country will not benefit from free higher education.Seán Mfundza Muller, Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/583992016-04-27T20:11:53Z2016-04-27T20:11:53ZFederal election 2016: what’s on the table for schools?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120265/original/image-20160427-1319-3tapxo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">'The Coalition’s position on Gonski could change before the election.'</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>School education is always a top policy priority for voters in Australia. So what’s on the table for this year’s federal election? And what is still unknown?</p>
<h2>Labor’s policy proposals</h2>
<p>Labor’s policies are mapped out in two key documents: <a href="http://www.alp.org.au/growing_together">Growing Together: Labor’s Agenda for Tackling Inequality</a> and <a href="http://www.laborsplanforeducation.com.au/">Your Child, Our Future: Innovation through Education</a>. </p>
<p>These are supported by evidence that well-targeted investment in education is one of the best tools that governments have for boosting innovation and national productivity and for reducing social and economic inequalities. </p>
<p>Media commentary has focused on Labor’s pledge to reinstate and fully fund <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-a-gonski-anyway-13599">Gonski</a>. This would mean Commonwealth funding for schools increases and is directed to schools based on their relative need, using a “base + disadvantage top-ups” funding formula.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120271/original/image-20160427-1341-zvguq2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120271/original/image-20160427-1341-zvguq2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120271/original/image-20160427-1341-zvguq2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120271/original/image-20160427-1341-zvguq2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120271/original/image-20160427-1341-zvguq2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120271/original/image-20160427-1341-zvguq2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120271/original/image-20160427-1341-zvguq2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Targeted needs-based funding is a priority for Labor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Targeting funding to where educational needs are greatest can reduce the growing <a href="http://www.mitchellinstitute.org.au/reports/educational-opportunity-in-australia-2015-who-succeeds-and-who-misses-out/">gaps in educational outcomes</a> between rich and poor students and schools, and between metro and rural/regional schools. </p>
<p>There are other notable elements in Labor’s policy package. These include strengthening teacher quality (with initiatives for pre-service and in-service teachers), more individual attention to better meet every child’s needs (which involves greater engagement with families and greater support for disabilities and special learning needs), increasing Year 12 completion rates to 95% by 2020, and building up STEM skills, coding skills and entrepreneurial skills – recognised as vital to children’s and the nation’s future. </p>
<h2>Coalition yet to release plans</h2>
<p>The federal Coalition hasn’t yet released specific election policies for schooling. However, we get a good idea of its priorities from <a href="https://www.studentsfirst.gov.au/">StudentsFirst</a>. This policy approach has four pillars: teacher quality, school autonomy, engaging parents in education and strengthening the curriculum. </p>
<p>These are all worthy pursuits with potential to “<a href="https://www.studentsfirst.gov.au/">make a difference</a>” as claimed by the Coalition, but some important nuances and disclaimers are required. </p>
<p>As highlighted by the <a href="https://federation.dpmc.gov.au/issues-paper-4">White Paper on the Reform of the Federation</a> and the <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/review-of-funding-for-schooling-final-report-dec-2011.pdf">Gonski Review of School Funding</a>, the federal government has very <a href="https://theconversation.com/hands-off-canberra-education-is-better-off-with-the-states-28920">limited capacity</a> to intervene in – and improve – schooling. This includes teaching and curriculum. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120273/original/image-20160427-1330-15ftegj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120273/original/image-20160427-1330-15ftegj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120273/original/image-20160427-1330-15ftegj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120273/original/image-20160427-1330-15ftegj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120273/original/image-20160427-1330-15ftegj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120273/original/image-20160427-1330-15ftegj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120273/original/image-20160427-1330-15ftegj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Focusing on admission requirements for new teachers is too narrow.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Teacher quality is critical, but focusing only on admission requirements and initial training is unhelpfully narrow. More can be done to support and enhance the valuable work of teachers already in the classroom to best meet the varied needs of their students, such as strengthening partnerships between schools and universities. </p>
<p>School autonomy (self-management) can contribute to improved results if it means schools have greater flexibility in how they respond to particular needs and interests of their students, and can spend more time focused on student learning. </p>
<p>But it is dependent on good leadership at school level, good systemic support and good reporting mechanisms. Policy must not simply cut schools loose and make them responsible for things over which they have limited or no control, often without necessary resources. </p>
<p>Greater systemic support (allowing school leaders to focus on leadership rather than administration) and greater collaboration and sharing of resources among schools of all sectors – as proposed by Victoria’s <a href="http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/department/Pages/fundingreview.aspx">Bracks Review</a> earlier this month, and in our report <a href="http://www.mitchellinstitute.org.au/reports/the-shared-work-of-learning/">Shared Work of Learning</a> – are necessary to complement school self-management.</p>
<p>And as the principal of Bendigo Senior Secondary School has pointed out, <a href="http://dalepearce.net/2016/04/23/autonomy-to-do-what/">autonomy for public schools is very different to that of private schools</a>. The latter can select their students and charge tuition fees.</p>
<p>On school funding, the Coalition has repeatedly pledged its commitment to a needs-based funding system. But in government it has also emphasised there won’t be a <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/simon-birmingham-dont-expect-schools-election-cash-splash-20151227-glvlpx.html">“cash splash”</a>. The Coalition points to evidence that student performance in <a href="http://www.nap.edu.au/verve/_resources/2015_NAPLAN_national_report.pdf">national</a> and <a href="http://research.acer.edu.au/rd_school/17/">international tests</a> has fallen or flat-lined despite <a href="http://www.mitchellinstitute.org.au/reports/expenditure-on-education-and-training-in-australia-update-and-analysis/">government funding for schools increasing</a> significantly. How the money is spent is most important, the Coalition insists. </p>
<p>This is true. The reason school funding increases didn’t result in proportional improvements in learning is because much of this funding was <a href="http://research.acer.edu.au/aer/14/">poorly allocated</a> and change takes time. </p>
<p>The Coalition’s position on Gonski could change before the election. <a href="http://politicsir.cass.anu.edu.au/sites/politicsir.anu.edu.au/files/ANUpoll-Tax-Equity-April2016.pdf">Polling indicates</a> (surprise!) that voters are very keen on more school funding and better-targeted school funding. </p>
<p>It could nicely dovetail into the Coalition’s Innovation Agenda as a key investment for the future. We – along with voters – are watching this space with interest.</p>
<h2>Vocational education and training</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120274/original/image-20160427-1359-1rc7aqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120274/original/image-20160427-1359-1rc7aqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120274/original/image-20160427-1359-1rc7aqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120274/original/image-20160427-1359-1rc7aqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120274/original/image-20160427-1359-1rc7aqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120274/original/image-20160427-1359-1rc7aqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120274/original/image-20160427-1359-1rc7aqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Neither of the major parties has committed to any vocational education reforms for school students in the lead-up to the 2016 election.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Vocational education deserves attention here. More than 240,000 students are enrolled in vocational education and training (VET) in schools programs in more than <a href="https://theconversation.com/preparing-young-people-for-work-do-we-really-have-a-crisis-43395">90% of Australian schools</a>. </p>
<p>The federal Coalition recently rolled out two new programs – the A$500,000 <a href="http://saf.org.au/p-tech-australia/">P-TECH pilot program</a> involving collaborative partnerships between schools, industry and community to provide training and qualifications and pathways to employment, and the A$6.82 million multi-industry school-based and apprenticeship support pilot <a href="http://scottryan.com.au/media/media-release-new-pilot-project-to-allow-young-australians-to-trial-an-apprenticeship-option">project</a> to provide introductory training across a range of industry areas.</p>
<p>However, neither of the major parties has committed to any vocational education reforms for school students in the lead-up to this election. </p>
<p>The broader VET system has been plagued with a <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/cisc_skills_session_communique_1_april_2016_final.pdf">range of quality, funding and governance issues, but both major parties have deferred consideration</a> of any VET system reform to 2017.</p>
<p>We hope to see more policies targeted at expanding meaningful vocational pathways for school students.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58399/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While Labor’s policy proposals for schools are all mapped out, the Coalition has yet to specify its plans for education.Bronwyn Hinz, Policy Fellow at the Mitchell Institute, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/571022016-04-01T05:25:21Z2016-04-01T05:25:21ZSplit funding idea for schools has big risks and few clear benefits<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117063/original/image-20160401-14145-1a0jt83.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The government's proposal looks like nothing more than a cost shifting exercise.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Less than two days before meeting with the Premiers at the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull lobbed an innovative idea on the table. </p>
<p>The Federal government would cease funding for public schools, but continue supporting non-government schools.</p>
<p>But the fact that an idea is innovative does not make it worthwhile. </p>
<p>This proposal appears to be a response to a budgetary problem, not a way to improve educational outcomes. It is just not clear what educational problem it is intended to fix. </p>
