tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/private-schools-10460/articlesPrivate schools – The Conversation2024-03-05T19:11:23Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2250732024-03-05T19:11:23Z2024-03-05T19:11:23ZWhat do schools need to do to have a good culture and healthy approach to gender?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579760/original/file-20240305-30-fyf43w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=58%2C84%2C5304%2C3648&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/assorted-color-neckties-Xy6FpnFyVjo">Rhin Photography/ Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Cranbrook in Sydney’s east is one of the most elite boys schools in Australia. On Monday night, the ABC’s Four Corners program <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-04/cranbrook-school-coed-boys-school-culture-four-corners/103516686">aired claims</a> some female teachers had been bullied by male staff and sexually harassed by students. </p>
<p>Amid the school’s decision to go <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/inevitable-step-forward-cranbrook-s-high-school-to-become-fully-co-ed-20220727-p5b53q.html">fully co-ed</a> by 2028, there are concerns about whether Cranbrook will be a safe space for girls. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24453697/statement-from-cranbrook-school-to-four-corners.pdf">statement to the ABC</a>, Cranbrook said its “current staff, including female staff, overwhelmingly support the School, its values and its culture”. It also said it has appointed teacher Daisy Turnbull to prepare for coeducation and “support the furtherance of gender equality” at the school.</p>
<p>What do schools need to do in order to be genuinely gender inclusive?</p>
<h2>Sexist school cultures</h2>
<p>In the last few years, a number of boys private schools have faced allegations of unacceptable gendered cultures. This includes <a href="https://www.teachusconsent.com/testimonies">sexual assault perpetrated by students</a>, <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/knox-grammar-students-were-caught-sending-offensive-messages-activists-say-its-not-an-isolated-issue/59nog69it">offensive behaviour online</a> and <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/elite-melbourne-school-apologises-over-students-misogynistic-chant-filmed-on-train-090745188.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJVOEl0I_K8QJXtmsLC6ZrzJ59N2BcgwJSZII8cLL1OoHYCzepueJZh6GOzPJ5xFoHoz4AtmAS4hksYYrqAs7xN899h-gJfT55FdHujgy7IGBPZ6GjdbK5vxsTzjG8roAJ8jdqC-PNRzQ1RdrwudNhJ721ks6M1gMkE6KCfZTwrW">in public</a> and woefully inadequate <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-20/trinity-grammar-students-raped-other-students-royal-commission/7949060">responses to sexual assault and violence</a> between students.</p>
<p>Previous <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09540253.2010.549114">Australian research </a> has also found elite boys schools can be hostile places for women and girls, trans and gender diverse students, as well as boys who don’t conform to traditional norms of masculinity. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-we-have-single-sex-schools-whats-the-history-behind-one-of-the-biggest-debates-in-education-222603">Why do we have single sex schools? What's the history behind one of the biggest debates in education?</a>
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<h2>It’s not enough to simply go co-ed</h2>
<p>Simply enrolling girls will not automatically make a boys school more inclusive, less sexist or safer. </p>
<p>Schools aiming to truly welcome a wider range of students will need to significantly reshape the structures and culture of the school itself, both within and beyond the classroom. </p>
<p>The World Health Organization has <a href="https://www.who.int/health-topics/health-promoting-schools#tab=tab_1">developed a framework</a> to ensure schools are healthy and safe. It addresses three overlapping areas: </p>
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<li><p>teaching and learning </p></li>
<li><p>the broader school environment</p></li>
<li><p>partnerships with parents and the community.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>This approach can be applied to gender equity and inclusivity. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A boy in a school uniform raises his hard. A female teacher points to a map on a board." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579765/original/file-20240305-28-b9gwh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579765/original/file-20240305-28-b9gwh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579765/original/file-20240305-28-b9gwh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579765/original/file-20240305-28-b9gwh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579765/original/file-20240305-28-b9gwh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579765/original/file-20240305-28-b9gwh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579765/original/file-20240305-28-b9gwh4.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">Research has found elite boys school can be hostile places for women and girls.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/teacher-discussing-her-lesson-about-geography-8926556/">Thirdman/Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<h2>Teaching and learning</h2>
<p>The first component of a healthy school involves what students learn and the approaches and strategies used to teach it. </p>
<p>Schools that are gender equitable provide diverse curricula and equally diverse extra-curricular opportunities accessible to all students, regardless of gender. </p>
<p>There are all kinds of boys and all kinds of girls. So even single sex schools should be catering to students with a wide range of skills, interests, preferences and experiences. Likewise, there are students who are trans and non-binary, who may be excluded from school activities divided along narrow gender lines.</p>
<p>Some co-ed schools still segregate boys and girls for certain subjects. This approach upholds the idea that boys and girls learn differently and that some topics (such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/it-needs-to-be-talked-about-earlier-some-children-get-periods-at-8-years-before-menstruation-is-taught-at-school-222887">menstruation</a>) are too awkward to discuss in mixed-gendered groups.</p>
<p>Some schools choose to segregate classrooms to improve girls’ opportunities in areas they have been traditionally underrepresented in. While this can spring from feminist recognition of gender inequalities, it reaffirms the very divides it is attempting to challenge.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-another-elite-boys-school-goes-co-ed-are-single-sex-schools-becoming-an-endangered-species-187857">As another elite boys' school goes co-ed, are single-sex schools becoming an endangered species?</a>
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<h2>Gender equity across the curriculum</h2>
<p>The current <a href="https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au">Australian Curriculum</a> provides opportunities to engage young people in discussions about gender stereotypes and power in age-appropriate ways, in both primary and high school. </p>
<p>In English, students should <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/informit.839260623382501">meet diverse characters</a> that challenge traditional gender roles and inequality. </p>
<p>Science, technology, engineering and maths subjects can <a href="https://naerjournal.com/article/view/v12n1-1">foster enthusiasm for STEM-related</a> content and careers, through hands-on classroom activities that encourage critical thinking and build confidence. </p>
<p>In health and physical education, comprehensive <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14681811.2022.2140133">sexualities and relationships education</a> should be a priority and include discussions of gender, power, violence, consent and healthy relationships.</p>
<p>Teachers’ values and attitudes about gender will also be reflected in their <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/378129448_An_approach_to_developing_shared_understandings_of_consent_with_young_people">everyday teaching routines and practices</a>. This includes whether or not they address students through gendered language, divide students into gendered groups for activities or discipline boys and girls differently. </p>
<p>So teachers also need support and quality professional development to keep pace with evolving understandings of gender and <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d8c2136980d9708b9ba5cd3/t/5e7bf4729801234d8a1f39ec/1585181817564/FactSheet_SupportingYTP.pdf">gender diversity</a>.</p>
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<img alt="A group of young women play basketball on an indoor court." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579763/original/file-20240305-24-q62h9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579763/original/file-20240305-24-q62h9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579763/original/file-20240305-24-q62h9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579763/original/file-20240305-24-q62h9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579763/original/file-20240305-24-q62h9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579763/original/file-20240305-24-q62h9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579763/original/file-20240305-24-q62h9n.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">There should be a variety of extra-curricular opportunities available to all genders.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/female-playing-basketball-lbTEVIn6Kqw">Jeffrey F Lin/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<h2>The broader school environment</h2>
<p>The second component of a healthy school is the school culture. School leaders should use respectful and inclusive language and there should be strong policies to deal with child-protection concerns, gender-based discrimination and violence at school.</p>
<p>Research indicates that, unlike other forms of bullying, <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/978-1-137-52302-0#aboutBook">gender-based violence is often overlooked</a> or ignored by staff. Sexist language and behaviours can be dismissed as “just a normal part of growing up” and so become a routine part of young people’s schooling experiences.</p>
<p>School staff should also feel valued, respected and safe in their workplace regardless of their sex, gender or sexuality. Unfortunately, evidence indicates this is not always the case. A 2018 survey found <a href="https://www.nswtf.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/LGBTIQA-teachers-experiences-of-workplace-discrimination-and-disadvantage.pdf">43% of NSW LGBTIQA teachers</a> reported experiences of discrimination in the workplace. Australian research published in 2020 found women teachers were experiencing unacceptably high rates of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09540253.2021.1962516">sexual harassment in elite boys schools</a>.</p>
<p>School leaders have a duty to ensure their schools have robust policies and processes for responding to disclosures of harassment and discrimination from staff. They also need to pursue <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1741143215617946">evidence-informed</a> cultural change to ensure a safe work environment. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/there-are-reports-some-students-are-making-sexual-moaning-noises-at-school-heres-how-parents-and-teachers-can-respond-220136">There are reports some students are making sexual moaning noises at school. Here's how parents and teachers can respond</a>
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<h2>Involve students</h2>
<p>Students can be active partners in developing an inclusive school community and can even help <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/378129448_An_approach_to_developing_shared_understandings_of_consent_with_young_people">co-design curricula</a> relating to gender, overcoming biases and developing healthy relationships. </p>
<p>Student diversity should also be reflected through gender-balanced representation in student leadership roles. Student initiatives around gender equality and LGBTQIA+ visibility, such as <a href="https://www.gsaconnect.org.au/">gender and sexuality alliances</a>, should also be supported.</p>
<p>School uniforms should provide options so all young people feel safe and comfortable in what they wear at school.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-cant-i-wear-a-dress-what-schools-can-learn-from-preschools-about-supporting-trans-children-223859">'Why can't I wear a dress?' What schools can learn from preschools about supporting trans children</a>
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<h2>Partnerships and services</h2>
<p>The third and final part of a healthy school looks beyond the school gates. Schools should see parents as partners and celebrate diversity in the community. </p>
<p>Parents should be invited to ask questions about curriculum and school culture and to raise concerns or lend expertise. School policies should be publicly available and regularly reviewed with student and parent input.</p>
<p>Schools can also work with organisations that promote gender equity, diversity and promote healthy relationships such as <a href="https://education.ourwatch.org.au/taking-action-in-your-school/">Our Watch</a>, <a href="https://www.fpnsw.org.au/education-training/courses-school-teachers">Family Planning</a> and <a href="https://twenty10.org.au/prism-orgsschools/">Twenty10</a>. </p>
<p>These organisations can support schools’ counselling and pastoral care services and provide resources and training for teachers. </p>
<h2>All schools can adopt this model</h2>
<p>While boys schools have been the focus of recent media attention all schools should be called upon to evaluate and reflect on their gendered culture. </p>
<p>Co-ed and girls schools are not immune to gender-based violence, sexism, homophobia and transphobia. </p>
<p>A whole-of-school review of curricula, school culture and partnerships can help schools ensure they are creating inclusive and respectful environments. This work is urgent if we aspire to a society where all students and teachers are safe in our schools.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225073/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kellie Burns has previously received funding from the University of Sydney Equity Prize</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Kean receives funding from the Australian Research Council for the Special Research Initiative 'Australian Boys: Beyond the Boy Problem'.</span></em></p>Enrolling girls will not automatically make a boys school more inclusive. Schools need to look at things such as what is taught, extra-curricular activities and support for students.Kellie Burns, Senior Lecturer in Health Education, University of SydneyJessica Kean, Lecturer in Gender and Cultural Studies, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2226032024-02-05T19:11:32Z2024-02-05T19:11:32ZWhy do we have single sex schools? What’s the history behind one of the biggest debates in education?<p>When students walked through the sandstone gates of Sydney’s Newington College for the first day of school last week, they were met by <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/school-life/alumni-protest-against-newington-colleges-decision-to-go-coed/news-story/e46de1ac4e3d82e67c55dd19f37a5565">protesters</a>. </p>
<p>A group of parents and former students had gathered outside this prestigious school in the city’s inner west, holding placards decrying the school’s decision to become fully co-educational by 2033. </p>
<p>Protesters have even <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-30/nsw-newington-college-co-ed-parents-legal-threat-boys-girls/103168862">threatened legal action</a> to defend the 160-year-old tradition of boys’ education at the school. One <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85OG_hldBpRE">told Channel 9</a> they fear the change is driven by “woke […] palaver” that will disadvantage boys at Newington.</p>
<p>Newington is not the only prestigious boys school to open enrolments to girls. Cranbrook in Sydney’s east will also go fully co-ed, with the decision sparking a <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/inevitable-step-forward-cranbrook-s-high-school-to-become-fully-co-ed-20220727-p5b53q.html">heated community debate</a>. </p>
<p>This debate is not a new one. What is the history behind the single-sex vs co-ed divide? And why does it spark so much emotion? </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-another-elite-boys-school-goes-co-ed-are-single-sex-schools-becoming-an-endangered-species-187857">As another elite boys' school goes co-ed, are single-sex schools becoming an endangered species?</a>
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<h2>What is the history of the debate?</h2>
<p>Schools like Newington were set up at a time when the curriculum and social worlds for upper-class boys and girls were often quite different. Boys and girls were thought to require different forms of education for their intellectual and moral development.</p>
<p>The question of whether it’s a good idea to educate boys and girls separately has been debated in Australia for at least 160 years, around the time Newington was set up. </p>
<p>In the 1860s, the colony of Victoria introduced a policy of coeducation for all government-run schools. This was despite community concerns about “<a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/HER-04-2020-0023/full/html">moral well-being</a>”. There was a concern that boys would be a “corrupting influence” on the girls. So schools were often organised to minimise contact between boys and girls even when they shared a classroom.</p>
<p>Other colonies followed suit. The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00309230601080618">main reason</a> the various Australian governments decided to educate boys and girls together was financial. It was always cheaper, especially in regional and rural areas, to build one school than two. So most government schools across Australia were established to enrol both girls and boys. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00309230601080618">One notable exception</a> was New South Wales, which set up a handful of single-sex public high schools in the 1880s. </p>
<p>These were intended to provide an alternative to single-sex private secondary schools. At that time, education authorities did not believe parents would agree to enrol their children in mixed high schools. Historically, coeducation has been more controversial for older students, but less so for students in their primary years. </p>
<h2>A changing debate</h2>
<p>By the 1950s, many education experts were arguing <a href="https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/1176773">coeducation was better for social development</a> than single-sex schooling. This was at a time of national expansion of secondary schooling in Australia and new psychological theories about adolescents.</p>
<p>In following decades, further debates emerged. A <a href="https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/3019567">feminist reassessment</a> in the 1980s argued girls were sidelined in co-ed classes. This view was in turn <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/00346543073004471">challenged during the 1990s</a>, with claims girls were outstripping boys academically and boys were being left behind in co-ed environments. </p>
<h2>Which system delivers better academic results?</h2>
<p>There is <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-another-elite-boys-school-goes-co-ed-are-single-sex-schools-becoming-an-endangered-species-187857">no conclusive evidence</a> that one type of schooling (co-ed or single sex) yields better academic outcomes than the other. </p>
<p>Schools are complex and diverse settings. There are too many variables (such as resourcing, organisational structures and teaching styles) to make definitive claims about any one factor. Many debates about single-sex vs co-ed schooling also neglect social class as a <a href="https://vuir.vu.edu.au/42362/1/educational-opportunity-in-australia-2020.pdf">key factor</a> in academic achievement.</p>
<h2>What about the social environment?</h2>
<p>Research about the <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-another-elite-boys-school-goes-co-ed-are-single-sex-schools-becoming-an-endangered-species-187857">social outcomes</a> of co-ed vs single-sex schools is also contested.</p>
<p>Some <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/oct/26/co-ed-versus-single-sex-schools-its-about-more-than-academic-outcomes">argue</a> co-ed schooling better prepares young people for the co-ed world they will grow up in. </p>
<p>Others <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03055690020003610">have suggested</a> boys may fare better in co-ed settings, with girls acting as a counterbalance to boys’ unruliness. But it has also <a href="https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01411920701434011">been argued</a> boys take up more space and teacher time, detracting from girls’ learning and confidence.</p>
<p>Both of these arguments rely on gender stereotypes about girls being compliant and timid and boys being boisterous and disruptive.</p>
<p>Key to these debates is a persistent belief that girls and boys learn differently. These claims <a href="http://www.australianreview.net/digest/2012/11/burns.html">do not have a strong basis</a> in educational research.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-can-see-the-gender-bias-of-all-boys-schools-by-the-books-they-study-in-english-156119">We can see the gender bias of all-boys' schools by the books they study in English</a>
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<h2>Why such a heated debate?</h2>
<p>Tradition plays a big part in this debate. Often, parents want their children to have a similar schooling experience to themselves. </p>
<p>For others it’s about access to specific resources and experiences. Elite boys schools have spent generations accumulating social and physical resources tailored to what they believe boys are interested in and what they believe is in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09540253.2010.549114">boys’ best interests</a>. This includes sports facilities, curriculum offerings, approaches to behaviour management and “old boys” networks.</p>
<p>Many of these schools have spent decades marketing themselves as uniquely qualified to educate boys (or a certain type of boy). So it’s not surprising if some in these school communities are resisting change.</p>
<p>More concerning are the Newington protesters who suggest this move toward inclusivity and gender diversity will make boys “second-class citizens”. This echoes a refrain common in anti-feminist and anti-trans <a href="https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.3138/cjwl.28.1.18">backlash movements</a>, which position men and boys as vulnerable in a world of changing gender norms. This overlooks the ways <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10304312.2021.2006888">they too can benefit</a> from the embrace of greater diversity at school. </p>
<p>As schools do the work to open up to <a href="https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s13384-023-00678-w?sharing_token=MGqmL4VmbMSszh1LZWF95_e4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY5f5nEUUj4iL8N0aLkEZ8jXukE_G9Zeya6UEqBnCni8x3eD2rCYy8N07xUwHEO7nM3Edf3xKzU6lNwGjDEbV_UZLF6AuKunXqbi6TfS3OpsrHrjGz6wT6l_PMyWjN4UmAg%3D">more genders</a>, it is likely they will also become welcoming to a wider range of boys and young men.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222603/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Kean receives funding from an Australian Research Council Special Research Initiative grant 'Australian Boys: Beyond the Boy Problem'. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen Proctor receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kellie Burns previously received funding from the University of Sydney, Equity Prize. </span></em></p>The question of whether it’s a good idea to educate boys and girls separately has been debated in Australia for at least 160 years.Jessica Kean, Lecturer in Gender and Cultural Studies, University of SydneyHelen Proctor, Professor, University of SydneyKellie Burns, Senior Lecturer in Health Education, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2189162023-12-04T19:13:53Z2023-12-04T19:13:53ZWhy do private schools get more holidays than public schools?<p>It’s that time of year when it seems the more school fees parents pay, the less time their children spend in school. </p>
<p>For example, within a few kilometres of each other in Melbourne are an independent school whose last day is December 6, a Catholic school whose last day is December 15, and a government school going through until December 20.</p>
<p>Why the differences? To a casual observer, it seems reasonable every school should have the same start and finish dates.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, like so much across the diverse Australian education landscape, it is more complicated than that. It also prompts serious questions about how well we are doing as a nation, educationally speaking.</p>
<h2>Long holidays equal long juggles</h2>
<p>With parents needing to balance work commitments (and only having so much annual leave), it is not surprising some non-government school families get <a href="https://honey.nine.com.au/parenting/private-schools-on-holidays/13e47d0d-b2cd-4d69-a8ac-0b97b186d812">frustrated</a> their children’s summer holidays are so long. </p>
<p>However, judging by <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/the-sydney-private-school-charging-parents-7275-just-to-secure-enrolment-20230913-p5e49t.html">enrolment demand</a>, this does not seem to dissuade them from sending their children to these kinds of schools. And, granted, public school parents also feel the <a href="https://www.mamamia.com.au/are-the-school-holidays-too-long/">organisational pain</a> of their six-week breaks. </p>
<p>Children can also feel an “unfairness” when they see students from some schools getting a longer break than others. A half-full bus is a stark reminder of this.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A child sits on a couch, hiding behind cushions." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562640/original/file-20231130-27-7zwala.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562640/original/file-20231130-27-7zwala.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562640/original/file-20231130-27-7zwala.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562640/original/file-20231130-27-7zwala.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562640/original/file-20231130-27-7zwala.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562640/original/file-20231130-27-7zwala.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562640/original/file-20231130-27-7zwala.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">What do you with your kids for weeks on end?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/kid-hiding-on-pillows-262103/">Pixabay/Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Traditions are hard to break</h2>
<p>There are some <a href="https://oxfordre.com/education/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.001.0001/acrefore-9780190264093-e-1459">historical reasons</a> why some non-government schools have longer breaks. </p>
<p>Schools that break up earliest – at the start of December – are almost invariably elite, high-fee (think A$30,000-45,000 per year) schools. Typically, these are schools that would either have had, or still have, boarders. </p>
<p>In the early days of these schools, they needed an earlier finishing date so rural students could return home. And the tradition has stuck. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/should-we-shorten-the-long-summer-break-from-school-maybe-not-92423">Should we shorten the long summer break from school? Maybe not</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Extra-curricular compensation</h2>
<p>Many are also likely to have extensive and compulsory <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/extracurricular-the-norm-rather-than-exception-at-top-schools-20160811-gqqi61">co-curricular programs</a>. This can involve compulsory weekend sport and before/after school training during the week, as well as music, drama productions or other commitments. </p>
<p>This means “school” <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/informit.866381394542595">extends well beyond</a> a typical 9am to 3pm day. This places a different time demand on students and their families. So there is argument to say an early mark at the end of the year is a fair trade-off.</p>
<p>Curiously, newer day-only schools without these histories and extensive programs have also shortened their terms, and some even give mid-term breaks. Without these older traditions, the reasons why seem less clear. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="One school boy tackles another in a rugby game." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562870/original/file-20231201-25-nm88jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562870/original/file-20231201-25-nm88jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562870/original/file-20231201-25-nm88jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562870/original/file-20231201-25-nm88jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562870/original/file-20231201-25-nm88jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562870/original/file-20231201-25-nm88jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562870/original/file-20231201-25-nm88jp.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">Private school students often have compulsory sport on the weekends as well as weekday training.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/group-of-men-playing-soccer-in-green-field-3662553/">Patrick Case/Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>School holidays are not consistent</h2>
<p>For those who want consistency across the nation, aligning end-of-year dates is not the only issue. There is significant variety across different states, including in public schools. </p>
<p>There’s no agreed time for starting the school year, either. Next year, government school starting dates range from <a href="https://education.qld.gov.au/about/Documents/2024-school-calendar.pdf">January 22 (Queensland)</a> to <a href="https://www.decyp.tas.gov.au/learning/term-dates/#at-184880">February 8 (Tasmania)</a>. </p>
<p>Finishing dates are similar, with Western Australia finishing on December 12, 2024, and Victoria and New South Wales carrying on until December 20. </p>
<p>It’s just another of those quirks of a federated nation in which each state and territory dances to its own educational tune. </p>
<p>And spare a thought for families in border communities who live these differences in very practical ways. Consider the parent who is a teacher and lives in Wodonga (Victoria) yet works just across the border in Albury (NSW). They will finish teaching for Term 1 on April 12, a full two weeks after their children finish on March 28. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-double-juggle-how-working-parents-manage-school-holidays-and-their-jobs-108080">The double juggle: how working parents manage school holidays and their jobs</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Different public holidays add to the confusion</h2>
<p>While there is a general pattern of 190-195 school days per year for government schools, public holidays create their own localised interruptions. </p>
<p>Victoria, for example, gives an extra public holiday for the Melbourne Cup. In the ACT, there is Canberra Day in March. </p>
<p>Then there are extra pupil-free days when teachers do professional development. This also varies between states. </p>
<p>Inconsistency of start and finish dates is only one part of a bigger issue, though. The larger question of total time spent in schools is also worth asking.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/set-ground-rules-get-them-outside-and-do-things-together-how-to-navigate-school-holidays-with-high-school-kids-208474">Set ground rules, get them outside and do things together: how to navigate school holidays with high school kids</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>So does time in school make any difference?</h2>
<p>Recent <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/399475ac-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/399475ac-en">OECD analysis</a> found Australian students spend more hours in school than any other OECD country. Across primary and lower secondary years, Australian students are in school for more than 11,000 hours, compared with the OECD average of just over 7,600. </p>
<p>Despite this, our PISA (an international test for 15-year-olds) literacy and numeracy results <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/education/alarm-bells-australian-students-record-worst-result-in-global-tests-20191203-p53gie.html#">continue to decline</a>. So more time doesn’t seem to be delivering better results.</p>
<p>It might even contribute to <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2023/219/10/new-foundations-learning-australia">decreasing engagement by students</a>. </p>
<p>A 2018 pre-COVID <a href="https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/pisa-2018-results-volume-iii-acd78851-en.htm">PISA survey</a> of 15-year-old Australian students found 37% disagreed or strongly disagreed that “my life has meaning and purpose”. A <a href="https://bridges.monash.edu/articles/report/The_2023_Australian_Youth_Barometer/24087186/2">2023 survey</a> of young Australians found only 52% felt their education prepared them for post-school life.</p>
<p>A shorter school year creates challenges for some families and poses ongoing questions about equity. But if we take a broader look we can also see extended time spent in class, on its own, isn’t producing the results. </p>
<p>Shorter time in school could be beneficial, but only if the quality of the time actually spent in school is engaging and valued by students.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218916/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Kidson 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>It’s that time of year when it seems the more school fees parents pay, the less time their children spend in school.Paul Kidson, Senior Lecturer in Educational Leadership, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2086562023-07-04T20:08:06Z2023-07-04T20:08:06ZParents have just started their own school in Sydney – this is part of a long tradition in Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534968/original/file-20230630-29-edbjvx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C9%2C3151%2C2374&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A student at Adelaide's Ngutu College, recently founded to put Aboriginal culture at the centre of learning. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ngutu College. Author supplied.</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last week, The Australian newspaper reported some parents have been prompted to <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/parents-start-own-schools-in-woke-teaching-backlash/news-story/e2c9d54291c160278c12c02908204eee">start their own schools</a> to give their children the type of education they want. </p>
<p>One of these is Hartford College in Sydney, a new Catholic school with an emphasis on the liberal arts, including classical literature, languages and philosophy. It has about 22 students enrolled and the <a href="https://hartfordcollege.nsw.edu.au/about-us/founding-parents-message/">founding parents say</a> they want to engage the “whole” child and will have mentors for each student.</p>
<p>Previously when we think of parents taking their child’s education into their own hands, we may think of homeschooling (which is <a href="https://theconversation.com/homeschooling-boomed-last-year-but-these-4-charts-show-it-was-on-the-rise-before-covid-157309">certainly growing in Australia</a>). </p>
<p>But there is a long tradition of parents and local communities starting their own schools if they feel what’s on offer is not suiting their families’ needs. </p>
<h2>Ragged schools</h2>
<p>Before compulsory schooling, <a href="https://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM01221b.htm#:%7E:text=At%20its%20peak%20the%20Hornbrook,entr%C3%A9e%20into%20working%2Dclass%20families.">Ragged schools</a> appeared in Melbourne as early as 1859. </p>
<p>The idea for these community-funded schools came from England, and provided a free moral education for poor and homeless children roaming the streets of Melbourne and Sydney. </p>
<p>In the 20th century, parents of children with a disability, established schools to meet the specific needs of their children. For example, in 1945 Adelaide parents set up the <a href="https://www.cando4kids.com.au/about/history/#:%7E:text=Founded%20in%201945%2C%20the%20Cora,an%20amazing%20mother%20and%20leader.">Cora Barclay Centre</a> for children who were deaf from the post-war measles pandemic.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A Ragged School in the Rocks in Sydney." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534952/original/file-20230630-21-2ehxuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534952/original/file-20230630-21-2ehxuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534952/original/file-20230630-21-2ehxuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534952/original/file-20230630-21-2ehxuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534952/original/file-20230630-21-2ehxuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=630&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534952/original/file-20230630-21-2ehxuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=630&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534952/original/file-20230630-21-2ehxuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=630&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Ragged School in the Rocks in Sydney.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-i-find-my-childs-school-report-so-hard-to-understand-207831">Why do I find my child's school report so hard to understand?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The community schools movement</h2>
<p>In the 1970’s <a href="https://www.learningcooperative.vic.edu.au/about-us">parent and community-initiated schools</a> had their heyday.
