AUSTRALIA: SYSTEM OF EDUCATION1. General Background2. Politics and the Goals of the Education System3. The Formal System of Education4. Administrative and Supervisory Structure and Operation5. Educational Finance6. Supplying Personnel for the Education System7. Curriculum Development and Teaching Methodology8. The System of Examinations, Promotions,

and Certifications9. Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and

Research10. Major Reform

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GENERAL BACKGROUND• AUSTRALIA is a large island continent located close to

Southeast Asia and the South Pacific.• The land mass totals 7.7 million square kilometers.• In 1990, the population was 17 million. As of 24 April 2012 at

05:24:18 PM (Canberra time), the resident population of Australia is projected to be: 22,886,339. This projection is based on the estimated resident population at 30 September 2011 of the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

• Large-scale immigration has slowly changed the ethnic mix and produced a more culturally diverse society.

• Middle East and Southeast Asia have beenprominent sources of immigrants.

• English is the language of virtually all activities.

POLITICS AND GOALS OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEMThe dominant role of governments in financing and administering

education means that the education policies of the major political parties are of considerable importance:

• The party of social democratic inclination (the Labor Party) is more likely to emphasize equitable access, the need for compensatory programs, and the importance of teacher and parent involvement in decision-making.

• The Liberal and National parties tend to place more weight on the need to maintain academic standards, parental choice of school, and vocationally relevant curricula.

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In the compulsory years of schooling the major emphasis tends to be on fostering individual development and general socialization. At the upper – secondary and tertiary levels, broader economic and social goals tend to become significant.

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THE FORMAL SYSTEM OF EDUCATIONPrimary, Secondary, and Tertiary Education

• Education is compulsory from ages 6 to 15 (16 in Tasmania) and between these ages there is virtually 100 percent attendance at school.

• Most children, start primary school at age of 5 but majority of 4-year olds attend kindergarten, normally part-time, before commencing primary school.

• A large number of 3-year olds attend a kindergarten or other preschool center, but programs are usually not subsidized and parents pay full fees.

• Primary education lasts for either six or seven years, depending on the state concerned.

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• The school day normally contains about 5 hours in primary and 5.5 hours in secondary and has 200 days in a school year.

• Secondary education is available for either five or six years depending upon the length of primary education in the state.

• Students normally commence secondary school at about age 12.

• The secondary school completion rate is higher for girls than boys, largely because more boys than girls leave school to enter an apprenticeship.

• The tertiary sector comprises colleges of technical and further education (TAFE) and universities.

• The TAFE colleges provide a wide variety of courses including pre-employment programs, and liberal adult education. This is the most accessible part of the

tertiary sector.AUSTRALIA

Special Education

• Special education programs are provided for students with physical, intellectual, and emotional disabilities. These schools, which are almost all located in the government sector, are staffed on an average student-teacher ratio of about 5 to 1. There was a decline on the proportion of students in special schools in 1980s when there was an emphasis on integrating disabled students into mainstream schools and classes.

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Vocational, Technical, and Business Education

• The difficult economic conditions of the 1980s focused attention on the provision of vocational, technical and business education.

• A major difficulty in this area is that one of the principal avenues of vocational training, apprenticeships, is highly susceptible to general economic conditions. There is no explicit policy as to which students should receive vocational training.

• General government policy is to re-emphasize the importance of vocational education and to recognize its increasing convergence with general education.

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Adult and Nonformal Education

• Adult participation in formal education is increasing.• Enrollments in the nonformal sector are, by their nature,

more difficult to estimate. • Nonformal education is provided through a variety of

agencies and institutions.• Nonformal education is also provided by a large number of

neighborhood learning centers, ethnic groups, and those involved in adult literacy programs.

• Job training is emerging as an area of considerable importance in nonformal education.

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ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPERVISORYSTRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS• Education is the responsibility of the individual states and

territories. State education departments recruit and appoint the teachers in government schools; supply buildings, equipment and materials; and provide some limited discretionary funding for use by schools.

