Gonski 2.0 funding in Australia

Principals in the main will be pleased that Gonski 2.0 has now been federally legislated.  The needs- based funding that it provides should allow Principals to apply for funds to create flexible situations like aide support for an autistic child in a main stream classroom, or to pay for a researcher to find alternative learning programs for main stream students who are battling to master the basics to move on to new learning, especially in subjects like mathematics.  The latter is not a matter of being 'behind' and 'catching up' it is more about ensuring that gaps in the learning mastery do not develop.  Some students take longer to master processes and concepts and given best practice teaching should be able to progress at a rate suitable to their learning capacities.

Even prior to Gonski 2.0 I am sure many Principals were already spending part of their one line budgets creating these flexible learning arrangements.

I had to allow myself a small chuckle over the the current Prime Minister almost crowing about Gonski 2.0 being needs-based funding.  Maybe the federal politicians of today's Australia cannot recall or did not know that in the period 1972-1974 the famous Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam commissioned Professor Karmel to carry out an investigation into school education across Australia.  The resulting Karmel report recommended needs-based funding.  Another example of the circularity of educational change that has haunted me all my professional life with its consequential waste of money on ill-conceived change or change that doesn't last.  Enough already with this blast from the past.  May Gonski 2.0 make appropriate learning more available to every Australian school student.



May the Force be with you!



GD