Public Primary Schools do as Well as Independent Schools and Better than Catholic Schools

Posted on Friday September 16, 2016

A new study shows that public primary schools perform as well as Independent schools in NAPLAN tests and do better than Catholic schools >> Read on...

Reversing the Flight to Private Schools Depends on Reforming Australia’s Incoherent and Unfair Funding System

Posted on Friday February 19, 2016

The long-term enrolment shift to private schools has stopped in recent years. But, whether it will be sustained is uncertain given school funding trends that massively favour private schools. >> Read on...

Building Our Nation Through Public Education

Posted on Thursday December 3, 2015

A new paper by Professor Alan Reid shows that Australian education is not equitable with large achievement gaps between rich and poor. Education policy over the last 40 years has exacerbated inequity. >> Read on...

Fees in Victorian Public Schools Under the Microscope

Posted on Tuesday October 20, 2015

A Victorian public school has been charging an enrolment fee to parents. Many public schools in Victoria are charging for items that should be provided free. It raises the issue of how many public schools in other states are charging for items that should be free. >> Read on...

Vic Govt Agrees to Support P-TECH Schools

Posted on Wednesday June 17, 2015

Senate Estimates hearings reveal that the Victorian Government has agreed to support Tony Abbott’s pet project for two US style P-TECH schools in Ballarat and Geelong. >> Read on...

P-TECH Schools are Unproven and Threaten Public Education

Posted on Monday May 25, 2015

The introduction of P-TECH schools is proceeding without any evidence that they work and without any open discussion of their implications for the curriculum, how public schools are governed and how education is delivered in the classroom. They should be publicly scrutinized before being implemented. >> Read on...

Studies Show Public Schools Achieve Similar Results to Private Schools

Posted on Sunday April 19, 2015

A review of nearly 30 studies published in the last 15 years shows that public schools achieve similar outcomes to Catholic and Independent schools across a range of education indicators. >> Read on...

Mixed Schools Make for a More Socially Tolerant Society

Posted on Saturday March 7, 2015

Study says that ethnically diverse schools make for a more socially tolerant and inclusive society. >> Read on...

UN Education Expert Calls on Governments to Stand Firm Against Privatisation of Education

Posted on Friday February 27, 2015

UN expert calls on governments to oppose privatising basic education and to strengthen their public systems to ensure free, quality, basic education for all. >> Read on...

Parents Are Being Charged for ‘Free’ Education in Victoria

Posted on Wednesday February 18, 2015

The Victorian Auditor-General has found that parents in public schools are being charged for items and activities that should be free. >> Read on...

Public Schools Do Just as Well as Private Schools in NAPLAN

Posted on Sunday January 18, 2015

A new research paper from Save Our Schools shows that the often-presumed superior test results of private schools compared to public schools is a myth. Public, Catholic and Independent schools with a similar socio-economic composition have very similar results in nearly all states. >> Read on...

Private Schools Are No Better Than Public Schools

Posted on Friday October 24, 2014

A new academic study shows that private schools are no better than public schools after taking account of the socio-economic background of students and schools. This is the fourth study in the last year to show no difference between public and private schools. >> Read on...

Means-tested School Fees Would Undermine Public Education

Posted on Monday May 5, 2014

The proposal for means-tested fees in government schools is a threat to the goals of public education. It would compound inequity in education by restricting access to high quality education to those who can pay. It would undermine social cohesion and tolerance by encouraging greater social segregation in schools. >> Read on...

Unwarranted Speculation by Melbourne University Study

Posted on Friday January 10, 2014

A Melbourne University study that claims that Catholic and other private school students have better non-cognitive skills than government school students is mistaken. Research studies suggests the reverse. >> Read on...

Public Education Builds Social Cohesion

Posted on Sunday May 5, 2013

A Los Angeles parent pays homage to public education and its role in building social cohesion.< >> Read on...

New Network for Public Education

Posted on Friday March 8, 2013

A new network for public education has been announced in the United States to fight against high stakes testing and the privatisation of public education and to connect grassroots activists from communities across the country. >> Read on...

Handouts for Private School Parents - Arrests for Public School Parents

Posted on Monday July 16, 2012

Parents in government schools in South Australia are being issued with warrants for non-payment of fees while private school parents get special handouts. >> Read on...

Does the Coalition Want to Abolish Free Public Education?

Posted on Friday May 11, 2012

Joe Hockey’s recent age of entitlement speech raises the question of whether the Coalition is planning means tested fees for government schools. He called for an end to universal free government services. The Coalition should clarify whether it supports free public education. >> Read on...

The Finnish Way of Public Education

Posted on Monday April 16, 2012

Pasi Sahlberg answers key questions about public education in Finland. >> Read on...

Public Education Should be Free, Even for the Well-Off

Posted on Wednesday March 28, 2012

The introduction of fees in government schools would make education subject to capacity to pay and restrict access to education. It would lead to greater privilege, inequity and social segregation in education. It would further privatise the funding and provision of education. >> Read on...

Private Schools Want to Abolish Free Public Education

Posted on Friday March 4, 2011

Private schools want to abolish free public education. >> Read on...

We Need Public Education

Posted on Thursday December 9, 2010

Public schools are a fundamental feature of a democratic society. >> Read on...

From Little Things, Big Things Grow: The Creeping Privatisation of Public Education

Posted on Monday October 25, 2010

The Victorian Government recently launched a new foundation to make it easier for businesses to make financial donations to government schools. It is a small beginning, but the US experience shows it can grow into control over public education policy by wealthy private foundations. >> Read on...