9.1 The pursuit of the desirable outcomes described in Chapter 5 has implications for the organisation and structure of the institutions within which learning takes place. This chapter addresses some aspects of school organisation and structure which are significant in this connection.
9.2 Changing economic and social demands have led to successive modifications to schooling arrangements. Since the 1950s major structural changes have taken place in Australia, in relation to the length and organisation of schooling, the types of schools and in the provision of services, particularly for special groups. Some of these changes have been noted in Chapter 3. Twelve, and in some States 13, years of schooling are now available to all students, organized as six or seven years primary and five or six years secondary schooling. The minimum school leaving age has been raised to 15 years in all States, except in Tasmania where it is 16 years. In general, there is automatic progression from primary to secondary school. Victoria still operates a dual system of high schools and technical schools, but other States have adopted a system of comprehensive secondary schools. Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory have adopted a system of separate institutions at the upper secondary level, catering for Years 11 and 12. There has also been a considerable expansion in pre-school services and in the provision of services for physically and intellectually disabled students.
9.3 Organisational and structural issues have been addressed in recent State reviews of education (I). The general conclusions of these reviews have been that, if the school system is to serve better the longer term needs of Australian youth, some changes in the organisation of schools and the way they operate are desirable.
PROMOTION POLICIES FOR STUDENTS
9.4 Current practice for promotion through the school system favours automatic progression. Students generally move through the school by promotion of one grade each year and from primary to secondary school without reference to their success or otherwise during the year. Repetition of a grade is unusual and is particularly difficult at the transition from primary to secondary school, since separate institutions are usually involved and separation from the peer group becomes obvious. While promotion with one's peers has desirable social benefits it may have unfortunate consequences for student learning. It is possible that in most school structures there is sufficient overlap between successive grade levels for most students not to be disadvantaged by being promoted with their age peers, even though they might not have learned some of the basic skills taught in the previous year. It is also possible that students promoted in this way never learn what was taught in the previous year and are set to be failures in subsequent years. Williams (2), for example, in his longitudinal study of 10 and 14 year olds found a clear 109
association between early school leaving, poor performance at age 14 and poor performance at age 10. There is a trade off between the persistence of academic failure through automatic promotion and the behaviour problems which may eventuate from the repetition of school grades. Of course, academic failure may also lead to behaviour problems when promotion is granted. For some students repetition of a grade may be the only way in which they will attain adequate achievement standards at each level of education and acquire the competences necessary for satisfactory performance later in life.
9.5 Schools use a variety of approaches in their attempt to cater for the range of learning abilities and levels of perfonnance among their students. Some group students of about the same age according to intellectual ability. In many secondary schools, subjects at particular grades are offered at several levels of difficulty, allowing students to be placed in advanced courses in their stronger subjects and more basic courses in those subjects in which they are weakest. Other schools use ability groups, with a wide age spread of students studying a given subject at a particular level of difficulty. None of these arrangements is a guarantee that students will achieve an adequate level of knowledge or skill in a particular subject before proceeding to the next level of study.
9.6 The report of the Committee of Inquiry into Education in Western Australia (3), in its proposals for major organisational change in Western Australian secondary schools, recommended the replacement of year long courses with a system of course units of one term's duration, units in any subject area to be sequential and available at different levels of difficulty. Students' progress would depend on their having met the pre-requisites for entry to each unit in a sequence. Having completed a unit successfully a student would be able to elect the next unit at the same level of difficulty or a unit at a higher level. A student failing a unit would be able to repeat it or elect to take an appropriate umt at a lower level. The aim of the proposal was to encourage students to work through subjects at optimum rates and at an appropriate level of difficulty. To operate effectively, such an arrangement requires vertical timetabling, which allows subject units in a sequence to be scheduled at the one time and enables a student to undertake a given subject at an appropriate level of difficulty.
9.7 Effecting large scale change in the way students are graded, and school timetables arranged, requires the acceptance by the teaching profession of new practices. There will also need to be greater recognition by teachers and by the community generally that grade or subject repetition may be essential for some students if they are to benefit from schooling. The Committee believes that schools and school authorities should give serious consideration to increasing timetable flexibility so that students can proceed at appropriate speeds in the subjects they are studying, and by that means obviate the need for repetition.
ZONING OF SCHOOLS
9.8 With the exception of Queensland, a common feature of school organisation in government systems in Australia since the 1950s has been the practice of zoning, whereby children have been required to attend particular government schools according to their place of residence. Generally zoning occurred because of the difficulty education 110
authorities had in providing enough places in schools for all students and because of the policy of education systems to provide, as far as possible, equally for all.
9.9 Recently, however, some systems using zoning have relaxed or abandoned the practice. For example, in South Australia where primary schooling had never been zoned, secondary school residential entry restrictions were lifted at the beginning of the 1980 school year. Tasmania has a policy of 'controlled dezoning' for primary and secondary schools and, in Victoria and New South Wales, various regional initiatives have been taken to loosen zoning requirements. Other moves made by systems to free up choice of schools involve forming associations of schools as groups to work collectively towards providing comprehensive schooling services for the wider geographic areas they serve.
