Is the Education Revolution finally here?

Here’s a piece of mine on the University of Melbourne’s 2010 Federal election blog, which gathers commentary and analysis from academics and postgraduate students.

This week Prime Minister Gillard announced a suite of radical policies that will do far more to improve student learning than any school hall or national curriculum ever could.  Performance bonuses for teachers and schools; Teach Next, which moves passionate professionals into teaching careers; and an Australian Baccalaureate to complement state high school certificates. Combined with earlier initiatives such as the MySchool website which compares school performance and profiles across the country; and last week’s promise to hand more power back to principals and parents, we have a real revolution.  Not just of schooling policy, but Labor policy….

Read the rest of this piece here, or my commentary in earlier education policies here.

Unleashed opinion on Labor’s school empowerment policy

My contribution to the election policy debate was published on the ABC’s Drum Unleashed website.

I show that the Prime Minister’s proposal is a good one, giving schools around the country a taste of Victorian schools have had for almost a decade – the power to govern themselves.  I argue that the ability to innovate and transfer successful policies such as this is a virtue of federalism that we should enhance.

New perspectives on Australian federalism and school funding

With major reforms and reviews of Australia’s intergovernmental relations and school funding currently underway, the need to understand these complex areas and re-examine common assumptions has never been greater.

I’ll be presenting my recent findings on these contested and interrelated subjects at the upcoming Australian Political Science Association’s Annual Conference: “Connected Globe: Conflicting Worlds”.  My first paper “The evolution of school funding settlements in Australian and the United States: Intergovernmental perspectives” is the first academic paper comparing the two countries’ school finance from this perspective, and is based upon fieldwork and interviews undertaken during my Visiting Scholar position at Columbia University in New York.  My second paper, “Australian federalism and school funding: Exploring the nexus in Victoria’s devolution reforms”, presents a critique of common perceptions and normative models of federalism and policy reform.  Both papers are based on extensive original research and offer insights for policymakers and academics alike.

The APSA conference is being held 27-29 September at the University of Melbourne.  Click here for more information.   Don’t forget that you can access my earlier work by clicking on the ‘Publications, presentations and media’ link found in the bottom-right corner of this screen

Vivendo na Australia (Living in Australia) Guide

It’s my great privilege to launch this innovative and practical guide for new migrants published by the Newcomers Network and ABRISA – the Brazilian Association for Social Development and Integration. The launch is being held Tuesday 6 July, 5:30 – 7:30 at Melbourne Town Hall (Yarra Room). Attendance is free, but registration essential.  For more information on the guide or to download a copy, click here. To read my speech, click here.  Obrigada!

Live, radio interview on SBS’s French program.

The conversation will take place Tuesday 29June, around 11:30am (en francais, bien sur). The lovely Daniele Kemp and I will talk mostly about my book and Australian multiculturalism. To tune in, click here. If you prefer English – or the written word – you can pick up a copy of my book from Readings. (Other options are Melbourne Uni bookshop, Amazon.com, or direct from Australian Scholarly Publishing).  PS it’s lovely to be home.

UPDATE! In a lovely surprise I was joined at the microphone by the celebrated and oh-so-sweet French chef Gabriel Gaté. 

A (funding) revolution has started?

Fancy an opinion article on school funding that moves beyond the old debates?

Then click here to read this piece of mine published by the ABC’s ‘Drum Unleashed’.

UPDATE: It’s midnight and I’ve just finished an interview with ABC Radio (Newcastle) for their Drive program. It will be aired in a few hours, which is 9 June in the afternoon for east coast Australians. Gotta love those time differences!

Final weeks in North America

My whirlwind international research and conference trip is coming to a close. One more week in New York at Columbia University's Teachers College, then off to Montreal for the Canadian Political Science Association Annual Conference and a bit of fieldwork, before the long flight home.  Details of the five papers I'm giving are on the ‘publications and presentations’ page.  Here are some other highlights: speaking with Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez, Chair of the Democratic Caucus Immigration Task Force in US Congress, and Marshall (Mike) S. Smith, who is perhaps most knowledgeable person on US federal education policy. Check out the photo page for a few choice memories with these impressive people.

Book launch video and amazon.com sales

Here is a short video of book launch for those that couldn’t attend. If you skip to 2:20 you can hear Lindsay Tanner’s generous praise:

“It certainly is an extremely well-written and well-expressed and very intelligent setting of the important role the ECCV has played, and of some of the key figures who over that period of 30 to 35 years of active engagement, in some very often turbulent political times, have played a crucial role in shaping our society.”

In other news, Many Hopes, One Dream is now available on amazon.com although it’s quickest to go through Australian Scholarly Publishing,  the ECCV, or Melbourne Uni bookshop.

Papers! Papers! Papers!

Back in Chicago for the Midwest Political Science Association’s annual conference. My paper is titled ‘The untold story of Australian multiculturalism: How it was shaped from below by ethnic communities’. Here’s the paper, and the PowerPoint.  My presentation to the Comparative and International Education Society’s annual conference, ‘The transformation of the Australian school funding: The changing federal framework’ can be found here. Stay tuned for my papers to Columbia University’s Teachers College ‘Policy Research Roundtable’ (26 April) and the Canadian Political Science Association Annual Conference (1-3 June).

My whirlwind North American research and conference trip has started.

The highlight – a 4 month Visiting Scholar position at Columbia University’s Teachers College in New York. It’s preceded by two weeks of presentations, workshops and meetings with federalism scholars in Toronto and Ottawa; and a week in Chicago where I’m presenting a paper at the Comparative and International Education Society’s 54th Annual Conference. Still to come – presentations at the Midwest Political Science Association’s Annual Conference, the Canadian Political Science Association’s Annual Conference and Teachers College’s seminar series.  These papers present my thesis findings on education policy and federalism, as well as my research on Australian multiculturalism and ethnic organisations.

Live, national radio interview on my book this week!

I’ve been invited on SBS’s French radio program on Friday 11 September to discuss my new book: Many Hopes, One Dream: the Story of the Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria. Tune in at 11am to listen live or download the podcast here.

Don’t forget that ticket sales to book launch will close 11 September.  Don’t miss out! $38 gets you a seat at the formal, celebratory dinner with an impressive line up of speakers, including James Merlino, Victorian Minister for Multicultural Affairs and George Lekakis, Victoria’s Multicultural Commissioner. Former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser will also be appearing. Call the ECCV on (03) 9349 4122 or email eccv@eccv.org.au More info here.

Book launched announced - 23rd September

I’m very excited to announce that my book is being launched by the Victorian Minister for Multicultural Affairs, James Merlino, on the 23rd September. Former PM Malcolm Fraser will also be attending and will likely give a speech.

Tickets to the launch and celebratory dinner are selling fast.  Get yours here

Praise for Many Hopes, One Dream: The Story of the Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria by Bronwyn Hinz.

“This book tells a fascinating story of the way the ECCV moved (remarkably quickly) from being a fringe player to occupying a central role as an advocate for people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities. it should be recommended reading for anyone who is interested in knowing how Victoria, and in particular how Melbourne, has managed its remarkable transformation into one of the world’s leading centres of peaceful multicultural cohabitation.”

- Dr John Chesterman, political historian and author of  Civil Rights: How Indigenous Australians Won Formal Equality

Schooling funding and federalism - Australian Social Policy Conference

My research paper on school funding and federalism got a rave response at the Australian Social Policy Conference. Based on my PhD research, it highlights the complexity of school funding arrangements; their relationship with intergovernmental processes, institutions and structures; the paucity of research to date and the need to reconceptualise the problem for quality research and lasting reforms. The powerpoint presentation is here, and the paper itself is here.