The Politics of Education in Australia

Pages3-16
Published date01 January 1970
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/eb009642
Date01 January 1970
AuthorG.S. HARMAN
THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION 3
VOLUME VIII, NUMBER 1 MAY, 1970
The Politics of Education in Australia
G. S.
HARMAN
In Australia there is a strong and widely-accepted belief that
education and politics are, or at least should be, separate. Yet
education is a thoroughly political enterprise. For the most part,
formal education is under direct government control, and it now
constitutes an important area of government responsibility. Con-
sequently, the education system can be thought of constituting a
separate sub-system within the political system. But to under-
stand some or the other inter-relationships between politics and
education it is useful to conceptualize the political and educa-
tional systems as separate but interacting systems within the
Australian social system. As a field of study and research, the
politics of education has been neglected by both educators and
political scientists, although very recently this situation has
begun to change. A number of important areas for research are
outlined and discussed.
INTRODUCTION
In the United States there is a strong and widespread belief
that politics and education should be kept apart. This phenomenon
has attracted the attention of a number of American students of
the politics of education.1 A similar belief is to be found in Aust-
ralia, where political leaders, educators and members of the public
frequently assert that education occupies a place outside or above
politics; or that education should be "kept out of politics". Admit-
tedly, our political leaders frequently make assertions of this kind
for their own purposes. For example, in April 1969, when under
pressure from groups demanding and others opposing increased
government aid to independent schools, the Commonwealth Min-
ister for Education and Science advocated that "state aid should
be taken out of politics".2 A few months later, the Leader of the
Opposition, in an attack on the Commonwealth Government for
allegedly framing education policy for election campaigns, told
DR. G. S. HARMAN is a Research Fellow in the Education Research Unit,
Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University, where he
is in charge of a number of research projects on the politics of Australian
education. He is a graduate of the University of New England (M.A. Hons. in
History) and the Australian National University (Ph.D. in Political Science).

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT