The current approach to education in Australia, as reflected in the New South Wales Bilateral Agreement and national funding models, underscores an increasing reliance on neoliberal principles. These policies prioritise efficiency, accountability, and standardised performance metrics, shaping education into a market-driven enterprise where schools and students are treated as economic units rather than as participants Continue reading »
education
The Cambridge Dictionary defines a bigot as “a person who has strong, unreasonable beliefs, and who does not like other people who have different beliefs or a different way of life”. Bigotry is an individual attitude characterised by two distinct dimensions, baseless beliefs and an intolerance of others, and is exemplified by xenophobia, racism and Continue reading »
When power oppresses, civil society must hold it to account. Like media and the arts, university campuses in Australia have become sites of censorship and suppression of free speech on the question of Palestine. In fact, the level of repression faced by pro-Palestine staff and students, and the stifling atmosphere, have led to the establishment Continue reading »
The 2025 school year is under way, and every young Australian is sharing the experience of renewing friendships and the routines of school and learning. But, these days, students are far less likely to be sharing the same type of school, as we are increasingly herding students into schools which have less in common than Continue reading »
A stand-off between the Albanese Government and the NSW and Queensland Governments over public school funding has been going on for more than a year. The longer it lasts, the more public schools will lose. If it is not resolved, public schools in the two states could lose nearly $40 billion in funding over the Continue reading »
It began with a whisper. A voice, quiet but clear, weaving its way through the fabric of Australian society, carrying with it a simple, but radical, idea: that power should belong to the people, not just those who sat in Parliament House. At the heart of this movement was an historian, and a woman of Continue reading »
The Council of the Australian Association of University Professors has welcomed the announcement of a Federal Parliamentary inquiry into the quality of governance at Australian higher education providers. The governance of Australian universities faces significant challenges, with systemic issues and breakdowns in university governance affecting their functioning at all levels. University management currently operates with no Continue reading »
Almost no checks are in place to ensure training is not used to clamp down on human rights and peaceful dissent, say campaigners
This is a real time petri dish experiment on how to transform Britain's education system, argues Neal Lawson
This series is built on the firm belief in “a paradigm of care” being the answer to the cancer of neoliberal economic rationalism, and its bedfellows bullying managerialism, monetarism and compliance surveillance. But following the maxim that “no one likes a whinger”, I am also advocating the timeless message from Swiss American psychiatrist and expert Continue reading »