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],…
Gough Whitlam dead: Martyr for a moment, hero for a lifetime http://t.co/nd39U3Nvpo— Malcolm Fraser (@MalcolmFraser12) October 20, 2014
There remains no doubt in the mind of the Victorian Auditor-General about the challenges facing Rural and Regional Victorians. Mr. John Doyle, Auditor-General for Victoria has published the current assessment of Access to Education for Rural Students [April 2014]. This report highlights the lack of evidence-based planning for the DEECD and the challenges for the education sector as a whole.…
Those of us interested in the performance of education systems broadly [at a professional or policy level] or perhaps those of us interested in the specifics of educational results [perhaps as a business-owner, looking for a skilled pool of workers or as a parent, concerned for the future of those most-dear] should equally be interested in two [somewhat juxtaposed] reports…
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,…