A comparative analysis of educational
equity in Australia and Canada – the
power of education policy
Institute of Educational Research
Charles University, Prague
June 17, 2013
Laura Perry
l.perry@murdoch.edu.au
School of Education, Murdoch University
Perth AUSTRALIA
The Australian economy & society
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Dynamic and prosperous economy,
large natural resources, low
unemployment, large labour shortages
Multicultural; high levels of
immigration; “advantaged” immigrants
Decent social welfare, national health
insurance, income transfers, low(ish)
poverty, moderate income inequality
Very high quality of life for most
citizens, UNDP, low crime, world’s most
liveable cities, long life expectancy, etc.
The Australian education system
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Generally high quality, strong
results on PISA
Concerns about equity; 3 main
equity groups are rural, indigenous,
and low SES students
Comprehensive system of education
Constructivist/progressive
philosophy
Structural aspects of the education
system
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National curriculum and standardised testing
Public league table reporting
High levels of privatization: 40% of all
secondary students
Some school choice within public sector
Low but growing levels of academic selection,
probably around 5-10%
Centralized funding (state) for public schools
Public subsidies (plus fees) for private schools
High levels of school social segregation
Educational equity: between
school differences
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Theoretical ideal: it shouldn’t matter
where one goes to school; between
school differences should be
minimal
Indicator: achievement gaps
between low and high SES students
and schools
How does this look in Australia, and
for a comparator country like
Canada?
Why compare with Canada?
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Canada has a similar national
context as Australia
Similar educational structures,
philosophies and pedagogical
approaches
One big difference – marketization
of the education system
Canadian education system is high
performing and equitable on PISA
Marketization of education in
Australia and Canada
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More variation/inequity in resources
and funding to schools in Aus
More school choice in Aus

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More privatization in Aus

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78% of schools require local attendance in Can
vs. 42% in Aus (PISA 2009)
38% in Aus, 6% in Canada attend a non-gov
school (PISA 2009)
More league table reporting in Aus
More social segregation in Aus

35% attend a mixed school in Aus, 60% in
Canada (PISA 2009)
#1: Achievement gaps by school
and student SES
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Secondary analysis of PISA 2006
Sample: approx. 22k Canadian and
14k Australian students
SES is very complex and rich; an
advantage of PISA
Range of student SES is
comparable (and even slightly
larger in Canada) in the 2
countries
Table 1. Mathematics Means and Standard Errors for
Canada and Australia according to Student SES
Quintiles as Measured by PISA 2006
Student SES
Quintiles
1st quintile (low
SES)
2nd quintile (lowmiddle SES)
3rd quintile
(middle SES)
4th quintile (highmiddle SES)
5th quintile (high
SES)
Canada Australia
Maths
Maths
& SE
& SE
491.9
479.9
1.20
1.47
514.8
501.6
1.15
1.49
523.8
520.1
1.14
1.48
540.4
537.7
1.17
1.48
561.7
562.8
1.15
1.46
Table 2. Mathematics Means and Standard Errors for
Canada and Australia according to School SES
Quintiles as Measured by PISA 2006
School SES
Quintiles
1st quintile (low
SES schools)
2nd quintile (lowmiddle SES)
3rd quintile
(middle SES)
4th quintile (highmiddle SES)
5th quintile (high
SES schools)
Canada
Maths
& SE
491.9
2.60
513.8
2.08
518.1
1.99
536.9
1.60
552.6
1.74
Australia
Maths
& SE
486.9
1.52
495.8
1.42
511.2
1.51
534.3
1.39
571.6
1.44
Summary of achievement gap
findings
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Gap between low and high SES
students and schools is large in both
countries, and especially in Australia
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Students
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
Schools
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Canada= 70 pts; Australia = 83 pts
Canada= 61 pts; Australia = 85 pts
Low SES students and schools
perform better in Canada; high SES
students the same; high SES schools
better in Aus
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How much does it matter where you
go to school?
Achievement scores by school SES
context
Mean Math Performance for Low and High SES Students
in Australia and Canada, across School SES Quintiles
Achievement gap between high and low SES schools
Conclusion I
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Canada is more equitable
Canada shows that equity can be
promoted without
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harming high SES students or
reducing the number of high achieving
students (proportion is the same in
both countries)
Higher equity gives an overall
higher country average on PISA
Conclusion II:
Education policy matters!!
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Substantial differences in educational
equity between Canada and Australia
Not due to differences in culture or society
or economy
Due to education policies; policy matters,
even in low(ish)-poverty countries
 Inequalities in school funding
 Privatization and stratification between
schools
 Choice, competition and league tables
 Result in social segregation
A positive message but a sobering one too
Policy and research
recommendations for Australia
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Need to decrease social
segregation. How?
Equalize funding across schools?
Stop over-funding socially
elite/exclusive schools?
What exactly is role of funding?
Previous research says it plays little
direct role but indirect role might be
key.
Index of Economic, Cultural and Social Status (ESCS)
2.000000
1.500000
1.000000
.500000
.000000
-.500000
-1.000000
-1.500000
-2.000000
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q5
Australia
-.913477
-.235586
.212315
.661837
1.247206
Canada
-.868412
-.132504
.321315
.781934
1.406731
USA
-1.180019
-.358224
.159649
.672069
1.356226
Mean ESCS by Student-Level Quintiles for AUS, CAN and USA in
PISA 2006