Striving for balance: Australian perspectives on the future of schooling

Interview participants comprised a purposive, theoretical sample of 10 senior education policy leaders from across Australia. Participants argued that the current bureaucratic organisation of schooling would persist in the future because of intensifying pressure for schools to satisfy diverse political priorities; current funding arrangements had established a quasi-market model by default; unresolved tensions about a national curriculum and standardised assessment/accountability for students, teachers, and schools, and a shortage of dynamic, innovative leaders to reconnect public schools with their communities.