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