Education in Western Australia

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Old Perth Technical School, the venue for the first tertiary educational activity in the state.[1]

Education in Western Australia consists of public and private schools in the state of Western Australia, including public and private universities and TAFE colleges. Public school education is supervised by the Department of Education[2], which forms part of the Government of Western Australia. The School Curriculum and Standards Authority is an independent statutory authority responsible for developing a curriculum and associated standards in all schools (public and private), and for ensuring standards of student achievement, and for the assessment and certification according to those standards.[3]

Western Australia follows a three-tier system, consisting of primary education (primary schools), followed by secondary education (secondary schools or secondary colleges) and tertiary education (Universities and TAFE Colleges).

Education is compulsory in Western Australia between the ages of six and seventeen. From 1 January 2008 persons in their 17th year must be in school, training, or have a job until the end of that year.

History

The first schools started to appear during the 1830s throughout the state, in the form of one-teacher schools. The oldest government-sponsored education institution in Western Australia, Guildford Colonial School (now Guildford Primary School), was founded at the Swan River Colony in 1833, and consisted of several premises in the townsite before a purpose build school was constructed in 1870.[4] From the 1850s schools became more common around Western Australia with many of the teachers being sourced educated convicts who had obtained their Ticket of leave. Initially there was no official qualifications for teaching only being literate many of the schools became run by nuns or single women.

The first school in the state with a focus on educating Indigenous children, Annesfield, was opened in 1852 by clergyman John Wollaston and Anne Camfield in Albany.[5][6]

Winthrop Hall, a prominent landmark on the main UWA campus.

A royal commission in September 1910 proposed that a university be established in Western Australia.[7] Following this recommendation, the establishment of the University of Western Australia in 1911 by an act of the Parliament of Western Australia meant students could begin receiving tertiary qualifications in the state.[8] UWiA opened to students two years later.

In 1915 James Miles chose Toodyay school to be the pioneer of his Special Rural Schools programme. To this end he worked with the headmaster Roderick Brooke Cowden[9] and his staff to design the equipment needed to enable the students to be more independent and resourceful in the learning process. Subjects were to be based on the practical activities of farming life. School gardens were established where the children experimented with different types of grains such a wheat, oats and barley, and the growing of vegetables and flowers. Girls were taught fruit and vegetable preservation, and first aid. When teaching standard curriculum subjects such as arithmetic and history, teachers were encouraged to use local sources, for example "figures showing the district's imports and exports were computed from the railway records".[10]: 58  By 1920 twelve other special rural schools were established in the state. This number would peak at 40 in 1922. This success was in no small part due to the government's recognition of the state's dependence on agriculture. The commissioners of the Royal Commission into Education 1921 visited Toodyay and were highly impressed with its programme.[11]

From 1989 Tertiary Entrance Exam (TEE) was the standard academic examination for students completing their twelfth year of schooling[12], up until 2010 when it was renamed the West Australian Certificate of Education (WACE).[13] The results of the exams were used to determine a students Tertiary Entrance Rank and Tertiary Entrance Score, which determined a students eligibility for tertiary study. Prior to the TEE, students studying in Years 11 and 12 wanting enter university undertook a Tertiary Admittance Exam, the marks for establishing a score based solely on the result of a single exam for 6 subjects after two years of study.

Primary and Secondary Education

Kindergarten and Preschool

Preschool in Western Australia, sometimes referred to as Pre-Primary, was made compulsory in 2013. Before that time, many children were attending pre-primary education programs, but the government of Western Australia put in place legislation to bring the state into line with other jurisdictions.[14]

Early childhood educators in Western Australia follow the Australian Government and the School Curriculum and Standards Authorities guidelines on Early Learning. Many schools have adopted the Early Years Learning Framework, part of the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education, which focuses on Belonging, Being and Becoming.[15][16]

Primary schools

Primary education consists of seven grades: a preparatory year (commonly called "pre-primary") followed by Years 1 to 7. The minimum age at which a child can commence primary school education is 4.5 years. That is, the child can enrol in a school at the preparatory level if he or she would be five years of age by 30 June of that year. A child must commence education before age six.

Secondary schools

Students in the Western Australian school system attend a secondary school from years 7 to 12. The age that a student begins secondary school was lowered in 2015, to begin at Year 7.[17][18] The government of Western Australia believes that a secondary school is more appropriate for young adolescents from Year 7 to assist with social and emotional development, and also assists in the delivery of the Australian Curriculum to Year 7 students.[19] Some institutions in Western Australia have an integrated primary and secondary school, educating students from Kindergarten to Year 12, while a number of private schools may operate separate Middle Schools for students in years 7 to 9 exclusively, with students in years 10 to 12 attending a Senior School. This is normally within the same institution.

Specialist & gifted programs

Main article: Gifted_education § Australia

A number of High schools have a specialist programs for gifted students in addition to Perth Modern School which is for academically gifted children by invitation only, there is John Curtin Senior High School in Fremantle who has music program,. Canning Vale College has the states only circus course along with a specialist art program and Governor Stirling High School has a specialist Australian Rules Football academy.

The Academic Talent Program (ATP) is a program in some schools in Western Australia in the subjects of English, society and environment, mathematics and science. This program is especially for lower school (years 8, 9 and 10) secondary students who excel academically. The ATP course is accelerated and differentiated from the mainstream courses. This program also teaches about technology to allow students to learn about technology.

