Education Reforms In Australia

Negatives of Education Reforms

Discusss about the Education Reforms In Australia.

Noteworthy, an educated and skillful labor market is an asset for every economy hence the need for government to invest into education. Inevitably, technological and economic conditions are ever changing thus prompting the need for governments of both developed and developing countries to update their education system to enable their future task force to be productive and efficient contributors to the economic progress of their respective countries. The Australian government has recognized the importance of education thus it has made various structural and financial reforms to help boost its education performance nationally and globally. The various reforms implemented by the Australian government has had both negative and positive effects on its education sector.

Negatively, a higher education tuition fee is likely to encourage a decline in the university education enrollment figures. However, this move has reduced government expenditure in education .Education reforms must be student and teacher based in terms of quality for exemplary performance. Noteworthy ,skilled labor market emanates from training and education thus the need for the Australian government to invest in quality teacher and learner training programs to boost and prepare the Australian labor market. Further, there’s need for raising the academic requirement for the teaching profession through recruitment of brilliant academic minds.

Also, incentives to be availed to teachers so that they are motivated to do their work which will result into good student performance .Nationalization of the Australian national curriculum has accorded equal opportunities and experiences for Australian student population. Additionally, there’s need for more reforms in inequitable education practices which is evident in teacher shortages ,inadequate facilities and affordable tuition fees to accord equal student treatment. Largely, further investment into special need education system and early childhood education programs will promote quality and equitable education opportunities for all the students in Australia. There is more room for reform for the Australian education sector to make the students compete equally nationally and globally.

Recently, education reforms have taken root in Australia. Particularly, there has been a 1.8percent tuition fee increase for higher education students between the years of 2018 -21 amounting to an overall 7.5percent fee increase(Bexley,2017)Negatively ,higher education students have been affected in that those disadvantaged students will have to access credit facilities to  facilitate their education and pay it within short period of time. This move is considered burdensome and likely to cause a significant decline in the number of University graduates due to high tuition fees.

Reforms Implemented in Australian Education Sector

Quality education is a growing current and future concern for policymakers. Academic institutions unlikely to offer competition will be phased out by competitive education institutions. Due to the aging population, there’s need for more business oriented teaching models to prepare the future Taskforce for the Australian Job market. According to the PISA, Australian education systems has been crippled by inequality. Primarily, disadvantaged students are unable to access quality education due to their disadvantaged social economic background. Further, urban schools offer better learning opportunities as compared to rural schools (Perry, 2017).

Educational inequality may be due to disparities in opportunities, experiences and outcomes. Moreover ,inequity in education is characterized by teacher shortages and  discriminatory or inadequate teaching resource allocation and distribution(Perry,2017)However, its recommended that  the government of Australia implements structural reforms  inclusive of eliminating segregation and stratification in its education sector. The recently proposed higher education reform by the Australian government has addressed participation and partnership programs for higher education students.

Further, it encourages access to higher education for the Australian students and equity in institutions for higher learning(Croucher,2017)However ,the proposed reforms has increased tuition fees for university students despite substantial tuition fees cuts by the government .Notably, students will incur a 46percent increase as compared to the previous 42 percent(Croucher,2017)On the downside, students are expected to repay the credit tuition loan within short time span which could prove burdensome and a disincentive for most students.Also,the Australian education reform system ough to address poor performance of             Australian students in reading, Mathematics and Scientific literacy .According to the Program for International Student Assessment, the score of an Australian  fifteen-year-old student has dropped significantly(Wilson ,Dalton and Baumann,2015)Notably, this poor performance is 3 years behind the performance of a 15-year-old student based in Shanghai. Moreover, the performance of  an Australian 15 years old students in Science and Mathematics is equal to a 12-year-old student performance in the Korean Republic(Wilson, Dalton and Baumann,2015)Also ,there’s need for increased student participation in Scientific,technological,engineering  and mathematics disciplines by Australian students.

Noteworthy, Australian student performance is below the organization for economic cooperation and development average (Wilson, Dalton and Baumann, 2015)Moreover, the Australian government has implemented a higher education deregulation plan to curb financial education expenditure in the Australian 2014 budget. Government funding towards higher education fees has significantly been slashed (Yaxley,2016)The Australian government seeks to restore quality education through restoration of funding cuts through a $14billlion investment into the higher education sector.

Financial Reforms Implemented in Australian Education Sector

Significantly, this budget restoration will boost the number of higher education applications due to its affordability. This is because in the case of funding, students will pay less tuition fees thus accessibility and affordability for most of the Australian student population (Yaxley,2016) Noteworthy ,the Australian Budget 2016 was indicative of government commitment to education reforms in Australia. Notably, thirty-three billion point seven Australian dollars was allocated for education expenditure inclusive of an additional funding arrangement of $1.2 billion for the years 2018-20(Savage and King,et.al,2016).

