AUSTRALIA’S PRIMARY &
SECONDARY EDUCATION
SYSTEM
JESSICA P. PASAY-AN
ED 301 COMPARATIVE EDUCATION
• AUSTRALIA IS A LEADING GLOBAL PROVIDER OF
EDUCATION TO INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS, AND IN 2012
WAS RANKED AS THE THIRD-LARGEST PROVIDER OF
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION AFTER THE UNITED STATES
AND THE UNITED KINGDOM. AUSTRALIA HAS THE
HIGHEST RATIO OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS PER HEAD
OF POPULATION IN THE WORLD BY A LARGE MARGIN,
WITH 812,000 INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ENROLLED IN
THE NATION'S UNIVERSITIES AND VOCATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS IN 2019.
• EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA ENCOMPASSES THE
SECTORS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD
EDUCATION (PRESCHOOL) AND PRIMARY
EDUCATION (PRIMARY SCHOOLS), FOLLOWED
BY SECONDARY EDUCATION (HIGH
SCHOOLS), TERTIARY
EDUCATION (UNIVERSITIES AND REGISTERED
TRAINING ORGANISATIONS (RTOS).]
PRESCHOOL EDUCATION SYSTEM
• PRESCHOOL AND PRE-PREP PROGRAMMES IN AUSTRALIA ARE RELATIVELY
UNREGULATED AND ARE NOT COMPULSORY.THE FIRST EXPOSURE MANY
AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN HAVE TO LEARN WITH OTHERS OUTSIDE OF
TRADITIONAL PARENTING IS DAYCARE OR A PARENT-RUN PLAYGROUP.
• PRESCHOOLS ARE USUALLY RUN BY THE STATE AND TERRITORY
GOVERNMENTS, EXCEPT IN VICTORIA, SOUTH AUSTRALIA AND NEW SOUTH
WALES WHERE THEY ARE MORE OFTEN RUN BY LOCAL COUNCILS,
COMMUNITY GROUPS OR PRIVATE ORGANISATIONS
• PRESCHOOL IS OFFERED TO THREE- TO FIVE-YEAR-OLDS
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
•FOR PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
EDUCATION, GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS
EDUCATE APPROXIMATELY 60 PER CENT OF
AUSTRALIAN STUDENTS, WITH
APPROXIMATELY 40 PER CENT IN NONGOVERNMENT SCHOOLS.
• 10,584 REGISTERED SCHOOLS WERE OPERATING IN AUSTRALIA IN 2019, OF WHICH 7,092
WERE GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS. AS OF 2019, GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS EDUCATED 65.4% OF ALL
STUDENTS. IN 2017, THERE WERE JUST UNDER 282,000 TEACHERS IN AUSTRALIAN PRIMARY AND
SECONDARY SCHOOLS OF THE NON-GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS, NEARLY TWO-THIRDS WERE
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS. THE MAJOR PART OF GOVERNMENT-RUN SCHOOLS' COSTS IS MET BY THE
RELEVANT STATE OR TERRITORY GOVERNMENT.THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT PROVIDES THE
MAJORITY OF PUBLIC FUNDING FOR NON-GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS, WHICH IS SUPPLEMENTED BY
STATES AND TERRITORIES.
• NON-GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS, BOTH RELIGIOUS OR SECULAR TYPICALLY CHARGE COMPULSORY
TUITION AND OTHER FEES. GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS PROVIDE EDUCATION WITHOUT
COMPULSORY TUITION FEES, ALTHOUGH MANY GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS ASK FOR PAYMENT OF
'VOLUNTARY' FEES TO DEFRAY PARTICULAR EXPENSES.
• REGARDLESS OF WHETHER A SCHOOL IS GOVERNMENT OR NON-GOVERNMENT, IT IS REGULATED
BY THE SAME CURRICULUM STANDARDS FRAMEWORK. THE FRAMEWORK IS ADMINISTERED BY
THE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM, ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING AUTHORITY. MOST SCHOOLS
REQUIRE STUDENTS TO WEAR PRESCRIBED SCHOOL UNIFORMS. A SCHOOL YEAR IN AUSTRALIA
STARTS IN JANUARY AND FINISHES IN DECEMBER.
•THE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM IS
DESIGNED TO HELP ALL YOUNG
AUSTRALIANS TO BECOME
SUCCESSFUL LEARNERS, CONFIDENT
AND CREATIVE INDIVIDUALS AND
ACTIVE AND INFORMED CITIZENS.
