I have been spruiking the work of Heckman and related US research in Queensland for several years to little effect, and will do so again shortly in a publication in which I use education as an example of the merits of holistic policy. I argue that "A persistent failing in Queensland policy development is that policies in different areas tend to be developed in isolation from, and ignorance of, related or opposed policies in other areas. There is no unifying principle, no comprehensive strategic oversight of how policies interact." Education is a case in point, where for example the school-leaving age was raised as a knee-jerk policy based on simplistic analysis which failed to consider the broader educational, economic and social issues and evidence. Conversely, the extensive US evidence on successful early-intervention programs is ignored.

Early intervention and changing methods of educating the young seem to pay dividends as you indicate. The findings are similar to those reported by the child trauma academy, www.ChildTrauma.org and noted in several published papers including those of Bruce D Perry at this site.
The real interest is in the way the brain functions and how plastic it is, more so in the young. Nature and nurture.
Ways of thinking and behaviour can be altered, as any Government knows, thus propaganda.
Fear, trauma and rejection can be powerful drivers of outlook again as Governments know, viz terrorists in Australia, or people of differing colour and beliefs.
Early child hood trauma can alter the way the neural connections continue in the brain, for those that are retained, most being rendered inoperative, are those most frequently used.
Similar effects operate in the older brain though here the mechanism is not as clear and the effects moderated by past experience.
Why won’t a trial be organised? Shouts of social engineering, left wing rubbish are the common rebuttals of any proposal. Similar to the response to a trial trying toassess ways of looking at drug addiction. Though religious indoctrination and that of Australian ways is seen as democratic and useful for stability of society, no social engineering here.

Mind you not too much for Australia needs the less adjusted for the hewers and drawers of water for the elite, (adjusted?). Needs those whom trauma have made more amenable to authority and the belief that economics encompasses life, well for the lower classes any way. Besides which how can those who make war and lie expect to be able to do so if there is a thinking electorate wanting to be accurately informed? How can anyone be superior and righteous if there are few who contravene its mores?
Or is it just the common bind, the catch twenty two that those who currently rule have themselves been programmed to certain behaviour?

Faustino,
So you feel that a holistic yank approach is required in Queensland, an interesting concept. Would we go on to be a republic, and elect a President, who like George.Dubbya, is a testimony to the yank education system. All of these questions, and more when our good ol' yank mate Faustino returns.

Shonga, lots of policies interact with each other, in Queensland I've seen many which pull in opposite directions, and many which won't achieve their stated aims because they are framed in ignorance of, or in contradiction to, relevant evidence. To be effective, policies must be based on sound principles, good theory and empirical evidence, and connected with other relevant fields. For example, extending the compulsory school leaving age to boost productivity and economic growth without understanding the economics of this, and whether it wil actually achieve its aims, is bad policy. Will Queensland be a more attractive place for business investment if kids who want to leave school early are forced to stay on? I don't think so. An extreme case was when Qld DPI put two submissions to State Cabinet on the same day, one saying that the Government-owned Cannon Hill abbatoir should be closed immediately because of excess capacity in the industry (the beef industry facing reality), the other saying that it must be expanded to boost exports of pork which we couldn't sell here because of Danish competition (the pork industry denying reality). So arguing for holistic policy is common sense, nothing to do with the US.

But as regards early childhood intervention in dysfunctional/disadvantaged families, there is a vast amount of research done in the US, it shows what works, what doesn't, what gives the best results. In this country, The Smith Family (whose strategic policy head is American) is promoting ECI as the best way to deal with poverty. Whether one is pro- or anti-US or neutral, the fact is that a vast amount of good research is done there, and is publicly available; we should draw on it.

Thank you for a well reasoned piece, Andrew, which supports a section in my recent book - What Was It All For? The Reshaping of Australia. You might have titled it 'good parents produce bright children', for the causal arrows go both ways.

And as for policies pulling in opposite directions, we once had the situation where the Commonwealth was paying dairy farmers to leave their blocks while Victoria was paying them to start. Whole-of-government policies are actually very hard to achieve, because outcomes are always seen in terms of the silo from which people come.

I agree that much needs to be done and despair that we as a nation are so apathetic. Though the report from the USA sounds solid and feasible, as do trials in other western countries, the USA is remiss in instituting these programmes. Parents in the USA can barely afford medical attention for their children on their minimal wages, see that no matter how hard they work, there is little light shining up the road to 'happiness'. Working 12 hour days and often 2 jobs, many parents do not have the energy to look for answers. Survival takes much from all. When one lives day to day, looking 15 years ahead is like looking into the night sky and wondering at the meaning of life, its all a question with few answers to satisfy, where only the educated may consider the philosophy.

Instead of looking toward a culture that produces wonderful reports then does little to act upon it, is pointless.

We have the skills, we have the abilities, and many people willing to devote much time to this. Public servants should be kept to a minimum as they put so much red tape and rubbish in place, that it is night impossible to institute many hands on programmes. I would hope that this terrible problem stays at the forefront of the media and that there may be good strong results. Hope is a cruel word