School Choice: What Motivates Parents

Abstract

<p>The educational system in Australia today is</p> <p>radically different from the school systems of</p> <p>the past. As Mark Porter (2010), Chairman of</p> <p>the Independent schools Council of Australia</p> <p>writes:</p> <p>The expanding role of the federal government in</p> <p>school education and the sustained growth of the</p> <p>independent sector are major developments which</p> <p>have influenced the nature of schooling in this</p> <p>country. (p. 2)</p> <p>The rise of the independent sector has given</p> <p>parents choice when it comes to selecting a</p> <p>school for their children. This increase in choice</p> <p>has been accompanied by a change of focus in</p> <p>Australian education. There has been a move in</p> <p>two major policy directions, marketisation and</p> <p>school performance. Both of these policies can</p> <p>be seen through a lens of competition, choice,</p> <p>the increasing emphasis on accountability, value</p> <p>adding to the curriculum through the addition</p> <p>of extra curricular activities, and the move to</p> <p>make the consumers of education bear the costs</p> <p>(English, 2009).</p>