EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA

( Australian and pasific)

By Nadia Katuuk 18091102140

 History of Education
Australian Aboriginals and Education
No history of education in Australia would be complete without a
look at the teaching methods of first human inhabitants of Australia.
Aboriginal education had a less formal style than modern Australia
education,The education system of the aboriginal people strongly
reflected their societal values and heritage.
The history of the education of Aboriginal children in NSW since 1788
and in other states of Australia, covers periods of major policy shifts
that until the late 1960s saw Aboriginal children suffer under a system
of discrimination that variously separated, segregated, excluded,
‘protected’ or removed them from their families. It is important to revisit
this history by highlighting aspects of these policy shifts, as they provide
the context for a deeper understanding of current Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander education programs and policies that seek to enable
Indigenous children and young people to gain access to educational
opportunities offered to all students.
 History of Education
education policies and decisions for Aboriginal
people were based on four factors:

• Fears about Aboriginals as a race

• Theories of racial inferiority which were widely used to justify limited

provision of education

• Community views on the need for segregation of Aboriginal people

from
whites which underpinned the inadequacy of educational provision

• The official policy of assimilation of Aboriginal people within the

broader
Australian community, which governed the type of instruction offered
to
children.
Aboriginal Content in the School curriculum 2.4.1

Expectations of teachers

In 2008 the quality of Australian history had been described by Professor Macintyre as
“‘uneven’ with great differences between states and territories and between the
government, Catholic and independent school sectors” (Harrison, 2008, p.2). The
expectations of teachers have changed throughout history with more emphasis in recent
years on the mandatory teaching of Aboriginal curriculum content. An increasing amount of
professional learning has also been made available online across learning areas. One of the
biggest changes since 1997 has been the implementation of the Australian Curriculum which
has explicitly stated what is to be taught in Society and Environment.

In the 1997 curriculum for the Society and Environment Learning Area in Western Australia,
the Aboriginal perspective was only mentioned in two of the seven Learning Area Strands.
These seven Strands areas included: Investigation, Communication and Participation, Place
and Space; Resources; Culture; Time, Continuity and Change; Natural and Social Systems;
and Active Citizenship. Aboriginal perspectives, however, were only mentioned in two of
these learning areas: culture and time, and continuity and change.
 History of Education
Education in Penal Colony
By the early 1800’s the terms ‘’public schoolmaster’’ and ‘’public
school’’ had become part of the colony’s vocabulary. Unlike mother-
england ,in which public schooling meant elite schools for fee-paying
boarders,the public schooling in the colony was a day school for children
of the lower class and the school master often an ex-convict

Education in a Federated Australia

The first decade of the twentieth century was marked by a push for
educational reform.by 1908 ,primary school fees had been dropped in all
states and literature history and social education given more prominent
place in the curriculum. lessons began to be organised following formal
steps.

Australian Education and the first world war

Australia entry into World War one produced immediate changes.up to
half of the of the male teachers in some states had volunteered for
military service causing an immediate staffing shortage, allowing women
to take senior classes previously taken by men. The war also lead to the
Commonwealth of Australia’s temporary involvement in education.
THE FORMAL SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA
(Primary,Secondary,and teariary
education)

•Primary education lasts for either six or seven

years,depending on the state concerned.

•The school day normally contains about 5 hours in

primary and hours in 5 hours secondary and has 200
days in a school years.

•Secondary education is available for either five or six

years depending upon the length of primary education in
state.

•Students normally commence secondary school at about

age 12.
The teartiary sector comparies colleges of technical and
further education (TAFE) and university.
 (Adult and informal education)
•Adult participation In formal education is
increasing.

•Nonformal education is provided through a

variety of agencies and institutions.

•Job training is emerging as an area of

considerable importance in nonformal education.

(Education Finance)

•State and federal governments supply more

than 90% of the funds for education .

•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.
ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPERVISORY
STRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS

•Education is the responsibillty of the

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

•Private school are an important feature of

the education system.Almost all private
schools have some religious affilation ,most
commonly with the Catholic Church.

•Full time secondary and higher education

students are eligible for financial assistance
through means tested allowances provided
on a noncompetitive basis.
 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT AND
TEACHING METHODOLOGY

•All students are exposed to a curriculum that

provided some coverage of
reading ,writing ,mathematics,science ,social
studies,humanities,art and foreign language.

•The federal government is keen to

encourage more foreign language teaching in
schools,especially the languages of Australia’s
major trading partners in Asia.

•The goals including development of

student’s knowledge and skills in
literacy,numeracy,computing,languages other
than English ,the creative and environmental
Understanding.
CONCLUSION
Australia has a strong higher education sector with an international
reputation for excellence.There are deservedly proud of being a
creative ,capable and highly educated nation.however ,there is no room for
complacency .The government’s vision is for a higher education system which
prepares Australians for the job of the future and promotes excellence in
research.
References

AECG & NSWDET (2004). The Report of the Review of Aboriginal Education

Booth, S. (2014). Teaching Aboriginal curriculum content in Australian high schools.

Retrieved from https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1522

https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/75/Australia-HISTORY-BACKGROUND.

Barcan, A , 1980.A History of Australian Education. Oxford University Press:

Melbourne, Australia.

Cleverly, J,1971. The First Generation: School and Society in Early Australia. Sydney
University Press: Sydney, Australia

Austin, A,1961. Australian Education 1788-1900.Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, LTD:
Melbourne, Australia.

Department of Education, 1973. Education in Australia. Australian Government

Publishing Service: Canberra, Australia.