Country

EDUCATION SYSTEM : AUSTRALIA

Discovery Captain James Cook discovered Australia in 1770. He was sent to discover the huge land that many people believed was south of the equator. He landed south of present day Sydney in New South Wales. He claimed this part of the land for the King of England.

At a Glance• Official Name : Commonwealth Of Australia• Continent : Oceania • Latitude: 35°1'S. Longitude: 117°52'E.• Capital: Canberra• Population: 23.6 million • Density of population: 2.8/sq km• No official language: 81% of the population speaks Australian English • Largest country and island of Oceania• Indigenous are known as Aborigine

Government• Australia is a constitutional monarchy with a federal division of powers.• It uses a parliamentary system of government with Queen Elizabeth II.• The Queen resides in the United Kingdom.• The federal government is separated into three branches: The legislature,

The executive and the judiciary• There are two major political groups that usually form government: the

Australian Labor Party and the Coalition

Economy• Australia has a developed modern market economy and has had one of the

most outstanding economies of the world in recent years with high-growth, low inflation and low interest rates.

• The Australian economy is dominated by its service sector, representing 68% of Australian GDP. The agricultural and mining sectors account for 57% of the nation’s exports.

• Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, particularly wheat and wool, minerals such as iron-ore and gold, and energy in the forms of liquefied natural gas and coal. It has made a comparatively large investment in social infrastructure, including education, training, health and transport.

Religion• Australia has no state religion, and section 116 of the Australian Constitution

prohibits the federal government from making any law to establish any religion, impose any religious observance, or prohibit the free exercise of any religion.

• In the 2011 census, 61.1 per cent of Australians were counted as Christian, including 25.3 percent as Roman Catholic and 17.1 per cent as Angelican. About 22 per cent of the population stated “no religion” (which includes humanism, atheism, agnosticism and rationalism.

• Overall, 7.2 percent of Australians identify with non-Christian religions.

Information Class Location Schedule

M-W-F Lab Tues-Thurs

Office Phone Email

Book(s) Required Text Additional

Materials Item 1 Item 2 Item 3

Minister for Education: Christopher Pyne Assistant Minister for Education: Sussan Ley Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education: Senator Scott Ryan

Education

Department of Education• Outcome 1: Improved access to quality services that support early childhood

learning and care for children through a national quality framework, agreed national standards, investment in infrastructure, and support for parents, careers, services and the workforce.

• Outcome 2: Improved learning, and literacy, numeracy and educational attainment for school students, through funding for quality teaching and learning environments, workplace learning and career advice.

• Outcome 3: Promote growth in economic productivity and social wellbeing through access to quality higher education, international education and international quality research.

School CalendarAustralia is in the South Hemisphere; therefore the academic year coincides with calendar year, starting in the end of January and finishing in December. The summer vacations are the biggest school holidays (period of 6/7 weeks), and during the school year there are also small breaks usually of about 10-14 days between “terms” (2 terms per semester). Not all states go all holidays at the same time. This difference is most likely in place so to maximize holiday and tourist places, which would then extend for further. The timetable for school vacations are in general in April, July and September. The beginning of the Holidays in public schools also differ by around I week from private schools.

Differences Between Private and Public Schools

Private Schools in general are related to a religion and usually they offer more options in music and sports. In both all students have to use of uniforms but in the private schools the rules are more restricted about the use of a complete uniform. The educational courses and standards of all high schools are very similar and all prepare students for the same national, recognized qualifications in the country. Some schools also offer in the years 11 and 12 professional qualifications level for Certificate 2 and 3.

Timetable and Transport• The schedule of the lessons is Monday to Friday, 8:45 am to 3 pm, with

breaks for lunch and snacks. Extra Curricular activities such as soccer practice, dance classes, etc. is done after school hours or Saturday mornings.

• The government schools offer subsidized public transport if necessary but most students who are enrolled in the schools, usually live around the geographic area limit of school and are able to go walking or by bicycle.

Tiers of Education

It consists three tiers:

1. Primary Education (Primary Schools)2. Secondary Education (Secondary schools/ High schools)3. Tertiary Education (Universities or Vocational Education and Training)

Structure of School Education Across States

State or Territory

Minimum Age

Primary Education

Secondary Education

Australian Capital Territory

4 years, 8 months

Kindergarten, Years 1-6

Years 7-12

New South Wales

4 years, 5 months

Kindergarten, Years 1-6

Years 7-12

Northern Territory

4 years, 6 months

Transition, Years 1-6

Years 7-12

Queensland 4 years, 6 months

Preparatory, Years 1-7

Years 8-12

Types of SchoolingGenerally three types schooling can be found:1. Government schools 2. Non-government schools 3. Independent schools

INTERVAL

Pre-schooling• Pre-school and pre-prep programs in Australia are relatively unregulated, and

are not compulsory.• Pre-school is offered to three- to five years olds; attendance numbers vary

widely between the states.• Mainly day care centers and community based schools.• In some states pre-schooling is the responsibility of the state department of

education.

