School Choice in Education

For many parents, choosing the ideal school for their child/ children is one of the toughest decisions that they are forced to make. Some parents just send their child to the local public school because it is close to home and their child has easy entry. Others go beyond sending their child/children to the local public school and search further into other schools such as schools that are not in the area or private schools. However, although many parents would like to send their child to a private school (this topic is debateable), not many parents in Australia can afford it as it can be very costly especially if the parent has more than one child attending that school.

Before choosing the right school for their child, parents’ might assess their child’s strengths, weaknesses and interests. This allows the parents to know exactly what type of school is correct for their child. Some parents also consider the varying cultures and values of the different schools as they might want to send their child to a school whose values and beliefs are like that of the families. However, in Australia, almost all private schools have some religious affiliation whether it be Muslim, Jewish etc.

There are many sources that parents can rely on to get the relevant information about a certain school they may be looking into. The MySchool website which was first developed in 2010 gives parents access to basic information such as: whether the school is independent, Catholic or government; primary or secondary or both; number of enrolments in the school, number of teachers and other staff; proportion of indigenous students, attendance rates and gender mix among students. According to a video from TenNews on the 3^rd of March 2011, parents are more concerned with the facilities that the school provides to support the child learning and one parent says speaking to other parents about their child’s school helps them select the ideal school for their child to attend. According to Stephan Ball (1996), “such things as class size, teaching methods, teacher qualifications and quality, breadth of curriculum, extra-curricular activity of facilities, social composition, examination performance and opportunities” are comparative criteria that parents assess before sending their child to a certain school.

According to recent data from the Australian Bureau of statistics, the popularity of religious schools is increasing. The number of enrolments in Independent and Catholic schools are growing faster than that of public schools, “increasing by about 1.8 per cent in 2012, compared with 1.2 per cent for public schools”. Dr Helen Proctor from the University of Sydney said, “It’s one of the great paradoxes of Australian education”. 

In my opinion, regardless which school a child attends, they will get an education if they are committed and persistent. However, I agree with the fact that some schools are more academically better than others and according to statistics it’s private education as they provide better facilities to enhance the child’s learning abilities.

References

·         Ball, S. (1996). On the cusp: Parents choosing beteen state and private schools in the UK: Action within the economy of symbolic goods. International Journal of Inclusive Education.

·         MySchool Website (2010). Retrieved from: http://www.myschool.edu.au/

·         Sydney Morning Herald (2013, February 18). School Choice is not just keeping the faith. Retrieved from: http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/school-choice-is-not-just-keeping-the-faith-20130217-2el4a.html#poll

·         TenNews video (2011, March 3). Upgraded MySchol Website launched. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ukoqp_YhZxw