<p>If the Prime Minister had proposed that all funding would run through one level of government, we would have an interesting debate on our hands. (In practice, only states could feasibly do this, since Canberra has neither the will nor the skill to run or oversee the 10,000 schools spread across Australia.)</p>
<p>But this is not the proposal he has taken to COAG. </p>
<p>Instead, he is proposing to stop federal funding to government schools, shifting $5 billion off the books of the federal budget, in return for giving states a share of income tax. </p>
<p>The kicker is that he does not trust states with non-government schools, and wants Canberra to keep control. </p>
<p>Given how this has been introduced, do he and education minister Simon Birmingham really expect states to keep chipping in the $3 billion they spend each year on non-government schools? </p>
<p>Dale Kerrigan in the great Australian battler movie <em>The Castle</em> would have an answer: “tell ‘em they’re dreamin’”.</p>
<h2>What is the situation today?</h2>
<p>There is no doubt that Australia has educational problems. </p>
<p>In the last month alone, major concerns have been raised about the effectiveness of Australian schooling from <a href="https://www.cis.org.au/app/uploads/woocommerce_uploads/2016/03/rr11.pdf">the right</a>, <a href="http://cpd.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/School-Daze-4.pdf">the left</a>, and <a href="http://grattan.edu.au/report/widening-gaps/">the centre</a>. </p>
<p>The OECD also weighed in <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/oecd-education-chief-andreas-schleicher-blasts-australias-education-system-20160313-gnhz6t.html">last week</a>. Referring to the international PISA tests, OECD education director Andreas Schleicher said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Australia has lost a lot of students with very good results, it’s very significant this round and I think that’s something to really think about.”</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Something must change</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22library%2Fprspub%2F366868%22">history</a> of school funding in Australia is long, complex and messy. </p>
<p>Many saw the 2011 Gonski <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/review-of-funding-for-schooling-final-report-dec-2011.pdf">Review of Funding for Schooling</a> as a new beginning, with its focus on needs-based, sector-blind funding for all students. </p>
<p>But the <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/coalition-joins-labors-gonski-unity-ticket/story-fn59niix-1226690519042">“unity ticket”</a> declared by the then opposition leader Tony Abbott before the election was <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-27/government-denies-breaking-election-promise-on-school-funding/5119204">not to last</a>.</p>
<p>As of today, each of the school sectors receives different levels of funding from federal and state governments, as well as private funding. </p>
<p>The $50 billion government spend on schools in 2013-14 was split about 70:30 between states and territories (A$36 billion) and the Federal government ($14 billion). </p>
<p>The split differs by school sector: the federal government funds only 13% of the $38 billion spent on government schools, but 74% of the $12 billion that governments spend on non-government schools. </p>
<p>Even worse, the deals and the details are different in each state and territory. </p>
<p>Funding of Australian schools is an opaque mess. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117053/original/image-20160401-28451-1vdrv42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117053/original/image-20160401-28451-1vdrv42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117053/original/image-20160401-28451-1vdrv42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117053/original/image-20160401-28451-1vdrv42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117053/original/image-20160401-28451-1vdrv42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117053/original/image-20160401-28451-1vdrv42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117053/original/image-20160401-28451-1vdrv42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117053/original/image-20160401-28451-1vdrv42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Adapted from Connors, L. and McMorrow, J., Imperatives in schools funding, ACER, 2015, Figure 1.2</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What impact would divided funding have?</h2>
<p>The proposal has been introduced too suddenly for a full analysis. But here are some of the early arguments.</p>
<p><strong>Improving accountability</strong></p>
<p>The education minister has claimed that the new arrangements would improve accountability. States deliver education services. Giving them responsibility to raise the revenue for schooling might mean they make more effective spending decisions. </p>
<p>This holds some weight, and would definitely hold true if one level of government had responsibility for all education funding as well as managing schools. But this is not what is on the table. In fact, accountability would be more divided than before, and cooperation between sectors would be even harder.</p>
<p><strong>Allocating resources</strong></p>
<p>Resource allocation will also be harder than today. Effective spending decisions means channelling resources to where they will make the biggest difference. But in the new model, each level of government will have an incomplete picture of which students are thriving, and which are struggling. </p>
<p>Relying on federal-state relations for priority setting and allocating resources is very dangerous. Coordinating eight different state and territory funding approaches with a national formula for non-government schools will be an administrative nightmare. Or perhaps coordinating funding decisions is not even on the table, a more terrifying thought. </p>
<p><strong>Warped incentives</strong></p>
<p>Bizarre incentives arise when different levels of government support different school systems. State governments would save money if students moved out of government schools. The federal government could cut costs if more students went into the government system. </p>
<p><strong>Bureaucracy backfire?</strong></p>
<p>Worst of all is if the premiers call the PM’s bluff, leaving Canberra to fully-fund non-government schools. </p>
<p>Given Turnbull is signalling that states can’t be trusted to act in the interests of the non-government sector, why wouldn’t they? </p>
<p>State governments might then step back from regulating non-government schools (for example, teacher registration or accrediting new schools), given they provide no funding. </p>
<p>Canberra would have to pick up the pieces, ending up with more bureaucracy rather than less. This would be a terrible outcome. Federal policy makers know little about regulating service delivery.</p>
<h2>This is not education reform</h2>
<p>There is no chance of sector-neutral funding decisions under the proposed arrangements. The model is deeply divisive. Even as the government says it supports needs-based funding, the hope created by the Gonski report would be dead, buried, and cremated.</p>
<p>The proposed split funding arrangement is not education reform. It has big risks, and few if any clear benefits. </p>
<p>It looks like nothing more than a cost shifting exercise by a federal government in desperate need of fiscal repair. It distracts from the main game: increasing learning progress for all students.</p>
<h2>School education is an investment, not just a cost</h2>
<p>High-performing countries view education as an investment, not as a cost. This proposal appears to take the opposite view. But it is penny-wise, pound-foolish. </p>
<p>Failing to educate all young Australians will have a much higher cost in future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/57102/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Goss is School Education Program Director at Grattan Institute. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie Sonnemann is School Education Fellow at Grattan Institute.</span></em></p>The prime minister’s proposal to cease federal funding for public schools is a response to a budgetary problem, not a way to improve educational outcomes.Peter Goss, School Education Program Director, Grattan InstituteJulie Sonnemann, Research fellow, Grattan InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/520042015-12-09T19:07:54Z2015-12-09T19:07:54ZWhy is being a school principal one of the most dangerous jobs in the country?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104951/original/image-20151208-32384-ys67uv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">More than a third of school principals have suffered physical violence from parents and students. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Miner, commercial fisherman, firefighter, school principal. Would you have placed your local school head among the ranks of such dangerous jobs? Most likely you would not. </p>
<p>However, <a href="http://www.principalhealth.org/au/reports.php">a survey</a> released this week makes the case that our school heads are suffering greatly. </p>
<p>The findings are damning and should serve as a wake-up call to action for our policymakers, education departments and those who educate and support our school principals.</p>
<p>Citing mounting demands, a lack of time and little support, principals are struggling to meet the requirements of the job. </p>
<p>Principals are the victims of stress at a <a href="http://www.principalhealth.org/au/reports.php">rate 1.7 times higher</a> than the population in general. And things are only getting worse. Findings show that school leaders’ thoughts of self-harm and poor quality-of-life concerns were double that of <a href="http://www.principalhealth.org/au/2015_Exec_Summary_Final.pdf">previous years</a>.</p>
<p>The survey found that 41% of principals have experienced threats of physical violence on the job in the past year, mainly from parents. And more than a third have suffered physical violence - mostly at the hands of their own students. </p>
<p>How did we find ourselves in this place? </p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/school-leadership/state-policy/Documents/Developing-Excellent-School-Principals.pdf">report</a> from the US suggests that the job of principal has expanded and become “overloaded” during the past decade as schools are being asked to mitigate many of society’s issues.</p>
<p>In a nation where the <a href="http://www.acoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/ACOSS-POVERTY-IN-AUSTRALIA-FACT-SHEET_FINAL-WEB-July-7-2015.pdf">gap between rich and poor is growing</a>, and the academic achievement gap remains quite large, school heads are being scrutinised and vilified based on test scores. Inspiring classrooms and innovative curricula are giving way to test preparation. </p>
<p>Couple this hyper-accountability with the hopelessness of generational unemployment in some communities and the effects of parents <a href="http://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/school-leadership/pages/default.aspx">passing all academic responsibilities</a> on to their child’s school, and principals are left with a Sisyphean task.</p>
<h2>What can be done?</h2>
<p><strong>Stop asking schools to do everything to “fix” society</strong></p>
<p>Schools reflect society’s issues for better and worse. Principals have undertaken the brunt of the burden in recent years to address academic, social and societal pressures inside the few hours of the day set aside for learning. </p>
<p>Parents expect schools to be caregivers early till late, to be tolerant of misbehaviour, meet student needs and teach children well. We must support and allow schools to pursue their core mission as learning centres.</p>
<p><strong>Fix society by integrating services to families</strong></p>
<p>Families under stress are best served in an <a href="http://www.education.vic.gov.au/childhood/providers/integrated/Pages/default.aspx?Redirect=1">integrated fashion</a> by the private and public sector. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.newcastle.edu.au/research-and-innovation/centre/fac/about-us">Family Action Centre</a> and other similar resources are doing this, as are places like <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2015/s4303558.htm">Broadmeadow Primary</a> in Melbourne.</p>
<p><strong>Improve principal preparation programs and professional development</strong></p>
<p>Most <a href="http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-professional-standard-for-principals">school leader preparation programs</a> link theory to practice very well.</p>
<p>However, these programs must equip school leaders for the serious challenges and threats that they face every day. From addressing mental health issues of families and teachers to managing conflict in the classroom, and from creating demanding engaging classroom lessons to ensuring that all students meet their full potential, the talents of an effective principal in 2016 are far more than ever expected.</p>
<p><strong>Mitigate a culture of excessive use of drugs/alcohol</strong></p>
<p>In <a href="http://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2015/07/22/dangerous-drug-market/">some suburbs</a> of Australia, the drug ice can be <a href="http://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2015/07/22/dangerous-drug-market/">cheaper to buy</a> than a pint of beer or bottled water. </p>
<p>Behaviours in school are a reflection of behaviours at home. For many families in Australia, the abuse of alcohol and drugs precipitates bullying and violence across the socioeconomic spectrum. Policymakers must double-down on prevention and treatment programs and provide in-school supports for dealing with this epidemic.</p>
<p><strong>Change the model of schooling</strong></p>
<p>Around Australia and the world, new models of schooling are emerging that focus on the learner, families and learning. These include the <a href="http://www.bigpicture.org.au/about-us/big-picture-education-australia">Big Picture School</a> concept, which places student passions front and centre, the<a href="https://www.vu.edu.au/the-victoria-institute/research-focus/education-journeys/advancement-via-individual-determination-avid-australia"> AVID program</a>, which targets students who have great unrealised potential but who often sit idly in school and may lack the study skills or the academic toolkit of their more successful peers, and the <a href="http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/06/11/35hoffman.html">Early College High School movement</a> from the US, which makes university a reality for disadvantaged students. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=1252">Scrapping the 20th-century model</a> of schooling may be part of the solution to <a href="http://www.edutopia.org/new-way-learning">diminish stress</a> and school violence. </p>
<p>This newest survey screams for a reaction from policymakers. But we will find our schools and our principals little changed if the reaction is not comprehensive. </p>
<p>We must rethink the way we view and support schools, principals and communities to create healthy and engaging learning environments for our nation’s children.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/52004/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>School principals are experiencing increasing levels of violence and threats from students and parents. What needs to change?John Fischetti, Professor/Head of School/Dean of Education School, University of NewcastleScott Imig, Senior Lecturer, School Leadership and Reform, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/315842014-09-17T05:10:40Z2014-09-17T05:10:40ZPupils at academy chains being failed by inspection loophole<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58792/original/nnrs7zn6-1410431077.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58792/original/nnrs7zn6-1410431077.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58792/original/nnrs7zn6-1410431077.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58792/original/nnrs7zn6-1410431077.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58792/original/nnrs7zn6-1410431077.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58792/original/nnrs7zn6-1410431077.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58792/original/nnrs7zn6-1410431077.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Academy chains stand out for being left out.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-3560890/stock-photo-blue-paperclips-with-red-paperclip-chain.html?src=rXpENjucfiPV27BRLMfGuA-2-87">Paperclips by Jeff Daniels/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Recent inspections of schools run by academy chains have shown many of these schools to be failing. Yet Ofsted, the schools inspectorate, is still not allowed to regulate the very organisations that are responsible for this. </p>
<p>In a recent sitting of the Education Committee’s inquiry into <a href="http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=15915">academies and free schools</a>, its chair, the Conservative MP Graham Stuart, detailed the long list of academy chain failures now occurring with increasing regularity.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Ofsted have said <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/not-good-enough-ofsted-attacks-academy-chain-9704784.html">that AET</a> [Academies Enterprise Trust] has low expectations and are leaving schools to founder; that <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/not-good-enough-ofsted-attacks-academy-chain-9704784.html">E-ACT provides poor-quality</a> teaching intervention and support and that an overwhelming proportion of pupils in the <a href="http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/other-publications/t/Kemnal%20Academies%20Trust%20%28TKAT%29%20inspection%20outcome%20letter.pdf">Kemnal Academy Trust</a> are not receiving a good education.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Since <a href="http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/framework-for-school-inspection">2012, Ofsted has intensified</a> its focus on the inspection of school governance, insisting that it is integral to the leadership and management function of schools. In spite of this – and the concomitant furore surrounding the state of school governance in the wake of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/ofsteds-future-at-stake-after-trojan-horse-scandal-25936">Trojan Horse extremism affair</a> in Birmingham – the inspectorate still has its hands tied when it comes to inspecting academy chains. </p>
<p>As part of its brief, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26059457">Ofsted is allowed</a> to inspect individual schools within academy chains but not the trusts that run them. Yet in many cases it is precisely these trusts and their sponsors that are failing the very schools they purport to support.</p>
<p>One area that has proved to be particularly problematic from a regulatory perspective is the lack of effective scrutiny in terms of conflicts of interest within academy chains. This is an area highlighted in a <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/education-committee/inquiries/parliament-2010/academies-and-free-schools/">new report</a> by the Institute of Education’s Toby Greany and Jean Scott. </p>
<p>They found that the mechanisms to identify and address conflicts of interest in academy chains are almost non-existent. They outlined a number weaknesses in the system, including that some trust boards are not adhering to national guidance or doing enough to mitigate the risks associated with conflict of interest. They also point out that the skills and capacity of bodies charged with auditing trusts may be weak or insufficient to “get under the skin” of what is going on. </p>
<h2>Immune to public scrutiny</h2>
<p>It was only a short time ago that the head of Ofsted, Michael Wilshaw called for more <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9809061/Ofsted-failing-education-authorities-should-be-sacked.html">stringent inspection of Local Education Authorities</a> following a spate of high-profile school failures of several schools within the same authority. The authorities concerned have been <a href="http://news.tes.co.uk/b/ofsted-watch/2014/05/29/ofsted-orders-quot-ineffective-quot-local-authority-to-intervene-in-failing-schools.aspx">named and shamed</a> for the dereliction of their duties. </p>
<p>Yet organisations at the helm of some of the biggest school chains in the country appear to be accountable to no one. As David Wolfe of law firm Matrix Chambers highlighted during the recent inquiry: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The power is concentrated with the trust and no longer really with local governing bodies unless it is delegated down and then the trusts are not under any great scrutiny. They are not subject to direct observation from Ofsted and they are not subject to the kind of public pressures that come from democratic accountability or a wider public transparency.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Such issues of accountability around chains of schools which expand too quickly are a common feature of the <a href="http://www.uscrossier.org/ceg/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Farrell.Wohlstetter.Smith_.2012-CMO-Ed-policy.pdf">US Charter school system</a>, a system that in many ways mirrors the reform intentions of the academies project. In states in which there are high levels of regulatory accountability such as Massachusetts, charter schools appear to do well, outperforming regular district schools on a number of criteria. </p>
<p>But uncontrolled expansion of charter schools and lack of concomitant accountability has given rise to a number of cases in which schools have been shut down and <a href="http://www.democracy-tree.com/michigan-charter-schools-poster-child-failure/">had their licences revoked.</a></p>
<h2>Governance loophole</h2>
<p><a href="http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/14536/">Research into school federations</a> in the UK is beginning to unpick the new governance structures that are appearing. Although in its early stages, researchers have stressed the importance of <a href="http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/14536/1/the-growth-of-academy-chains%5b1%5d.pdf">retaining coherence</a> in these multi-level governance structures that mirror so many in the wider not-for-profit sector.</p>
<p>It took some time for Ofsted to bring school leadership and governance into a single judgement, following a long period during which they were considered entirely separately in regulatory terms. Now this is in place, it would make perfect sense to apply it it to academy chains, yet their sponsors and trusts have been conveniently permitted to slip through the net.</p>
<p>This lack of accountability has caused a number of issues. It makes it almost impossible to be able to pinpoint why one or a number of schools in a chain are not performing well. </p>
<p>It also makes it difficult to see how multi-level governance is actually functioning if inspectors are only able to see part of the picture and not the whole. Inspectors look only at individual schools and their performance in isolation, rather than the chain as a whole. It is also almost impossible to evaluate how the strategic direction of the chain is operating through individual schools and evaluate to what extent those schools are working with and through that strategy.</p>
<h2>Rudderless in the face of weak leadership</h2>