Coalitions of parents and teachers set up <a href="https://saveourschools.com.au/equity-in-education/community-schools-are-a-successful-strategy-for-school-improvement/">community schools</a> as alternatives to a narrow, paternalistic, exclusionary education. </p>
<p>This was influenced by American <a href="https://www.aare.edu.au/assets/2022-Conf-on-the-Legacy-of-Dewey-on-Cont-Ped-Speakers-Abstracts.pdf">education philosopher John Dewey’s</a> ideas about democratic schools and the freedom given to students in Scottish educator A.S. Neill’s <a href="https://www.summerhillschool.co.uk/">Summerhill</a> school. Australian parents and teachers were also emboldened by the civil and children’s rights movements.</p>
<p>But the boom in small, <a href="https://thehumanist.com/magazine/september-october-2019/features/living-humanist-values-the-ten-commitments">humanist</a> schools was short-lived as state education departments moved to centralisation and standardisation. By the end of the century, community schools had either disappeared or had evolved into places for students who were not progressing in mainstream schools. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-a-new-online-only-private-school-what-are-the-options-if-the-mainstream-system-doesnt-suit-your-child-189138">Australia has a new online-only private school: what are the options if the mainstream system doesn't suit your child?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Low-fee, faith-based schools</h2>
<p>In the 1980s and 1990s Australia saw an increase in faith-based parent and community-initiated schools. </p>
<p>After a 1981 High Court decision, the federal government began to <a href="https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/the-religious-school-funding-decision-that-flouted-the-constitution,16817">fund a wider range of schools</a>, including religious schools. Rules that limited the <a href="https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/podcast/why-private-schools-are-ruining-australia">establishment of new schools</a> were also scrapped, further opening up new parent and community-initiated schools.</p>
<p>These schools were “<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/rise-of-private-schools-marks-return-to-19th-century-waste-20140207-32745.html">low fee</a>”, mainly Christian schools and usually in growth areas. In the 1990s, parents and leaders from refugee communities also banded together to develop schools that reflected their <a href="https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/La-Trobe-Journal-89-Peter-D-Jones.pdf">faith and community</a>.</p>
<h2>New, specialist schools</h2>
<p>Since 2012, the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/parliamentary_business/committees/senate/school_funding/school_funding/report/a03">Gonski education reforms</a> have made it even more economically feasible for parents, and communities to establish new independent schools. </p>
<p>The federal government now funds 80% of each non-government school’s <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/recurrent-funding-schools/schooling-resource-standard">schooling resource standard</a>. This is an estimate of how much public funding a school needs to meet its students’ educational needs.</p>
<p>This has seen small schools that cater to a specific parent or community need become more common. The largest growth area of these is <a href="https://isa.edu.au/documents/special-assistance-schools-showcase/">Special Assistance Schools</a>, that are primarily for students who have dropped out of mainstream school. </p>
<p>But there are also new schools for students with high academic potential, bush schools, sports schools, performing arts and music schools, science-based schools and sustainable schools. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/20-of-australian-students-dont-finish-high-school-non-mainstream-schools-have-a-lot-to-teach-us-about-helping-kids-stay-207021">20% of Australian students don't finish high school: non-mainstream schools have a lot to teach us about helping kids stay</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How do parents create a new school?</h2>
<p>Not every vision for a new school is successful. Setting up a new school takes leadership, time, commitment, determination and money.</p>
<p>The school must be able to satisfy the state’s schools accrediting authority they have premises, a governance structure with a board, will be able deliver a curriculum and meet safety and protection requirements for staff and students.</p>
<p>For the last four years, we have been <a href="https://researchnow.flinders.edu.au/en/publications/changing-and-challenging-dimensions-of-principal-autonomy-in-sout">researching</a> the development of a new Adelaide school, <a href="https://www.ngutucollege.org.au/">Ngutu College</a>. It was established by former state school principal and Kamilaroi Man, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-26/indigenous-man-andrew-plastow-opens-ngutu-college-in-adelaide/100488822">Andrew Plastow</a>, in response to teacher and community concern.</p>
<p>It describes itself as having: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Aboriginal cultures as its soul, children as its heart and the arts as it spine.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It took 18 months, from the initial discussions with community, to open its classroom doors to students in 2021.</p>
<p>Ngutu has 230 students of which 44% are Indigenous. As it expands to Year 12, it will be capped at 350 students to retain its community focus.</p>
<p>Hartford College and Ngutu College are worlds apart in their vision of education but both are small schools, driven by communities wanting to do the best for its children.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A student at Ngutu College looks at a book with a magnifying glass." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534969/original/file-20230630-27-shqtv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534969/original/file-20230630-27-shqtv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534969/original/file-20230630-27-shqtv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534969/original/file-20230630-27-shqtv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534969/original/file-20230630-27-shqtv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534969/original/file-20230630-27-shqtv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534969/original/file-20230630-27-shqtv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ngutu College took 18 months to open its doors.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ngutu College/Author supplied.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What does this mean for the mainstream system?</h2>
<p>Parents and communities are setting up their own schools because they feel their needs are not being met in the mainstream system, which has increasingly been tied to narrow ideas of “success”. </p>
<p>The strength of public education is the interaction between children, young people and their wider community. The more separate, specialised schools that are set up, the more the public loses these students, parents and communities. </p>
<p>In an ideal world, the local public school is able to provide for diverse students and communities. This means schools need to be open and <a href="https://researchnow.flinders.edu.au/en/publications/whatever-it-takes-using-a-component-theory-approach-with-public-s">responsive</a>to the needs of students. This means parents and communities also need to be involved in shaping how their schools are run and their children are educated.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208656/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>Parents have created schools to cater to their own religious and philosophical beliefs. Or to focus on the particular needs of their children and communities.Nigel Howard, Research associate, Flinders UniversityAndrew Bills, Researcher into Educational Leadership and Policy, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1998862023-06-14T20:09:07Z2023-06-14T20:09:07ZThe type of school does matter when it comes to a child’s academic performance<p>School choice is enormously important to families. Some spend <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8042455/heres-how-much-canberra-private-school-fees-will-cost-in-2023/">tens of thousands of dollars</a> per year to send their children to private schools, in the belief this will provide a better education and future. </p>
<p>Figures released in <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/parents-opt-for-religious-schools-as-student-enrolments-soar-20230427-p5d3vh.html">May 2023</a> noted Australia’s private school enrolments have grown by 35% over the past decade. We also know families <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/popular-schools-slapped-with-restrictions-to-control-runaway-demand-20230531-p5dcoi.html">seek out areas</a> where there are high-status public schools. </p>
<p>Recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/going-to-private-school-wont-make-a-difference-to-your-kids-academic-scores-175638">research has argued</a> once you account for socioeconomic factors, private schools don’t outperform public schools. In other words, the school does not really matter, it’s a student’s family background that counts. </p>
<p>My <a href="https://largescaleassessmentsineducation.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40536-022-00142-8">research</a> shows the type of school does matter. And the way Australia’s school system is structured is especially unfair on students from disadvantaged backgrounds.</p>
<h2>Why school segregation is a problem</h2>
<p>Decades of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/00346543075003417">research</a> has shown how family social background is a strong predictor of a child’s educational outcomes. Parents’ education and occupation are associated with student learning differences in Australia and many other countries. </p>
<p>Governments across the world have responded with policies directing resources to students from disadvantaged backgrounds. An example is Australia’s “Gonski” school funding model, which targets additional resources to First Nations, rural and remote, and low socioeconomic students. </p>
<p>But the issue of school segregation is largely ignored by Australian governments. </p>
<p>School segregation occurs when socially disadvantaged students are not evenly spread across schools. Rather, students tend to enrol in different types of schools according to their social backgrounds. This means advantaged children are concentrated in certain schools and disadvantaged students are concentrated in others. </p>
<p>Research has <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/016146810510700905">also shown</a> the social background of a student’s peers influences their learning just as much as their own social background. So when disadvantaged students are concentrated into disadvantaged schools, they are doubly disadvantaged.</p>
<p>Australian secondary schools are the <a href="https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/pisa-2018-results-volume-ii-b5fd1b8f-en.htm">ninth</a> most socially segregated among wealthy countries. We also have the <a href="https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/pisa-2018-results-volume-v-ca768d40-en.htm">fourth-highest</a> proportion of private school attendance in the OECD. </p>
<h2>Our research</h2>
<p>Last year, my colleagues and I <a href="https://largescaleassessmentsineducation.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40536-022-00142-8">examined</a> the effects of school segregation on students in Australia. </p>
<p>We used NAPLAN results from a nationally representative sample of students in years 5 and 9 to explore the relationship between average school socioeconomic status and an individual students’ academic growth. This involved students from public, private and Catholic schools.</p>
<p>We also examined the effects of parental education and occupation, Indigenous status, language, gender, school sector and the academic achievement of peers on a students’ academic growth.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-students-in-rural-areas-are-not-behind-their-city-peers-because-of-socioeconomic-status-there-is-something-else-going-on-207007">Australian students in rural areas are not 'behind' their city peers because of socioeconomic status. There is something else going on</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Our findings</h2>
<p>We found a school’s socioeconomic status predicts the likelihood a student will achieve minimum literacy and numeracy benchmarks. </p>
<p>This means a disadvantaged student attending a disadvantaged school is unlikely to achieve minimum academic benchmarks. The same type of student attending an advantaged school is twice as likely to reach minimum standards. </p>
<p>Attending a disadvantaged primary school costs half a term of learning per year for every student. This grows to one term of learning per year in secondary schools. </p>
<p>The stronger high school effect is likely due to higher levels of segregation at the secondary level (that is, more students go to private high schools than private primary schools). </p>
<p>This shows going to a private school can benefit a students’ academic performance when it has higher concentrations of socioeconomically advantaged students than nearby public schools. </p>
<p>The outcome is a schooling system that excludes many students from academic excellence. In other words, Australia’s schooling system exacerbates social inequality. </p>
<iframe src="https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/14071421/embed" title="Interactive or visual content" class="flourish-embed-iframe" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="width:100%;height:600px;" sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-scripts allow-downloads allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<div style="width:100%!;margin-top:4px!important;text-align:right!important;"><a class="flourish-credit" href="https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/14071421/?utm_source=embed&utm_campaign=visualisation/14071421" target="_top"><img alt="Made with Flourish" src="https://public.flourish.studio/resources/made_with_flourish.svg"> </a></div>
<h2>What now?</h2>
<p>The federal government is currently reviewing school reform approaches as part of the next National School Reform Agreement, which is due to begin in 2025. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A jar of pencils." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531821/original/file-20230613-1792-3up398.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531821/original/file-20230613-1792-3up398.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531821/original/file-20230613-1792-3up398.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531821/original/file-20230613-1792-3up398.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531821/original/file-20230613-1792-3up398.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531821/original/file-20230613-1792-3up398.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531821/original/file-20230613-1792-3up398.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The next National School Reform Agreement provides an opportunity to look at fairness in the school system.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pixabay/Pexels</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is an opportunity to begin to address socioeconomic achievement gaps caused by Australia’s schooling system. </p>
<p>This could be achieved by the National Assessment Program (the body that runs NAPLAN testing) reporting the impact of segregation on learning outcomes. The MySchool website could publish how well schools are contributing to the education of disadvantaged children in their communities. </p>
<p>Students disadvantaged by Australia’s schooling system should also be compensated for the public policy failure. Students enrolled in schools with high concentrations of disadvantaged students could have their tertiary entrance ranks increased. A similar policy occurs in some US <a href="https://news.rice.edu/news/2022/automatic-admissions-policies-increased-diversity-rural-texas-high-schools-says-report">states</a> where students in racially segregated schools are guaranteed places in high status colleges.</p>
<p>But much more substantial reforms are needed to ensure every school is playing its part in educating all young Australians. </p>
<p>This would require schools to be representative of their communities in proportion to their public funding. Secondary private schools <a href="https://www.acara.edu.au/reporting/national-report-on-schooling-in-australia/national-report-on-schooling-in-australia-data-portal/school-funding/school-income-and-capital-expenditure-for-government-and-non-government-schools-(calendar-year)">receive</a> 80-90% of the government funding public schools receive. They should enrol a similar percentage of the disadvantaged students that nearby public schools enrol. </p>
<p>Government regulation of enrolment and exclusion procedures should also remove discrimination against poverty, religion, disability, gender, and sexuality. </p>
<p>Some of the highest performing education systems in the world are also the most <a href="https://www.oecd.org/publications/pisa-2015-results-volume-i-9789264266490-en.htm">equitable</a>. No education system has achieved excellence for all students by separating them by family backgrounds. </p>
<p>Australia’s schooling system requires substantial structural reforms if it is going to lift the achievement of disadvantaged students.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-national-school-reform-agreement-and-what-does-it-have-to-do-with-school-funding-202847">What is the National School Reform Agreement and what does it have to do with school funding?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199886/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Sciffer works for the NSW Department of Education. He is a member of the executive of the NSW Teachers Federation. This analysis is based on his academic work as a PhD candidate of Murdoch University and is not associated with his employer. </span></em></p>The way Australia’s school system is structured is especially unfair on students from disadvantaged backgrounds.Michael Sciffer, PhD candidate, Murdoch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2038402023-04-18T20:01:41Z2023-04-18T20:01:41ZA new report proposes full public funding for private schools, but there’s a catch<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521484/original/file-20230418-24-ivxgck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=40%2C16%2C5395%2C3594&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>There are multiple signs the Australian education system is in crisis. This includes <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/news/australian-school-education-is-falling-short/">declining academic outcomes</a>, <a href="https://www.theeducatoronline.com/k12/news/opinion-no-quick-fix-for-teacher-shortages-we-need-a-longterm-strategy/281939">teacher shortages</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/school-principals-are-reaching-crisis-point-pushed-to-the-edge-by-mounting-workloads-teacher-shortages-and-abuse-201777">principals facing abuse</a>, and an upswing in <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-20/three-in-four-act-school-principals-subject-to-violence-survey/102119620">school violence</a>. </p>
<p>Hanging over these is the Productivity Commission’s <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/school-agreement/report">January 2023 assessment</a> that what we’ve done with Australian education over the past decade has done “little, so far, to improve student outcomes”. </p>
<p>Education authors Tom Greenwell and Chris Bonnor agree. In an ambitious new report for education initiative <a href="https://all-learning.org.au/about-all/">Australian Learning Lecture</a>, they offer a way forward. </p>
<p>They <a href="https://all-learning.org.au/?page_id=2613&preview=true">propose a framework</a> for Australian schools to increase parental choice (including for religious-based schools) and improve the inequity that afflicts the system.</p>
<h2>What’s the problem?</h2>
<p>Greenwell and Bonnor say too many disadvantaged students are being concentrated into communities of disadvantage. This results in </p>
<blockquote>
<p>unacceptable gaps in learning [that] separate disadvantaged students from their more privileged peers. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Since the introduction of government funding to non-government schools in the 1960s, we have seen an increased concentration of advantaged students in some schools, and the same for disadvantaged students. The <a href="https://www.oecd.org/pisa/Equity-in-Education-country-note-Australia.pdf">OECD has been warning Australia</a> about this for some time. But current policy settings offer little incentive for change.</p>
<p>As Greenwell and Bonnor argue, achieving our national educational goals is unlikely when:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>we are stacking the odds against the children who have the least luck in terms of the circumstances they are born into.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-productivity-commission-says-australian-schools-fall-short-on-quality-and-equity-what-happens-now-190646">The Productivity Commission says Australian schools 'fall short' on quality and equity. What happens now?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There is also a conflict here with the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights">United Nations Declaration of Human Rights</a>, which affirms that education at least at primary level should be free and compulsory. Crucially, parents have “a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children”.</p>
<p>Australian non-government schools do provide opportunity for parents to exercise this right, but even the lowest level of fees charged by some Catholic system schools can still be <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/parents-face-sos-plea-as-battlers-left-behind-20040811-gdjj0e.html">beyond the reach</a> of some parents. </p>
<p>As the authors note, this is not a problem for non-government schooling alone. Segregation within government schools exacerbates the situation. <a href="https://theconversation.com/nsw-is-trying-to-make-the-selective-school-application-process-fairer-but-is-it-doing-enough-187283">Selective schools</a> (government schools that select students on their academic or performing arts ability):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>draw in a high proportion of advantaged students, compounding the concentrations of the strugglers in comprehensive public schools.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-national-school-reform-agreement-and-what-does-it-have-to-do-with-school-funding-202847">What is the National School Reform Agreement and what does it have to do with school funding?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What’s their proposal?</h2>
<p>Greenwell and Bonnor offer a five-point plan, the first three of which are relatively uncontentious. </p>
<p>First, they want to fully fund school entitlements under the so-called “<a href="https://www.education.gov.au/school-funding/resources/review-funding-schooling-final-report-december-2011">Gonski model</a>”. This would ensure all schools get the funding resources they need to deliver quality learning. <a href="https://saveourschools.com.au/funding/labor-kicks-the-public-school-funding-can-down-the-road/">Some estimates</a> show government schools currently receive less than 90% of their entitlements.</p>
<p>Second, they call for a frank conversation on a new common framework for Australian education. This would include not only funding arrangements, but “commensurate obligations and responsibilities” on schools.</p>
<p>Third, convene a national summit at which “common interests are identified and areas of agreement are developed”. Greenwell and Bonnor are at pains to point out their suggestion is not to prescribe the total solution. Rather, they invite stakeholders to come together and design a system in which “equity and choice can be expanded in a win-win manner”.</p>
<h2>A change to school funding</h2>
<p>Greenwell and Bonnor’s fourth point is likely to be a catalyst for much debate: they propose full public funding for all non-government schools, within a commonly agreed regulatory framework. </p>
<p>Yes, this means non-government schools would be fully funded by the taxpayer. But they would not be able to charge their own fees. </p>
<p>The authors argue this would remove the fee barrier for non-government schools and open the possibility for any family to choose a non-government school without the impost of fees. It expands, rather than restricts, parental choice. And the bonus is non-government schools “could continue to apply enrolment and other policies necessary to promote their specific religious or educational ethos”.</p>
<p>If non-government schools don’t want to do this, they don’t have to, but there’s a catch. Schools that “continue to charge fees or reject inclusive enrolment obligations would no longer receive any public funding”. </p>
<p>Their fifth point is the creation of a new authority to oversee implementation and monitoring of the new framework.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/still-waiting-for-gonski-a-great-book-about-the-sorry-tale-of-school-funding-178016">Still 'Waiting for Gonski' – a great book about the sorry tale of school funding</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Can it work?</h2>
<p>The Albanese government has committed to “work with” state and territory governments to get every school “on a path to 100% of its fair funding level”, as per the Gonski model. </p>
<p>This will come under the microscope as the next National School Reform Agreement is developed. This ties school reforms to the funding the federal government provides the states and territories. The <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/clare/expert-panel-inform-better-and-fairer-education-system">next agreement</a> is due to begin in January 2025 and is currently the subject of a review. </p>
<p>Whole holding a national summit should be straightforward, a national common framework has substantially more barriers to overcome. The multiple sectors of education governance in Australia (state/territory, Catholic, independent), and the multiple legal instruments that govern them, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-uk-labour-party-wants-to-abolish-private-schools-could-we-do-that-in-australia-124271">make this very difficult</a>, even from a practical perspective.</p>
<p>At the simplest level, education remains a state/territory constitutional responsibility that seems unlikely to be collectively ceded back to the federal government any time soon. </p>
<p>The idea that non-government schools would have to choose between government funding or charging their own fees is also likely to be politically difficult. This is not to say the proposal is far-fetched. UNESCO, in its <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000379875">Global Education Monitoring Report</a> has noted </p>
<blockquote>
<p>publicly funded education does not have to be publicly provided.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As the review into the next National School Reform Agreement gathers pace, Greenwell and Bonnor’s invitation is for us all to come together with a vision for something different in Australian education. </p>
<p>Certainly the evidence strongly suggests what we are doing right now is not working.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203840/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Kidson 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>In a new report, education authors Tom Greenwell and Chris Bonnor propose a framework to increase parental choice and improve equity in the school system.Paul Kidson, Senior Lecturer in Educational Leadership, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2008882023-04-11T20:32:11Z2023-04-11T20:32:11ZAdding charter schools to Ontario would exacerbate student inequities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519396/original/file-20230404-14-rpgn0r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C53%2C3972%2C2324&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">School closures related to labour disputes and the pandemic prompted some commentators to call for charter schools. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Parents and other advocates who are dissatisfied with the current state of public schooling often call for the expansion of school choice. </p>
<p>In Ontario, this erupted following school closures <a href="https://financialpost.com/opinion/cupe-strike-school-choice-ontario-education">as a result of labour disputes</a> and COVID-19. Some commentators <a href="https://www.fraserinstitute.org/article/heres-what-school-choice-in-ontario-could-look-like-for-parents">and think tanks have suggested</a> charter schooling is a viable option for students in Ontario. <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/charter-schools#:%7E:text=Alberta%20is%20the%20only%20province,and%20permit%20more%20parental%20choice.">Alberta is the only province in Canada to have charter schools</a> and has had them for nearly 30 years. </p>
<p><a href="https://openlibrary-repo.ecampusontario.ca/jspui/handle/123456789/673">Charter schools</a> are a specific type of alternative education that is publicly funded in a manner specified in the school’s charter. Their governance is handled by charter board members, as opposed to the local school board — a significant distinction from other alternative schools. </p>
<p>Typically, the charter board consists of parents, instructors and community members, whereas other public schools are governed by officials elected by public vote. Charter schools are in charge of all their own hires and admissions, and report directly to the government.</p>
<p>School choice already abounds in Ontario. No compelling evidence exists that adding choice in the form of charter schools will bolster student achievement. Adding charter schools would likely contribute both to segregating students by race and socio-economic status, and <a href="https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/calgary-charter-schools-await-ucp-funding#">creating elite schools that cherry pick their students</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A sign for a charter academy school." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519363/original/file-20230404-897-t0znbu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519363/original/file-20230404-897-t0znbu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519363/original/file-20230404-897-t0znbu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519363/original/file-20230404-897-t0znbu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519363/original/file-20230404-897-t0znbu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519363/original/file-20230404-897-t0znbu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519363/original/file-20230404-897-t0znbu.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">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Does Ontario really need more school choice in the form of charter schools? A sign for a charter academy school in Winterville, N.C.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Justin Lundy/WITN-TV via AP)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Existing choice in Ontario</h2>
<p>School choice can take many forms, and in Canada it has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0008423921000901">typically been developed within the public system</a>.<br>
In Ontario, school choice within the public system includes the <a href="https://www.ocsta.on.ca/catholic-schools-in-ontario/">publicly funded Catholic system</a>, <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/page/french-second-language-programs">French immersion</a>, the <a href="https://www.ontarioschools.org/TalentedandGifted.aspx">gifted program</a> and an array of <a href="https://www.tdsb.on.ca/alternativeschools/#%22%22">alternative schools</a>. There are also <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/page/private-schools-0">over 1,300 private</a> school options available to parents in the province. </p>
<p>However, unlike <a href="https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/administration/program-management/independent-schools/funding">British Columbia</a> and <a href="https://ecolespriveesquebec.ca/en/private-school/faq/">Québec</a>, there exists no subsidy system for private schooling in Ontario. In British Columbia, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-private-schools-491-million-public-funding-1.6589571">the provincial government subsidizes the cost of private schooling</a>, covering between 35 per cent and 50 per cent of tuition. </p>
<p>Similarly in Québec, <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/opinion-brace-for-more-inequality-in-education-under-bill-96">the provincial government generously funds privates schools</a>. In Ontario and other provinces, parents who choose private schools foot the entire bill. </p>
<h2>For the wealthy?</h2>
<p>Introducing private competition with the public system <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904819874756">reveals only very small improvements in school achievement</a> when data across the United States are analyzed. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/19367244211003471">No comparable data</a> are available to analyze in Canada.</p>
<p>Critics argue school choice does <a href="https://www.fraserinstitute.org/article/heres-what-school-choice-in-ontario-could-look-like-for-parents">not only have to be for the wealthy</a> and <a href="https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/agar-supporting-education-vouchers-is-putting-children-first">voucher systems</a> or <a href="https://nationalpost.com/opinion/chris-selley-school-choice">charter schools</a> could provide an avenue for low- to middle-income families to choose the type of education their children receive.</p>
<p>However, instead of being the great equalizer, there is considerable evidence that school choice actually exacerbates existing inequities, especially race and <a href="https://theconversation.com/school-choice-policies-are-associated-with-increased-separation-of-students-by-social-class-149902">socio-economic</a> inequities. </p>
<p>Boards like the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) have alternative schools or specialty programs that offer a great deal of choice. Many of these speciality programs <a href="https://doi.org/10.15353/cjds.v7i2.421">have also been found to exacerbate existing inequities</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Students seen walking in front of a school." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519393/original/file-20230404-16-2zt88c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519393/original/file-20230404-16-2zt88c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519393/original/file-20230404-16-2zt88c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519393/original/file-20230404-16-2zt88c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519393/original/file-20230404-16-2zt88c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519393/original/file-20230404-16-2zt88c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519393/original/file-20230404-16-2zt88c.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">Data from Ontario show that significant inequality exists when there are coveted spots within the public system for schools of choice.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Alexandra Wimley/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Demographic homogeneity</h2>
<p>For example, a <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.14507/epaa.25.2716">study on</a> specialty arts programs in the TDSB found that students were disproportionately white, wealthier and more likely to have parents who had gone to university. </p>
<p>The study found that the demographic homogeneity of the school environments contributes to continued structural inequities. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/french-immersion-and-other-regional-learning-programs-smart-choice-for-your-kids-or-do-they-fuel-inequity-195184">French immersion and other regional learning programs: Smart choice for your kids, or do they fuel inequity?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Data from Ontario show that significant inequality exists when there are coveted spots within the existing public system for schools of choice. The TDSB <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-tdsb-specialized-school-programs/">created a lottery system</a> to address this — but recent reports said the board discovered there was an <a href="https://www.cp24.com/news/racialized-disabled-and-lgbtq-students-excluded-from-tdsb-elementary-lottery-1.6344461">oversight when administering the lottery and prioritized students were excluded from it</a>.</p>
<p>How would adding charter schools level the playing field? </p>
<h2>Data from the U.S.</h2>
<p>In comparably diverse American cities with public, private and charter schools, more evidence to the contrary exists. Examining <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED613612.pdf">data from New York City</a> on private and public school enrolment shows high levels of school racial segregation. </p>
<p>In NYC, approximately 14 per cent of students attend private schools, while 77 per cent attend public district schools and nine per cent attend charter schools.</p>
<p>Although charter schools make up nine per cent of the student population in NYC, 54 per cent of charter school students are Black, 39 per cent are Hispanic and five per cent are white. In contrast, white students make up 69 per cent of private school population, while Black students make up 11 per cent.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-cyber-charter-schools-are-and-why-their-growth-should-worry-us-68471">What cyber charter schools are and why their growth should worry us</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The research on whether charter schools improve student achievement is extremely mixed. An <a href="https://public-schools.ab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/PrivatizingPublicChoice-ThePastPresentandFutureofCharteSchoolsinAlberta.pdf">overview</a> of the American data suggests that students in public and charter schools perform at similar levels. </p>
<p>The same report also showed that there is considerable evidence that charter schools exacerbate existing racial, ethnic and socio-economic segregation in the U.S. There is not much evidence that the expansion of the charter system in the U.S. spurred innovation and competition in the public sector and improved education across the board.</p>
<h2>High test scores needed?</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A hand seen writing a test on a classroom desk." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519884/original/file-20230406-694-m8u43n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519884/original/file-20230406-694-m8u43n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519884/original/file-20230406-694-m8u43n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519884/original/file-20230406-694-m8u43n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519884/original/file-20230406-694-m8u43n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519884/original/file-20230406-694-m8u43n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519884/original/file-20230406-694-m8u43n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some charter schools have been found to prevent students with disabilities from enrolling as a strategy to keep test scores high.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since charter schools are at a risk of closure when they do not perform adequately, there is a lot of pressure to achieve and maintain high test scores. </p>
<p>Charter schools have <a href="https://raceandschools.barnard.edu/charterschools/disabilities/">been found</a> to prevent students with disabilities from enrolling as a strategy to keep test scores high. </p>
<p>The lack of accountability and transparency from charter schools in the U.S. has led some organizations focussed around racial justice to support a <a href="https://naacp.org/resources/calling-moratorium-charter-school-expansion-and-strengthening-oversight-governance-and">moratorium</a> on charter schools.</p>
<h2>Achievement in Alberta</h2>
<p>Alberta, like Ontario, also enjoys considerable <a href="https://www.albertaschoolcouncils.ca/education-in-alberta/education-options">choice within the public system</a>, including through charter schools. CBC reported in March that around <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-s-education-budget-features-new-schools-and-replacements-first-charter-school-hub-1.6765068">20,000 students are on wait lists for charter schools</a> in the province, following the province’s removal of <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7000587/alberta-government-ucp-charter-schools-home-schooling-education-may/">a cap on them in 2019</a>.</p>
<p>There are, however, no public reports that provide any evidence that students in Alberta’s charter schools are doing better than their peers elsewhere in the public system. </p>
<p>Adding additional mechanisms to exacerbate inequality in the name of “choice” in Ontario will do nothing for overall student achievement.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200888/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen Robson receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rochelle Wijesingha is affiliated with the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Association. She is the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator.</span></em></p>School choice already abounds in Ontario. Adding charter schooling in the name of ‘choice’ won’t help student achievement.Karen Robson, Ontario Research Chair in Academic Achievement and At-Risk Youth, McMaster UniversityRochelle Wijesingha, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Sociology, McMaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1962612023-03-08T13:41:29Z2023-03-08T13:41:29ZSchool choice proposals rarely go before voters – and typically fail when they do<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511488/original/file-20230221-28-x0c9n0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=25%2C38%2C8523%2C5652&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks to supporters before signing a bill that creates education savings accounts in January 2023.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/PrivateSchoolsStateFunding/ab75378b2d084cfeb077faa3cae7b3d7/photo">AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Arizona lawmakers decided in late 2022 that the <a href="https://news.azpm.org/p/news-splash/2022/12/10/214078-not-quite-universal-but-families-flocked-to-universal-voucher-program/">state will pay tuition, related education expenses or both</a> for children at any school parents select, including private and religious schools.</p>
