Analysis of Australian Governments Education Revolution Policy - Essay Example

Running Head: Analysis of Australian Government’s Education Revolution policy Your name Course name Professors’ name Date Introduction This paper seeks to analyse Australian Government’s Education Revolution Policy while referring to Ken Henry’s study on ‘The shape of things to come.” The first part of this essay tackles factors that influence productivity and some of the major global trends. This is followed by a glimpse of education and skills in Australia. The third section is an analysis of education revolution during the Rudd government and lastly is a close look at purpose of education that informs the revolution policy. Commitment by the government to create an education revolution simply recognises the vital role of education in strengthening the social and economic outlook of the country. There is no doubt that societies with strong educational base enjoy high civic involvement, greater social unity, minimum crime levels, and a more equitable society. To cover explicitly education policy in Australia, it is important to state that the government has an intention of building a stronger future, building a fairer Australia, and preparing for future challenges. These have been a major driving force to education reform in the country. Notwithstanding the fact that Australian government has splendid plans for its people, a number of global trends, alluded to in Ken Henry’s research, affect delivery of policies. These are discussed in subsequent section. Factors that influence productivity of Australia There are several factors shaping the long-term prosperity of Australia. Some of these are physical endowments, capital base, use of technology, and the size and skills of labour force. As a long-term development strategy, a country should focus on consistent improvement in productivity and participation level of workforce. Currently, Australia faces a challenge of short-term, boom-time prices for minerals and energy. In absence of resource resources boom, it is apparent that Australia’s economy will be determined by productivity rates and labour performance, which have been weak over time. The demography that has increased participation rates in the recent years is more likely to change in the near future as baby boomers go into retirement. This has significant impact on age structure of Australian workforce given that dependency rates would rise. This change in demography is likely to have an increased pressure on public finances. If the government does not respond to such a situation, the aging population will cut capita growth rates. Change in climate is proving to be a key factor shaping Australia economy. It is upon the government and its people to reconsider the possibility of mitigating this climate change i.e. global warming since its effects are adverse. Introduction of price signal to reflect negative externalities of green house gas emissions will have substantial impact on the structure of Australia and Global economies. The rise of new economies of China and India, and Australia’s terms of trade has far-reaching effect on the global economies. This means that developed economies such as Australia will face high competition in their markets. Henry (2009) refers to ICT revolution as one of the force changing the shape of Australian Economy. Information technology has served the purpose of bridging the gap between Australia and the rest of the world. All these challenges must be taken into consideration when structuring foundations for economic affluence. Australia needs to revitalize its resource management skills while developing competitive markets in order to realise continued growth. Education and skills in Australia In a statement by Rudd (2007), Australian economy has been operating under the limits of its capacity for a long time. This is why inflationary pressure has been building up given that supply has failed to keep up with demand. The capability to sustain growth of an economy varies directly with increasing productivity. This productivity is cultivated through new capital and technology, growth of labour force, and efficiency of Australian human capital. To improve productivity of human capital, education and skills level of labour force ought to be reshaped. This is intertwined with the ability of education and training systems to respond to skills needed for an economy in changing times. Educating and training the populace has a critical bearing in raising productive capacity of an economy. It paves way for high economic growth without necessarily creating inflationary pressures. Early childhood development is a critical stage where education and training starts. This level acts as a foundation where future skills are formed. According to OECD (2006), unemployment rates for women and men; aged 25-64 with no post-school qualifications was 2.9 in 1996. During the same period, those who had post school qualifications scored higher percentage points of 4.1. The report further discovered that those with post-school education scored high points with respect to participation rates as compared with those without post school education. A major challenge for Australian government is therefore to build responsive and effective education and training systems. Such an environment would enable individuals to develop skills with a goal of securing employment and advancing. The Rudd Government’s National Educational Revolution Briefly, education revolution refers to a major shift in policy and practice in education, planned from the national level, and executed by the states and territories (A.L.P. 2007). The main agenda in education revolution revolves around early childhood, school, Vocational Education Training, and university education. After election of Rudd, the government reiterated the need to foster cooperation between the national government, states, and territories. Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority were subsequently established to lead the development and implementation of the national curriculum and the related accountability processes. This move affirms that education has been placed as the major priority of the government’s policy agenda. Agreements between the states, territories, and the commonwealth government simply indicate a change in decision-making at the national level. Funding and resources is the second part of educational revolution in Australia. Under the Rudd administration, there has been substantial increase in commonwealth funding for schools. Nonetheless, anomalies and inequalities previously present in the recurrent funding system i.e. the Howard initiated Socio-Economic Status measure, have been maintained. This recurrent funding system ignores amount of resources enjoyed by wealthy schools and continues to fund the lowest funded school at 13.7%. In relation to this biased funding system, McMorrow (2009) raises alarm on its arbitrary, malfunctioned, irrational, and partial nature. Changes have further been witnessed with respect to federal financial structure where Specific Purpose Payment to states and territories has been reduced. More focus is on outcomes and incentives whilst simpler process of reporting and evaluation introduced. In a study by Gillard (2008), the National Education Agreement (NEA) contain; outcomes, performance benchmarks, and how performance can be reported. This revolution has given states and territories flexibility in determining strategies towards achieving outcomes. As a support to this program, National Partnerships were established to give policy direction in relation to teacher quality, and literacy and numeracy. The advent of technology necessitated revolution in digital technology. Even though funds were provided towards purchase of computers, there were no provisions made for infrastructure and quality teaching. It is therefore imperative for the government provide enough resources, which would assist teachers to engage with students. In reacting to global financial crisis, the government formulated a program called Building the Education Revolution with intent to revitalise education during the financial slump. This stimulus package for schools were meant to increase infrastructure in primary schools, develop science and language centres, and eventual renew Australia’s BER program with each school receiving substantial funds. Even though funds are required during an educational revolution, it is essential to focus more energy on curriculum and pedagogy. National Curriculum Board was established in 2008 with representatives from all states. This panel was to develop K-12 courses in Mathematics, Science, History, and English, which was to be implemented in 2011. On the contrary, the development of national curriculum is backed by limited reasons. One of these reasons is the need to have a uniform curriculum for assisting the Australian students who move from one state to the other. The second reason for the national curriculum is to solve a problem of retention rates and achievement levels. These reasons, lack futuristic, which should be contained in a curriculum (Kennedy. 2009). It is also important to note existence of serious design issues one of which is the absence of definition of curriculum. What has been defined is the official curriculum and not the content or rather pedagogy of teaching and learning. Rudd (2007) reflects on the importance of accountability in informing teachers, students, and other stakeholders of how schools are performing. Based on transparent report on school performance, underperforming schools will be targeted to help stimulate high performance. Purpose of Education that informs the policy For a nation to register productivity growth and economic welfare, emphasis should be directed to human capital formation (Krueger, 2001). As opposed to underinvestment in education, more funds and other resources must be allocated to educational sector with a view of forming human capital. An educated workforce increases their participation rates, incomes increases, employment becomes more secure, and eventually career opportunities increases substantially. A study done by Dowrick (2002) made an estimation that an additional year of schooling was likely to boost economic growth by 0.3 percentage points and further upgrade productivity growth by 0.3 percentage points yearly. Rudd (2007) argues that people with better education and training tend to participate longer in work environment and are further able to adapt to changes in workplace. Conclusion In Ken Henry’s literature shape of things to come, various trends have been identified which need careful consideration when drafting an education revolution policy. These factors include; climate change, demography, technology, rise of new economies of India and China, and physical factor endowment. This essay is succinct on the role of education in developing human capital for building productivity and economic prosperity. Even though the education revolution by labour government focused on structural changes, it failed to handle long-term vision of sustainability in education sector. Reference List A.L.P. (2007). The Australian Economy needs an education revolution: New Directions on the critical link between long term prosperity, productivity growth and human capital investment. Canberra: ALP. Dowrick, S. (2002), Investing in the Knowledge Economy: implications for Australian economic growth. Paper prepared for Melbourne Institute’s Economic and Social Outlook Conference. Gillard, J. (2008). Historic Education Reform Agreement, media release, 30 November 2008. Retrieved from: deewr.gov.au. http://www.deewr.gov.au/Ministers/Gillard/Media/Releases/Pages/Article_081 202_072515.aspx. Accessed on August 24, 2011. Henry, K. (2009). The Shape of Things to Come: long run forces affecting the Australian economy in coming decades. treasury.gov.au. Retrieved from: www.treasury.gov.au/documents/1643/PDF/QUT_Address.pdf. Accessed on August 24, 2011. Kennedy, K. (2009). The idea of a national curriculum in Australia: What do Susan Ryan, John Dawkins and Julia Gillard have in common? Curriculum Perspectives, 29 (1), 1-9. Krueger, A., and Mikhail L. (2001). “Education for Growth: Why and for Whom?” Journal of Economic Literature, 39:1101-36. McMorrow, J. (2009). ‘The financial framework’. Unpublished paper delivered at the National Public Education Forum, 27 and 28 March, 2009, Old Parliament House, Canberra. OECD (2006) Education at a Glance 2006. Reid, A. (2009). Is this a revolution? A critical analysis of the Rudd government’s national education agenda. valuesineducation.org.au. Retrieved from: http://www.valuesineducation.org.au/pdf/reid091002.pdf. Accessed on August 24, 2011. Rudd, K. and Smith, S. (2007). The Australian Economy Needs an Education Revolution. wa.alp.org.au . Australian Labor Party, Barton, ACT. Retrieved from: http://www.wa.alp.org.au/download/now/education_revolution.pdf . Accessed on August 24, 2011. Read More