Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemThe media campaign on oversupply of teachers, Victoria 1979-1981( 1985)This thesis examines some print media reporting of the issue of teacher surplus in Victorian Schools over a three year period (1979-1981). The three Melbourne daily newspapers (The Sun, The Age and The Herald) have been the source of most of the material on which this thesis is based, the material being drawn chiefly from special feature articles, news reports and editorials. The Australian, The National Times and Women's Weekly have also been considered because they have helped to place media reporting of Victorian educational issues into a national context. An examination of this material shows that State education has received a very bad press. Indeed there is evidence of a well-planned and carefully orchestrated campaign to create a crisis of confidence in the State System. There are two phases that can be identified in the media campaign. In the first phase (1979) emphasis was given to the problem of oversupply of teachers, and there were frequent reports on issues such as funding cuts; the teacher glut; the re-introduction of tertiary fees; and drastic cuts in teacher training programs. In the second phase of the campaign (1980-1981) the emphasis shifted from the issue of over-supply to the issue of the quality of State school education. In the print media, teachers came under attack and were constantly portrayed as militant, striking, unprofessional people whose incompetence and insubordination had caused a general breakdown of authority. This thesis seeks to establish that print media reporting of State education in the period (1979-1981) can be read as a campaign to discredit the teachers in the State System. A case is made that deliberate strategies to distort meaning were used by the media and these are examined. The media reports on oversupply are compared with the information given in official publications, and there are significant differences that have been noted. The influence of media reporting on the formation of public opinion is considered and it is concluded that the media has a significant influence. The thesis seeks to explain the purpose of this sustained anti-State education campaign by considering the relationship between the expansion of the private school system and the crisis of confidence in State education. The campaign on oversupply softened public opinion to accept a steady shift in funding from the public to the private sector, the termination of the studentship system, and drastic cuts to intake levels for teacher training. This thesis argues that the aim of the campaign on oversupply was to achieve acquiescence in the phasing down of opportunities for social mobility in a time of economic recession.