<p>It’s the latest step in an effort to provide public funds for private schools that in Arizona began in 2011. And that step was taken along what I have discovered to be a familiar route.</p>
<p>As an <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=KLVtdQYAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">education policy researcher</a>, I wanted to understand why these voucher programs are becoming more common despite evidence they <a href="https://theconversation.com/school-vouchers-expand-despite-evidence-of-negative-effects-117370">do not improve, and may even impede, students’ educational achievement</a>. Rather than put the question of whether to use public money for private schools before voters, advocates for choice almost always want state legislatures to make the decision instead. That may be because a careful look at the efforts suggests that if it were up to voters, school choice proposals would rarely succeed.</p>
<p>Lawmakers in <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/iowa-lawmakers-approves-public-money-for-private-school-students">Iowa</a>, <a href="https://alec.org/article/victory-for-west-virginia-families-historic-education-opportunity-program-declared-constitutional/">West Virginia</a> and <a href="https://www.education.nh.gov/news/second-year-education-freedom-accounts-prospering">New Hampshire</a> all recently passed plans similar to Arizona’s. In 2022, <a href="https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/betsy-devos-let-mi-kids-learn-scholarship-plan-submit-signatures">Michigan advocates – led by former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos</a> – chose to <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2022/08/10/let-mi-kids-learn-signatures-devos/10285200002/">petition legislators</a> to approve <a href="https://www.letmikidslearn.com/">such a plan</a> for over a million children, rather than seeking a public referendum on the issue.</p>
<p>Private and religious schools have traditionally been prohibited from receiving taxpayer dollars. But since <a href="https://www.edchoice.org/school-choice-in-america-dashboard-scia/">private school-choice programs</a> began in the 1990s, 32 states and the District of Columbia have adopted 76 school voucher or voucherlike programs that allow families to send their children to private schools at public expense, according to the pro-voucher group <a href="https://www.edchoice.org/school-choice-in-america-dashboard-scia/">EdChoice</a>. Additionally, <a href="https://charterschoolcenter.ed.gov/charter-schools-usa">45 states and Washington, D.C.</a>, have charter school programs, which are publicly funded but privately managed.</p>
<p>But of those 121 programs, only two have been approved by voters. The issue has been brought to referendum in various states 16 times since Michigan first voted on it in 1978 and has been rejected 14 times. In <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/06/education/future-of-georgias-charter-schools-on-ballot.html">2012</a>, <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Georgia_Charter_Schools,_Amendment_1_(2012)">Georgia voters</a> enabled state lawmakers to authorize charter schools, and Washington state voters <a href="https://dev.ballotpedia.org/Washington_Charter_School_Initiative,_Initiative_1240_(2012)">barely passed</a> a charter school initiative they <a href="https://nonprofitquarterly.org/big-money-pushing-for-wash-charter-schools-gates-out-in-front/">had rejected twice before</a>.</p>
<h2>Parents’ interest growing</h2>
<p>Parents are taking advantage of those opportunities. There are <a href="https://www.edweek.org/leadership/education-statistics-facts-about-american-schools/2019/01">50 million public school students</a> in grades K-12 in the U.S., of whom 3.4 million attend charter schools. About 5.5 million students are in private schools. The numbers are proportionately small, but growing.</p>
<p>For instance, from 2000 to 2016, the U.S. Department of Education reported the number of students in charter schools <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2019/2019106.pdf">increased more than fivefold</a>.</p>
<h2>Pressure on public schools</h2>
<p>Advocates for public schools argue that when public money is spent on private schools, it “<a href="https://networkforpubliceducation.org/privatization-toolkit/">[siphons] off students, resources and funding</a>” from public schools.</p>
<p>But supporters say voucher programs <a href="https://www.heritage.org/education/commentary/here-are-10-reasons-school-choice-winning">usefully pressure public schools to improve</a> under threat of losing enrollment and funding.</p>
<p>And <a href="https://www.mackinac.org/6540">still others</a> emphasize distinctions between <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/education/interactive-guide-to-school-choice.aspx">different types</a> of choice programs, <a href="https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/research/for-profit-charter-schools-evaluation-spending-outcomes">regulations and funding schemes</a>. For instance, some people support publicly funded charter schools as options within the public school system, but do not support vouchers allowing families to take tax dollars to help pay for private schools.</p>
<h2>Referendums failed</h2>
<p>The process by which these programs have become law started <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Michigan_Education_Funds_Amendment,_Proposal_H_(1978)">in 1978 in Michigan</a> with petitions and referendums, but they largely failed. That 1978 proposal sought a statewide referendum to create vouchers and got on the ballot but was <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Michigan_Education_Funds_Amendment,_Proposal_H_(1978)">rejected by a 3-to-1 margin</a>. A very similar Michigan petition drive in 2000 failed by a <a href="https://www.mackinac.org/3208">similarly large margin</a>. Referendum efforts in 2000 in California, and one in Utah in 2007, <a href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/2008/04/01/an-idea-whose-time-has-gone/">also failed</a>.</p>
<p>As a result, more recent efforts aim to go through the legislature – even if laws that have passed have also been overturned by referendums later.</p>
<p>For instance, a 2017 Arizona law would have allowed students to <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona-education/2017/04/07/arizona-gov-doug-ducey-signs-school-voucher-expansion/100159192/">use taxpayer dollars at private schools</a>. But before it could take effect, a petition drive gave voters a chance to <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/11/06/arizona-prop-305-results-voters-decide-school-vouchers/1809291002/">overturn the law</a>, which they did in 2018, by a <a href="https://www.abc15.com/news/state/arizona-proposition-305-fails-reducing-school-vouchers-available-to-families">two-thirds majority</a>. </p>
<p>In 2022, state lawmakers passed an almost identical bill, and as he had in 2017, Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona-education/2022/07/07/ariz-governor-signs-universal-school-voucher-law-advocates-vow-fight/7827019001/">signed it into law on July 7, 2022</a>. A second petition drive to reverse it <a href="https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2022/09/30/petition-to-block-voucher-law-falls-short-application-deadline-extended/">failed to round up nearly 120,000 signatures</a> before the legal deadline, and the law took effect.</p>
<h2>A new effort in Michigan</h2>
<p>But in 2022, a new petition drive arose, backed by former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, a Michigan native and former state Republican Party chair. Instead of asking voters to approve the idea, however, it used a <a href="https://crcmich.org/michigans-citizen-initiative-petition-process-in-2022-a-lot-of-ballot-proposals">provision of Michigan law</a> that meant the petition <a href="https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/betsy-devos-let-mi-kids-learn-scholarship-plan-submit-signatures">positioned legislators to pass the law themselves</a>. </p>
<p>That process sought to preempt another referendum on school choice, as well as a <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2021/11/1/22758182/michigan-voucher-proponents-plan-petition-to-circumvent-veto">likely veto</a> from Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.</p>
<p>When voters flipped control of the Michigan Legislature from Republican to Democratic in November 2022, <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2023/1/9/23547548/michigan-devos-school-choice-private-schools-petitions-withdrawn-let-mi-kids-learn">DeVos’ group withdrew its petition</a>, effectively killing the proposal.</p>
<p>The next time a school choice program is put before lawmakers, it’s worth asking whether the program would pass if it were put before voters. History shows the answer is usually a resounding “no.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196261/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Lubienski does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Most school-choice programs in the US have been approved by lawmakers. But when asked for their views, voters have overwhelmingly rejected them.Christopher Lubienski, Professor of Education Policy, Indiana UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1994742023-02-23T06:15:25Z2023-02-23T06:15:25ZClass and the City of London: my decade of research shows why elitism is endemic and top firms don’t really care<p>During the COVID pandemic, as most wages <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/what-happened-to-wages-in-the-coronavirus-pandemic/#:%7E:text=Since%20November%202020%2C%20wages%20have,November%202020%20and%20December%202021.">stagnated</a>, workers in the City of London were enjoying <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jun/11/what-cost-of-living-crisis-bumper-executive-bonuses-make-a-comeback">bumper pay packets</a>. Average partner salaries in one corporate law firm <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lawyers-lead-the-way-as-million-pound-salaries-rain-down-on-the-city-rdmxjfs67">exceeded £2 million</a> for the first time. Investment bankers received their <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/feb/16/weve-had-a-run-on-champagne-biggest-uk-banker-bonuses-since-financial-crash">highest bonus payouts</a> since 2008.</p>
<p>City bosses have long justified these exceptional rewards by claiming that they are available to anyone with sufficient intellect and willingness to work hard – regardless of their gender, ethnicity or social class. In the <a href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/our_firm/investor_relations/financial_reports/annual_reports/2003/pdf/GS03AR_businessprncples.pdf">words of Goldman Sachs</a>, one of the City’s most iconic players:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Advancement depends on merit … For us to be successful, our people must reflect the diversity of the communities and cultures in which we operate. That means we must attract, retain and motivate people from many backgrounds and perspectives. Being diverse is not optional; it is what we must be.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But studies tell a different story about the City of London’s culture and demographics. In October 1986, the “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang_(financial_markets)">Big Bang</a>” – the name given to the sudden deregulation of financial markets to enhance London’s status as a global financial centre – was also supposed to signal the creation of a new, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37751599">more egalitarian</a> City. Yet four decades on, <a href="https://www.thebridgegroup.org.uk/news/partner-law">research</a> <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c18e090b40b9d6b43b093d8/t/5f6c69ea4d0d1b29037581f3/1600940523386/BG_SEB_Partner_Law_Sep2020_SUMMARY_FINAL.pdf">shows</a> that more than half of all partners at the leading law firms are white, male and privately educated, while more than 90% of bosses at eight top financial service firms are from society’s most privileged backgrounds – a demographic that comprises just over 30% of the entire UK population.</p>
<p>I began <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/293014505_Understanding_social_exclusion_in_elite_professional_service_firms_field_level_dynamics_and_the_%27professional_project">researching</a> this <a href="https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/highly-discriminating">issue</a> more than ten years ago, after briefly working in business development for a City law firm. Despite being appointed in almost equal numbers to men, women were significantly under-represented at the firm’s senior levels, comprising fewer than 20% of its partners. There was also a striking lack of ethnic diversity among all staff, and it was especially rare to see any black lawyers.</p>
<p>Soon after I joined, I was offered a session with a style consultant who, my manager explained, would help me appear “more professional”. The consultant’s primary advice was to wear more make up and put on skirt-suits.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><em>This article is part of Conversation Insights</em></strong>
<br><em>The Insights team generates <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/insights-series-71218">long-form journalism</a> derived from interdisciplinary research. The team is working with academics from different backgrounds who have been engaged in projects aimed at tackling societal and scientific challenges.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>In any industry where people are regularly spotlighted as a firm’s most important resource, hiring staff for any other reason than their ability might appear to make little sense. In the City, however, white middle-class men have always been particularly valued for other qualities.</p>
<p>Consider this exchange I had with asset manager Toby* in 2019. I started by asking on what basis his clients selected their financial advisers, to which he replied: “They have expectations of meeting people with expertise, really.”</p>
<p>But when I asked how they assess this expertise, Toby said it was “a difficult question”:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think they’re choosing us basically on whether they like the sound of us or the look of us. Most of our sales force is [made up of] white, middle-class males … Let’s try a thought experiment. If we turned up with, I don’t know, a black woman and a white bloke, but a bit spivvy with an Essex accent … Yeah, I don’t know. I really don’t know. God, that sounds really bad.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Many City executives have told me that a certain type of “social ease”, often cultivated at private schools, allows colleagues to get away with bullshit and bluff. Or as one senior executive at a FTSE 100 firm put it:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We all know that people with the right accent and mannerisms … sound much more believable. Equally, I want to say that we can see through that – but the truth is, we can’t.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>‘We give the jobs to other posh people’</h2>
<p>Many of my interviews were conducted in the late 2010s, a time when “diversity and inclusion” was a buzz phrase among elite City firms. I was keen to find out how serious these firms – spanning finance, legal services, management consulting, accounting and auditing – were about changing the social makeup of their staff, particularly those earning the biggest bucks.</p>
<p>Prestigious City firms, some with billion-pound revenue streams, have long tried to position themselves as “<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/376f3374-cf1e-4923-8c24-e4dbafe70b6d">money meritocracies</a>”, where success and promotion is based purely on an employee’s performance and the profits they generate.</p>
<p>Privately, however, City insiders I spoke to repeatedly blamed deviations from this rule on outright favouritism. One hedge fund manager, Michael, confided: “It’s easy to explain. Basically, we give the top jobs to other posh people who are our mates.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509253/original/file-20230209-16-4q8zqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Four white men in suits walking away from the camera" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509253/original/file-20230209-16-4q8zqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509253/original/file-20230209-16-4q8zqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509253/original/file-20230209-16-4q8zqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509253/original/file-20230209-16-4q8zqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509253/original/file-20230209-16-4q8zqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509253/original/file-20230209-16-4q8zqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509253/original/file-20230209-16-4q8zqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Businessmen in the City of London financial district.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-20-april-2019-business-1822728791">I.R. Stone/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Investment manager James said that frequently, recruitment and promotion “becomes a subjective call”, at which point decision-makers typically revert to type. I asked him what “type” that might be:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Myself … I’m already doing that role and I know what I’m doing. Therefore, I’m more likely to go towards the sort of people who are like I am, which is why you end up with the stereotypical male – mid-40s, white. It’s why the profession’s full of them.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To date, efforts to diversify according to gender and ethnicity appear to have had very limited results. In 2014, <a href="https://www.suttontrust.com/our-research/pathways-banking-education-background-finance/">The Sutton Trust</a> found that within <a href="https://www.theglobalcity.uk/financial-professional-services">financial services</a>, more than 60% of bosses educated in the UK had attended private schools, as opposed to just 7% of the population at large. And despite many interventions designed to improve representation of women at senior levels, a <a href="https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/under-10-of-top-city-dealmakers-are-women-its-still-very-testosterone-fuelled-20200810">2020 study</a> of the City’s top “deal-makers” in investment banks found that less than one in ten were women.</p>
<p>I believe that City firms’ efforts to become more diverse and inclusive, and to deliver more equal representation at the top, have not worked <em>because they were never meant to</em>. Instead, they are a form of “reputation laundering”, offering only the illusion of change in order to protect their privileges and rewards. This conclusion is based on my interviews with more than 400 City leaders and workers – among them diversity experts and human resource managers charged with trying to change the culture of this rarefied world.</p>
<h2>The phoney ‘war for talent’</h2>
<p>Class-based recruitment strategies are perceived to offer City firms certain benefits – in particular, sustaining the impression of status and prestige to competitors, clients, potential colleagues and even policymakers. This in turn helps justify the high fees they charge, and the exceptional profits they generate.</p>
<p>Defining employee “talent” in narrow terms creates an artificial impression of scarcity in available skills. At entry level, City firms battle to attract graduates from the UK’s most elite universities. This “war for talent” is largely phoney – in reality, the skills the firms need are available from a much wider cohort of graduates – but it has helped convince both City firms and clients of these employees’ exceptional worth.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509254/original/file-20230209-26-2cg6g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three Black men in suits chatting outside an office building" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509254/original/file-20230209-26-2cg6g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509254/original/file-20230209-26-2cg6g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509254/original/file-20230209-26-2cg6g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509254/original/file-20230209-26-2cg6g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509254/original/file-20230209-26-2cg6g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509254/original/file-20230209-26-2cg6g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509254/original/file-20230209-26-2cg6g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Non-white employees are typically much less likely to reach client-facing executive roles.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-20-april-2019-business-1819187273">I.R. Stone/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This narrative was invoked in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis when, despite being closely implicated in this catastrophic collapse, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/d4f02d66-1d84-11e0-a163-00144feab49a">top bankers argued</a> against punitive regulation on the basis that it would drive “scarce” UK financial talent <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2011/06/banks-threats-tax-government">to other countries</a>. More recently, it was used to justify the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/oct/14/bankers-bonuses-double-since-2008-crash-tuc-study-finds">very large bonuses</a> paid out to UK bankers in 2022 amid the growing cost of living crisis.</p>
<p>One law firm partner explained why his firm preferred to appoint “polished” candidates from elite universities, in preference to the very best who might be educated elsewhere:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>From a business perspective, you can’t afford to have people in meetings who will not look good to the clients, [even if] some might be very, very bright.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In part, this can be explained by City managers adopting a risk-averse strategy to recruitment. In the context of a considerable oversupply of job applications, a “good” degree from an “elite” university acts as an easy signal of probable competency. As asset manager Reena explained:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If we hire somebody from a completely different background and they don’t work out, the person who hires them is going to look like a fool. [Whereas] if we continue to hire the exact same type of person – the Oxbridge-educated white male, for argument’s sake – and that person doesn’t work out, which often happens, nobody will blame the hiring manager for making that decision.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Leigh, a former <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/trader.asp#:%7E:text=A%20trader%20is%20an%20individual,the%20person%20holds%20the%20asset.">City trader</a>, describes himself as a working-class “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrow_boy">barrow boy</a>”. He said that following the Big Bang in 1986, the City’s banks all started saying they had to recruit “only the best” university students:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>They came from Oxford or Durham or wherever – anywhere that looked good and if they could bullshit their way in … Some of them were good, but not all. They’d come in as graduates and have to learn on the job, but they had no common sense.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is not to say that the City has no diversity at all. But demographics differ between job roles, and class differences are most tolerated in more technical or “quantitative” roles such as trading, where performance can be more objectively measured and perceived success does not depend on personal relationships with clients. However, even these roles remain dominated by men, while diversity is considerably more likely in less prestigious and often lower-paid <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/middleoffice.asp#:%7E:text=What%20Is%20the%20Middle%20Office,technology%20(IT)%20as%20well.">middle</a>- and <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/backoffice.asp#:%7E:text=What%20Is%20Back%20Office%3F,%2C%20accounting%2C%20and%20IT%20services.">back-office</a> jobs.</p>
<h2>The City’s way of ‘doing diversity’</h2>
<p>In the early 2010s, when diversity and inclusion agendas were still quite new, Liam, a black corporate lawyer, sounded somewhat cynical when I spoke to him about the sincerity of these strategies:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Their dream scenario is to try and find a nice, uncontroversial way to try and ‘do diversity’ without having to change much of anything else.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Several years after that, Gus, a partner at one of the “big four” accountancy firms, reflected on why they had adopted these diversity agendas:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Why does anything like this become popular? I guess we were quite influenced by what other firms were doing around the same time – and that’s probably still true today … It was just the buzz in the City at the time.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While some firms have made efforts to become more diverse in their higher-profile, client-facing and revenue-generating jobs, when it comes to social class the focus has largely been on access rather than career progression. Thousands of young people, generally aged between 16 and 21 and from working-class backgrounds, have taken part in these <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350590737_Organisational_Social_Mobility_Programmes_as_Mechanisms_of_Power_and_Control">social mobility programmes</a> – often conducted with charities such as the Social Mobility Foundation, UpReach, the Sutton Trust and the City Brokerage.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/londons-skyscrapers-tell-a-rich-story-about-the-citys-worship-of-finance-69743">London's skyscrapers tell a rich story about the City's worship of finance</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>This seems positive and in one sense it is. I have interviewed several hundred of these students as they aim to secure a career in investment banking or with other financial and professional service firms. Many described these opportunities as “life changing”, telling me uplifting stories of their experiences as they first engaged with the City – sometimes while still at school.</p>
<p>Aspirant banker Max explained how everything about the City seemed to him “oversized” – from the office buildings to the furniture that fills them:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I mean, you’re in this massive building with these massive tables and chairs, and really awesome decor and art, and there’s people who are really well spoken and really professional in their suits.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Rahul sounded similarly awestruck as he described how growing up, he had seen the City from a distance but never expected to find himself there:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>My father was a greengrocer. We used to go to the market and [on the way] we’d be able to see the City … I used to literally stand and stare over and imagine what it would be like to be there. To fast-forward a couple of years and be able to be at the [bank’s] office was quite amazing.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509260/original/file-20230209-16-lwm7wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Skyscrapers in the City of London" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509260/original/file-20230209-16-lwm7wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509260/original/file-20230209-16-lwm7wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509260/original/file-20230209-16-lwm7wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509260/original/file-20230209-16-lwm7wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509260/original/file-20230209-16-lwm7wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509260/original/file-20230209-16-lwm7wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509260/original/file-20230209-16-lwm7wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The City of London skyline: ‘I used to stand and stare …’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/photos/skyline-london-financial-district-4587051/">Waid1995/Pixabay</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Participants of these schemes were frequently told that, given the City’s “meritocratic culture”, they should have high expectations of getting in. As Emily put it: “They say all the time: it doesn’t matter who you are, you can do anything as long as you work hard enough.”</p>
<p>Sam described having learnt that: “Anybody could become the CEO of a major bank. It’s just all about sacrifice … To do well, to rise up the ranks, it’s definitely the people that are the hardest working.”</p>
<p>Yet the reality for these working-class interns could soon feel very different. On entering mainstream graduate recruitment programmes, some told me they quickly discovered that “merit is a myth”. When we spoke in 2019, bank intern Mishal, a black woman in her early twenties from a working-class background, described her experience in visceral terms:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>What those people have been telling you [about diversity] is just the corporate crap that everybody vomits from their mouths … If you’d interviewed me [before] I probably would have said all those things. But now that I’ve actually been in a bank and seen it – I kept saying to my friends over the summer: “I have been sold dreams.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Mishal’s disillusionment was striking. “[They’ve] told me one thing and then I’ve come in and it’s a complete opposite other thing,” she complained. “Your motivation has to be so strong, because everything they tell you turns out not to be true.”</p>
<p>Some of the interns I met felt very self-conscious of their “different” appearance and demeanour, compared with the image that is so carefully cultivated by these City firms. Kasia described one of her encounters during an internship at an investment bank:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>My team had sent me to a meeting with about 40 white, middle-aged men. There was not a single female in the room … No one was below 35, 40 years old … I was just trembling with fear – like, I’m not valuable in this room.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Many interns said they felt strong pressure to assimilate while navigating sometimes hostile and frightening cultures. Kasia described making efforts to change her look and accent, adding:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I don’t want to be viewed as a social experiment who’s come, like, from the street … I want to be judged based on my abilities.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Young people like Kasia and Mishal are far from victims and would not wish to be seen as such – although neither went on to be offered a graduate job. However, it is clear that for some young interns, assimilation into the City of London is impossible – especially where class intersects with ethnicity.</p>
<p>Nor are these problems restricted to entry-level recruitment, as evidenced by lower retention rates and slower career progression for those who are employed. A <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c18e090b40b9d6b43b093d8/t/5fbc317e96e56f63b563d0f2/1606168962064/Socio-economic_report-Final.pdf">2020 study</a> of eight major financial services firms found that employees from less privileged backgrounds took 25% longer to progress, despite no evidence of poorer performance. Describing how your educational background can cast a shadow over a whole career, asset manager Euan told me, only half-jokingly: “It’s like if you went to an ex-poly – in the City that comes with a lifetime of shame!”</p>
<p>Tanya, a black woman working for a City finance firm, graduated from a leading <a href="https://russellgroup.ac.uk/about/">Russell Group university</a> but still described the barriers – some blatant, others more subtle – that she felt had delayed her career progression within the firm:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s difficult to exactly know the impact because a lot of it’s quite subtle. But I’m always, always focusing on creating the right impression, the right amount of assertiveness … It’s exhausting and there’s less energy to focus on work. But you never want to come across as the “angry black woman”, so even when there is more blatant discrimination, it’s too dangerous to complain.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>The myth of merit</h2>
<p>Many people are taken in by the City’s “myth of merit” – not least some of its top bosses, who prefer to believe their own positions are based on exceptional talent and hard work, rather than any inherited privilege. Attempts I have made to question this narrative, both during informal conversations and formal interviews, have sometimes met with robust responses. As corporate lawyer Kris said when we spoke a few years ago:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I came from a relatively humble background myself and I got into the system … I think they would be quite offended if you said the major City firms were unmeritocratic. I would be offended.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And indeed, some working-class figures have acquired legendary status. In his <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/jan/30/city-london-david-kynaston">biography of the City of London</a>, historian David Kynaston profiles several, including John Hutchinson – a “brash whiz-kid” who took on a key role trading gilts at <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/28/business/merrill-lynch-s-london-blitz.html">Merrill Lynch</a>. Playing up the successes of such figures has helped to support the City’s meritocratic narratives.</p>
<p>The emphasis on merit also helps cement the impression that these firms are engaged in highly complex work that only the very smartest people can do. In her <a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/liquidated">superlative work</a> exploring the City’s US equivalent, Wall Street, anthropologist Karen Ho shows how this exaggerated narrative helped situate investment bankers as the epitome of control and technical competency, offering them a “naturalised” right to their place near the top of the social order – both in terms of earnings and status.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6sbOXBoBZ1c?wmode=transparent&start=38" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Big Bang in 1986 changed the culture of the City – but its elitist image has endured despite calls for change.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Similarly, in London since the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37751599">Big Bang</a>, a discourse of “smartness” (of intellect) has become central to the image of investment bankers and other City professionals. This means financial rewards which far outstrip most other sectors’ pay levels can be justified on the basis that they are fairly allocated to “only the brightest and best”.</p>
<p>Many City workers <em>are</em> exceptionally qualified and also very bright. By the 2010s, new entrants to investment banks in the UK were typically among the top 1% of performers in A-levels or equivalent. Corporate lawyer, Rob, explained that while in the old days “it didn’t really matter if you were a bit dim”, the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/the-day-big-bang-blasted-the-old-boys-into-oblivion-422005.html">arrival of the American banks</a> in the wake of the Big Bang led to a more “intensive, more competitive style of work … more of a meritocracy”.</p>
<p>However, the City’s highly remunerated jobs are still overwhelmingly done by white men who have benefited from a private school education – the children of the affluent middle and upper classes. Furthermore, if any unfair recruitment practices or treatment of employees come to light, City firms typically employ the shield of “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/20/style/diversity-consultants.html">unconscious bias</a>” to explain away any discrepancies in staff makeup or treatment.</p>
<p>This response can suggest a sort of “no-fault discrimination” where since everybody is to blame, nobody is. Some academics <a href="https://scholar.harvard.edu/iris_bohnet/what-works">argue</a> that putting a heavy focus on unconscious bias reflects a misguided, highly individualised response to what is actually a systemic, structural problem.</p>
<p>But in the City of London, my research shows that discrimination is also, in part, a conscious choice that offers systematic advantages for more privileged groups – while supporting an image of “desirable elitism”. And where this is the case, City firms prefer us to look away.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ioJAymw7cQ0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Ian Clarke came through HSBC’s management training scheme in 2008, but resigned from his job in global sales in 2021 after writing a report about the bank’s lack of diversity.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Investment banks are characterised by opacity and secrecy – sometimes justified by their need to to maintain a “competitive advantage”. But the related use of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-disclosure_agreement">non-disclosure agreements</a> for employment contracts has meant that many discrimination cases involving City firms have never seen the light of day.</p>
<p>Where this was not the case, legal actions and tribunals have periodically shed light on instances of <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/17/london-insurance-firm-fined-1-million-over-bullying-sexual-harassment.html">bullying and sexual harassment</a> (leading to a more than £1 million fine) and <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/310caee4-d2d9-4f88-9a2b-f6d790b9eb1b">gender discrimination</a> (£2 million payout). There is strong evidence that the City’s historic “laddish” culture <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/has-the-city-booted-out-lad-culture-tfc9mqptl">continues to exist</a> in <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/business/lloyd-s-of-london-culture-drinking-sexism-b988746.html">pockets</a>, and that in some cases this leads to <a href="https://twitter.com/Telegraph/status/1505838573467144193">hostility</a> towards individuals who exist outside established white, male, middle-class norms.</p>
<h2>Why this matters</h2>
<p>Over the past 40 years, inequalities of income and wealth have become more pronounced in the UK. The <a href="https://ifs.org.uk/publications/characteristics-and-incomes-top-1">share of national income</a> taken by the top 1% increased from almost 6% in 1977 to around 14% in 2019. The City’s remuneration practices are implicated here, with the Institute of Fiscal Studies <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/may/04/city-london-bonus-boom-risk-driving-up-inequality-institute-fiscal-studies">reporting</a> in 2022 that the City’s pay and bonus packages exacerbate inequality.</p>
<p>The UK’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/30/england-old-boys-club-zahawi-wealthy-network">cosy relationship between finance and politics</a> enhances the City’s influence. Bosses and politicians alike claim this is justified because of the City’s <a href="https://www.economicsobservatory.com/how-important-is-the-city-to-the-uk-economy#:%7E:text=Economists%20use%20the%20expression%20because,City%20(Hutton%2C%202022).">major contribution</a> to the UK economy in terms of jobs, tax revenues and trade.</p>
<p>Yet an alternative argument is that the UK’s oversized financial sector impoverishes the UK, resulting from what author Nicholas Shaxson calls the “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/oct/05/the-finance-curse-how-the-outsized-power-of-the-city-of-london-makes-britain-poorer">finance curse</a>”. He cites <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/finance-curse-uk-economy-sector-city-of-london-loss-financial-services-a8571036.html">research</a> estimating that an oversized City of London inflicted costs of £4.5 trillion on the UK economy between 1995 and 2015. This is explained in part by lost economic output since the 2008 financial crisis, and in part from “<a href="https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/143275/1/Baker%20The-UKs-Finance-Curse-Costs-and-Processes%20final.pdf">misallocation costs</a>” as big finance has generated activities that distort the rest of the UK economy – diverting skills, investments and resources from more productive uses.</p>
<p>Shaxson also points to £700 billion of “excess profits” and “excess remuneration” enjoyed by big finance which might otherwise have contributed to the UK economy. He suggests the salaries, bonuses and profits paid out by the City significantly exceed what is necessary to incentivise the supply of financial products and services in an efficient, competitive market.</p>
<p>At the heart of these eye-watering figures are policies first implemented during the 1980s, which privileged the need to maximise shareholder returns over reinvesting profits. This <a href="https://neweconomics.org/uploads/files/NEF_SHAREHOLDER-CAPITALISM_E_latest.pdf">short-term agenda</a> has been associated with rising salaries at the top, growing inequality in UK society, and even increased levels of environmental destruction.</p>
<p>At the same time, financial institutions have been afforded ever-more influence over UK economic policy. Wealthy City donors have <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-funding-donors-money-general-election-lib-dems-labour-a9362571.html">helped fund political parties</a> to ensure policies are prioritised that protect their interests. City leaders have not only shaped laws and regulations in their favour, but also influenced society and culture. This includes promoting a form of “winner takes all” individualism in which the notion of the common good has slowly dissipated.</p>
