What Makes a Good School?

School choice has become one of the most agonizing issues of parenthood; while schools boast of unsurpassed facilities, genius teachers, and stellar academic achievement, parents wonder whether the marketing hype is actually true.

Drawing on the authors' experiences and knowledge-one as a school principal and both as parents and advocates-this account compares public, Catholic, private, selective, and comprehensive schools and examines how well each responds to the recurring crises in the lives of Australian children.

Offering clear-eyed advice to policymakers as well as parents, this book argues that schools must be a good fit for the students, the parents, and for the nation.