<p>A lack of cohesion in accountability also makes it difficult to see how the goings-on at individual schools relate to overarching principles within the trust. This includes how pupil premium money is spent on children who qualify for it, or the direction of standards for teaching and learning. As trusts continue to grow, it becomes even more pressing to ensure governing trusts are accountable in financial and operational terms. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.usc.edu/dept/education/cegov/focus/charter-schools/publications/journals/tail_wagging_dog_PW_GH_JS.pdf">researchers in the US point out</a>, the challenges of retaining quality during periods of intensive growth are substantial. It’s not difficult to see how schools in academy chains can be left rudderless and lacking strategic and operational direction and prey to conflicts of interest.</p>
<p>It appears to be somewhat paradoxical that <a href="https://theconversation.com/sending-in-ofsted-to-inspect-private-schools-could-level-the-education-playing-field-26832">we pay £143m for an inspection system</a> that is prevented from inspecting some of the key organisations behind <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26059457">so many schools in England</a>, particularly in light of the type of failures that have come to light recently. According to the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-academies-and-academy-projects-in-development">Department for Education</a>, there are currently 1,226 open sponsored academies in the 2014-15 academic year. </p>
<p>Unless these failures are investigated in a holistic way that departs substantially from the fractured and dislocated manner of current regulatory practice, then it is difficult to see how errors can be pinpointed and addressed in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/31584/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Recent inspections of schools run by academy chains have shown many of these schools to be failing. Yet Ofsted, the schools inspectorate, is still not allowed to regulate the very organisations that are…Jacqueline Baxter, Lecturer in Social Policy, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/309712014-09-15T20:31:27Z2014-09-15T20:31:27ZHow crowded homes can lead to empty schools in the bush<p><em>Tony Abbott <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/2014-06-23/visit-north-east-arnhem-land">is spending this week in North East Arnhem Land</a>, part of his <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/abbott-calls-for-new-era-of-engagement-with-indigenous-australia-20130810-2rony.html">long-held hope</a> “to be not just the Prime Minister but the Prime Minister for Aboriginal Affairs”. We asked our experts: what stories does the PM need to hear while he’s in the Top End?</em></p>
<p>Earlier this year, Minister for Indigenous Affairs Nigel Scullion <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/indigenous/curfews-for-kids-to-battle-truancy/story-fn9hm1pm-1226815395242?nk=">attracted national media coverage</a> on his visits to remote Top End Aboriginal communities, where he urged new local truancy officers clad in bright yellow T-shirts and bearing loudhailers to “get the kids to school”. But after an initial spike in attendance at bush schools – often from an alarmingly low base – our more recent analysis suggests that little lasting improvement has been achieved.</p>
<p>Our research shows a huge gap in Indigenous and non-Indigenous school attendance in the Northern Territory remains. However, we have also uncovered some of the reasons for that poor attendance, which could make a real difference to seeing more Indigenous kids in school and getting the education they need for a better future.</p>
<h2>Why turning up at school matters</h2>
<p>An attendance rate of 80% is generally considered to be the absolute minimum for a student to be able to keep up in their school learning.</p>
<p>A recent <a href="http://www.menzies.edu.au/">Menzies School of Health Research</a> study analysed the school attendance records of about 6,500 children born in the Northern Territory between 1994 and 2004. It found that two-thirds (66%) of the Indigenous students in the sample attended school less than 80% of the school days over their school career. In contrast, just 5% of non-Indigenous students fell below the touchstone 80% attendance level. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58099/original/bj7tq4vw-1409718746.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58099/original/bj7tq4vw-1409718746.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58099/original/bj7tq4vw-1409718746.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58099/original/bj7tq4vw-1409718746.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58099/original/bj7tq4vw-1409718746.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58099/original/bj7tq4vw-1409718746.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58099/original/bj7tq4vw-1409718746.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58099/original/bj7tq4vw-1409718746.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Menzies Health</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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<p>Getting a good education, and doing well at school in a broader social sense, is widely acknowledged as providing the foundation for a healthy and prosperous future. Employers cannot realistically offer work to applicants who lack basic levels of literacy and numeracy.</p>
<p>The disturbing findings from our analysis underline the fact that closing the gap in literacy and numeracy will require much more effective measures to improve school attendance. </p>
<p>Sadly, the school experience of too many Aboriginal children in the NT seems unlikely to offer a path to a better future. The <a href="http://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/naplan.html">2013 NAPLAN results show</a> that 18% of year 3 Indigenous children in Australia had reading scores below the national minimum standard. In the NT this figure is dramatically higher – almost half (49%) of Indigenous students are falling below this standard.</p>
<p>These children have little chance of making good progress in their school education. They are very likely to leave school early, without the functional literacy they need to secure and hold a job. Governments, Indigenous communities and society generally simply cannot afford a continuing failure of education of this magnitude.</p>
<p>So Senator Scullion is right to focus public attention on these devastating figures, given the gravity of the consequences of such low school attendance. </p>
<p>But are truancy officers the right solution?</p>
<h2>Tackling the causes of truancy</h2>
<p>On the face of it, the federal government’s allocation of <a href="http://minister.indigenous.gov.au/media/2014-04-04/remote-school-attendance-strategy-rolled-out-additional-30-schools">A$46.5 million to the Remote School Attendance Strategy</a> – and its imposition of an income management regime on families who fail to send their children to school – makes sense.</p>
<p>However, many complex contributing factors to do with life in remote Australia create the preconditions for low school attendance. While families must take responsibility for ensuring their children attend school, it should also be acknowledged that underlying community issues such as inadequate housing and health care, and inter-generational unemployment, are affecting their capacity to exercise this responsibility.</p>
<p>School attendance is a particularly thorny issue. Efforts to address one aspect of the problem all too easily reveal previously hidden concerns or create new obstacles.</p>
<p>If we want to find a scapegoat for the disappointing progress in improving Indigenous education outcomes, then it’s easy to focus on the performance of bush schools. But the problems of remote Australia are complex and the solutions need to be nuanced.</p>
<p>The truth is, schools can’t be expected do it all on their own. In fact, having looked at this problem closely, our <a href="http://ccde.menzies.edu.au/">Centre for Child Development and Education</a> has concluded that one of the crucial solutions to this problem lies not at school, but at home.</p>
<h2>The connections between housing and school</h2>
<p><a href="http://bit.ly/W9SiFK">Our research</a> indicates a strong correlation between overcrowding in housing and school attendance.</p>
<p>We combined publicly available Australian Bureau of Statistics community data with schools data from the MySchool website on school attendance in remote Northern Territory, Western Australian and Queensland locations. Eight community factors – including average adult weekly income, education level, language spoken at home and remoteness – were identified as being separately correlated with attendance.</p>
<p>Remarkably, when we examined how these factors operated in combination, almost half of the explained variation in attendance was accounted for by a single measure: housing over-crowding, which is the average number of people per available bedroom in the community.</p>
<p>The average number of people per bedroom in these communities ranged from one to almost four. For each extra person per bedroom, there was a 20% reduction in the rate of school attendance.</p>
<p>There are compelling reasons for tackling housing overcrowding as an immediate health issue. However, the strength of this link between housing and school attendance suggests that reducing the shortage of adequate housing may be another important way to enable families to better support their children’s school attendance and learning.</p>
<p><em>Correction: A figure in this article – A$46.5 million to the Remote School Attendance Strategy – has been updated, along with an online reference. Thanks very much to reader Greg Dickson.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><strong><em>Further reading in this <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/abbott-in-arnhem-land">Abbott in Arnhem Land</a> series:<br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/birthing-on-country-could-deliver-healthier-babies-and-communities-31180">Birthing on Country could deliver healthier babies and communities</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/welcome-to-my-country-seeing-the-true-beauty-of-life-in-bawaka-31378">Welcome to my Country: seeing the true beauty of life in Bawaka</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pm-for-aboriginal-affairs-abbott-faces-his-biggest-hearing-test-31021">‘PM for Aboriginal Affairs’ Abbott faces his biggest hearing test</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-7-up-the-revealing-study-tracking-babies-to-adults-27312">Australia’s 7 Up: the revealing study tracking babies to adults</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/well-connected-indigenous-kids-keen-to-tap-new-ways-to-save-lives-30964">Well-connected Indigenous kids keen to tap new ways to save lives</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/indigenous-australias-rapid-rise-is-shifting-money-and-votes-26524">Indigenous Australia’s rapid rise is shifting money and votes</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/would-you-risk-losing-your-home-for-a-few-weeks-of-work-30911">Would you risk losing your home for a few weeks of work?</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/listen-to-your-elders-inviting-aboriginal-parents-back-to-school-31300">Listen to your elders: inviting Aboriginal parents back to school</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/indigenous-australians-need-a-licence-to-drive-but-also-to-work-31480">Indigenous Australians need a licence to drive, but also to work</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/keeping-indigenous-teens-in-school-by-reinventing-the-lessons-30960">Keeping Indigenous teens in school by reinventing the lessons</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-can-a-dna-test-reveal-if-youre-an-indigenous-australian-31767">Explainer: Can a DNA test reveal if you’re an Indigenous Australian?</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-indigenous-constitutional-recognition-means-31770">Explainer: what Indigenous constitutional recognition means</a></em></strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/30971/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sven Silburn receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Research Council, The Ian Potter Foundation, The Sidney Myer Fund & the Northern Territory departments of Health, Education, and Families and Children.</span></em></p>Tony Abbott is spending this week in North East Arnhem Land, part of his long-held hope “to be not just the Prime Minister but the Prime Minister for Aboriginal Affairs”. We asked our experts: what stories…Sven Silburn, Co-director, Menzies Centre for Child Development and Education, Menzies School of Health ResearchLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/298692014-08-20T05:20:58Z2014-08-20T05:20:58ZShift from sitting GCSEs a year early wins guarded support<p>The number of students entered for a GCSE exam a year early <a href="http://ofqual.gov.uk/standards/statistics/provisional-summer-gcse-igcse-entries/">plummeted by 40% this summer</a>. Before 2014, the number of students taking their exams in Year 10 rather than Year 11, particularly in English and mathematics, had been steadily increasing. </p>
