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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 7 Hansard (24 June) . . Page.. 2413 ..
MS GALLAGHER
(continuing):Again, as the non-government sector uses our curriculum, the government system's curriculum, there would be significant benefits from that initiative that flow on into the non-government sector. I believe the department has been communicating with non-government sector stakeholders to work out how best they can be involved from a very early stage in that initiative.
Also with regard to students with disabilities: whilst not in this budget, we are doing the work there in terms of assessing the level of need in the government and in the non-government systems. Certainly there is a commitment there for the information that we get out of the student-centred resource model being used to inform the budget for next year, if needed.
Contrary to a lot of the claims that Mr Pratt puts forward about cultural change needed and all these schools not being safe or not being as safe as people want them, I think the ACT offers an education system where students are supported. They are supported individually. It's a system which supports inclusivity; it's one which welcomes diversity. I think, on the whole, school environments are safe and welcoming for our young people and encourage them to seek to achieve their full potential.
I'm not really sure where Mr Pratt was going with the cultural change needed. Whilst certainly in the government system we have 37,000 children and young people attending schools every day of the school term, I wouldn't say that there's a big crisis out there. That is something that Mr Pratt's alluding to. But anyway!
In relation to boys education: again, Mr Pratt says there's nothing in this year's budget. I would say things such as the curriculum renewal, the youth workers, the school excellence initiative, the career education, the extra support in the school equity fund are all things which will deliver for those boys that need it. You've got to be careful when you talk about boys education, Mr Pratt, because it's not all boys that aren't doing very well. You can easily use your concerns to address some of the girls in our system who may not be achieving at a level that they should be either.
I just question whether Mr Pratt's actually read the evidence that came out though the improving the educational outcomes of boys report because, Mr Pratt, I think you say in your speech that all the empirical evidence says these things. Certainly this report, which I just happen to have by me-luckily, once you started talking-has got a whole section on myths. The myths include that boys, as a group, are mainly academically inspired through male teachers.
Your line, Mr Pratt, was that we need more male teachers because there's this whole range of single parents out there that are predominantly women-I presume that was your point-and those children aren't getting that male role model. This is a myth. The evidence is supported by three-
Mr Pratt
: Who wrote the myth, JK Rowling?MS GALLAGHER
: The references actually cite three pieces of research, Mr Pratt, so you can question that. That'll be four, because you're questioning Andrew Martin as well. The references are Ludowyke and Scanlon, 1997; Pallota-Chiarolli, 1997;
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