Page 3891 - Week 12 - Thursday, 30 October 2014
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For many families this will come as something of a “So what? Do we really need to be told this? Doesn’t everybody engage in their child’s education?” The sad reality is that, no, many families do not. Some families, across the social and economic divide, believe schools are there to do their job and that is why they send their child to school. It is the school’s job to educate their children and they do not need to be involved in that.
In defence of those parents, it is often a case of being seriously time poor. With economic pressures, it is not uncommon to have both parents working; it is not uncommon for one or both parents to work more than one job. They rely on the school to ensure their child is getting every educational opportunity.
Additionally, in Canberra many of our schools have a high multicultural population and parents are often nervous or reluctant to become engaged. Language barriers, cultural barriers and unfamiliarity with Australian school curricula are all reasons why parents might hang back from inquiring too much of their child or their school about the work they are doing and what they are learning.
I trust the research that the minister has commissioned will provide assistance for all those parents who currently are not as involved as they could or should be, because we know that strong parental engagement delivers better educational outcomes. All the research over the last 40 years has shown that. The question is around how you get maximum engagement and maximum benefit. Equally, it is not about schools opting out of showing leadership in this area. For parental engagement to be truly effective, it has to be a balanced partnership, with each side knowing what role they play in educating a child, and what the relationship should be between school and parent.
When we move to the question of empowerment in our schools, the lines are a little more blurred. I have to challenge some on the other side of the chamber as to what they believe empowerment in our schools should look like. I have raised the issue of school autonomy many times in the context of estimates hearings. I know from responses from various education ministers over the years, and from the directorate, that it is claimed that school autonomy has been in operation in ACT public schools progressively since 1996.
However, I also know the ongoing opposition of the ACT branch of the Education Union and the ACT Council of P&C Associations to any extension to autonomy in our public schools. In 2012 the ACT AEU released results of a survey that claimed that seven out of 10 ACT schools were opposed to the idea of increased principal autonomy.
So how committed is this government to such a policy? In June this year, in the education estimates hearings, I drew the minister’s attention to the fact that in November last year the ACT AEU sent two ACT principals to an annual meeting of the international principals conference, at which opposition to school autonomy was strongly endorsed. I asked her whether, given that the ACT AEU and the ACT Council of P&C Associations have both voiced strong opposition to the principle of school autonomy, the government intended to continue in this direction. In her reply,
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