Education in Policy Contexts in Australia - Essay Example

Education in Policy Contexts in Australia Name: Student Number: Course Code: Word Count: Date of Submission: Introduction Education in Policy Contexts in Australia Policies of education are changing strongly in this post-industrial society as related to the growth and development of the economy and transformation of the universal society. This changing nature requires that students acquire an informed perspective of the policies engulfing the education system. With regards to education, the issues of policy discussed herein must, obviously, be of a public nature. A policy is a description of issues, matters or subjects that are either implemented or offered by a governing body so as to operate, control, legalize or regulate certain activities. With reference to the Australian government, the governing body, as used in this context, refers to the involvement of all the three levels of Australian government. Consequently, this essay focuses on the operation of policy processes, their implications and the reaction of the participating stakeholders. The essence of a policy is appreciated across borders, but then, policies that are designed and implemented by a governing administration are only active within that the territory of that government. They are designed to enhance the operation of a given activity and to ensure fairness to all the institutions participating in the industry. The point of interest relates to the Australian educational policies that shape this education sector within the overlap of national and international contexts. This is the basis of the examination of policies that affect, either positively or negatively, the life and stay of international students in Australia. The thought of educational policy is dependent on the ideological or philosophical point of reference of an individual. This detail necessitates the adoption of specific appropriate criterion for analysis and evaluation of a particular educational policy. This can be established by analysis of Australian policies of education as they relate to experience for international students in Australia. Bearing of Policy Issues in Australian Education Just to set perspective, a policy is a description of issues that which when implemented by a governing body so as to, generally, regulate certain activities (Cox 2011). An analysis or review of the policies that impact international education and students in Australia is essential to give insight into the scope and complexities of these policies. The relevance of a policy is relative to the perspective of an individual. The view depends on the interpretation of the expectations that one has on it. A policy can be perceived as a factor of its instrumental outcomes or as a catalyzing agent for human liberation. According to Cox (2011), this alone is enough to evidence the possibility of political struggles engulfing policy issues. Policy making is a process that involves sharing and exchanging of ideas between groups of people in the environment that the policy would impact if implemented. It is a continuous process with repeated modification of ideas or decision. All these are evidences to the appreciation of policies and care for those that they are designed and implemented for. In a political sense, public policy is a tool with which governance is realized so that public resources are managed in one accord. Education policies are intentional with a purpose of achieving an understood purpose for the schooling fraternity (Scott 2000). In as much as a policy may be political in nature, it is also orderly structured with consequences resulting from the decisions made by the stakeholders. The nature of these consequences is defined by the kind of decisions made. The characteristics of policy reveal some it attributes that punctuate its relevance in a given system. Such a system has theories that not only explain its existence and behavioural factors, but also gives a foresight of what results are to be expected when certain conditions are met in the environment of that system. The education system is of interest in this case, with focus narrowing down to the environment in which international students in Australia are living. Fundamentally, these theories form the basis for the policies in question. In a broad spectrum, any governing policy is a factor that faces the challenge of experiencing effects or influence from social, economic or even political fronts. Individual studies focus on particular sectors of the global environment without the capacity to review all the other aspects. These different sectors are related to one another in a given way and that requires that a critical theoretical framework be adopted in a singularized study. A theoretical framework, if used, enhances the comprehension of the subject matter. Use of a theoretical framework in this paper increases the parentage of understanding the analysis of education context of policies in Australia. An article by Kellner (2003) suggests that, a good critical and theoretical framework is one that, apart form allowing for inclusion of all positions, it also connects education directly to the correspondent sectors of human life. The social and professional world is changing gradually, and so does education. An appropriate framework is, therefore, necessary for the analysis of educational policies in Australia. An analysis of Australian education in the context of its policies helps in revelation of the concepts that could have been used in developing these policies. Application of a theoretical framework makes this more conspicuous by taking into consideration the, not very radical, but often changing education system (Kellner 2003). The design and implementation of these policies, as expected, must factor in the idea of international students living and studying in Australia. Apart from making operation fair for all the stakeholders in an industry, definition of respective policies is meant to improve current situations. In the education sector, particularly, policies lay out the required specifications or qualifications that a governing body requires of the participants, the learning institutions and their managers, to meet. As a projection of the foreseeable future, meeting these definite standards and adhering to set policies has the goal of improving the performance of these institutions. Additionally, implementation of the policies is aimed at creating a positive picture of the education system as the system of choice for every willing student across the world. Institutional Context for Higher Education The level to which opportunity is availed for international students in Australia takes the centre of focus in this. Living and studying in Australia come with a number of challenges, most of