James Ruse Agricultural High School is the top-ranked public high school in New South Wales, hosting a diverse student body. The students of the school have been accepted into the competitive school through the Selective High School Tests which are open to all Year 6 New South Wales students. We had the opportunity to tour the school, speaking with both students and teachers to compare the educational systems between Australia and the United States.
Although the school is historically an agricultural school, it is important to note that it is very similar to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) schools in the United States. The students who attend this school are not the typical high school student – they embrace a vigorous and challenging educational work load and spend most of their free time expanding their knowledge through studying or extracurricular activities.
One of the first things I noticed was that the school seemed to be a bit run-down, physically. For being a top-ranked school that is sought out by high-achieving students, I would have expected a nicer campus. The schools I have visited in the United States seem to be a bit nicer, even those in low socio-economic areas.
The parent involvement that was described to us reminds me of groups like the PTA (Parent Teacher Association) which is prominent in the United States. It was surprising to find out that the classrooms only have heat and air because of the parent fundraising. The fact that the school receives so much from the fundraisers and donations from parents instead of from the government is something I would not have expected.
When we discussed the teachers’ roles in the schools, I noticed some stark contrasts from the United States. From what I know, when there is position open at a school in the United States, qualified individuals will apply and go through a hiring process; usually teachers for STEM-like schools would have a very specialized and advanced understanding of the field they plan to teach. As they told us in our discussion, their teachers are just placed in certain schools, usually without much of a hiring process. I would have thought that in order to teach at a top-level school like James Ruse, teachers would have to go through a stringent hiring process and would be held to the highest standards. Instead, those teachers that are placed there are given access to further learning opportunities. In order to stay competitive, the school places an emphasis on professional development.
While auditing the students in their classrooms, I was surprised to see the amount of freedom they are given in the classroom setting. In many U.S. classrooms, students who are given too much freedom may have trouble staying focused. One of the classes we observed had students independently researching information on the topic they were learning that day, with the opportunity to discuss findings with their classmates. Their instructor told us that she likes to have the students do their own research on a topic before she does any teaching. This style of teaching instills an independent way of thinking to the students.
A discussion we had with one of the heads of the school was about how universities differ between our countries. In the United States, a college student will expect to take a very broad base of classes their first couple of years of college known as general education requirements. Here in Australia, university students go directly into their fields. We discussed how in the U.S., we have those general education requirements as a way to have a more well-rounded graduate. Australian universities are structured to where a student is going to specifically learn the skill-set they need.
Overall, I felt like there were some core differences in Australian education versus education in the United States, but there are still many similarities.