Public vs Private.

Several decades ago, there were a consistent number of students entering public and private schools. It was as simple as parents who could afford to send their students to a private school did so, whilst the others enrolled in their nearest public school. A numbers game based solely revolving around parental wealth and occupation. Therefore, there was the standard percentage of 23% private to 76.2% public in 1941 and 24.8% private and 75.2% public in 1961 across a number of years, (Tovey, 2013).  As for in 2002, there was a real fluctuation in percentage depicting 31.8% of parents rushing their children to enter private schools leaving 68.2% of students in public schools, (Tovey, 2013).

The main reason for this change is for the higher demand for university entrance as well as various high scaled scholarships. This increase brings about competition between private and public schools. Many are of the belief that if a school costs more, it has a line of benefits that will advantage the student in their later years. This comprises of schools that are financially stable and are able to provide resources such as libraries, well-maintained desks, interactive whiteboards etc, (Hoxby, 1994). The increase of entrance into private schools is due merely to the consideration of their child’s interest in their high schools, progressing towards higher education. Some people are still of the mentality that if one can afford a private school, why not, as well as deep consideration of their social reputation, (Hoxby, 1994). That being said, most people have moved on to the single objective of providing their child with a solid education.

This separation between private and public schools affects the makeup of a community. Schools reflect a suburb’s culture. The majority of a similar cultural group attending a local school can influence other cultural groups to prefer enrolling their child into a school they see comfortable. Since most public schools give preference to those students of residence in close proximity, these students from outside that community result in attending private schools.

All my educational experiences were in public schools. Having had some friends who have moved from public to private, I did not really see that much of an academic difference between my school and theirs. The only major topic of discussion regarding schools in my circle of family and friends was through the difference in education between the selective schools my siblings and friends have attended as oppose to my regular public school. The competition and academic standard within the school was much greater than mine. The overall HSC results were of high ATARs as well.

Reference:

Hoxby, C. H. (1994). Do private schools provide competition for public schools. (Master's thesis)Retrieved from http://www.nber.org/papers/w4978.pdf?new_window=1

Tovey, J. T. (2013, August 24). Public primary school numbers up but it tends to get private after that.Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/public-primary-school-numbers-up-but-it-tends-to-get-private-after-that-20130823-2sh7r.html