Administering faith: Does the religious institution administering a school influence educational achievement?. (June 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Drew, Joseph; Kortt, Michael A.; Bec, Alexandra
• Is Part Of: Journal of sociology. Volume 55:Number 2(2019)
• Page Start: 342
• Page End: 365
• Publication Date: 2019-06
• Subjects: education -- educational achievement -- religion -- schools; Sociology -- Periodicals; Sociology -- Australia -- Periodicals; 301.05
• DOI: 10.1177/1440783319829248
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1440-7833

Abstract

Australia's education landscape is almost unique among developed nations in having a high proportion of students taught at non-government schools by a diverse range of religious providers, which receive relatively high levels of government funding. It therefore offers the ideal setting for a study on the outcomes achieved by students at schools administered by the major faith providers relative to their peers in government institutions. We take advantage of a six-year panel of nationwide academic test data, along with a comprehensive suite of control variables, to test whether there are differences in average school performance. We find strong evidence to suggest that significant differences in achievement exist between various faith-based providers that cannot be explained solely with reference to educational advantage and prior performance.