3. Equity in Education in Australia
Dr Sue Thomson
Director, Educational Monitoring and Research Division
Australian Council for Educational Research
Presentation to the Annual Conference of the Australian Education Union,
Melbourne, February 2013
4. “By comparison with
the world’s highest
performing school
systems, Australian
students from low
socioeconomic
backgrounds are under-
represented among high
achievers and
overrepresented among
low achievers”
5. Australian governments, in
collaboration with all school sectors,
commit to promoting equity and
excellence in Australian schooling.
This means that all Australian governments
and all school sectors must provide all
students with access to high-quality
schooling, and ensure that socioeconomic
disadvantage ceases to be a significant
determinant of educational outcome (P. 8)
21. What does it matter?
The Productivity Commission recently estimated the average
earnings gain from an extra year of schooling in Australia at
between 10 and 13 per cent.
In 2009, the annual earnings of Australians aged 25-34 who only
completed school were 25 per cent higher than those who did
not. Year 12 completion also opens up the prospect of tertiary
education. Gaining a university degree increases earnings by
about 40 per cent compared with Year 11 or below.
Economic modelling for the Business Council of Australia
estimates that an increase of 0.15 in the average level of
schooling of the workforce would result in a 1.1 per cent increase
in GDP by 2040. This amounts to about $16 billion on today’s
figures.
22. Individuals who do not complete school engage in more
risky health behaviour, have less health knowledge,
higher rates of illness and earlier deaths than those
who complete school. OECD and other studies show
that the health returns from increased school
completion are substantial.
About 35 per cent of Australia’s prisoners have not
completed Year 10 compared to seven per cent of the
general population. Overseas and Australian studies
show that increased education significantly reduces the
costs of property crime for individuals and the justice
system.
People who fail to achieve a Year 12 education are also
more likely to be reliant on welfare support. More
education can increase their employment and income
and thereby reduce government welfare payments
(Cobbold, 2013)
23. Accepting that there is a
spread of wealth in a
country, then what does
equity look like?
24. 100 600 100 600
80 80
500 500
Percentage of students
Percentage of students
60 60
PIRLS score
PIRLS score
40 40
400 400
20 20
0 300 0 300
Australia Canada
More Affluent schools % More Affluent schools %
More Disadvantaged schools % More Disadvantaged schools %
25. And in Year 8 maths?
100 600
80
500
Percentage of students
60
PIRLS score
40
400
20
0 300
Australia Quebec
More Affluent schools %
More Disadvantaged schools %
26. Barriers to success
Students with the highest mathematics achievement
typically attend schools that emphasise academic
success, as indicated by rigorous curricular goals,
effective teachers, students that desire to do well,
and parental support.
In contrast, schools with discipline and safety problems
are not conducive to high achievement. Students that
attended schools with disorderly environments and
reported more frequent bullying had much lower
achievement than their counterparts in safe and
orderly schools.
(Mullis, Martin, Foy, Arora, 2013)
27. Emphasis on academic success
Nationally, 20% of students attended schools in which
the principal reported that there was a “very high”
emphasis on academic success.
However this varies a great deal depending on what
school students attend.
28. 100
80
Percentage of students
60
40
20
0
Medium emphasis High emphasis Very high emphasis
More Affluent schools %
More Disadvantaged schools %
29. Students desire to do well
• Two questions examined:
• How far in education do you expect to go?
• It’s important to do well in maths
30. Aspirations …
100
80
Percentage of students
60
40
20
0
Max Yr 12 TAFE Degree or higher degree
More Affluent schools % More Disadvantaged schools %
31. It’s important to well in maths
100
Percentage of students 80
60
40
20
0
Importance of maths
More Affluent schools %
More Disadvantaged schools %
32. School safety
100
80
Percentage of students
60
40
20
0
Hardly any Minor Moderate
More Affluent schools %
More Disadvantaged schools %
33. Parental support
100
Percentage of students 80
60
40
20
0
Low Medium High
More Affluent schools %
More Disadvantaged schools %
34. Instruction affected by a
shortage of resources
100
80
Percentage of students
60
40
20
0
Not affected Somewhat affected
More Affluent schools %
More Disadvantaged schools %
35. Summary
• A priority is to ensure that SES ceases to become a
significant determinant of educational outcomes.
• Australia’s achievement overall, as measured by TIMSS
and PISA, is ok, but there is a lot of room for
improvement. The proportion of students not achieving
basic levels is not acceptable.
• Our level of equity is about average across OECD
countries, however there are substantial problems
masked by the ‘average’
• One quarter of low SES 15 year old students failed
to reach the minimum benchmark in reading, and
• almost 2/3 of students in disadvantaged schools did
not reach the intermediate benchmark in
mathematics at Year 8.
36. Barriers …
• Schools with a higher proportion of disadvantaged
students:
• Lower emphasis on academic success
• Lower student aspirations
• Lower levels of school safety
• Lower levels of parental support
• More likely to be affected by lack of resources.
37. Top 5?
• The Prime Minister has said that “To win the
economic race, we must first win the
education race”.
• Our aim as a nation should not be to win any
race other than the race to provide an
equitable system, ensuring that every child
has the opportunity for and knows the
pathway to success.
• The achievement of this goal would be
something in which we could all take pride.
