Australia

A friend referred me to a website and a statement from the Australian Government, regarding its intention to revolutionize Education in Australia. One can see quite a few positive points in the Australian government's position, and I believe other governments can benefit from studying it.

Before looking at any details, major kudos (or shall I say good on ya?) is due to the Australian Government and the governments of the states and territories for succeeding in reaching a working agreement. I shudder to imaging the political hardship it must have taken.

The policies described in the document concentrate on outcome and not on inputs. This is already a good basis. Children may need to be rewarded for making an effort. Adults should be rewarded for results. A national education system had better be run by adults. Also, the Australian government, together with the states and territories, is committing to measurable targets - specific improvements to be achieved by 2013 and 2020. This is a departure from the "economics of good intentions", which is the norm in education establishments. It would appear that hard headed businessmen were allowed to influence the policies.

A great attribute of the Australian document is that it keeps emphasizing the need to raise public expectations from the education system. In the comfortable shade of low expectation, a lot of incompetence can grow. High expectations can drive news media interest, which can shame the establishment into action. Taken together with community involvement, high expectations make it more likely that parents, community activists and businesses will cooperate constructively with the education system. It becomes high expectations from ourselves.

Accountability and openness. Another big achievement, if it can be successfully pursued. Many teachers - and unions - believe their privacy might be compromised if information about their performance is released. I tend to agree with them. Many of them also think that this is a good reason to deny such information from the public. I disagree with them. The same goes for schools, districts and state education systems. Beyond the intuitive support for the idea, there seems to be also some research showing that school accountability tends to improve results. The emphasis on the accountability for results and level of service, rather than just on financial expenses, strengthens the sense that this is a constructive approach. The document also ties the transparency goal into evidence-based schooling, and allowing knowledge sharing between schools. Nice.

I am a bit bothered by the implicit emphasis on national economic development and personal economic participation as the worthy long term goals to be pursued. Some explicit discussion about what is important could be eye-opening. For example, the Indigenous Australians may have their own cultural preferences - other than personal economic progress. Many religious groups have their own values, and GDP may not be chief among them. It could very well be that after a discussion, economic participation will be declared a major goal, but it deserves that discussion.

Statistical analysis error: The fact that there is a correlation between not finishing K12 and being unemployed, doesn't necessarily mean that one caused the other. A plausible alternative explanation is that those personal attributes that allow people to complete K12 (commitment, intelligence, world view) are the same attributes that allow them to succeed economically in later life. In that case, forcing a change in one result (completing K12) won't cause a change in another result (lack of economical success). A glaring example non-causal relationship is also, very relevant to Australia: There is a correlation between the softness of the road pavement in different countries, and the rate of skin cancer in those countries. But changing the composition of the materials in the road pavements to harden them will not reduce the rate of cancer. That's because the soft roads don't cause cancer; the high level of sun radiation causes both pavement softness and skin cancer. Wear long sleeved shirts, and don't worry about the pavement. It would be good to conduct some research to check whether the right course of action is to directly improve Year 12 completion, or to provide another type of service or help.

The Australian document deals nicely with the blurry concept of school leadership, prescribing specific ways to encourage and provide incentives for those taking responsibility for innovative action. The document states that authority and flexibility will be given to principals, giving them the room for initiative and action not dominated by a distant central authority. Rewards await reformers - instead of the more usual slap on the wrist. Steps are taken to allow flexibility and accountability also on the state-level, reducing the level of central control over the states.

The document also emphasizes the basics - Literacy and Numeracy - as the basis for subsequent learning. This agrees with my own views, so it's obviously the correct view.

The issue of the long and thick tail of under-achievement appears repeatedly. Especially regarding remote areas and what is termed "indigenous communities." Specific effort is to be made in order to support students from such background, in order to minimize gaps. The document claims to "simultaneously deliver equity and excellence" but it doesn't seem that the issue of supporting both ends is really addressed. The question of how to best divide financial and human resources among the high end, low end and the silent majority, is far from resolved.

The Australian Education Revolution described in the document, proposes many changes to an existing system. This means that it is not a revolution, but an incremental reform. It seems that the word "revolution" was put there for PR purposes, so if a country is looking for an education revolution, it needs to keep looking. But there is much to be said for reform, evolutionary change and intelligent redesign. If one is looking for a blueprint to an education system reform, the Australian action plan is a great reference point.