9.10 Several arguments are advanced in favour of dezoning. It is claimed that parents should be free to choose their child's school and the child's best interest should be the prime criterion for initial and later choice of school. There will be schools which, for a variety of reasons are not suited to particular children, and requiring them to attend and remain at those schools will be detrimental to all concerned. It is claimed that dezoning leads to greater diversification of provision within a system because it becomes easier for individual schools to develop their own special features.
9. II It is also suggested that abolition of zoning of government schools would make them more competitive, because no longer would they have a captive clientele. Dezoning of schools is seen as one way of improving the operation of the education market, enabling government schools to develop their own special characteristics in the way non- government schools are able to do and encouraging students and their parents to vote with their feet to promote good performance.
9.12 A good school i~ usually a reflection of its principal and ~taff. When there are staff changes, perceptions about, and indeed the performance of, the school may well change. In the government systems, where teachers are employed by central authorities, staff movements between schools are substantial and provide less opportunity to develop the continuity found or perceived in non-government schools. However, much lower resignation rates of teachers in more recent years have stabilised staff in government schools and reduced staff movements.
9.13 In government systems the teachers and facilities have to be used to the best advantage overall. While dezoning might improve the performance of some schools, substantial numbers of students would still have to attend the schools seen as having a poorer performance. The margin between the good and the not so good schools could, in fact, increase to the detriment of the staff and students in the second order of schools; this would be contrary to the original intention and could lead to greater inequalities among students. On the other hand, in schools that become less preferred in a dezoned, or partially dezoned system, departmental action could be taken to strengthen staff, facilities and options available. Offsetting action of this nature could be a means of protecting the position of students in an initially less preferred school, where school closure is not an option.
9.14 In the Committee' s vi~w, turther modification of the present zoning arrange- ments might well make a contribution to improving the quality of schools. However, given the responsibility that government systems have for the provision of educational services to all children, dezoning arrangements have to be constrained by giving a right of III
entry to students resident in the school district and by setting maximum levels of enrolment for individual schools. Care needs also to be taken to ensure that schools do not commit resources to excessive promotional activity.
POST-COMPULSORY SCHOOLING
9.15 Curriculum changes associated with rising participation at Years 11 and 12 and the need to cater for a more heterogenous student population may necessitate some new arrangements for post-compulsory schooling. Schools, as presently organised, appear not to be congenial to, or appropriate for, some students at the post-compulsory level. This has led to the development of new school structures, to students undertaking post- compulsory education via other avenues, for example at TAFE institutions, and to cooperative ventures between schools and the TAFE sector.
9.16 Attempts to reform organisational and structural arrangements at the post- compulsory level to provide a more effective education for senior secondary students are not new. Changes in structure have been proposed as ways of overcoming problems of fragmentation, small numbers of students on individual sites and the provision of an appropriate educational atmosphere for post-compulsory students. Initiatives which have been taken or proposed include:
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• the establishment in Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory of separate structures catering for Years 11 and 12. The matriculaiion colleges in Tasmania initially offered an academic curriculum and their principal aim was to prepare students for entry to higher education. However, in response to the changing composition and needs of their students they now offer a broader and more diversified curriculum. including transition education and leisure and community education programs. The comprehensive secondary colleges in the Australian Capital Territory offer a broad and diversified curriculum including a number of 'vocational' subjects, some of which are accredited for tertiary entrance;
• the establishment of structures catering for both Years 11 and 12 together with courses presently conducted in TAFE, for example the 'community colleges' which operated briefly in Tasmania in the early 1980s;
• the establishment of a new type of mUlti-purpose post-compUlsory institution which would bring together senior secondary school students and TAFE students, including those engaged in occupationally specific education. Some courses offered in the early years of universities and colleges of advanced education might also be included;
• increased use of TAFE by students as an alternative to Years 11 and 12;
• development of cooperative arrangements across levels and institutions involving - development of link and cooperative courses between schools and TAFE;
- amalgamation of several adjacent post-primary schools into complexes of schools, one campus of which would cater for senior secondary students.
Curriculum planning would encompass the full secondary years and teachers would be appointed to the whole complex rather than to an individual campus and might, over their working lives, teach students at all year levels (4);
- location by some large schools of senior classes on separate campuses, offering subjects which are recognised for entry to higher education, alternative Year 12 courses and the first year of T AFE certifIcate courses;
- formation of clusters or networks of schools in which students are encouraged to move between schools to pursue curricular specialisms offered at Years 11 and 12;
- building of special purpose facilities including libraries and music blocks for joint use of adjacent schools; and
- collective sponsoring by networks of schools of special projects directed at long tenn change in the curriculum.
