Today the Prime Minister will announce the government’s full policy response on schools funding, following the Gonski report earlier this year. The Gonski report recommended a funding boost across the…
The debate around teacher quality should be informed by research, not hunches and misinformation.
Teacher image from www.shutterstock.com
All we seem to hear about these days is failing teachers in failing schools. Those from business, government and the field of economics have all weighed in, criticising teachers, teacher educators and…
Schools fear of litigation could be driving bans on “risky” playground activities - like cartwheeling.
Cartwheel image from www.shutterstock.com
A few schools have hit the headlines recently for banning traditional playground activities like cartwheels, handstands, ball games and even high fives. Parents are rightly objecting to the bans, and pointing…
The government needs to respond to the Gonski report on schools funding and start improving student outcomes.
Schools image from www.shutterstock.com
It’s been six long months since the Gonski panel made its recommendations on schools funding, but in the next few weeks the federal government will finally respond and release the details of its school…
The PM should look to her successes in education and build on them by adopting the Gonski recommendations.
AAP Image/Julian Smith
Howʼs this for a radical thought to start the week - a robust contest of ideas around how we educate Australian students to an internationally competitive standard. Too quixotic? Perhaps, but it would…
Schools funding is back in the headlines, but what’s needed is a wider debate about equality.
AAP Image/Paul Miller
Imagine a field of wheat which has been watered unequally. Some parts will grow to their potential, but some won’t. In the end, it’s bad for the whole field’s productivity. Economist James Galbraith’s…
The debate on schools funding has taken a strange turn with both sides racing to increase funding to private schools.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
In a political echo of the unseemly bi-partisan “race to the bottom” over asylum seekers, we now have a “race to the top” with the prime minister and opposition leader vying to offer the most support to…
The government needs to do the maths on school funding and look at which schools need money most.
Schools image from www.shutterstock.com
In the lead up to the government’s response to the Gonski reforms, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has promised no school will lose funding under the new arrangements. In fact, “every independent school in…
Young people and politics aren’t mixing – how can teachers help change that?
Hands image from www.shutterstock.com
How much do students know about politics? Or perhaps a better question is: how much do they care? Recent polling and studies have caused great consternation amongst commentators about an apparent declining…
Australia’s Olympic Chief John Coates has started a debate about the role of sport in the school curriculum.
School sport image from www.shutterstock.com
Australia’s recent medal performance at the Olympic Games has caused Australia’s Olympic Chief John Coates some concern. Last week, he blamed at least part of the result on a lack of sport in the school…
We need to stop pretending that all ideas are the same.
Flickr/ LiverpoolHopeUniversity
There is a widespread belief amongst teachers that it is part of their duty of care, even a defining aspect of their of professionalism, that all views expressed in the classroom are to be treated equally…
Why do we obsess about the competence of teachers?
Teacher image from www.shutterstock.com
Concern about teacher competence has been around for several decades. Recently, there has been a concerted push by state and federal governments to enact policies to improve “teacher quality”. Meeting…
We should not be looking to East Asia as a model for our education system.
EPA/Vincent Jannink
Results from the Chinese university entrance exam, the Gaokao, were released last week. For students, it’s the long culmination of years focusing on tests and learning by rote. Again and again, East Asian…
David Gonski’s review is starting to fade into the background, but there are a growing number of calls to implement the review’s recommendations.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
The last time school funding occupied so much public and political attention was during the Whitlam years. Policy makers with long memories will recall that the gestation period for the Karmel report was…
A good knowledge of the different religions should be part of a National Curriculum.
Flickr/Jake Wasdin
After last week’s High Court challenge verdict on funding chaplains in schools, religious education is back in the headlines. The role of religion in Australian schools has been vigorously debated for…
The government is trying to rush legislation through the parliament that could fundamentally change how it spends money.
AAP/Alan Porritt
In days of old, when Legislative Councils were appointed bodies, Labor Governments would try to swamp them with suicide squads of members who, once appointed, would vote to abolish the House. On Tuesday…
There will be an increase in Muslim students in both government and independent schools over the coming years.
AAP/Alan Porritt
AUSTRALIA BY NUMBERS: The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released the first batch of its census data. We’ve asked some of the country’s top demographers and statisticians to crunch the numbers on…
Attorney General Nicola Roxon and Minister for School Education Peter Garrett respond to the Williams High Court decision.
AAP Image/Penny Bradfield
Today, the High Court of Australia dramatically altered the previously understood scope of the Commonwealth’s power to spend money and enter into contracts. This decision has immediate repercussions for…
The Prime Minister is selling the Schoolkids Bonus as extra help for families, but is it good policy?
AAP Image/Penny Bradfield
The 2012 federal budget has been described as “a big taxing, big spending budget” with a big focus on welfare. The first spending measure to be legislated and to come into effect is the new Schoolkids…
Praising kids all the time might lead to inflated self-esteem and low regard for others.
Flickr/ymc_photos
When most people picture the typical school bully, they think of a kid who is likely to have been bullied themselves. A child with low self-esteem who is trying to make themselves feel better by picking…