<p>The reason behind the colossal drop in exam entry tells us a lot about how teachers have responded in the face of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ebacc-effect-pushes-pupils-into-more-academic-subjects-thats-a-good-thing-29931">accountability measures</a> against which their schools are now assessed. But in recent interviews with maths teachers, I’ve found that some are in favour of the changes, which they see as giving children more time to learn.</p>
<p>In September 2013, Michael Gove, then secretary of state for education, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/changes-to-early-entry-at-gcse">announced</a> that only a student’s first GCSE entry attempt would count towards school league tables. These tables rank schools based on how many of their students gain grades A* to C in a selection of GCSE subjects. The aim was to cut the number of early entries, amid concerns that such strategies weren’t in the best interests of some students.</p>
<p>Come summer 2014 and the <a href="http://ofqual.gov.uk/standards/statistics/provisional-summer-gcse-igcse-entries/">provisional early entry figures </a> published by Ofqual were in stark contrast to the previous year. For example, the number of students choosing to take their mathematics GCSE early dropped from 166,000 in 2013 to 31,000 in 2014. The question is whether the change is welcome or not.</p>
<h2>A matter of strategy</h2>
<p>Earlier this year, I carried out interviews with a group of 14 mathematics teachers, discussing how they approached entry strategies for their GCSE students. While it would be unfair to generalise from findings based on such a small group, they provided interesting insights into how changes in education policy affect teachers and students.</p>
<p>Before the policy change, the majority of teachers that were interviewed described how the pressure to achieve results, particularly around the grade C threshold, had driven behaviour in their schools. Teachers reported employing a range of strategies to maximise results. </p>
<p>These included entering students for exams early, on multiple occasions or with multiple exam boards, with a strategic focus on students hovering between getting a grade C and a grade D. Others concentrated their teaching on topics that were likely to appear in exams. Another strategy was “setting” students into ability groups targeted at achieving a particular grade and then moving students between groups after each examination attempt. </p>
<p>Teachers were frustrated by the constant pressures to balance the imperative to achieve results with the desire to support effective teaching and learning. They felt their hands were being forced into adopting strategies around when to enter students into exams and what to teach them, causing them considerable unease. Students could simply switch off and lose motivation if they were entered for exams repeatedly, particularly once they had achieved a grade C.</p>
<p>Then came the announcement that only a student’s first entry attempt would count towards school performance measures, a policy that was intended to discourage any inappropriate use of early and multiple exam entry. It appears to have succeeded.</p>
<p>Now the majority of students will take their GCSEs at the end of Year 11. While this might seem to increase the pressure on teachers to maintain results, those I interviewed largely spoke of a sense of relief at the change. They see the move to single exam entry as enabling far more time for classroom teaching, removing extended revision periods and time spent sitting exams. This allows teachers more time to teach effectively that is felt will help create better mathematicians.</p>
<h2>A happy ending?</h2>
<p>So this sounds like a positive news story. But before we accept this as a successful policy, it’s worth thinking about the other potential consequences of this change. Some teachers suggested it could penalise disadvantaged or less confident students, who often needed the boost that early exam entry could give them. </p>
<p>For some students, seeing they could achieve a grade in Year 10 helped spur them on to achieve more. Additionally, where early entry was used to support progression from foundation to higher tier exam papers, students in the future might remain on foundation tier where achievement is capped at a grade C.</p>
<p>A move to single exam entry at GCSE does seem to have done away with some “undesirable” strategies, but it’s only one part of a many faceted whole. There may be unforeseen consequences further down the line, and the picture becomes even more unclear in the face of <a href="https://theconversation.com/goves-revolution-leaves-behind-a-fast-food-education-system-29190">enormous reforms and policy shifts</a> taking place in education today. </p>
<p>These centralised reforms can filter down to the grass roots in unexpected ways, so it’s important that students don’t emerge as the losers in administrative overhauls. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/29869/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Taylor works for AQA. She receives funding from AQA.</span></em></p>The number of students entered for a GCSE exam a year early plummeted by 40% this summer. Before 2014, the number of students taking their exams in Year 10 rather than Year 11, particularly in English…Rachel Taylor, PhD student, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/241422014-04-08T14:12:14Z2014-04-08T14:12:14ZGerman schools are building bridges across Europe as they remember World War I<p>German approaches to the history lessons of World War I are characterised by a sense of distance and an anti-war attitude. But probably the most striking feature of the way Germany teaches its children about World War I in this centenary year is the sideways connection being made across Europe. </p>
<p>Being a German working on British culture in the UK has made the differing war memories of each country quite tangible for me. I tend to insist on a connection between past and present, but one that clearly separates the two. Britain’s unbroken identification with a country at war feels strange, as does the casual use of words such as “enemy” or “home front”. </p>
<p>In Germany, the Holocaust and World War II continue to dominate cultural memory, including the teaching of history. Battlefield tourism is rarely on the agenda, but German pupils travel to concentration camps as a matter of course. </p>
<p>Yet the traumatic legacy of the Third Reich is not the only concern. When Sylvia Löhrmann, president of the standing conference of ministers of education and cultural affairs, declared 2014 an important <a href="http://www.kmk.org/presse-und-aktuelles/meldung/ministerin-sylvia-loehrmann-praesidentin-der-kultusministerkonferenz-2014.html">year of remembrance</a> for German schools, she placed the centenary of World War I alongside the 75th anniversary of World War II and the fall of the Berlin Wall 25 years ago.</p>
<h2>Absence of material</h2>
<p>Such spread of attention might be the reason why commentators felt Germany had a slow start into the 1914 centenary. But even the most dedicated followers of the centenary face a challenge. They cannot tap into a popular cultural archive. </p>
<p>Wartime and inter-war German literature and films are less known than their anglophone counterparts. Nazi attempts to rewrite the history of World War I, such as in the 1938 feature film <a href="http://www.filmportal.de/en/node/18165"><em>Pour le Mérite</em></a>, are undesirable propaganda. Later productions on World War I are so few and far between that they hardly matter at all.</p>
<p>This accounts for a clear boundary between literary accounts and historical writing in Germany. It is different from Britain, where writers and historians often present World War I side by side. A recent event on “<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-26546416">how schools should best prepare</a>” for the centenary, organised by the public school Wellington College, serves as an example of this British approach. </p>
<p>In the German context, the historical archive also comes under scrutiny. The exploration of past lives and views is usually one of comparison and critical reflection on one’s own situation and values. This strategy is part and parcel of the citizenship focus of German history teaching. It is a way for learners to interact with the questions of guilt that could be raised by the material they study.</p>
<h2>Euro-centric place in history</h2>
<p>The focus on comparison and relations with neighbours shows how necessary it is to react to a negative historical image. More constructively, it confirms the reinvention of Germany as a European player and facilitator. Remembering war is firmly rooted in this understanding. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.volksbund.de/en/volksbund.html">Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge</a>, the charity looking after German war graves, is dedicated to a European culture of remembrance and runs an international educational programme. The Rhineland calls its World War I project on this contested region <a href="http://www.rheinland1914.lvr.de/media/1914/dokumente/broschueren_usw/Broschuere_1914_englisch.pdf">1914 - In the Middle of Europe</a>. </p>
<p>The centenary has triggered school exchanges between Germany and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The teacher conference <a href="http://www.nglv.de/index.php?pid=2&id=1626">1914-1918: War and Peace</a>, held in Hannover in February 2014, showcases French-German conversations and advocates a transnational teaching of history. The State Library of Berlin coordinates the <a href="http://pro.europeana.eu/web/europeana-collections-1914-1918">Europeana Collections 1914-1918</a>, stressing the importance of World War I for a common European identity. </p>
<p>An event promising an interactive exposure to history is being organised in May 2014 by the <a href="http://www.bpb.de/die-bpb/138852/the-federal-agency-for-civic-education">Federal Agency for Civic Education</a>. Advertised in German and English, <a href="http://www.bpb.de/veranstaltungen/format/festival/175125/europe-1414">Look back, think forward: Be a part of Europe 14|14!</a> promotes Europe as a joint peace project. It also markets Berlin as a youth destination and site of (popular) history, turning Germany’s awkward historical position into an advantage – all under the European banner, of course. </p>
