Page 217 - Week 01 - Thursday, 14 February 2019
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Educational equity is a key to achieving a fair, more equal society, free from the disadvantage arising from economic, social, cultural or other causes. Late last year the OECD released a report titled Equity in education: breaking down barriers to social mobility. Unsurprising to this government, the OECD has found that Australia is not providing equity in school education. As a nation, we are not ensuring that school student outcomes, including academic performance but also social and emotional wellbeing and post-school pathways, are not dependent on a child’s socio-economic background. The government and I, as education minister, are tackling this sorry situation head on, and the future of education strategy is guiding this work.
It is relevant, too, that I draw the attention of members to another recent research report published by an Australian think tank, the Centre for Policy Development. Last month they published a discussion paper, Separating scholars, that analysed the changing demographic characteristics of schools, in particular social stratification. Its conclusion is troubling. There is an increasing segregation of disadvantage in Australian schools as policy settings allow schools to divide students, families and communities on a socio-economic basis.
I raise these two examples because they provide vital context for the government’s approach in its policy decisions in the education and early childhood portfolio. The ACT has not been immune from these problems, but this government is acting to bring about change.
What needs to happen? Andreas Schleicher, the OECD director for education, summarises in the OECD report some key policy lessons from the most equitable school systems: start early, ensuring that all children, but particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, can access high quality childhood education and care; have high expectations for all students and usefully monitor their progress; target resources towards students and schools experiencing disadvantage; reduce the concentration of students experiencing disadvantage in schools; develop teachers in their capability to focus on individual student needs and foster diversity; and grow positive school communities that engage families and are considerate of the wellbeing of students.
I encourage members to read this report. It is enlightening. It also has a very familiar focus, one that is echoed in my statements in this place about the government’s future of education conversation and in the strategy that resulted.
Since the release of the strategy, the government has been working with the ACT education sector on the implementation plan for its first phase. We have been discussing with government and non-government schools, as well as related agencies like the Board of Senior Secondary Studies and the ACT Teacher Quality Institute, the contribution that they make in the first two years of the strategy.
A robust implementation plan is forming. The plan will continue and build on the initiatives that the government immediately commenced in the 2018 budget; in particular, working on strong relationships with the University of Canberra and more robust teacher coaching and mentoring.
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