Tomlinson Review to investigate quality of education

14/5/93

A major State Government review will investigate whether there are any inequities between the quality of education provided to country and metropolitan students.

Education Minister Norman Moore said today the Rural Education Review, headed by East Metropolitan MLC Derrick Tomlinson, would recommend strategies to address any inequality of opportunity suffered by country students.

Mr Moore said Mr Tomlinson was an experienced and respected educationalist with particular expertise in rural education. He was a former senior lecturer in the Department of Education at the University of Western Australia, a member of the Rural Education Association, and a former director of the National Centre for Research on Rural Education.

The Tomlinson review, to make its first report by March 1994, would examine the quality of teaching and the level of student outcomes relative to the metropolitan area.

The Minister stressed that the investigation was not into the Ministry of Education, but was a review to make recommendations to him on the whole spectrum of rural education.

There were more than 80,000 children, or nearly a third of the total State student population, attending classes outside the Perth metropolitan area.

About 4,800 teachers, a third of the total in the State, were working in the more than 350 Government schools (nearly half the total) in the country.

"The inquiry will investigate whether there is any substance to claims that the achievements of rural students in Tertiary Entrance Examinations (TEE) could be about ten per cent below their metropolitan counterparts," Mr Moore said.

"It will also examine whether rural primary students are any less well prepared for secondary school than primary students in the Perth area."

The Minister said the review would identify any impediments there were for rural students in accessing educational opportunities. Issues such as restricted subject availability, inexperienced teachers, lack of resources, professional support, distance education facilities and the quality of teacher housing, were expected to be examined.

Mr Tomlinson would be required to consult with the Education Ministry, the Catholic Education Commission and independent providers to assess any research which was available.

He would also visit areas such as the Great Southern, the Goldfields, Central Wheatbelt, the Pilbara and the Kimberley as part of the review process.

"I also envisage that Mr Tomlinson will visit other States, such as Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia to get a national perspective and to define how best the review can be carried out," Mr Moore said.

Media contact: Ross Storey 321 1444 / 222 9595