THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DISADVANTAGED SCHOOLS PROGRAM IN AN AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY REGION: AN EVALUATION

The Disadvantaged Schools Program was one important outcome of the Karmel Report, commissioned by the Whitlam Government in 1972. This report identified several deficiencies in Australian education, relating generally to marked inequalities in educational opportunities for certain children, particularly those belonging to ethnic groups, poor families, and economically depressed urban or isolated rural areas. The disadvantage experienced by female children was also identified. In addition the report stressed the lack of material resources, the poorly prepared teachers, and the highly bureaucratic, centralised, administration of education leading to the virtual exclusion of parents, teachers and the community from any real decision making in educational policy.