"Many earlier efforts to define equity in education fall short of adequately combining equality of access and equality of outcomes in education. If we wish to offer world class schools for every child, we need a better definition of what equity in education means." What do people want? Three years ago, I asked my colleagues the following questions: What do Australian adults think about educational equity? Do they think our school…
read moreLast Friday, Australia’s state and federal education ministers met with emotional teachers, who spoke of working on weekends and Mothers’ Day to cope with unsustainable workloads – and how they were thinking about leaving the profession. This was part of their first meeting hosted by the federal minister Jason Clare. The top agenda item was the teacher shortage. The issue has certainly reached crisis point. Federal education…
read moreOne of Labor’s key education pledges is A$50 million to encourage school leavers with an ATAR over 80 to study teaching. This is part of the new government’s plan to “fix teacher shortages”. The teacher shortage in Australia has reached crisis levels. But this must be addressed by improving the working conditions for existing teachers, not by cash incentives to university students. Thousands of vacancies Teaching…
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