1. SES
1.1. Julia Gillard Article
1.1.1. Meritocracy
1.1.1.1. Excellence identified and rewarded
1.1.1.2. High expectations - not based on SES - of every child
1.1.2. Low performance in school linked to disadvantage
1.1.3. More well off children who may have less academic ability overtake poorer children with more ability
1.1.4. Concentration on students from poor SES backgrounds - Creating an equitable environment
1.1.5. Parents need to know the results so they can work towards helping their children improve, or at least know where they stand.
1.1.6. Why use New York schools as a model for Australian schools?
1.1.7. Fears that schools will be 'demonised' as underperforming as a result of the student's SES.
1.2. APA
1.2.1. Poverty leads to poor academic performance
1.2.2. Poverty is difficult to escape
1.2.3. Poverty has led to inadequate child care and poorly funded schools
1.2.4. Children with better financial support are less likely to have these problems
1.3. Bullying in schools
1.3.1. Teachers knowingly overlook strict policies on bullying and violence in relation to students from low SES backgrounds or violent homes.
1.3.2. Don't want to take the refuge of school away from the students by expelling or suspending.
1.3.3. Doesn't help these disadvantaged students break out of the cycle
1.3.4. Schools valuing image, don't report poor student behavior.
1.3.5. Other student's refuge is being taken away because of bullying
1.4. State Secondary Schooling For All
1.4.1. Education offered hope for the middle class to escape their class boundaries.
1.4.2. School is a socially neutral institution.
1.4.3. Education should be provided freely and equally for all.
1.4.4. 'The dull, the normal and the brilliant all deserve special attention.'
1.4.5. Private schools breed a sense of inferiority for any who do not attend them.
1.4.6. 'No longer would class, gender or race prevent children from succeeding in life. Rather, individual merit would determine how far and high a child could rise through the ranks.'
1.4.7. Scholarship program gave a better advantage to those who already had an intellectual advantage. The '...government appeared to be fostering an educated middle-class elite.' To have a better chance at winning the scholarship ' ... you must seek to be a member of the upper income brackets ... '