Welcome to Eureka Street

back to site

Section: Education

  • EDUCATION

    Can religious freedom and education coexist?

    • Jacinta Collins
    • 20 August 2024

    As the discourse surrounding religious freedom in Australia becomes increasingly contentious, especially in the context of schooling, we must address the growing perception that holding religious beliefs and values — and making choices based on them — is somehow discriminatory or at odds with modern society. 

    READ MORE
  • EDUCATION

    Poorer students priced out of $50,000 arts degrees

    • Erica Cervini
    • 14 August 2024

    University fee hikes have disproportionately affected humanities students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Despite promises of affordability, many arts degrees now cost more than $50,000, a significant barrier to access for many talented students.

    READ MORE
  • EDUCATION

    Universities struggle to keep pace with AI integrity challenges

    • Erica Cervini
    • 25 July 2024

    To counter threats to academic integrity posed by AI, universities need to continually update policies, alongside placing additional emphasis on examining what makes effective academic writing. 

    READ MORE
  • EDUCATION

    New schools funding model will likely entrench class divides

    • Chris Curtis
    • 27 June 2024

    In the new schools funding model, schools at the upper and middle parts of the parental income spectrum will find budgets getting tighter each year, and fees will likely increase. The worst affected schools will be those whose parents earn higher incomes but which have kept their fees low so that poorer families may also enrol their children.

    READ MORE
  • EDUCATION

    Are international students really to blame for soaring rents?

    • Erica Cervini
    • 11 June 2024

    The Labor government’s plans for managing overseas student numbers seem to be heavily influenced by the belief that these students are at least partly responsible for hikes in rents, housing shortages, and pressure on infrastructure.

    READ MORE
  • EDUCATION

    When does a protest become intimidation?

    • Erica Cervini
    • 08 May 2024

    Echoing their US counterparts, many Australian universities have also set up Gaza solidarity encampments with flags and signs like ‘From the River to The Sea Palestine Will Be Free’. Jewish students and staff have begun telling stories about feeling intimidated on campus.

    READ MORE
  • EDUCATION

    Degrees of separation: Closing gender gaps in higher ed

    • Erica Cervini
    • 02 May 2024

    In 1883, Bella Guerin became the first woman to earn a degree in Australia, a milestone for women in higher education. Today, women make up a majority of university students and staff, yet disparities in pay and representation persist. 

    READ MORE
  • EDUCATION

    What should anti-discrimination exemptions look like?

    • Michael Furtado
    • 20 March 2024
    5 Comments

    As challenges to anti-discrimination exemptions are likely to persist within Catholic education, how can the government and religious institutions collaborate effectively to balance the freedom of expressing religious beliefs with safeguarding the rights and freedoms of everyone involved?

    READ MORE
  • EDUCATION

    Declining staff-to-student ratios reveal sorry state of higher ed

    • Erica Cervini
    • 06 March 2024
    2 Comments

    By 2012, when the federal government first started reporting on staff-to-student ratios in universities, there was one academic for every 20 students. The most recent data, from 2021, shows that figure had increased to 23. As Australian students return for the new academic year, it will surely come as no surprise to find that ratio has worsened.

    READ MORE
  • EDUCATION

    Why we need a new approach to school bullying

    • Ben Lohmeyer
    • 07 February 2024
    2 Comments

    In a hierarchical society, we routinely celebrate and reward various dominating and competitive behaviour. When children and young people replicate this in the playground, we call it bullying. Anti-bullying measures may be more effective shifting the focus away from perpetrators and on the social and institutional context. 

    READ MORE
  • EDUCATION

    Welcome to school

    • Michael McGirr
    • 25 January 2024
    3 Comments

    It is usual to focus on kids starting school. Let’s also spare a thought for the hundreds who are about to start their careers as classroom teachers. They are entering a career that has never been more important and never been less understood. I fear it is being strangled to death.

    READ MORE
  • EDUCATION

    The great divide: ATAR results offer a snapshot of inequality in Australian education

    • Erica Cervini
    • 13 December 2023
    3 Comments

    As Australian students receive their year-end academic results, a stark educational divide comes into focus, with high-fee-paying private and selective government schools leading the ranks. This trend highlights significant socio-economic disparities across the country, raising urgent questions about the accessibility and true cost of academic excellence in a nation grappling with inequality.

    READ MORE