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THE EDUCATION REFORM - AND MANAGEMENT SERIES 1',4 ~~I S5L17 Public Disclosure Authorized EDUCATION REFORM IN AUSTRALIA: 1992-97 A Case Study Public Disclosure Authorized Susan Pascoe Robert Pascoe February 1998 Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized EDUCATEON T H E W O R L D B A N K Education Reform in Victoria, Australia: 1992-1997 a case study Susan Pascoe Robert Pascoe February 1998 CONTENTS i. Foreward ii. Acknowledgments iii. Executive Summary Pages: Chapter 1: A Sociopolitical Context for Victoria's Education Reform I Government in Australia I Victoria 2 From managerialism to "the Contract State" 2 Reform as "a sea of change" 4 Chapter 2: Reforming Schools 5 The context for school reform 5 Nature of the reform 6 Reform initiation 9 Initial reform period 10 Implementation strategies 11 Reform impact 15 Chapter 3: Flagstones of Reform 16 A window of opportunity 17 Budgetary pressure 17 Reform expenditure 17 Policy and technical expertise 17 Critical alliances 18 Evolutionary approach 18 Congruence 18 Structural change 19 The future 19 Preconditions for lasting reform 20 Reflection 20 Appendix A: Maxims for Reform 21 Appendix B: Reforming Tertiary Education in Victoria 22 Bibliography: Interviews, Printed Materials, Newspaper Articles 24 About the Author 32 EducationReform in Victoria,Australia: 1992-1997 FOREWARD Educationreform, once primarilya school-by-schoolendeavor, is increasinglya system-wideventure, in which small-scaleinitiatives give way to ambitious,sweeping transformations of rights,roles and responsibili- ties. Politiciansdisplace educators as the architectsand strategistsof change. Calls for efficiency,choice, and accountabilityresound. No longercontent with small-scale initiatives that focus on curriculumand instruction, policymakersin English-speakingcountries are rewritingthe rulesfor financing,organizing and deliveringedu- cation. Whilestudies of educationalchange at the local levelabound, there are few in-depth studiesof the imple- mentationof systemicreform. This study of change in Victoriahelps to fill the gap. Pascoeand Pascoe have gone "behindthe scenes"to tell the story of the wholesaleschool reform from the perspectiveof the planners and implementers.This is a case study, not only of the change itself, but of the changemakers-theirpurposes and tactics. In the certainty of their success,the strategistsspeak with candor about how they managedto remakeeducation in Victoria. As the case study unfolds,we learn of a skillfullyexecuted reform, driven by a New Right ideology and implementedwith the resolve of a new governmentdetermined to maximizethe advantageof a large electoral majority. The case study is cogent and even-handed. The authors crisply recount, but do not celebrate, this story of success. They balance the confident voices of the Victorian policymakers,with opponents' cautious remindersthat, althoughthe reforms have been implemented,their consequencesfor students are not yet known. The scale and complexityof the Victorianreform makes it of interestto policymakersworldwide. While this study does not pretendto offera reformrecipe for all situations,it does assuredlyoffer valuableinsights for policymakers,practitioners, and citizenseverywhere. SusanMoore Johnson Professorand AcademicDean HarvardUniversity, Graduate School of Education i i The EducationReform and Management Series, Vol. 1, No.I ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors wish to acknowledgethe kind cooperationof those education policymakers,advisers and commentatorswho agreedto be interviewedand quoted in this report.The authors interviewedthe Ministers responsibleforthe educationsector portfolios, the Premierof the State,ministerial advisers (past and present), seniorbureaucrats, practitioners drawn into the planningand implementationof the reform,and academicswho were consultantsor commentators.In all, more than 25 such people were individuallyinterviewed, transcripts of interviewprepared and checked, and pointsof ambiguityclarified. Quotations and citationsfrom this interview materialare giventhroughout in italicsso as to distinguishit clearlyfrom the printed sources.We also followthe conventionof oftenusing thejob titles of individualsrather than their names,in orderto improvethe readability of this study. Most intervieweesare identifiedby name or job title; someremained anonymous. In accordance withqualitative research techniques, the interviewmaterial was triangulatedto confirm its accuracy.Of course, muchof the materialis the perceptionof interviewees,valuable because their beliefs andassumptions underpin the reformprocess. The interviewswere set in the contextof the publishedand printedmaterials relating to the reform. Technicaland editorial assistancewas providedby Greg