The effect of abolishing the New Schools Policy on the provision of schools and enrolments in Australia

Bibliographic Data

ID6435079
AuthorsScott Eacott (0000-0002-5612-5887, UNSW Sydney, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume57
Issue3
Pages249-263
Publication date2024-05-15
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Educational Administration & History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0620 • E-ISSN: 1478-7431
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00220620.2024.2353020
OpenAlexW4396916261
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited30

Australia has been an enthusiastic embracer of school choice and has one of the highest levels of public funding for non-government schools. The 1996 election of John Howard's conservative government is a point of interest as it is often framed as a period of political and ideological attacks on public schooling. A key policy move was the abolishment of the New Schools Policy. The New Schools Policy withheld public funds from helping to establish new non-government schools in areas where there was already adequate supply. Using large-scale data sets on supply (number of schools) and demand (enrolment), time-series analysis demonstrates that while the non-government schools have grown (in real and market share terms), the abolishment of the New Schools Policy did not lead to a shock in enrolment numbers. However, the subtle shift from a needs-based to entitlement logic fundamentally altered the landscape of Australian school-based education ever since

Political science · School choice · Sociology · Education Systems and Policy · Public Administration · School Choice and Performance

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