Despite the international evidence, the Northern Territory has discouraged bilingual programs in its schools, writes Lisa Waller. But there are early signs of another shift in attitude, in both Darwin and Canberra
27 Oct 11 Comments (2)International students and the law of unintended consequences
The federal government’s new rules designed to increase student numbers could boost the number of migrants who are permanently temporary, writes Peter Mares
28 Sep 11 Comments (4)Investing in childhood: the progress and the pitfalls
Early childhood policy is in the midst of enormous change, writes Deborah Brennan. But the legacy of a fragmented and incomplete system, and a failure of ambition, mean that great challenges remain
25 Aug 11 Comments (2)Precarious times
You shouldn’t have to work for free to break into the white-collar world, argues Ross Perlin in this new book. Sara Dowse agrees
30 Jun 11 Comments (0)Ah, the olden days!
Another history war under another conservative government. Frank Bongiorno reports from London
05 Jun 11 Comments (0)My School, PISA and Australia’s equity gap
Do schools determine the performance of students, or do students determine the performance of schools? Chris Bonnor investigates
11 May 11 Comments (4)My School 2.0: getting better by degrees?
My School 2.0 promised improvements, but how much better is this latest version? Chris Bonnor assesses the evidence
08 Mar 11 Comments (0)Incremental inequity
The expanded Education Tax Refund should be on the list of election promises up for reappraisal, writes Daniel Nethery
06 Oct 10 Comments (0)Howard’s victories: which voters switched, which issues mattered, and why
The reasons for the Howard government’s electoral success are widely misunderstood, write Murray Goot and Ian Watson, and we can see the impact in the current campaign
23 Jul 10 Comments (1)Back to schools
Schools policy is back on the election agenda, writes Ben Eltham. But will it lead to substantial reform?
Comments (0)Are autonomous schools the answer?
Australian policymakers are undoubtedly watching developments in Britain and the United States with interest. But how much can we learn from systems that are so different from our own, asks Dahle Suggett
15 Jul 10 Comments (1)Capping and culling the migration queue
Legislation before parliament will give the immigration minister new power to “terminate” certain classes of visa application, reports Peter Mares
03 Jun 10 Comments (24)What My School really says about our schools
While My School says very little about the effectiveness of any school, it does offer some tantalising information about Australia’s school system in general, writes Chris Bonnor
23 Apr 10 Comments (3)Teaching to the test
Once an advocate of testing and accountability in schools, Diane Ravitch has reassessed the evidence, writes Paul Bamford
07 Apr 10 Comments (2)In praise of the blame game
Rationalising federal–state relations could make governments less not more accountable, argues Anthony Sibillin
31 Mar 10 Comments (0)The writing on the wall
The global financial crisis has reached British universities, writes Frank Bongiorno in London
18 Mar 10 Comments (1)Big cuts and little cuts
It’s not so much the size of government spending that counts – it’s the quality, writes Brian Toohey
02 Mar 10 Comments (1)My School and your school
My School promises to compare like with like, but a close look at thirty-six “average” schools reveals the limitations of this way of measuring achievement, writes Chris Bonnor
24 Feb 10 Comments (5)The Howard impact
The record of the Howard government looks a little different alongside the performance of comparable countries, write Rodney Tiffen and Ross Gittins in this edited extract from their new book, How Australia Compares
10 Dec 09 Comments (4)Reformed to the hilt
Doubts about New York’s system-wide educational reforms are intensifying, reports Chris Bonnor
05 Nov 09 Comments (0)
