There has clearly been a drift away from public school education but what has caused this drift? What do parents really think of Australia’s schools? Do more parents of public school children aspire to join this drift to the independents? A search for answers to these and other questions prompted a study conducted by ACER and ACNielsen into parental attitudes to private and public schools.
Should you send your kids to a Private of Public School?
The NSW Department of Education is conducting a review of selective schools. The minister favours opening them up to local enrolments to make them more inclusive. The equity benefits of this have been highlighted but my experience suggests if it also reduces the "pressure cooker" effect of selective schools and promotes a more realistic view of ATAR results, it may be beneficial for the mental health of students.
Few topics are more passionately debated in Australia than whether you should send your kids to a private or public school. Does spending a fortune on your child’s education lead to better opportunities or are you just paying for expensive uniforms and the chance to walk through a sandstone gate?
January 28, 2014: David Gillespie, Sara Leonardi-McGrath and Katie Hopkins weigh in on the debate over private schools and public schools in Australia.
Should you send your kids to a Private of Public School?
If private schools offer little academic value over public schools, why do 35% of Australian parents continue to choose to pay the hefty fees rather than sending their child to the local state school?
The lesson from Canada: why Australia should have fewer selective schools
The growing ethnic segregation of our schools sees white flight from selective schools to private schools and their single minded pursuit by immigrant families, underlining how culture lies at the heart of educational achievement, beyond resources and government spending.
As families increasingly turn away from their local public schools, our kids are less likely to experience the full range of our diverse society.
