A decade ago, it was hoped the Gonski reforms would level the playing field for Australian students, but the system is now even more unfair. A new book lays out how it all went wrong.
Many rely on David Gonski’s ideas to shape the future of education policy. But his recommendation of personalised learning is a scripted, rigid version of education that will take us backwards.
2018 was a mixed bag for schooling policy in Australia, with new ministers, a new organisation and auspicious anniversaries. It’s worth reflecting on the year that’s been.
Catholic schools say they’re losing money under Gonski 2.0, but this is only true for schools serving students in affluent areas – those in poorer areas will either be unaffected, or get more.
The shift in the education debate from “how much” to “how best” is a welcome change, but for students to feel the full benefit the federal government must resist intervening.
Instead of a needs-based model, we ended up with an inconsistent patchwork of approaches across Australian states and territories that protected the vested interests of non-government schools.
Labor has announced it will commit to fully funding Gonski, with a reform package costing $37.3 billion over the next decade.
But is this actually what the Gonski review recommended?
The leak of four reform proposals for Australian schooling has triggered panic and confusion across the country. But while at first glance the proposals may seem worrying, they need to be put in context.
With very limited media attention, the Australian public could be excused for not even knowing about the Senate Select Committee that handed down its report on equity and excellence in Australian schools…
The federal budget reignited debate over federal-state relations with a decision to cut $80 billion funding for the state responsibilities of schools and hospitals over the coming years. So how can federal-state…
Chair of the Review of Funding for Schooling David Gonski has spoken out on his role in the controversial funding plan, released in 2011. In a speech to the Australian College of Educators at The University…
For most education watchers, this year has rushed by in a policy blur. So much so that we thought we had better launch our very own shiny Education section just to help you keep on top of things. The launch…
It’s been a big week for education. Amidst all the confusion and politics on school funding of the last week there have been a couple of repeated mantras by the federal education minister – namely that…
“The OECD says that we are a high equity nation in terms of our students… I don’t believe there is an equity problem in Australia.” – Education Minister Christopher Pyne, Lateline interview, 26 November…
During the Cold War, both the Soviets and the Americans were trying to develop a way to write in space. American entrepreneurs spent an unknown sum developing a “space pen”, while the Soviets initially…
It seems we’re in Gonski groundhog day. The repeated backflips and policy position switches from the Abbott government – only three months into its term – have been astounding. After announcing last week…
After a tense meeting in Canberra today, education state ministers raised concerns that the new federal government changes to school funding would see cuts only target public schools. The NSW education…