EDUCATION SYSTEM IN AUSTRALIA

From a seminar presented by Mr. Philip Taylor in The National Teachers Seminar, Ambarawa – Indonesia.

Education in Australia has traditionally been the responsibility of the States and Territories, assisted by the Federal Government with money grants for large-scale projects. In more recent times, the Federal Government has injected larger amounts of money but has, in return, expected a much larger say in educational decisions and future direction.

This has happened over the last 15 years with numeracy and literacy testing in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9. They are now trying to publish lists of school results for these tests. From next year, they will begin the phasing in of ACE (Aust Certificate of Education).

Eek university courses

Australia follows a 3-tier system education

·         Primary school                  6-7 years

·         Secondary school             5-6 years

·         Tertiary education           including university, colleges and TAFEs or Polytechnics

RELIGIOUS STUDIES does not exist as a subject in Australian schools. The only exposure student have is in the subject areas of Social Sciences where religion is studied as part of the culture of a country.

ASSESMENT is done internally by each school until the last year of secondary schooling where subjects are either

·         Moderated between schools

·         Externally examined in situations where students seek university courses. In this case, the university often requires certain subject and an overall minimum score to gain acceptance into certain courses.

This is the only year where examinations take place and still only counts for 50% of grade, the other 50% being controlled to controlling their own destiny. This has lead to a sharp increase in fees generally and the marketing of themselves to overseas students, offering courses at many times the price paid by local students.

TEACHERS fit broadly in to the middle class of society. When factors of

·         Housing and purchase of rent

·         Cost of living

·         Surplus salary

All teachers in Australia are registered through a Teachers Registration Board. This requires:

·         Degree in education or degree plus teaching qualification

·         Police check

·         1^st aid certificate

·         Mandatory reporting cerificate

·         Attend courses on gender issues, sexual harassment and cultural and racial awareness.