ABSTRACT
A large achievement gap between rich and poor blights Australian education—and the gap appears to be widening. A dominant characteristic of the Australian schooling system today is that it is highly socially segregated by class and ethnicity. The international research confirms that the social stratification of schooling adversely affects educational experiences and outcomes; confirms and maintains inequalities that stem from family background; and has a significant educational and social impact. The fact that inequitable educational outcomes are a characteristic of Australian schooling has not gone unnoticed by policy-makers, and often policy is justified in the name of ‘equity’. The combined effect of neoliberalism in education in Australia has been to residualise and privatise our systems of public education. The neoliberal educational policy agenda has gradually reshaped the relationship between educators and the nature of their work. Educators and education policy-makers draw from a professional knowledge base that includes research-based knowledge about education, and knowledge derived from action.
