Education is charged with serving as a catalyst for more equitable and inclusive societies. It is at the forefront of social and political debate with constant reforms being proposed to improve outcomes – of all kinds. Governments under fiscal pressure and/or facing under-performance frequently deploy one-stop solutions without detailed plans for how exactly improvements will be achieved or at what costs. Existing evidence demonstrates that Australian school systems need to do something different to address stagnant or declining outcomes and enduring inequities.

This report is the output from an Academy of the Social Sciences Australia (ASSA)-funded workshop hosted by the Gonski Institute for Education at UNSW Sydney. Led by Professor Scott Eacott, it provides advice to government and systems for redressing intergenerational policy failure, looking beyond the school gate, giving voice to the profession, the role of data, evidence and research, and sustaining a focus on teaching and learning.