The effects of recent federal government indigenous initiatives, on schooling systems and teaching quality.

The issue in which I will be examining throughout this entry is the gap that is largely present in the academic outcome between indigenous and non-indigenous Australian students. My focal point, however, will be the recent federal government initiatives, programs and policies that have been established to amend this vast difference and ultimately eliminate the gap throughout academic outcome for students across Australia, and how these are ultimately impacting upon schooling systems and teacher quality.

To obtain an insight into the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous students academic outcome, we can observe the following graph which displays the PISA 2009 assessment of students’ reading, mathematical and scientific literacy results. This graph in particular examines the overall average of marks obtained from reading, mathematical and science literacy examinations, and it displays in percentages the average student achievement rate. It can be intently understood that there is indeed a visible gap between the academic outcomes of indigenous and non-indigenous students. Furthermore this gap indicates that non-indigenous students academic achievement rates are sufficiently higher. 

Through the establishment of recent federal government initiatives surrounding this evidence, it is made abundantly clear that this gap is a distinct issue throughout the Australian education system. In turn the introduction of these particular policies, initiatives and programs, is in fact the Australian government working towards altering this particular issue to obtain a more positive outcome. 

The ‘Closing the gap’ initiative is an undertaking by all Australian governments to improve the lives of indigenous australians and in particular provide a better future for indigenous children. In 2010 Kevin Rudd committed to working towards the accomplishment of six ambitious targets, from these, according to the Indigenous Australian Government website, two targets in particular were established to increase educational outcome for indigenous students. These targets aim to; halve the gap for indigenous students in reading, writing and numeracy achievements within a decade, and to halve the gap for indigenous people aged 20-24 years in year 12 attainment or equivalent rates by 2020. 

The closing the gap initiative could perhaps be considered the large umbrella initiative, as it generally conveys the desired outcome for indigenous Australia’s academic future. Policies and programs such as the Smarter Schools National Partnership Agreement and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Action Plan 2010-2014, focus more so on the steps and measures in which must be taken in order to obtain this desired academic outcome. 

The effects in which these particular initiatives, policies and programs are having on schooling systems and the quality of teachers is evidently dramatic. “School systems... are under increasing pressure to improve student achievement - and to do so in a way that reduces the traditional achievement gap between students... who have historically achieved or not achieved intended outcomes of schooling” (Amosa, Ladwig, Griffiths & Gore, 2007, p.1). The university of Newcastle has established a ‘Quality Teaching’ model, which aims to improve students academic outcomes through the betterment of teaching quality throughout schooling systems. 

I believe that the recent federal government initiatives do have distinctly positive intentions, I do however agree with the fact that these initiatives and aims carry some ambitious qualities. Through placing a time frame on targets I believe an extended amount of pressure is added especially onto schooling systems, however it could be argued that through a vast range of such elaborate policies and programs, schools are ultimately assisted heavily throughout this process.Furthermore universities have been effected upon having to raise their requirement and cut off levels for education courses. An implementation that has been established to improve teaching quality, wether this will positively or negatively influence levels of teaching staff throughout Australia, only time will tell. 

REFERENCES

Amosa, W., Ladwig, J., Griffiths, T., & Gore, J. (2007). Equity effects of Quality Teaching: Closing the gap. Retrieved from http://publications.aare.edu.au/07pap/amo07284.pdf

Thomson, S., De Bortoli, L., Nicholas, M., Hillman, K., & Buckley, S. (2009). PISA in Brief, Highlights from the full Australian report: Challenges for Australian Education: Results from PISA 2009. Retrieved from http://www.acer.edu.au/documents/PISA-2009-In-Brief.pdf