Private Schools: The Way of the Future?

In recent years the percentage of school students enrolled in the public sector has decreased continually. While privatization of the schooling system has always existed, it seems parents are choosing private over public now more than ever. The Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation showed that less than 66% of students were enrolled in the government system, this is the lowest proportion since Federation in 1901.  (Tovey, Public primary school numbers up but it tends to get private after that, 2013).

Ho (2011) argues that this trend towards private education in the later years of schooling is due to a desire for “quality” education or education within a specific faith. (page 610). As a result of this, public schools are generally left with the “residual” population who may not be in a financial position to gain access to private education for their children. This segregation of communities through school choice, can result in a loss of the acknowledgement of others within our everyday lives.

Ho discusses the concept that schools are a “micropublic” and can be greatly influential in determining the acceptance of others and differing cultures. Private schools  and schools in particular geographic locations have typically become social grounds for “white Anglo-Australians”. Tovey (August 24, 2013) focuses on one particular mother living on the North Shore of Sydney. She acknowledges that many families in this area are almost “obsessive” about school choice.

Though one argument stated by Geoff Newcombe, the executive director of the Association of Independent Schools NSW, suggests that “There’s got to be a pretty strong reason for you to pay for something you can get for free.” (Tovey, August 24, 2013). This statement can be taken from two viewpoints. Firstly, the state system is failing and parents feel a strong pull to send their students to private schools to receive a “quality” education as Ho suggests (2011, page 610). Secondly, it can be viewed that parents would only pay for a private education if they had strong reasons not to believe in the teaching and achievements within their local public schools.

Personally, I quite agree with the second perspective. My education was completed entirely within the public school system. While my high school wasn’t a brilliant performing high school, it was not substantially underachieving. I would choose public over private, so long as the local high school was of a standard to good quality, in teaching and results achieved. The mother interviewed for Tovey’s article holds the same view, as must many other families who choose to send their children to public schools, not just due to financial necessity. While school choice is a major decision in the job of raising children, I think it should be carefully considered from multiple angles, not merely the binary opposites of private versus public.

WORKS REFERNECED:

Ho, C. (2011, December). Respecting the Presence of Others: School Micropublics and Everyday Multiculturalism. Journal of Intercultural Studies , 603-619.

Tovey, J. (2013, August 24). Public primary school numbers up but it tends to get private after that. Retrieved October 25, 2013, from Sydney Morning Herald: www.smh.com.au/national/education/public-primary-school-numbers-up-but-it-tends-to-get-private-after-that-20130823-2sh7r.html

Posted by Emily Mitchell

HSC as a means of cultural expression

The Higher School Certificate English syllabus has so many rich ways to explore culture and identity through language. Students are often told to “write about what they know”. I can even remember my year 12 English teacher giving us an assignment for creative writing to “expand what you know”, research a topic thoroughly, and write creatively about it.

In the Sydney Morning Herald, 15 October 2013, Tovey explores this idea through students who have just sat the HSC English “Belonging” paper. The creative writing section allows students to express themselves in such a wide variety of formats and ideas. Students at Birrong Girls spoke about their writing telling of how they wrote of Muslim women’s issues, asylum seekers and other issues to which they can personally connect.

The English syllabus in New South Wales aims to address both traditional texts and views of language, while also allowing for a modern interpretation and connection. (Kruse, 2001, page 2). The inclusion of ones own culture and identity within their learning can greatly influence student engagement and success. Kruse also references how heavily the English syllabus draws on the idea of “context”, that different meanings can be drawn from texts when viewed from alternate perspectives. The HSC syllabus focuses heavily on “text, culture and values” (Kruse, 2001, page 4) which is exemplified in the theme of “Belonging”.

A high school teacher was quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald, (J Tovey ,October 15, 2013) as saying that the English curriculum provided a means for students to “find an outlet... in creative writing”. At Birrong Girls High School, students come from over 45 different language backgrounds and quite obviously have a vast range of life experiences. Students can draw on these experiences as a way to voice issues, while also completing their Higher School Certificate. Students at the school wrote about experiences of asylum seekers and differing cultural values within countries, companies and amongst individuals. (Tovey, October 15, 2013).

By this means, the English Syllabus serves students well if they can use a part of their studies to not only develop their language and written skills, but to develop and express their personal and cultural lives. By expressing these feelings and experiences Ho’s theory of schools as “micropublics” can be celebrated. (Ho, 2011, page 613). Students can write about their experiences, while accepting those of others. This method of expression through curriculum allows individuals to “legitimise” the presence of others (Ho, 2011, page 614) while still acknowledging and accepting differences.