<p>In the UK, the <a href="https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/why-we-cant-afford-the-rich">poorest 10%</a> pay a higher proportion of their income in tax than the richest 10%, while <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/11/opinion/pandora-papers-britain-london.html">corporate tax avoidance strategies</a> have additionally limited the redistribution of wealth. In 2015, the Bank of England’s then chief economist, Andy Haldane, <a href="https://twitter.com/BBCNewsnight/status/625081308063121408">warned</a> that under our system, businesses are now “almost eating themselves”. He called on policymakers to consider new models of corporate governance that “share the spoils more equally between a wider set of stakeholders in a firm”, including employees and customers.</p>
<h2>Will the City ever change?</h2>
<p>In 2021, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_London_Corporation">City of London Corporation</a> (the City’s formal governing body) set up an <a href="https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/supporting-businesses/business-support-and-advice/socio-economic-diversity-taskforce">independent taskforce</a> with a vision of encouraging “equity of progression”, where high performance is valued over “fit” and “polish”. I was a member of this two-year initiative, which culminated in the publication of a <a href="https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/assets/Business/breaking-the-class-barrier-december-2022.pdf">five-point pathway</a> to achieve a more socio-economically diverse City of London.</p>
<p>The impact of this taskforce is debatable, but to be fair to its many committed participants, delivering more inclusive and diverse organisations is a “wicked problem” that is difficult, if not impossible, to solve. Not least because not everybody agrees on the nature of the problem – nor even that the problem exists.</p>
<p>Efforts at change have generally been pinned on the “business case” – that once hiring managers are convinced discrimination is irrational, they will feel compelled to act. Yet this is unlikely to work because the incentives are not there. Class-based inequalities embedded within systems and structures offer elite City firms certain benefits, while diversification carries perceived risks.</p>
<p>The business case sometimes suggests diversification will make the City a better or even safer place, by allowing for cognitive difference while preventing “<a href="https://www.cityam.com/businesses-without-diversity-are-plagued-by-groupthink/">groupthink</a>”. But new entrants are generally subjected to strong socialisation processes that train them to present and even think much the same, as management consultant, Diletta, explained to me:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>As much as [firms] talk about diversity, especially now with all this stuff on social class – it’s almost impossible to exist outside the norms … That’s what training is all about. We’re extremely effective at making sure everybody is packaged up and churned out looking and sounding exactly the same. That’s our product. It’s what we sell.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It seems that in the City, people can be different as long as they are the same. A genuine desire among many City people to deliver fairer outcomes is no match for institutional inertia. When it comes to social class, firms have historically tended to adopt a “deficit” model where young people from working-class backgrounds are assumed to lack the necessary forms of “polish” to get on, and efforts centre on how these deficits can be addressed.</p>
<p>But the challenges they face are not limited to “polish”. Growing up poor in a rich society contributes to long-lasting and sometimes career-limiting feelings of stigma and shame. Abdul explained his feelings as he struggled to access a graduate position in an investment bank:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I was surrounded by people who were, I suppose you could say, better than me … I didn’t belong.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>An emphasis on social mobility is an attractive agenda for both City leaders and politicians who can present change as a “win-win” – for talented people and the organisations they join. But in practice, this is a zero-sum game: when opportunities are not expanding in absolute terms, for some people to move up others must move down. Current conversations allow City and other elites to avoid such uncomfortable truths.</p>
<p>Instead they focus on more palatable, less threatening questions of culture and behaviour, over the fundamental changes that are needed if the UK’s resources and rewards are to be more fairly distributed. The City of London must recognise its own role in perpetuating – and increasing – economic injustice if ever this status quo is to change.</p>
<p><em>* All interviewees’ names have been changed to protect their anonymity.</em></p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-public-cost-of-private-schools-rising-fees-and-luxury-facilities-raise-questions-about-charitable-status-182060?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">The public cost of private schools: rising fees and luxury facilities raise questions about charitable status
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<p><em>To hear about new Insights articles, join the hundreds of thousands of people who value The Conversation’s evidence-based news. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/the-daily-newsletter-2?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK"><strong>Subscribe to our newsletter</strong></a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199474/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Research mentioned in this article received funding from government and charitable bodies. However, to protect confidentiality I do not mention which organisations. There is no conflict of interest and individuals took part on the basis of informed consent. I was a working group member for the Corporation of London Taskforce on Socioeconomic Diversity, which is mentioned in this article. I am the author of the recently published book Highly Discriminating: Why The City Isn't Fair and Diversity Doesn't Work. </span></em></p>My research suggests City firms’ efforts to deliver more equal representation at the top have not worked because they were never meant to.Louise Ashley, Senior Lecturer, Queen Mary University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1999652023-02-19T19:10:32Z2023-02-19T19:10:32ZShould private schools share their facilities with public students?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510509/original/file-20230216-22-brcvgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C47%2C6310%2C4089&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Cottonbro Studio/Pexels</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is a <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/top-private-schools-face-pressure-to-open-grounds-to-public-students-20230202-p5cheu.html">new push</a> for private schools to open their grounds and facilities to the broader community. North Sydney mayor Zoe Baker, wants to ask top private schools in her area to share their green spaces and other facilities. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>For so much of the year, schools sit unused and most campuses close at 4pm. We should search for opportunities where space can be shared where it is suitable.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Along with opening up space for the public, she also suggests public school students could use the playing fields, halls and performing arts centres after-hours. </p>
<p>Amid headlines about private schools building <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/king-s-school-ordered-to-immediately-cease-plans-for-headmaster-s-plunge-pool-20230213-p5ck5f.html">plunge pools</a> and A$125 million <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/exclusive-private-school-s-new-sporting-facilities-cause-diplomatic-row-20220706-p5azn1.html">sports centres</a> and a <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/the-gap-between-wealthy-and-disadvantaged-schools-is-widening-research-shows/gunvsohvb">widening gap</a> in results between students between high and low socioeconomic backgrounds, could this be a way to make the education system fairer and improve outcomes for all students? </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-private-high-school-enrolments-have-jumped-70-since-2012-195714">Australian private high school enrolments have jumped 70% since 2012</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The idea isn’t new</h2>
<p>The idea to open up grounds and facilities is not new.</p>
<p>In 2018, former New South Wales education minister Rob Stokes said both public and private schools <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/education/nsw-could-pilot-morning-and-afternoon-schools-rob-stokes-says-20181204-p50k41.html">should be opened up</a> to the community as they were “public spaces”. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We pay for them, I feel the same way about private schools as well, a lot of money goes into them and a way they can get a social licence to operate in the local community is to let the community utilise them.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The NSW government also introduced a <a href="https://www.schoolinfrastructure.nsw.gov.au/content/infrastructure/www/what-we-do/we-support-communities/share-our-space.html">Share Our Space</a> program where schools received a grant to upgrade their facilities for both community and school use during the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-15/nsw-schools-open-playgrounds-for-summer-holidays/9260508">school holidays</a>. </p>
<p>In Victoria, <a href="https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/principals/management/Improving_together.pdf">schools have been encouraged</a> to consider partnerships with other school sectors to improve education and opportunities for students since 2016.</p>
<p>However, partnerships are only formed in an ad hoc way, relying on schools to develop their own relationships. Current sharing arrangements between public and private schools mainly focus on infrastructure. This includes access to sporting grounds, theatre spaces, and specialist learning environments, such as STEM centres. </p>
<h2>Could sharing be expanded?</h2>
<p>So far, this debate has underestimated what government schools could bring to the equation. The traffic tends to be one way from private to public. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Swimmers in lanes in a pool." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510510/original/file-20230216-16-lnvjn9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510510/original/file-20230216-16-lnvjn9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510510/original/file-20230216-16-lnvjn9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510510/original/file-20230216-16-lnvjn9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510510/original/file-20230216-16-lnvjn9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510510/original/file-20230216-16-lnvjn9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510510/original/file-20230216-16-lnvjn9.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">Sharing between schools could go beyond just using facilities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nick Rush/Pexels</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Public schools could also share their teaching expertise, professional learning opportunities and curriculum resources with nearby private schools. As a result, more subject areas and elective options could be offered. </p>
<p>This could equally include partnering with other public schools to expand opportunities for their students. It is interesting to consider how this approach may have better supported schools and teachers throughout pandemic lockdowns. </p>
<p>The Victorian government has begun some work in this area. It has a toolkit which <a href="https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/principals/management/Improving_together.pdf">highlights the possibilities</a> of sharing teaching and curriculum ideas. But again, this continues to be ad hoc and more formalised mechanisms are needed to build partnerships. </p>
<h2>Is this a good idea?</h2>
<p>Firstly, care must be taken to not overestimate the value of private schooling on learning. While access to state-of-the-art facilities is understandably attractive, <a href="https://theconversation.com/going-to-private-school-wont-make-a-difference-to-your-kids-academic-scores-175638">research suggests</a> there is little evidence a private school education ultimately makes a difference to students academically, once socio-economic status is taken into account.</p>
<p>A possible sticking point in any sharing arrangements is that existing partnership models have traditionally involved payment. Arguably if one school is simply paying another a fee to use their resources or facilities it may not really be classified as “sharing”. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-a-new-online-only-private-school-what-are-the-options-if-the-mainstream-system-doesnt-suit-your-child-189138">Australia has a new online-only private school: what are the options if the mainstream system doesn't suit your child?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>If sharing occurred between schools, rather than just public students using private schools’ facilities, it may be possible to rethink this approach. Thinking needs to move from a focus on physical resources and facilities to include the sharing of curriculum and teaching expertise in both directions. </p>
<p>While there may be some resistance from school communities where parents are paying <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/cost-of-private-education-for-two-children-hits-1m-in-sydney-20230124-p5cezy.html">large school fees</a>, the benefit for private schools is building local goodwill which may prove useful in seeking to expand their brand in the community. </p>
<p>Of course, we are still left with the issue of why some private schools have the facilities they have in comparison with other schools and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-money-for-private-schools-wont-make-australias-education-fairer-no-matter-how-you-split-it-132769">funding system</a> that allows this to happen. </p>
<p>This debate is a vexed one. But there is an opportunity here if school communities are prepared to work together to share their strengths and resources.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199965/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>There is a new push for private schools to open their grounds and facilities to the broader communityAnge Fitzgerald, Professor, Associate Dean (Education) and Director (Initial Teacher Education), RMIT UniversityThembi Mason, Lecturer, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1987682023-02-09T13:35:09Z2023-02-09T13:35:09ZPublic school enrollment dropped by 1.2M during the pandemic – an expert discusses where the students went and why it matters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508483/original/file-20230206-17-8m0130.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4025%2C2679&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some parents decided to continue home-schooling their kids even after public schools resumed in-person classes.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreakSchools/645e25ea11a34a59983949f05e8fbe0a/photo">AP Photo/Sarah Blake Morgan</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Student learning took a big hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Just how much is only becoming clear nearly three years after the World Health Organization declared the pandemic and nearly all U.S. public schools pivoted to online instruction for at least several months in March 2020.</p>
<p>However, the data guiding the nation’s efforts to help kids catch up does not generally include the students who experienced the most dramatic learning disruptions.</p>
<p>Nationwide testing results released in the fall of 2022 revealed that the <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/highlights/reading/2022/">reading</a> and <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/highlights/mathematics/2022/">math</a> performance on standardized tests of students who were in fourth and eighth grades in the U.S. in the 2021-2022 school year declined by <a href="https://ies.ed.gov/director/remarks/11-2-2022.asp">historic amounts</a>.</p>
<p>This dramatic evidence of learning loss has <a href="https://www.ed.gov/news/media-advisories/us-department-education-hold-first-several-sessions-strategies-and-programs-boost-academic-recovery-impact-pandemic">mobilized federal, state and local education leaders</a>. The federal government has allocated US$122 billion to support state and local efforts to help students “<a href="https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/department-hosts-raising-bar-literacy-math-series-address-academic-recovery">catch up in the classroom</a>.”</p>
<p>Public school districts are using these resources to fund <a href="https://www.k12dive.com/news/report-40-of-districts-plan-to-spend-esser-funds-on-tutoring/621740/">tutoring</a> and <a href="https://www.edweek.org/leadership/how-are-schools-spending-esser-funds-4-takeaways-from-a-new-report/2022/05">extended learning time</a>. And <a href="https://caldercenter.org/publications/challenges-implementing-academic-covid-recovery-interventions-evidence-road-recovery">researchers are assessing</a> the effects of these investments on standardized test scores.</p>
<p>However, these efforts do little to identify or target support to the children whose learning environments were most disrupted by the pandemic. This is especially so for the youngest students, who aren’t yet old enough for most standardized testing.</p>
<h2>Enrollment decline and the ‘streetlight effect’</h2>
<p>During the pandemic, public school enrollment in grades K through 12 fell by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/17/us/public-schools-falling-enrollment.html">1.2 million</a> students. These declines were concentrated among <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/07/us/covid-kindergarten-enrollment.html">kindergarten students</a> and in schools that <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312221140029">offered only remote instruction</a>.</p>
<p>Similarly dramatic enrollment losses among even younger learners <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/04/26/1094781782/preschool-enrollment-pandemic">erased a decade of progress</a> in boosting preschool education enrollment.</p>
<p>These declines indicate that the pandemic caused students to miss instructional time or undertake disruptive school switches, often in their developmentally critical early years.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://network.asbointl.org/viewdocument/asbo-international-survey-report-h-1">school officials</a> list early-childhood programs among the least popular use of available federal funds and provide no indication of targeted academic-recovery efforts for younger or truant students.</p>
<p>This is an example of what scholars call the “<a href="https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/why-scientific-studies-are-so-often-wrong-the-streetlight-effect">streetlight effect</a>,” in which people focus their attention on easily visible evidence – such as the test scores available for older, currently enrolled students – rather than other relevant data that are more obscured and harder to identify.</p>
<p>And long lags in national data reporting mean little is yet known about the learning environments of the disproportionately young children whose families avoided public schools during the pandemic. Currently, official federal statistics do not even provide basic data on <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d21/tables/dt21_205.10.asp?current=yes">private school</a> or <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d21/tables/dt21_206.10.asp?current=yes">home-school</a> enrollment beyond 2019.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508506/original/file-20230206-17-bdqtil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A child sits at a desk marking a paper with a pencil." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508506/original/file-20230206-17-bdqtil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508506/original/file-20230206-17-bdqtil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508506/original/file-20230206-17-bdqtil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508506/original/file-20230206-17-bdqtil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508506/original/file-20230206-17-bdqtil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508506/original/file-20230206-17-bdqtil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508506/original/file-20230206-17-bdqtil.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">In most schools, standardized tests don’t start until well beyond kindergarten.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/exam-time-royalty-free-image/679376636">FatCamera/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Where the kids went</h2>
<p>My <a href="https://www.urban.org/research/publication/where-kids-went-nonpublic-schooling-and-demographic-change-during-pandemic">research</a>, done collaboratively with <a href="https://apnews.com/article/enrollment-missing-kids-homeschooling">The Associated Press</a> and data journalists at Stanford University’s <a href="https://biglocalnews.org/">Big Local News</a>, addresses this issue. </p>
<p>For our analysis, we gathered <a href="https://purl.stanford.edu/sb152xr1685">state-level data</a> on public, private and home-school enrollment for the school years from 2019-20 through 2021-22. We also used U.S. Census Bureau estimates to identify the school-age population in each state over this time period. These combined data provide insights into where the students who avoided public schools went and what it means for the nation’s academic-recovery efforts. </p>
<p>Complete data aren’t available in every state, but we have good data on more than half of the school-age population in the U.S. at the onset of the pandemic. These states also experienced public school enrollment declines that are representative of the national trend.</p>
<p>Some students, particularly the youngest, clearly turned to private schools during the pandemic. In the 34 jurisdictions with available data, private school enrollment grew by over 140,000 students between the 2019-20 and 2021-22 school years. However, this increase only explains a modest amount – roughly 14% – of the corresponding decline in public school enrollment.</p>
<p>A more surprising finding is the robust growth of home-schooling during this period. An <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/03/homeschooling-on-the-rise-during-covid-19-pandemic.html">early Census Bureau survey</a> reported that home-schooling increased soon after the pandemic began. Our data show this initial increase endured into the 2021-22 school year when most public schools returned to in-person instruction.</p>
<p>In the 22 jurisdictions with data, home-school enrollment increased by over 184,000 students between the 2019-20 and 2021-22 school years – a 30% increase. For every additional student enrolled in private school over this period, nearly two entered home-schooling. This sustained growth in home-schooling explains 26% of the corresponding losses in public school enrollment.</p>
<p>Roughly a quarter of the public school enrollment loss simply reflects the pandemic decline in the number of school-age children in the U.S. However, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-states-migration-lockdowns-census-11640733268">people moving to new homes during the pandemic</a> means this demographic impact varied considerably by state. In states like California and New York, which saw their overall <a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021/2021-population-estimates.html">populations fall dramatically</a>, the percentage declines in public school enrollment were at least six times those in states like Texas and Florida, where populations grew.</p>
<h2>New questions for academic recovery</h2>
<p>These findings raise several new questions about what help American students will need to get their education back on track. For instance, researchers know little about the learning opportunities available to children who switched to home-schooling, or the effects of this choice on families.</p>
<p>Our data is also unable to locate more than one-third of the students who left public schools. That could mean that some children are not going to school at all – or that even more families started home-schooling but did so without notifying their state.</p>
<p>A third possibility is that the pandemic led more families to have their kids skip kindergarten. Our data indirectly supports this conjecture. The unexplained declines in public school enrollment are concentrated in <a href="https://reports.ecs.org/comparisons/state-k-3-policies-06">states that do not require kindergarten attendance</a>, like California and Colorado.</p>
<p>What we do know is the pandemic’s learning disruptions occurred disproportionately among the nation’s youngest learners. </p>
<p>Our work to understand and respond to this situation is just beginning. One possible response is to refocus some federal funding on the broad use of early screening tools to reliably identify – and address – learning setbacks years before students are old enough to take the current battery of standardized tests, which often begins in the third grade. Policymakers can also do more to locate students who are missing and to understand the educational needs of those outside the light of conventional data systems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198768/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Dee does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Federal, state and local efforts to help students recover learning they missed or lost during the pandemic are underway. But those projects don’t include the youngest students.Thomas Dee, Barnett Family Professor, Stanford UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1981532023-01-24T18:00:03Z2023-01-24T18:00:03ZThe cost of school uniforms is a barrier to education – but there are ways to level the playing field<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505994/original/file-20230124-19-r5t4em.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6009%2C4000&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>This year’s perennial back-to-school uniform discussion happens during a cost of living crisis. And we already know that the upfront and maintenance costs of school uniforms are a stress for families on lower incomes, in <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40841-016-0046-z">New Zealand</a> and globally across <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335659989_The_influence_of_poverty_on_children's_school_experiences_pupils'_perspectives">rich</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03057925.2019.1579637?journalCode=ccom20">poor</a> countries alike.</p>
<p>The Human Rights Commission even publishes <a href="https://www.hrc.co.nz/news/new-rights-based-school-uniform-guidelines/">school uniform guidelines</a>, setting out how school policies can help pupils’ physical and mental health. And while cost is outside the guidelines’ scope, the commission acknowledges this is a common problem and it encourages schools to make uniforms accessible.</p>
<p>This is important, as uniform cost has been shown to reduce attendance and enrolment among pupils from lower income families. In other words, uniform affordability is an important factor in people accessing their <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2020/0038/latest/LMS171365.html">right to state-funded education</a>. </p>
<p>Given uniforms in themselves have no direct link to academic performance, there is a high price to pay for their being an obstacle to learning. However, there are things governments, schools and communities can do to improve this situation.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505998/original/file-20230124-15-8zwkm2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505998/original/file-20230124-15-8zwkm2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505998/original/file-20230124-15-8zwkm2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505998/original/file-20230124-15-8zwkm2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505998/original/file-20230124-15-8zwkm2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505998/original/file-20230124-15-8zwkm2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505998/original/file-20230124-15-8zwkm2.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">School uniforms were originally intended to disguise socioeconomic difference.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>Uniform as ‘social camouflage’</h2>
<p>It’s acknowledged across the political spectrum that education lifts people out of poverty, improves lives and boosts the economy. Indeed, the desire to remove the most outward signs of socioeconomic difference was a key reason school uniforms were adopted in the first place. </p>
<p>A well designed uniform should be comfortable, appealing and inclusive, easy to wear and allow physical activity. It can and should take away the pressure to wear expensive labels (sometimes called “social camouflage”), and remove distractions in class.</p>
<p>But if it’s unaffordable, many low-income students are no better off. Garments that were originally introduced to remove barriers can end up actually getting in the way of the right to a (theoretically) free education.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/once-a-form-of-social-camouflage-school-uniforms-have-become-impractical-and-unfair-why-its-time-for-a-makeover-175320">Once a form of ‘social camouflage’, school uniforms have become impractical and unfair. Why it’s time for a makeover</a>
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<p>Government policy that bolsters existing initiatives would help, starting with a requirement for all schools to have a uniform policy. A nationwide overview of uniform costs, rules and dress codes could form the basis of a resource for schools to help develop best practice processes and principles that build on the Human Rights Commission guidelines. </p>
<p>With the government’s new <a href="https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/changes-in-education/equity-index/">equity index</a> for funding high-need schools to improve students’ educational outcomes, it makes sense that the known obstacle of school uniform affordability doesn’t stop students getting through the gates. </p>
<p>New Zealand (along with other <a href="https://brill.com/view/journals/ser/54/1/article-p26_003.xml">similar countries</a>) could also amend its <a href="https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/eligibility/children/school-uniforms-and-stationery.html">existing welfare grants process</a> to better reflect the high upfront cost of school uniforms and make the eligibility criteria broader – especially given current inflation rates.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505996/original/file-20230124-11-uu4dwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505996/original/file-20230124-11-uu4dwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505996/original/file-20230124-11-uu4dwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505996/original/file-20230124-11-uu4dwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505996/original/file-20230124-11-uu4dwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505996/original/file-20230124-11-uu4dwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505996/original/file-20230124-11-uu4dwt.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">Plain sports-style uniforms have been embraced by state and private schools alike.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Benefits of simpler, more affordable uniforms</h2>
<p>In New Zealand’s devolved system, where school boards and communities have significant control of school operations, uniform policies are influenced by local expectations. Uniform design reflects tradition, helps identify students and signals a school’s place in the education market.</p>
<p>And while uniforms have no direct impact on academic performance, they influence how comfortable students feel in the learning environment. So understanding the functions of a uniform can help determine its form. </p>
<p>Mental and physical comfort, respect, and physical activity all improve learning. This explains why a simpler sports-style uniform that hits a number of targets for <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/18377122.2012.666198?journalCode=rasp20">physical activity</a>, comfort and affordability has been adopted by both <a href="https://www.kingswoodcollege.vic.edu.au/">private</a> and public schools.</p>
<p>However, choice and affordability are linked to supply and demand. To ensure a thriving market, schools should follow Commerce Commission <a href="https://comcom.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0027/117549/School-uniforms-and-supplies-Fact-sheet-February-2019.pdf">guidelines</a> to regularly review suppliers and encourage competition for their business. </p>
<p>Additionally, allowing some uniform items to be purchased from any retailer, as opposed to specific suppliers, works out <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/436576/RR474_Cost_of_school_uniform.pdf">cheaper overall</a>. Schools should consult with parents about uniform purpose, expectation and changes, and be transparent about any profits made from selling new uniforms. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/school-uniforms-are-meant-to-foster-a-sense-of-belonging-and-raise-achievement-but-its-not-clear-that-they-do-197935">School uniforms are meant to foster a sense of belonging and raise achievement – but it's not clear that they do</a>
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<h2>Level playing fields</h2>
<p>We know those experiencing hardship often don’t ask for help because they feel ashamed. Schools can counter this by considering how hardship funds are administered and whether school uniforms can simply be supplied on enrolment.</p>
<p>Other strategies include having more expensive items, such as blazers, that can be borrowed when representing the school or for formal occasions; allowing students to discreetly borrow uniform items until their families can afford new or secondhand items; or simply giving students in need good quality secondhand uniforms. </p>
<p>Most schools have already established secondhand uniform sales, stocking good quality used items at a reasonable price. </p>
<p>As the Human Rights Commission guidelines make clear, school uniforms and policies about their use should be informed by considerations of human dignity, rights and Treaty of Waitangi principles. </p>
<p>These serve to shield pupils against racism and bullying, and protect culture, identity and religious expression, meaning students can feel comfortable and get on with learning. So let’s also think harder about uniform costs as integral to the value of our investment in education.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198153/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Johanna Reidy has received funding from University of Otago Research Grant 2023 for a pilot project to explore school uniform usage and health. </span></em></p>As the start of the school year looms, school uniform prices will be front-of-mind for many families already facing a cost of living crisis. What can be done to reduce the burden?Johanna Reidy, Lecturer, Department of Public Health, University of OtagoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1924902022-11-01T20:16:59Z2022-11-01T20:16:59ZWhy attending publicly funded schools may help students become more culturally sensitive<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492625/original/file-20221031-25-klp6rc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C148%2C4712%2C2341&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A new study found that graduates of publicly funded schools were more likely to disagree with statements such as 'discrimination is no longer a major problem.'</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Being an intercultural citizen — someone who supports the principle of a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1477878503001002001">multicultural state and also demonstrates positive personal attitudes towards diversity</a>
— is considered essential <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/in/documentViewer.xhtml?v=2.1.196&id=p::usmarcdef_0000147878&file=/in/rest/annotationSVC/DownloadWatermarkedAttachment/attach_import_c86aa337-73af-4adb-bbe3-f7ae0e8126cc%3F_%3D147878eng.pdf&locale=en&multi=true&ark=/ark:/48223/pf0000147878/PDF/147878eng.pdf#%5B%7B%22num%22%3A89%2C%22gen%22%3A0%7D%2C%7B%22name%22%3A%22XYZ%22%7D%2C-75%2C627%2C0%5D">from a human rights perspective</a>. What kind of learning best supports its development? </p>
<p>To try to answer this question, I surveyed close to 400 recent Ontario high school graduates who attended regular and specialized programs in public and private schools and interviewed 14 students. </p>
<p>My survey questions sought to gauge the extent to which graduates demonstrated openness, interest, positivity and comfort with others. My study defined this as having <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1477878503001002001">an open intercultural</a> orientation.</p>
<p>I found that graduates who attended publicly funded schools were more likely to have open intercultural orientations than those who attended private schools. I also found positive associations between those who attended schools with students of different backgrounds and experiences. </p>
<p>Yet despite these positive associations, my research also suggested that learning environments may constrain intercultural relationships and fail to support racialized students, LGBTQ+ students and students from non-Christian religious backgrounds in expressing their views.</p>
<h2>Gauging perspectives</h2>
<p>To gauge the intercultural orientations of graduates, I used survey questions developed by the Ontario Human Rights Commission for <a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/taking-the-pulse-peoples-opinions-human-rights-ontario">a 2017 survey that took the pulse on people’s opinions on human rights in the province</a>. </p>
<p>These questions presented graduates with examples of human rights accommodations and discriminatory statements and asked respondents the extent to which they agreed with them. I also asked graduates about the characteristics of the high schools they attended.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Students seen congregating on steps in dicussion." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492619/original/file-20221031-25-ibj2i0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492619/original/file-20221031-25-ibj2i0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492619/original/file-20221031-25-ibj2i0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492619/original/file-20221031-25-ibj2i0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492619/original/file-20221031-25-ibj2i0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492619/original/file-20221031-25-ibj2i0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492619/original/file-20221031-25-ibj2i0.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">Students were asked their opinions concerning discrimination and human rights accommodations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Of the 390 survey respondents, graduates self-identified their backgrounds, based on categories from the Ontario Human Rights Commission, as: British (84); other European ancestry (49); Chinese (50); South Asian (47); Black (30); Arab (19); Latin American (13); French (11); South East Asian (14); Indigenous (10); West Asian (7); Multiple (8); Filipino (6); Korean (6); Japanese (1). Thirty-five respondents preferred not to say.</p>
<p>Study participants were more likely to disagree with statements such as “we would be better off in Ontario if we stopped letting in so many immigrants,” “some jobs are better suited for men, some are better suited for women,” “discrimination is no longer a major problem,” if they attended schools that were publicly funded. </p>
<p>They were also more likely to disagree if they attended schools where many or most other students did not share their ethnicity or belong to their religious group.</p>
<h2>Friendships across differences</h2>
<p>My study, drawing on both survey questions and interviews, found that higher levels of diversity in school enrolment and graduates’ relationships — the friendships they had with people from different ethnicities and faiths — were related to higher levels of interculturalism. </p>
<p>Thirteen students I interviewed attended public schools throughout all or most of high school; one interviewee attended a private school. Eight interviewees self-identified as having European ancestry, four identified as Black and two as Asian. </p>
<p>Six of the seven interviewed graduates with higher levels of interculturalism had attended schools they reported had diverse enrolments and the seventh attended a school with a significant number of Indigenous students. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Students seen working at a table." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492621/original/file-20221031-16-c0j3b8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492621/original/file-20221031-16-c0j3b8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492621/original/file-20221031-16-c0j3b8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492621/original/file-20221031-16-c0j3b8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492621/original/file-20221031-16-c0j3b8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492621/original/file-20221031-16-c0j3b8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492621/original/file-20221031-16-c0j3b8.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">The study found an association between diversity in a school, the students’ interpersonal relationships and higher levels of intercultural openness.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Marginalized perspectives in classrooms</h2>