9.17 There are strengths and weaknesses in all these arrangements. The perceived educational advantages of large and separate institutions at the senior secondary level are that they can offer a wider and more diversified curriculum incorporating considerable student choice; they are more adult oriented and provide students with greater independ- ence and responsibility for managing their own learning. Although initial establishment costs are high, it is argued that bringing together a large number of students at Years II and 12 can provide a more efficient use of resources. An analysis (5) of the proposal in The Ministerial Review of Postcompulsory Schooling Discussion Paper (6) for a broadened curriculum at Years 11 and 12 in Victoria concluded that a modest increase in the average size of Years II and 12 groupings would result in reduced recurrent expenditure per student or permit a further expansion of curricula offerings at no additional cost.
9.18 An evaluation of the secondary colleges in the Australian Capital Territory in 1980 indicated strongly supportive and favourable views of students in Years II and 12 towards the education they were receiving. This compared with the very negative attitudes of students in Years II and 12 revealed in a similar study conducted at traditional high schools some years earlier (7).
9.19 Separate provision at the upper secondary level has implications also for the junior secondary level. For example, in a Year 7 to 10 institution opportunities for teachers will be more limited and promotion prospects and mobility may decline. The power of truncated institutions of this kind to attract the highest calibre staff may therefore be diminished. Again, it may be more difficult to accelerate the development of junior secondary students in fields in which they excel, and to encourage specialist activities such as music where performance ability is not directly correlated with the year of schooling, than if there were a full six year structure. It is feared by some that a structural break at Year 10 might encourage students to leave at this point, but the experience of the Australian Capital Territory college system does not support this view.
9.20 The strengths of merging Years II and 12 with courses presently conducted in TAFE or of establishing multi-purpose institutions catering for Years II and 12, TAFE and some higher education courses lie in increased flexibility of provision, greater responsiveness to student needs and the potential for rationalisation of resources.
9.21 However, there may be practical problems involved in merging into a single institution speCialised functions carried out by separate institutions with different career structures for teachers and lecturers. For example, attempts to merge Years II and 12 and TAFE into a single institution in Tasmania resulted in industrial problems, largely because 113
of perceived advantages enjoyed by TAFE teachers in relation to salary, access to promotion positions and conditions of service and because of the failure to negotiate a common award for all teachers employed in the system. This led ultimately to abandonment of the concept in 1982. Similarly, difficulties could be experienced in negotiating adequate credentialling arrangements for students choosing from a range of courses with diverse purposes (see Chapter 7). The creation of a small number of large institutions would also exacerbate the existing problems in providing reasonable access for students in rural areas and smaller urban centres. Furthermore, there can be no guarantee that a single institution could cope simultaneously with a multiplicity of courses for diverse purposes, a student population with an extremely wide age spread and all the combinations of full-time and part-time study which might be sought.
9.22 To date, except for Tasmania, proposals for multi-purpose post-compulsory colleges have not proceeded beyond the initial conceptual phase. However, the Queens- land discussion paper Education 2000: Issues and Options (8) proposes the establish- ment on a trial basis of colleges incorporating Years 11 and 12 and TAFE at Hervey Bay and Alexandra Hills, the former to open at the beginning of 1986 and the latter the following year. Similarly, the Report of the Ministerial Review of Post-compulsory Schooling in Victoria (9) recommends that two examples of community colleges, incorporating senior secondary, TAFE and perhaps higher education courses for students of all ages, should be established by the earliest possible date in areas currently educationally disadvantaged and that priority be given to establishing a post-compulsory community college in conjunction with the proposed Western Melbourne Institute of Post-Secondary Education.
9.23 The development of cooperative arrangements between the school and TAFE sectors facilitates more flexible provision at the upper secondary level anti iw.;rt;a~t::s the educational opportunities available for students. Such arrangements also maximise the use of existing facilities. For some students the opportunity to study TAFE subjects for part of the day, taught to T AFE norms in an environment which is adult and oriented to the world of work, is clearly attractive. However, the disadvantages of such cooperative arrange- ments lie in the problems of moving across sites, timetabling difficulties, coordination of credentialling arrangements and the limitations of local institutions.
9.24 The development within TAFE of the capacity to provide alternative Years 11 and 12 has already occurred. While such provision has proved attractive to many students who would not otherwise have participated, there would be disadvantages if a major movement in this direction were to place heavy additional responsibilitities upon the TAFE sector at a time when it is having to cope with strong enrolment growth in other areas. A significant expansion of full-time course provision in TAFE at secondary level could change fundamentally the character of TAFE institutions and, as a consequence, might limit their ability to respond flexibly to labour market requirements.
9.25 In the Committee's view the widening of educational opportunities for students at the upper secondary level will have to come primarily through diversification of curricular offerings, differentiation among schools to provide curricular specialisations, cooperative arrangements among schools and TAFE institutions and through experiments of the kind at present under consideration in Queensland and Victoria. Any major restructuring of the school system, for example, by the nation-wide adoption of the Australian Capital Territory arrangements, would be extremely costly, particularly in a 114