Abstract:
This paper deploys a modified version of the “policy cycle” heuristic (Bowe, Ball, & Gold, 1992) to examine the impact and influence of the Australian government’s education policies in the state of Victoria. In doing so, it focuses on two key recent national education policy documents: the Review of Funding for Schooling (Australian Government, 2011) [Gonksi 1.0] and the recently released Review to Achieve Academic Excellence in Australian Schools (Australian Government, 2018) [Gonski 2.0]. Broadly speaking, Gonski 1.0 sought to tackle the inequalities in Australian schools through “fair” and “redistributive” funding reforms, while Gonski 2.0’s purpose was to focus on the “effective” and “efficient” use of funding to improve student outcomes and Australia’s national performance – as measured by mechanisms such as PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment). I term the case study of these two national education policies as the “Gonksi Era” given prominent Australian businessman David Gonski chaired both reviews. The paper provides a snapshot of the findings of a larger ongoing project that deploys a modified version of Bowe et al.’s “policy cycle” heuristic to examine the influence and impact of the “Gonski Era” education policies specifically in the state of Victoria.
As part of a broader interest in exploring the ways in which the Australian national government is influencing education in the state of Victoria and elsewhere, this paper will present a “snapshot” of the findings that have resulted from deploying three of the policy cycle heuristic’s analytical contexts. The first being the context of influence. Here, I provide findings as to how the two policies of the “Gonski era” case study came to be part of the policy agenda and who was involved in constructing the problems the policies seek to address. The second is the context of text production. Here, I will provide findings as to how the policy texts are constructed and whose voices are reflected in their final versions and also importantly whose are not. The third is the context of practice. Here I will provide findings as to the influence and impact of the policies on the ground in schools and for key stakeholders in the state of Victoria and elsewhere. In doing so, the paper will begin to illuminate the influence and impact of the “Gonski Era” national education policies in the state of Victoria.
As part of a broader interest in exploring the ways in which the Australian national government is influencing education in the state of Victoria and elsewhere, this paper will present a “snapshot” of the findings that have resulted from deploying three of the policy cycle heuristic’s analytical contexts. The first being the context of influence. Here, I provide findings as to how the two policies of the “Gonski era” case study came to be part of the policy agenda and who was involved in constructing the problems the policies seek to address. The second is the context of text production. Here, I will provide findings as to how the policy texts are constructed and whose voices are reflected in their final versions and also importantly whose are not. The third is the context of practice. Here I will provide findings as to the influence and impact of the policies on the ground in schools and for key stakeholders in the state of Victoria and elsewhere. In doing so, the paper will begin to illuminate the influence and impact of the “Gonski Era” national education policies in the state of Victoria.