Policy borrowing will not close the achievement gap
Date
2011
Authors
Reid, A.
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Journal article
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Social Alternatives, 2011; 30(4):5-10
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The pursuit of equity in and through education is a proclaimed goal of the Gillard government’s national education agenda for schooling. However, it is intriguing that despite its visible presence in policy rhetoric, there is no articulated government view about the meaning of equity. In its absence, equity in education has been shaped, by default, by the discourse of the economy, the market and ‘transparent accountability’. These discourses have given equity a very individualistic policy framing, involving an identification of which students are at risk, and the formulation of policies which ensure that these students in particular are the beneficiaries of choice and accountability in order to ‘close the achievement gap’. Such policies have been borrowed from overseas and this article argues that just as they have manifestly failed in other parts of the world, so too will they fail in Australia. The article traces the genesis and outcomes of the accountability strategies borrowed from places like New York to show why they are more likely to impede than to enhance equity in education; and concludes by proposing alternative approaches designed to achieve more equitable educational outcomes.
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Copyright 2011 Social Alternatives