<p>Is Germany’s European take on the centenary useful and inclusive? Or is it self-serving and patronising, simply a feature of what Wolfgang Schivelbusch described as a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/nov/29/history.highereducation1">culture of defeat</a>? I would argue that any strategy comes at a price, and not all outcomes of the centenary years can be foreseen.</p>
<h2>Both approaches have value</h2>
<p>The UK’s emotional recovery of the war years through re-enactment, song and even trench-building is for me more nostalgically marked than for those who engage in it. It is also the basis for considerable cultural productivity at a local level. I have seen how World War I heritage funding has empowered British schools and community groups, local historians and creative practitioners. </p>
<p>Local and family history, at least publicly displayed, has had limited appeal in Germany due to the dread of what one might find. But, as the large turn out at Berlin’s Europeana collection days has shown, many items have survived in German households. They are now shared in a liberating, pan-European “show and tell”, initially inspired by the Oxford-led <a href="http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/gwa/">Great War Archive</a>.</p>
<p>The German model of remembrance also has potential. It could expand knowledge about German colonialism and the long history of German-Turkish relations. Whether the Europe 14|14 event will be followed by Turkey 15|15, with an eye on the Dardanelles and the Armenian genocide, remains to be seen. </p>
<p>Much depends on how Turkey constructs its World War I memory. Nevertheless, German and German-Turkish teachers, pupils and citizens might be interested in discovering their World War I heritage together on a local level.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/24142/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claudia Sternberg received funding from the German Research Council (DFG) for research on the representation of World War I in British film and television. She has supported WWI centenary projects, co-funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund. She is involved in Legacies of War at University of Leeds, an interdisciplinary project which organises and facilitates WWI research and engagement activities.</span></em></p>German approaches to the history lessons of World War I are characterised by a sense of distance and an anti-war attitude. But probably the most striking feature of the way Germany teaches its children…Claudia Sternberg, Senior Lecturer, School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/243802014-03-25T06:12:46Z2014-03-25T06:12:46ZExplainer: what makes Chinese maths lessons so good?<p>Chinese students begin learning their maths facts at a very early age: maths textbooks begin with multiplication in the first semester of second grade, when children are seven years old. In order to understand multiplication, pupils have to memorise the multiplication rhyme: “four times eight is 32, five times eight is 40” and so on, which was invented by ancient Chinese scholars 2,200 years ago. </p>
<p>Stemming from this tradition, most classrooms have few concrete teaching materials for maths lessons. The cultural traditions of Chinese maths education lead people to believe that routine practice is the most efficient way to learn.</p>
<p>This continues today. And as a result, schools in Shanghai <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/10494678/PISA-education-tests-Why-Shanghai-pupils-are-so-special.html">have scored highly in recent years</a> on international tests of maths ability. It is this aptitude for maths among Chinese schoolchildren that has led the UK government to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-26533428">announce plans to bring over 60 maths teachers</a> from Shanghai to help teach in centres of excellence. </p>
<h2>15 hours a week</h2>
<p>The Chinese curriculum in maths is a nine-year programme divided into four mathematical stages, running from primary school to grade 9, when a child is 14 years old. The curriculum sets out four teaching periods a week for maths in primary and junior high schools. However, most schools arrange more than five periods each week. </p>
<p>Because of China’s standardised curriculum and teaching, the national exam system, and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/china-one-child-policy-dont-bank-on-a-baby-boom-just-yet-20458">one child policy</a>, teachers and parents in China have <a href="https://theconversation.com/copying-the-long-chinese-school-day-could-have-unintended-consequences-23398">big expectations</a> for their students from early on. There is a high degree of parental involvement and parents prioritise their children’s education, especially in maths, which is one of three core curricular in national exams.</p>
<p>A typical teaching period in primary schools is approximately 40 minutes, extending to 45 minutes in secondary school. Teachers often set at least half an hour of homework every day for primary school pupils and more for secondary pupils. So it’s normal for Chinese pupils, particularly secondary and high school students, to spend more than 15 hours per week on maths both in and outside the classroom.</p>
<h2>Made to understand</h2>
<p>A new compulsory mathematics curriculum was introduced in 2001 and revised in 2011, setting out standards for “number and algebra”, “space and graph”, “statistics and probability” and “practice and applications”. </p>
<p>The goal of maths education in China is to develop conceptual and procedural knowledge through rigid practice. In comparison, the UK maths curriculum is less focused and consistent. China uses whole-class instruction, engaging all students in the material and prompting feedback. This is different to the UK model teaching of maths, which is more focused on small groups and individual attention. </p>
<p>Chinese students are taught to understand numerical relationships and to develop and prove their solutions to problems in front of the whole class. This means students understand whole concepts of maths, allowing them to apply previous knowledge to help them learn new topics. </p>
<p>When a Chinese teacher introduces a new topic, they tend to use different kinds of <a href="http://www.merga.net.au/documents/MERJ_19_1_Lim.pdf">examples that vary in difficulty</a>. </p>
<p>This way of teaching with variation has been applied either consciously or <a href="http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/journal/lai.pdf">intuitively in China for a long time</a>. In class, maths teachers also emphasise logical reasoning, prompting pupils with questions such as “why?”, “how?” and “what if?”. </p>
<p>Chinese maths teachers also emphasise the use of precise and elegant mathematical language. In secondary school maths exams, if pupils do not write according to the mathematical format required, <a href="http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ776258.pdf">marks will be deducted</a>.</p>
<h2>Teachers’ time</h2>
<p>Nearly all Chinese teachers teach a single subject, rather than multiple subjects. Most of them teach only two classes per day in primary and secondary schools. But compared with their counterparts in the UK, most Chinese math teachers have to deal with larger class sizes without streaming for ability. </p>
<p>Chinese maths teachers usually spend a considerable amount of time each day writing out detailed lesson plans, or correcting homework and marking examination papers. They also have access once a week to locally-organised teachers’ research groups, where they can get suggestions for good lesson plans. </p>
<p>Compared with their counterparts in the UK, Chinese maths teachers are not very good at integrating concepts across the curriculum. Even though pupils spend 15 hours per week learning maths, teachers often complain that they lack time in their teaching schedule. They have to deal with frequent grade-level tests every two or three weeks and school level tests every term. </p>
<p>Some good maths teachers, particularly those who come from quality schools, encourage pupils to learn about the interrelationship mathematics has with daily life. They also give full consideration to meeting the individual needs of the students. They frequently use active participation to check for individual understanding during a lesson, and integrate methods and real life projects in teaching mathematics. </p>
<p>However, most pupils in rural areas have few chances to access to this high-quality teaching. Many Chinese teachers who face the pressure of an examination-oriented education system do not see a reason to do activities that connect maths to real-life. It’s easier to just give students the information required and teach them the process. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/24380/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kan Wei does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Chinese students begin learning their maths facts at a very early age: maths textbooks begin with multiplication in the first semester of second grade, when children are seven years old. In order to understand…Kan Wei, Associate Professor, Beijing Normal UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/239562014-03-11T06:19:52Z2014-03-11T06:19:52ZStudents who repeat a year stoke bad behaviour in class<p>Students who are held back a year in school or who are older than average for their grade have long been known to be <a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=152823">more likely to misbehave</a> and to be suspended from school. But what’s not been clear until now is whether their presence causes ill-discipline across the school community.</p>
<p>In the US, accountability policies in schools have increased the number of students who are old for their grade, or have had to repeat a school year. Schools are evaluated on the basis of students’ demonstrated proficiency in certain skills, such as maths and literacy, for each grade. These policies have led to less frequent “social promotion” – where children automatically progress to the next grade regardless of their ability. Instead, there has been <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2831399/">an increase in the proportions</a> of children retained in grade after they fail standardised academic performance tests. </p>
<p>Additionally, some parents choose to hold back their children from entering kindergarten when they become eligible at age five. This trend, known as the <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2008/07/18/the-graying-of-kindergarten/">“greying of kindergarten”</a>, is linked to concerns about state and school accountability. There are also perceptions among parents that students who are older than their classmates have an advantage in school. </p>
<p>Debates on the consequences of these policies draw upon studies highlighting the <a href="http://www.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/PDF/Papers/PEPG12-09_West.pdf">effects of grade retention</a> and older age on school attainment and behaviour of these students. But little attention has been paid to the implication on students who themselves are not at academic risk, but who must share classrooms with older and retained students.</p>
<h2>Following the leader</h2>
<p>Social science theories of <a href="http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3598492?uid=3738016&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21103628820077">peer influence</a> frame questions of how older and retained peers may affect student behaviour in school. These children are more likely to get into trouble at school, in part because of the strong relationship between academic performance and behaviour. </p>
