Together in LEARNING
TOGETHER IN LIFE The future of coeducation AT BARKER
Honor Non Honores
Mission An Anglican community inspiring every learner every experience every day
Vision To be a leader in Christian education that is characterised by a global vision that inspires hope
Values Commitment Compassion Courage Integrity Respect
We acknowledge the Dharug, Guringai and Darkinjung people who are the traditional custodians of the land on which Barker College and Darkinjung Barker stands. We pay respect to the elders past and present of the Dharug, Guringai and Darkinjung nations and extend that respect to other Aboriginal people within the Barker College community.
A NEW CHAPTER Barker College is delighted to announce that we will transition to a fully coeducational school by 2022.
Since 1975 Barker College students have enjoyed the positive impact of a coeducational Senior School. After careful consideration of the success of our existing coeducation model and the available research, it is clear that the rich resources and experiences available at the School should be open to boys and girls in all years. A coeducational school experience provides a safe environment in which young men and women can grow up together, learn to work respectfully, and appreciate the differing viewpoints that each brings. It provides full access to the Barker College experience for all students and their families, promoting harmony and a rich and vibrant academic and co-curricular life for our students. Most importantly, the overwhelming evidence from past and present families is that coeducation provides an outstanding preparation for the real world that lies beyond the School gates.
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We will open places for girls for Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten classes in 2018, for Year 3 girls in 2019 and for Year 7 girls in 2020.
This decision completes the story that began on our first day in 1890 when both girls and boys were part of the original school enrolment. Over the coming months, more information will be provided to the School community on the transition plans. In Term 4 2016, information evenings will also be held for the community to learn more about our plans. More information is also available on the School’s website. The School Council considers that this fundamental and strategic step will provide invaluable opportunities that enable us to fulfil our Vision of being a leader in Christian education that inspires global hope.
Phillip Heath Head of Barker College
Ian Miller Peter Berkley Chair-elect of the Council of Chair of the Council of College Barker College The future ofBarker coeducation at Barker I 5
TRANSITION TO COEDUCATION With a focus on the future, Barker College will transition to a fully coeducational environment by 2022.
Pre - K EN KiNDERGART Year 1, 3 12 Year 10, 11, Pre - K EN KiNDERGART 12 10 r Yea , 11,
2018
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Pre - K EN KiNDERGART 4, 7 Year 1, 2, 3, 12 Year 10, 11,
Pre - K EN KiNDERGART 4, 5, 7, 8, Year 1, 2, 3, 12 Year 10, 11,
Pre - K EN KiNDERGART 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Year 1, 2, 3, 12 Year 10, 11,
2022 2021 2020
2019
Enrolments are open for girls to commence at Barker in 2018 in Pre-K and Kindergarten. We also welcome enrolment applications for girls wishing to commence Year 3 in 2019, Year 7 in 2020 and beyond.
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History of coeducation at Barker Barker was originally founded at Kurrajong, a small mountain village on the outskirts of the city by the Rev. Henry Plume, who in 1890, enrolled four boys and a girl in the School’s first class.
They were all preparing for the Matriculation Examination to enter Sydney University. Evelyn Hill, acknowledged as Barker’s first female student, matriculated alongside the four boys in her class, and went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree as Barker’s first university graduate. Rev. Plume had always intended when he opened Barker College that it would be a coeducational school, and in the following year, the School enrolled 17 students, including the four Bowman sisters. Lottie Bowman, one of the four, proved to be one of Barker’s most successful cricketers in those early days. She describes her school experience -
“We girls had to play cricket every Sunday afternoon with the boys. Sunday morning we had to translate a chapter of the Bible into French...We had ten minutes’ recess at 11am but every one of us also had to take the cross-cut saw and saw the wood that kept the fuel stoves going.”
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Barker’s innovative Senior School set a number of firsts for an independent school in Sydney. The research of the Headmaster at the time, Mr Trevor McCaskill, led him to conclude that a different style of education for Senior Secondary Students would provide a more appropriate educational experience for young people on the threshold of adulthood. This was achieved through smaller class sizes, tutorial style teaching and the introduction of a thorough sytem of academic care which cemented strong relationships between young adult students and those who taught and cared for them. In the context of a senior secondary school that provided a deliberate bridge between school and university, for Mr McCaskill, coeducation was a logical and more natural way for young people to be educated.
On February 3, 1975, 59 girls walked through Barker’s gates into a world of 1, 143 boys, an experience which may have been daunting for both genders! The girls came with many expectations – most were intent on taking advantage of Barker’s very broad range of subjects and co-curricular activities being offered in a university-style learning environment. Some relished the prospect of being treated as young adults. Others wished to share in their brothers’ positive experience of schooling. Still others came because they liked the idea of coeducation, and their parents saw it as positive choice. Barker girls continue to enjoy a rich learning environment and a wealth of opportunities in both curricular and co-curricular areas.
