Bright lights – another Halley’s Comet
The MySchool website has spawned an array of light shining on the issue of school choice and assembling learning data and school information.
Following the website launch the Sydney Morning Herald editorial proffered that publishing school data would ‘for the first time shine a clear light’ on the contentious issue of school funding.
This lamp of illumination represented another blatant attack on the Rudd Government for maintaining the Howard government’s SES funding program to non-government schools.
Education commentators Jane Caro and Chris Bonnor, neither of whom have glowingly endorsed non-government schooling, announced that MySchool will ‘shine a bright light’ on the glaring inequality of teacher:student ratios between public and independent schools (Sydney Morning Herald, 2010)
Caro and Bonnor assessed website data to determine that teachers in large metropolitan government schools faced 14.8 students while ‘to get a teacher’ in a non-government school ‘you need to have about 10.1 students.’
The commentators further announced that non teaching and administrative staff ratios for non-government schools requires 21 students while the equivalent for a similar sized government school was 84.4 students.
Their conclusion: the federal government needs to allocate more resources towards teacher recruitment and ancillary support staff for government schools.
In addition, because many government schools have been shown to outperform independent schools in NAPLAN results these commentators conclude teachers in the public sector are performing better than their independent school counterparts conceding their more limited resources.
To put their argument crudely, teachers in the private sector need a kick up the privates to better match public sector teaching practices.
Their other conclusion: ‘Why do we continue to generously publicly subsidise such well-endowed schools when so many government schools are doing it tough?
‘Private funding drives divides between schools the world over but, as the MySchool Website so tellingly points out, should it be the role of government to continue adding fuel through its funding policies?’
What does their bright light of illumination add to student learning and educational improvement?
i) Caro and Bonnor fail to acknowledge what most independent schools have recognised for years: improved student:teacher ratios create better teaching and learning practices. Some years ago even the NSW government belatedly acknowledged the need to reduce class sizes, notably in primary education.
ii) Caro and Bonnor cannot acknowledge that any non-government school is required to administer its operations as an self-sustaining entity by employing personnel to perform the administrative, admission and support services that are taken for granted by public school principals.
iii) If these commentators were genuine in their comparison why would they not take into account the enormous bureaucracy that accompanies public schooling? Allocating a proportion of such necessary administrative services would more closely align public education with the independent sector. Such inconvenient truths fail to be acknowledged or even considered in their skewed misrepresentation of administrative support.
iv) Caro and Bonnor believe the federal government needs to more adequately resource the public sector. They conveniently fail to shine any light on state government’s education role. Even Dr McMorow belatedly acknowledged that state governments generally accounted for 90% of school funding. (Australian Education Union, 2010)
v) By calling on the Rudd Government to correct ‘this glaring staffing imbalance’ Caro and Bonnor directly implicate the federal government as the saviour of public education. They avoid laying justifiable responsibility on state governments which should face the harsh glare of public accountability for poor or inadequate funding support.
According to Caro and Bonnor the Myschool website has revealed, yet again, how the independent school sector has benefitted disproportionately from government funding support.
No doubt other future commentators will continue to use the publically available MySchool information to lay blame for public education’s inequities on the independent sector.
More constructive comment could have highlighted the considerable disparity between MySchool literacy, numeracy and ICSEA data for city compared to country schooling.
Families relocating to rural or regional centres will be appalled at the massive differences in comparative test outcomes between city and country schools.
What critical light is focussed on such school anomalies? Nothing. Regionally disadvantaged schools have become the black holes of state government funding inertia over decades.
Will the initial public euphoria of the MySchool website continue into the long term?
Probably not according to the site designers who acknowledged that websites such as MySchool quickly lose their patronage after the initial burst of public interest.
While unfair to apportion a Halley’s Comet likeness to MySchool – the comet’s 76-year reappearance orbit means it will not be seen again until mid-2061 – the Minister may be mindful of this prospect with the media reporting that MySchool could be modified to include comments on the level of bullying and parents’ satisfaction with teachers. (Sydney Morning Herald, 2010b)
Drumming up more website content is a sure way to keep MySchool in the public arena especially when contentious issues of student bullying and teacher performance are involved.
Prime Minister Rudd was suitably circumspect in stating that such survey material could be posted 'if Labor was re-elected.'
It is interesting that despite all this light shining and metaphorical harsh glare of reality, MySchool will be subject to the ultimate spotlight of community comment – the federal ballot box
If MySchool generates damaging or negative electoral appeal - as it will when school's funding sources are publicised - expect the government to back away for any negative consequences.
Unlike the decades of non-appearance for Halley’s Comet that bright light of accountability casts its shadow every three years.
The great divide in school staff numbers, Sydney Morning Herald, 1 February 2010, p 11. www.smh.com.au
The Rudd Government’s Budget priorities for government and non-government schools: the latest evidence. Australian Education Union, 18 January 2010, p 30. www.aeufederal.org.au
Parent power wins top spot on MySchool, Sydney Morning Herald, 1 February 2010, p 1. www.smh.com.au
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