Which performs better: State Schools, Independent Schools or Catholic Schools?

In 2009 a PISA report (see previous blog entry for more information about PISA) contained a comparison between the three main sectors of education in Australia: Government schools, Catholic schools and Independent schools. This is the first time a PISA report has made such a comparison. When the results were not adjusted for the individual socioeconomic background of the students those students in the Independent schools did best, followed by those in the Catholic schools, and then those in the Government schools. But what is more interesting is what happens when the socioeconomic background of students were taken into account. Here is a direct quote (complete with footnote) from the PISA summary report:

Once differences in students’ socioeconomic background1 were taken into account (by adjusting the mean scores for student’s individual socioeconomic background and for the school average socioeconomic background), there were no longer any statistically significant differences in the average reading, mathematical and scientific literacy scores of students from the different school sectors.

[PISA Footnote] Socioeconomic background in PISA is measured by an index of economic, social and cultural status (ESCS), which is based on student responses to several questions about a student’s family and home background.

In Brief Highlights from the full Australian Report:Challenges for Australian Education: Results from PISA 2009.(Page 12).

You can download it here:  http://www.acer.edu.au/ozpisa/reports

It could be said therefore, for 15 years olds being assessed in the areas of Literacy, Mathematics and Science it doesn’t seem to make any difference whether they attend a State, Independent or Catholic school. Instead, what makes a difference is the individual economic, social and cultural background of each student. Their socioeconomic background in fact can make a quite a difference. The PISA report stated:

The gap between students in the highest and lowest socioeconomic quartile is equivalent to more than one proficiency level or almost three full years of schooling. (PISA 2009 p.13)

How do Australian School Result Compare Internationally?

Have you ever heard the claim that the performance of Australian schools is falling compared to other countries? The people who make the claim often aren’t experts, they’ve probably just read a report from PISA.

PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) is the only large international study carried out comparing the skills and knowledge of Australian school students with students from overseas. It does this by testing over 460 000 15-year-old students in 65 (mostly industrialised) countries. The two hour test covers three areas: literacy, mathematics and science. It is carried out every three years so academic performances can also be compared over time. The last time it was carried out was 2009.

If you’re interested in what PISA says about Australia based on their 2009 assessment I recommend the following report:

In Brief Highlights from the full Australian Report:Challenges for Australian Education: Results from PISA 2009.

You can download this report and others from the following website:  http://www.acer.edu.au/ozpisa/reports

My own impression from the PISA report is Australia achieves very good results in the areas of Literacy, Mathematics and Science, but there is room for improvement. The results from 2009 show in all three areas tested (Literacy, Mathematics and Science) Australia performed significantly higher than the OECD average. Some countries did score significantly higher than Australia. Six countries out of 65 scored significantly higher in Reading Literacy than Australia. Twelve countries performed significantly higher than Australia in Mathematics. Six countries performed significantly higher than Australia in Science.

If you compare Australia’s performances over time you will find that some of the results have decreased in some States since 2000. For example, Reading Literacy has declined in Tasmania, South Australia, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory compared to the levels those particular states achieved in 2000. Similarly, most states showed some decline in their Mathematical performance since 2003, with the exceptions being Victoria, the Northern Territory, Queensland and Tasmania which had no significant change. In Science there has been no significant change in Australia’s performance over recent years.

For more information on PISA you can watch the following video of theirs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ugz_1Clpsdk

Pedagogical Humour

Are you a parent thinking of becoming a teacher?

Teaching is not something I ever dreamt of doing before I became a parent. After I became a dad however, I discovered children are fun to be with and I started to think that Primary School teaching might be a suitable job for me. I am now teaching Grade Prep in my fifth year as a school teacher and I love it. If you’re a parent with young school aged children like me then being a Primary School teacher may be an ideal job for you. Here’s a few reasons why:

·        Job satisfaction can be very high in teaching. Young children especially are like sponges with the amount of information they soak up. Trying to give children the best possible start in their early schooling life is not easy but it is extremely rewarding.

·        Job security – Teachers aren’t made redundant just because there is a recession or a GFC. As long as there are plenty of children in our society teachers will always be in demand. In fact they’ll be plenty of teachers retiring over the next decade or so, so if you’re a dedicated, professional teacher with a permanent position then chances are you’re job is quite secure.