ATP Online is a program allowing rural students participate in the ATP through the internet. The ATP program is being phased into upper school (year 11 and 12) after running a successful pilot in 2006 at Willetton SHS.

Participating schools

Curriculum

The curriculum for all Western Australian schools, both government and non-government is determined by the Curriculum Council. Secondary students in years 11 and 12 are enrolled in the Western Australian Certificate of Education program.

Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank

The Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) was introduced in 2010 in all states of Australia bar Queensland as a means of standardizing the national university entrance system. The ATAR system follows the same principles as the systems that it replaces and improves upon them by allowing for greater interstate comparison of student achievements.

Tertiary Pathways

The classification of tertiary qualifications in Western Australia is governed in part by the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), which attempts to integrate into a single national classification all levels of tertiary education (both vocational and higher education), from trade certificates to higher doctorates.

Technical and Further Education

Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutes are state-administered. TAFE institutions generally offer short courses, Certificates I, II, III, and IV, Diplomas, and Advanced Diplomas in a wide range of vocational topics. They also sometimes offer Higher Education courses.

In addition to TAFE Institutes, there are privately operated Registered Training Organisations (RTOs). They include:

  • commercial training providers,
  • the training department of manufacturing or service enterprises,
  • the training function of employer or employee organisations in a particular industry,
  • Group Training Companies,
  • community learning centres and neighbourhood houses,
  • secondary colleges providing VET programs.

In size these RTOs vary from single-person operations delivering training and assessment in a narrow specialisation, to large organisations offering a wide range of programs. Many of them receive government funding to deliver programs to apprentices or trainees, to disadvantaged groups, or in fields which governments see as priority areas.

All TAFE institutes and private RTOs are required to maintain compliance with a set of national standards called the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF), and this compliance is monitored by regular internal and external audits.

Vocational education and training (VET) VET programs delivered by TAFE Institutes and private RTOs are based on nationally registered qualifications, derived from either endorsed sets of competency standards known as Training Packages, or from courses accredited by state/territory government authorities. These qualifications are regularly reviewed and updated. In specialised areas where no publicly owned qualifications exist, an RTO may develop its own course and have it accredited as a privately owned program, subject to the same rules as those that are publicly owned.

All trainers and assessors delivering VET programs are required to hold a qualification known as the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAA40104) or demonstrate equivalent competency. They are also required to have relevant vocational competencies, at least to the level being delivered or assessed.

University

There are five universities in Western Australia, the oldest being University of Western Australia who's campus is in Nedlands. Murdoch University with campuses in Murdoch and Rockingham, Curtin University with its main campus in Bentley. Edith Cowan University newest education department associated university has campuses in a number of locations also includes WAAPA in Mt Lawley and Joondalup campus which also houses the WA Police training facilitiy. Fremantle's historic west end is home to University of Notre Dame Australia Westerns Australias only privately operated university

However, as Universities in Australia (and a few similar higher education institutions) largely regulate their own courses, the primary usage of AQF is for vocational education. However, in recent years there have been some informal moves towards standardization between higher education institutions.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ Dunne, J. P. (1980). I Will Arise: History of Perth Technical College 1900-1980. Perth Technical College Press.
  2. ^ "How Our Schools Work". Retrieved 2017-05-08.
  3. ^ "The Authority". Retrieved 2017-05-08.
  4. ^ "School History". Guildford Primary School. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  5. ^ "Henry and Anne Camfield's life in Albany" (PDF). Historic Albany. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  6. ^ "Native Schools". The South Australian Advertiser. Adelaide, South Australia: National Library of Australia. 2 August 1858. p. 3. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  7. ^ A University for Western Australia The West Australian, 15 September 1910, at Trove
  8. ^ "University of Western Australia Act 1911". governance.uwa.edu.au. 2008-03-12. Retrieved 2011-01-22.
  9. ^ "The New Education. Demonstration at Toodyay. Addresses by Ministers and Inspectors". The West Australian. 1917-10-09. p. 8. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  10. ^ John A. McKenzie, "Wise Man from the East. The educational career of Senior Inspector Miles, in Early Days", Journal of the Royal Western Australian Historical Society, Vol. 8, Part 3, pp.46-71
  11. ^ Taylor, Robyn (2015). Toodyaypedia. Lotterywest Toodyaypedia - Part II (draft). Newcastle Gaol Museum Collection: Shire of Toodyay. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ^ "Upper Secondary Certification and Tertiary Entrance" (PDF).
  13. ^ http://www.curriculum.wa.edu.au/internet/_Documents/Publications/2010+WACE+Activities+Schedule+-+Update.pdf WACE to replace TEE, 2009, Curriculum Council
  14. ^ "WA moves to compulsory pre-primary education". ABC News. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  15. ^ "Early Years Learning Framework". School Curriculum and Standards Authority. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  16. ^ "National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care". Australian Government - Department of Education and Training. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  17. ^ "Shake-up puts Year 7s in high school". WA Today. 8 December 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  18. ^ Colvin, Ali (26 March 2012). "Year 7s will be attending high school from 2015". ABC News. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  19. ^ "Western Australian Auditor General's Report: Moving On: The Transition of Year 7 to Secondary School" (PDF). Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 9 May 2017.

"Gifted and Talented". Department of Education and Training (West Australia). Archived from the original on 22 February 2006. Retrieved 21 March 2006. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

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