<p>Graduates who had regular contact with or were members of groups that are often the target of discrimination — people of colour, LGBTQ+ graduates, those with disabilities and women — held fewer discriminatory views. </p>
<p>However, surveyed graduates who were Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim or Sikh, and interviewed graduates who were people of colour or LGBTQ+, reported less comfort expressing their views in their high schools. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/schools-need-to-step-up-to-address-islamophobia-169937">Schools need to step up to address Islamophobia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This suggests that students who are racialized, from non-Christian faiths and LGBTQ+ may be more open to others, while experiencing more exclusion themselves. </p>
<p>It also suggests schools have work to do in order to make all students comfortable enough to share their perspectives. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-spark-change-within-our-unequal-education-system-dont-call-me-resilient-ep-3-152355">school teaching and learning environment, curricula and how teachers engage students in discussion all impact</a> what students learn and how they affirm cross-group relationships and perspectives.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Students seen drawing on a disc in a science demo." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492617/original/file-20221031-13-zornp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492617/original/file-20221031-13-zornp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492617/original/file-20221031-13-zornp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492617/original/file-20221031-13-zornp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492617/original/file-20221031-13-zornp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492617/original/file-20221031-13-zornp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492617/original/file-20221031-13-zornp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Study participants who were members of groups more likely to have experienced discrimination had fewer discriminatory attitudes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Programs of choice</h2>
<p>My research also found that students developed relationships with those they interacted with on a daily basis at school. In specialized programs, this often meant only with others in their program.</p>
<p>As education researchers Gillian Parekh and Rubén Gaztambide-Fernández have found, students within <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40317-5_43">specialized arts, gifted and French immersion programs are disproportionately white and wealthy</a>. This should make us question whether such programs help graduates adapt successfully to environments of increasing diversity.</p>
<p>It is also a reason to ask whether such programs will build the more inclusive, innovative and safer future societies we want, or serve to rationalize and perpetuate division, inequality, distrust and violence.</p>
<p>Research shows that when parents choose educational programs based on large scale assessments and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2020.1843112">measurable achievement</a> outcomes, they are often choosing programs that rank <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.18546/LRE.14.3.06">racialized</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2014.12.005">socio-economic privilege</a> rather than quality teaching and learning. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/school-choice-policies-are-associated-with-increased-separation-of-students-by-social-class-149902">'School choice' policies are associated with increased separation of students by social class</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Graduates who attended specialized programs felt they were more academically inclined and motivated than those in regular programs, and graduates in regular programs had <a href="https://doi.org/10.7202/1011668ar">internalized the view that</a> these programs were for students who were smart. </p>
<p>Taken together with <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831212468290">existing research</a>, the intercultural associations in this study suggest that enrolment in specialized programs, schools ranked by standardized assessments and private schools may work to <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1312139">silence minority voices</a> and help <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2013.816037">maintain cultures of privilege and power</a>.</p>
<h2>More research needed</h2>
<p>My study calls for more research on <a href="https://www.un.org/youthenvoy/2013/08/unesco-united-nations-educational-scientific-and-cultural-organization/">intercultural dialogue through education</a>, one of the objectives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.</p>
<p>It asks how our publicly funded schools can move towards contextualizing academic merit and away from specialized programs and schools of choice. It also asks how these schools can ensure more students are comfortable in their classrooms and all student voices are heard.</p>
<p>Doing so would mean all students experience a sense of belonging and could provide Ontario high school students with greater understanding of the full range of cultural perspectives that exist in society.</p>
<p>This will be important for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10888683114111">creating intercultural citizens</a> poised to contribute to our societies, and enhancing the intercultural understanding and co-operation so urgently needed to tackle the democratic and climate crises that threaten our collective future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192490/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wendy Hughes 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>A study finds that graduates who attended publicly funded schools were more likely to have open intercultural orientations than those who attended private schools.Wendy Hughes, EdD student, OISE, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1891382022-08-25T20:03:20Z2022-08-25T20:03:20ZAustralia has a new online-only private school: what are the options if the mainstream system doesn’t suit your child?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480810/original/file-20220824-12-vq87be.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=29%2C37%2C4962%2C3285&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/VzIsqZ8K9LI">Annie Spratt/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As of next year, a Melbourne private school will open to <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.heraldsun.com.au/victoria-education/schools-hub/inside-pangea-haileybury-colleges-18kayear-online-school/news-story/81ec5e11e7b8d90ae9c59fee672544c7__;!!NVzLfOphnbDXSw!DU1Fz2Di3VpzMtsfkPHB8RA379QFfo_W_Fg_KIrgy5s_6X6uQKcch5tnzjoOUTSQd3m5IRoaWVaagFD6qN6T2rInP7HwzhHL8aHWAa_v$">online-only enrolments</a> for years five to 12. </p>
<p>It will cost A$18,000 per year in fees, and parents will have to supervise their child the whole time they are “at school”. It is billed as giving families flexibility and providing opportunities for those who live far away from the school. This comes as <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/we-can-fit-education-into-our-lives-more-kids-learning-at-home-20220819-p5bb4k.html">new data</a> shows there has been a 44% rise in students homeschooling in Victoria since 2019. </p>
<p>There are good reasons why the mainstream school system does not work for some students. And there are multiple options for families to explore if they are considering learning from home. </p>
<h2>At-home education in Australia</h2>
<p>With a small population spread across a vast continent, Australia has a long history of distance and at-home education. There are public distance education schools in all states and territories.</p>
<p>Access, and pricing, depends on your state or territory. In Queensland, for example, anyone can access <a href="https://brisbanesde.eq.edu.au/enrolments/new-enrolments">state distance education</a>. Those who are “homeschooling by choice” are required to pay around $1,600 for the service; those who are “homeschooling by limited choice” don’t have to pay. In <a href="https://www.education.wa.edu.au/distance-education">Western Australia</a>, it is also available to students who require more “flexibility” or who want to <a href="https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/education-and-learning/schools/alternative-schooling/external-education">study subjects</a> not available at their school.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A student works at home during lockdowns in May 2020." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480966/original/file-20220824-17781-ma09s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480966/original/file-20220824-17781-ma09s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480966/original/file-20220824-17781-ma09s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480966/original/file-20220824-17781-ma09s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480966/original/file-20220824-17781-ma09s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480966/original/file-20220824-17781-ma09s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480966/original/file-20220824-17781-ma09s3.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">A student works at home during lockdowns in May 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dan Peled/ AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It <a href="https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/policy-library/associated-documents/pd-2002-0006-02.pdf">may also suit</a> students who are geographically isolated or whose circumstances mean they are <a href="https://www.education.act.gov.au/schooling/distance-education">unable to access school</a> on a regular basis, perhaps because of health issues or extracurricular commitments such as elite sports training.</p>
<p>We also know in-person learning may not suit students with special education needs, such as those with <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00131911.2020.1728232">autism or ADHD</a>, students who are <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00131911.2018.1532955?casa_token=EcB-Ogm2bXgAAAAA:lzMDJq-hNQK6mVWxveVGwHFjgFDGCV7wXUfS8KTHAwoqDATeS7j6o5i0A32d0Fc2dPS3Mq117Sl3">bullied</a>, or those who feel the school system <a href="https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/soc4.12725?casa_token=36pttErRnp0AAAAA%3A0i4DAe2ce9d8lQDtmZTS_VnRqpSQfpHejlGJE9xhiWkbSuKp-gl3i1g4MTPXibNkBpvn7n4ani41fg">does not suit them</a>. </p>
<p>Learning away from the mainstream system can also help accelerate <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00131911.2020.1728232">gifted students</a>.</p>
<p>In the wake of COVID lockdowns, many of these children have drifted toward <a href="https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=10198725&AN=157014092&h=U2pHYZzf7Q%2F6Srnna2u2pFfM9D5FQyZAsqeS0%2BmhmgC95JsHtbIRzSzxiheJSIeeTOLmc5D3xou8EaHdXtsIvg%3D%3D&crl=f&casa_token=1wcmYJt70JwAAAAA:YTSR71Bzm4NZEm0J3RBEVMrNe3wzfMVVFsGuQLd6cEZj-NnwUm3yACbqT2X1NeFHvAH9Ja8">homeschooling</a> or <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-30/pandemic-drives-surge-in-enrolments-at-qld-independent-schools/100413048">private</a>, often Christian, distance education offerings instead of going back to in-person learning at school. </p>
<h2>Homeschooling enrolments have been rising</h2>
<p>Mainstream school has been losing enrolments for a number of years – even before COVID. Home education/homeschooling is the <a href="https://breakthrough.neliti.com/homeschoolers-were-the-forgotten-group-during-covid-19-lockdowns/">fastest-growing</a> <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED556234#:%7E:text=Ray%2C%20Brian%20D.&text=Homeschooling%2D%2Dthat%20is%2C%20parent,education%20in%20the%20United%20States.">education cohort</a> in the world. </p>
<p>A recent study found that, <a href="https://web.p.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=26b58831-66b7-4132-9022-00e705119c6b%40redis">in Australia</a>, it’s grown 53% compared with the next closest alternative, independent schools. There were around <a href="https://theconversation.com/homeschooling-boomed-last-year-but-these-4-charts-show-it-was-on-the-rise-before-covid-157309">26,000 young people</a> home educating in Australia in 2021 out of <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/education/schools/latest-release">about four million</a> school students overall, and that number has <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-25/queensland-home-school-registrations-soar-during-covid-19-/100778840">grown since then</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/homeschooling-boomed-last-year-but-these-4-charts-show-it-was-on-the-rise-before-covid-157309">Homeschooling boomed last year. But these 4 charts show it was on the rise before COVID</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But at-home learning is not limited to home educators, nor is it new. Distance education, particularly by choice and among those in city or regional areas, has also seen <a href="https://theconversation.com/traditional-school-doesnt-suit-everyone-australia-needs-more-flexible-options-177608">significant growth</a> in the past few years.</p>
<p>There is some <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED588847.pdf">evidence</a> that many parents would like to keep their children home, at least some of the time, if they could. Some parents <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15582159.2019.1616992">report</a> they wanted more time with their children, or they want more control over they way their children learn.</p>
<p>The issues faced by many young people in mainstream schools, as well as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/mar/21/mental-health-issues-more-common-among-young-australians-national-survey-suggests">high rates</a> of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02673843.2019.1596823">anxiety</a> diagnosed among young people, suggests there is a market for more flexibility at school. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1077722918300737?casa_token=buIyxGERVScAAAAA:9AZG-eJU0VNQHavpq1m7d7ogtA9Jgx8N8Z-ZJUs0LqTE2BRTNPk_iUQuBDiO4i7wJxWL_ze7">School refusal</a> also <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/lockdowns-are-over-but-anxiety-lingers-as-more-victorian-students-refuse-school-20220519-p5amrj.html">appears to be on the rise</a>. </p>
<p>While it requires a lot of parental support, those families who can find the flexibility in their lives to support this school enrolment might find it suits their child, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118926895.ch14">even for a limited period of time</a>.</p>
<p>Some <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00131911.2018.1532955?casa_token=lAVRTXmkziMAAAAA%3AeyTbu52ZxxTUmRATklBWG_9oVBVtyHQ1Om0XHAs3T2-ASh0lJi7Eajpc_V9FlGMgL5uqsFexZoF7">studies suggest</a> this approach is effective because it allows parents and educators to better meet the child’s learning needs.</p>
<h2>What options do you have?</h2>
<p>Most parents and students prefer the mainstream system, but for some, it doesn’t meet their needs or they want something different. </p>
<p>If you would like to enrol your child in an online-only school, but don’t have the time to supervise your child all day or $18,000, there are some alternatives. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.vrqa.vic.gov.au/home/Pages/hscombine.aspx">Victoria</a>, parents can enrol their child part-time in school and keep their child home the rest of the time. This option is at the principal’s discretion and needs to be negotiated with the school.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-can-you-support-kids-with-adhd-to-learn-parents-said-these-3-things-help-187012">How can you support kids with ADHD to learn? Parents said these 3 things help</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There are also other, private distance education schools that <a href="https://accelerate.edu.au/fees/">do not charge</a> as much as this Victorian school. These include some <a href="https://www.pinnacleacademiccollege.com.au/fee-schedule">secular options</a>.</p>
<p>If your child is around 15 or older, <a href="https://tafeqld.edu.au/course/17/17691/certificate-iv-in-adult-tertiary-preparation">TAFE</a> might be an option and it may also provide avenues into higher education.</p>
<p>And there is always homeschooling, in which parents take full responsibility for their child’s learning, independent of a formal educational institution. </p>
<p>Whatever parents decide, if in-person, mainstream school is not working for your child, the chances are, if you look around, you’ll find something that might work better. Your options might be a lot cheaper than $18,000, too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189138/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca English 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>A Melbourne private school is opening online-only enrolments. Headlines have focussed on the $18,000 fees. But there are many reasons why in-person schooling may not work.Rebecca English, Senior Lecturer in Education, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1878572022-08-01T20:04:28Z2022-08-01T20:04:28ZAs another elite boys’ school goes co-ed, are single-sex schools becoming an endangered species?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476619/original/file-20220729-14-p5drqs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=13%2C17%2C2941%2C1646&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>One of Australia’s most prestigious boys’ schools has just announced it will go co-ed. </p>
<p>Last week, Sydney’s Cranbrook School – whose alumni include Kerry and James Packer and Atlassian founder Mike Cannon-Brookes – <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/inevitable-step-forward-cranbrook-s-high-school-to-become-fully-co-ed-20220727-p5b53q.html">announced</a> it will be fully co-educational by 2029. </p>
<p>Cranbrook joins a growing list of private schools around the country that are either considering going co-ed or have already done so. These include <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/top-private-boys-school-newington-considers-becoming-co-ed-20220216-p59x2g.html">Newington</a> and <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/education/an-unstoppable-wave-the-sydney-boys-schools-becoming-co-ed-20210422-p57lli.html">Barker College</a> in Sydney, The <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/education/the-armidale-school-first-greater-public-school-to-become-coed-20150705-gi5cdz.html">Armidale School</a> in NSW and <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/canberra-grammar-one-step-closer-to-coed-20161017-gs3qm4.html">Canberra Grammar</a> in the ACT.</p>
<p>Does this mean we are seeing the beginning of the end of all-boys’ schools? </p>
<h2>Single sex vs co-ed</h2>
<p>Single sex vs co-ed <a href="https://alansmithers.com/reports/InsAndOuts.pdf#page=340">debates</a> have been going for decades in education circles. Which creates better outcomes? Is the answer different for boys than for girls? </p>
<p>It’s also one that many parents have a strong personal view on, perhaps influenced by what they experienced growing up. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/single-sex-vs-coeducational-schools-how-parents-can-decide-the-best-option-for-their-child-55758">Single-sex vs coeducational schools: how parents can decide the best option for their child</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<p>The short answer is, decades of research into the topic remains <a href="https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy-b.deakin.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1080/03055690020003610?needAccess=true">inconclusive</a>.</p>
<p>When it comes to students’ academic achievement, the <a href="https://vuir.vu.edu.au/42362/1/educational-opportunity-in-australia-2020.pdf">biggest predictor</a> of success is not gender but socio-economic status, whether they live in a rural or remote area, and race (especially if they are Indigenous). </p>
<h2>The gender question</h2>
<p>When it comes to social outcomes, the debate becomes more complicated. </p>
<p>Some research has <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09540250903359452?casa_token=0LnwH7QjOBkAAAAA:j7t31YwaSk9kARci1dVdeBZm-1Y9mpgTbt3MWj3HpDe1jg1K0pQiOm007g4Hg0NvE27ye_-Bq80u">criticised</a> single-sex schools for segregating girls and boys, exaggerating differences between them and putting them in opposition to each other. This is not helpful when preparing students for understanding gender diversity and negotiating the world beyond school. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1532631033362915328"}"></div></p>
<p>But research <a href="https://theconversation.com/boys-are-more-likely-to-play-up-at-school-but-its-more-social-than-biological-34586">has also</a> shown how boys take up much more physical space and teacher time in schools and classrooms than girls. Boys tend to be more disruptive, and require more discipline and attention. </p>
<p>Some research indicates <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03055690020003610">boys may do better</a> in co-ed environments than girls. Education researchers have <a href="https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01411920701434011">long-acknowledged</a> that girls can be a positive influence on boys’ behaviours – but to the detriment of their own learning. For example, girls may be asked to sit next to disruptive boys as a calming influence. </p>
<p>This, of course, reproduces inaccurate and tired gender stereotypes of girls as passive and diligent and boys as boisterous and unruly. </p>
<h2>What did #MeToo do?</h2>
<p>A critical recent shift has also been the #MeToo movement. In the education context, in 2020, former Sydney private school student Chanel Contos <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/hundreds-of-sydney-students-claim-they-were-sexually-assaulted-and-call-for-better-consent-education-20210219-p57449.html">started a petition</a> asking for students to share their stories of sexual assault. </p>
<p>In response to Contos’ petition, Cranbrook’s head prefect at the time, Asher Learmonth <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/education/our-boys-treatment-of-girls-has-been-disgusting-cranbrook-prefect-pleads-for-respect-20210225-p575us.html">made a speech</a>, noting, “Our school features heavily […] too heavily […] once again.” Cranbrook was <a href="https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/arts-and-culture/chanel-contos-intended-only-to-get-three-schools-to-teach-consent-20220223-p59ywt">among the schools</a> Contos wanted to see introduce consent education. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/he-had-hundreds-of-pictures-of-me-tales-of-sexism-from-female-teachers-in-elite-boys-schools-156748">'He had hundreds of pictures of me': tales of sexism from female teachers in elite boys' schools</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The reckoning about gender relations in general and the school petition in particular, has focused much-needed attention on the sexism, misogyny and abuse that <a href="https://theconversation.com/elite-boys-schools-like-st-kevins-were-set-up-to-breed-hyper-masculinity-which-can-easily-turn-toxic-132433">can breed</a> in hyper-masculine environments. </p>
<p>All-boys’ schools also tend to be private schools – and this privileged environment can amplify a sense of entitlement. The point is, all or mostly male environments (whether they be in sport, business or politics) are not good for gender equality.</p>
<h2>A social shift</h2>
<p>What we are seeing here is not a shift in educational theory, but a shift in society’s expectations. As Cranbrook school leaders <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/nsw/inevitable-step-forward-cranbrook-s-high-school-to-become-fully-co-ed-20220727-p5b53q.html">explained</a> their decision to go co-ed: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Many see the transition as being a necessary and inevitable step forward in the context of a modern society.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But when we’re talking about the shift to co-ed, don’t forget that private schools are also businesses and they have to attract students. </p>
<p>Parents may be more attracted to co-educational private schools given the recent stories about the culture at some all-boys’ schools thanks to the schools’ petition and other high-profile reports of <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/boys-from-elite-toorak-college-filmed-chanting-sexist-song-20191021-p532uj.html">sexist behaviour</a>. Going co-ed is not just a way to foster a “modern” environment at school, it makes good business sense as well. </p>
<p>Including girls in all-boys’ schools might seem a good solution to the problem and prevalence of sexism. However this is not an easy fix. Unhealthy attitudes about gender are rife in all schools as they are in the broader social world.</p>
<p>So, all schools need to be <a href="https://education.ourwatch.org.au/a-whole-of-school-approach/">supported</a> to create safe, respectful learning and social environments, with adequate training and teaching resources.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187857/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amanda Keddie receives funding from The Australian Research Council to lead a project on school autonomy and social justice. </span></em></p>The single sex versus co-ed debate has been going for decades. But perhaps changing social norms will put an end to it.Amanda Keddie, Professor, Education, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1820602022-06-27T08:15:41Z2022-06-27T08:15:41ZThe public cost of private schools: rising fees and luxury facilities raise questions about charitable status<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471069/original/file-20220627-19-v60bif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=53%2C455%2C5006%2C3337&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Eton College, founded in 1440, is the largest boarding school in England.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/5-june-2019-windsor-uk-eton-1554469532">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Some UK private schools appear to be taking advantage of their charitable status and the lax legal definition of “public benefit” by charging fees that are increasingly out of kilter with their ongoing costs.</p>
<p>Around 1,300 UK private schools, including the vast majority of the most prestigious private institutions, enjoy long-standing charitable status. This gives them substantial tax advantages but obliges them to use their charitable resources for public benefit.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01425692.2022.2026211?journalCode=cbse20">research</a>, conducted over the last four years, focuses on how these schools acquire, sustain and use their wealth, and on the associated thin transparency and accountability regimes that have endured for more than a century. (Responses received are collated at the end of this article.)</p>
<p>We found that some of these schools have more than doubled their fees over the past two decades, which appears to indicate that they are pricing by what parents can pay, rather than their actual costs.</p>
<p>Charging very high fees while offering discounts (known as fee remissions) that mostly benefit the already-wealthy can be justified as lawfully charitable and delivering public benefit under the loose regulatory environment created by English charity law. Furthermore, the limited nature of the level and reach of fee remissions is often obscure, given their – quite legitimate – treatment in private schools’ financial accounts.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>This story is part of Conversation Insights</em></strong>
<br><em>The Insights team generates <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/insights-series-71218">long-form journalism</a> and is working with academics from different backgrounds who have been engaged in projects to tackle societal and scientific challenges.</em></p>
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<p>While less than 7% of pupils attend private schools in the UK, in <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/facts-and-figures/admissions-statistics/undergraduate-students/current/school-type">2020 more than 31%</a> of students at Oxford University were privately educated. This educational disparity is effectively subsidised by all UK taxpayers through a broad range of tax exemptions available to private schools with charitable status. The UK also subsidises universities by a roundabout route, meaning that privately educated students pay to get access to a state-subsidised system.</p>
<p>It is not possible to state with certainty how much the UK’s charitable private schools save through tax exemptions. However, a good estimate according to our research is around <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17508487.2020.1751226?journalCode=rcse20">£3 billion a year</a>. This equates to more than 6% of England’s total state school budget (£47.6 billion) in 2020-2021.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the UK parliament’s <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1581/financial-sustainability-of-schools-in-england/publications/">Public Accounts Committee</a> reported in March that severely straitened finances have seen many state schools in England narrowing their curriculum offerings, dropping subjects, cutting staff and reducing support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465293/original/file-20220525-14-g1t7fr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465293/original/file-20220525-14-g1t7fr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465293/original/file-20220525-14-g1t7fr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465293/original/file-20220525-14-g1t7fr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465293/original/file-20220525-14-g1t7fr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465293/original/file-20220525-14-g1t7fr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465293/original/file-20220525-14-g1t7fr.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">Brighton College commissioned a world-leading architectural firm to design its new Sports and Science Centre. Photograph: Laurian Ghinitoiu/OMA.</span>
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<h2>An air of exclusive luxury and privilege</h2>
<blockquote>
<p>At Millfield, a full range of academic and instrumental tuition is offered in a purpose-built Music School … Millfield is fortunate to have the Johnson Hall, our 350-seat Concert Hall with superb acoustics and a stage large enough to host a full orchestra and choir. The Johnson Hall Steinway D Piano was recently described by international artist Pascal Rogé as ‘among the ten best pianos I have ever performed on’. (Extracted from the <a href="https://www.millfieldschool.com/senior-13-16/the-arts/music">Millfield School website</a>)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Music education is culturally and socially enriching for children, and deemed a vital part of a well-rounded education. Millfield, a high-fee private school in south-west England, is a member of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headmasters%27_and_Headmistresses%27_Conference">Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference</a> (HMC) – a powerful lobby group of private schools. Most HMC schools have similarly abundant music offerings.</p>
<p>These provisions stand in <a href="https://musiceducation.global/growing-divide-music-provision-in-state-and-independent-schools-in-england/">stark contrast</a> to the parlous music offering in state schools. A survey conducted by <a href="https://www.ukmusic.org/policy-campaigns/music-education/">UK Music</a> found that 50% of children at independent schools receive sustained music tuition, while the figure for state schools is 15%. Furthermore, 17% of “music creators” were educated at fee-paying schools, compared with 7% across the population as a whole.</p>
<p>The intellectual, cultural and social advantages accruing to private school students through music education are echoed in all other curriculum fields, from the performing arts to sport to STEM subjects.</p>
<p>UK private schools generally possess lavish facilities and infrastructure. <a href="https://www.brightoncollege.org.uk/news-and-events/articles/new-buildings/">Brighton College</a> commissioned a world-leading architect, <a href="https://www.oma.com/projects/brighton-college">OMA</a> – whose <a href="https://architizer.com/blog/inspiration/collections/landmark-oma-projects/">other buildings</a> include the London Design Museum and Moscow’s Museum of Contemporary Art – to design its new £55m Sports and Science Centre. Opened in 2020, it features: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>a cinema-style auditorium linked up to science departments across the globe, 18 university-standard laboratories, six breakout spaces for personal research and tutorials, a 25-metre pool, a strength and conditioning suite, a rooftop running track with panoramic views, and a double-height sports hall. (Extracted from the <a href="https://www.brightoncollege.org.uk/news-and-events/articles/sports-and-science-centre/">Brighton College website</a>)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A couple of miles down the road, <a href="https://www.roedean.co.uk/">Roedean School</a> noted of its refurbished boarding facilities in 2015 that “each house is adorned with artwork and a palette of House colours, and complemented with a mix of new and period furniture”. </p>
<p>Roedean has utilised its superlative facilities to create an air of exclusive luxury and privilege. In one annual report, the school quoted high-society magazine <a href="https://www.tatler.com/article/the-swankiest-boarding-house-in-the-world">Tatler’s</a> exclamation that “Roedean now has the swankiest boarding facilities in the country, perhaps in the universe”. Such abundance is a common feature of private schools’ marketing strategies.</p>
<p>The increasing asymmetries between state and private provision in the UK severely skew educational, cultural and <a href="https://www.suttontrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Elitist-Britain-2019.pdf">social outcomes</a>. Such disparities led Finland to outlaw charging for education nearly 50 years ago. In contrast, some UK private schools have used their charitable status and formidable networks to achieve a “virtuous money circle” that is effectively being subsidised by all UK taxpayers, while benefiting a small minority of predominantly wealthy families. And while they offer some fee remissions for those unable to pay their full fees, our research suggests these usually do little to make the schools less exclusive.</p>
<h2>Charitable status, public benefit and tax</h2>
<p>Charities in England must have charitable purposes, and for more than 400 years, English law has recognised education as such a purpose. Charities must also deliver public benefit with their resources – but this term is only loosely defined in law. This effectively permits private schools to allocate most of the benefits of their land, buildings, facilities and scholarships to a small group of significantly better-off families who can afford the school fees.</p>
<p>For a century or more, charities have been exempted from a broad range of taxes – a form of public expenditure known as “tax expenditures”. Rather than collecting taxes and then spending the money on public services, the government simply excuses certain classes of taxpayers (in this case, charitable private schools) from paying tax in the first place.</p>
<p>Such tax expenditures are largely invisible because they are not measured, and no specific budget allocations are made and subjected to parliamentary scrutiny. Private schools are, in practice, subject to little or no accountability with regards to the effectiveness or equity with which they use this cash.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465453/original/file-20220526-18-h2mlv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Eton school pupils walking in street" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465453/original/file-20220526-18-h2mlv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465453/original/file-20220526-18-h2mlv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465453/original/file-20220526-18-h2mlv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465453/original/file-20220526-18-h2mlv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465453/original/file-20220526-18-h2mlv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465453/original/file-20220526-18-h2mlv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465453/original/file-20220526-18-h2mlv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=511&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">Students from private schools such as Eton are disproportionately represented at the UK’s top universities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/etonian-schoolboys-english-independent-boarding-school-1174007794">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>Charitable resources intended for public benefit and the considerable tax savings enjoyed by many private schools help provide luxurious facilities. In turn, young people from families wealthy enough to pay the high fees generally gain disproportionate access to top universities and <a href="https://www.suttontrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Elitist-Britain-2019.pdf">subsequent life chances</a>, in part through the “<a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/online-old-boy-networks-just-the-job-for-top-private-schools-xw8k5k0j9">old school tie</a>” networks.</p>
<p>Indeed, a representative of the Old Marlburian Association (the alumni association for Marlborough College) told <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/online-old-boy-networks-just-the-job-for-top-private-schools-xw8k5k0j9">The Times in 2019</a> that: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Parents now expect that what they pay for is not just five years of teaching but lifetime membership to a special club. It’s the reason people decide to send their kids to public schools and not to the local academy, where they may very well perform better academically.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The fact that privately schooled students are remarkably over-represented at top universities is, in part, because these schools’ essential selection criterion is family income, which usually ensures that students already have considerable <a href="https://www.culturallearningalliance.org.uk/what-is-cultural-capital/">cultural capital</a>. Other selection criteria may include tests and interviews. </p>
<p>The schools’ wealth also gives their students significant advantages in terms of an abundant supply of quality curriculum materials, small class sizes and intensive teaching, plus a potential benefit from the schools’ ability to “<a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/private-schools-gamed-covid-rules-to-give-their-pupils-more-top-a-levels-6z0z6w9r5">game the system</a>”.</p>
<p>The fact that UK higher education is still significantly state-subsidised means, in effect, UK taxpayers continue to fund privately educated students during their university studies. Such students’ disproportionate representation is a serious opportunity-loss for state students, many of whose schools are suffering real financial hardship that negatively impacts their students’ educational and career outcomes.</p>
<h2>Private schools’ sources of income</h2>
<p>Private schools have three primary sources of income. </p>
<p><em>1. Fees</em></p>
<p>Fees charged to families are the major source of private schools’ income. Fees may not seem a legitimate public concern – people can spend their money as they please. But the links between fees and the schools’ charitable obligations need to be unpacked.</p>
<p>Private school fees are high relative to average UK incomes. In 2018, average annual fees in day and boarding schools were nearly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/apr/27/average-private-school-fees-rise-above-17000-a-year-for-first-time">£15,000 and £33,000</a> respectively. In real terms, fees have <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/the-charts-that-shows-how-private-school-fees-have-exploded-a7023056.html">more than doubled</a> over the last 25 years. These price points <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17508487.2020.1751226?journalCode=rcse20">serve to exclude</a> lower-income families. The fee increases also match marked rises in the disposable income of wealthier families in the UK, and the increased recruitment of students from wealthy overseas families – in particular from Russia and China.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01425692.2022.2026211">research</a> demonstrates, empirically, that many private schools charge much more than is strictly necessary for them to fulfil their charitable purposes of providing education. For example, comparing average day and boarding school fees by region, the differences between day fees in the cheapest and most expensive English regions could not be explained by costs alone. Specifically, while boarding school fee differentials (17%) were roughly equivalent to the difference in associated costs such as staffing, average day fees in the cheapest region were 35-40% lower than those in the most expensive.</p>
<p>Similarly, we found a stronger correlation between local <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/regionalaccounts/grossdisposablehouseholdincome">gross disposable household income</a> and day fees than with boarding fees. This suggests that day schools are particularly responsive to the disposable income levels in their catchment area.</p>
<p>But boarding school fees are also rising rapidly, as was highlighted in a recent <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/boarding-school-fees-soar-to-50-000-a-year-jr0qnk5qk#">Sunday Times report</a> which suggested the average annual cost of sending a child to an English boarding school is now “approaching £50,000” due to planned fee increases for the next academic year.</p>
