EDUCATION AS AN ECONOMIC PARADIGM (original) (raw)

Politics and school education in Australia: a case of shifting purposes

Journal of Educational Administration, 2010

PurposeThe paper aims to argue that there has been a privileging of the private (social mobility) and economic (social efficiency) purposes of schooling at the expense of the public (democratic equality) purposes of schooling.Design/methodology/approachThe paper employs a literature review, policy and document analysis.FindingsSince the late 1980s, the schooling agenda in Australia has been narrowed to one that gives primacy to purposes of schooling that highlight economic orientations (social efficiency) and private purposes (social mobility).Practical implicationsThe findings have wider relevance beyond Australia, as similar policy agendas are evident in many other countries raising the question as to how the shift in purposes of education in those countries might mirror those in Australia.Originality/valueWhile earlier writers have examined schooling policies in Australia and noted the implications of managerialism in relation to these policies, no study has analysed these polici...

Educating Australia: Government, Economy and Citizen since 1960

History of Education Quarterly, 1999

Educating Australia: Government, Economy and Citizen since 1960 Simon Marginson This book is the first comprehensive history of Australian education systems, programs and policies of the period since 1960. The narrative of changes in schooling, training and university life is placed in the context of changing policies and governments and evolving economic and social trends. The book draws on economic and sociological data, key texts and political events, anecdotes and a review of other analyses to build its rich picture of the role of education programs in the modernisation of Australian life. The book traces the shift from universal public provision to market systems, with the concomitant change in definitions of participation and equity. It examines the implications of this change for the labour market and the economy, in social policies and in cultural life. An important focus of the book is the discussion of the extension of citizenship through education.

Policy issues for Australia's education systems: Evidence from international and Australian research

education policy analysis archives, 2004

Our purpose here is to discuss education policy issues in the context of empirical evidence. We note that many commonly held beliefs about Australian education such as, the relative performance and participation levels of Australian students; the importance of socioeconomic background on educational outcomes both relative to other countries and changes over-time; gender differences in mathematics and science; and the labour market situation of early school leavers; are not supported by empirical research. Such findings have implications for government policies. We also question current policy directions toward increasing Year 12 participation, expanding both secondary and post-secondary vocational education and reducing class sizes. It is hoped that the discussion will provide stimulus to evidence-based debates about Australian education.

Educational attainment in Australia: A cohort analysis

Educational attainment in Australia: A cohort analysis, 2002

This study explains differences in schooling decisions of two cohorts comprised of individuals born in 1961 and 1970. The study aims to establish whether the way in which education decisions are made differ across cohorts and to assess if these differences can be related to the institutional reforms that occurred over the 1960-1980 period. It shows that the main factors that have contributed to the change in educational attainment include the parents' educational attainment and family size and attendance at Catholic and other Independent schools. Reasons for the links between each factor and educational attainment are analysed and implications drawn out. This report, published by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), is part of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) research program.

Research and national debate on Australian schooling

This paper is a response to the paper prepared by Masters that is titled 'The case for an Australian Certificate of Education'. It argues that a national debate is needed urgently on the many issues that have arisen in Australian education. These issues include not only the curriculum provided for students at the final stages of secondary schooling, and the certification of attainment of educational outcomes on completion of 12 years of schooling, but also the curriculum of schools across Australia, particularly at the lower and middle secondary school levels. In addition, there are related issues associated with participation in higher education and the completion of a first degree at an Australian university. All too often, decisions are made at all levels of education on ideological grounds and without consideration of the body of research findings that are available to guide the making of decisions and the monitoring of development and change. This paper draws on readily...

Education policy and inequality: A political economy approach

European Journal of Political Economy, 2009

Regression results show that more unequal societies tend to spend comparatively more on higher levels of education. In a two-period model with heterogeneous agents, this paper investigates the political determinants of this bias. In the first period, public education is financed by the incumbent government by issuing bonds. Investments in basic and higher education have conflicting effects on future labour income distribution and net returns to these investments depend on the tax and transfers system being selected in the following period through the democratic process. Our idea is that public investment in basic education, by decreasing future labour income inequality, may induce future policy-makers to redistribute resources through financial rents taxation, thus making unfeasible the issuing of debt to finance basic education. This will be the more probable the greater wealth inequality is. (L. Sabani). 1 Cross-country analyses show that public spending on education accounts, on average, for more than 4.5% of GNP and more than 14% of total government expenditure (data source: various issues of UNESCO Statistical Yearbook).

Education policy outlook in Australia

Education policy pointers, 2023

This policy profile on education in Australia is part of the Education Policy Outlook series, which presents comparative analysis of education policies and reforms across OECD countries. Building on the OECD's substantial comparative and sectoral policy knowledge base, the series offers a comparative outlook on education policy. This country policy profile is an update of the first policy profile of Australia and provides: analysis of the educational context, strengths, challenges and policies; analysis of international trends; insight into policies and reforms on selected topics in Australia and other education systems; and policy pointers to inform possible future action. It is an opportunity to consider developments in the education system, including areas of progress and areas for ongoing attention, viewed from the perspective of the OECD through synthetic, evidence-based and comparable analysis. This country policy profile considers both country-level and international policies, offering analysis of current strengths, challenges and policy priorities for Australia at each level: 4  No. 67-EDUCATION POLICY OUTLOOK IN AUSTRALIA OECD EDUCATION POLICY PERSPECTIVES © OECD 2023 In Brief Figure 1. Trends in key educational outcomes Note: "Min"/"Max" refer to OECD countries with the lowest/highest values.