 |
||||||
 |
|
 |
"Every parent, whatever their background and wherever they live, wants one thing for their children: a decent education in a school where standards are high and discipline is good. Sadly, for too many parents, that is something their children are denied - unless they can afford to pay for it. Too many parents in Britain today simply have to shut up and take what they are given by the state." - UK Conservatives leader Michael Howard at his party's education policy launch in June.
Campaign to boost skills in key industries A joint government, business and union campaign to raise skill levels in four key industries was launched late last month by Acting Associate Education (Tertiary Education) Minister Margaret Wilson. The campaign targets tourism, furniture, retail and hospitality employers and promotes the benefits of on-the-job training designed to meet industry needs. It is part of the Skill New Zealand campaign which aims to lift participation in industry training from the 127,000 learning on-the job today to 150,000 by 2005, and from there to 250,000 trainees. More information is at http://www.beehive.govt.nz/ViewDocument.cfm?DocumentID=20147
Melbourne University Private applies for official recognition Melbourne University Private hopes to join the Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee to help develop its credentials overseas. The six-year-old university is wholly owned by the public University of Melbourne and has state approval to operate for another five years. Last financial year its operating result was AU$132,000 on revenues of AU$55.4 million. The private university's website is at http://www.muprivate.edu.au/
New Australian institute aims to promote quality teaching and school leadership The Howard government has provided $10 million toward the establishment and operation of the National Institute for Quality Teaching and School Leadership, which will be based in Canberra at the Australian National University. Teachers and school leaders will operate the institute on behalf of their profession, and it will have four key functions:
More information is at this web page.
School quality debated at high-profile Australian summit A summit in Melbourne next month looks at how to improve quality in education. The Melbourne Institute, The Australian newspaper and the Faculty of Education of the University of Melbourne are co-sponsoring the conference, titled "Making Schools Better". Politicians, teachers and educationalists will take part. Speakers include Mark Harrison, Canberra-based author of the Education Forum's book, Education Matters: Governments, Market and New Zealand Schools. The summit will present evidence on school performance and discuss policy options for making schools better, including:
More information is at this web page.
A university degree is a very good investment, statistics show New statistics highlight the economic and social value of a tertiary qualification. The Australian Bureau of Statistics, through its latest Australian Social Trends report, has confirmed that a higher education results in significant private benefits. The research showed full-time workers aged 20-64 with higher education qualifications earn almost 50 percent more than those without a degree and have lower unemployment rates. More information is at this Australian government web page.
Bureaucracy-busting watchdog cuts UK govt's teacher initiatives A UK bureaucracy-busting education watchdog says it has cut by a third the number of government initiatives aimed at teachers. The Department for Education and Skills' implementation review unit was launched in April last year. It has called for just a few key strategies to raise standards, is considering a single school improvement plan and wants all the bids, plans and reports that schools must write to receive funding to be replaced. More information is at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/iru/
China encourages naming rights on schools The Chinese government is encouraging the private sector to invest in non-government schools by allowing schools to be named after their donor, Eastday.com has reported. Non-government schools run by private donation and non-profitable, non-government schools can also enjoy preferential tax policies equivalent to public schools.
Demand high for Washington voucher scheme
Demand in Washington DC for access to the first federally-funded school voucher programme has proved overwhelming, in large part because of parental frustration with the state's troubled public education system, Charleston's Post and Courier reports. The number of
applications to the Washington Scholarship Fund (WSF) is more than double the
number of spaces available. Congress is providing up to
US$7,500 per year to help low-income students attend one of 50 private or
parochial schools. Nearly
1300 spots are available for the upcoming school year.
The Washington Post reported that WSF recently held
a two-day fair for low-income parents to shop around for schools.
More
than 40 private schools had stalls at the fair. More information is at this web page. Review published of research on teacher recruitment and retention A new literature review takes a comprehensive and critical examination of research published since 1980 on the topic of teacher recruitment and retention in the US. The review provides an understanding of the patterns governing the entry and exit of individuals into and from teaching in the face of a growing school-age population, and of schools struggling to maintain teaching standards by recruiting bright new teachers and retaining their most-effective ones. The review is at http://www.rand.org/publications/TR/TR164/
Bill would ease restrictions that limit aid to US for-profit colleges A US government hearing last month heard that federal student-aid laws discriminate against students at for-profit colleges and laws were needed to ease the restrictions. Republicans on the US House of Representatives education committee argued that a bill they introduced last month to renew the Higher Education Act would ease restrictions in existing law that limit access and federal aid for those students. "There is a problem when schools serving some of the neediest students are treated like a second class," said Rep. John A. Boehner of Ohio, chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. More information is at http://www.ccweek.com/datelinewash/index.asp
Strong results mean more business for education company Schools managed by US education company Edison improved levels of proficiency by an average one-year gain rate of seven percentage points - two to three times the gain rates at comparable schools and districts, according to Edison's recently released Sixth Annual Report of School Performance. That success resulted in 100 percent contract retention, a number of new contracts and current school expansions for the upcoming school year, Edison said. More information is at http://www.edisonschools.com/news/news.cfm?ID=172
White, unionised teachers less supportive of school choice A new study looking at how personal traits affect school choice in the US finds that white, experienced, unionised, Democratic educators and those working in 'positive' school environments are less supportive of school choice. The study looks at how a range of traits, including race, tenure, partisanship and familiarity with charter schooling, influence teachers' attitudes to charter schools and school vouchers. In addition, it examines how school- or district-level variables, including culture and charter penetration, inform teachers' views. 'In the Storm's Eye: How Race, Experience, and Exposure Shape Arizona Teachers' Attitudes Toward School Choice' finds charter school teachers are significantly more positive about school choice than their public school counterparts. In the Storm's Eye is at this web page.
Private schools popular, if money allows Half the parents in Britain would be likely to send their children to private schools if they could afford it, says a recent survey commissioned by a leading UK education trust. The Sutton Trust makes grants to projects that provide educational opportunities for able young people from non-privileged backgrounds. Its survey asked whether people agreed or disagreed with the proposal that all children should have the opportunity to go to private school at the Government's or taxpayer's expense, regardless of family income: 47 percent agreed and 30 percent disagreed. Asked whether they would send their children to a private school if money was not an issue, 50 percent said yes (22 percent definitely and 28 percent probably), compared to 44 percent who would either probably or definitely not do so (29 percent probably not and 13 percent definitely not). Nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of the sample agreed with the statement that pupils from state schools are at a disadvantage to private schools pupils when they apply for places at top universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, while only 19 percent disagreed. The Sutton Trust argues that opening up 100 percent of the places at Britain's top independent schools on the basis of merit and regardless of income would change the nature of those schools and "would lead to the removal of the unparalleled educational apartheid," which, the Trust argues, exists in Britain. The Sutton survey is downloadable as a Word document.
Report summarises trend toward markets in education A report summarising the trend toward introducing markets into the education sector is available online from the National Center for the Study of the Privatization of Education. The report begins with a brief history of the market reforms and then reviews recent policy developments related to vouchers, charter schools, tuition tax credits, and educational management organisations. Through the application of the NCSPE framework for evaluating market reforms, with its four criteria - freedom of choice; productive efficiency; equity; and social cohesion - the paper shows how the intent and impact of privatisation policies can differ considerably. The paper is downloadable as a PDF document. | |||
