Schools can either perpetuate or redress disadvantage. They work daily with young people who are disadvantaged in various ways and they are also a crucial means of reducing such disadvantage. Schools must work with disadvantaged students to offset the practical, psychological, cultural and economic impediments to their education. They must also seek to confront the complex social causes of inequality. They need resources for both of these tasks and the necessary commitment. The entire nation's well-being is in jeopardy when young people are not able to participate fully in education or when their schooling is narrow and unsatisfying.
Inequalities in education persist: inequalities in retention, access, performance and subject choice. Most of these are linked to socio-economic status, gender and race. There are signs of a regeneration of income-based inequalities in education. And there are trends in current education policies which may exacerbate rather than alleviate the problems: higher funding levels for private schools at the expense of government schools, mainstreaming of "disadvantaged schools" programs, privatisation and commercialisation of public education, more standardised testing, more rigid and formal curricula and a narrow view of academic standards and basic skills.
In the past our inclusive public school system helped reduce inequality; now education appears to be reinforcing privilege and making it even harder for the kids of poorer Australians.
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Conclusions
The trends toward inequality in our schools and our society are not inevitable and can be modified by sound public policy. Measures which improve the economic status of the least well off, increase employment, reduce inequality and "civilise" the workplace are likely to produce significant improvements in community outcomes. Conversely, passivity in the face of the "inevitable" consequences of market liberalisation is certain to lead to unnecessary and significant social dislocation. It's all a question of what we are prepared to do.
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