Languages study and class privilege - The neoliberal effect in Australian schools

Sep 5, 2026

Uploaded by Paura

Australian secondary schools sit within a highly multicultural and multilingual society, yet language study has fallen sharply over recent decades—while access remains strongly stratified by social class. At elite and academically selective schools, traditional languages such as French and German continue to function as valuable linguistic and cultural capital. In low SES government comprehensive schools, language choice is restricted and participation is poor, widening inequality through neoliberal schooling reforms.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages40

Reading Time1 h 41 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction: a social justice issue

Context and contrasting school types

Evidence of neoliberal-driven segregation

Social class and language provision in NSW

Languages study and class privilege: The neoliberal effect in Australian schools Stephen Black University of Technology Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Abstract In Australia’s highly multicultural and multilingual society the number of students studying languages in secondary schools has declined markedly in recent decades, but not for all students. For students from high socio-economic status (SES) families who attend elite private schools and academically selective high schools, studying traditional languages such as French or German remains a strong curriculum choice and languages continue to confer linguistic and cultural capital. Not so, however, for the majority of students in low SES government comprehensive high schools. For these students, the choice of studying languages is very limited, and for the languages courses that are available, participation rates are poor. Moreover, this social class disparity in the study of languages is ever widening as the result of neoliberal reforms to Australian schooling. In New South Wales, the focus of this paper, school choice and selective schooling policies have ensured that most students in low SES comprehensive high schools are unlikely to study languages beyond the mandatory state minimum of 100 hours in Year 7 or 8. This paper demonstrates the social class inequalities of differentiated languages provision by examining four government high schools in two urban areas in NSW. In each area, languages provision and its associated discourses in the local comprehensive high school are contrasted with the academically selective high school located just a few kilometres away. Recent neoliberal education policies in NSW indicate that school and languages education segregation based on social class will continue unabated. Keywords: languages decline, socio-economic inequalities, social justice, neoliberalism, social class Introduction: a social justice issue ‘Kids take to languages like a duck to water here’ (Principal of an academically selective high school) ‘It’s not a priority for them’(Principal ofa low SES comprehensive high school) The above two quotes are selected from interviews with the principals of two government high schools in New South Wales (NSW) , Australia’s most populous state. The principals are reflecting on languages provision in their schools and how their students view the study of languages. In one school , languages are seen to be valued and embraced by students, while in the other school, languages are not seen to be very important. The principals are from two different types of government secondary schools: one is an academically selective high school, the other a low SES comprehensive high school. Entry to the former school type is via a state-wide, high-stakes placement test which all students can undertake in their final year of primary school (in Year 6) . In academically selective high schools, which comprise students with high levels of socio-economic/educational advantage, there is a wide range of languages available in the school curriculum and many students study languages up to and including their senior school years prior to university entrance. At low SES comprehensive high schools, there is usually a very limited range of languages available, and beyond the mandatory 100 hours that students undertake in either Year 7 or 8, very few students study languages. This paper argues that this differentiated state of languages provision is inequitable, is getting worse, and represents class privilege. It explains that languages differentiation within the curriculum of NSW schools is no accident and results from structural inequality in the Australian education system (see Teese and Polesel, 2003) exacerbated by neoliberal educational reforms of the past thirty years. By highlighting the role of neoliberal reforms and social class in secondary school languages provision this paper departs from the majority of academic stu

FAQs

How has language study changed in Australian secondary schools over recent decades?

The number of students studying languages declined markedly in recent decades overall. However, the decline is not uniform across all student groups, with differences tied to social class and school type.

What explains the disparity in language study between high and low SES schools?

For students in high SES contexts such as elite private or academically selective schools, traditional languages remain a strong curriculum choice. In low SES government comprehensive high schools, available language options are limited and participation rates are poor, linked to neoliberal reforms and differentiated provision.

What does the paper claim about neoliberal schooling policies in New South Wales?

School choice and selective schooling policies make it unlikely that most low SES students study languages beyond the mandatory minimum. The paper argues that this results in ongoing, social-class-based segregation in language education.

Sep 5, 2026

Uploaded by Paura