• Private schools are an important feature of the education system. Almost all private schools have some religious affiliations, most commonly with the Catholic Church. Private schools are largely free from government direction, aside from having to meet prescribed minimum educational standards for registration and funding

purposes.

EDUCATIONAL FINANCE• State and federal governments supply more than 90% of the

funds for education.• The broad division of governmental responsibility is that the

states fund government schools and TAFE, and the federal government finances private schools, higher education and student financial support.

• Private funding of education is mostly in the form of tuition fees paid to private schools.

• All private schools also receive some direct government funding.

• Full-time secondary and higher education students are eligible for financial assistance through means tested allowances provided on a noncompetitive basis.

SUPPLYING PERSONNEL• Nearly 200,000 (full-time equivalent) teachers were employed

in schools in 1990. A further 45,000 people worked in nonteaching positions. About 93,000 teachers were employed in primary schools, 102,000 in secondary schools and 4,000 in special schools. Some 60% of school teachers are female. However, men are more likely than women to occupy senior administrative positions in schools.

• The normal length of initial training for secondary teachers is now four years of higher education. This generally comprises a three-year degree in a major discipline followed by a one-year diploma of education.

• Government teachers usually serve a 1 or or 2-year probationary period before becoming eligible for permanent employment.

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• Private school teachers are normally employed directly by the school concerned although, like government school teachers, their salaries and conditions are determined by industrial tribunals.

• Governments have supported the introduction of a new classification of teacher, commonly termed “Advanced Skills Teacher.”

• These teachers, who are selected on the basis of their qualifications and demonstrated competence, receive slightly higher salaries for taking responsibility for a range of professional duties including curriculum development and the induction of beginning teachers.

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CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT AND TEACHING METHODOLOGY

• There is no common school curriculum across the country.• The general pattern is that central authorities specify broad

curricular guidelines and schools have considerable autonomy in deciding curriculum detail and teaching methodology.

• All students are exposed to a curriculum that provided some coverage of reading, writing, mathematics, science, social studies, humanities, the expressive and performing arts, physical education, and less frequently, a foreign language.

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• The federal government is keen to encourage more foreign-language teaching in schools, especially the languages of Australia’s major trading partners in Asia.

• A major development was the adoption by the state and federal education ministers of a set ten broad goals for schooling in Australia.

• The goals include development of students’ knowledge and skills in literacy, numeracy, computing, languages other than English, the creative arts and environmental understanding.

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THE SYSTEM OF EXAMINATIONS, PROMOTIONS, AND CERTIFICATIONS

• In most schools students are automatically promoted between year levels according to age.

• The first normal certificate is generally received at year 10 based on internal school assessment.

• All states award a certificate based on successful completion of year 12.

• There is increasing use of criterion-based rather than norm-referenced assessment.

• These developments are a response to the perceived need for year 12 programs to be broadened beyond a concentration on preparation for higher education.

EDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENT,EVALUATION AND RESEARCH

• Several states have commissioned the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to assess student achievement in the basic areas of literacy and numeracy, and other states have initiated their own testing programs.

• A landmark in this respect was the 1990 publication of the first national report on schooling.

• At the higher education level a major change in research policy was evident in the establishment of theAustralian Research Council (ARC) in 1989.

• This federal initiative has sought to alter the “research culture” of higher education…

MAJOR REFORM

• The dramatic rise in the proportion of young people who completed secondary education. This has stimulated far-reaching changes in curricula, assessment, and school structures.

• The need for teaching career to be restructured to attract and retain able people has also been high on the reform agenda.

• The need for education to assist the Australianeconomy to become more internationally competitive.

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MAJOR PROBLEMS• Finding the resources to support the continued expansion of

senior-secondary and tertiary education.• Teachers will need to acquire new skills and knowledge to

assist their students anticipate and control the pace of change.

• The development of rewarding structures for teachers and academics is likely to be a major problem.

• The difficulties of providing effective programs to scattered populations will remain.

• Program development to help redress social, gender, and economic inequalities will continue to be a challenge.

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