·        You can live and work nearly anywhere – Teachers are needed nearly everywhere. You can easily move to the country or overseas and still find work. For me I like living in the outer suburbs – the housing is cheaper, it’s close to friends and family and it’s close to where I like to go bushwalking. My previous job involved a long commute into the city, but now that I’m a teacher my workplace is not too far away.

·        School holidays – Many parents stress about how they will look after their children during the school holidays. For me however, every school holiday means rest, relaxation and time with my family. Wanting to spend time with my own children while they are growing up was an important consideration in becoming a school teacher.

·        Working in a room full of children is not as hard as you might think it is. In some ways being a teacher of 20 plus children is easier than being a parent of 3 children. My own children at home are hardest to deal with when you can’t give them 100% of your attention. You maybe trying to clean the house, or cook the dinner or talk on the telephone or trying to relax reading the newspaper. At school it’s different. Giving the children 100% of my attention is my job and because the children are given this attention they are generally settled and happy.

On the downside there are a few negatives that may prevent some parents from becoming a teacher. The main ones are:

·        Teaching is not for everyone. Teaching is something you need to enjoy and be passionate about. It is hard work and not everyone would find it matches their own skills, talents or passion. For me, I have passion for education and working with people (young or old) so teaching suits me well.

·        Going back to University for two years fulltime (like I did) when you have a young family to support can be a stressful experience. In some cases it can be impossible depending on your financial commitments.

·        The teacher’s salary is OK but it’s not as good as some jobs. In my previous line of work I received a similar amount of money but also had a company car with free fuel. I’ve never heard of a teacher with a company car. At the same time I’ve done plenty of jobs that are paid a lot worse than a teacher’s wage.

·        Teaching is intense work. If you’ve ever done regular public speaking you’ll know it takes quite a bit of concentration and energy. Teaching in some ways is a mixture of non-stop listening and public speaking all day everyday.

Having said all of this I still have days when I wonder whether there is an easier way to earn a living. At these moments I look back to jobs that I did previously and ask myself where would I rather be. Every time I’ve asked myself that question I have no hesitation in answering it – I’d rather be in the classroom.

Maths Song For Early Primary School Children

Here's a song I made up to help young children learn the combinations of numbers that add up to 10. For example, 1 + 9 = 10, 2 + 8 = 10, 3 + 7 = 10. It's really just a quick demo I made but the children like it. They sing along and copy the numbers on their fingers. Then I quiz them on the partners to 10 at the end of the song to see what they can remember. I also put a couple of stick figure people in the song which the children always enjoy looking out for.

Educational Joke of the Week

A mother mouse and a baby mouse were walking along, when all of a sudden, a cat attacked them. The mother mouse goes, "BARK!" and the cat runs away.
"See?" says the mother mouse to her baby. "Now do you see why it's important to learn a foreign language?"

Einstein Says...

Public Domain

"Never memorize something that you can look up."

"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself."

"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales."

"Creativity is knowing how to hide your sources"

Exams of the Future...

I once learnt to touch type by spending two days on a program that involved making a car on a computer screen race faster by typing faster. Considering how much time it has saved me since, it was two of the most valuable days I have ever spent learning a new skill.

While students still need to learn to handwrite legibly why not teach touch typing during Primary School. It is possible that by the time they are in year twelve they will be using computers during their end of year exams. Already in Denmark students in Upper Secondary Education are able to ‘utilise all types of aids, including IT’ in their exams (Source: Denmark Ministry of Education). In practise, this means that students are able to use Google as part of their examinations.

We don’t know if today’s primary school students will end up Googling their way through their year 12 exams. We could however take an educated guess that touch typing will still be a valuable skill for people in the workforce in twenty years time. If this is possibly the case then why not start teaching skills for tomorrow today.

About Me

Before I became a teacher in 2007 I had a number of jobs. These included Spot Welder, Meat Works Labourer, Community Organisor, Union Official, Personal Carer, Water Meter Reader, Window Cleaner and Kitchen Hand. For years my wife had said I'd make a great teacher. I ignored her comments as I had no interest in working with children. Eventually we had our own children and I discovered that it is worthwhile and fun being involved in their day to day learnings. In my mid-30's I went back to Uni, got a teaching degree and started my new career as a teacher.

I find teaching demanding and rewarding. It's not the hardest job I've ever done, but it is the most intense. Like many other people I hope to make a small positive difference to others in my working life. This is one of my primary inspirations for doing this blog. On this blog I hope to put forward my own take on current issues, educational research and history. I also hope to post some of my own teaching resources that I have come up with in moments of creativity.

Kind Regards
BB