<p>The increasingly upmarket facilities of charitable private schools, such as those described earlier, may, in turn, be used to justify these rising fees. The vast majority of children from families with more modest incomes are excluded by this fee spiral from enjoying such facilities – which should, by law, be available for public benefit.</p>
<p><em>2. Tax reliefs</em></p>
<p>Private schools benefit financially from the tax exemptions that arise because of their charitable status. Their operating surpluses (profits) and capital gains (profits on the sales of investments including shares, land and facilities) are exempt from income tax, capital gains tax or corporation tax.</p>
<p>In England and Wales, private schools also receive an 80% discount on business rates (local taxes). Furthermore, they can claim 25% of all donations received (such as chancellor Rishi Sunak’s donations to his old school, Winchester College, which <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/apr/05/rishi-sunak-and-wife-donate-over-100000-to-winchester-college">reportedly exceed £100,000</a>) from the tax authorities in <a href="https://www.cafonline.org/my-personal-giving/plan-your-giving/individual-giving-account/how-does-it-work/gift-aid#:%7E:text=Gift%20Aid%20is%20a%20scheme,donation%20from%20your%20own%20funds.">gift aid</a>.</p>
<p>This suite of tax exemptions arose principally from a legal and public <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17508487.2020.1751226?journalCode=rcse20">campaign</a> conducted by the Headmasters’ Conference in the early 20th century, and have remained largely unquestioned ever since. Charities that provide education are also, under a 1977 EU Directive, exempt from charging VAT, while bequests to schools are exempt from inheritance tax.</p>
<p>The total scale of these tax expenditures is mostly unknown. The <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/keir-starmer-labour-private-schools-b1927130.html">Labour Party</a> estimated the annual value of VAT forgone by the state from charitable private schools was £1.6 billion in 2019. In 2021, it estimated the annual value of these schools’ business rates discount and income tax relief to be around <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2021-09-26/tax-private-schools-to-raise-17bn-for-state-education-sir-keir-starmer-says">£100m</a> and £700m respectively. In all, we estimate the total value of private school tax exemptions could be in the region of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17508487.2020.1751226?journalCode=rcse20">£3 billion</a> a year.</p>
<p><em>3. Investments and donations</em></p>
<p>Many private schools derive substantial income from invested funds and donations. Some of this income is derived from related charities whose purpose is to fund specific private schools, but which are separate for legal and accounting purposes. Whatever the source, this income is charitable in nature and must legally be used for public benefit.</p>
<p>In some cases, private schools hold significant investment portfolios accumulated over long periods of time. For example, the published financial accounts of Eton College and Winchester College show they have <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01425692.2022.2026211">total reserves</a> of £323,000 and £526,000 per pupil respectively.</p>
<p>In law, such investments must have a charitable purpose. Yet Eton, despite fees of £42,500 per student, still has to use investment income to help fund its spend on education. In reply to a request for comment on this article, the school confirmed: “The amount Eton spends on education is not met fully by fee income; a significant proportion of that expenditure comes from income from our endowment.” This means the school uses income from charitable assets to subsidise educational provision that it already generously funds through fees.</p>
<p><em>Sources of donations and fees</em></p>
<p>Across the private school sector as a whole, it is worth considering whether the sources of donations and fees are always legitimate, and if the potential exists for <a href="https://qz.com/1392063/money-laundering-in-the-uk-private-schools-in-the-crosshairs/">money laundering</a>. In 2018, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) asserted that money is <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/5a2ab2a4-b83b-11e8-b3ef-799c8613f4a1">being filtered through British private schools</a>, and criticised schools for failing to flag suspicious payments to the government. </p>
<p>The recent <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/03/07/britains-private-schools-face-funding-shortfall-sanctions-wealthy/">sanctions</a> placed on Russian citizens following the invasion of Ukraine again put a spotlight on the sources of school fees and donations – there are some 2,300 Russian children currently studying in UK private schools. However, these schools are not legally obliged to report suspected money laundering, and may also have limited capacity to carry out checks.</p>
<h2>How private schools use their income</h2>
<p>UK private schools are, on the whole, replete with financial resources. Because they are charities, they cannot pay out dividends (they have no shareholders) and their freely available (“free”) reserves must, <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284727/rs3text.pdf">in law</a>, only be sufficient to enable them to carry out their charitable objectives. </p>
<p>Their remaining “restricted” reserves are funds that are held for charitable purposes – such as saving for a new building or funding bursaries. But charity law and <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284727/rs3text.pdf">accompanying guidance</a> are not prescriptive, and simply require trustees to formulate reserves policies that justify a target level of reserves, and explain how they intend to achieve that target.</p>
<p>The accounting firm <a href="https://www.bdo.co.uk/en-gb/insights/industries/not-for-profit/charity-reserves-review#:%7E:text=On%20average%2C%20charities%20were%20found,the%20sector%20as%20a%20whole.">BDO</a> has suggested that, across all charities, reserves policies are far from satisfactory. In the case of private schools’ accumulated reserves, there appears to be little action (or appetite) from the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission">Charity Commission</a> to address this issue. In short, these charitable schools are free to accumulate cash and have significant discretion as to how it is used.</p>
<p>One way to absorb cash that cannot be reasonably kept as free reserves is to incorporate it into more facilities of the type described earlier. Investment in <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/education/increase-in-private-education-fees-is-driving-out-middleclass-families-a3240636.html">luxurious infrastructure projects</a> appeals to the schools’ target markets, potentially enabling them to charge even higher fees.</p>
<p>While a detailed analysis of schools’ expenditure on infrastructure is problematic, due to the unpredictable nature of such expenditure and the difficulty in distinguishing it from normal infrastructure renewal, the rise in private schools’ total <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/the-charts-that-shows-how-private-school-fees-have-exploded-a7023056.html">annual capital expenditure</a> from £247m in 1997 to £771m in 2013 (the latest reliable figure) supports this analysis.</p>
<h2>What constitutes adequate provision for ‘the poor’?</h2>
<p>English law requires that charities provide benefits to at least a significant section of the public. However, the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/589796/Public_benefit_analysis_of_the_law.pdf">Charity Commission</a> advises that what constitutes “significant” is a matter of judgment.</p>
<p>In a landmark case in 2011, the UK’s Upper Tribunal <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-law-journal/article/public-schools-for-public-benefit/92A67B8BF2A587E8DDBADE8453D2D45F">ruled</a> that the law “requires that those who benefit from the charity’s purpose must be sufficiently numerous to constitute ‘a section of the public’”. While school-age children obviously constitute a significant part of the public, fee levels exclude a very large proportion of them. How, then, are private schools not in breach of their public benefit obligations?</p>
<p>The Upper Tribunal ruled that, in making adequate provision for “the poor”, consideration should be given as to whether the charity in question provides a “luxury” service. Its judgment stated that, while the provision of luxury facilities is no bar to charitable status, there is a greater onus on private schools to demonstrate how they provide a public benefit.</p>
<p>However, Charity Commission advice does not prescribe any limits either to the degree of luxury which may be provided, or the maximum level of charges. And the Upper Tribunal ruled that “the poor” does not just include those who meet official definitions of poverty. Its definition extended to those of “modest means” – defined as those who could not afford the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/589796/Public_benefit_analysis_of_the_law.pdf">school’s full fees</a>. Given the current high levels of school fees, such families may be far from poor by official measures. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/would-abolishing-private-schools-really-make-a-difference-to-equality-124141">Would abolishing private schools really make a difference to equality?</a>
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<p>Crucially, decisions as to what constitutes adequate provision for “the poor” are at the discretion of individual school trustees. Charitable private schools stay on just the right side of a fuzzy legal line in deciding who benefits from the resources they generate from fees and other income sources, such as tax reliefs and investment income.</p>
<p>But, these schools were given <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-law-journal/article/abs/public-schools-for-public-benefit/92A67B8BF2A587E8DDBADE8453D2D45F">short shrift</a> by the Upper Tribunal in 2011 for arguing that, simply by relieving the state of the cost of educating their students, they were delivering public benefit. And while many private schools allow local communities to use their facilities, such as swimming pools, the Upper Tribunal stressed this does not provide public benefit as it has no direct educational purpose. With its more recent plans to <a href="https://staracademies.org/news-story/star-academies-signs-partnership-agreement-with-eton-college/">sponsor selective academy schools</a>, Eton College might fare better on perceived public benefit provision.</p>
<h2>Who qualifies for private schools’ reduced fees?</h2>
<p>Mostly, charitable private schools seek to demonstrate their public benefit through fee remissions and complete exemptions. These may be means-tested, awarded based on academic, musical or sporting talent, or given as discounts for families with more than one child at the school, or to the children of staff. Again, these decisions are at the trustees’ discretion, within the law.</p>
<p>In 2011, the Upper Tribunal set no minimum level of total fee remissions, stipulating only that it must be more than “merely token”. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01425692.2022.2026211">Our analysis</a> reveals that in 2018-19, UK private schools awarded fee remissions totalling just over £1 billion to 176,234 out of their 537,315 students. Analysis of all fee remissions awarded by the 192 HMC schools in 2019 shows a median value of 10.4% of total fees.</p>
<p>Of this £1 billion, some £440m – 44% of the total fee remissions – was means-tested. The proportion of fees discounted on this basis ranged from 1.7% to 15%, with the median at just 5.1% (for the 142 HMC schools where the means-tested split could be identified). In all, our research shows the means-tested £440m was shared between 44,395 students – an average of around £1,000 a head. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465455/original/file-20220526-22-y6jf17.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="External view of St Paul's School" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465455/original/file-20220526-22-y6jf17.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465455/original/file-20220526-22-y6jf17.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465455/original/file-20220526-22-y6jf17.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465455/original/file-20220526-22-y6jf17.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465455/original/file-20220526-22-y6jf17.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465455/original/file-20220526-22-y6jf17.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465455/original/file-20220526-22-y6jf17.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">St Paul’s School offers fee assistance to families with an annual household income of less than £120,000.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-united-kingdom-on-6th-july-1128947594">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Just 6,118 – 1.1% of all private school students – received a full scholarship, and a further 2.1% received fee remissions in excess of 75% of fees. Of the schools contacted during the writing of this article, <a href="https://www.stpaulsschool.org.uk/">St Paul’s School</a> highlighted that 80% of its 147 bursaries are for between 75%-100% of the fees, and Eton highlighted that in the 2020-21 academic year, 90 of the 261 boys receiving fee remissions paid no fees at all. According to our research, these are uncharacteristically high percentages compared with the national average.</p>
<p>Importantly, while private schools may be proud of their scholarship provision, most provide no data on the demographic profiles of recipient students, making it impossible to evaluate the extent to which these benefit less well-off families. And given the high levels of fees, most students in receipt of means-tested fee remissions will still require very substantial family contributions.</p>
<p>For instance, St Paul’s offers fee assistance to families with an annual household income of less than £120,000, which can arguably be justified when the definition of “modest means” is being unable to afford fees of around £27,000 a year out of post-tax income.</p>
<p>Charging very high fees and giving fee remissions which mostly benefit those who could be considered to be already wealthy can certainly be justified as lawfully charitable and as delivering public benefit. But this is because of the loose regulatory environment created by charity law and associated accounting rules, and because of a simple lack of public transparency and accountability in the system. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/get-rid-of-private-schools-wed-be-better-tackling-inequalities-between-state-schools-121805">Get rid of private schools? We'd be better tackling inequalities between state schools</a>
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<p>Furthermore, the limited nature of the level and reach of fee remissions may be obscured by their – quite legitimate – treatment in private schools’ financial accounts. For example, if full fees are £15,000 per year and a 50% deduction is awarded, the schools show (either on the face of the Income & Expenditure account or in a note) gross fees of £15,000 and the remission of £7,500 as a deduction from that figure. However, the additional cost to the school of teaching that pupil is likely to be lower than the valuation placed on the fee remission, because schools’ costs are largely fixed or stepped (for example, when an extra teacher is required). But there is, of course, an opportunity cost to the school of replacing a full-fee place with a student paying a reduced fee.</p>
<p>There is a relative dearth of accountability around the finances of charitable private schools, despite the public funding they receive through tax reliefs and their public benefit obligations. The UK government collects no data on the value of tax expenditures received by the schools, and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01425692.2022.2026211">our analysis</a> of the (limited) scale and distribution of private school scholarships was <a href="https://www.parallelparliament.co.uk/debate/2021-05-26/lords/lords-chamber/dormant-assets-bill-hl">highlighted in the House of Lords</a> in May 2021 as a cause for concern.</p>
<p>Discussing the private school sector, Andrew (Baron) Adonis said in his <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2021-05-26/debates/47D12772-75FC-4FE5-858B-A76E7D829F1C/DormantAssetsBill(HL)">speech</a> that “what starts off as a hugely privileged sector, even in the work that it does that is supposed to be charitable – in relieving fees and giving access to these charitable assets – is not meeting those objectives”.</p>
<h2>So what could be done?</h2>
<p>The financing of the UK’s charitable private schools is a matter of public interest and concern. These schools have public benefit obligations regarding their use of charitable assets, yet some fees indicate that private schools are indulging in market pricing, excluding nearly all but the wealthiest from any charitable benefit. In addition, the schools receive substantial benefits by being exempt from a wide range of taxes.</p>
<p>Given the current state school funding crisis, it can be argued that educational resources are being misapplied as a result of private schools’ charitable status, exacerbating educational inefficiencies and social injustice. For anyone seeking to address these issues, our research leads us to the following conclusions:</p>
<p>(1) The UK government should introduce robust systems of transparency and accountability for charitable private schools, regarding how their charitable assets are used and by whom, and the extent and distribution of the tax reliefs the schools enjoy. For example, private schools could be required to report demographic data on the recipients of their public benefits along with the results of independent stakeholders’ evaluations. Collated nationally, such data would provide an important input into debates on education funding.</p>
<p>(2) The UK government should also consider withdrawing the tax exemptions enjoyed by these schools (Scotland has already withdrawn their business rates discounts). In 2020-21, total spending on state schools in England and Wales was £47.6 billion. If tax exemptions for private schools, were removed, the resulting increased taxes could be redistributed to state schools, increasing their <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-funding-statistics/2020-21">budget</a> by around 6%, thereby making a significant contribution to the government’s levelling up agenda.</p>
<p>(3) The charity status of these private schools should be reviewed. They are, for the most part, elite organisations delivering a paid-for and exclusive product. The extent to which this meets public perceptions of “charity” is questionable. Of course, removal of charitable status would mean making new arrangements for the assets the schools hold, as they could not legally retain control of charitable assets such as investments and buildings. Control of these assets might be transferred to, say, a national education trust for the benefit of all UK school students. In part, this could be achieved by renting back the buildings and facilities to the private schools where they are located, with the rental income raised then being distributed throughout the state school system.</p>
<p>(4) Finally, higher education policies on university access need to specifically address issues associated with the disproportionate representation of private school students. The UK government has, for some time, devoted considerable resources to widening higher education participation, with its main policies encouraging disadvantaged students to gain access and achieve success. Such policies effectively ignore the opportunity costs borne by state educated students because of charitable private schools’ tax exemptions and other benefits.</p>
<p>Any attempts to effect change will, however, inevitably be met with significant pushback. Over at least two centuries, the UK’s private schools have successfully mobilised charity and tax law to their advantage. Yet this exercise of power is effectively invisible to wider public view, due to the complexity of legal linguistics and processes, the pseudo-objectivity of the law, and the failure of parliament to make public expenditure on private education a matter of regular debate and accountability.</p>
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<h2>Responses to this article</h2>
<p>All schools named in this article were offered the opportunity to comment on its key findings. The following schools offered comments, which are summarised here:</p>
<p><strong>Eton College</strong></p>
<p>“The amount Eton spends on education is not met fully by fee income; a significant proportion of that expenditure comes from income from our endowment. In our last financial year to 31 August 2021, Eton spent £7.081m on financial aid. 261 boys at Eton (19%) received fee reductions; 90 of these boys paid no fees at all. This year, that number is 103. </p>
<p>"We work with a number of external partners, including the Royal National Children’s SpringBoard Bursary Foundation, to ensure that our bursary programmes reach those who would most benefit. Since we are heavily oversubscribed by parents willing to pay the full fee, these costs are real costs, which we are proud to meet.</p>
<p>"Eton also has a large and expanding partnership programme. We are about to open three new state sixth-form colleges in partnership with Star Academies, which Eton will help to fund in perpetuity. We file detailed annual accounts with the Charity Commission. These are scrutinised by our Audit Committee and by our full governing body, in addition to being externally audited. Our Reserves Policy is set out in our published accounts.”</p>
<p><strong>St Paul’s School</strong></p>
<p>“Our Governors and committees are very engaged on reserve levels, public benefit and accountability – our parents expect it. For the next academic year, we are looking at a fee increase of 3.5%. This increase follows the decision of the governors to increase all staff salaries by 3%, with an additional amount for lower-paid staff members in order to meet cost-of-living increases. The Governors have a stated commitment to try to restrain our fee increases to remain in line with, or below, inflation.</p>
<p>"Fees rebates were provided during the first term of COVID remote learning (summer 2020) and again in the 2021 spring term (which many parents donated back to our bursary appeal). Regarding families with modest incomes being excluded from fee remissions, 80% of our bursaries are for 75-100% bursaries, meaning the majority of the 147 bursaries currently awarded are for those most in need. Fee remissions are shown as a deduction from gross fee income in the notes to the accounts, and then the remissions coming from restricted donations are added back – our understanding is that this is the same for all independent schools.</p>
<p>"In terms of ‘free reserves’ (reserves which are immediately available to spend), the school has none because our unrestricted reserves are tied up in buildings which, as you will understand, are not immediately realisable. As a charitable foundation we are not driven by profit, but equally we are committed to maintaining the resources of the school and the high educational provision which we were founded in 1509 to provide. Our partnership work through the West London Partnership – which we established – is substantial and growing.”</p>
<p><strong>Roedean School</strong></p>
<p>“In terms of our boarding facilities, the houses were in dire need of refurbishment as they had not been refurbished for many years and also required structural work to the building. Any residential accommodation needs to meet the required standards for boarding. We do put pupils’ artwork on the walls and House colours (red, blue, green, yellow) are used in the Houses, along with furniture (new and old). The Houses are the girls’ ‘homes’ and we want all girls to feel at home here. Tatler’s quotation reflects their magazine’s style.”</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>To hear about new Insights articles, join the hundreds of thousands of people who value The Conversation’s evidence-based news. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/the-daily-newsletter-2?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK"><strong>Subscribe to our newsletter</strong></a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182060/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Malcolm James is affiliated with the Labour Party, but has not done any paid or unpaid work for them in this area. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane Kenway receives funding from the Australian Research Council</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Boden is a member of the Labour Party. </span></em></p>The tax exemptions enjoyed by the UK’s charitable private schools are estimated to equate to 6% of England’s annual state school budgetMalcolm James, Head of Accounting, Economics and Finance, Cardiff Metropolitan UniversityJane Kenway, Emeritus Professor, Monash University. Professorial Fellow, Melbourne University., Monash UniversityRebecca Boden, Chair Professor, New Social Research, Tampere UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1756382022-02-20T19:16:16Z2022-02-20T19:16:16ZGoing to private school won’t make a difference to your kid’s academic scores<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446869/original/file-20220216-20-10jaa1p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&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/group-teenage-students-uniform-walking-between-779645437">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In Australia, around 30% of primary and 40% of secondary school children <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13384-019-00365-9">attend a private</a>, or independent, school. School fees vary widely, depending on the type of private school and the different sectors that govern them. Catholic schools generally cost less than independent schools <a href="https://edstart.com.au/report">where families can pay</a> fees of more than $40,000 per year.</p>
<p>Despite the term “independent school”, all <a href="https://research.acer.edu.au/aer/14/">schools in Australia receive</a> government funding. On average, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ajs4.38">Catholic schools receive</a> around 75% and independent schools around 45% of their funding from state and federal governments.</p>
<p>Research shows <a href="https://research.acer.edu.au/resdev/vol12/iss12/3/">parents believe</a> private schools will provide a better education for their children, and better set them up for <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF03216894">success in life</a>. But the evidence on whether this perception is correct is not conclusive.</p>
<h2>What does the research say about academic scores?</h2>
<p>Our <a href="https://rdcu.be/cEgNE">recent study</a> showed NAPLAN scores of children who attended private schools were no different to those in public schools, after accounting for socioeconomic background. </p>
<p>These findings are in line with other research, both in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15582159.2015.1028827">Australia</a> and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/00028312043004651">internationally</a>, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41539-018-0019-8">which shows</a> family background is related both to the likelihood of attending a private school and to academic achievement. </p>
<p>While there may appear to be differences in the academic achievement of students in private schools, these tend to disappear once socioeconomic background is taken into account. </p>
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<p><a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/ca768d40-en/1/3/8/index.html?itemId=/content/publication/ca768d40-en&_csp_=97f4e8557fdfd3bad9e5a695f9d14967&itemIGO=oecd&itemContentType=book#abstract-d1e7">An analysis</a> of 68 education systems (mainly countries, but some countries only include regions which are known as “education systems”) participating in the 2018 Programme for International Assessment (PISA) tests showed attendance at private schools was not consistently related to higher test performance. </p>
<p>The OECD <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/ca768d40-en/1/3/8/index.html?itemId=/content/publication/ca768d40-en&_csp_=97f4e8557fdfd3bad9e5a695f9d14967&itemIGO=oecd&itemContentType=book#fig-V.7.4">report says</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>On average across OECD countries and in 40 education systems, students in private schools […] scored higher in reading than students in public schools ([…] before accounting for socio-economic profile)[…] However, after accounting for students’ and schools’ socio-economic profile, reading scores were higher in public schools than in private schools […]</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Do private schools improve student achievement over time?</h2>
<p>Another argument used to support Australia’s growing private school sector is the idea <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/000494410905300103">private schools actually add</a> value to a child’s education. This means attending a private school should boost students’ learning trajectories over and above what they might have achieved in a public school. </p>
<p>Our research is the first to examine whether students differ in learning trajectories across the four NAPLAN test years (3, 5, 7 and 9) depending on the school type they attended.</p>
<p>We compared the NAPLAN scores of students who attended a public school, a private school and those who attended a public school in years 3 and 5 and then a private school in years 7 and 9. The students in the latter group scored highest in reading and numeracy tests in each of the four NAPLAN test years.</p>
<p>This group outperformed students who attended private schools at all years, and students who attended public schools at all years. But there was no evidence that making the switch to a private school added to students’ learning growth. </p>
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<p>These high-performing students were already achieving the highest results in public school before they left for private school in year 7. </p>
<p>This suggests private schools may be be enrolling the highest achievers from public primary schools. </p>
<p>Other analyses in our paper showed that once socioeconomic background of these students was taken into account, apparent achievement differences between school sectors were no longer present.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/public-schools-actually-outperform-private-schools-and-with-less-money-113914">Public schools actually outperform private schools, and with less money</a>
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<p>The other interesting point is that there were no differences in achievement trajectories between the groups. So, making the switch to private schools in year 7 did not affect the gains students were making in NAPLAN over time. Students in public schools made just as much progress as their peers who attended private schools.</p>
<p>This undermines claims private schools add value to students’ academic growth.</p>
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<h2>What about other private school benefits?</h2>
<p>Some Australian research has shown students who attend private schools are more likely to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/000494410905300103">complete school and attend university</a>, and tend to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0004944115586658">attain higher rankings in university entrance exams</a>. Indeed, the recent announcements of <a href="https://www.matrix.edu.au/high-school-rankings/2021-high-school-rankings/">NSW students’ HSC results</a> showed almost three-quarters of the 150 top-ranked schools were independent. </p>
<p>The concentration of higher-achieving students in private schools could also magnify any peer effects on students’ decisions about future career paths or attending university. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/more-money-for-private-schools-wont-make-australias-education-fairer-no-matter-how-you-split-it-132769">More money for private schools won't make Australia's education fairer, no matter how you split it</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>Nonetheless the <a href="https://rse.anu.edu.au/researchpapers/CEPR/DP479.pdf">research</a> on these questions is not definitive: it is very difficult to separate out the effects of background characteristics of students and the effects of the school sector given that more advantaged students tend to concentrate in private schools. </p>
<p>Some <a href="https://www.diw.de/documents/dokumentenarchiv/17/diw_01.c.465961.de/ryan_ams_jun2014_full-paper.pdf">Australian research has shown</a> the characteristics of students before they enter private schools have a larger effect on their aspirations, behaviour and attitudes than the school.</p>
<h2>Rethinking the system?</h2>
<p>While the capacity for parents to choose a school that best suits their child is often <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-20/catholic-independent-schools-new-parental-income-funding-model/10285554">seen as an advantage</a>, many disadvantaged families are a lot more constrained in their <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02680939.2016.1263363">ability to choose</a>, and pay for, private schools.</p>
<p>Students attending private schools may have access to other non-academic benefits, such as more opportunities for sports, excursions and other extracurricular activities. </p>
<p>But in terms of academic advantage, we know, from our research and other studies that explored similar questions, there is little evidence to show independent schools offer any. It is likely children will do equally well in any school sector.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/schools-have-been-ideological-battlegrounds-in-the-past-in-the-coronavirus-crisis-they-are-again-137250">Schools have been ideological battlegrounds in the past. In the coronavirus crisis, they are again</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175638/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sally Larsen receives PhD research funding from the Australian Government Research Training Program. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander Forbes receives PhD research funding from the Australian Government Research Training Program.</span></em></p>There is endless debate about whether private schools add value to students’ academic results. But research consistently shows when socioeconomic factors are taken into account, this is not the case.Sally Larsen, PhD candidate, Education & Psychology, University of New EnglandAlexander Forbes, PhD Candidate in Psychology, University of New EnglandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1720172021-11-18T16:34:59Z2021-11-18T16:34:59ZYoung Nazis: how I uncovered the close ties between British private schools and Hitler’s Germany<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432650/original/file-20211118-25-b8c9pt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=454%2C55%2C2753%2C2091&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Pupils from a German 'Napola' at Ballenstedt before a football game with a visiting side from an English public school.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In spring 1936, teenage schoolboy – and later war hero – Dick Hargreaves was given the chance to go on an all-expenses-paid exchange trip to Germany. But this was no ordinary school exchange – Hargreaves’ destination was Oranienstein, one of a system of new elite boarding schools known as <a href="https://helenroche.com/work/2015/08/12/second-book-project-the-third-reichs-elite-schools-a-history-of-the-napolas/">National Political Education Institutes</a> (“Napolas” for short). </p>
<p>These Nazi colleges were explicitly modelled on an amalgam of the British public schools, the Prussian cadet corps, and the harsh educational practices of ancient Sparta. The schools educated boys from the age of ten upwards, training them as future leaders of the Third Reich. By taking part in the exchange, Hargreaves and his ten companions from <a href="https://www.dauntseys.org/">Dauntsey’s School</a> in Wiltshire, England, would soon be exposed to the Napolas’ “total” programme of education, indoctrination and National Socialist propaganda.</p>
<p>Hargreaves’ initial impressions, recorded in his diary at the time, are overwhelmingly favourable. The school, situated in the town of Diez an der Lahn, near Koblenz, is described as “a damn good place … a huge castle, done up modern and very posh – armchairs, super labs, stables … school bicycles and heaven [knows] what!” According to the diary, everyone is “extraordinarily decent”, and the boys’ Nazi uniforms are “very smart indeed – light khaki corduroy breeches, black riding boots, khaki coat, red arm band with swastika, brown coat lapels, blue shoulder straps and a dagger thing”.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432653/original/file-20211118-27-lz4wqm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Young German schoolboys in the reading room at NPEA Rügen, 1943" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432653/original/file-20211118-27-lz4wqm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432653/original/file-20211118-27-lz4wqm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432653/original/file-20211118-27-lz4wqm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432653/original/file-20211118-27-lz4wqm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432653/original/file-20211118-27-lz4wqm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432653/original/file-20211118-27-lz4wqm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432653/original/file-20211118-27-lz4wqm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Very smart indeed’: young German schoolboys reading a Nazi newspaper at NPEA Rügen, 1943.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dietrich Schulz</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Most interesting, though, is Dick’s dispassionate observation of the Nazi Mayday celebrations in the neighbouring town of Diez. On April 30, 1936, his diary records a trip “with our Kameraden” to watch the Maypole being hoisted and folk dances by the Hitler Youth. The boys heard speeches by some of the “big bugs of the town”. There was also community singing in which they all took part.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There was a good bit of ‘Heiling’ which we also did because we were in a huge crowd. It was a magnificent scene – the old castle towering above the market place in which were thousands of enthusiastic peasants lit by torch and candle light…</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The following Friday, May 1, which was the spring festival or “<a href="https://www.goethefruehlingsfest.com/about-ff">Frühlingsfest</a>”, Hargreaves’ diary records that the boys had to get up at six o’clock to salute the flag and parade. They then marched to Diez where they assembled with the local Hitler Youth to listen to a 90-minute speech by Hitler being broadcast on the radio.</p>
<p>The same afternoon, the boys returned to Diez to hear another lengthy speech by “der Führer”. Hargreaves noted:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>He worked himself into such a frenzy and was able to move the crowd so tremendously that we saw three people faint. Not from fatigue or crush but just by his amazing oratory powers. Then after Hitler had been ‘Heiled’ off the earth Goering spoke for ½ hour! </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here, the way in which foreign observers could easily be swept up in the fervour of “heiling” and Hitlerism around them is made poignantly clear – although the interminable speeches by Hitler and his henchmen seem to have palled soon enough.</p>
<h2>‘Cultural ambassadors’</h2>
<p>My decade-long research project on the history of the Napolas – just published as the book <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-third-reichs-elite-schools-9780198726128?q=%22helen%20roche%22&lang=en&cc=gb#">The Third Reich’s Elite Schools: A History of the Napolas</a> – has shown that, during the 1930s, hundreds of pupils took part in this programme of exchanges and sporting tournaments. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A groujp of young German schoolboys during shooting practice at NPEA Rügen, c.1944." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432654/original/file-20211118-19-107yzgb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432654/original/file-20211118-19-107yzgb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=844&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432654/original/file-20211118-19-107yzgb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=844&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432654/original/file-20211118-19-107yzgb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=844&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432654/original/file-20211118-19-107yzgb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1061&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432654/original/file-20211118-19-107yzgb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1061&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432654/original/file-20211118-19-107yzgb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1061&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ready for action: young German schoolboys learn to shoot.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dietrich Schulz</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Just to take one example, between 1935 and 1938, Napola Oranienstein took part in exchanges with British private schools, including Westminster, St Paul’s, Tonbridge School, Dauntsey’s and Bingley School in Yorkshire. The school also entertained headmasters and exchange teachers from Shrewsbury School, Dauntsey’s and Bolton School, and was also involved in sports tournaments with Eton, Harrow, Westminster, Winchester, Shrewsbury, Bradfield and Bryanston. </p>
<p>The Napolas also took part in exchange programmes with several US academies under the aegis of the International Schoolboy Fellowship. American schools involved included Tabor Academy in Massachusetts, St Andrew’s Delaware and Phillips Academy Andover – all considered top-drawer educational establishments.</p>
