Equity in Education: Part 1

Hello and welcome to our very necessary discussion about our valuable youth across Australia and every child’s right to quality education. First, let’s start off by understanding the definition of Equity in education. This means that children from different social groups achieve a similar level and range of learning outcomes, and that every child succeeds above minimum standards of education. It demands that all students achieve a level of education that allows them to realise their talents and to be active, informed citizens. It is this definition that must first be understood by everyone (parents, teachers, community members, healthcare professionals etc) in the same way before any standardised change can happen in the Australian school system. 

Why must we all understand and use the same definition? Because if we don’t, the problem will persist – certain children will miss out on certain learning experiences because these opportunities will not be included in definitions of equity in some educational facilities. Social and cultural factors (like limited access to transportation or broadband) have to be removed from students’ chances for success or failure in the classroom – true equity. 

So let’s set the stage now: 

Compared to other wealthy countries, Australia’s education system is socially segregated and consequently leaves many children behind. The students who often miss out are from disadvantaged families. This includes young people with disabilities, First Nations peoples, those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, students in regional and remote communities, and young refugees and asylum seekers. 

Now, what can our government do to alleviate this inequity? As the Australian edtech sector generates $3.6 billion annually, let’s uncover first, how this new and exciting educational technology can chip in and importantly, what areas will edtech miss in the process that other solutions need to cover? Let’s discuss. 

EdTech Can Help to Create a Fair Education System by: 

• Reducing the geographic barriers by using online learning platforms, virtual classrooms, and video conferencing tools which give students in rural and/or disadvantaged communities the same learning experiences as other children in the wealthier or more accessible areas 
• Helping to support Indigenous students by improving the curriculum, offering culturally relevant content and improving access to educational materials that reflect Indigenous perspectives with programs. Initiatives like the Indigenous STEM Project and Deadly Coders encourage Indigenous students to engage with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and partnerships with private edtech companies are enabling the delivery of Aboriginal history and culture to the classroom 
• Contributing to teacher training by offering professional development opportunities online. This ensures that teachers in disadvantaged areas and otherwise receive the same level of training and support, equipping them to use technology effectively in their classrooms and support all students. 
• Allowing for scalable solutions, deployed at a low cost, across large numbers of students. By reducing the need for physical infrastructure and going online, governments can ensure that students from lower socio-economic backgrounds or those with disabilities that make the trip to the classroom difficult, receive the same high-quality education as those in wealthier/easily accessible regions with affordable and accessible online learning. 
• AI-driven adaptive learning can tailor educational content to meet the individual needs of students. This is especially important for students from diverse backgrounds or those with learning disabilities, who often require personalised attention to thrive and realise their full potential. 
• Improving the outcomes for students with disabilities by being able to give early diagnoses to their teachers so these students are able to have more targeted focus on their specific learning needs.  

See? Edtech has many benefits that can bridge the gap…  

But technological obstacles remain which still stand in the way of equity in our schools:  

The digital divide in Australia is fierce and cumbersome, and an issue that has yet to be eradicated. So while technology can enhance learning opportunities and reduce geographic barriers, major challenges remain related to infrastructure, funding, and social equity that need to be addressed in parallel to elevate edtech’s efforts to extinguish inequity. 

Schools – Adequate Funding is Essential  

Within the rapidly developing field of generative AI tools, you get more powerful education support if you’re in a position to pay (most likely well-funded private or city schools) – which sadly means that because wealthier schools are adopting these technologies, their students are quickly becoming even more tech savvy, leaving those from schools with smaller budgets (public schools in lower-income areas), no choice but to be left in the dust.  

For example, as previously mentioned, technology can offer opportunities to make learning more inclusive through the development of Indigenous language resources and culturally responsive materials, but this requires intentional investment in content creation and community consultation.  

And let’s not forget, for this new technology to function at its best, teachers need to be properly trained to integrate it effectively into the classroom. In underfunded schools, especially in rural areas, teachers may not have the resources or training to use technology in a way that maximizes student learning.  

Homes – Need Proper Financial Support 

Regardless of their access to technology at school, many students, especially those from low-income or Indigenous backgrounds, lack reliable internet connections and access to devices at home.  

