One gets to an age when one realises that certain people you met on life's journey hold significance long after any interaction or connection has passed. This is just a personal acknowledgement of the ten Years that have passed since Prof. Jack Keating died. I briefly became aware of Jack and his work with the VSTA [Victorian Secondary Teachers Association],…
Since 2000, the OECD has been evaluating the knowledge and skills of the world’s 15-year-olds through its Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test. According to the OECD, PISA results reveal what is possible in education by showing what students in the highest-performing and most rapidly improving education systems can do. More than 510,000 students in 65 economies took part…
For those living and working in rural areas, the importance of providing genuine pathways to skilled employment for local populations, particularly young-people, is paramount. We understand in great detail, the challenges of ageing rural populations and structural adjustments. This is more than just a "microcosm" of the challenges facing our national economy. Working in the field of skills development, labour…
The "teachers dispute" is still not settled. Telecommunications, Climate Policy, Labour Market renewal and work such as the Gonski review appear distant references on some future policy horizon. The treatment of education and skills as a simple cost in a budget, or some "sector" to "manage" fundamentally misunderstands the needs of a modern economy [which wishes to remain one] in this…
At a time when Gender equity is so prominent in much media coverage, both within Australia and across the Globe, it is also sobering to consider the structural challenges faced by girls entering the workforce and adult-hood for the first time here in Victoria. This graph shows Vet is Schools [VETiS] enrolments for Girls as a ratio of the Boys…
We shouldn't have to! It appears from contact with family and colleagues at what appears to be the largest state-wide teacher stop-work action ever held in Melbourne, Australia today, we are still very much in the cycle of what I like to call "retail economics and policy planning". It is sad to see such limited public debate about what is…
Vale Jack Keating. A teacher, colleague, mentor and friend; Jack, you will be missed. Those that have had anything to do with post-compulsory education in Victoria, Australia or around the world, will understand the loss to our field. Thank you Jack. Lector si monumentum requiris circumspice Links: Vale Jack Keating - The Australian 24th July 2012 Vale Jack Keating…
I wonder what our current debates in Australia would or could contribute to the need to measure impact? The recent Evidence-Based Education:Policy-Making and Reform in Africa Conference raises numerous challenges, for not only an education system [Ghana], but policy makers across all sectors of Health, Education and Treasury throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. The Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), and the Abdul…
Yes, a lame play on words, but still, the Gonski report - [Australian Government review of Funding for Schooling] could be considered a new "Aussie Pizza". Lot's of toppings, everyone has their own unique version, everyone would recognise one if they saw it, but no-one is sure that they can agree on what the "real" aussie pizza is. Of course,…