<p>Ultimately, the Nazi regime wanted the German boys and staff to act as the Third Reich’s “cultural ambassadors”, growing sympathy for Hitler’s policies, and spreading pro-Nazi propaganda. Many British headmasters of the time were persuaded of the wisdom of these exchanges. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432655/original/file-20211118-15-1kk098r.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432655/original/file-20211118-15-1kk098r.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432655/original/file-20211118-15-1kk098r.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432655/original/file-20211118-15-1kk098r.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432655/original/file-20211118-15-1kk098r.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432655/original/file-20211118-15-1kk098r.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432655/original/file-20211118-15-1kk098r.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In step: the marching band at NPEA Rügen, 1943.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dietrich Schulz</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>E.K. Milliken, the head of Lancing House Prep School in Lowestoft, England, was so enthused by his experiences of the Napola in Naumburg that he even wrote an article expressing his conviction that the exchanges would “further that spirit of true comradeship of which the world so sorely stands in need”, exhorting all members of the <a href="https://iaps.uk/">Association of Prep Schools</a> to welcome the Napolas with open arms. </p>
<p>Even those who were less easily convinced, such as headmaster A.B. Sackett of Kingswood School in Bath, hoped that the programme could provide “a chance to influence the sons of senior Nazis by discussion and friendship”. </p>
<p>The American reaction seems to have followed a similar pattern, with the headmaster of Tabor Academy, Walter Huston Lillard, still trying to persuade American schools to continue with the programme – even after <a href="https://theconversation.com/kristallnacht-80-years-on-some-reading-to-help-make-sense-of-the-most-notorious-state-sponsored-pogrom-103633">Kristallnacht</a>, the infamous pogrom in November 1938, during which Jewish-owned homes, business and synagogues were systematically attacked in major towns across Germany.</p>
<p>Overall, both the British and American participants in the Napola exchange programme appear initially to have been ready to give the Nazis the benefit of the doubt. While they may not have been convinced by the Third Reich’s aims and ideals, they continued to hope that their national differences could be cast aside in the name of international cooperation – at least until Nazi belligerence reached its fatal climax.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172017/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen Roche 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>Even after the notorious Kristallnacht pogrom in 1938, some headmasters thought pupil exchanges with Nazi Germany were a good idea.Helen Roche, Associate Professor (Modern European Cultural History), Durham UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1689112021-10-06T12:27:40Z2021-10-06T12:27:40Z4 trends in public school enrollment due to COVID-19<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424557/original/file-20211004-19-qw9r9r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4000%2C2658&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">U.S. public school enrollment overall decreased by 3% in the fall of 2020, but kindergarten enrollment dropped 9%.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/kindergarten-student-natalia-bayoumi-holds-the-hand-of-her-news-photo/1234722046">Al Seib / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When schools began the fall semester of 2020 – six months after the <a href="https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020">World Health Organization declared</a> COVID-19 a pandemic – many of them reported a significant <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/10/09/920316481/enrollment-is-dropping-in-public-schools-around-the-country">decline in student enrollment</a>. </p>
<p>Federal education data shows that public school enrollment dropped <a href="https://ies.ed.gov/blogs/nces/post/new-data-reveal-public-school-enrollment-decreased-3-percent-in-2020-21-school-year">3% compared to the previous year</a>. That means roughly <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_203.20.asp">1.5 million students</a> exited the U.S. public education system.</p>
<p>To better understand these enrollment declines, we analyzed school enrollment records for every student in the state of Michigan. This deep dive focused not only on how the pandemic affected the number of kids enrolled in public schools – both traditional and charter – but also whether families decided to home-school or enroll in private school. We compared these student-level records from Michigan with national data from the <a href="https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/household-pulse-survey/data.html">Household Pulse Survey</a> conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2020 and 2021.</p>
<p><a href="https://epistage.fordschool.umich.edu/research/epi-working-papers/pandemics-effect-demand-public-schools-homeschooling-and-private">Our research</a> uncovered four major trends in school enrollment during the first year of the pandemic.</p>
<h2>1. Kindergarten experienced a big drop</h2>
<p>In Michigan, overall public school enrollment decreased by 3% in the fall of 2020. The largest decline was in kindergarten, where enrollment dropped 10%. The national data follow a similar pattern, showing a 3% drop in overall enrollment and a <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/whatsnew/press_releases/06_28_2021.asp">9% drop</a> among kindergartners.</p>
<p>These enrollment drops are a big deal for several reasons.</p>
<p>For starters, if the families who pulled their kids out of public schools during the pandemic never come back, it means fewer students and less money for public schools.</p>
<p>However, if most students ultimately reenroll in public schools, there will be sharp – and possibly unplanned – increases in the overall size of the student body at many schools.</p>
<p>If schools are not able to quickly adapt by hiring more qualified teachers, this could result in a range of challenges, including above-average class sizes, which <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/class-size-what-research-says-and-what-it-means-for-state-policy/">directly affect students’ learning</a>.</p>
<h2>2. Homeschooling became more popular</h2>
<p>In February 2020, <a href="https://epistage.fordschool.umich.edu/research/epi-working-papers/pandemics-effect-demand-public-schools-homeschooling-and-private">4.5% of U.S. households</a> with school-aged children reported home-schooling at least one child. By the fall of 2020, that rate <a href="https://epistage.fordschool.umich.edu/research/epi-working-papers/pandemics-effect-demand-public-schools-homeschooling-and-private">jumped to 7.3%</a>. This was driven largely by families with children in elementary school.</p>
<p>In Michigan, we found that among students who left the public school system for an alternative education sector, the majority elected to enroll in homeschooling, though there were also increases in private school enrollment. For rising first graders, for example, exits to homeschooling accounted for 56% of the total number of students not returning to public schools.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman and young girl sit at home table talking expressively" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424552/original/file-20211004-19-291v0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=13%2C0%2C2982%2C1994&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424552/original/file-20211004-19-291v0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424552/original/file-20211004-19-291v0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424552/original/file-20211004-19-291v0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424552/original/file-20211004-19-291v0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424552/original/file-20211004-19-291v0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424552/original/file-20211004-19-291v0s.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">Homeschooling became more popular during the pandemic, particularly for elementary school kids.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/teacher-maria-magallanes-r-homeschools-zola-west-a-child-news-photo/1212478865">Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Parents based decisions on how schools held class</h2>
<p>Both in Michigan and nationally, school systems that offered in-person instruction in the fall of 2020 had larger increases in homeschooling rates than school systems that offered remote instruction. On the other hand, school systems that offered remote instruction in the fall of 2020 saw relatively larger increases in private school enrollment.</p>
<p>These patterns suggest that no matter what public schools chose – in-person or remote instruction – many parents were going to send their children elsewhere.</p>
<p>The disproportionate increase in homeschooling rates in districts offering in-person instruction suggests that some families pulled their children from public school due to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/07/26/1017864066/how-some-districts-are-trying-to-get-anxious-families-back-into-school-buildings">health concerns related to in-person instruction</a> during a pandemic.</p>
<p>However, the disproportionate increase in private sector enrollment in districts offering remote instruction suggests that other parents were eager to seek out in-person learning opportunities, possibly due to concerns about the quality of instruction and learning in a remote setting. </p>
<h2>4. Age, income and race all factored into schooling decisions</h2>
<p>Changes in school enrollment patterns varied substantially by students’ grade, family income and race. In Michigan, we found that the drops in kindergarten enrollment were largest among low-income and Black students. However, the smaller enrollment declines in other grades were disproportionately among higher-income and white students. </p>
<p>These patterns highlight important differences in how families make schooling decisions. Black and lower-income families appear to be more likely to enroll in alternative sectors at the time of initial public school enrollment, specifically kindergarten. Meanwhile, white and higher-income families appear more open to alternative options after their child has already been enrolled in the public school system.</p>
<p>This finding adds an additional layer to evidence that race and income were not only important factors in <a href="https://www.edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ai212-374.pdf">access to in-person instruction</a>, but also how families responded when offered either in-person or remote instruction.</p>
<p>Whether students who were pulled from the public school system fare better or worse academically remains to be seen. Much of it depends on the quality of the instruction being offered at their new schools.</p>
<p>But given the <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/07/how-pandemic-affected-black-and-white-households.html">disproportionate economic, health and social effects</a> that the pandemic has already had on historically disadvantaged communities, these enrollment trends may widen <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.20437">existing achievement gaps</a> in years to come. </p>
<p>[<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/politics-weekly-74/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=politics-important">Get The Conversation’s most important politics headlines, in our Politics Weekly newsletter</a>.</em>]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168911/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 organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fewer students enrolled in public school and more were home-schooled during the 2020-21 school year. Researchers analyzed records in Michigan to understand what drove parents to make these decisions.Tareena Musaddiq, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of MichiganAndrew Bacher-Hicks, Assistant Professor of Education Policy, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1655812021-09-27T12:53:22Z2021-09-27T12:53:22ZHow civil rights activist Howard Fuller became a devout champion of school choice<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417270/original/file-20210820-17-1cgcw33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5193%2C3466&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Education reformer Howard Fuller has worked with GOP leaders in support of school vouchers.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/dr-howard-fuller-author-of-the-new-book-no-struggle-no-news-photo/455118800?adppopup=true">Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As a longtime civil rights activist and education reformer, Howard Fuller has seen his support for school choice spark both <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/howard-fuller-a-civil-rights-warrior-or-billionares-tool/2014/09/09/3aedeff4-37c1-11e4-9c9f-ebb47272e40e_story.html">controversy and confusion</a>. That’s because it aligns him with polarizing Republican figures that include <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/502961-trump-calls-school-choice-the-civil-rights-issue-of-the-decade">Donald Trump</a> and Trump’s former secretary of education, <a href="https://theconversation.com/through-her-divisive-rhetoric-education-secretary-devos-leaves-a-troubled-legacy-of-her-own-152914">Betsy DeVos</a>. </p>
<p>But unlike those figures, Fuller’s support for school choice is not rooted in a conservative agenda to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/05/20/school-privatization-movement-marches-on-during-pandemic/">privatize public schools</a>. Rather, it is grounded in his <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/we-are-an-african-people-9780199861477?cc=us&lang=en&">ongoing quest</a> to provide Black students a quality education by any means necessary. </p>
<p>I write about Fuller in my new book “<a href="http://www.beacon.org/The-Choice-We-Face-P1635.aspx">The Choice We Face</a>,” which traces the history of school choice as well as demands for radical education reform by Black activists. Unlike most other school choice advocates I interviewed, Fuller’s activism predates the current debate and has firm footing in the Black Power movement.</p>
<p>Now 80, Fuller <a href="https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2020/06/19/national-school-choice-advocate-howard-fuller-retire-marquette/3223241001/">retired in June 2020</a> from Marquette University, where he was a longtime education professor and founded the <a href="https://www.marquette.edu/education/centers-and-clinics/institute-for-the-transformation-of-learning.php">Institute for the Transformation of Learning</a> to improve education options for low-income students in Milwaukee. During the 1990s he served as superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools.</p>
<p>Here are five aspects from Fuller’s career that suggest a nuanced lens into the school choice movement. </p>
<h2>1. Advocated for Black Power in the 1960s</h2>
<p>Fuller first became involved in the civil rights movement when he joined the <a href="https://www.marquette.edu/library/archives/Mss/MOM-Oral%20History/Fuller_Howard_oral_transcript%5B1%5D.pdf">Congress of Racial Equality</a> in 1964 as a graduate student at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. </p>
<p>In Cleveland, Malcolm X delivered a version of the “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-020-09484-5">Ballot or the Bullet</a>” speech <a href="https://www.marquette.edu/mupress/Fuller.shtml">in April 1964</a>. Days later, Rev. Bruce Klunder, a 27-year-old white Presbyterian minister, was accidentally <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/rev-bruce-klunder">crushed to death</a> by a bulldozer as he and several other activists protested the construction of a new, all-Black school. The school was the city’s attempt to avoid <a href="https://case.edu/ech/articles/k/klunder-bruce-w">desegregation</a>. </p>
<p>Fuller later helped establish and lead Malcolm X Liberation University in Raleigh, North Carolina. The independent Black-run school, which operated from 1969 to 1973, offered a unique African and African American studies curriculum as well as technical training for students to work as activists in the freedom struggle. </p>
<p>Controlling and safeguarding a school for one’s own community became a <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/we-are-an-african-people-9780199861477?cc=us&lang=en&">defining principle</a> of the Black Power movement. For Fuller and others, education was liberation for Black communities. As <a href="https://www.marquette.edu/mupress/Fuller.shtml">Fuller described</a> it, the mission of the university was to educate students “totally committed to the liberation of all African people.” </p>
<h2>2. Proposed an all-Black school district in the 1980s</h2>
<p>In 1978, Fuller was embroiled in a struggle in Milwaukee to save his alma mater, North Division High School, <a href="https://dc.uwm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=etd">from closing</a>. That year, Derrick Bell, who is regarded as the “<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-godfather-of-critical-race-theory-11624627522">godfather</a>” of <a href="https://theconversation.com/critical-race-theory-what-it-is-and-what-it-isnt-162752">critical race theory</a>, delivered an address in Milwaukee titled “Desegregation: A New Form of Discrimination.”</p>
<p>In his speech, Bell criticized education reforms that were more concerned with balancing racial demographics in schools than with improving Black education. He argued that building programs that did not always accept local Black students but made space for white students who lived outside the neighborhood <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/1340546">hurt Black students</a>. Much like Fuller’s North Division High School, Black students were not guaranteed admission to the school closest to their home if those schools were designed to attract white students. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A black-and-white photo of a man wearing a suit walking with a group of students, each one carrying a book." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417268/original/file-20210820-13-1dnivi1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3067%2C2023&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417268/original/file-20210820-13-1dnivi1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417268/original/file-20210820-13-1dnivi1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417268/original/file-20210820-13-1dnivi1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417268/original/file-20210820-13-1dnivi1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417268/original/file-20210820-13-1dnivi1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417268/original/file-20210820-13-1dnivi1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Civil rights leader Derrick Bell fought for equitable education for Black students.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/harvard-law-school-professor-derrick-bell-walking-w-a-group-news-photo/50591767?adppopup=true">Steve Liss/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Several years later, Howard Fuller drafted the “<a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1987-09-29-8703130605-story.html">Manifesto for New Directions in the Education of Black Children</a>.” The treatise proposed carving out an all-Black school district within the Milwaukee public school district to serve over <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781351313841-13/case-separate-black-school-system-derrick-bell">6,000 students</a>. The district was to be controlled by and geared toward families of color. The plan was a response to a call made in 1935 by W.E.B. DuBois, who argued that Black educators and activists should <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/2291871">invest more in building Black schools</a> than integrating hostile white schools. </p>
<h2>3. Supports school vouchers today</h2>
<p>Fuller’s proposal for an all-Black school district <a href="https://www.marquette.edu/mupress/Fuller.shtml">gained traction</a>, but Wisconsin legislators opted instead for a voucher plan in 1989 – the <a href="https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/misc/lfb/informational_papers/january_2003/0029_milwaukee_parental_choice_program_informational_paper_29.pdf">Milwaukee Parental Choice Program</a>. The program covered the tuition of students who wanted to enroll in private schools. </p>
<p>The Republican Party seized on the new voucher plan and pushed it through the state legislature. Ever since the <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1955/347us483">Brown v. Board of Education</a> decision in 1954, when the Supreme Court declared school segregation unconstitutional, the Republican Party has increasingly aligned itself with school privatization efforts through <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-k-12/reports/2017/07/12/435629/racist-origins-private-school-vouchers/">vouchers</a> and “<a href="https://southernspaces.org/2019/segregationists-libertarians-and-modern-school-choice-movement/">freedom of choice</a>” plans. </p>
<p>Fuller also supported the Milwaukee voucher plan, as did some other Black activists, despite criticism from academics and organizations, <a href="https://www.educationnext.org/origins-milwaukee-parental-choice-program-no-struggle-no-progress-fuller/">including the NAACP</a>. </p>
<p>“If you’re drowning and a hand is extended to you, you don’t ask if the hand is attached to a Democrat or a Republican,” <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED531260">noted Wisconsin State Rep. Annette “Polly” Williams</a>, a Black Democrat who worked with Fuller to propose the legislation for a <a href="https://www.the74million.org/article/for-maverick-polly-williams-the-mother-of-school-choice-the-point-was-always-to-empower-parents-and-improve-education-for-black-children/">separate school district</a> and also supported school vouchers.</p>
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<h2>4. Helped build the school choice movement</h2>
<p>Howard Fuller helped build the foundation for civil rights activists who are interested in school choice. As he told me during our interview in 2019, “I’ve always seen school choice from a social justice framework as opposed to a free market framework.”</p>
<p>Many activists saw it the same way.</p>
<p>For example, Wyatt Tee Walker, one of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s trusted strategists, <a href="https://www.sisuluwalker.org/history">opened a charter school</a> in New York City in 1999. James Forman Jr., a civil rights lawyer, scholar, author and son of the prominent Black Panther Party organizer, opened a charter school in Washington, D.C. in 1997. Both leaders argued that failed desegregation attempts placed a <a href="https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/fss_papers/3146/">burden on Black families</a> by catering to white families without promising quality education for Black students. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, education activist Geoffrey Canada was <a href="https://www.wreg.com/news/2013-freedom-award-winners-named/">awarded the National Freedom Award</a> in 2013 for his charter school network, the <a href="https://hcz.org/our-purpose/our-history-zone-map/">Harlem Children’s Zone</a>. And in 2016, Martin Luther King III led one of the largest school choice rallies in the nation. “This is about freedom,” King told the crowd gathered in Florida, “the freedom to choose for your family and your child.” </p>
<p>Support for choice is not limited to a small cadre of activists. A <a href="https://www.federationforchildren.org/national-school-choice-poll-shows-67-of-voters-support-school-choice-2019/">2019 poll</a> by the American Federation for Children estimated that 73% of Latinos and 67% of African Americans support school choice. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Mother, father and two small children hold hands while walking down street" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423182/original/file-20210924-24-glshmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423182/original/file-20210924-24-glshmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423182/original/file-20210924-24-glshmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423182/original/file-20210924-24-glshmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423182/original/file-20210924-24-glshmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423182/original/file-20210924-24-glshmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423182/original/file-20210924-24-glshmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Polling data shows a majority of African Americans support school choice.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-myers-family-takes-a-walk-near-their-home-in-ne-news-photo/1208289093">Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>5. Drew scorn for working with Republicans</h2>
<p>Fuller allied with prominent Republicans on school choice. He <a href="https://archive.jsonline.com/news/opinion/howard-fuller-still-a-warrior-for-children-b99338584z1-273253071.html/">met with George W. Bush</a> in 1999 while Bush was running for president. A year earlier, he debated then-Sen. Barack Obama on the issue of vouchers. His school reform work in New Orleans in the 2000s led him to collaborate with Betsy DeVos, who at that time was a <a href="https://www.nola.com/news/education/article_e8dbd575-e6e4-5b1e-b4c3-02596e539cbb.html">GOP financier and charter school advocate</a>. He also later <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYg7jn1KQo8">supported DeVos’ contested nomination</a> for secretary of education. </p>
<p>Fuller drew <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/howard-fuller-a-civil-rights-warrior-or-billionares-tool/2014/09/09/3aedeff4-37c1-11e4-9c9f-ebb47272e40e_story.html">strong criticism</a> from the press and some education reformers for his connections with the GOP, who earned a tarnished reputation on <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/08/emerging-republican-majority/595504/">civil rights</a>, and for embracing what many defined as a conservative agenda.</p>
<p>In his own defense, he noted in our interview that while he agrees with some Republicans on school choice, he strongly disagrees with them “on voter ID, on drug testing for people getting public assistance. I support the minimum wage. I support Obamacare.”</p>
<p>Though his position on school choice did not curry favors with <a href="https://uncpress.org/book/9780807863466/more-than-one-struggle/">progressive education reformers</a>, Fuller demonstrated that not all demands for school choice are the same. For instance, he believes <a href="https://hechingerreport.org/segregated-schools-are-still-the-norm-howard-fuller-is-fine-with-that/">“mom and pop” charter schools</a> are more emblematic of the long history of the Black freedom struggle than schools proposed by national charter school networks, as these grassroots schools are more often driven by the demands of historically marginalized communities. </p>
<p>“You’re going to be fighting for something for entirely different reasons than some of the people out there who are your allies,” Fuller said in our interview. I believe this difference is imperative to understanding the nuance of school choice today.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165581/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jon Hale does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Howard Fuller’s support for school choice is connected to the Black Power movement and a pursuit to provide Black students a quality education by any means necessary.Jon Hale, Associate Professor of Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1669222021-09-14T12:12:09Z2021-09-14T12:12:09ZWhat are microschools? 5 questions answered<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420821/original/file-20210913-15-qj83x1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=53%2C0%2C6000%2C3961&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Microschools gained in appeal to some parents during the pandemic.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/group-of-diverse-students-in-school-building-royalty-free-image/1272598525?adppopup=true">Complexio/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Since COVID-19, some parents in search of educational alternatives for their children have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/14/education/learning/pods-microschools-pandemic.html">turned to microschools</a>. Here, Barnett Berry, a research professor in education at the University of South Carolina, explains what makes microschools distinct from other schools.</em></p>
<h2>1. What are microschools?</h2>
<p>As their name suggests, microschools, which serve K-12 students, are very small schools that typically serve 10 to 15 students, but sometimes as many as 150. They can have very different purposes but tend to share common characteristics, such as more personalized and <a href="https://theconversation.com/project-based-learning-deepens-science-knowledge-for-3rd-graders-in-michigan-155711">project-based learning</a>. They also tend to have closer adult-child relationships in which teachers serve as facilitators of student-led learning, not just deliverers of content.</p>
<p>Michael Horn, a fellow and co-founder at Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, <a href="https://www.educationnext.org/rise-micro-schools/">aptly noted</a>: “Think one-room schoolhouse meets blended learning and home schooling meets private schooling.” </p>
<p>Microschools can be found inside public schools, such as in <a href="https://www.ednc.org/connecting-student-data-to-student-futures-reimagining-accountability-with-ibm-in-edgecombe-county/">North Phillips School of Innovation</a> in Edgecombe County, North Carolina. But they can also be found in the private sector as well, such as the <a href="https://microschools.com/school-finder/?uid=54">MYSA Micro School</a> in Washington. They can operate almost anywhere – from living rooms and storefronts to churches, libraries and offices.</p>
<p>Horn reported that <a href="https://www.educationnext.org/rise-micro-schools/">QuantumCamp</a>, founded in 2009, was a microschool established “out of a dare that one couldn’t teach quantum physics in a simple way.” <a href="https://www.actonacademy.org">Acton Academy</a> operates more than 180 microschools in the United States and abroad.</p>
<p>Microschools are often associated with ed-tech and efforts to privatize public education. For example, <a href="https://www.getschoolhouse.com/">SchoolHouse</a> – a New York-based ed tech startup – reportedly <a href="https://news.crunchbase.com/news/schoolhouse-microschools-startup-funding/">raised $8.1 million as of 2021</a> to take its model nationwide.</p>
<p>It is difficult to know just how many microschools there are throughout the U.S. State rules and regulations <a href="https://www.microschoolrevolution.com/founder-article/establishing-your-microschool/">differ considerably</a>, and there is no one national accreditation agency for microschools. </p>
<h2>2. How are they funded?</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED609716.pdf">cost of attending</a> a privately operated microschool varies widely. It can range from <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED609716.pdf">$4,000 to $25,000</a> per academic year.</p>
<p>These private microschools tend to serve families who can afford them – a <a href="https://bellwethereducation.org/publication/toward-equitable-access-and-affordability-how-private-schools-and-microschools-seek">2019 survey</a> found that the majority of microschools serve few low-income students.</p>
<p>Some models are funded through school voucher programs. In Florida, about 1 in 3 students at the <a href="http://www.bbinternationalpreschool.org/">BB International School</a> draw on the <a href="https://www.heritage.org/education/report/lets-get-small-microschools-pandemic-pods-and-the-future-education-america">state’s private choice programs</a> to finance their microschool education.</p>
<p>Microschools can have much lower overhead than public schools, which can in turn reduce the typical per-pupil expenditure. But they also cannot provide the depth of extracurricular opportunities, such as sports, drama, band and more that <a href="https://bealearninghero.org/research/">parents seek</a> in a more holistic education experience for their children. </p>
<h2>3. Are they more effective than regular schools?</h2>
<p>There is very little, if any, substantive evidence on the effectiveness of microschools compared to regular public schools. However, most research shows <a href="https://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/charter-schools-vs-traditional-public-schools-which-one-is-under-performing">little difference</a> in student outcomes between charter, private and public schools. This suggests there might be wide variation in the quality of microschools as well. </p>
<h2>4. Has the pandemic played a role in their popularity?</h2>
<p>In the wake of the pandemic, some parents – frustrated with their child’s schools’ response to online learning – have turned microschools and learning pods. For example, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/14/education/learning/pods-microschools-pandemic.html">reported in 2020</a> that the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/pandemicpodsf/">Pandemic Pods Facebook page</a> had more than 41,000 members, suggesting interest in the concept, although the number had shrunk to 38,000 as of September 2021. Yet it is worth noting that, historically, private schools have <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED602594.pdf">served only about 10%</a> of the nation’s students.</p>
<p>The pandemic appears to have played a role in the uptick of interest in microschools, but a <a href="https://pdkpoll.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Poll53_final.pdf">2020 poll</a> showed that 2 in 3 parents have given their local public school an A or B grade in response to the pandemic. </p>
<h2>5. Do microschools and public schools work together?</h2>
<p>Microschools do work inside the public school system and can be viewed as an extension of the <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/news/2002/march20/smallschools-320.html">small schools movement</a>.</p>
<p>In 2017, the North Phillips School of Innovation, mentioned earlier in this article, was <a href="https://www.ednc.org/connecting-student-data-to-student-futures-reimagining-accountability-with-ibm-in-edgecombe-county/">established to address poor academic performance, high student absenteeism and frequent discipline problems</a>. Students and parents wanted more personalized learning that connected to their life in the community. During the pandemic, the district used their experience with microschooling to create <a href="https://www.wtmacademy.com/learning-pods/">learning pods</a> and has been able to <a href="https://www.edweek.org/leaders/2021/nurturing-talent-at-home-to-revive-a-struggling-region">more effectively</a> personalize learning for students and their families. </p>
<p>In addition, during pandemic-induced school closures, the <a href="https://www.education.nh.gov/who-we-are/commissioner/recovering-bright-futures">New Hampshire Department of Education</a> developed their version of <a href="https://learningpodseducation.nh.gov/">learning pods</a> to create small multi-age groupings of students – anywhere from five to 10 students – to help up to 500 students who had been struggling with academic and social and emotional setbacks. </p>
<p>Finally, the microschool concept aligns with <a href="https://www.teacherpowered.org">Teacher Powered Schools</a> — intentionally small schools inside of the public education system – where teachers have more autonomy to lead as well as teach. </p>
<p>Perhaps the pandemic can spur new public-private partnerships that lead to more equitable and personalized learning in which microschools play an important role.</p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166922/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Barnett Berry currently receives funding from the Carnegie Corp of New York and Stuart Foundation as well as National University and the Learning Policy Institute in support of research and development of whole child education and the advancement of the teaching profession. </span></em></p>Microschools might be an attractive alternative to regular public schools that are wrestling with the pandemic, but they are mostly out of reach for low-income students, a researcher says.Barnett Berry, Reseach Professor of Education and founding director, ALL4SC, University of South CarolinaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1661282021-08-19T12:09:11Z2021-08-19T12:09:11ZWho has the power to say kids do or don’t have to wear masks in school – the governor or the school district? It’s not clear<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416614/original/file-20210817-24-hxnkds.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4602%2C3213&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Richardson Independent School District in Texas is among the many districts across the state defying the governor's mask mandate ban to require masks for students. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreakTexasSchools/dae14cf6d3c54a07865e12455e9a693e/photo?Query=school%20mask%20mandate&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=89&currentItemNo=4">AP Photo/LM Otero</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Legal battles over masks in schools are being fought across the country, including in <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/arkansas/articles/2021-08-13/most-arkansas-public-school-students-under-mask-mandate">Arkansas</a>, <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/gavin-newsom-sued-over-school-mask-mandate-covid-spikes-california-1612411">California</a>, <a href="https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2021/08/13/tampa-bay-families-join-lawsuits-over-desantis-school-mask-order/">Florida</a>, <a href="https://www.kentucky.com/news/coronavirus/article253414600.html">Kentucky</a>, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/michigan-catholic-school-seeks-broad-exception-mask-mandate-2021-07-22/">Michigan</a>, <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/567684-oklahoma-faces-lawsuit-over-ban-on-mask-mandates-for-schools?rl=1">Oklahoma</a>, <a href="https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/education/parents-sue-sisolak-ccsd-over-mask-order-in-schools-2418790/">Nevada</a> and <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2021/08/16/flurry-of-conflicting-legal-battles-against-texas-mask-mandate-ban-complicates-schools-start/">Texas</a>. </p>
<p>Rather than clarifying policy, these legal challenges have led to more confusion.</p>
<p>As a new school year begins and COVID-19 hospitalizations rise across the country, the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/k-12-guidance.html">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> and the <a href="https://www.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/clinical-guidance/covid-19-planning-considerations-return-to-in-person-education-in-schools/">American Academy of Pediatrics</a> recommend that students wear masks in school to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. </p>
<p>This guidance, and schools’ responses to it, has resulted in an intense debate. Some parents argue that they should be able to decide when and where their children wear masks, whereas others argue collective health and safety concerns take priority over individual choices. These arguments fall <a href="https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/poll-finding/kff-covid-19-vaccine-monitor-parents-and-the-pandemic/">sharply along partisan lines</a>, with 88% of Democrats supporting mask mandates and 69% of Republicans against the requirements. </p>
<p>State rules reflect this division. In <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-08-15/schools-battle-states-covid">eight states</a>, as of Aug. 16, 2021, laws were enacted or governors issued orders banning public schools from requiring students to wear masks. On the opposite side of the debate, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-13/school-mask-rule-clash-puts-heat-on-state-courts-to-steer-policy">12 states and the District of Columbia</a> are requiring students to wear masks indoors.</p>
<p>Further complicating matters, some school districts have acted in <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/08/09/more-schools-defying-state-governments-to-impose-mask-mandates---heres-what-could-happen-next/?sh=4601bdb6449e">outright defiance</a> of their states’ regulations. These conflicts pose one key question: Who has the power to control the health and safety measures schools take – state leaders or local officials?</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KT-qW5sNrwg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">On Aug. 11, 2021, anti-mask demonstrators gathered outside a school board meeting in Williamson County, Tenn., after a vote passed requiring masks in elementary classrooms.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Competing policies</h2>
<p>Texas provides a good example of this conflict. Even after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-issues-executive-order-prohibiting-government-entities-from-mandating-masks">executive order</a> banning school mask mandates, <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/09/texas-mask-order-schools/">local officials</a> in several school districts adopted policies that required students to wear masks.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/11/texas-mask-mandates-covid-19/">Simultaneous legal battles</a> across multiple state court districts ensued and resulted in inconsistent rulings on whether banning masks in schools is constitutional.</p>
<p>On Aug. 15, the Texas Supreme Court <a href="https://www.tpr.org/government-politics/2021-08-15/texas-supreme-court-sides-with-governor-abbott-on-his-mask-mandate-ban-for-now">weighed in</a>, siding with the governor and saying that schools cannot require masks. Yet some schools still do, defying both the governor and the state’s highest court.</p>
