Students acquire high quality foundation skills and learning outcomes from schools.

• Description
• The Commonwealth's role
• Resources
• Planning for resource usage
• Achievements against the strategic priorities
  • Departmental outputs
  • Strategic Priority 1: Nationally comparable standards and reporting to drive improved learning outcomes for all students
  • Strategic Priority 2: Improved learning outcomes for Indigenous students
  • Strategic Priority 3: Enhance the quality and responsiveness of Australian school education
  • Strategic Priority 4: Improved transitions of young people through school to work and/or further education and training, including well informed career choices
• Overall effectiveness of the school education sector

Strategic Priority 3: Enhance the quality and responsiveness of Australian school education

The Commonwealth seeks to enhance the quality of teaching through the professional development of teachers and principals to meet the ever increasing demands of educational, social, economic and technological change. Learning and leadership in school education are progressed through:

• programmes of targeted assistance for improving learning outcomes for educationally disadvantaged students;

• strategic projects that focus on improved learning outcomes for all students; and

• research and analysis of nationally significant school education issues.

The priorities for funding in 2002-2004 are:

• literacy and numeracy skills;

• assistance for students with special needs;

• quality teaching;

• quality outcomes and curriculum initiatives;

• technology; and

• safe schools.

Output Group 1.2: Assistance for school students with special needs

The Commonwealth funds a number of programmes of targeted assistance for improving learning outcomes for school students with special needs under the States Grants (Primary and Secondary Education Assistance) Act 2000. These programmes include the Strategic Assistance for Improving Student Outcomes Programme; the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies and Projects Programme; the Special Education - Non-government Centre Support Programme; the Country Areas Programme; and the English as a Second Language (ESL) New Arrivals Programme. Through these programmes, funding is provided to government and non-government school education authorities in the states and territories, taking into account the numbers of students in each of the targeted groups for the particular authority.

Further funding is also provided for a range of projects, evaluations and research aimed at improving learning outcomes for school students with special needs.

The numbers of students with disabilities and isolated children for whom the department provides support have increased as indicated in Table 7. From 1 July 2002, eligibility for the ESL New Arrivals Programme was broadened. Although it was estimated that this change would lead to an increase in applications for assistance, the increase was not as high as anticipated.

Table 7: Performance information for Output Group 1.2

a The target for 2002 has been revised due to a previous miscalculation of part-time students

Source: Department of Education, Science and Training

The acquisition of adequate foundation skills is a particular focus of the Commonwealth’s support for students with special needs. The National Literacy and Numeracy Plan provides a framework for the improvement of literacy and numeracy standards in Australia. The Commonwealth provided funding for a range of research, projects and evaluations to support the National Literacy and Numeracy Plan:

• Beyond the Middle: A Report about Literacy and Numeracy Development of a Target Group of Students in the Middle Years of Schooling;

• MyRead: Strategies for Teaching Reading in the Middle Years;

• Use of Integrated Learning Systems in Developing Number and Language Concepts in Primary School Children: A Longitudinal Study of Individual Differences;

• Boys, Literacy and Schooling: Expanding the Repertoires of Practice, a project which investigated boys’ literacy development and current practices in teaching boys;

• Three Years On – Literacy Advance in the Early and Middle Primary Years;

• 100 Children Turn 10; and

• research to support literacy and numeracy outcomes in the early years of schooling for distance education students, who are living in geographically isolated areas and undertaking home education supported by a home supervisor or tutor.

National Literacy and Numeracy Week was held in September 2002, highlighting the importance to young Australians of developing effective literacy and numeracy skills. The 2002 event successfully showcased and acknowledged the outstanding and innovative work schools and their communities are undertaking to improve students’ literacy and numeracy skills. Fourteen National Excellence Awards and 60 Achievement Awards were presented to schools across Australia.

The Commonwealth provided a submission to the Inquiry into the Education of Students with Disabilities, which was undertaken by the Senate Employment, Workplace Relations and Education Reference Committee in 2002, and appeared before the Senate Committee in September 2002. The department was responsible for developing the Australian Government response to the recommendations contained in the Senate Committee's report, Education of students with disabilities, tabled in Parliament in July 2003.

The Commonwealth undertook an evaluation of the Country Areas Programme in collaboration with KPA Consulting. Findings indicate that the programme is effective in meeting its objective of supporting the educational participation of disadvantaged students. It also completed an evaluation of the effectiveness of Commonwealth funding for literacy and numeracy in schools from 1997 to 2001 in contributing to the National Literacy and Numeracy Plan. As a consequence, Commonwealth funding for literacy and numeracy was extended from 2003.

Output Group 1.3: Assistance for quality teaching and learning

Quality teaching in schools is a key Commonwealth priority. Research indicates that it is the most significant influence on improving student outcomes from schooling.

The Review of Teaching and Teacher Education was a major initiative for 2002-03 under the Australian Government’s $3 billion innovation statement Backing Australia’s Ability. The review aimed to identify strategies that will increase the numbers of talented people who are attracted to teaching as a career, especially in the fields of science, technology and mathematics education, and build a culture of continuous innovation at all levels of schooling in Australia.

