In Australia over the last 30 years there have been steady increases in private school enrolments while state school enrolments have declined. It is likely that the enrolment trend towards private schools will be accelerated by government funding policies that undermine public confidence in the future of a strong and socially representative public school sector.
Anxieties about their children’s futures means that many parents are looking for alternatives other than their local high school. Their choice of a more selective private education for their children is supported by Federal and State governments, the media and often the social groups in which parents move. Education has become a personal responsibility rather than a public service.
Relatively wealthy and middle income parents who send their children to the local public school, or whose children gain entry to selective classes and schools in the public system, are perceived to be taking advantage or ‘parking’ their child to save paying private school fees. This increases pressure on parents to choose private schools for their children even when this is not their preferred position, and implies that by paying for a private school, parents are giving their children extra or superior educational opportunities.
However, this is not always the case. We do not often hear about the parents and students who have chosen to change from a private school to a local state school. While the total number of students in this position may be small, it is not insignificant. Last year I conducted a small research project that provided some background information about such students and their families. This research examined the experiences of a number of secondary students living in areas of Sydney with higher than average private school numbers, who changed from a private school to a state school. In Mosman the proportion of secondary students attending private schools is double the state average, while in the inner west only one in two students attend state high schools.
Although most students in the study had attended their local state primary school, the parents interviewed had not seriously considered local high schools for their children’s secondary education. Parents felt that local state high schools performed less well than local state primary schools and lacked the resources to deliver quality education.
According to Robert, father of two boys who now attend their local state high school, ‘Three years ago, you could see that secondary state