Media Release: AGPPA calls for more collaboration and less competition in Australian education
The Australian Government Primary Principals Association, AGPPA, representing over 5400 government schools principals around Australia strongly opposes the directions which the recently identified ‘Global Education Reform Movement‘ (GERM) appears to be advocating for children in our Australian schools.
Click here to download the media release.
GERM advocates:
- unhealthy competition between education providers,
- standardisation or ‘one-size-fits-all’,
- school choice over equity,
- accountability based on narrow high-stakes testing results.
Systems adopting GERM philosophies perform poorly in comparison with systems that are embracing high standards and equity for all children.
AGPPA supports the Australian education system moving in the completely opposite direction – towards a better way of educational excellence that matches the best practices of the highest performing educational systems. This way of collective professional responsibility combined with democratic public engagement will maximise opportunities for ALL students to achieve their potential in innovative and inclusive school environments. Australian Government school systems must continue to move:
- towards collaboration not competition;
- towards individualisation not standardisation;
- towards equity not choice for a chosen few, and
- towards collective professional responsibility not top-down delivery of centralised reforms.
Education policy must be long term, bi-partisan and informed by the profession. Let’s move now to make Australia a GERM-free zone.
References:
Pasi Sahlberg Blog (Global Educational Reform Movement is here!) http://pasisahlberg.com/global-educational-reform-movement-is-here/
Diane Ravitch Blog (How GERM spreads) http://dianeravitch.net/2012/10/25/how-germ-spreads/
Andy Hargreaves and Dennis Shirley (The Global Fourth Way) http://www.hbe.com.au/the-global-fourth-way-the-quest-for-educational-excellence.html