•EIGHT LEARNING AREAS OF
THE AUSTRALIAN
CURRICULUM
PRIMARY SCHOOLS
• ALSO SOMETIMES CALLED INFANTS SCHOOLS, AUSTRALIA ADOPTS THE UNESCO TERM
OF PRIMARY SCHOOL THAT GENERALLY COVERS A CHILD'S EDUCATION FROM PREYEAR 1) AND FINISH WITH YEAR 6.
• THE DURATION OF PRIMARY SCHOOL YEARS VARIES ACROSS EACH AUSTRALIAN STATE
AND TERRITORY, WITH MOST ADOPTING SEVEN YEARS; EXCEPT IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA,
WHERE, UNTIL 2022, STUDENTS FINISH WITH YEAR 7, MAKING THE DURATION OF
PRIMARY SCHOOL EIGHT YEARS UNTIL THEY ARE 11, 12 OR 13 YEARS OF AGE.
• PRIMARY SCHOOLS FOCUS ON DEVELOPING ESSENTIAL LITERACY, NUMERACY AND
SOCIAL SKILLS, AND PROVIDE FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE TO CHILDREN ABOUT THE
WORLD AROUND THEM.
TEACHING PRACTICES IN AUSTRALIAN PRIMARY
SCHOOLS
• A NUMBER OF MEASURES WERE USED TO EXAMINE THE TYPES
OF TEACHING PRACTICES USED BY PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS:
• EXAMPLE:
-TYPE OF CLASSROOM ACTIVITY;
-EMPHASIS WHEN TEACHING MATHEMATICS AND READING; AND
-WITHIN-CLASS GROUPING FOR MATHEMATICS AND READING.
TYPE OF CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
• AT EACH WAVE, TEACHERS WERE ASKED TO REPORT ON THE FREQUENCY
WITH WHICH THEY USED FOUR TYPES OF CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES ON A
TYPICAL DAY. AGE-APPROPRIATE EXAMPLES WERE INCLUDED FOR EACH
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY TYPE. THE EXAMPLES BELOW RELATE TO YEARS 1–
2 STUDENTS. THE ACTIVITIES WERE:
• TEACHER-DIRECTED WHOLE-GROUP ACTIVITIES (E.G., LANGUAGE OR NUMERACY ACTIVITIES, STORY TIME OR NEWS
TIME);
• TEACHER-SUPPORTED SMALL-GROUP ACTIVITIES (E.G., LITERACY OR NUMERACY ACTIVITIES, SCIENCE, COOKING OR
ART ACTIVITIES);
• TEACHER-SUPPORTED INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITIES (E.G., READING, DOING PUZZLES, WRITING OR COMPLETING
WORKSHEETS); AND
• CHILD-INITIATED ACTIVITIES (E.G., FREE CHOICE OF ACTIVITIES, FREE PLAY IN OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, PRETEND PLAY).
EMPHASIS WHEN TEACHING
READING AND MATHS
• WHEN STUDY CHILDREN WERE IN YEARS 1–2 AND 3–
4, THEIR TEACHERS WERE ASKED WHAT THEIR MAIN
EMPHASIS WAS IN THEIR APPROACH TO TEACHING (I)
READING AND (II) MATHEMATICS (HEREAFTER
REFERRED TO AS “MATHS”)
SECONDARY
EDUCATION SYSTEM IN
AUSTRALIA
SECONDARY EDUCATION
• BOTH NON-GOVERNMENT AND GOVERNMENT PROVIDERS DELIVER SECONDARY EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA.
IT IS AVAILABLE FOR A PERIOD OF FIVE TO SIX YEARS, DEPENDING ON A PARTICULAR STATE OR TERRITORY
AND THE LENGTH OF PRIMARY EDUCATION. STUDENTS WHO FINISH THEIR SECONDARY EDUCATION IN
AUSTRALIA HAVE ALTOGETHER COMPLETED A TOTAL OF TWELVE YEARS OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
SCHOOL EDUCATION.
• THE SECONDARY SCHOOL IN AUSTRALIA BEGINS IN YEAR 6 OR 7 AND CONSISTS OF TWO STUDY LEVELS:
• SECONDARY SCHOOL (LASTS 3 TO 4 YEARS - YEARS 7 TO 10 OR 8 TO 10)
• SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL (LASTS FOR 2 YEARS - YEAR 11 AND YEAR 12)
• SECONDARY SCHOOL (YEARS 7 TO 10) - SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS
STUDY SUBJECTS THAT IMPROVE THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF ECONOMIC, CIVIL
AND SOCIAL ISSUES, ALONG WITH PROMOTING WELL-BEING AND PERSONAL
HEALTH. AT THIS STUDY LEVEL, STUDENTS LEARN SUBJECTS LIKE ECONOMICS,
MATHEMATICS, CIVICS, ENGLISH, SCIENCE, BUSINESS, CIVICS AND
GEOGRAPHY.
