The S-files

Informed Consent: the Coming Mantra in Australian Education

S-Award (Class I) given to Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister, Australia

Contra Celsum is pleased to nominate Kevin Rudd for an S-Award for turning up the blow torch on education.

Citation:

1. Mr Rudd addressed the National Press Club in Canberra last week. He made a commitment that “all our children emerge from school able to read and write, with basic maths and science skills.” To many this would seem a very strange commitment—somewhat akin to making a firm commitment to the nation that he was in favour of people breathing. After all, is not at the heart of a school's reason for existence to teach children how to read, write, and manipulate numbers? Surely to commit to such things is to utter an empty pleonasm.

2. Sadly, as we know all to well, this is not necessarily the case in modern state schools. No longer can it be assumed that pupils will emerge from ten or more years of hibernation in state school classrooms with an ability to read. It takes a great deal of courage to acknowledge this profound dereliction of duty, and commit to rectifying it. What policies or mechanisms, then, does Mr Rudd propose to rectify the dereliction?

3. He said he was going to ensure that a new light would be shone upon Australian schools. Not the light of celebration or adoration—but the light of transparency. He was going to ensure that clear disclosure was going to be made of how every school in the nation was performing. He was going to make sure that parents knew everything there was to know about schools. This would enable parents to compare like for like schools. Mr Rudd insists that parents are entitled to this kind of information.

4. How is he proposing to do this? Each school will have to agree to individual school performance reporting as a condition of a new national education agreement which will come into place next year. If particular schools and states do not co-operate they are likely to get less funding. This is a critical component. As in New Zealand, the state educational sector in Australia is heavily unionised. Previous federal governments in Australia have failed to get state governments (largely dominated by pro-union Labour parties) to proceed against poorly performing schools—which of course would mean attacking union members, which the unions and the state government are trying to protect.

5. So disclosure is one thing? But what happens if a school's performance is sub-par? The Rudd Government will ensure that the principal and/or senior staff will also be axed or re-structured. Do it, or get less funding will be the message. Mr Rudd says that he believes some teachers unions are locked into a view of “equity” that does not work. This is certainly true of the education sector in New Zealand.

6. In this initiative, Contra Celsum would strongly endorse an implicit ethic underlying Mr Rudd's commitments—that is, that parents need to be empowered with the comprehensive information so that they can make responsible and informed choices for their children's education.

7. We note in conclusion that in these initiatives, Mr Rudd is being strongly backed by his Deputy and Federal Minister of Education, Julia Gillard. (We have already decorated Gillard with an S-Award, Class I for sterling commitments to high quality education. Read the citation, here.) Mr Rudd was attacked swiftly for his comments: Gillard acerbically responded on his behalf: “Can I say to the Australian Education Union, it is fighting yesterday's battles. We aren't on about school systems. We are on about the performance and quality of every school.” A real Education Minister is still on deck!

Mr Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister Australia: S-Award, Class I for actions in the course of duty that were Smart, Sound, and Salutary.