High-quality small-group tuition should be embedded in all Australian schools as part of a national drive to close the learning gap between disadvantaged and advantaged students.
In reading, for example, students in year 3 whose parents did not finish school were two years and five months behind those whose parents had a university degree. By year 9, this learning gap grows to the equivalent of more than five years. But embedding effective small-group tuition in all schools will take time and effort to get right. Not all small-group tuition works, and it can be resource-intensive.First, filling learning gaps is the right thing to do: it changes young people’s lives. Struggling students tend to fall further behind, with real-life consequences. People with poor educational results tend to miss out on a broader set of social opportunities and have fewer options in study and work.
Australia now needs a transition path to embed best-practice small-group tuition around the country, beyond the emergency pandemic response.
Teachers know they could have up to 4 year level’s difference either side of the Year level they are teaching. Small group focussed instruction at all Year levels is important. Above all use evidence based pedagogy in the first place to reduce the number requiring help.
Teachers work from a Curriculum Framework. Student outcomes statements only dictate suggestions of levels that should be reached. Teachers are left to their own devices to plan learning experiences instead of a compulsory syllabus so students are not disadvantaged by bad plans.