COMMONWEALTH ENGAGEMENT WITH SCHOOL EDUCATION: A HISTORY (1901-2015) Grant Rodwell BA (Hons) (Tas.), MEd (Tas.), PhD (Tas.), PhD (N’castle), PhD (Tas.), PhD (A’aide) Submitted in fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Education The University of Tasmania July 2017 DECLARATION Unless duly referenced, this thesis contains no material accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution to Grant William Rodwell to the best of my knowledge and belief. It contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made in the text. I give consent to this copy of my thesis copy of my thesis when deposited in the University Library, being made available for loan and photocopying, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. The author acknowledges copyright of published works contained within the thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of those works. I also give permission for the digital version of my thesis to be made available on the web, via the University’s digital research repository, the University catalogue, and also through web search engines, unless permission has been granted by the University to restrict access for a period of time. Grant William Rodwell APPROVAL TO COPY This thesis may be made available for loans and limited copying in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. Grant William Rodwell TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements i Abstract ii Acronyms and abbreviations iv Australian federal governments viii Introduction 1 Chapter One The Research Problem and the Parameters of the Study 8 Chapter Two A Select Literature Review of the Research Methodology 21 Chapter Three The Kaleidoscope of Australian Federalism 54 Chapter Four Coordinated Federalism: Federation, compulsory school cadets and a looming war (1901-19) 79 Chapter Five Cooperative Federalism: the efficiency dynamic and the progressive years (1919-39) 101 Chapter Six Pragmatic Federalism: postwar imperatives and the Menzies years, Coalition governments (1949-72) 117 Chapter Seven Coordinative Federalism and Treading Softly: the Whitlam and Fraser Years (1972-83) 154 Chapter Eight Corporate Federalism: the Hawke and Keating years (1983-96) 188 Chapter Nine Supply-Side Federalism and Globalism: the Howard Years 1996-2007) 223 Chapter Ten Enter ‘Risk Society’: National Control and the Rudd, Gillard, Abbott, Turnbull Years (2007-2015) 245 General Conclusions 302 References 309 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My special thanks are due to my supervisors, Emeritus Professor John Williamson and Dr Joanna Vince from the University of Tasmania. Both academics continue to offer a highly consistent, knowledgeable and professional level of advice for the researching and writing a PhD. My thanks are due also to a team of librarians in a vast number of libraries around Australia, but particularly to the staff at the library of the Launceston Campus of the University of Tasmania. Finally, my deep appreciation and thanks go to my wife, Julie, who has shared the trials and tribulations of seven postgraduate theses, including a fifth PhD with me and who, as usual, has been most supportive during the writing of this thesis. ABSTRACT Beginning in 1911 with the mandating of school cadets for all Australian school students from twelve years to eighteen years, the Commonwealth has exerted its influence on Australian schools and colleges. This is despite the Constitution implying education to be a state prerogative. Section 51 outlines the powers of the federal government, and those not listed, such as school education, remain the residual powers of states and territories. This research attempts to analyse what is so attractive to schools and colleges for Commonwealth governments in their policy making. How might this influence of political forces be understood? Through an organisational framework adhering to the changing nature of federalism, a notion of history acknowledging political imperatives, and the analytical lens of Kingdon’s Agendas, this research argues school education has become an arena of competing political forces, and has been such since the beginning of Federation. The research establishes, however, Kingdon’s Agendas requires some tweaking to take into account the rising influences of risk society theory, moral panic theory and the rising influence of social media. While recognizing federalism is composed of the legal, financial and political, each stage of federalism since Federation has been a party to its own particular kind of policy impacting on school education, broadly conceived. In examining the politics of Commonwealth leverage on school education, this research eschews any notions of progress, or altruism on behalf of governments in