OECD Calls for Australian Schools to Raise Leaving Ages

The Australian, 10 March 2009

A report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has outlined a range of recommendations for Australian education authorities to encourage high educational standards and student achievement, including increasing school leaving ages, increased funding for early childhood education and greater competition in the tertiary and training sectors.

The Enhancing Educational Performance in Australia report called for governments to consider whether they should increase the minimum school leaving age to ensure that all students were able to achieve minimum literacy and numeracy levels.

The report stated that ‘to ensure that the education system provides all school leavers with a minimum educational attainment level, states could continue moving towards higher minimum school leaving ages, though the costs and benefits would need to be assessed. However, it should be ensured that all students achieve minimum core skills, before leaving school.’

According to the report, teacher salary structures needed to be overhauled, school principals needed to be provided with greater autonomy over employment and remuneration of teachers and incentives should be introduced to encourage teachers to take up positions where they were most needed.

It also criticised Australia for its traditional view of childcare as a tool to support employment, rather than as a part of the education system. The report claimed that funding for early childhood education in Australia was significantly lower than the OECD average. It also observed that only 42 per cent of Australian children aged three and four years had been enrolled in pre-primary programs in 2006, compared to an average of 70 per cent across OECD nations.

The report recommended that early childhood education, childcare and school education needed to be incorporated into a single, integrated system. Finally, the report recommended that improved competition be introduced between tertiary and training institutions and that funding for post-school study be linked to the student rather than the course place.

Click here to download a PDF copy of the Enhancing Educational Performance in Australia report.

 

 

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