Dear John,

Your review is like inhaling an enormous breath of fresh air. At a time when so many of our university academics seem increasingly politically aligned and engaged in the socialization of education, it is refreshing to see QUT displaying self responsibility and getting on with the real job.

Conversely, those seemingly politically aligned and driving socialization, seem to believe that more political alignment and more socialization are the answer to their funding and reputational woes.

You suggest that one of the great myths is that <<Universities can regain the golden age by resisting neoliberalism and managerialism>>.

If I were to equate these “isms” with politicization and socialization, I might challenge you that these are just myths. That said I don’t know what the “golden age” is that is referenced however, I do think that C.P. Snow in his Rede Lecture was very much on the money.

Except it seems for QUT.

Thanks for the article.

The answer for all universities and their economic survival is online. Online courses can be mass produced for a volume consumption Market/demographic.
The continuing roll out of the fibre to the home NBN, will assist in this outcome.
And second year students may be able to defray some/all their fees, by assisting first year students with their online enquiries? Ditto third, forth, fifth and post grad students?
This will also allow students to review their own studies and enlarge/update information, in a win/win/win outcome?
The production of higher education DVD's, will also provide an additional source of income from core education activities. And allow some students to purchase/review lecture material, particularly those who need to work part time, in order to attend university courses?
As an interesting aside, a long term study followed a number of US students from 62, till recently.
Around 50% of the sample had pre-schooling to improve their reading skills/information absorbing capacities; the other 50% missed out.
The very different long term outcomes were stark!
Children who had not learned to read by year 2, invariably left school illiterate.
Those that had the pre-schooling that enhanced their reading skills, were better more attentive students, who as a demographic, were more likely to graduate from high school, get good jobs, buy a house etc/etc.
The others were more likely to drop out, become long term welfare recipients, contribute to generational poverty and post code poverty traps; and or, end up in prison.
A recent survey of voters armed with this pertinent information, saw 9 out of 10 voters, declaring they would be prepared to change their voting intentions, if one party, were to legislate compulsory pre-schooling! [Information is power!]
All education, but particularly higher education, absolutely needs as a prerequisite essential, a solid sound foundation!
Rhrosty.

Dear Rhosty,

your first para tells me you didn’t bother reading this article, the rest of your post is a mixture of a party political broadcast and a malfunction in your “tin foil” head gear.

Dear Spindoc: Wrong on all counts, as usual. And typical play the man offensive rubbishing, when you have nothing of actual substance to contribute! Rhrosty.

Rhosty,

Regarding your suggestion of compulsory pre-school (which, btw, is in place now in WA)..I wonder why the Finnish system is so successful, as their children start school at seven years-old?

http://www.thedailyriff.com/articles/the-finland-phenomenon-inside-the-worlds-most-surprising-school-system-588.php

Could it be that there is more to successful education than bunging very young children into school willy-nilly, especially when the basic model is flawed

John, managerialism and neoliberalism are inherently at odds. I'm not sure why you conflate them in your article?

I also disagree that managerialist policies designed to implement specific processes that are themselves intended to produce certain outcomes, but often mistake compliance with process for results, can be in any way productive of good teaching or research. If the processes are indeed well-designed and the policies themselves well-considered, then they can lead to a focus of effort (the Manhattan Project is a famous exemplar, but even there the most useful outcomes were derived from people accepting considerable personal risk to step outside the policies imposed by risk-averse managers). If, as is more common, the processes are chosen for ease of monitoring, or convenience of managerial implementation, then the outcomes are bound to be constrained to minimally-compliant and useless fluff, whatever the grandiose goals.

Otherwise, a good article and presumably a decent read from Coaldrake and Stedman, even if it sounds like something of an apologetic rather than analysis as presented.

According to wikipedia only around 500 children are homeschooled in the entire country.

"In Finland homeschooling is legal[42] but unusual (400–600 children[43]). The parents are responsible for the child getting the compulsory education and the advancements are supervised by the home municipality.[42] The parents have the same freedom to make up their own curriculum as the municipalities have regarding the school, only national guiding principles of the curriculum have to be followed.

Choosing homeschooling means that the municipality is not obliged to offer school books, health care at school, free lunches or other privileges prescribed by the law on primary education, but the ministry of education reminds they may be offered. The parents should be informed of the consequences of the choice and the arrangements should be discussed.[44]"

That means that home-schooling is around 1/4 as prevalent per capita as it is in Australia, where around 15,000 children are home-schooled, according once again to Wikipedia.

Somehow lost the first sentence in the post immediately preceding, which expressed my surprise that Poirot champions the Finnish model when she is an advocate of home-schooling.

Anti,

It's not surprising that homeschooling is rare in that country with a far superior system of education.

Is it really surprising that I have a view on education models, especially those which show up the failings of our own.

I'll just add that the homeschooling requirements and responsibilities in Finland seem pretty much parallel with those in my state.

Perhaps, Poirot, but the Finns seem generally far more socially compliant and homogenous than Australians. In a society such as ours, where false dichotomies are deliberately created, or worse, false congruencies are assumed as part of policy, I suspect a Finnish educational model would produce far more home-schooling, whatever the claimed benefits that model may possess.

Let's face it, a large number of those who home-school here are well able to afford a very expensive education for their children, unarguably as good as anything available anywhere except on particular and narrow metrics that are often more about religion or social issues than imparting knowledge.

According to the ABC some 50,000 children are being home-schooled, not the 15,000 that wikipedia cites, most of them illegally...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-28/thousands-of-parents-illegally-home-schooling/3798008

However, all that is somewhat irrelevant to the article, I was just interested by your bringing it up.

Antsceptic,
The difference in Finland is the peoples' mentality not their education system. even if you were to bring that system here it would still be run by Australians.

Finland has very cold bitter winters, where the indoors are routinely preferred?
One imagines this would be times where small children are introduced to books, home schooling, home computers, and a basic literary vocabulary?
One is in favour of fully investigating and completely understanding the Finnish education model!
And if there is something there that could improve our education outcomes, well let's look at it.
One of the aspects seem to be a very different and much more egalitarian funding model, and few if any private schools?
The previously referred to US study, is worth examining, for the same reasons?
Reportedly, WA spends more on public education per student than any other state.
One suspects their compulsory pre-schooling is part of the reason for the additional outlay?
One also expects this factor and general education spend, will improve general literacy, numeracy, high school graduation rates, and consequent improved, whole of adult life, productivity outcomes etc.
Rhrosty.