Despite efforts of successive cabinets, the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous outcomes has yet to be closed. Prime Minister Scott Morrison hopes a new plan will at least reduce it educationally. Unveiled today, it entails waiving the HECS debts of 3,100 ...
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Private school-educated scholars attack ‘old boys and girls clubs’
Most future wealth – at least in Western nations – will be inherited. But billionaires still put their children in the best position to grow their fortunes, by enrolling them in private or elite public schools. Bill Gates sent his ...
More »The highs and lows of vertical schools
Overcrowding in our major cities has prompted shrill warnings from politicians. Melbourne, which has been designated the fastest growing city in the southern hemisphere, has drawn particular concern. "We have to play catch-up on essential infrastructure," Lord Mayor Sally Capp said ...
More »Ruddock review branded ‘a smokescreen for discrimination’ as gay students, staff remain at risk
With the release of the Ruddock review on Thursday, gay students have become the latest political football. Despite the long-awaited review finding little evidence of religious discrimination in Australia, and Ruddock himself stating that "freedom of religion gives you certainly protection ...
More »As fact-checking uni course unveiled, experts argue for critical thinking from age four
RMIT is heralding its introduction of Australia's first 'fact-checking' university subject. The course, which will be mandatory for first year BA (Journalism) students, will include the teaching of skills like detecting Photoshopped images, using Google Earth to verify the location ...
More »Professor urges schools to ditch VET/uni dichotomy
A Murdoch University professor has criticised schools for encouraging students to choose between a VET or university pathway. Barry Down, a VET and student engagement specialist, says this dichotomy has become unrealistic. "The reality is that society requires smart workers and citizens with ...
More »What students really think of you
UNICEF Australia is worried about our school students. First, an October report from the global chapter of the UN child humanitarian agency found that Australia ranks 31 out of 40 EU and OECD countries in terms of national education equality. ...
More »Questioning the paradox of equity in education
I have been worried for some time about the concept of equity and how it is usually understood in relation to schooling. It seems to me to be very strange that family income, as one indicator, can determine how children ...
More »Public education campaigner to take on Abbott for Warringah
If Tony Abbott is as "useless" as indigenous leaders believe him to be, he might struggle to hold his seat of Warringah at next year's federal election. The affluent area, with a median weekly household income that's almost double the NSW ...
More »‘Australia’s founders wouldn’t have wanted this’: a case for secular education
Professor Marion Maddox is disappointed with the government. She is worried their injection of extra funds into independent and Catholic schools will further damage "one of the most religiously and economically segregated systems in the western world". Catherine Helen Spence, ...
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