The review committee issued two discussion papers, Strategies to Attract and Retain Teachers of Science, Mathematics and Technology and Young People, School and Innovation: towards an action plan for the school sector. Its interim report, Attracting and Retaining Teachers of Science, Technology and Mathematics, was released in February 2003. The final report of the Committee is expected to be completed in September 2003.

The Commonwealth continued to provide funding to states and territories for professional development activities through the Commonwealth Quality Teacher Programme, and through specific initiatives under the Quality Outcomes Programme, such as the National History Project and Discovering Democracy. The number of teachers participating in Commonwealth-funded professional development activities was significantly more than the target of 64 000 (see Table 8). The higher-than-expected demand is an indication of the value teachers place on quality professional development.

A review of the Commonwealth Quality Teacher Programme found that the learning activities undertaken contributed significantly to updating and improving teacher skills and understanding.

National projects were implemented through the National Asian Languages and Studies of Asia Strategy to improve the quality of teaching in languages and Asian studies. Some 26 000 year 12 students studied a language other than English in 2002 (see Table 8).

The Commonwealth awarded Australian student prizes to 500 students from all states and territories on completing year 12 in recognition of their outstanding achievement (see Table 8).

Table 8: Performance information for Output Group 1.3

a Not available

b The reporting period for this programme covers 18 months from January 2002 to mid 2003, therefore the number of teachers participating in professional development in 2002 is a pro rata estimate.

Source: Department of Education, Science and Training

The creation of a common national framework for school education is underpinned by the quality and availability of resources for teachers. State and territory governments, through MCEETYA, have agreed to match Commonwealth funding of $34.1 million to support the development of quality online curriculum resources, services and applications. In July 2003, MCEETYA endorsed the Bandwidth Action Plan, which will provide a basis for the development of a national implementation plan to increase availability of broadband access to Australian schools, particularly in rural and remote regions.

The Quality Outcomes Programme provides funding for strategic initiatives to improve student learning outcomes in schools, and to support its national leadership role in school education. Key achievements in 2002-03 include:

• the Draft National Safe School Framework, which will help schools to develop effective strategies and to improve existing approaches to issues of bullying, harassment, violence, child abuse and neglect;

• the evaluation of the National School Drug Education strategy and the COAG Tough on Drugs in Schools initiative;

• a range of drug education publications including the Innovation and Good Practice Monographs (a series of eight specialist papers that identify successful approaches to drug education) and the Resilience Education and Drug Information resources;

• the national values education study which engaged 71 schools in Action Research Case Studies in Values Education. The study was endorsed by all states and territories at the July 2003 MCEETYA meeting;

• a Boys' Education Lighthouse Schools programme, announced in April 2003, which will document and showcase how schools develop and use educational practices addressing the specific needs of boys. While boys’ school retention rates are increasing, they are still below the rate for girls (see Figure 12);

• support for a new website for the National Centre for History Education through the National History Project; and

• funding of $13 million in 2002 through the Grants to Primary Schools Libraries programme. Given the average primary school enrolment of 250 students, this equates to over 80 new Australian books per primary school library.

Figure 12: Apparent retention rate of full-time students from year 7/8 to year 12 by gender

Source: Schools Australia 2002

The overall success of the efforts of the Commonwealth and the state and territory governments and other education providers to enhance the quality of schooling is partially indicated by the number of young people completing a year 12 qualification. Figure 13 indicates a slight overall increase in the proportion of young people receiving year 12 Certificates. There is an improving trend among rural students, but there is a small but steady decrease in the proportion of remote students extending their school education and gaining a year 12 Certificate.

Figure 13: Students receiving year 12 Certificates as a proportion of potential year 12 population

Source: Derived from data provided by State Education Authorities, Schools Australia, cat. no. 4221.0, ABS, Canberra, and earlier related publications, and the National Schools Statistics Collection

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Strategic Priority 4: Improved transitions of young people through school to work and/or further education and training, including well informed career choices

Young people’s quality of life is dependent on their ability to make effective transitions through school and from school to work and/or further education, training and community participation. Supporting young people in these transition periods is a priority for the Commonwealth. It provides funding for a wide range of programmes to improve the training and employment opportunities of young people, some of which focus particularly on young Indigenous people.

The National Goals for Schooling in the 21st Century include young people having employment-related skills and an understanding of the work environment, career options and recognised pathways to employment and further education and training.

Output Group 1.3: Assistance for quality teaching and learning

In July 2002, a joint Ministerial Declaration Stepping Forward – improving pathways for all young people was issued. The declaration builds on the national stock of initiatives supporting young people at risk, Stepping Forward – sharing what works. It makes a commitment to collaboration between the Commonwealth, states and territories to improve transitions for young Australians, particularly those who are most vulnerable in our community.