which are common to other countries as well. As a major one, the issue of visa sets in since it tops the list complaints by these students. They are disadvantaged in a number of ways since the only legal document they hold is the visa, yet most educational or professional settings require more than that for authentication. Evidently, in such scenarios, their counterparts who are of Australian origin benefit and are advantaged unfairly. This is an exhibition of how much little the government is really doing to achieve its globalization goal. The Australian government aims at improving its global social-associations and to produce complimentary conditions for free enterprise which includes skills for employability and productivity (Althaus, Bridgman & Davis 2008). The concepts of education at all levels are such that all students are given access to fair quality, regardless of their origins. In as much as policies need to be reviewed time and again due to the changing global society, it is recommendable that the stakeholders involved in the process respect the national circular framework of education. When holding a visa only in a foreign country, access to most services or opportunities is limited to some level. A feasible example that is identifiable is about job acquisition of professionalism. With a visa document, one is only allowed a limited number of days with strict descriptions of purpose in a foreign country. This approach clears the thought out by taking on that, which is assumed in most cases. With a visa, if your stated purpose is studying only, then when done with studies, your term of stay is probably terminable. This denies international students the opportunity of applying for jobs in Australia. This begs the question of how the government is planning to achieve the much desired globalization yet they cripple this section, which one of the fundamental forces of attaining a global connection (Knight 2011). Any recommendations acknowledge that, the universities shape the picture of Australian education. A post-study policy, as adopted by the Australian government should be such that it levels the cut-off points for all university graduates. This allows international students with interest to seek jobs in Australia; it adds the professional basement of the country. Another perspective of this is that apart from pedagogical training, the higher education policy system should adopt the idea of training foreign students in ways that acquaint them with the working conditions in Australia, such expositions define their decisions of working here. All of this is aimed at giving same opportunities to all students; therefore, it would entail basics like providing Australian language units as complementary to the main course. The responsive approach by the Australian government to implement a post study work policy can be considered an achievement of other studies established to shed light on the educational policy issue. The post study policy is such that it allows international students in Australian universities to work for a specified number of years in Australia, on the visa only. It is a good sign of the efforts by the government to achieve positive objectives and appreciate the works of its universities. It would, otherwise be contradictory if these students receive professional training in Australia and take the talents or professionalism elsewhere. By expectation, this policy encounters criticisms if not opposition. Leong (2012) reports of the concerns that have been raised about the possibility of Australian post-study work policy contributing to brain-drain fears. The post-study visa is different from the student visa, though, to be eligible for this type of visa, one must be holding the student visa. Additionally, one must complete a course study on any bachelor degree level or field, in an Australian university. The other qualifications include meeting the study requirements as stipulated in the policy. The Australian study requirement are also spelt out for clarification purposes, this is as established by the government, department of immigration and citizenship. Policy Cycle An organization or institution may a have high or low-level policy.  High-level policies govern an entire corporation in most or all circumstances. Most of them are quite generalized and often represent flexible objectives.  In the education industry, high-level policies would represent the desires of stakeholders in the education system.  Such policies do not really appear in the procedures or processes of operation in the education system but they are like the standards or references against which others should be reviewed. Just for comparison purposes, low-level policies contend with more specific set of circumstances. They are used to define the procedures and code of operation that are expected in the system. Such policies, most probably, depend on high-level policies to guarantee their implementation. These are the policies that most are conversant with and interact with almost every time, in their fields of operation. With this idea, it is evident (Lindblom 1980) that actualization of any policy has to go through particular steps or stages. These stages are what make the policy cycle. The world, in a general sense, is continuously changing. Therefore, intended policies, especially the high-level policies, have to be reviewed and remodelled seldom so as to fit current situations. The issue of student visa for international students in Australia has been explored extensively. Consequently, another recommendation is that the government should review its current policies, including the post study work visa policy. An emphasis by Flick (2010) is that the steps or cycle of policy need exploration, this cycle includes steps as; setting the policy agenda, writing policy; implementing policy; enforcing it; reviewing the policy; and updating policy. Setting the Policy Agenda To set the agenda of a policy, it is necessary to identify the objective since it defines the reason for this policy. According to Ramesh, Perl and Howlett (2009), a policy agenda is a special consideration due to the scarcity of resources.  A realization of proper resource use requires competent management. The objective of the Australian government is to, not only make its education system the ultimate choice for foreign students, but also to provide working and job opportunities for every graduate, irrespective of origin. The goal here is to avail post-study opportunities for international students. It is easier to set policy agendas for small organizations or industries. The education system is a wider environment and bigger industry, if it may, and in this scenario, the process is more intense and quite involving it is to get preferred items on the agenda because they serve localized interests, which are easier to understand and deal with, rather than those of the generalized forms or standards. Writing Policy A policy meant for public use has to be easy to understand, comprehend and implement. Policy statements have to be written clearly, concisely, and directly yet the policies themselves should not be open to interpretation, though this isn’t always possible with high-level policies in particular.  