The 'problem' of 'quality' schooling, national testing, and inclusion: Australian insights into policy and practice

This chapter draws upon Carol Bacchi’s (2009) notion of the ‘representation’ problem’ in policy analysis to understand how inclusion is constituted in schooling in Australia. In making this case, we draw upon key federal and state – that is, New South Wales (NSW) – government policy documents to understand whether and how dominant discourses within this policy milieu enable and/or constrain the promotion of genuinely inclusive approaches to schooling. To help further ground this analysis, we also draw upon empirical data from principals from three schools serving a relatively prosperous regional community in the state of NSW. The research reveals that key policies constitute the ‘problem’ of ‘quality’ schooling from a broadly economistic perspective and able to be gauged through national tests, particularly the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). However, principals constitute the problem of inclusion in relation to national testing as associated with concerns about policy overload in practice and funding.