<p>Older students are more inclined to engage in behaviours that seem more “adult” or fitting with their physical appearance, despite a lack of social skills needed for making decisions regarding appropriate behaviour. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43492/original/x4vdwzdx-1394462059.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43492/original/x4vdwzdx-1394462059.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43492/original/x4vdwzdx-1394462059.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43492/original/x4vdwzdx-1394462059.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43492/original/x4vdwzdx-1394462059.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43492/original/x4vdwzdx-1394462059.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/43492/original/x4vdwzdx-1394462059.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The older ones should know better.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-104856650/stock-vector-illustration-of-kids-in-a-classroom.html?src=pNRj04XA-d6wQnH0xbp01g-1-23">Matthew Cole/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A stronger presence of peers who are more likely to misbehave can influence other students through the daily school climate, as well as through increased opportunities for directly interacting with at-risk students. Middle school students are particularly vulnerable to such peer influences, since early adolescence involves developmental adjustments that result in changing relationships with peers, family, and authority figures.</p>
<p>In <a href="http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentID=17405">a recent study</a>, we looked at 79,314 seventh-graders in 334 North Carolina middle schools, using administrative data provided by the public schools and archived by the <a href="http://childandfamilypolicy.duke.edu/research/nc-education-data-center/">North Carolina Education Research Data Center</a> at Duke University. </p>
<p>We compared data across schools and took into account student, school, and district-level factors that influence school behaviour. What we found was that the likelihood of a student committing an infraction, the number of infractions per student, and the likelihood of a student being suspended were all significantly higher among students attending schools with higher proportions of retained and older students.</p>
<h2>Lowering the tone</h2>
<p>There was increased negative behaviour across all groups of students who have higher levels of peers who have been held back a year. But this effect was stronger for students who were themselves retained. Older students share a similar vulnerability to the influence of their peers. There were stronger effects on ill-discipline on older students in classes with more older peers.</p>
<p>Unexpectedly, we found that students in groups that were least likely to engage in misbehaviour were the most susceptible to the potential negative peer influence of retained and older peers. This suggests that contact with older and retained peers can contribute to delinquent behaviour even if the direct contact is not very close or frequent.</p>
<p>These findings can help feed into longstanding debates regarding the benefits and drawbacks of grade retention and delayed school entry. They shift the focus away from the older and retained students themselves, to consider the implications for the entire school community. </p>
<p>For some individual students, being held back a year or delaying school entry might be the appropriate choice for their ultimate success in school. However, it is important that educators and politicians acknowledge that policies that make students repeat a year, and those that delay children starting schools, can have significant school-wide consequences. </p>
<p>Given <a href="http://abs.sagepub.com/content/56/7/961">consistent research evidence</a> of the strong relationship between academic success and behaviour in school, policies that support students academically and prevent them falling back a year have the potential to benefit students who are at risk of academic failure, and can enhance positive behaviour across the entire school community. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/23956/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clara G. Muschkin receives funding from the U.S. Institute of Education Sciences.</span></em></p>Students who are held back a year in school or who are older than average for their grade have long been known to be more likely to misbehave and to be suspended from school. But what’s not been clear…Clara G. Muschkin, Director, North Carolina Education Research Data Center, Associate Director, Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/234952014-02-28T13:14:29Z2014-02-28T13:14:29ZPunishing students with exercise is reckless political posturing<p>The London Olympics. Remember them? Not so long ago we were talking about their legacy, hoping it would inspire a new physically active generation. A timely legacy, given children in the UK are among the <a href="http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/rc7_eng.pdf">unhealthiest</a> in the world. </p>
<p>Fast-forward 18 months, and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/277894/Behaviour_and_Discipline_in_Schools_-a_guide_for_headteachers_and_school_staff.pdf">new official guidance</a> from the department of education is advising teachers to use physical activity as punishment. In an apparent return to Tom Brown’s School Days, it is now being encouraged to discipline misbehaviour with forced exercise.</p>
<p>Rationalising his position, Michael Gove, secretary of state for education, has urged teachers to get tough in an attempt to reconnect with traditional values. Tough punishments are, he argues, “<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/feb/02/michael-gove-traditional-punishments-school-misbehaviour">just as crucial to an effective education as praising and rewarding good behaviour</a>”. </p>
<p>By assuming rewards and punishments work, such sentiments betray the real origin of these guidelines that are staunchly grounded in the ideology of self-interest. In treading this path, Gove eschews so-called “trendy”, student-centred approaches and, in an all too familiar fashion, has pulled on the heartstrings of Fleet Street. Yet these guidelines have far reaching consequences beyond that of Gove’s political posturing, and it is only right he should be held to account for them.</p>
<h2>Putting off children for life</h2>
<p>Using physical activity as punishment is dangerously shortsighted for a number of reasons. Not least of which is the reduction of a physiological need, rich in intrinsic worth and an essential part of human health, to a deliberate short-term lever servicing a means other than that of the exercise itself.</p>
<p>This change represents a motivational chasm, teaching children that they should no longer want to exercise for its benefits but, rather, that they should see it as an onerous, chore-like, task. This is an absurd, upside-down health literacy, whereby obedience is rewarded with physical inactivity. It is, of course, totally ill-conceived. And, what’s more, it’s highly <a href="http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/standards/upload/Physical-Activity-as-Punishment-to-Board-12-10.pdf">unlikely to work</a>. </p>
<p>We have <a href="http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED063558">long known</a> that punishment systems bring into being exactly the type of student the systems imagine. When punishments are made salient, learning becomes more about complicity than the deep, inquisitive, and creative thinking that our 21st century economy needs. </p>
<p>Instead of regulating better behaviour, punishments suppress misbehaviour only while the threat of punishment is present. As such, they do not address the root cause of the problem. </p>
<p>Behavioural issues in school are multifaceted. They involve a complex interaction of economic, social and environmental factors that originate far away from the school gates. A more nuanced approach is required that emphases community and social support for parents and children, giving them the information they need to understand the importance of engagement in school. Punishing children with forced exercise ignores the bigger picture, and serves no purpose beyond contributing to the ill-health of a nation that desperately needs more physically active citizens.</p>
<p>And herein lies the crux of this shortsightedness. To become physically active adults, it is a necessary prerequisite for children to have positive experiences of physical activity. Reducing physical activity to punishment tells children that it has only negative appeal. In doing so, continuing to push this guidance runs the very real risk of <a href="http://eprints.bham.ac.uk/387/1/amotivation.pdf">putting children off physical activity for life</a>. Only the most dogmatic of politicians could ignore this.</p>
<p>Tough punishments may make good headlines, but they also have consequences beyond them. We need an education system that actively encourages children to make informed choices, not just about the subjects they study but also the behaviours they engage in. One of the most important of these for both them, and their future society, is to be physically active. I <a href="http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/michael-gove-remove-guidance-to-teachers-that-states-extra-physical-activity-such-as-running-around-a-playing-field-should-be-used-as-punishment-in-schools">join with others</a> including marathon runner <a href="http://news.sky.com/story/1216322/sport-stars-slam-goves-school-punishment-plan">Paula Radcliffe</a>, to urge the department for education to repeal this guidance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/23495/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Curran does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The London Olympics. Remember them? Not so long ago we were talking about their legacy, hoping it would inspire a new physically active generation. A timely legacy, given children in the UK are among the…Thomas Curran, Research Fellow in Sport, Exercise and Well-Being, University of GloucestershireLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/235452014-02-25T06:00:53Z2014-02-25T06:00:53ZWe’re letting down maths and students who need a better grasp of the subject<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42374/original/q86vc9wp-1393242056.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Not as easy as 1,2,3. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kolett/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Education minister Elizabeth Truss has <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-26228234">travelled to Shanghai</a> to find out the secrets behind Chinese pupils’ mathematics success. I suspect she will find that it’s a cultural phenomenon, impossible to import to British ways of being, doing and thinking.</p>
<p>In 1982, the government of the day published a report into the teaching of mathematics in schools, <a href="http://www.educationengland.org.uk/documents/cockcroft/cockcroft1982.html">The Cockcroft Report</a>. It drew on a range of research, including an exploration by a TV team at Yorkshire Television who went out onto the streets and asked passers-by “How many 7p stamps can you buy for £1?” One of the replies was “Yer wot?” Another asked “Are you serious?” Most of those asked could not work out an acceptable answer.</p>
<p>To quote <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/18/maths-more-pointless-than-latin-british-pupils-china">a recent column by the Guardian’s</a> Simon Jenkins, “It damns alike those who boast ‘I was never any good at maths’, and those who teach it so badly that millions loathe it.” And it appears not a lot has changed between 1982 and 2014.</p>
<h2>Not just for scientists</h2>