Berechree,Richard Carter, Kate Cunningham, Sharon Humphreysand Carla Pascoe. Education Reform in Victoria, Australia: 1992-1997 "A prince... shouldappear to be compassionate,faithful to his word, kind, guileless,and devout. And indeedhe shouldbe so. Buthis dispositionshould be suchthat, if he needsto be the opposite,he knows how. You must realizethis; that a prince, and especiallya new prince cannot observeall those things whichgive men a reputationfor virtue, becausein orderto maintainhis state, he is often forcedto act indefiance of good faith,of charity,of kindness,of religion.And so he shouldhave a flexibledisposition, varying as fortune and circumstancesdictate." Machiavelli,The Prince, 1514(Penguin Classics, 1961, p.56) iv The Education Reform and Management Series, Vol. 1, No. I EXECULHVESUMMAARY A. StrategicAssumptions Of The Reformers Victoria'snew center-rightGovemment ofOctober 1992 had a reformagendabased around five "principles": * a preferencefor marketmechanisms in the provisionofpublic services. * a focuson clearaccountability for resultsfor publicagencies. * the empoweringofthe consumersof publicservices. * the minimizingof govemmentbureaucracy forconsumers. * a professionaland business-likemanagement of public agencies. These"principles" amount to a rethinkingofgovernment's role away from "managing" a politytoward entering into a "contract"with its citizens. In schooleducation these refomn assumptions led to a reform whichwas both systemicand structural: * govemmentschools were offeredsite-based management. * schoolsand principalswere made more accountable. * parentswere givenincreased access to localdecision-making and betterknowledge about their children'sacademic attainment. * thecentral bureaucracy was reducedin sizeand authority. * schoolcouncils and principalswere givenincreased power "inside the schoolfence". B. Commonalitiesand DifferencesAcross Education Sectors Thesame principleswere applied in tertiaryeducation, but becauseAustralia is a federalsystem, these parallel reforms occurredin a differentsequence and with differentmechanisms. (Refer Appendix.) Sector Vocationaleducation Higher Education and training(VET) Earlier cycle of reform 1989-92 1987-91 (national) Current cycle of reform 1993-present 1996-present in Victoria I .Preference for market Development of an "open training market" Support for private campus at Docklands mechanisms ccounta lity or nnua ontracts with training Land Grants for new results Institutes campuses 3.Empowering of Rationalized Industry Training Boards Greater Student choice consumers and State Training Board by convergence of VET and higher education A.Minimizinggovernment Reduced size of head office Political support for Federal bureaucracy cuts in total funding 5.Business-like Amalgamations of training Institutes, Legislative changes to management with each other and with universities membership of governing _ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __I councils Education Reforn in Victoria, Australia: 1992-1997 v C. The Key Players Schools VET Higher Education Agenda-setting academics industryleaders vice-chancellors bureaucrats unionofficials academics unionofficials nationalbureaucrats federal bureaucrats student leaders unionofficials Policyframing academics state bureaucrats vice-chancellors bureaucrats InstituteDirectors and federal bureaucrats principals Councils universitycouncils Implementation bureaucrats state bureaucrats vice-chancellors principals InstituteDirectors and local bureaucrats Councils D. Management Of Key Players The reformersin schooleducation excluded union officials from the processand enlisted school principals as their change agents. To minimizelabor disruption,teachers were promised protection from direct staff reductionsand givenfinancial incentivesto eitheraccept performanceevaluation or retire early. The Victoria governmentdeveloped a comprehensivecommunications and feedback strategyfocused on key allies (principals)and the generalpublic. This strategy was maintainedbeyond reform launch - i.e. throughout implementation. In tertiary education,unions and studentorganizations were excluded. Institute Directors, vice-chancellors and their councilswere enlisted. vi The Education Reform and Management Series, Vol. 1, No. I E. Stages Of The Reform Process Schools VET Higher Education * schoolsclosure * anationaltrainingreform * theDawkins reform of agendawas alreadycommenced 1987-91was already ernbedded * federalcuts to university funding Implementation * opt-inopportunity to *private providerswere * Statesupport for join Schools ofthe Future registered to compete for private campus at * problems were "debugged" publictrainingfunds Docklands inevolutionarystyle * the Institutes were put * MinisterialReviewof * theprincipalswere on annual contracts universitycouncils