Results from the most recent PIRLS international assessment of reading at Year 4 for example, show that students who identified as First Nations as well as those from disadvantaged schools had lower reading results than their peers and that students who reported that they spent either more than 30 minutes or 30 minutes or less using digital devices for their schoolwork had higher reading scores, on average, than students who spent no time using digital devices to find and read information for schoolwork. A clear sign that both income and socioeconomic background play a significant role in a student’s learning opportunity through edtech.  

Now, How Exactly is the Australian Government Working to Solve These Issues? 

Improve Broadband:  

Until recently, broadband services to remote areas for homes and schools alike have been near non-existent, leaving students without the opportunity to use edtech at home, or even at school. But government initiatives and public-private partnerships aimed at expanding broadband access in rural and low-income areas will help ensure that students in these communities are not left behind.   

Provide Devices: 

A commitment to providing devices to homes and schools is also essential – what good is broadband without a device to use it on? So as part of their commitment to narrow the digital divide, among others, the South Australian government and the Queensland Government for example, is investing $152 million over the next 3 years to fund the Student Technology Equity Partnership (STEP) initiative. This investment will fund up to 140,000 digital devices to provide students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds with equitable access to technology. This investment will add to the more than 42,300 devices already deployed since 2020 through the Devices for Financially Disadvantaged Students scheme. 

Commitment to Quality: 

Only edtech that is properly designed, used and regulated can have a demonstrably positive impact on learning outcomes for disadvantaged students. With so many edtech tools and technologies crowding this lucrative market, it’s difficult for teachers, schools and parents to know which applications are high quality and useful. So, policymakers have been pushed in Australia by the Chair of the Australian Network for Quality Digital Education to build a national quality assurance process for digitally enabled teaching and learning resources, with clear criteria and a robust and transparent assessment process so all students receive the same quality learning experiences. 

Codesign for Culture: 

Australian Network for Quality Digital Education is a new alliance which will use the power of digital technology (in a safe, thoughtful and effective way) to improve learning experiences and outcomes, especially for disadvantaged students. 

One of the pertinent focuses of the alliance is codesign – 

“…it needs to be good technology designed with affected communities and peoples… so that our children can benefit from the best edtech – the edtech that puts their needs, learning and wellbeing first.” 

- Professor Tom Calma AO – Chancellor of the University of Canberra, elder from the Kungarakan tribal group, member of the Iwaidja tribal group and Co-Chair of the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation. 

Educate: 

Our government has shown a more genuine commitment recently to focus curriculums on educating students across the board in the fields of science and technology, engineering and maths which, due to our increased reliance on technology, jobs in these fields are naturally becoming more important to our society and economy. This pivot combats the history of education inequity in these areas – particularly for the Indigenous populations.   

When we reflect on the latest research of two disadvantaged groups for example: 

Citizens living with a disability

• According to the most recent research by the Australian Bureau of Statistics from 2022, around 21.4% of Australia's population—approximately 5.5 million people—are living with a disability
• The People with disability in Australia 2024 report found that around 48% of Australians with a disability aged 15-64 are employed 
• Around 5% of people studying university STEM subjects in 2021 were living with a          disability 

First Nations Citizens

• Research from the ABS also finds that as of this year, Indigenous people make up 3.8% of the total Australian population
• Of this group, less than 1% of First Nations people held a university STEM qualification 
• The latest research by Jobs and Skills Australia shows us that First Nations tertiary educational attainment was lower than for non-Indigenous people and this gap increased with remoteness due to lack of access to education
• BUT when qualified, First Nations peoples are likely to be working in a role directly related to their study – for example 71% who studied Education were employed in that field
• Importantly - First Nations people who had studied Information Technology were unlikely to be working in this field due to insufficient level training for an entry-level job
• STEM jobs do not even appear in the top 12 occupations for First Nations peoples 

Conclusions?

While comparing population percentages with participation percentages of certain disadvantaged groups in the workforce gives us a better picture of how unevenly the Australian workforce is distributed when it comes to disadvantaged employees versus those who are non-disadvantaged but to get a better idea of equity in education, it has limitations.

These limitations are the purpose of our conversation – structural barriers such as limited access to quality education (or any at all) and educational technology, lack of culturally relevant programs and a plethora of other metrics for true equity such as student outcomes, retention rates, quality of support systems, and post-graduation employment.

It’s clear that edtech can alleviate these limitations or barriers as we have discussed, but only to a certain degree – an ecosystem of aid is needed in order to create true equity in the education system for each student and we will delve into this reality deeper in Part 2 of this series to come.