Economic Concepts
Noteworthy, education is a globally recognized empowerment tool thus the reason for government and private stakeholder involvement. According to the Conversation, the Australian educational disadvantage is an undeniable problem (Perry,2017).Further, the Australian educational challengers are marred by inequalities in opportunities, experiences and outcomes across the different Australian states. Moreover, the educational inequalities are boosted and characterized by teacher shortages, segregation of schools and inadequate or unequal resource allocation. Basically, this Newspaper article articulates the educational inequalities experienced by Australian students and ways in which the same can be reformed. Specifically, the author proposes the elimination of segregation in schools.
The author is an associate professor at Murdoch University with an interest in bettering the Australian education system through her observation of the Australian education challenges and offering solutions to the same.
Predominantly, equity is an important concept economically. Typically, inequalities result in unfairness and competitiveness in the sense that the lack of equal opportunities, experiences and outcomes of the Australian education system has denied the disadvantaged students the equal footing ground for competitiveness. Simply put, students with better opportunities, experiences and outcomes have better employability chances due to the availability of better opportunities through teachers and facilities for better performance thereby resulting into better outcomes(Munro,2016).However disadvantaged students have low education outcomes due to shortage of facilities, materials and teachers.
Further, the issue of demand and supply arise in the sense that despite the growing demand for education there’s a shortage of teachers. Predominantly, demand should be met with supply. Recently, Australia s teacher demand has outgrown its supply (Brennan, 2016).Largely, the number of teachers is lower than the number of students thereby resulting into a supply of qualified teacher’s gap. In addition, 30-50 percent of teachers abandon their profession during their five teaching years thus the need for the Australian government to address this worrying trend. However, following the teacher shortage in most Australian schools, which is among the largest in the world, is a clear indication of the shortage of supply of teachers in Australia (Perry, 2017).
Source: ABC News
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-01/lack-of-maths-and-science-teachers-queensland-principals/7292224
In a way, education is an investment in the sense that there’s human capital involved in the exercise in the form of teachers. For maximized and better outcomes and experiences, there’s need to invest in the teachers quality for better outcomes. Typically, qualified teachers are likely to afford their students the best experiences and outcomes as contrasted with non-qualified teachers. Majorly, the disadvantaged schools have lesser opportunities and few student quality experiences as compared to the advantaged schools thus resulting in wide achievement gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged Australian students (Perry, 2017).
Recommendations
Predominantly, equity encompasses fairness and inclusiveness for effectiveness. Equally, fairness and inclusiveness should be implemented in all Australian learning institutions. Basically, there should be equal education opportunities for all students regardless of personal and economic characteristics or any other form of discrimination (O.E.C.D, 2008).Also, through inclusivity, all Australian students will be exposed to equal opportunities and experiences thus resulting into equal ground for competitiveness and empowerment. In addition, there’s need for equity in education resource allocation across all schools, be they metropolitan or rural schools. Equal distribution of educational materials and human resource will bring about equality in experience, opportunity and outcomes.
Usually, resource allocation determines the advantages and disadvantages of students which manifests itself in student outcomes. In the sense that, adequately equipped schools provide better opportunities, experiences and outcomes and the reverse is true thus the need for equitable resource allocation in terms of educational facilities and human capital. Also, there ought to be adequate funding for students with disabilities to enable them to equally enjoy the opportunities, experiences for better outcomes like the students with no special needs (Beavis, n.d).There should be equal and adequate funding for education institutions in Australia by government which will go a long way in boosting equality among schools.
Typically, education institutions with students bearing special education needs are likely to be more expensive than regular schools .Sometimes, students with disabilities or special needs lack basic resources to address their special circumstances thus the need for higher government budget for such educational institutions to boost equity thereby overcoming the educational disadvantage(Gotlib,2012).Noteworthy, most indigenous students have less equipped education facilities.Equally,education facilities in the metropolitan areas are better equipped than rural schools thus advancing the inequity gap in terms of resource allocation.
Moreover, there is need to bridge the gap on the shortage of teachers. Through increasing the number of qualified teachers (Balogh, 2016).To boost student outcomes there’s need for qualified teachers to meet the demand for education of the Australian population. In addition, supportive practices for teachers such as mentoring and consultancy should be encouraged to boost teacher performance which will translate into better student outcomes. Quality teacher results into better student outcomes due to the ability to handle students which comes with training and experience. Australian students are likely to enjoy better experiences resulting into better outcomes thus the need to invest in quality teacher education.
Notably, the Australian government should make the teaching profession more competitive(Rickards,2016) .The incorporation of better and flexible teaching methods will go a long way in improving teaching quality in Australian schools.Further,the implementation of mentorship and flexible working conditions will help the teacher quality performance thereby resulting into better student outcomes(Mckinnon,2016).In my view,theres need for quality teacher training to provide better student performance. Also, the Australian government can raise the standards for teacher qualifications, provide updated teacher and student national curriculum and offer teacher incentives such as better paying and working conditions to encourage more teachers to join and stay in the profession.
Conclusion:
Typically, equity is key in according better opportunities, experiences and outcomes in the education sector thus the need for the Australian government to adequately invest in its education sector. With adequate funding for all schools, all Australian students, indigenous and non-indigenous, in metropolitan and rural schools get to experience the same opportunities, experiences in the event that there’s adequate funding for resources and facilities for education. In addition, through quality teacher training, students experiences and outcomes are likely to be better as opposed to having unqualified teachers .
In addition, increasing the supply of qualified teacher is likely to reduce the teacher quality shortage thereby affording enough teacher-student time which is likely to translate into improved or better student performance due to the fact that a student has enough time to interact with the teacher who is able to identify and meet individual students needs thus quality student experience and outcomes. Undeniably, funding is a crucial part of running educational institutions. Like any investment, education requires money for resources and human capital thus the need for lucrative allowances, better educational facilities and resources for greater outcomes.
References:
Beavis, A. (N .d).Addressing Educational Disadvantage. ACER.Edu. Retrieved from https://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1096&context=resdev
Brennan, I. (2016).Australian Teacher Shortage fears as Student Numbers Soars. The ABC News.Com.Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-18/fears-of-looming-teacher-shortage-as-student-population-soars/7096102
Gotlib, S. (2012).Reversing the Disability Disadvantage in Education. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/reversing-the-disability-disadvantage-in-education-20120909-25m2d.html
Mckinnon, M. (2016).Teachers are leaving the Profession- Here’s How to Make Them Stay. The Conversation.Com. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/teachers-are-leaving-the-profession-heres-how-to-make-them-stay-52697
Munro, K. (2016).Australia s Real education problem is the Equity Gap. The Sydney Morning Herald .Retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au/comment/australias-real-education-problem-is-the-equity-gap-20161206-gt5jwh.html
O.E.C.D. (2008).Ten steps to Equity in Education. O.E.C.D.Org. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/education/school/39989494.pdf
Perry, L. (2017).Educational Disadvantage is a huge problem in Australia-We Can’t Just carry on the same. The Conversation.Com. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/educational-disadvantage-is-a-huge-problem-in-australia-we-cant-just-carry-on-the-same-74530
Richards, F. (2016).What are the main challenges Facing teacher education in Australia? .The Conversation.Com. Retrieved from https: //theconversation.com/what-are-the-main-challenges-facing-teacher-education-in-australia-63658
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