Primary Education• One year preparatory or kindergarten for the age 5 child, it is compulsory in

some of the states.• Primary schooling is imperative.• Age limit: 5-12 years• The grades are : 1. Kindergarten : Foundation Year2. Grade 1: 06- to 07-year-olds3. Grade 2: 07- to 08-year-olds4. Grade 3: 08- to 09-year-olds5. Grade 4: 09- to 10-year-olds6. Grade 5: 10- to 11-year-olds7. Grade 6: 11- to 12-year-olds

Secondary Education• Some states vary in whether Year 7 is part of the primary or secondary

education.• Age limit: 12 -18 Years• The grades are: 1. Year 7: 12- to 13-year-olds 2. Year 8: 13- to 14-year-olds3. Year 9: 14- to 15-year-olds4. Year 10: 15- to 16-year-olds and 17 year olds5. Year 11: 16- to 17-year-olds6. Year 12: 17- to 18-year-olds

The Australian CurriculumThe Australian Curriculum provides two key elements: (i) Agreement on the curriculum content that all Australian students should be taught (outline of knowledge, skills and understandings for each learning area at each year level)(ii) Explicit advice on the achievement standards that all Australian students should be meeting (depth of understanding, extent of knowledge and sophistication of skill expected of students at each year level).

Years K- 6 Taught Subjects• English • Mathematics • Science and Technology• History

Years 7- 10 Taught Subjects• Aboriginal Studies• Agricultural Technology• Child Studies• Commerce• Dance• Design and Technology• Drama• English• Food Technology• Geography• Graphics Technology• History• Industrial Technology• Information and Software Technology

• Languages• Marine and Aquaculture Technology• Mathematics• Music• Personal Development, Health and

Physical Education• Photographic and Digital Media• Physical Activity and Sports studies• Science• Technology• Textiles Technology• Visual Arts• Visual Design• Work Education

Years 11- 12 Taught Subjects• Arts • Business and Economics• Career Development• English• Health and Physical Education• Humanities and Social sciences• ICT and Design• Languages • Mathematics• Sciences

Teaching Learning Strategies• Arranging multiple opportunities for students• Using variety of ways to make sense of ideas• Using a range of opportunities to demonstrate what has been learnt• Providing quality learning experiences for all students regardless of their starting

points.• Preparing for the future• Adapting for different skill levels• Adjusting the amount of output required• Using peer and team work• Link learning to real world purposes• Accessing technology• Using quality teacher aids

National Assessment ProgramThe National Assessment Program (NAP) is an ongoing program of assessments, to monitor progress towards the Educational Goals for Young Australians and to support ongoing evaluation of the national education system. The NAP encompasses the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) and three-yearly sample assessments in science literacy, civics and citizenship, and information and communication technology (ICT) literacy. Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit for the National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) test in May each year. The assessments are an opportunity for students to demonstrate what they have learned in class.For students in Years 3 and 5, there are four tests covering numeracy, reading, writing and language conventions (spelling, punctuation and grammar). For students in Years 7 and 9, there are five tests including two tests in numeracy – a calculator allowed test and a non-calculator test.The NAPLAN test results and the student reports are released in September.

A-E Reporting SystemThe Australian Government brought a degree in 2005 that each state and territory adopt a common five-point scale. At each year level from Year 1 to Year 10, teachers have to report students’ achievements to parents using an A-E (or equivalent) . A-E scale represent:• A means well above standard; • B means above standard; • C means student at expected standard at time of report, on track to

proficiency; • D means below standard; • E means well below standard.

Medium of InstructionIn Australia, most schools use English. However State of Victoria there are a number of schools that teach in Greek and Italian. A number of schools also teach in French, Irish, Chinese, Arabic and Japanese.

Compulsory Education• Children must have to attend the schools in catchment area • Differs in the different states or territories• Duration is 11 years • Education in Australia is compulsory between the ages of five and fifteen to

seventeen

Technology in Education• Electronic whiteboard.• Virtual classroom.• Projects which are solely depend on technology.• Using technology for communication and track learner’s activity outside of

classroom.• Free virtual educational contents.• Internet facilities in the classroom.

Comparative AnalysisArea Australia BangladeshCompulsory education

11 years 5 years

Primary level 7 years 5 yearsSecondary level 6 years 7 yearsAllocation from GDP

5.10% 2.23%

National curriculum Under processing Well establishedNature Decentralized CentralizedMajority educates From public schools From private

schools

Two New Pilot Programs to Skill Up Young

• The $44 million pilot programs – Training for Employment Scholarships and Youth Employment Pathways – are part of the youth stream of the Industry Skills Fund.

• Under Training for Employment Scholarships, businesses with less than 200 staff who hire an unemployed person aged 18 to 24 after 1 March 2015 may be eligible for funding of up to $7500 to help the employee gain new skills or qualifications.

• Youth Employment Pathways offers funding to support community service organizations assist disengaged youth, aged 15 to 18, to get back into school, start vocational education and training (VET) or move into the workforce.

A Worthy Example• In 2012, education firm Pearson ranked Australian education as thirteenth in

the world• The Education Index, published with the UN's Human Development Index in

2008, based on data from 2006, lists Australia as 0.993, amongst the highest in the world, tied for first with Denmark and Finland.

• 80th ranking of government expenditure on education worldwide.

Lessons to be Learnt• Managing decentralized education system in a very efficient and productive

way.• The longer compulsory education has brought amazing result for the

country.• Government schools educate approximately 65% of Australian students.• 85.7% of children attended pre-school.