Revive school debating to boost academic excellence and civic engagement

The Education Goals for Young Australians prioritise “excellence and equity” and the formation of “active and informed members of the community”. However, Australian students’ well-documented decline in academic achievement (especially in the English language) has eroded public confidence. Furthermore, their inadequate understanding of the nation’s governance has led to a 2024 Senate Inquiry into civics education, engagement, and participation in Australia.

The latest wave of Australian education reform now centres on restoring evidence based approaches to what and how students learn. Borrowing heavily from traditional practices, and drawing on what is commonly referred to as ‘the science of learning’, this involves creating a “knowledge-rich curriculum” with “coherent and sequenced” content, supported by “explicit” teaching.

The so-called 21st century skills (the 4 Cs) of communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity seem naturally aligned with the traditional practice of debating. Working either solo or as part of a team, an effective debater undertakes sound research, anticipates and responds to all possible perspectives, takes a reasoned position, and makes the case articulately and persuasively.

While the Australian Curriculum advocates the development of argumentation skills — mainly through writing — the few references to the art of debating do not reflect the evidence of its significant cognitive, linguistic, philosophical and socio-political benefits. Thus, schools and teachers are less likely to include it among their strategies for meeting curriculum requirements.

Evolving over millennia from its ancient Greek origins, debate is at the heart of Western intellectual culture. Described as “a well-known pedagogical technique since there have been written records about teaching and learning”, it is a proven instrument for sustaining Western traditions that prize logic, linguistic dexterity and the robust, civil exchange of ideas. In the 21st century, debating takes many forms, from a highly structured parliamentary style to team policy, one-on one and public forum debates. Technology allows considerable innovation. Much of the resilience of this ancient art, according to researchers, is due to “its associations with two powerful concepts: critical thinking and democracy.”

The available research underscores its potential to address academic and cultural deficits in the education of young Australians. It is a proven strategy for cementing knowledge across multiple subject areas, enhancing English language proficiency and for encouraging thoughtful, articulate, confident civic engagement.

A second review of the Australian Curriculum (2021-2022) missed a crucial opportunity to prioritise citizenship and nation-building, in which debate plays a key role. In the absence of a rigorous academic framework, Australia’s national curriculum lacks deep and unifying philosophical and intellectual themes. By contrast, the world’s highest-performing education system — where English is the language of instruction — places a meticulous emphasis on citizenship. Singapore’s national curriculum is grounded in national values.

At the time of writing, the 48th Parliament of Australia is due to be elected by May 2025. An election magnifies the challenges for politicians as they seek to defend their legislative positions. It also highlights an undervalued and arguably underused obligation of Australia’s political leaders: the debate.

Federal and state/territory governments are under intense public scrutiny regarding cost-of-living pressures, energy supply, national security and defence, immigration, productivity, indigenous representation, health, education, youth crime and numerous other policy areas. Calls for open and comprehensive debate on these issues are a reminder of an ancient practice that stimulates civic participation, holds political leaders to account, and remains a cornerstone of a free and civil society. The lead-up to an election is also a timely opportunity to consider the effectiveness of the two Education Goals for Young Australians authorised by the nation’s nine education ministers.

This paper places the ancient art of debate at the nexus of an impending election, rising scepticism about political leadership and decision-making, and ongoing concerns about the effectiveness of national education goals in preparing young Australians for post-school life and work in a democracy. A renewed emphasis on debating across the curriculum would raise the academic bar (especially in the English language), boost students’ appreciation of Australia’s Western foundations, and strengthen the nation’s democratic decision-making culture.

Debating takes many forms in school contexts, including whole class, team policy, one-on-one and public forum debates. For example, a whole class debate centres on a proposition. Students research all possible perspectives and decide whether to argue for or against. A key aspect of most debating types is effective questioning used to challenge the opposition’s argument. Highly structured debates generally follow the Oxford style. Australian students can choose to practise Parliamentary style debate and engage in Mock Trials among other competitions such as the NSW Premier’s Debating Challenge.

Dr Fiona Mueller is an Adjunct Fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies and a renowned education expert. Dr Deidre Clary is a former teacher and deputy principal who was a Curriculum consultant with ACARA, specialising in comparative curriculum studies.