A broad issue I have seen in the Australian education system is ‘the inequity in education system’. To provide a powerful explanation of this problem, I refer to (Riddle, 2014). His article “Why poor kids continue to do poorly in the education game” broadly demonstrates the issue and areas that impact on the education system of Australian children.

According to (Riddle, 2014) it appears to be that wealthier families become more wealthier while the lower income earners suffer with poor life conditions whereas middle income earners bear the burden of the effects caused by the economic fluctuations. Because of this reason. It is understandable the children in poverty had to face pathetic situations in their lives from young age. To critically evaluate this issue using learning theories I selected,

1.      Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs theory

2.      Lev Vygotsky's sociocultural constructivism

Taking into considerations Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs theory which provides a five-tier model of human needs, explicitly describes physiological needs (breathing, food, water, shelter, clothing, sleep) must be met to reach the remaining phases in a life of a human. Maslow also explains the importance of fulfilling the physiological needs as it lays a solid foundation to the future of the society. (Mcleod, 2024).

As (Riddle, 2014) explains that ‘social class is the strongest predictor of educational achievement’, Lev Vygotsky’s theory can be linked into this prediction. In Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, he explains that one’s sociocultural background has an impact on cognitive development (Mcleod, 2024). According to (Riddle, 2014) It is evident that young children who are raised in economically disadvantaged households shows poor academic performance while children who comes from rich and wealthier families shows good academic performance.

Linking to theories, it is evident that inability to access good health, criminality, economic participation, literacy and numeracy are some of the major areas that cause this issue.

The inequities also cause a hole in the whole education system due to the lack of resources available in rural schools such as learning resources and qualified teachers. Riffle, 2014 also describes that education has become a ‘marketing commodity’ for some people and they make huge profits by privatising the schools and recruiting qualified teachers for their own benefit whereas who cannot afford to study in those schools are considered poor performers.

In my opinion, there are many factors to be considered to support this issue which includes

-Social class and inequality

-Indigenous Education

-Cultural differences and identity

-Global transformation

-Gender

- Changing sociohistorical, political & socio-cultural contexts

To provide a solid foundation in children's lives, educators need adequate resources such as professional development, research resources, technological resources and good mental health to successfully perform their duties and pedagogical practices. However, cultural issues, transformation of roles, and economic issues led the teachers to look for other options available in the society (Welch et al. (2017, p.12).