ABOUT US

A rationale explaining why ESI has been established can be found here.

ESI is committed to an education system based on:

standards - concerns about falling standards are widespread. Too many students leave school culturally illiterate, morally at risk and under-performing in areas like literacy and numeracy. Australia needs a more rigorous and academically focused curriculum, one that recognises the contribution of Western civilisation and Australia's Judeo-Christian heritage

equity - all children, regardless of background, deserve a comprehensive, substantial and well resourced education. Equality of opportunity should not give way to equality of outcomes, where merit and ability are secondary to positively discriminating in favour of so-called victim groups

diversity - stronger performing education systems embrace diversity, competition and school autonomy. All schools, government, Catholic and independent, should have the freedom and flexibility to best meet the needs of their communities, free from unnecessary government intervention and control

choice - just over 30% of Australian students attend non-government schools and the figure rises to 40% at years 11 and 12. Parents embrace school choice and all schools, especially Catholic and independent, must be properly funded

Dr Kevin Donnelly is the Director of ESI. Kevin is available to speak at functions and workshops, formal and informal, and is also registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching as a professional development consultant. Feel free to contact Kevin at info@edstandards.com.au

Kevin is one of Australia's leading education commentators and author of Why Our Schools are Failing (2004), Dumbing Down (2007) and Australia's Education Revolution: How Kevin Rudd Won and Lost the Education Wars (2009).

Over the last 20 years, Kevin has written approximately 450 articles for the daily print media and professional journals (both here and overseas) and appears regularly on Australian radio and television.

He taught English and social studies for 18 years in government and non-government secondary schools and has been a member of state and national curriculum bodies, including the Year 12 English Panel of Examiners, the Victorian Board of Studies and the federally funded Discovering Democracy Programme. In 2004 Kevin was Chief of Staff to Kevin Andrews, the then Commonwealth Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations.

As Director of Education Strategies (1994-2009), a company that specialises in producing curriculum materials and analysing and benchmarking curriculum, Kevin has worked extensively in the Asia/Pacific region, including: Lao PDR, Hong Kong, South Korea, Fiji, the Marshall Islands, Malaysia and New Zealand.

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Latest Blog

12th May 2013

In the following, from the Weekend Australian, I argue that the current utilitarian and pragmatic approach to education undervalues what should be most important - a conservative view of the purpo...
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Gonski a threat to non-government schools
12th April 2013
In the following published on the Age online I argue that the Gonski report, and the ALP commonwealth government's response, will harm Catholic and independent schools - both financially and and i...

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