Various reports over the past decades have highlighted increasing inequality in educational achievement. Photo / Getty Images
Editorial
Education is one of our most critical sectors, and it is hardly surprising, therefore, that education policies and practices are often among the most controversial.
Government ministers want to make their mark on the portfolio, research and other international developments offer continually evolving ways of looking at the way in
which we teach and learn, societal changes mean schools increasingly take on a larger role in children's lives - all of which can mean increased funding pressures and regular changes to systems, processes, learning models, curriculums, and measures of achievement.
Those changes, and increasing immigration and mobility, mean parents have often learnt in different places and ways to their children, which can make understanding new systems and supporting children in their learning difficult, too.
The overall result can be one of confusion and alienation, when parents should be able to rest assured their school is equipping their child with what they need in order to go confidently and competently out into the world.
Various reports over the past decades have highlighted increasing inequality in educational achievement. Alongside that, the egalitarian notion of a free state education is fast becoming a myth, as the cost of the basics, plus "voluntary" donations for all the extras, puts immense pressure on families.
