Great changes have taken place in Australian education since the foundation of the Commonwealth of Australia. 1900 during the colonial period, Australia had a population of 3.8 million, 6,900 government schools and 623,700 students. In addition, there are about 153400 students studying in private schools. In the same year, secondary education was only a privilege enjoyed by very few young people. According to the statistical report of the Australian federal government 19 10, "the age of male and female students leaving state government schools and terminating their studies is about 14 years old, and the states do not care about their whereabouts thereafter". At the beginning of the Commonwealth of Australia, vocational and technical education was not established for a long time. In Victoria, "many shortcomings in education were not corrected until the report of the Royal Vocational Education Committee (established in 1899) was released." As far as higher education is concerned, there were only four universities at that time, including the University of Sydney, the University of Melbourne, the University of Adelaide and university of tasmania, and the total number of students in the four universities was only 20,000.
In 2000, there were 3.2 million primary and secondary school students in Australia, including 2.2 million in public schools and 6.5438+0 million in private schools. In addition, about 6,543,800 people have received vocational education and training, and the total number of students in 42 higher education institutions is 695,500.
19 1 1 year statistics show that there are only 3 1.7 million employees in the whole education system, accounting for 1.6% of the total labor force. By 2000, the number of employees in the education system reached 615400, accounting for 6.8% of the total labor force.
Australian education management system
According to the Australian federal constitution, education affairs are managed by state and regional governments, and the federal government has no legal obligation. Generally speaking, the responsibilities of state and regional governments for education include the management and distribution of primary and secondary education, as well as the management and distribution of vocational education and training.
With the passage of time, the federal government has increasingly participated in the management of educational affairs by means of federal funding, set up special education projects and other mechanisms, such as the "Federal Conference of Ministers of Education, Training and Employment" and other national educational institutions, such as funding higher education, providing supplementary funds for schools, vocational education and training, strengthening education and training for indigenous people, islanders and immigrants, and carrying out cooperation and exchanges between countries. State and regional governments can also apply to the federal government for special funds for special purposes. In addition to its important funding function, the federal government also plays an extremely important role in promoting the fairness, consistency and continuity of education and training in Australia.
preschool education
Australian states and territories stipulate that preschool education is not a part of compulsory education, but it belongs to formal education. Preschool education in each state is generally one year, and most States and regions require children to start preschool education at the age of five.
Although all states and territories have policies to ensure that all children have the opportunity to receive preschool education before going to school, there is no unified national policy on providing preschool education. Therefore, there are great differences in the legislation, management and organization of preschool schools in different States and regions. The age of children receiving preschool education ranges from 3 to 5 years old, which makes the age of children entering primary school slightly different in different States and regions. In recent years, because many long-term day-care centers also take preschool education as an integral part of their services, some preschool education schools continue to extend students' school hours, making the difference between preschool education and long-term day-care centers less and less obvious. This makes it difficult for Australia to accurately determine the number of children receiving preschool education. From 65438 to 0999, a survey on child care was conducted in Australia. The survey defines preschool education as "a formal care that is widely applicable to children from the age of 3 to the beginning of primary school (sometimes younger children are accepted) and takes care of children during school." Children usually have a fixed school time. According to this definition, in 1999, only 23 1600 children in Australia received preschool education, accounting for only 30% of children aged 3-5.
(b) Primary and secondary education and academic system
The age of compulsory education in Australia is from six to fifteen (Tasmania to sixteen), and students generally complete compulsory education in grade 10. 1 1 and 12 grades are non-compulsory education. Primary and secondary schools in each state and region usually start in early February each year and end in early February1.
Tasmania has three semesters, Queensland and Northern Territory have two semesters, and other places have four semesters.
New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and the Capital Region implement the 13-year academic system, that is, preschool 1 year, 6 years for primary school and 6 years for secondary school. South Australia and Beiling also implement the academic system of 13, but the annual distribution is different from the above-mentioned States. The distribution of these two States and regions is: preschool education is 1 year, primary school is 7 years, and secondary school is 5 years.
The educational system in Queensland and Western Australia is 12 years, that is, 7 years in primary school and 5 years in secondary school.
Individual public secondary schools in Tasmania, the Capital Region and other states only offer grades 7 to 10. After completing grade 10, if students intend to continue their higher education, they can enter a separate school (high school) to complete their studies in grades 1 1 and 12.
Comparison of educational system and term of primary and secondary schools in different states and regions.
Children of Australian citizens and permanent residents enjoy free education in public primary and secondary schools, but they must pay for the use of teaching materials and school equipment. In addition, the school requires each student to pay a certain amount of "donation" every semester. Although the school does not specify the specific amount, it generally pays hundreds of Australian dollars in "donations" every year.
All public primary schools and most private primary schools are mixed schools. In teaching, the school emphasizes students' participation spirit and pays attention to cultivating students' self-study ability and practical work ability. Therefore, in class, teachers ask students to do more things.
Schools are generally divided into classes according to the age of students, and students of the same age are usually divided into the same class. After a period of study, schools can rearrange courses according to students' abilities and interests. The students didn't take the entrance exam. At the end of the semester, the teacher will negotiate with the parents of the students, and decide the promotion and repetition of the students according to their age and usual academic performance and with reference to the final exam results. There is no unified graduation examination for primary school graduates. All graduates can enter the nearby middle school.
Australian schools enjoy considerable autonomy. Every school has a school board composed of principals, community representatives, students' representatives and parents' representatives, which decides the internal affairs of the school. Every state and region has set up an educational administration to manage its own educational affairs. Schools generally decide their own teaching methods according to the policy guiding principles of each state and territory, and can also provide other different courses for students to choose from besides the courses prescribed by the state.
The evaluation of students varies from state to state and from region to region. Some states have a complete school-based evaluation system, and schools independently test and evaluate students. Other states combine this system with the external evaluation system, and some state and regional education authorities conduct unified examinations for students in grades 10 and 12.
(C) the convergence of high school education and higher education
According to the introduction of Australia 360 Education Group (/), in the high school education stage (high school), most schools provide a wide range of elective courses for students to choose from. The government encourages schools to develop some courses that can meet students' learning interests and requirements, but the opening of these courses must be approved by the education authorities of the state and region where the school is located. In recent years, schools have paid more and more attention to bringing vocational and technical education into the curriculum system of high school education. High school students can also obtain vocational and technical education certificates after graduation.
Middle school students who reach the minimum school-leaving age can leave school to look for job opportunities, or enter vocational education and training institutions, such as TAFE institutions or private business schools, to continue their studies.
For many VET courses, completing the middle school 10 grade is the minimum admission standard. For students who continue to complete all secondary education (up to grade 12), they can enter institutions of higher learning, vocational and technical schools and other types of institutions of higher learning.
The evaluation of whether a student is qualified to enter an institution of higher learning is generally carried out in the last two years of study or at the time of graduation. Take schools in the capital area as an example. Students in grades 1 1 and 12 must take five exams [8], the first time at the end of the first semester of grade 1 1, the second time at the end of the first semester, the third time at the end of the second semester and the fourth time. At the end of grade 12, students who wish to enter the university must also take the Australian grade examination.
The average score of five exams in each subject and AST scores add up, which is the basis for colleges and universities to decide whether to admit students. The subjects of the five exams are generally English, mathematics, science, business, art and information technology. AST's exam subjects are quantitative, oral and writing.