WORKS REFERENCED:

Ho, C. (2011, December). Respecting the Presence of Others: School Micropublics and Everyday Multiculturalism. Journal of Intercultural Studies , 603-619.

Kruse, A. (2001). After postmodernism: literary theory, culture and the new Higher School Certificate English Syllabus. Sydney Studies in English , 27.

Tovey, J. (2013, October 15).Rich themes of cultual diversity in belonging hsc question. Retrieved October 24, 2015, from Sydney Morning Herald: www.smh.com.au/national/education/rich-themes-of-cultural-diversity-in-belonging-hsc-question-20131014-2vixi.html

Posted By Emily Mitchell

Can education really stamp out racism?

In Shane Houston’s article ‘Education is the key to stamping out racism’, the deputy vice chancellor of University of Sydney argues that cultural competency education needs to start at university.

In the article, which appeared on the Sydney Morning Herald in May this year, Mr Houston discusses the “casual undercurrent of racism” in Australia, sparked by Eddie McGuire’s “now infamous” suggestion that Sydney Swans star Adam Goodes promote the musical King Kong.

Such casual racism can be classified as covert racism, or ‘micro-aggressions’ - a term coined by psychiatrist Chester Pierce in the 1970s, which refers to subtle racist injuries, often not intentionally ill-meaning, but still extremely damaging.

While I agree with many aspects of Mr Houston’s column, I believe that cultural competency education needs to start much earlier than university. Moreover, I cannot help but question whether Australia’s education system can rise to this mammoth challenge.

In her journal article on school micropublics, Christina Ho writes that while some public schools in New South Wales may serve as effective sites for cross-cultural engagement and transgression, she expresses concern about how the growing trend towards private schooling is driving cultural and social segregation.

Approximately two thirds of secondary school students (60 per cent) in Australia attend public schools, while a substantial one third attend private schooling (22.3 per cent Catholic schools and 17.8 per cent Independent schools) (ISCA, 2012).  Ho’s study of these private school enrolments found that most private schools were zones of “cultural exclusivity” (2011, p. 608), with discrimination at the very core of their ethos.  Furthermore, her analysis found that on average just 22 per cent of students enrolled in independent schools came from a language background other than English, compared to 52 per cent for public schools. (Ho, 2011, p. 607) This was even more pronounced in some of the wealthiest independent schools.

As a result of the withdrawal of children to the private sector, public schools are increasingly left with the “residual” student body, she says, that being students from poorer backgrounds and, often, disadvantaged migrant backgrounds. (Ho, 2011, p. 610)

“It would be difficult to argue that these schools are well placed to nurture cross-cultural understanding and respect.” (2011, p. 610)

I cannot help but agree with Ho here. A school that bases itself on cultural exclusivity and discrimination is not in ideal learning ground for cultural competency and such an upbringing could significantly influence students’ attitudes and propensity to engage with culturally different people throughout their lives.  The white and middle class flight to private schooling means students are less able to develop multicultural understanding and capacities of negotiation and respect. If we segregate children by cultural and social background from the get go, how can we not expect this to perpetuate into social reproduction?

Even if we are to focus more on cultural competency in school curriculum, the current structure of schooling in Australia is likely to only perpetuate cultural divide and racism.

References:

Ho, C. (2011). Respecting the presence of others: School micropublics and everyday multiculturalism. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 32(6), 603-619.

Houston, S. (2013).  ‘Education is the key to stamping out racism’, Sydney Morning Herald, 31 May 2013, retrieved 20 October, 2013, from:

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/education-is-the-key-to-stamping-out-racism-20130530-2nep5.html#ixzz2it5rbC1s

A reflection on my experiences of culture and identity in relation to education

Growing up in a regional town in New South Wales, I attended one of three local high schools. Looking back now I can see how the school cultures and dominant ideologies influenced both my behaviour and the behaviour of others’.

Looking at the school on a macro level, there was very much a culture of ‘not caring’ about school. Whilst students who performed well at school weren’t necessarily outcasts, the rebellious students were often seen as the ‘cool’ kids, while those who were more academic were labelled ‘squares’.

I found this interesting as I grew up and mixed with friends from different schooling backgrounds, particularly those who attended private schools. In their cases, it seemed to have been much more acceptable to do well at school.

From my studies in education thus far, I have learned that SES background can have a tremendous influence on a student’s academic outcomes. Perhaps because my school had a large proportion of low SES students, the dominant culture was to not care about education.

For me, coming from a higher SES background compared to many students at my school, as well as coming from a family that encouraged education, I managed to see past this culture and focus on achieving – for the most part.

