The Fifth Estate: Educational Principles

The Fifth Estate is the Wheeler Centre’s new series of fortnightly forums: a more measured approach to news and current affairs. Provocative and studied, authoritative and unhurried, this is real analysis that will be pulling no punches. Hosted by broadcaster, journalist and anthropologist Sally Warhaft, The Fifth Estate is indispensible live journalism.

The Gonski Report on Australian education funding was delivered to the government last month after an intensive 18 month review process. The biggest review of school funding in decades, the report recommends an injection of A$5 billion to the education sector, three-quarters of which would go to public schools.

Delivered amidst the tumult and shouting of the latest political leadership tussle, public discussion of the report was somewhat deprived of oxygen … until now. Join host Sally Warhaft, and our panel of educational experts and school principals, as they discuss the state of schooling in Australia, the findings of the Gonski report, and the future of Australian education.

How do we compare to the world leaders in education? Does our education system need a major overhaul? Will the funding changes recommended in the Gonski report help achieve this? How can state and federal governments work to implement the suggested changes quickly and efficiently? Is our education system in need of saving – and if so, is this the answer?

Joining us to debate these and other questions are Lesley Lamb, Paul Sheahan and David Zyngier.