Equity

We urgently need a new conversation about Australian education. The country that prides itself on a ‘fair go’ is letting down our young people. Australia’s track record of educational achievement is now among the most inequitable of any country in the OECD, with an increasing gap between the achievement in low socio-economic schools compared to students who live in better off postcodes.

On a global scale Australia’s school education system is unique, but in all the wrong ways. The reality is our hybrid public private framework is not fit for purpose. It is unlike any other framework in the world. Many similar countries have ensured a more equitable education for every student, while allowing a diversity of schools to best meet student needs. The experience of these countries, and their success in international education rankings, suggests alternatives for Australia.

We see many proposals for school reform in Australia. But most of these proposals focus on changing school practice. If we don’t also put in place a new equitable framework of how we fund and regulate our schools these proposals have little chance to improve equality of opportunity and educational achievement for all our young people.

The Australian Learning Lecture commissioned Choice and Fairness: A Common Framework for all Australian schools to raise a different conversation about equity in Australian schools.

Our proposal explores the creation of a framework in which all schools have commensurate public obligations in return for public funding from Commonwealth and state governments.