Does class even exist in Australia? What impact does it have on educational attainment?

1. Class report cards
How are we ‘assessed’? Equity and
educational attainment
Dr Rachel Buchanan
Rachel.Buchanan@newcastle.edu.au

2. Ja’mie Revisted
Australia - Class Free?
Introducing Ja’mie
Watch the clip on Backboard
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkdY6_ul-gk
Class markers?
Today we will be looking at the intersection of class and educational
outcomes

3. Key concepts
Social class
Knowledge construction
Planning for social justice
Resistance to the idea of class in Australia
Social class a fundamental determinant of social participation and
success – the different kinds of schooling the social classes received
helped maintain social class divisions
There are many more social phenomena than just class relations that
produce inequality

4. Historical overview
As schools were established in Australia, different types of schools were
different to serve different groups.
Schools serving the working class provided basic education to help
students secure employment and bring order to their “chaotic” lives
Schools designed to serve to elite were designed to educate students in
preparation for higher education.
Middle class students have used schools as means of securing
employment in middle class occupations.
For the working class education as served as a springboard for work –
used to be easily obtained without the completion of secondary school.
Changing economic trends have resulted in less blue-collar jobs being
available. Tension between the needs of students wishing to leave school
into vocations and the subjects taught in schools that are based around
tertiary education preparation.

5. Being born into a particular social class in contemporary Australia does not
necessarily determine the kind of life a person is likely to lead.
Nevertheless, a person’s social class origin usually has a great deal to do
with how easy it is to do certain things in the making of a life.
To what degree are educational resources and processes, and their life-
transforming potential, equally or unequally made available to different
social classes?
To what degree does social class remain a significant factor in explaining
the way that Australian society works, and who gets what in terms of
opportunity, wealth and social power?
What is the actual and potential role of teachers as they deal with different
families from different social classes during the course of their work?

6. For Australian schooling to promote equity and excellence,
governments and all school sectors must improve educational
outcomes for Indigenous youth and disadvantaged young
Australians and encourage them, their families and their
communities to hold high expectations for their education.
[...]
Students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, those from
remote areas, refugees, homeless young people, and
students with disabilities often experience educational
disadvantage. Targeted support can help disadvantaged
young Australians to achieve better educational outcomes.
Australian governments must support all young Australians to
achieve not only equality of opportunity but also more
equitable outcomes.
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.
(MCEETYA, 2008, p. 5, p. 15)
The Melbourne Declaration

7. Low SES is determined using a postcode methodology.
Students from low SES backgrounds are those whose
permanent home address postcode falls within the lowest
25 per cent of postcodes as coded by the ABS SEIFA
Index of Education and Occupation (Census 2006)

8. Higher Education: The Bradley Review
“Major socioeconomic differences remain in the rate at which young
Australians attend university. Despite decades of access and equity
policies, the son or daughter of a professional is more than twice as likely
as the son or daughter of a tradesperson to go to university after leaving
school” (2008, p. 17).
The very high academic entry requirements for high-prestige courses such
as law and medicine advantages applicants from professional families who
went to private or government selective schools.
As of 2006 Students with a low SES background comprised 14.63% of the
whole domestic student population and 15.39% of the domestic
commencing student population.

9. A student from a high socio-economic background is about three times
more likely to attend university than a student from a low socio-
economic background. The current access rate for this latter group is
about 16 per cent, and has remained relatively unchanged since 2002.
If students from this group were adequately represented, their access
rate would be 25 per cent.
However, these rates are not uniform across the sector. Quite distinct
differences exist in low socio-economic status participation by type of
institution, course level and field of study. Low socio-economic status
students are poorly represented in Group of Eight universities; most
highly represented in agriculture and education; and poorly
represented in architecture, law and creative arts. They are particularly
under-represented in medicine, dentistry and economics. Low socio-
economic status students also comprise the majority of students in
enabling courses.

10. High pass and retention rates show that those from low
socio-economic backgrounds succeed in higher education.
More of these students could participate in higher education
without any detrimental impact on overall academic quality.
A study conducted by the Australian Council for Educational
Research as part of the Longitudinal Survey of Australian
Youth (LSAY) Research series found that ‘if students from a
low socio-economic background get to university, their
background does not negatively affect their chances of
completing the course’.