Finances play a crucial role in resource allocation for better education performance. To boost equity in education,$118.2 million Australian dollars been allocated for disabled students in the Australian education sector. In addition, teachers will be paid according to their performance thus a way of boosting quality education and motivating Australian teachers. According to the Australian, education reform must address the quality and objective of education .Implementation of Collective planning, evaluation and critiquing learning techniques will go a long way in boosting student performance and future preparation (Hattie, 2016)

Further, exemplary performing teachers be highly motivated to further exemplary student performance through a revolutionary college or Board .Moreover, there’s need for significant investment into early childhood education system in Australia due to the existing gap of quality early childhood education system. Also, there’s need to boost teacher morale through availing incentives and ensuring equal resource allocation in all schools to boost national and global competitiveness and performance. Typically, reforms could have positive or negative impacts    However, sometimes the impacts are both positive and negative.

Following government budget cuts, students are expected to pay higher fees while government expenditure on education is reduced significantly(Sharaz,2017)Primarily, the budget cuts is expected to cause an efficiency reduction dividend of 2.5percent.Also,the budget cut is expected to cause decline in long run education vision of the Australian sector. The educational research sector of Australia will suffer from the inadequate funding due to existing and proposed education budget cuts (Shazer, 2017) Significantly, the Australian economy has been boosted by vocational and training reform initiatives.

Notably quality education providers and courses have been availed to the population in line with current developments. Vocational education and training is undertaken to prepare the current students for the future labor market. Apprenticeship programs are available for students and there's encourage partnership between education institutions and the corporate world to equip students who are the future labor market with the requisite skills for the requisite future jobs in the Australian labor market (Department of Education and Training ,N .d) Also ,the  Australia government is keen of eradicating education inequalities through its country programming Aid program 2014-15.

The Australian Government's Commitment to Education

Noteworthy,1.4m students were able to access learning facilities thanks to the programming Aid .Further ,Australia is committed to the universal pledge of universal access to education for all (Unesco,2014)Predominantly, inadequate resource allocation is a key indicator of education inequality anywhere and Australia is no exception. Also, a teacher shortage widens the inequity gap. According to the PWC, The Australian education system could benefit from a student-centered teaching approach for better student performance (PWC, N.d) The Australian government ought to identify the type of reforms needed in its educational sector.

Secondly, implementing a student-centered teaching approach to satisfy the needs of individual students for better overall student performance. Thirdly, recommendations should be sought from education experts before the commencement of the planning process for the reforms .Lastly, technological and innovative teaching practices and aids be incorporated into the education system .Quality teachers can be achieved through proper training .There’s need to make the teaching profession more attractive to encourage more students to join the teaching profession.

Further, the academic qualification for teacher training standards ought to be raised in a bid to recruit only brilliant performers who are likely to boost student performance in the long term(Australian,2017)Quality teachers are likely to produce excellent students and offer proper learning outcomes to students due to their ability to handle massive students with their special and different needs which is key for quality learning and student performance worldwide .Currently, Australia suffers from the shortage of quality teachers which implies that not all teachers have the expertise for the courses they are offering to students thus contributing widely to individual poor subject performance.

Inevitably, an unqualified teacher lacks the necessary skill set and expertise to pass the knowledge to students thus contributing to poor student performance. Profoundly, there’s need to ensure and maintain teacher subject expertise for exemplary student performance (Karp, 2016) Moreover, Unqualified teachers are unable to discern and meet individual student needs for better subject performance. Noteworthy, there exist few qualified teachers for the Australian Reading, Maths and Science subjects which has largely contributed to the poor student scores in those three disciplines (Hattie,2011)

Predominantly, teacher quality translates into quality education for its students. Teacher quality can be enhanced through raised standards of the teacher learning curriculum. There’s need for the government to recruit qualified tutors for the learning process of future teachers. Usually, poor teaching training standards and courses results into half-baked teachers who are unable to meet the needs of their students equally translating to poor student performance. Also, qualified teachers have skills which enable them to address different student abilities and disabilities as contrasted with unqualified teachers (Harmond, 2010)

Recommendations for Future Reforms

Nationalization of the national education curriculum for the Australian students is aimed at providing equal opportunities and competitive advantage to students .Ideally, national education curriculum is good because it provides similar opportunities and experiences for all students thus preparing them for national competitiveness in the future(International Education News ,N .d) Moreover, there’s need for regular updating of the national education curriculum to accommodate the day to day changes in the economic and education sectors, nationally and globally.

Fundamentally, an outdated curriculum is likely to inadequately prepare students for the future labor market thus resulting into workplace redundancies, inefficiency and unproductivity. Noteworthy, current students are the future labor market for the global and national economies respectively. In addition, there is need for updated teacher training curriculum according to the current sector advancement for skill relevancy and better teacher-student performance. Even so, there’s need for enhancing teacher quality through cognitive abilities (Ed.Gov,2012)Effective teachers are considered those teachers with  good qualities.