respect to school education policy. It argues school education has become a field wherein policies are developed for party ii political ends. Fully exploiting the Constitution since 1911, finding any possible loophole, agenda-setting in policy through school education has become a major task of federal political parties as they seek and maintain government. iii ACRONYMS and ABBREVIATIONS ABC Australian Broadcasting Commission ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics ACARA Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority ACER Australian Council for Educational Research ACT Australian Capital Territory ACSA Australian Curriculum Studies Association ACPHER Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation ACU Australian Catholic University ADB Australian Dictionary of Biography AEC Australian Education Council AITSL Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership ALP Australian Labor Party ANU Australian National University APS Australian Public Service ARC Australian Research Council ASC Australian Schools Commission ATRA Australasian Teacher Regulatory Authorities CAE College of Advanced Education CAF Council of Australian Federation CCET Centre for Continuing Education for Teachers (UTAS) CDA Critical Discourse Analysis CDC Curriculum Development Centre CNN Cable News Network CoA Commonwealth of Australia COAG Council of Australian Governments iv COPE Committee on Primary Education CSCNEPA Curriculum Standing Committee of National Education Professional Associations CPD Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates CUP Cambridge University Press BOSTES Board of Studies Teaching and Educational Standards DEET Department of Education, Employment and Training DER The Digital Educational Revolution DEST Department of Education, Science and Training DETYA Department of Education Training and Youth Affairs DEEWR Relations Department of Employment, Education and Workplace DLP Democratic Labor Party DOGS Defence of Government Schools ELs Tasmanian Essential Learnings ERA Excellence in Research for Australia GDP Gross Domestic Product GFC Global Financial Crisis GST Good and Services Tax HECS Higher Education Contribution Scheme HSIE Human Society and its Environment IB International Baccalaureate ICAC Independent Commission Against Corruption (NSW) JCIPP John Curtin Institute of Public Policy JSSP Junior Secondary Science Project K(R)-10 Kindergarten/Reception to Year 10 LDP Language Development Project MACOS Man: a Course of Study MCEETYA Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs MCEECDYA Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs MHR Member House of Representatives MUP Melbourne University Press NAA National Archives of Australia v NEU National Education Union NAPLAN National Assessment Plan: Literacy and Numeracy NFC National Fitness Council NMA National Museum of Australia NPSI National Plan for School Improvement NSW New South Wales NT Northern Territory OBE Outcome Based Education OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development OUP Oxford University Press PLO Principal Liaison Officer PIRLS Progress in International Reading Literacy Study PISA Program for International Student Assessment PUP Palmer United Party QUP Queensland University Press QUT Queensland University of Technology SA South Australia SBCD School-based Curriculum Development SCSEEC Standing Council on School Education and Early Childhood SEMP Social Education Materials Project SMH Sydney Morning Herald SPP Specific Purpose Payments SOSE Study of Society and its Environment SOTF Schools of the Future (Victoria Dept of Edn) TAFE Technical and Further Education TAS Tasmania TCAE Tasmanian College of Advanced Education TEMAG Teachers Education Ministerial Advisory Group TIMSS Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study TRB Teachers Registration Board TSIT Tasmanian State Institute of Technology UK United Kingdom vi UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNSW University of New South Wales UNSWP University of New South Wales Press UTAS University of Tasmania UWA University of Western Australia UWAP University of Western Australia Press VCAA Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority VFI Vertical Fiscal Imbalance WA Western Australia WPR What’s the Problem Represented to be? vii AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS No. Name Party Began Left Barton, 1 Prot 01-01-01 24-09-03 Edmund Deakin, 2 Prot 24-09-03 27-04-04 Alfred Watson, 3 ALP 27-04-04 17-08-04 John Christian Reid, 4 FT 18-08-04 05-07-05 George Houston Deakin, Prot 05-07-05 13-11-08 Alfred Fisher, 5 ALP 13-11-08 02-06-09 Andrew Deakin, Lib 02-06-09 29-04-10 Alfred Fisher, ALP 29-04-10 24-06-13 Andrew Cook, 6 Lib 24-06-13 17-09-14 Joseph Fisher,