ACER's Research Director of Early Childhood Education, Alison Elliott recently contributed the following opinion article to the Australian newspaper regarding the reasons that some families choose independent schools for their children.

The trend for increasing numbers of families to select independent schools for their children should come as no surprise in socially, culturally and linguistically diverse Australia.

For decades research has said that educational outcomes are maximised when family and school are in harmony and work together for the benefit of children.

Policy statements from education authorities in each state highlight the importance of close home-school connections and stress the need to "involve parents, caregivers and local communities in all aspects of the public education system." But in a large and diverse state school population it's not easy to involve everyone.

In schooling, as in most other enterprises, there is no one-size-fits-all model.

Families want a learning environment that is in tune with family values, expectations and aspirations. Most parents want learning environments where family values will be celebrated, supported and reinforced

Australian communities are so culturally and socially diverse that many groups, small and large, support their own schools- first Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, Catholic and Jewish. Later Islamic, Greek Orthodox, Buddhist and others.  

Groups seeking ideologically coherent approaches aligned with their philosophical or cultural views run Montessori schools, Italian, Greek, Japanese, French and International schools, Rudolf Steiner schools, fundamentalist Christian schools, "alternative" schools, schools for children with disabilities, performing arts schools and so on.  

Gone are the days when most parents enrolled children in the local school without considering a range of education options.

University of Western Sydney researcher Dr Ros Elliott says that parents spend months, even years, searching for preschool care and education. They consult friends, interview teachers, and visit centres. She reports that parents want to be "connected" with their children and want meaningful, two-way communication with teachers. They want educational partnerships that reflect their cultural values and ideals.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data show that "quality and reputation" are the main reasons for parent choice of early childhood service.

Other research on beginning school shows that parents want schooling that fits with both children's needs and their work and home commitments, including services such as out-of-school hours care.

The myriad of early childhood services means that parents think as education consumers. They are used to comparison shopping- to considering locations, facilities, curricula and teaching quality, communication, atmosphere, child/teacher ratios and fees.

Later they apply their consumer skills to selecting primary and high school education.

Results from a recent parent survey at one private school showed that parents most valued ability to turn out a well rounded individual, quality of staff, academic performance, school spirit and atmosphere, pastoral care, co-curricula activities, equality and egalitarianism, and a small, friendly setting.

What parent wouldn't want these things? Parents have their children's best interests at heart and take education very seriously.

Community and sense of belonging come from shared understandings about the world, common aspirations, and continuity of beliefs and practices. Schools that reflect, articulate and celebrate shared values and culture and promote shared educational expectations are successful. Public or private, these schools appeal to individuals and groups with strong identities and commitment. And they tell their friends.

A sense of community and belonging is more than sharing a Post Code. School boundaries don't make a community and families will travel to find a like community.

Instead of seeing the shift to independent schools as a threat, we might better look to why independent schools are attracting so many children.

Perhaps we need a new system of smaller, "community schools" that more closely match the needs and desires of communities and families.

Slowing the drift to independent schools will have to involve more than money and big sticks. There will have to be a radical change from the rhetoric of "community" to the reality.

by Professor Alison Elliott

Research Director, Early Childhood Education
The Australian Council for Educational Research

First published by the Australian, 1 March 2004

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