Funding Boost For Schools

Prime Minister Julia Gillard proposed a major funding boost for Sunday this past April. This boost is expected to give $14.5 billion to schools. Stakeholders have until June to come to an agreement. Based on this proposal, it is expected to assist children get the best education and be the "cream of the crop". With a better education, students can gain the necessary skill sets to succeed in their future careers. If the proposal gets passed, the funds will not be distributed in one lump some; rather, it will be spread over a period of six years beginning in 2014. The funding will assist schools with hiring specialized teachers and better classroom resources. As Gillard is up for re-election in September, she plans for education to be the focal point of her campaign, hopefully overshadowing some other areas that have not gone well in her favor.

While the article is brief, I think it is interesting that, if this does get passed, it is going to be implemented so quickly. Reading this makes me wondering what is up with our own educational system in the United States and why decisions to better the system cannot have such a quick turnaround.

http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Edvantage/Story/A1Story20130414-415803.html

Funding Reform in Australia

Over the course of this semester we have had many discussions regarding education reform in countries around the world. A large aspect of each of these discussions has been funding and the balance of power between federal and local governments. This week Australia has moved forward with part of their plan for funding reform with New South Wales being the first state to agree to the Federal Government's education plan. New South Wales has agreed to contribute two billion dollars in exchange for an extra five million dollars in federal funding. This has been quite a controversial move as discussions have been brought up about whether or not this move will help to increase education for all as the program was designed.

In terms of funding, an individual has to wonder if this will increase disparity between the states. There is the possibility that the rich states will get wealthier and the poor states will continue to fall behind. This will increase the gap between states unless all states are willing to participate which does not seem to be the case as New South Wales is only the first state to agree to this. Another concern which has been raise is how this will shift the power of the educational system and place more emphasis on federal influence since they are the main financial provider for the educational systems. A final concern which has been raised is how this is affecting Australian culture as some think that Julia Gillard, the prime minister, is pinning state against state in order to get them all to agree to participate. This brings to light the question that while this program has good intentions of improving education for all, and keeping as Julia Gillard puts it "no child left behind" (sound familiar?) whether or not this is the best way to achieve that goal. Only time will tell.

Link to video/transcript:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-23/nsw-signs-up-for-education-funding/4647566?section=act

Teacher Salaries Making Headlines in Australia

Very often, the word "teacher" does not emerge in the education policy discussion. Thus, it was refreshing to see teachers and their respective salaries at the forefront this week in Australian news.  Numerous constituencies including education experts, government officials and business leaders are stepping out in support of teacher compensation reform. In fact, last week one of Australia's territories broke new ground by proposing six-figure pay for qualified, experienced teachers who also assume a mentorship role with their professional peers. Interestingly, the article notes the common occurrence of teachers assuming more administrative roles later in their career which often pay a great deal more than strictly teaching positions.

While this article is novel in actually looking at the teachers' perspective and career path, reoccurring themes do emerge. The salary topic is simply not surfacing because people feel that teachers are underpaid and overworked. Rather, it fits into the larger global assessment measures of educational achievement and success. The article notes specifically that the salary increase could "improve school outcomes." Once again, it appears that teaching for a standardized test/benchmark versus quality, lifelong learning may be taking precedence in policy agendas. Additionally, the closing section of the article reverberates the constant debate over funding as well as the decentralization/centralization of education issue. A spokesperson for the Australia's Minister of Education clearly noted that "employing teachers was a matter for state governments, however we support any teachers being recognized for excellence."

Link to article: http://www.news.com.au/national-news/education-experts-gonski-architect-lead-push-for-six-figure-teaching-salaries/story-fncynjr2-1226613558962

Australian Private Education

This article stood out to us due to the interesting connection to the World Bank and education policies regarding privatization of education. In this article, Australia and Singapore have signed a Memorandum of Co-operation (MOC). The MOC will work with the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) to improve private higher education. Through the unique connection between the two countries, it is interesting to see how study abroad and connections with other schools can impact aspects of education such as privatization. This allows both countries to learn from one another and help each other create better private education throughout the country.  Through our discussions in class, this brought us back to the thought of the positive and negative aspects of private education. For example, the World Bank has had a strong interest in private education for developing countries since the 1980s (Mundy and Menashy, 2012). Their Education Sector Strategy 2020 continues this support of private education noting the positive aspects such as educational advances and ability to meet a growing demand for education (Mundy and Menashy, 2012). However, there are many disadvantages to private education, such as the inequality that it creates between private and public education. Therefore, this article brings us to question why these Australia would be working towards private education. Is this due to the extra need for higher education and the inability for the public sector to fulfill the increasing need to students with degrees in higher education? Overall, it is interesting to note the continued increase in privatization of education both in the World Bank and Australian higher education. 

http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Edvantage/Story/A1Story20130304-406266.html

A Global Comparison: New Zealand and the United States

As referenced in the previous post, New Zealand is trying to attract international students to study in their country. Interestingly, the United States has witnessed this same policy push not only at four-year colleges, but at community colleges as well. Many U.S. community colleges are now targeting international students specifically for the higher tuition revenue that can be collected in the face of a bleak economic climate. On a broader scale, there is also a growing cognizance that the once "local" community has become global in nature. 

Like global policy itself, the recruitment of international students is greatly influenced by the current political climate. In the United States, the majority of international students hail from Asian countries where demand for education is outpacing supply. Interestingly, the U.S. community college can serve as a "pressure valve providing an alternate or auxiliary path to satisfy demand while also being used as a means to improve the relationship between the U.S. and Asia" (Hagedorn & Zhang, 2013). This is just another example of how education is often used as a way to satisfy a political or economic agenda.

Hagedorn, L., & Zhang, Y. (2013). International students in U.S. community colleges: Status, opportunities, and future. In J. Levin & S. Kater (Eds.), Understanding Community Colleges (pp. 53-63). New York: Routledge.

New Zealand hopes to cash in on higher ed.

We have read a lot about education being a catalyst that will bring countries out of poverty by properly educating its people, but in some areas of the world, it is education, specifically higher education,  that is creating a source of revenue in itself. In New Zealand international education has become the countries 5th largest export at about $2 billion. New Zealand universities charge much higher tuition prices to international students and it is something that they would like to grow in the coming years. Not only would a move like this provide revenue for the universities, but it will also bolster the ranks of the countries work force and internationalize the institutions and thus improving the country economically. And it all comes full circle...
See article here