The Interaction of Public and Private School Systems

Abstract

The balance of the public and private school sectors in Australia is unstable and, if present trends continue, the function of public schooling will become primarily that of a safety net for the residue of children not catered for by the private sector. The trends include a set of processes which are affecting the nature and quality of education in all schools. Under the different environments of public and private schools there are unequal exchanges across the public-private boundary—for example, of bright and motivated pupils and of influential and articulate parents. The process fuels its own momentum as remaining pupils and parents experience the problems caused by an unrepresentative clientele. The problems inherent in Australia's particular arrangement have been recognised in a number of official reports since the early 1970s. Proposals for reform have not yet gained support from private school interest groups and have therefore not been attractive to governments.