Following this is that the stakeholders must identify policy experts who will be available willingly to infer policy and resolve possible differences. At this step, efforts are geared towards raising the profile of the problem and possible solutions among the public and decision-makers. The problem that the post-study visa policy addresses is the authentication of the foreign students to work in Australia. Preferably, policy writing should be an iterative process. Once the policy has been written or drafted, these drafts should be reviewed by a representative sample of the group or groups who will be responsible for implementing the policy on a daily basis. Amongst these are the student representatives and other institution officials. Implementing Policy At this point, the policymakers discuss options and adopt new or amend the existing policy. It has to be noted that a policy exists if the stakeholders are to be held accountable for it.  Not only do they need to be aware of it but they should also know the reason for the existence of the policy. People generally view policies as restrictions and unless it’s clear where and why the policy originated that there is a valid reason for it and that the organization benefits with compliance the there will be a problem. However, this phase is the most essential step and most likely not visible to the public. The government makes critical decisions on the implementation to determine the effectiveness of the policy. Policies have to be communicated effectively and there needs to be a suitable introductory period to ensure compliance. The students should have plenty of advance notice (Birkland 2010), giving them time to learn the policy, discuss it with others, understand it, and submit their comments. Enforcing Policy Given that policies are often developed in response to problems, the objective should be the driving force through the process. Most governmental bodies often write policies that are almost unenforceable. This undermines the efforts put in, it therefore, necessary for the government to analyze the feasibility of the demands of the international students. Policy has to be clear on what constitutes compliance and what happens in the event of noncompliance. In the post study policy, the qualifications that make one eligible for the post-study visa are clearly outlined in the response by the government to the problem. Reviewing and Updating Policy After the implementation stage, it is important to evaluate the effectiveness of the policy intended. Research and analysis are strategies that are useful in evaluation whether the policy meets its original intents and if there are any unintended outcomes. The post-study policy is already in implementation, though facing criticisms from nations, especially Malaysia (DIAC 2011). Therefore, evaluation of findings can be used during amendments or on a new phase of problem definition to counter the mentioned critical points. The policy life cycle begins again and continues until an effective policy is created and successfully implemented. As theorized by O’Neill, Codd and Olssen (2004), the changes that occur in the content of a policy do not happen in the hidden; rather, they are the result of activities in each stage of the policy life cycle. Each phase can take weeks or years, depending on the depth of the issue, the people involved, and the intricacy of the policy itself. This life cycle is only a framework not all policy is formed according to this linear model. However, all policy creation is incremental and builds upon prior developments and activities. A number of different strategies are often required to create one policy change. Conclusion and Recommendation Education is a continuous process which aims to prepare an individual into playing their role as an enlightened member of the society. It means all round development of personality of a person. This simple and basic concept of education implies that the subject should be availed to all in the same way in a fair environment. The objective of education reveals that the fairness is not meant to be adhered to in the learning institutions only but also to that which makes up their lives after studies. In addition to the others, another recommendation is that, even though the post-study visa policy was recently implemented, it has lasted long enough to warrant amendment of the clauses that are hitched. The policy applies only to a given group of international graduate students of particular years of study. It then leaves out the others who might have graduated out of the said years, hence not satisfactory. The implementation of a public policy requires support from different directions including those for whom it is intended. Given that it will require a lot of money, it is recommended that, resources be raised through donations from other nations, asking the beneficiary communities to maintain school building, supplies of some consumables, and achieve some savings by the efficient use of facilities. Finally, the policy and its implementation should be reviewed in a regularly defined number of years. Appraisals at short intervals are also recommended so as to ascertain the progress of implementation and the trends emerging from time-to-time. The main task is to strengthen the base of the policy project and to ensure its success. REFERENCES Althaus, C Bridgman, P & Davis, G 2008, The Australian policy handbook, Allen & Unwin, Australia. Birkland, TA 2010, An introduction to the policy process: theories, concepts, and models Of public policy making, M.E. Sharpe, New York. Cox, E 2011, What is policy? Centre for Policy Development DIAC 2011, University-sector-post-study-work-visa, Australian government Kellner, D 2003, ‘Towards a critical theory of education’ Democracy & Nature, Vol. 9 no. 1 Knight, 2011 Strategic review of the student visa program, viewed November 9, 2012 from Leong, T 2012, Australian post-study work visas contribute to brain drain fears overseas, viewed November 8, 2012 from O'Neill, AM Codd, JA & Olssen, M 2004, Education policy: globalization, citizenship and Democracy, SAGE, New York. Ramesh, M Perl, A & Howlett, AM 2009, Studying public policy: policy cycles & policy Subsystems, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Scott, D. 2000, ‘Reading policy texts’ in Reading educational research and policy, Routledge Falmer, London. Read More