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INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS, PARENTS & COMMUNITY Why will the introduction of full coeducation be good for Barker College students? The time is right to complete the journey that commenced in 1890 when girls were part of the original enrolment and offer places for girls across all years of the School. It will foster equity, justice, kindness and respect amongst students. These qualities are much needed in contemporary Australia, as repeated media narratives demonstrate. Coeducation prepares students for life beyond the Mint Gates and therefore a Barker College education prepares students for life. The Barker College community values our abiding commitment to a strong academic program and to effective pastoral care delivered in an authentically Christian setting. The School has considerable data to support this claim and countless generations of Barker College students testify to the positive experiences they enjoyed here. This is particularly the case since the introduction of coeducation in the Senior School in 1975. A survey of current and former Barker College parents conducted in 2015 revealed that the top 3 reasons for choosing Barker for their child were the provision of a balanced education, the quality of teaching and a focus on student welfare and well-being. Providing a single sex education was not in the top 20 reasons.
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Why is this change occurring given the success of Barker College’s existing coeducational model? The most important task for Barker College is to provide a well-rounded and balanced education that prepares students for life after school. Most Independent Schools, including Barker, were established well over 100 years ago, and in a very different world and with very different attitudes towards the roles of men and women. Given the changing world we live in and the stereotypes that can develop in single sex environments, we think it is time to make the change. A report into coeducation in the United Kingdom in 2006 stated that there has been a reduction in the number of single sex schools by over 80% in the last 40 years (Asthana, A, 2006). The fact that segregation persists in Sydney is curious given global trends.
Barker College has a unique coeducational model which will continue with the introduction of full coeducation from 2018. The world has evolved since we first welcomed girls into the Senior School in 1975 and the time is right to provide a full Barker College education for all students. We want all Barker College students to come together to make the world a fairer place and this commitment to justice and equity begins at school. The aim and purpose of a Barker education is to enable students to be inclusive and participate in a rapidly evolving and technological society, one which is vastly different to the last generation of learners. It is clear that in the 21st century all social institutions have undergone considerable change and occupational fields that were once dominated by one gender no longer exist. Given this, the demarcation of schools along gender lines is thoroughly out of date for progressive environments (Gill, 2004, 118).
Barker College’s existing pastoral care structures are excellent. How will full coeducation affect this? As part of our commitment to value every learner, every experience, every day, we regularly review our pastoral care structures to ensure that we are leaders in best practice. To continue our steadfastness in this regard, we will be conducting a full School pastoral care review in 2017 with the aim of safeguarding what is a cornerstone of the Barker College experience.
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INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS, PARENTS & COMMUNITY How will coeducation affect the existing curriculum and co-curricular programs? The gradual introduction of full coeducation will allow for a well thought out and measured approach to integrating new students into existing Barker College programs. It will allow for greater choice and opportunity for all students, male and female. 21st century learning pedagogies and methodologies challenge the notion of gender based limitations. Rather it is the ‘presence of a supportive community of teachers…and the whole school community (being) committed to the principles of gender equity and the fulfilment of individual potential’ which will ultimately determine achievement (Gill, 2004, 121). Co-curricular activities will continue to play an important role within Barker College. There will be an expectation that all students maintain regular and ongoing commitment to the broader co-curricular programs within the School.
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Barker College maintains long-standing memberships of various school and community sporting associations and will maintain these into the future. Specifically, the School will continue to participate in and honour all commitment to competitions run within IPSHA, the CAS and ISA. It is anticipated that the suite of sporting choices will continue to grow over time, as has been the case in recent years. Barker will focus on providing the best opportunities within both school and community based competitions across a broad range of activities. The Outdoor Education and Cadet programs will continue to provide meaningful and challenging experiences for all students outside of the traditional classroom setting. Programs in these areas articulate well around a broader coeducational setting. All other co-curricular activities such as Music, Drama, Debating and Public Speaking have been designed and run within a coeducational framework for well over 40 years at Barker. These programs will expand to cater for younger female students but essentially existing structures and programs will continue as the School moves to become fully coeducational across all year groups.
How big will the School get? Will there be a 1:1 ratio of male to female students?
Isn’t it true that coeducation is better for boys whereas single sex is better for girls?
Barker is already a large school and we are able to maintain our culture and inclusive environment within our community. The School will grow, but we will continue our commitment to providing excellence in pastoral care where every child is known. Over time we expect we will move towards a gender balance.
The vast majority of research into the impact of segregating the sexes at school was conducted prior to 2000 (Bennett, 2015). Much has changed in both a national and global setting in this time and it is therefore prudent to canvas more contemporary research into this field. In the latter part of the 20th century and the early decades of the 21st century, there has been a significant global change in the roles and status of women. In the past segregated education tended to channel young men and women into gender specific careers and this is no longer the case.
What about the School uniform? We have engaged the services of Jonathan Ward, an experienced designer who has worked with Barker College in the past to design the new uniforms for girls as well as update the boys’ uniforms. Initial concepts of the new uniform for Pre-K and Kindergarten can be found on the School’s website.
There have been studies, for example a 2012 study from the University of Pennsylvania, which analysed data from South Korea, which conclude an advantage to single sex education. However, there are an equal number which draw no such conclusion and the claim that girls achieve higher academic results in a single sex environment is now only supported by 17% of post 1995 research into the debate (Bennett, 2015).