On a more micro level, it is interesting to look back at the significant influence the local Italian culture played in shaping my identity.

Our local community had a large population of Southern Italian immigrants and a majority of my close friends shared this heritage.

In many circumstances, I actually felt that my Anglo Saxon Australian culture was lacking, while my Italian friends seemed much more ‘cultural’ with their interesting cuisine and family traditions. Like Anne Phillips (2006) writes, culture has a tendency to be associated with non-Western or minority cultural groups. (p. 5) In other words, these students and friends and their families all seemed so much more ‘cultural’ than me and my ‘Aussie’ family – ‘skips’ as my Italian friends used to say.

This influence of Italian culture was only heightened further once I started a relationship with an Italian boy, which lasted for the greater part of my high school years. Strangely, Italian culture became the dominant culture in my world, and I wanted to do as much as I could to fit in. As Wadham, Pudsey and Boyd (2007) write, being raised in a particular culture encourages us to believe certain things about the world. I began to think like my Italian friends. Most notably, in my Southern Italian friends’ and boyfriend’s worlds, girls obeyed males, and I allowed myself to be seriously influenced and controlled by my high school boyfriend.

I relate strongly to Anne Phillip’s (2006) concerns about the dangers of exaggerating the significance of culture and its hold over people’s actions. I allowed my boyfriend at the time to control me and behave in a way I now see as very unfair, because I excused it as part of his culture, as the way he had grown up and the way his father, uncles and grandfather had all demonstrated to him throughout his childhood and adolescence. Even though he would apologise for this, he would blame his culture, and say it couldn’t be helped.

Thankfully, at the end of high school, the ideas and beliefs that my family had raised me with outshone those of my boyfriend, and I went off to university as a young, independent girl, who could achieve anything, as my parents had always told me – not the good little housewife my boyfriend briefly had me wanting to be.

References:

Phillips, A. (2006). What is Culture? In Arneil, Barbara and Deveaux, Monique and Dhamoon, Rita and Eisenberg, Avigail (eds) Sexual justice/ cultural justice. London, UK: Routledge, 2006, pp. 15-29.

Wadham, B. Pudsey, J. & Boyd, R. (2007). Culture and education. Sydney, Pearson Education

Skim over Whiteness & Indigenousness - what's the real problem here?

Race and cultural difference - so 20th century right? Wrong. The issues concerning the Indigenous population and the barriers to achievment are happening now.

"It is now widely accepted that those who 'lack' English language skills, or who 'lack' a particular educational experience, or who 'lack' strong local employment networks tend to face greater difficulties in transcending this hierachy in order to become of the occasional success stories" (Fozdar, Wilding & Hawkins, 2009: 179-180). Fozdar, Wilding and Hawkins (2009) have attributed the priveleged and the subordinate to the issue concerning the role of 'whiteness.' This whiteness comes from "the assumption that race is a social construction" (2009: 180). By focusing on the (generalised) priveleged people within society, the biological features have come to be associated with positions of economic or social power. 

We can see this relating to other theorists; McIntosh (1998) dedicates her article into exploring the concept of 'white privelege.' She claims that white privelege is "an invisible package of unearned assests." McIntosh also claims that "whites are taught to think of their lives as morally neutral, normative and average, and also ideal, so that when we work to benefit others, this is seen as work that will allow 'them' to be more like 'us.'" Does this imagery emerge because, as we mentioned, it is a generalised conception that white people have better resources, therefore a greater chance at achieving success? Maybe it doesn't have too much to do with the idea of resource, but the idea of culture and the cutural norm for young Indigenous people.

Mudine (2013) published an article within the Daily Telegraph that perfectly fits this argument. Let's talk some statistics: 25% of the prison population is made up of the Indigenous populaton; 50% of the juvenile detention population are Indigenous (Mundine 2013). Now on one level this is the most obvious issue attributing to the lack of Indigenous peoples within positions of power in Australian society. It's not. The most startling problem that this brings to the forefront is that idea that because these incarceration rates are so high, Indigenous communities view this as 'normal.' That's where the real problem lies. 

Mundine (2013) determines that there are commonalities within the juvenile detention system among Indigenous males; they claim that they have no access to schooling besides when they are incarcerated, they have had plenty of skills training, yet it hasn't led to employment, they have difficulty adjusting to their life outside of detention, and (scarily) some of these males prefer living in detention rather than at home. "These realities all discourage education and work which are the pathways out of poverty" (Mundine 2013). But maybe McIntosh (1998) is right in her assumption that white people are trying to change the way Indigenous communities value education and employment. Is it more beneficial for white communities or Indigenous communities? 

