Segregation and success in Tasmanian primary school sport carnivals

Australian schooling is one of the most segregated systems in the OECD, with much focus on the inequality between schools from poorer areas compared with those from wealthier suburbs. These inequalities have been explored in terms of infrastructure and funding, as well as their relative academic achievement. Previous research has also found that children from more disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to have poorer health than their wealthier peers. To determine whether there is a connection between these findings, this study investigates the impact of social and educational advantage on participation and success in primary school sports carnivals in Tasmania. It examined the results of Tasmanian primary schools across interschool cross-country carnivals between 2009 and 2019 and found that structural segregation existed across all competitions. Multiple regression was used to see if the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA), total school enrolments and geographic location predicted school cross-country rank. It was found that school size, geographic region and ICSEA all played an independent role in determining the participation and success of schools. Implications of these findings are discussed.