The recruitment of brilliant teachers is likely to translate into highly motivated individuals thus better student performance as compared to unmotivated teachers who are likely to have chosen the teaching profession as an option rather than a choice and passion for teaching. In addition, effective teachers posses personality traits that make them approachable and able to discern and meet individual student needs hence resulting into better student performance (ED.Gov, 2012)Profoundly, poor student performance has been rampant and growing in disadvantaged schools as compared to properly equipped education institutions in Australia due to resource discrimination thus boosting education inequality and poor education quality(Ellis,2016)

Remarkably, the government has introduced measures and policies which have been a bit effective in bridging the resource allocation and distribution gap in Australian schools .For equal competitiveness and in the spirit of quality education, it is imperative that all education sectors in the world practice equity in opportunities allocation and resource distribution for better student performance. Noteworthy, the Australian Curriculum Assessment  and Reporting Authority has been mandated to  conduct regular curriculum changes to suit the changing economic standards thus proof of the education commitment by the Australian government.

The Authority deals with the evaluation of the national education curriculum (Donelly and Witshire, 2014) There continuous need for regular curriculum review changes to accommodate the changes knowledge and economic times .Nowadays, education has been affected by technological changes which if implemented into the education system will boost education performance and make the learning process interesting for students through the use of modern teaching equipment and practices. The use of presentation aids in tutoring has been credited for capturing and maintaining student concentration and making the learning process easy.

Inevitably, economic and education systems are changing thus there’s need to accommodate the changes. The implementation of the Australian Higher Education and Reform Act of 2014 is intended to reduce government education funding while shifting the tuition fee financial burden on the students. Some economists view this move as detrimental to an increase in the number of university graduates. Notably, this is because despite the high demand for higher education, high tuition fees will reduce the number of university applications due to the proposed budget cuts and increase in education fees for higher education students (ICEF,2014)The budget cut move is attributed to expansion of the higher education sector.

Subsequently ,the budget cuts could reduce the number of higher education graduates instead of causing an expansion. Usually ,pay rises are detrimental to students from low social economic backgrounds who will find it unaffordable to enroll for higher education programs.The government of Australia has emphasized the importance of education  quality. Noteworthy ,there was an injection of $8.1 billion into education quality measures and policies(Department of Education and Training, N .d)The quality scheme provides information to all education stakeholders  while advocating for quality teaching and learning habits for the Australian education population for better economic performance.

Reportedly, the Australian federal budget is implementing a $2.8 Billion dollar funding cut to the higher education system (Bickers,2017)Additionally ,students aspiring for higher education will be expected to pay higher tuition fees which will negatively impact the enrollment figures for higher education. The move to incorporate budget cuts by the government is likely to make higher education expensive thereby resulting into few graduates due to the unaffordability of the high tuition fees. Most students emanate from low social economic background thus this high tuition fees will make university education an unattainable dream for most of the population (Bickers, 2017)

Implementation of the recommendations made by the Australian National Curriculum Review will boost parental responsibility through accessibility, eradicate curriculum crowding and improve learning conditions and outcomes for intellectually disabled students. Remarkably ,this move boosts equality and quality education among special and normal student population in Australia while boosting overall student performance(Adoniou ,Louden and Savage,2015)Nationalization of the curriculum has provided equal student opportunities for all students thus promoting competitiveness and similar learning outcomes nationally.

Furthermore, discipline learning areas, capabilities and priorities have been incorporated into the national curriculum to boost student performance. Inevitably, reforms in the education sector are vital to the successful performance of the sector in the Australian economy. Despite the implementation of subsidies, tuition fee deregulation and expansion, there’s a lot to be done in the Australian education sector. Noteworthy ,higher education expenditure has rapidly grown over the years thus the government intervention through its budgetary cuts(Norton,2015)

According to Norton, the expansion of education subsidy arrangement is more beneficial for the Australian education system without the government financial cuts. Through subsidies, most of the student population will access higher education thus boosting the number of skilled future task force. Notably, a skilled labor market is an efficient and productive labor market thus boosting revenue for the government and employers. However, budget cuts are likely to encourage few higher education enrollment rates and more future unskilled labor market resulting in inefficiencies, redundancies and massive layoffs.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, Education sector is a key sector for any economy hence the need for government investment and regulation to boost its performance. Typically, education reforms have negative and positive effects and Australian education system is no stranger to such reforms. Reforms aimed at quality and equitable education have positively impacted on the Australian population .However, the increase in tuition fees is likely to do more harm than good. Significantly, the number of enrolled university students will likely decline despite the high-quality standards due to the tuition fee pay hike as per the laws of demand.

The Australian government ought to provide teacher and student learning incentives for exemplary education sector performance. Teacher quality can be improved through higher academic requirements for aspiring teachers with an updated curriculum and high teacher curriculum. Usually, quality teachers are likely to boost student performance due to their expertise and skills acquired during training. However, most Australian teachers lack the expertise in their fields of tutoring.

Specifically, poor student performance has been recorded in Reading, Maths and science disciplines and the failure attributed to shortage of expert or subject qualified teachers thus the need for government intervention through proper training standards and updated curriculum. Due to the technological changes, the education sector being a contributor to the labor market skillset must adapt to the technological advancements for better student understanding and preparing the students who are the future labor force for the current labor market.

References

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