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INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS, PARENTS & COMMUNITY The research is unable to control variables such as Socio Economic Scores (SES), family background, individual differences in each learner and the individual school’s culture. One cannot sustain a research based argument that one system is better or more effective than another whilst being unable to account for a wide range of variables. No two schools or learners are the same; it is difficult to substantiate a claim that a study on this can be definitive. Various studies (Robinson and Smithers, 1999, Mansfield, 2013, Pahlke, Hyde and Allison, 2014, Cherney and Campbell, 2011) state that academic achievement between single sex and coeducational schools is negligible once family background, SES factors and school culture are taken into account. Gill even goes as far as to state that ‘internal qualitative variables may be even more important in their capacity to affect the quality of school experience’ (Gill, 2004, 118). In fact, the differences in the learning styles of one gender or group of students alone are far greater than the differences between boys and girls on a vast range of measures.
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If that’s true, why do single sex girls’ schools dominate the end of year performance tables? Independent schools dominate performance tables primarily because of the standard of teaching, school leadership, parent support and higher than average SES. The fact is that most independent schools in Sydney are single sex. Single sex schools will therefore top the performance tables – there are very few alternatives. What experience does the Barker College teaching staff have with girls education? Almost all staff currently teach a coeducational class in the Senior School. While there may be some slight differences, generally speaking, good teaching is good teaching regardless of gender. Most Junior School teachers also have experience teaching in a coeducational setting. Barker College has the highest number of BOSTES accredited Highly Accomplished Teachers in New South Wales and all Barker College staff are committed to their ongoing professional learning.
Does this impact the position of my son who has already been accepted but hasn’t yet started at Barker? All confirmed places remain in place. Will priority be given to sisters and daughters of current or past Barker students? Consistent with our current enrolment conditions, every effort will be made to accommodate siblings of current students and daughters of former students.
When can I enrol my daughter? Enrolments for all entry points are now open. Further information, prospectus and registration forms can be found on our website. How can I find out more information? Community information sessions will be held from now until the commencement of full coeducation. Tour dates, booking details and further information can be found on our website.
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References Asthana, A, (2006), Why single-sex education is not the route to better results, https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/jun/25/schools.gender2 Bennett, S, (2015), Gender relations in elite coeducational schools (No. PhD). Deakin University. Bracey, G, (2006), Separate but Superior? A Review Of Issues And Data Bearing On Single-Sex Education, The Great Lakes Center for Education Research & Practice, East Lansing, Michigan. Cherney, I. D., & Campbell, K. L. (2011), A league of their own: Do single-sex schools increase girls’ participation in the physical sciences? Sex roles, 65 (9-10), 712-724. Gill, J, (2004), Beyond the Great Divide, UNSW Press, Sydney. Mansfield, K. C. (2013), The growth of single-sex schools: Federal policy meets local needs and interests, Education policy analysis archives, 21, 87. Pahlke, E., Hyde, J. S., & Allison, C. M. (2014), The effects of single-sex compared with coeducational schooling on students’ performance and attitudes: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 140(4), 10 42. Park, H., Behrmann J., & Choi, J., (2012) Causal Effects of Single-Sex Schools on College Entrance Exams and College Attendance: Random Assignment in Seoul High Schools, University of Pennsylvania, http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=psc_working_ papers Robinson, P., & Smithers, A. (1999), Should the sexes be separated for secondary education-comparisons of single-sex and co-educational schools? Research Papers in Education, 14(1), 23-49. Woodward, L. J., Fergusson, D. M., & Horwood, L. J. (1999), Effects of single-sex and coeducational secondary schooling on children’s academic achievement. Australian Journal of Education, 43(2), 142-156.
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Initial uniform concepts for Pre-K and Kindergarten World renowned designer Jonathan Ward has been tasked with designing the new school uniforms. These are his initial design concepts for Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten.
half zip Vest
Polo Top LONG Sleeves
Polo Top SHort Sleeves Fleece Top HoodIed Reversible Bucket Hat
Skort TrackpantS ShortS FOOT WEAR School Bag
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Educating
for the future
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Together in Learning, Together in Life
The educational landscape has changed immeasurably in the last decade to the point where what was considered cutting edge in 2000 is now old news. The students who move beyond the School gates at the end of their tenure will have on average 17 different jobs and 5 different careers throughout their professional lifetime. None of these will be based on gender. With a focus on preparing young men and women for the future, Barker students will be together in learning, together in life.
A 21st century education teaches students to be flexible with their knowledge and understanding whilst at the same time encouraging collaboration and diverse thinking. Today’s students are taught to apply knowledge in new situations, look at crosscurricular integration through project based learning, and most of all, develop an ability to adapt. Problem solving, team work, time management, higher order thinking and digital literacy are some of the skills needed for the future. We are about sending Barker students into the world equipped with the skills they need to be future ready. The future has changed and so have we.
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91 Pacific Highway Hornsby NSW 2077 +61 2 9847 8399 enrolments@barker.nsw.edu.au www.barker.nsw.edu.au 20 I The future of coeducation at Barker