Radical Hope

Education and Equality in Australia

In Radical Hope, one of Australia’s most original and provocative thinkers turns his attention to the question of education. Noel Pearson begins with two fundamental questions: How to ensure the survival of a people, their culture and way of life? And can education transform the lives of the disadvantaged many, or will it at best raise up a fortunate few?

Pearson argues powerfully that underclass students, many of whom are Aboriginal, should receive a rigorous schooling that gives them the means to negotiate the wider world. He examines the long-term failure of educational policy in Australia, especially in the indigenous sector, and asks why it is always “Groundhog Day” when there are lessons to be learned from innovations now underway.

Pearson introduces new findings from research and practice, and takes on some of the most difficult and controversial issues. Throughout, he searches for the radical centre – the way forward that will raise up the many, preserve culture, and ensure no child is left behind.

‘I am in awe of Pearson’s dedication and determination to change the educational outcomes for the Indigenous children of Cape York.’ —Jane Caro

‘Essential reading for all who care about the true nature of the society we have created in Australia’ —Alex Miller

‘Noel Pearson is the most influential intellectual in Australia’ —John Hirst, Australian Literary Review

‘Pearson has prompted quite a few conservative Australians to a change of heart’ —Tony Abbott

‘Noel Pearson is the best political and social essayist in the country’ —Michael Gawenda, Crikey

‘Pearson is a master of the essay as a literary form’ —Peter Sutton, The Monthly

‘We all need the Pearson project.’ —Inga Clendinnen, The Australian

Noel Pearson is a lawyer and activist, and the founder of the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership. He is the author of Up from the Mission and two acclaimed Quarterly Essays, Radical Hope and A Rightful Place.