Amid the fraught discussions about Gonski, the need to resolve deep-seated problems of equity and student achievement remains urgent, writes Bernie Shepherd
10 Apr 13 Comments (5)Class sizes and the dead hand of history
Sure, smaller classes would be good, but at what opportunity costs, asks Dean Ashenden
01 Mar 13 Comments (12)Evolutionary tinkering in revolutionary times
The current system of teacher education isn’t working for many students. Dean Ashenden looks at the alternatives, and their adversaries
15 Feb 13 Comments (15)Gonski and Gillard won’t fix this problem
In a forthcoming paper for the Centre for Policy Development, Chris Bonnor describes a worsening school equity problem that will persist for decades to come
28 Nov 12 Comments (6)Frank Gagliado’s schooling: a one-hundred year view
All’s not necessarily well in the classroom even when it ends well, writes Dean Ashenden
17 Oct 12 Comments (8)Two suburbs, 167 lives: how the Life Chances study turned twenty-one
In 1990 a team of researchers began tracking a group of babies born in two inner suburbs of Melbourne. Their latest results paint a complex picture of obstacles, opportunities and resilience, writes Melissa Sweet
08 Oct 12 Comments (0)A shift in the monolingual mood
A new parliamentary report challenges the thinking behind the downgrading of Indigenous languages in schools, writes Lisa Waller
26 Sep 12 Comments (4)The revolution that became a crusade
The government has at last come up with the outline of a strategy for reforming schools, writes Dean Ashenden. The worry is in what the prime minister didn’t say
05 Sep 12 Comments (0)Latham’s list was a hit in the polls
Mark Latham’s private school funding policy is usually seen as an electoral minus for Labor, but the polls suggest otherwise, writes Peter Browne
27 Aug 12 Comments (2)Gonski, again
Gonski’s recommendations can work if we keep in mind how they might fail, writes Dean Ashenden
02 Aug 12 Comments (0)Creating and choosing good schools
Creating better schools is a long and often tortuous process, writes Chris Bonnor. The first step is to focus on policies that can actually work
12 Jul 12 Comments (1)Good at gardening, hopeless at engineering
Restless innovation saved Australian schools from their structural problems, writes Dean Ashenden. But now the strains are well and truly showing
13 Jun 12 Comments (2)Whose university website?
One vital question has been overlooked in the coverage of the federal government’s My University website, writes Dean Ashenden. Why duplicate a service that already exists?
05 Apr 12 Comments (5)Gonski the game-changer
The Gonski report has brought together an enormous body of evidence to show why equity must be at the centre of school policy, writes Chris Bonnor, and has decisively shifted the terms of the debate
29 Feb 12 Comments (9)Gonski’s review: another salvo in the Hundred Years’ War
Strongly argued, thoroughly evidenced, and unlikely to succeed. Dean Ashenden looks at the Gonski report on school funding
24 Feb 12 Comments (3)
Learning in both worlds
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)School chaplains: time to look at the evidence
The debate about the federal government’s school chaplaincy program has suffered from a lack of hard evidence, argue Monica Thielking and David MacKenzie
21 Jul 11 Comments (11)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)