 The cultured view of unemployed, uneducated and incarcerated men is destructive - regardless of their skin colour. This is what we should be focusing on - not the fact that they may or may not have Indigenous background, but the fact that they are stuck in this cyclical norm of poverty and a lack of education. Mundine (2013) claims that "We could establish top schools and thriving commercial enterprises next to every disadvantaged community, but nothing will change unless children attend school and adults take up jobs." And this is exactly right. 

Until there is a cultural shift in the value of employment and education, these young men sitting in juvenile detention, will never know the rewards attritbuted to education and knowledge. The sad reality of this situation is... they enjoy spending their time in detention. So instead of us spending our time debating whether it is our whiteness or the colour of our skin that attributes certain people to failure, or to success, perhaps we should be implementing programs, financial support and educational help in helping youth see that there is hope despite their hardships. 


Reference List:

Fozdar F., Wiling R. & Hawkins, M. 2009. Race and Ethnic relations. Oxford University Press: Hong Kong. 

McIntosh, P. 1998. 'White Privelege and Male Privelege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences Through Work in Women's Studies.'

Warren Mundine, Octover 17th 2013, 'Held down by black racism and ignorance,' The Daily Telegraph. Accessed online at http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/held-down-by-black-racism-and-ignorance/story-fni0cx12-1226741221643
 


 

Rewarding attendance - both intellectually and materialistically...

Its always been a common occurrence that every now and then while you were in school, your parents would let you have the day off to spend with them - shopping, going out for lunch, or just because you had a big day previously. We all assume that these casual flexi days for our children will never impact on their schooling career and educational advancement. However, perhaps this is not the case. 

The Education and Communities Branch of the NSW Government released information brochures for parents, students, teachers and principles in order for everyone to be made aware of the Public Schools NSW's scheme to get kids to school. The School Attendance Policy reformed in 2010 states that "Schools support parents by monitoring student attendance and helping to address attending issues when they emerge." 

 Lyndale Greens Public School have begun their own intiative in order to get their students to regularly attend classes, in order to combat the concern that "too many parents are keeping children home for trivial reasons like shopping expeditions, birthdays and appointments" (Hosking 2013). The principle of the school, Victoria Golding, has therefore introduced a way of getting her students to attend school, and a way of rewarding those who regularly attend. Golding has introduced 'attendance excursions,' which are only available to students who are absent for three or few days over the school term. The destinations have so far included a koala park near Phillip Island and tenpin bowling days. Students who have five or fewer days absent in the term are also put into a prize draw - so far a bike and a scooter have been given away to some of these lucky students. 

Other schools have caught the rewards intiative bug, and have implemented it to adapt to their own goals. Ferntree Gully North Primary School have used the same plan, and have also added: "those who are absent and late for no more than four days a year are invited to a special principal's breakfast." The results speak for themslves - the school's principal Stuart Edwards claims that the average number of days that children were absent have fallen to just 10 days a year, compared to the average of 14 days from five years ago, as well as "Almost a third of students achieve 100 percent attendance each term" (Hosking 2013).


Victoria Golding, again from Lyndale Green Primary School, claims that "Often you would have families that might have one day off a week, that is what the pattern was, and we are breaking those cycles down." More importantly however, Golding claims that "It's about changing the cultural attitude to attendance" (Hosking 2013). Because we are examing the public school system within NSW, there is a higher prevalence of financial issues, drug abuse and Indigenous background within these students' families. It is because of these social pressures on students, that they may find it easier and 'cooler' to not attend school. 
 
Apple (1996:5) claims that "a good education is only one that is directly tied to economic needs." What about materialistic gains? Does enticing these children into coming to school actually affect their educational standing, or their greediness? Golding asserts that this methodology affects her students in a postive way: " The kids see themslves as learners - they want to be here and they understand the importance of their learning. If they are here we can educate them and they get the consistency of their education" (Hosking 2013). And that's what school is all about - the conditioning and nurting of a young mind.

Reference list:

Apple, M. (1996). Cultural Politics in Education. New York, America: Teachers College Press. Print. 

NSW Government: Education and Communities, Public Schools NSW. Compulsory school attendance: information for nsw government school principles. 2010. Accessed online at https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/policies/student_admin/attendance/sch_polproc/PD20050259.shtml  

Wes Hosking, 'Schools offering free pizza, bikes to get kids to class.' October 26th 2013, Herald Sun. Accessed online at http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/schools-offering-free-pizza-bikes-to-get-kids-to-class/story-fnii5smt-1226747439915