11. The imbalances by socio-economic status group have
remained virtually unchanged since 1991: ‘the fact that
with typical variations of only tenths of percentage points
annually, and no discernible overall trend – during a period
of significant expansion in the number of domestic students
in Australian higher education is amazing.
…It is tempting to conclude that university
admission/selection processes are quite resilient in
reproducing a certain social order.’

12. Source:
http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2011/08/10/lifetime-earnings-gaps-by-sex-and-raceethnicity/

13. A recently-released study calculates that ‘over the working
lifetime of a university graduate the financial gain generated
from income is more than $1.5 million or
70 per cent more than those whose highest qualification is
Year 12’
Recommendation 4 of the Bradley Review was that a
national target be set for 20 per cent of higher education
enrolments at undergraduate level to be comprised of
people from low socio- economic backgrounds by 2020
(Bradley et al., 2008).

14. Report Card : Higher Education
Decades of equity policy has not resulted in significant increases in
the participation of students from a low SES background – good
efforts have not translated into meaningful results.
Access from school can be a barrier, but alternative pathways
available and well utilised by those from low SES backgrounds
Students with low SES background still under-represented in high
prestige degrees
Targets set at 20% low SES participation – still underrepresents low
SES population by 5%.
Australian Higher Education sector comparable to similar sectors
worldwide.
B-

15. SES and Schooling outcomes
There are massive achievement gaps between students from
different social groups in Australia. Indeed, there is some evidence
that it has increased over the last decade.
Students from high SES families have much higher education
outcomes than students from low SES families:
• 41% of students from low SES families fail to complete Year 12
compared to
22% of students from high SES families;
• On average, 15 year-old students from low SES families are over
two years behind high SES students in reading, mathematics and
science;
• 22-23% of students from low SES families do not achieve
expected international proficiency standards in reading,
mathematics and science.
(Source: Save Our Schools, 2008, http://soscanberra.com/file_download/14)

16. The newly formed NSW Department of Education and
Communities has recently investigated the relationship
between NAPLAN results and individual and school SES
levels. Between 60 – 70 of Australian students are
educated in public schools. Such state schools educate the
majority of students with disabilities, rural and remote
students, and students from low SES backgrounds.
In their report SES is more complicated and derived from a
combination of students’ parental occupations, school and
non-school achievement levels. School SES levels are
calculated on the average of student’s family SES levels.
Dr Rachel Buchanan
EDUC2103

17. Year 3 DEC students – average performance in literacy and numeracy by student and
school SES quartiles
(NSW DET, 2011, p. 10)

18. Year 9 DEC students – average performance in literacy and numeracy by
student and school SES quartiles
(NSW DET, 2011, p. 12)

19. From the DEC Report
While an individual student’s SES has an impact on their outcomes, this
varies depending in the average SES of the other students in the school.
The results indicate that
Irrespective of which SES quartile a student belongs to, their score (on
average) improves if they enrol in a higher SES school
A low SES student (Q1) will, on average, achieve a higher score that
that the average of all Q2 students if the Q1 students are enrolled in a Q4
school
Students’ scores improve by between one-third and one-half of a
standard deviation if they are enrolled in a high SES school (Q4) rather
than a low SES school
The effect of school SES on student performance is profound and exists
across the SES spectrum. These findings point to the strong independent
effect of concentrations of disadvantage at the school-level, over and
above the SES of an individual student.

20. Why is there a school-level SES effect?

21. Anyon: Social class-based constructions of knowledge
Social Class and School Knowledge (1981)
Describes school-level sociological processes of social class reproduction in
curriculum and instruction.
It drew attention to interactional practices of the curriculum-in-use (enacted
curriculum) and the persistent issues of authority, sources and uses of
knowledge – classroom practices of unequal education.
Anyon described the explicit ideological messages about agency, power,
political economy and class position. Although Anyon gives no data on
student outcomes she observes how dispositional configurations of
knowledge and power relations are shaped in classroom interactions.