•
• THE GRADING SYSTEM FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IS SIMILAR TO
THAT OF PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS. IT FOLLOWS A PERCENTAGE SCALE
VERSUS LETTER GRADES SYSTEM. THE REGISTRATION IS ALSO SIMILAR TO
PRIMARY SCHOOL, STUDENTS NEED TO SUBMIT THEIR DOCUMENTATION AND
BE A PART OF THE PRE-ENROLLMENT INTERVIEW WITH THE INSTITUTE THEY
WISH TO APPLY.
• SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL (YEARS 11 AND 12) - IT PREPARES STUDENTS FOR FUTURE STUDY
AND EMPLOYMENT. AT THIS LEVEL, STUDENTS CONTINUE THEIR STUDY IN HISTORY,
MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, GEOGRAPHY AND ENGLISH. IT GIVES STUDENTS A LOT OF FREEDOM
IN CHOOSING THE SUBJECTS AND THE LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY OF THEIR CURRICULUM. ALSO,
THEY CAN ADD WORK STUDY AS PART OF THEIR EDUCATION AND EVEN MOVE
TO VOCATIONAL TRAINING.
•
• THE GRADING SYSTEM IN SENIOR SECONDARY EDUCATION IS SIMILAR TO GRADING IN
PREVIOUS YEARS. IT ALSO FOLLOWS A GRADE PERCENTAGE VERSUS LETTER GRADES SYSTEM.
ADMISSION PROCESS FOR YEARS 11 AND 12 REQUIRES FILLING AN ENROLLMENT FORM AND
SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTS SUCH AS PASSPORTS, VISAS, BIRTH CERTIFICATE AND ADDRESS
PROOF. IN ADDITION, STUDENTS ARE ASKED TO GIVE A PRE-ENROLLMENT INTERVIEW AND
MEET ADMINISTRATION MEMBERS BEFORE THEY START THEIR STUDIES.
TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT METHODS
• THERE ARE A VARIETY OF TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT METHODS USED IN AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLS. TEACHING
METHODS INCLUDE E-LEARNING, TEACHER-DIRECTED LEARNING, PRESENTATIONS, INTERACTIVE CLASSROOMS, GROUP
PROJECTS, VISUAL PRESENTATIONS AND STUDENT RESEARCH.
•
• ASSESSMENT METHODS IN SCHOOLS EVALUATE STUDENT OUTCOMES. THESE MAY INVOLVE GROUP ASSIGNMENTS,
INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH PROJECTS, VISUAL AND ORAL PRESENTATIONS, VODCAST, PODCAST AND POWERPOINT
PRESENTATIONS, INCLUDING OTHER TRADITIONAL METHODS LIKE CLASS ASSIGNMENTS AND TESTS. NATIONAL AND
STATE TESTING PROGRAMS MAKE SURE THAT EDUCATION STANDARDS ARE MET AND MAINTAINED.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
• HE ENTRY REQUIREMENT FOR SECONDARY EDUCATION AUSTRALIA VARIES, DEPENDING ON
SCHOOLS AND STATE OR TERRITORY YOU’LL BE STUDYING IN. THE APPLICATION PROCESS
CONSIDERS YOUR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, EXTRACURRICULAR ACHIEVEMENTS, SPORTING
ABILITIES AND MORE.
•
•
AVERAGE SECONDARY EDUCATION COSTS
• THE AVERAGE SECONDARY SCHOOL TUITION FEES FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS MAY RANGE
BETWEEN AUD$9,000 TO $11,000 AND MAY REACH UP TO AUD$30,000 FOR AN ELITE PRIVATE
SCHOOL. THE TUITION FEES MAY INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING SERVICE.
• PRE-DEPARTURE INFORMATION
• SCHOOL PLACEMENT AND APPLICATION PROCESSING
• WELCOME AND ORIENTATION
• SCHOOL TERM AND SEMESTER REPORTS
• ENGLISH LANGUAGE SUPPORT
• STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES INCLUDING PERSONAL AND CAREER COUNSELLING
• IT’S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT TUITION FEES MAY VARY DEPENDING ON THE SCHOOL YOU
CHOOSE.
• ALL IN ALL, THE AUSTRALIAN SCHOOL SYSTEM IS ONE OF THE BEST IN THE WORLD. REGARDLESS OF
WHICH SCHOOL YOU CHOOSE, YOU’LL SURELY RECEIVE AN EXCELLENT EDUCATION.
THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING!!! 