<p>With all of the partisan rhetoric, lawsuits and conflict, many parents are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/15/us/covid-school-reopening-anxiety.html">left bewildered</a> about how to proceed with the school year.</p>
<p>This is not the first time legal battles have erupted in the wake of a public health emergency. During the influenza pandemic of 1918, state and local governments enacted a <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/how-fragmented-country-fights-pandemic/608284/">variety of restrictions</a> to combat the spread of the virus. As they must now, officials had to make hard decisions about <a href="https://theconversation.com/3-lessons-from-how-schools-responded-to-the-1918-pandemic-worth-heeding-today-138403">whether to close schools</a> or prevent public gatherings. <a href="https://www.acslaw.org/expertforum/face-covering-requirements-and-the-constitution/">Mask mandates</a> even existed <a href="https://theconversation.com/mask-resistance-during-a-pandemic-isnt-new-in-1918-many-americans-were-slackers-141687">in some areas</a>. State and local judges routinely upheld these measures.</p>
<p>Many of the same <a href="https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-constitutional-issues-related-to-covid-19-mask-mandates">constitutional questions</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/people-gave-up-on-flu-pandemic-measures-a-century-ago-when-they-tired-of-them-and-paid-a-price-156551">debated over 100 years ago</a> arise today about mask mandates and other pandemic-related regulations. </p>
<h2>Civil liberties vs. public health</h2>
<p>Long-standing <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/197/11/">U.S. Supreme Court precedent</a> recognizes that states have broad powers to regulate the health and safety of their citizens during a public health crisis. </p>
<p>But no right is absolute. When evaluating a state’s actions in a pandemic, courts weigh the government’s interest in protecting the health and safety of its citizens against an individual’s civil liberties. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-constitution-doesnt-have-a-problem-with-mask-mandates-142335">Common challenges</a> against COVID-19-related regulations argue that some requirements violate the First Amendment or an individual’s right to liberty, including the right to make choices about one’s own health.</p>
<p>Over the past year, the challenges that have been most successful in the courts argued that certain COVID-19 rules violated the First Amendment right to freely exercise one’s religion. </p>
<p>For example, the U.S. Supreme Court recently <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/2021/20A151/">blocked</a> the state of California from enforcing COVID-19 restrictions on an at-home Bible study group and <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/592/20a87/">prevented</a> New York state from enforcing occupancy limits on religious services.</p>
<p>But with respect to mask mandates, legal precedent supporting similar challenges is not as strong. </p>
<p>For example, in Maryland, a federal district court recently <a href="https://casetext.com/case/antietam-battlefield-koa-v-hogan">suggested in a decision</a> that litigants were unlikely to succeed with claims that challenged mask mandates as unconstitutional violations of the First Amendment. </p>
<p>Arguments that mask mandates violate an individual’s constitutional right to liberty – <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/liberty#:%7E:text=The%20term%20%E2%80%9Cliberty%E2%80%9D%20appears%20in,unreasonable%20restraint%20upon%20an%20individual.">defined by a leading legal resource</a> as “freedom from arbitrary and unreasonable restraint upon an individual” – face an even greater uphill battle. Courts have interpreted the Constitution as <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/360/310/">giving elected officials leeway</a> when it comes to social policy, particularly in areas “fraught with medical and scientific uncertainties.”</p>
<p>This does not bode well for challenges like one <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/federal-lawsuit-filed-las-vegas-school-mask-mandate-79435468">recently filed</a> in Nevada, which claims mask mandates infringe upon the fundamental right of parents to make child-rearing decisions.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416616/original/file-20210817-28-138t3gz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a black jacket with a mask pushed below his mouth." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416616/original/file-20210817-28-138t3gz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416616/original/file-20210817-28-138t3gz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416616/original/file-20210817-28-138t3gz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416616/original/file-20210817-28-138t3gz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416616/original/file-20210817-28-138t3gz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416616/original/file-20210817-28-138t3gz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416616/original/file-20210817-28-138t3gz.jpeg?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">In Florida, lawsuits are challenging the executive order banning school mask mandates issued by Gov. Ron DeSantis, above.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/florida-gov-ron-desantis-looks-on-during-the-third-round-of-news-photo/1311810391?adppopup=true">Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>More mandates, please</h2>
<p>On the other side of the debate, in some states litigants have gone to court to advocate for more stringent COVID-19 regulations. </p>
<p>In Florida, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/06/us/florida-desantis-executive-order-school-masks-first-legal-challenge-constitutionality/index.html">two different lawsuits</a> seek to overturn the governor’s ban on school mask requirements. They claim that the Florida Constitution guarantees a safe school environment and grants local governments the authority to govern schools.</p>
<p>Some of the more successful lawsuits have focused on the fact that, by law, most states can regulate mask wearing in only public schools. This means that state laws and orders that ban mask requirements do not extend to private schools. In <a href="https://azednews.com/what-would-it-take-to-rescind-law-prohibiting-school-mask-mandates/">Arizona</a>, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-arkansas-coronavirus-pandemic-d79a14a84f0c7ba3bd6d8b3cf4039404">Arkansas</a> and <a href="https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2021/08/12/oklahoma-lawsuit-alleges-school-mask-mandate-ban-unconstitutional/8114783002/">Oklahoma</a>, lawsuits claim that this creates unconstitutional distinctions between public and private students’ rights to a safe educational environment – and therefore, they say, the state cannot ban mask mandates in schools at all.</p>
<h2>Unanswered questions</h2>
<p>All of this fighting within and among the states led the Biden administration to step into the fray. While the federal government <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/584/16-476/">cannot constitutionally command</a> the states to do something, it can create incentives for them with money. </p>
<p>In response to the governors’ orders in <a href="https://www.flgov.com/2021/07/30/governor-desantis-issues-an-executive-order-ensuring-parents-freedom-to-choose/">Florida</a> and <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-issues-executive-order-prohibiting-government-entities-from-mandating-masks">Texas</a> that prohibit mask mandates in schools, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona reminded <a href="https://oese.ed.gov/files/2021/08/Letter-from-Secretary-Cardona-FL-08-13-21.pdf">both states’</a> <a href="https://oese.ed.gov/files/2021/08/Letter-from-Secretary-Cardona-TX-08-13-21.pdf">governors</a> that federal CDC guidance recommends students wear masks. Cardona also suggested that the Biden administration would <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/13/health/cardona-biden-abbott-desantis-mask-mandate.html">closely monitor</a> whether the states were meeting <a href="https://oese.ed.gov/offices/american-rescue-plan/american-rescue-plan-elementary-and-secondary-school-emergency-relief/">requirements</a> for federal relief funding under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2021/08/13/us-education-secretary-texas-mask-mandate-ban-may-infringe-on-school-district-authority/">That law requires states to adhere to CDC guidance</a>, including implementing mitigation strategies such as contact tracing or mask requirements, in order to receive the federal money the act provides.</p>
<p>President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/mounting-lawsuits-federal-government-challenge-desantis-abbott-bans-on-mask-mandates/">followed up</a> Cardona’s letters to the governors with a phone call of support to one of the superintendents who adopted mask mandates in violation of his governor’s executive order.</p>
<p>If it all sounds confusing and as if the law is all over the place regarding school mask mandates, that’s because it is. The nation’s schools are subject to a complex web of local, state and federal laws that make it difficult to impose uniform standards.</p>
<p>Add in an <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/08/politics/republican-governors-mask-vaccines-mandates-schools/index.html">intense political battle</a> over the appropriate policies to adopt in the wake of the delta variant and you have precisely the kind of situation that may well end up at the U.S. Supreme Court.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166128/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Selin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If it sounds like the law is all over the place on school mask mandates, that’s because it is. The nation’s schools are subject to a complex web of local, state and federal laws.Jennifer Selin, Kinder Institute Assistant Professor of Constitutional Democracy, University of Missouri-ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1571442021-03-23T18:50:40Z2021-03-23T18:50:40ZEducation funding is unfair — and public schools asking parents to chip in makes it worse<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391040/original/file-20210323-17-smiesz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5184%2C3453&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/close-mother-daughter-leaving-school-432179689">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We have estimated around $8 billion of non-government or private funding flows through Australia’s school system each year — both public and private. The vast majority of this comes from school fees. The rest is from “<a href="https://www.acara.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/finance-data-dictionary.pdf">other private sources</a>”, including donations and community fund-raising.</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, the independent school sector generates the most private income. But public schools also receive private income that goes towards things like refurbishing facilities.</p>
<p>We analysed private income in every Australian school using data from the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). At the time of our study, the latest figures available for school fees and income were from 2015. </p>
<p>We found independent schools totalled an average A$9,227 of private funding per student. This was followed by Catholic schools ($2,873) and government schools ($752). </p>
<h2>What are parents paying for school?</h2>
<p>We found <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13384-019-00319-1">school incomes from private sources increase</a> with the relative advantage of a school. </p>
<p>Relative advantage is defined using ACARA’s <a href="https://www.myschool.edu.au/media/1820/guide-to-understanding-icsea-values.pdf">Index of Community Socio-educational Advantage</a> (ICSEA). This scale is a proxy for socioeconomic status used by education sectors in Australia. </p>
<p>ACARA calculates the ICSEA score for each school using factors such as students’ parental education and occupation, the proportion of Indigenous students at the school, students with a language background other than English and the school’s geographical location. </p>
<p>An ICSEA score above 1,000 indicates greater socioeconomic and educational advantage; an ICSEA score below 1,000 indicates greater disadvantage. In our analysis, we put schools into four categories: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>very disadvantaged (ICSEA 900 and less)</p></li>
<li><p>disadvantaged (ICSEA from 901 to 1,000) </p></li>
<li><p>advantaged (ICSEA from 1,001 to 1,100)</p></li>
<li><p>very advantaged (ICSEA more than 1,100).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Parents in very disadvantaged independent schools paid an average of $1,225 in 2015 per student. This increased to an average of $14,624 in very advantaged independent schools.</p>
<p>Parent fees at the most advantaged government schools were $745 in 2015 per student. At the most disadvantaged government schools, parents paid around $299 per student.</p>
<p><iframe id="L6Al8" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/L6Al8/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>School fees on the rise</h2>
<p>Private school fees are growing faster than inflation and are now one of the biggest financial outlays in the average Australian family. </p>
<p>Only 50% of families with children attending private schools pay fees from their disposable incomes. The rest, according to <a href="https://edstart.com.au/blog/record-low-wage-growth-impact-on-family-budget-and-school-fees/">market-based research by Edstart</a>, increase their credit card debt, take out personal loans, redraw on their mortgage, or borrow money — often from grandparents. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-next-government-needs-to-do-to-tackle-unfairness-in-school-funding-110879">What the next government needs to do to tackle unfairness in school funding</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<p>According to the latest financial data from ACARA, fees have increased in some public schools since 2015, too. </p>
<p>Using metropolitan Brisbane schools as an example, <a href="https://www.myschool.edu.au/school/47507/finances/2019">Macgregor State High</a> (ICSEA 1,018) had a 19% increase in fees between 2015 and 2019 — from $576 to $715 respectively. <a href="https://www.myschool.edu.au/school/47543/finances/2019">Browns Plains State High</a> (ICSEA 963) had a 10% increase from $273 to $305, and <a href="https://www.myschool.edu.au/school/47551/finances/2019">Bray Park State High</a> (ICSEA 989) had a 6% increase from $387 to $415. </p>
<p>But many public school fees had a less than 2% increase, and some, like <a href="https://www.myschool.edu.au/school/47578/finances">Kelvin Grove State College</a> (ICSEA 1,129) actually reduced their fees from $1,714 to $1,532 per student between 2015 and 2019. Other very advantaged public schools also reduced fees.</p>
<p>A recent <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/victorian-state-school-parents-spend-record-400m-on-free-education-20210314-p57akt.html">article in The Age</a> showed families in Victoria spent a total of $400.1 million for the 2019-20 financial year in public schools. </p>
<p>The article said data from ACARA showed total parent payments to Victorian state schools have risen by $160 million since 2009.</p>
<h2>What happened to free education?</h2>
<p>Fees in public schools are often referred to as voluntary contributions. This is because <a href="https://ppr.qed.qld.gov.au/attachment/user-charging-procedure.pdf">government legislation</a> prevents public schools attaching parental fees to student enrolments. </p>
<p>But public schools <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00220620.2019.1689234">sometimes use various strategies</a> to promote fee payment. For instance, schools may exclude students from extra-curricular activities and excursions if parents have not paid fees. This may compel parents to pay to avoid their child’s embarrassment. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/some-public-schools-get-nearly-6-times-as-much-funding-thanks-to-parents-117268">Some public schools get nearly 6 times as much funding, thanks to parents</a>
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<hr>
<p>There are other ways parents contribute money to public schools. </p>
<p>Bake sales, fetes and “democracy sausage” sizzles have always been a cornerstone of public schooling. And like their private school counterparts, public schools are now investing in strategic fundraising with parents and alumni, and sponsorship arrangements with businesses and philanthropists.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391023/original/file-20210323-13-ahc8je.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391023/original/file-20210323-13-ahc8je.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391023/original/file-20210323-13-ahc8je.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391023/original/file-20210323-13-ahc8je.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391023/original/file-20210323-13-ahc8je.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391023/original/file-20210323-13-ahc8je.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391023/original/file-20210323-13-ahc8je.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391023/original/file-20210323-13-ahc8je.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">School fundraise using various means, such as bake sales.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/gluten-nut-free-items-bake-sale-614435771">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In our study, we found very advantaged independent schools received the most funding from “other” income sources, compared to all other independent schools. But in the public school sector, the very disadvantaged schools received the most from “other” income sources, compared to other public schools. This was the same in the Catholic school sector, where the very disadvantaged schools received the most from “other” income sources. This may be because disadvantaged schools are receiving targeted philanthropy. </p>
<p>For instance, <a href="https://www.schoolsplus.org.au/">Schools Plus</a> is an intermediary organisation that works to connect disadvantaged schools with donors through a tax-deductible giving program.</p>
<p>Since 2015, Schools Plus has directed $17.8 million to both public and private disadvantaged schools in Australia. Most of these donations come from the corporate sector, large trusts and foundations, and high-net worth individuals. </p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://www.schoolsplus.org.au/success-stories/2020-impact-report/">Schools Plus 2020 Impact Report</a>, most schools apply for funding to help improve student engagement and performance. While all disadvantaged schools (with an ICSEA less than 1,000) are eligible for Schools Plus funding, the process is competitive, meaning not all schools that need extra funding receive it. </p>
<h2>An equity issue</h2>
<p>Income raising is a labour-intensive process that is re-imagining the role of school staff and parents. Raising money relies on entrepreneurial principals, savvy PR staff, engaged parents and parent committees, as well as the work of intermediary organisations like Schools Plus. This is a problem, especially when it comes to public schools.</p>
<p>Research from the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07352166.2017.1421432">United States</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00220620.2020.1850433">United Kingdom</a> cautions that an over-reliance on private income could lead to governments shirking some responsibility for resourcing and supporting schools. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-primary-private-schools-should-be-fully-funded-by-governments-but-banned-from-charging-fees-131753">Australian primary private schools should be fully funded by governments — but banned from charging fees</a>
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<p>This has the potential, if it has not already, to produce a multi-tiered education system based on parental capacity and inclination to pay. </p>
<p>The ongoing issue here is one of equity. When schools start relying on private funding (both fees and philanthropy) to augment how basic education services are provided, schools in most need of extra support are the least likely to be able to afford it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157144/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna Hogan receives funding from the Australian Research Council (project DP170103647). The views expressed herein are those of the author and are not necessarily those of the Australian Government or Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Parents don’t only pay for private schools. Many public schools ask parents to make ‘voluntary contributions’, and many more are upping their fundraising game.Anna Hogan, Senior lecturer, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1567482021-03-10T04:26:55Z2021-03-10T04:26:55Z‘He had hundreds of pictures of me’: tales of sexism from female teachers in elite boys’ schools<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388731/original/file-20210310-13-ns9n0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&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/asian-women-sitting-coffee-shop-using-1498523642">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Recent <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/it-started-on-instagram-now-chanel-s-petition-is-leading-a-sex-education-revolution-20210305-p5780k.html">allegations of sexual misconduct</a> at parties involving private-school students have exposed the toxic culture in many schools.</p>
<p>The ex-schoolgirl who launched the online petition that led to the revelations, Chanel Contos, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/chanel-contos-sexual-assault-harassment-testimonies-plan/13195244">told the ABC</a> schools needed to address:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>locker room talk […] and throw-away comments because I really think they lay the foundation of the rape culture.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Contos also pointed to all-boys schools where she said objectifying women was normalised. The interview came after a prefect at an all-boys school <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/education/our-boys-treatment-of-girls-has-been-disgusting-cranbrook-prefect-pleads-for-respect-20210225-p575us.html">wrote an opinion piece</a> talking about the need to shift the way boys see women. He wrote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] there have been times when I’ve heard about disgusting behaviour and not done anything about it, times when I’ve tolerated boys referring to women in derogatory ways […] times when I’ve stood by. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>I interviewed 32 teachers in three elite private boys’ schools, in two capital cities. I conducted this yet-to-be-published study between 2015 and 2017 just before the #MeToo movement really took off.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/not-as-simple-as-no-means-no-what-young-people-need-to-know-about-consent-155736">Not as simple as 'no means no': what young people need to know about consent</a>
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<p>At the time, I wanted to understand the teachers’ <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01425692.2019.1659753">moral purpose and their ability to seek and make change</a> in the privileged schools they taught. I was unprepared for the accounts of sexual harassment and sexism female teachers relayed. </p>
<h2>How boys behaved</h2>
<p>One young teacher described a troubling account that had her almost leaving the profession: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I had year 9, year 10 boys, being very sexually explicit to me […] making nasty rumours up, being quite, very sexual, very, very sexual. Telling me I’m wearing hooker shoes and I look like a hooker to claiming that they saw me on the weekend doing particular things with particular people. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>I also heard stories of up-skirting (taking a sexually intrusive photograph up someone’s skirt without their permission), boys participating in sexually explicit discussions about their teachers on social media, and propositioning them. I observed inappropriate personal questions and teasing with sexual innuendo in classroom interactions. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1366865168886468609"}"></div></p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-can-see-the-gender-bias-of-all-boys-schools-by-the-books-they-study-in-english-156119">We can see the gender bias of all-boys' schools by the books they study in English</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>One teacher reported a harrowing experience of a boy stalking her, saying: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] he had hundreds of pictures of me […] he was filming me and stuff […] I told people and they didn’t believe me. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>For victims of sexual harassment <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/Everyday-Sexism/Laura-Bates/9781471131578">disbelief is the first great silencer</a>. But denial and victim-blaming are also factors. </p>
<p>One administrator suggested gender simply didn’t matter, and she wasn’t alone in this sentiment. For her, it was the case that “naive women teachers have a harder time, if they’re not quite firm”. </p>
<p>This mentality among some school leaders may point to why one teacher said she was “worried that people might view us as having done something wrong”.</p>
<p>Another teacher told me:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] even if I do take it further […] like what’s the point? Nothing’s really seriously going to be done about it. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>But this same teacher excused the behaviour as that of “just boys”, who were “silly” and “trying it on”.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388712/original/file-20210310-21-1rmoktz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Close up of school lockers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388712/original/file-20210310-21-1rmoktz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388712/original/file-20210310-21-1rmoktz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388712/original/file-20210310-21-1rmoktz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388712/original/file-20210310-21-1rmoktz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388712/original/file-20210310-21-1rmoktz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388712/original/file-20210310-21-1rmoktz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388712/original/file-20210310-21-1rmoktz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s more than just locker room talk …</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bank-school-lockers-colorful-locks-61020094">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another female school leader, who complained about sexism herself, participated in this type of victim blaming. She said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m having problems with some of my staff, they’re lovely, lovely girls […] they dress very feminine, and the boys are just ga-ga […] it causes havoc. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Excusing such behaviour is a form of internalising. This is when <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Paul_Chaney2/post/Does_anyone_know_of_any_researches_diagrams_scales_for_internalized_sexism/attachment/59d61d6179197b8077977c17/AS:273846337245184@1442301462062/download/IS+JISS_2009_1-1_10-47_Fabric_of_Internalized_Sexism.pdf">women’s learnt behaviour</a> may be intrinsically sexist towards themselves and other women. It is crucial to understanding how insidious such logic can be. </p>
<h2>It comes from peers too</h2>
<p>Some female teachers told me of the everyday sexism of their male colleagues:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I experience sexism and discrimination every time I do speak up […] from day one I knew that I was in a place where women didn’t have equality. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Parents also played a part. A school leader told me the fathers: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>don’t like being told what to do by a female […] a male member of staff wouldn’t get that treatment whereas as a female they do and it’s disgusting […] how do you educate the parent body?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It may be that elite private schools, with high fees and high expectations struggle to speak back to their clientele. Studies <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09518390701281959">have suggested</a> when a scandal arises in such a school and puts its reputation at risk, this can seriously jeopardise their market share and viability. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"905251150546386947"}"></div></p>
<p>As one teacher put it: “they are the client, they’re the ones who you need to please”. </p>
<p>Teachers also talked about their school heads who “don’t want any surprises” and are “worried about parents ringing up”. One of my participants said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>we are basically told […] keep the parents at the gate […] don’t let them go for you, because they will, they will attack you. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Of course, I am not claiming all boys in elite private schools harass their teachers, or indeed all teachers are harassed. There are more <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/culture-of-hyper-masculinity-boys-schools-grapple-with-gender-20210307-p578hg.html">progressive</a> elite boys’ schools and my sample of interviewees was limited. There were differences too, in teachers’ experiences both across and between schools I studied. </p>
<p>Still, the evidence of sexual harassment and enabling social mechanisms at all three sites in my study calls on school leaders to look deeply at their practices.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/elite-boys-schools-like-st-kevins-were-set-up-to-breed-hyper-masculinity-which-can-easily-turn-toxic-132433">Elite boys' schools like St Kevin's were set up to breed hyper-masculinity, which can easily turn toxic</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Unpicking and reforming these mechanisms of gender oppression, which include silence and disbelief, will be crucial if we want to have meaningful change. </p>
<p>Some schools have taken good steps since the petition came about. These include <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/rape-culture-reckoning-as-wave-of-sexual-assault-claims-unleashed-20210225-p575r2.html">schools hosting sessions about consent</a> and <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/sydney-boys-school-principal-says-parents-have-obligation-to-not-enable-sexual-assault-at-parties/news-story/3ac5d74090168bcc409a97fed415be0c">principals acknowledging</a> the need to change the culture.</p>
<p>But it is clear that more courage, and moral leadership, will be required to shift entrenched attitudes and behaviours.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156748/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The study was funded by doctoral scholarship stipend from Charles Sturt University. </span></em></p>In interviews, female teachers at three all-boy schools in three capital cities have disclosed instances of sexism from students, male colleagues and parents.George Variyan, Lecturer, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1561192021-03-02T19:12:31Z2021-03-02T19:12:31ZWe can see the gender bias of all-boys’ schools by the books they study in English<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386833/original/file-20210228-21-1ycvnr1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&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/back-school-education-children-reading-textbooks-1565838166">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>“She’s more crazy than she is female.” </p>
<p>So declared a senior student in a furious critique of Sylvia Plath’s poetry. The classroom was entirely male, myself included. As the teacher, I mediated discussion but had come to expect opposition to conversations about gender in the all-boys’ Sydney private school.</p>
<p>My research into the presumptive biases of single-sex education has affirmed a culture of resistance to talking about gender in all-male schools. Comments like this one can’t be dismissed or excused as teenage bravado. They’re part of an enduring ethos that continues to protect male privilege in the private school system.</p>
<p>Single-sex schools across Sydney are reckoning with sexual violence disclosures in response to a <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/rape-culture-reckoning-as-wave-of-sexual-assault-claims-unleashed-20210225-p575r2.html">heartbreaking petition</a> from more than 3,000 women. Hundreds have shared their testimony in a document created by a former Kambala schoolgirl Chanel Contos demanding better education on sexual consent.</p>
<p>Contos also calls for a change to the pervasive misogyny of single-sex male schools. And here, we need to recognise the biases that infuse all aspects of school life, including classroom teaching.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1365039842581569539"}"></div></p>
<p>My research has found the learning differences assumed by teachers and school leaders in gender-segregated schools impact both programming and practice. In an all-male context, this can marginalise women and galvanise destructive gender stereotypes.</p>
<h2>Male schools favour male texts</h2>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-011-0037-y">Neuroscientific research</a> has shown any disparities between male and female ways of thinking are irrelevant to the psychology of learning. In spite of this, studies demonstrate how <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0233378">assumptions about gender guide the type of content selected</a> for study. </p>
<p><a href="https://research.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0029/152957/A-REPORT-ON-TRENDS-IN-SENIOR-ENGLISH-TEXTLISTS-BACALJA_BLISS.pdf">A report from the University of Melbourne</a> recognises the enduring misconception among teachers and school leaders that </p>
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<p>male – rather than female – authors and creators are more equipped to write about and imagine major social, political and cultural issues.</p>
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<p>For the English classroom, where my work is focused, the most visible indicator of this belief is the choice of texts to study. In a single-sex male context there is a tendency to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01596300802643124">favour fiction deemed appropriately masculine</a>, and literature <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20466644?seq=1">written by male authors</a>. The result is that gender becomes both invisible and irrelevant to classroom criticism.</p>
<p>This is contrasted in co-educational and single-sex female school settings, where text choice is less likely to be guided by “<a href="https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.newcastle.edu.au/lib/newcastle/reader.action?docID=1501491&ppg=538">the inevitable privileges of being a boy</a>”. In these contexts gender remains visible and valuable to classroom discussion, <a href="https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.newcastle.edu.au/lib/newcastle/reader.action?docID=1501491&ppg=541">but does not directly inform content selection</a> or curriculum programming.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-the-literary-canon-is-exhilarating-and-disturbing-and-we-need-to-read-it-56610">Friday essay: the literary canon is exhilarating and disturbing and we need to read it</a>
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<p>In 2015 and 2016 I surveyed more than 130 English teachers and curriculum leaders across public and independent schools. I wanted to investigate whether teaching practices beyond content selection were influenced by gender assumptions in all-male environments.</p>
<p>The interviews were striking in their expectations of gender and student success. There was a near unanimous assumption by teachers I spoke to across all school systems that male students should be steered away from overtly gendered literary experiences. </p>
<p>The teachers I spoke to believed male students were more likely to be successful in assessments if they avoided analyses of gender, including their own. While there is no quantifiable data to support this claim, it is almost impossible to measure student achievement separate from the acknowledged biases of practice.</p>
<p>Many teachers speculated that students in all-male schools seldom had cause to recognise or reflect on gender entitlement. As such, they were likely to be limited in their capacity for literary discussion on this aspect of identity.</p>
<h2>Female literature and male bias</h2>
<p>The issue might suggest a simple solution. By including more literature by female authors and about female experiences, we could seemingly break the silence of gender in male single-sex schools. Unfortunately, the problem is more profound.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387133/original/file-20210302-19-1kh4u2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A co-ed classroom." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387133/original/file-20210302-19-1kh4u2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387133/original/file-20210302-19-1kh4u2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387133/original/file-20210302-19-1kh4u2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387133/original/file-20210302-19-1kh4u2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387133/original/file-20210302-19-1kh4u2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387133/original/file-20210302-19-1kh4u2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387133/original/file-20210302-19-1kh4u2c.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 way literature is studied in co-educational classrooms is profoundly different to how it’s done in all-male schools.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/multi-racial-teenage-pupils-class-one-280363907">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>The teachers I interviewed from all-male schools spoke about gender being sidelined, even in female-focused texts. They noted in these lessons, discussion shifted to favour other textual concerns, or to prioritise a male perspective of the central female experience.</p>
<p>These observations again differ from <a href="https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.newcastle.edu.au/docview/1728219905?pq-origsite=summon">research in all-girls schools</a> and in co-educational schools. Here <a href="https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.newcastle.edu.au/doi/abs/10.1177/0957926595006001003">all students appear to benefit from the presence of female students</a> and the lived female experience to which they are able to give voice.</p>
<p>My research has affirmed these outcomes in Australian classroom practice. As a case study, the HSC English Advanced syllabus prescribes a comparative analysis of Sylvia Plath’s <em>Ariel</em> and Ted Hughes’s <em>Birthday Letters</em>. Responses I collected from all-male schools showed they were inclined to marginalise Plath’s womanhood, and favour Hughes’s account of their violent marriage. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/elite-boys-schools-like-st-kevins-were-set-up-to-breed-hyper-masculinity-which-can-easily-turn-toxic-132433">Elite boys' schools like St Kevin's were set up to breed hyper-masculinity, which can easily turn toxic</a>
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<p>In contrast, responses from all-female and co-educational schools more often presented extensive discussion of Plath’s feminist identity, even when those responses were composed by male students.</p>
<p>More disturbingly, several female teachers I interviewed said they felt intimidated when asked to discuss constructions of gender in all-male school environments. They said a small but vocal portion of older adolescents would become aggressively oppositional, and assert such content was only included as “tokenism” towards a “feminist agenda”.</p>
<p>One senior English teacher based in Sydney’s east recalled a close study of Ophelia’s suicide in <em>Hamlet</em>. The discussion centred on the possibility Ophelia’s death was the ultimate act of passivity. As a woman, the responsibly that burdens Ophelia is too great, and suicide is her only escape. In the all-male class, a student argued he would only write about the sexual connotations of this reading if the teacher could promise his essay would be marked by a male member of staff.</p>
<h2>It matters</h2>
<p>These accounts are troubling. Dangerous learning assumptions indicate the need for reform across curriculum programming and teaching practice. But their innate influence also hints at a clear path for improvement.</p>
<p>Compelling scholarship shows <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/44011386">fiction affects students’ social empathy</a>. The English classroom can <a href="https://doi-org.ezproxy.newcastle.edu.au/10.1177/1053451211424604">foster inclusion</a> and <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/30046755">develop appreciation for gender equity</a>.</p>
<p>The need for our private school system to denounce the most conspicuous elements of misogyny is urgent, but we must also contend with the quietly profound role classroom learning plays in affirming or challenging an institutional culture of oppression.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/not-as-simple-as-no-means-no-what-young-people-need-to-know-about-consent-155736">Not as simple as 'no means no': what young people need to know about consent</a>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cody Reynolds 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>All-boys’ schools often choose texts for English study written by men. But the sexism goes beyond that. They are more likely to shy away from any exploration of gender in literature.Cody Reynolds, Researcher & Educator, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.