22. Four social-class differentiated versions of the curriculum-
in-use in primary schools (Anyon, 1981)
Each school has a homogenous socioeconomic and cultural background and
she simply asks students
“What knowledge is”
“Where knowledge come from”
And whether you can “make knowledge”
And she records the classroom talk and practice

23. In the working class school, knowledge is presented as fragmented
bits. The focus is on rule recognition and basic skills.
In the working class school less emphasis on practice and basic skills
and more emphasis on rule recognition. She contends middle class
child given more agency – they need to “study”, “learn” “remember”
and exercise their brains. But the sources of knowledge remain beyond
criticism.
In the affluent progressive schools speculative thinking is invited –
students envision and discuss worlds beyond their experience and
background knowledge. Sources of knowledge include books, tradition
and oneself – “in the brain”.
Elite schools, Anyon classifies as striving for excellence. Here students
talk more – extended exchanges between students and teachers and
students are invited to envision different scenarios.

24. In effect, different social classes of speaking and hearing,
reading and writing “selves” are produced.
Yet students are tested and assessed in ways that assume
common constructions of knowledge, i.e. NAPLAN, HSC
etc.

25. DEC Report Card
Efforts are being made to address the relationship between educational
outcomes and SES.
DEC educates the students with the greatest needs across all areas of
the state.
Selective government schools remove certain students from certain areas
– arguably entrenching the disadvantage in those areas.
Good effort, but uses counter-productive strategies
B-

26. Anyon provides “an account of how school philosophy, the official
curriculum and affiliated resources, staffroom and teacher
understandings of the students’ communities and lives, and an enacted
classroom curriculum together contribute to stratified versions of
knowledge, with ramifications for students’ cultural capital” (Luke, 2010,
p. 170).

27. Case study: Scotch College, Melbourne
‘ … to deliver an education which, secure in the traditions of our
past and our Christian belief, opens boys’ minds to the rich diversity
of the world in which they live and challenges them to question and
explore everything they find, with integrity, humour and compassion.
And to do this in an exciting, intimate environment which nurtures
self-expression and self-worth while promoting the uniqueness of
each boy’s journey.’

28. From the “my school” Website:
www.myschool.edu.au
Per student net recurrent income $20,182
Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage
(ICSEA)
School ICSEA value 1207
Average ICSEA value 1000

29. Schooling that segregates by SES is most likely to benefit
students who are advantaged, and most likely to harm those
who are already disadvantaged by a low SES background.
Perry and McConney (2010) argue that educational policies
that work against the segregation of students and schools
based on SES could be pursued on the basis that they are
likely to achieve better and more equitable educational
outcomes for all. They give the example of Canada and
Finland which outperform Australia on PISA and where the
relationship between SES and student achievement is lower.

30. “We know that class is not a not a stand-
alone determinant, but works in
relationship to gender, ethnicity/race,
affiliated culture and sub-cultural context,
linguistic disposition, and sexual
preference of student”
(Luke, 2010, p. 176).

31. References
Campbell, C. (2010). Class and competition. In R. Connell, C. Campbell, A. Welch, D. Foley, & N. Bagnel,
(Ed.s). Education, Change & Society (2nd Ed.) (pp. 93 - 129). Sydney: Oxford University Press.
Carnevale, A.P., Rose, S.J., & Cheah, B. (2011). The College Payoff: Education, Occupations, Lifetime
Earnings. Washington: Georgetown University.
http://www9.georgetown.edu/grad/gppi/hpi/cew/pdfs/collegepayoff-complete.pdf
Luke, A. (2010). Documenting Reproduction and Inequality: Revisiting Jean Anyon’s “Social Class and
School Knowledge”. Curriculum Inquiry, 40(1), 167 - 182.
Maiztegui-Oñate, C. & Santibáñez_Gruber, R. (2008). Access to education and equity in plural societies.
Intercultural Education 19(5), 373 – 381.
Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA). (2008). Melbourne
Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. Melbourne: MCEETYA.
NSW DEC. (2011). NSW Department of Education and Communities Discussion Paper: Australian School
Funding Arrangements.
https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/media/downloads/about-us/news-at-det/announcements/discussion-paper.pdf
.
Perry, L. & McConney, A. (2010). School socio-economic composition and student outcomes in Australia:
Implications for educational policy. Australian Journal of Education, 54(1), 72-85.