Contrast Scotch with Brookside College, a public P-9 school in Caroline Springs west of Melbourne. According to the MySchool web page, Brookside has an enrolment of 940 – half the number at Scotch but, unlike that elite school, it draws its students from a wide range of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds with more than half from non-English speaking homes where 88% are in the lower and middle socioeconomic quartiles.
Brookside has 68 teachers and 24 non-teaching staff while Scotch has 191 teachers and 106 assistants. Last year, Brookside had a net-recurrent income of $9 million – equivalent to nearly $10,000 per student and a total capital expenditure of $137,000.
In contrast, Scotch’s recurrent income was $45.5 million – equal to $24,400 per student – and its capital spending came to nearly $4 million.
Alex Quigley explores the topic of group work. Rather than a clear answer, he provides a excellent series of reflective questions to guide things. If we accept the notion of the 'wisdom of crowds', then what is the magic number for group size? There is no fixed answer, but research evidence shows that any group size above six is unlikely to be effective. Why is this? Well, successful group work relies on group goals, but alongside individual responsibility. With too many students in a group it is too easy for social loafing (students putting in less effort when they know they can because other group members pick up the slack) to happen. Better to have a smaller groups, such as trios or fours. Of course, even then, they'll need training.
