If life is like a box of chocolates, then Australian
education is like a game of monopoly. It’s all about Location, Location, Location.
Parents have always wanted to send their children to the
best possible school they can. However the definitions of the ‘best’ have
somewhat changed over the years. Gone are the reigning Kings of private school education as the front-runners of exemplary
education, and in comes the scramble for placement in government selective
schools, especially those located in elite Sydney suburbs. However there are
concerns on whether this is a fair game. In the game of monopoly, the Car is said to take
you places, but what is said about the person stuck being the Iron?
A recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald discussed the
trend of public schools in Sydney. More and more parents are choosing to be
more frugal with their children’s education, particularly in terms of shelling
out the dough for elitist private education. They have become more aware that
it is not the ownership of a school that makes a difference, but it is the
socio-economic status of its pupils.
With the release of the My School website, middle-class parents know
that local public (selective) schools are getting just as good results as
nearby public schools such as James Ruse Agricultural High School, Fort Street,
Hornsby Girls, as well as Sydney Boys and Girls High’s.
Given the choice, parents are increasingly enrolling their
children into schools that are higher up on the social ladder, but at what
cost? August Raine, CEO of Raine and Horne has said in this article that his network is noticing a
correlation between families aspiring to Sydney’s popular schools and home
buyer behaviour in suburbs with strict enrolment catchment areas. While this is
not a new trend, the ability for parents to compare the performance and
progress of 10,000 schools in Australia is certainly aided by the My School
website. This association of an
academically elite school and the idea of social betterment stems from the idea
of symbolic ‘currency’ that is explored in Wadham, Pudsey and Boyd’s ‘Culture and Education’, in which this ‘currency’
is exchanged for social stability and personal identity. Many students and
parents of high ranking selective schools alike pride themselves in the name of
their child’s school, believing it give both status and recognition. ‘Oh, all
of my children go to selective schools; Sydney boys and Hornsby Girls.’ Much
like Monopoly, culture can be seen as a ‘game’ where players use ‘strategies’
(which in this case is attending the right school) to get possession of the
prize- which in this case can be seen as cultural capital that will aid towards
getting children a successful career.
Social betterment is seen as something to strive for, but what about those
students with lower socio-economic backgrounds? When education is turned into a
market competition, there will always be winners and losers. The tragedy is
that the ‘loosing’ non-selective schools are struggling with children whom
society had decided are losers. Just as My School demonstrates the public boom
on the North Shore, it also shows how location and economic status are
affecting the achievements of schools and students everywhere. Students whose
parents can’t afford to move to more expensive suburbs or commute due to
distance are relegated to attending local schools that may be in a lower
socio-economic area. But the truth of the matter is that almost 60% of
disadvantaged students attend equally disadvantaged schools. We seem to be
creating social niches of the privilege and underprivileged, with the winning
fortunate ‘players’ banding together, leaving the ‘losers’ to struggle for
themselves. When you group disadvantaged children in the same schools, it
compounds their disadvantage, which will in turn, make it harder and harder to
improve the achievements of low achieving students.
References:
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/rush-to-schools-in-wealthy-suburbs-skews-the-system-20130825-2sjrp.html
http://www.realestate.com.au/blog/school-wishlists-driving-sydney-demand/
p://www.smh.com.au/comment/rush-to-schools-in-wealthy-suburbs-skews-the-system-20130825-2sjrp.html
· Wadham, B. Pudsey, J. & Boyd, R. (2007). Culture and education .
Sydney: Pearson Education. Chapter 1: What is culture?
From the moment we are born, every parent wants their child to have the best advantages they can provide in life. Given the choices we are given today compared to 50 years ago, the competitiveness and that hunger to be the best is eating up the education of society among those who can afford it.
ReplyDeleteGone are the days where you would happily attend your local school and not bat an eyelid. The elite squad of private school education and selective government schools is echoing through society who are searching for that uncompromised superior education. Mothers are leaving the home and are going back to work full-time to pay for their child’s private education. Many parents consider private education as an investment for their child’s future. Some of society believe that better social and career advantages are afforded to the private and selective school educated. But lets consider those from lower socio economic backgrounds. What level playing field do they have in relation to equal achievements. They are usually left without any choice or selection of schooling options leaving their education and resources disadvantaged. They ultimately have to attend their local school which may also be in an underprivileged area where they may struggle with low achieving students.
I think more emphasis and planning should be placed on underprivileged students and schools in underprivileged areas and more understanding in regards to what is a “right” and a “privilege” in school education.