Building education systems for equity and excellence

Project name

Project overview

An enduring issue for governments and systems is how best to organize education to ensure equitable and excellent outcomes. Under the leadership of Professor Scott Eacott, opens in a new window, this interdisciplinary research project concerns the question of ‘How we organise education to get the outcomes we desire?’ Work within this project seeks to develop tools for government, systems, schools and educators to better understand the provision of education and design systems to achieve equitable excellence.

Project objectives

The Building education systems for equity and excellence project has the following objectives:

Establish novel frameworks for the design of school systems delivering equitable excellence while withstanding internal tensions for differentiation and external pressures to standardize.

Our researchers seek to develop tools for government, systems, schools, and educators to better understand the provision of education in context and increase the likelihood of equitable excellence within- and across-schools.

Develop state-of-the-art models of the provision of schooling integrating interdisciplinary data points to support the functionality and effectiveness of schools to deliver educational and social impacts.

We bring broad interdisciplinary and methodological expertise to enrich the methodological toolkit for research and generate unparalleled data to enhance the validity of sensitive and controversial policy decisions regarding systemic design, and the support and resourcing of schools.

Generate a body of robust empirical evidence to inform policy decisions at a national and international level, locating the team as an international authority on systemic design and its impact.

We aim to increase the quality of systemic decision-making through the provision of high-quality research accessible to multiple audiences. Through attention to fundamental concerns for policy makers at a national and international level our research will facilitate targeted and tailored intervention design.

To deliver on the above aims, the project is divided into four work packages:

Snapshots of provision
Building alternative indicators for schooling
The social impact of schooling
Empirical models for school system design

Who is involved

Professor Scott Eacott, School of Education | Gonski Institute for Education, UNSW Sydney [Principal Investigator]

Overall responsibility and oversight of the project, facilities, and team activities, including liaising with external partners and supervision of Research Assistants and Higher Degree Researchers (HDRs).

Professor Scott Eacott | UNSW Research, opens in a new window
Dr Balamurugan Soundararaj, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW Sydney [Chief Investigator]

Data analytics and visualization for the Alternative School Providers Dashboard, and CI on the Research Infrastructure Scheme grant to curate novel data sets combining ABS and ACARA data and analytical equipment.

Dr Balamurugan Soundararaj | UNSW Research, opens in a new window
Professor Iva Strnadová, School of Education, UNSW Sydney [Chief Investigator]

Working on the stream [WP 1-4] of studies focused on special school provision and the impact (short- and long-run) of provision.

Professor Iva Strnadová | UNSW Research, opens in a new window
Aline Raad [Research Assistant]

Data set curation and spatial analysis of snapshot of provision data [WP 1] for Montessori and small schools projects.
Dr Felipe Munoz Rivera [Research Assistant]

Data set curation for the snapshot of provision [WP 1] work for Steiner, Montessori, and small schools projects.
Dr Eveline Mussi [Research Assistant]

Literature search and curation of impact map [WP 2 and 3] for Steiner and Montessori school provision.
Wei Tran [Research Assistant]

Literature search and curation of impact map [WP 2 and 3] for Steiner and Montessori school provision.
Chanah Wainer [Research Assistant]

Literature work and analysis of interview data for the snapshot of provision work [WP 1] for Montessori schools.

Partners

Steiner Education Australia
Montessori Australia
Montessori Schools and Centres Australia

Project updates/ milestones

Relational Inquiry into the Provision of Education Research Brief
Provision of public small schools in NSW, Australia Research Brief [WP1]
Leading schools for specific purposes, opens in a new window [WP1]
The provision of small schools, opens in a new window [WP1]
Steiner 2021: the curation of education, opens in a new window [WP1]
Montessori school education in Australia, opens in a new window [WP1]
Academy of the Social Sciences of Australia funded workshop, opens in a new window [WP4]
Building education systems for equity and inclusion (ASSA Workshop Report), opens in a new window [WP4]
Initial building alternative indicators for schooling presentation, opens in a new window [WP2]
Guest lecture for Australia Awards Indonesia on empirical models of school system design, opens in a new window [WP4]
Alternative school providers dashboard [WP1]
Securing research infrastructure funding for linking ABS and ACARA data [WP1]

In the news

Get involved

The Building education systems for equity and excellence research program is constantly seeking outstanding researchers to undertake doctoral (PhD, EdD), research masters and/or honours projects that advance the program’s objectives through rigorous and robust social science. Apart from meeting eligibility criteria, it is critical to demonstrate that your proposed work contributes to and extends the work of the project.

Prospective students are encouraged to apply for fellowships / scholarships in their country of origin, or from Australia, that would allow them to travel to Sydney. In any case, the project and topic will be negotiated between Professor Eacott and the applicant, based on the applicant’s area of expertise and the potential contribution to the research programs.

UNSW offers several highly competitive scholarships for researchers. These range from annual stipends, living allowances, and coverage of tuition fee costs, as well as funding for travel. Further details can be found at the UNSW Graduate Research Scholarship Page, opens in a new window.

We also welcome unfunded applicants wanting to work in the research program. Most importantly, we are looking for highly motivated and talented researchers who believe they have the potential to make a significant contribution to the team.
The Building education systems for equity and excellence research program welcomes proposals from highly motivated and talented researchers who believe they have the potential to contribute and make a significant contribution to advancing research through post-docs, research internships, visiting scholars, and collaborations. If you are interested in working as part of the program, please send an email to discuss possibilities to Professor Scott Eacott.
If you work in government or a school system and wish to partner with the team to undertake research (either all projects, or a sub-set), please contact Principal Investigator Professor Scott Eacott to discuss options. These can range from including your system as a site for the projects through to a targeted and tailored project.
If you work in a school and want to undertake a sub-set of the projects in your school or across a group of schools (e.g., WP 2 and 3), please contact Principal Investigator Professor Scott Eacott to discuss options. These can range from including your school(s) as site within the larger project or a targeted and tailored project.

Contact us

For further details on the Building education systems for equity and excellence research program, contact the Principal Investigator Professor Scott Eacott, opens in a new window.

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