Education
Book Details

Undemocratic Schooling

Equity and Quality in Mass Secondary Education in Australia

Richard Teese and John Polesel with the Assistance of Merryn Davies, Margaret Charlton and Anne Walstab

This groundbreaking book presents a national picture of who succeeds and who fails at school.

Opinion

‘Undemocratic Schooling is a powerful examination of educational inequalities in Australia, and essential reading beyond just the fields of social science and education.’ (Postgraduate Review, July 2003)

‘In their contoversial book Undemocratic Schooling Richard Teese and John Polesel assert, on the basis of their anlysis of extensive data, that secondary education is highly undemocratic.’ (Professional Educator, June 2003)

About this Title

Ž Half the boys living in working-class suburbs to the west and north of Melbourne fail mathematics. Why?
Ž Why are so many young people leaving school early, when there are no jobs for them to go to?
Ž Are boys disadvantaged at school in comparison with girls?
Ž What makes good schools work?
Ž Is the best university one that attracts the top students, or one that offers the best chances for lower-achieving students?

This groundbreaking book is based on the largest social survey of secondary education ever undertaken in Australia. It presents a comprehensive picture of who succeeds and who fails at school.

Undemocratic Schooling brings together a unique range of information on who our students are, what they want from school, how well they think their schools work, what subjects they study, how well they succeed, and where they end up. It also reveals their larger views on matters such as jobs, careers, marriage and family, the political system and social justice.

In its imaginative presentation of the findings of this massive survey, this book sheds new light on inequalities in our education system. It reveals significant new information on:
Ž students’ achievements in relation to their attitudes and values
Ž students’ perspectives on issues from jobs to discrimination
Ž students’ destinations in relation to their backgrounds.

The authors offer valuable angles on such topical issues as retention and dropout rates; the relation between poverty and achievement; the gender debate; private versus public schools; and which universities serve which social groups.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Abbreviations

1 Economy and School

The Machine of the Curriculum
2 The Hierarchy of the Curriculum in Historical Perspective
3 Creating a Working-Class Space in the Curriculum, 1985-1998

Historical Progress
4 Social Progress in Access to Mathematics
5 Social Progress in Access to the Sciences
6 Progress or Regression in the Social Sciences and Humanities?

Hierarchical Curriculum, Stratified School System
7 What Makes the Hard Options Hard, and for Whom?
8 Selective Schooling and the Curriculum

Results of School
9 Early Leaving
10 Finishing School and Getting a Job
11 Going on to Further Study

Lines of Reform
12 School Effectiveness and Structural Inequality
13 Vocational Education and Training in Schools
14 From Mass to Democratic Secondary Education

Notes
Bibliography
List of Figures
Index

About the Author

Richard Teese is Professor of Post-Compulsory Education and Training, and Director of the Educational Outcomes Research Unit, at the University of Melbourne.

John Polesel is a Senior Research Fellow at the Educational Outcomes Research Unit at the University of Melbourne.

Book Preview

978-0-522-85048-2