Public diversity ; private disadvantage : schooling and ethnicity

When the New South Wales (NSW) Government extended the compulsory schooling age from 15 to 17 years in 2010, there was little warning and no additional resources for schools. Scant consideration was given to the complex contexts that exist in the some of the most disadvantaged areas of Sydney and other centres around the state. This chapter reports on a project that sought to understand the impact of the change on ethnically diverse high schools in south-western Sydney. Findings suggest a particular policy disjuncture is having a profound impact on schools of high minority ethnic diversity, particularly in low socioeconomic contexts: any advantages gained by extending the years of schooling have been mitigated by other policies that encourage increasing public diversity. This is because the latter set of policies has exacerbated the private disadvantage of some ethnic groups in some schools, particularly those who are unwanted by other schools or whose parents are unable to exercise choice due to income, first language status, or minimal social capital. The chapter draws on the voices of principals, teachers, parents and students from high schools in south-western Sydney La highlight the deeply counterproductive practices surrounding these issues. The concluding comments are concerned with the extent to which the 'ethnicity' of students, rather than the policy disjuncture this research has revealed, will be seen as the problem.