<p>Students in many subjects are arriving at university without the basic mathematical skills they need for their course. Loughborough University <a href="http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/mec/">Mathematics Education Centre</a> (MEC) runs two drop-in support centres to which any student in the university, any day in the week, can bring a mathematical problem or difficulty and get one-to-one help from a mathematician in the centre. </p>
<p>The students who afford themselves of this help come from mathematics, science and engineering studies, of course, but, perhaps more surprisingly from arts, humanities and social science programmes as well. </p>
<p>Students who are highly qualified (they have been accepted for an academic degree programme) and believe that they left mathematics behind after GCSE – breathing a big sigh of relief in many cases – find themselves needing number, symbolic and representational skills for use in their own subject areas. For many it is a shock.</p>
<p>These highly qualified students have been let down by a school system that has allowed them to escape with a paucity of mathematical expertise. For students who also have some kind of learning difference, such as dyslexia, dyscalculia or Asperger’s syndrome, it is a serious concern.</p>
<h2>Creativity in the classroom</h2>
<p>In his column, Jenkins wrote, “For Britain’s pupils, maths is even more pointless than Latin.” For these undergraduates it is certainly not pointless -– its lack is a severe deficiency. Jenkins continues, “Of course children need to be taught the rudiments of number, proportion and probability, as they do to read and write.” </p>
<p>He is right, but what a way of putting it. Better to say children need to know and understand and be able to use and apply number, proportion and probability as well as algebraic and spatial reasoning. I would add that all children have the right to enjoy learning number, proportion and probability, while they develop understanding of these concepts, and that the teaching should be skillful, knowledgeable and creative. </p>
<p>The words “need to be taught”, assume that such teaching is straightforward and unproblematic. It is not.</p>
<p>For teaching to be of the quality that pupils deserve, we have to fund the skillful, knowledgeable and creative education of teachers, not only prior to their work with pupils, but during their entire teaching career. </p>
<p>Loughborough is currently extending its mathematical work to offer a Postgraduate Certificate of Education in mathematics. This is at the same time <a href="https://theconversation.com/counting-the-costs-of-moving-teacher-training-out-of-universities-23157">as our government is running down many such programmes</a>, expecting that schools will take on this provision. </p>
<p>But schools in general are not qualified to teach teachers, they do not have the time, expertise or funding. A consequence of such moves is that over-stretched and underfunded schools will be blamed for yet more of the deficiencies of the British educational system.</p>
<p>Jenkins writes: “Schools should turn their attention to creativity and social and emotional capacities”. I agree. These aspects of education are just as important in mathematics as in any other subject area. But his argument that maths “is easy to test, and thus to measure, unlike vague, slippery humanities” is just plain wrong. </p>
<p>One of the problems that schools face in teaching mathematics effectively is that it is tested in a system that reduces it to what can be tallied and measured. It is such reductionism that turns pupils into rote handle-turners and teachers into “mind-trainers”. GH Hardy (quoted by Jenkins) is <a href="http://www.math.ualberta.ca/mss/misc/A%20Mathematician's%20Apology.pdf">famous for the words</a>: “A mathematician, like a painter or a poet, is a master of pattern”. In our educational system we need more of the likenesses to painters and poets to produce students confident in mathematics.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42373/original/5svnp5jp-1393241507.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42373/original/5svnp5jp-1393241507.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42373/original/5svnp5jp-1393241507.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42373/original/5svnp5jp-1393241507.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42373/original/5svnp5jp-1393241507.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42373/original/5svnp5jp-1393241507.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42373/original/5svnp5jp-1393241507.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">France is going faster.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kouks/889330876/sizes/o/"> KouK's</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As an addendum, the next generation of high speed trains in France will travel at more 300 miles per hour. The French network is being expanded into the rest of mainland Europe. Thousands of engineers – mechanical, civil, electrical, materials, computer – will be involved in the design, development and production. There are massive technological challenges they are trying to overcome. All these engineers need much more than a very rudimentary knowledge of number, proportion and probability. </p>
<p>At Loughborough, we are highly skilled in the mathematics education of engineers. Elizabeth Truss and her colleagues could learn more about British culture and its educational mores related to mathematics by coming to talk to us, rather than taking a trip to China.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/23545/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Barbara Jaworski does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Education minister Elizabeth Truss has travelled to Shanghai to find out the secrets behind Chinese pupils’ mathematics success. I suspect she will find that it’s a cultural phenomenon, impossible to import…Barbara Jaworski, Head of Department, Mathematics Education Centre, Loughborough UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/232212014-02-21T14:28:52Z2014-02-21T14:28:52ZBring or buy: would you let your child take their tablet to school?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41982/original/hpwrm9y6-1392834736.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mine's a newer model than yours. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vblibrary/8466485544/sizes/l/">Enokson</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As schools struggle with shortfalls in their digital technology budgets and as teachers see how much parents spend on laptops and tablets at home, many teachers are considering letting pupils bring their own devices to class. This raises questions about whether parents should be expected to contribute directly to the cost of technology in schools, and whether asking children to bring in their own devices is an appropriate strategy.</p>
<p>In England, where every child has the right to a free education, schools are still experimenting with whether or not every child should have a mobile device. Based on research carried out in 22 English schools the question being asked seems to be: “Is it right to expect parents to pay anything towards the cost of digital technology for use in school?”</p>
<p>But in Australia, there seems to be a general assumption that every child should have their own mobile device in school. Based on data from 13 schools that I visited in five states in Australia in 2013, there seems to be an expectation that the only way to sustain every child having their own mobile device is to require parents to pay for them.</p>
<p>Free laptops were supplied to high school students under the last Labor government in Australia, but funding for that programme <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/byo-time-in-classrooms-as-free-laptops-era-ends-20130721-2qcp6.html">ceased in 2013</a>.</p>
<p>The question now being asked in Australia is: “What is the best model of provision and how much can we expect parents to pay?” This is in a context where most parents are used to being asked to pay something towards their child’s education, in addition to taxes, even if their child goes to a state school. </p>
<h2>Keeping up with the Joneses</h2>
<p>In both countries there are concerns about equity issues and disadvantaging those children whose parents cannot (or will not) pay for digital technology. But you could also argue that all students benefit if you increase the overall amount spent on digital technology, and focus the school’s funding on those students who come from more disadvantaged homes.</p>
<p>The funding models that were evident in the English and Australian schools spanned the full range. Some schools funded all the technology themselves, others asked parents to contribute through an annual charge or monthly leasing scheme payment over two or three years. Other parents are being expected to provide their child with a specific specification of device, which I call “buy your own”. And some schools just let children bring their own digital technology, no matter what make or model – “bring your own”. </p>
<p>The important distinctions between “buy” and “bring” your own were often lost on schools. Specifically, the buy your own model places an expectation on parents to provide a device, often one that meets a particular school specification. </p>
<p>Asking children to bring their own device, in contrast, simply allows them to use something that you already to have. Buy your own often requires the parent to go out and buy a specific device, whilst bring your own does not.</p>
<p>Bring your own often won’t result in every child having a device, and would almost certainly mean that a range of devices were being brought in. Most schools in both England and Australia seem to assume that it is better and easier for the teacher if every child has a device, and that all the devices have the same specification. So they prefer buy, to bring your own.</p>
<h2>Why not ask parents?</h2>
<p>One of the surprising things we found in most of the schools that we visited in both England and Australia was that they didn’t have a clear picture of what devices students already had access to at home. In several of the Australian schools this resulted in students having their own laptop and/or tablet, plus the school laptop or tablet that their parents had been asked to pay for.</p>
<p>In order to help address this problem we have developed a service for schools, called <a href="http://www.yots.org.uk">Your Own Technology Survey</a> (YOTS), which helps schools to audit their students’ access to the internet. </p>
<p>Early analysis of data for 3,341 students in Years seven to 13 across 23 schools in England, collected in 2013, suggests that a significant proportion of students have access to an internet-enabled mobile device at home. And crucially, that they would be allowed, able, and willing to bring it to school on a regular basis. This varied between devices: 75% of respondents said they would be allowed, able and willing to bring in a smartphone, compared with 30% for a laptop, and 19% for a tablet. </p>
<p>Perhaps it is time for schools to rethink their digital technology strategies, based on actual data about what equipment their students have access to at home, which they could use in school.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/23221/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Twining has received funding from Becta, Nesta and the DfE to support his work on ICT in schools. He is currently carrying out research in this area, and leads the Your Own Technology Survey team.</span></em></p>As schools struggle with shortfalls in their digital technology budgets and as teachers see how much parents spend on laptops and tablets at home, many teachers are considering letting pupils bring their…Peter Twining, Professor of Education (Futures), The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.