Page 2972 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 6 August 2008
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interesting juxtaposition. Clearly, we need these teachers, particularly in the junior years of high school. In that terrible transitional phase, students in their early adolescence need far more attention and far more care than they are currently getting in the ACT’s public school system.
We have talked often in this place about the growing incidence of bullying—not just physical bullying but psychological bullying. Many of us in this place have tabled examples of a number of incidents to demonstrate that this is growing. I put it to the chamber that it is because our teachers are becoming rather overwhelmed, particularly in the early high school years. Therefore, we need to see that capacity developed.
Too often, we see teachers trying to function in high school environments which seem to be more about trying to control matters rather than stepping back, taking a good, deep breath and pursuing educational and academic excellence. In those high school years we need to be focusing on putting that extra shine on the academic standards of students.
I am afraid to say that it seems to be a bit of a struggle out there. The anecdotal evidence about this is very strong. I was at the Calwell shops last Thursday afternoon and, unusually, I was approached by three public school teachers. Of course, they are very careful about talking to the opposition in broad daylight, but they felt rather concerned and wanted to have a chat.
Mr Mulcahy: It is like you think it is East Germany.
MR PRATT: That is right. We have not quite reached that stage yet, Mr Mulcahy. They really were appealing because their jobs are so difficult, given the amount of time they spend on simply trying to sort out conflict within classrooms and within schools. This points to the need not for bigger schools and for classes which are still too large, but for smaller class sizes where we can afford to make that happen. Hopefully, one day we will be able to do more in high schools to assist in bringing their class sizes down to a reasonable size. Our teachers need that extra bit of capacity to be able to do what they should be doing first and foremost—teaching, and building on the excellence of that teaching. And they are saying that they are hurting. They are saying that to many of us in this place. I think Mr Mulcahy has had representations made to him from time to time. I can recall in better days Mr Mulcahy and I discussing those sorts of matters. These are capacity issues.
Let us look at the smaller class sizes that the opposition is proposing in its policy. I refer to a study that I did not have time to refer to yesterday in the MPI. The Australian Primary Principals Association, in recent meetings with the Canberra Liberals, made it quite clear that students in the ACT up to year 4 tend to trend upwards in terms of academic performance in the areas of numeracy and literacy. However, from year 4 onwards, where class sizes jump, the achievement plateaus. This assessment was reinforced in a groundbreaking publication released in 2007 and titled In the balance: the future of Australia’s primary schools.
Let us look at the plateau from year 4 onwards that these principals referred to. They made a couple of points. Firstly, the only way to effectively address this plateau is to
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