An action plan to implement the Ministerial Declaration was developed. The action plan has five key areas:

• education and training as the foundation leading to pathways for effective transition for all young people;

• access to career and transition support;

• responding to the diverse needs of young people;

• promulgating effective ways to support young people; and

• focused local partnerships and strategic alliances.

The MCEETYA Transition from Schools Taskforce is developing a national blueprint for career education and development. This will provide a set of life and work competencies to help people of all ages to manage proactively their career building process. It will also provide processes for planning, implementing, developing/redesigning and evaluating career programs and resources.

During 2002-03, the Commonwealth has made significant progress towards the development of an integrated transitions system. Stronger linkages were made between strategic initiatives, and programmes were streamlined. A major development was the announcement of the transfer into the department of functions undertaken by the Enterprise and Career Education Foundation, from October 2003. This will enable a more integrated approach to addressing transitions issues in future, and will enable the portfolio to more closely align transitions programmes with the broader suite of Commonwealth schools and youth-focused programmes.

The department is undertaking a major action learning research project in approximately 200 Australian primary and secondary schools to investigate the nature of enterprise education in general, and examples of innovative practice in particular. It is also participating in national collaborative processes on generic employability and other skills that effectively support the transition needs of young people.

Australia was one of 14 countries that participated in an OECD review of career information, guidance and counselling. The review team visited Australia in March 2002 and its report, OECD Review of Career Guidance Policies – Australia Country Note, noted Australia’s strengths and suggested possible future directions for Australia’s career guidance system.

The new Internet-based National Careers Information System, launched by the Minister in July 2002, recorded by end of June 2003 almost 29 million hits and almost 7 million page requests; and 62 727 people had become active users of the My Guide self evaluation section. A further 88 occupations have been added to the site since its launch.

Vocational education in schools has been a major growth area in recent years. As indicated in Table 9, there was continued growth in participation in vocational education and training programmes in schools. In 2002, participation increased to 185 520, up from 169 809 students in 2001.

Table 9: Students participating in vocational education and training in schools

Source: MCEETYA data for VET in Schools for 2001, 2002

State and territory government and non-government sectors reported 7390 Training Agreements for school-based New Apprenticeships commenced in 2002. This is an increase from the 5755 commencements reported for 2001. In 2002, 95 per cent of schools with senior secondary school programmes were offering vocational education and training.

In 2002-03, the Enterprise and Career Education Foundation provided nearly 80 000 Structured Workplace Learning opportunities for young Australians. In addition, the Foundation has worked towards establishing Structured Workplace Learning partnerships in communities in the central and rural and remote areas of Australia. The 2002 planned target was based on the existing structure and spread of the national network of school-industry partnership clusters.

Table 10: Performance information for Output Group 1.3

a Not available

Source: MCEETYA data for VET in Schools for 2001, 2002

In 2002, an inquiry into vocational education in schools was referred to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Training. This welcome inquiry is looking at the effectiveness of vocational education as a way of preparing students for post-school options, and how vocational education has grown and developed since 1996. The department provided evidence to the Standing Committee in a written submission in October 2002 and at a public hearing in June 2003.

The department completed a major investigation into the cost of vocational education and training in schools. The study developed a costings model and explored actual and potential options for developing cost efficiencies for the delivery of vocational education and training in schools, as well as providing useful information for deliberations on models of effective delivery of vocational education and training in schools. It also provides a way of examining options for future funding of vocational education and training in schools, and will inform the House of Representatives Inquiry into vocational education in schools.

The department is also contributing, through MCEETYA, to collaborative work investigating organisational best practice for delivery of vocational education and training in schools, and the development of programme measures for vocational education and training in schools.

The Career and Transition (CAT) Pilot Programme funded 23 providers across Australia to trial new methodologies for the delivery of timely, relevant and professional career and transition information, advice, guidance and support to all young people aged 13-19 years.

The Vocational and Educational Guidance for Aboriginals Scheme (VEGAS) provided funding to sponsoring organisations to enable them to conduct projects for Indigenous students at education transition points. VEGAS projects provided information about further education and training and employment to help Indigenous students to make informed decisions about future study or careers.

Some 513 projects were funded through VEGAS in 2002, with a total expenditure of $10.9 million.

Assistance for young people outside of mainstream schooling is provided through programmes such as the Partnership Outreach Education Model, which are reported under Outcome 2 (see Chapter 4).

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Overall effectiveness of the school education sector

Strong foundation skills, gained during the formative years of schooling, provide a sound basis for further participation in education, training and employment. Young Australians enjoy high levels of participation in education and training or employment beyond the compulsory years of schooling (see Figure 14).

Figure 14: Full-time participation in education, training and employment by age

Source: Schools Australia 2001

Figure 15 illustrates Australia’s high level of enrolment in education among young people above the compulsory schooling age of fifteen. Australia performs well in comparison to other OECD countries, even where the compulsory education age is higher, for example the Netherlands, where almost the entire age group would be expected to be participating in compulsory schooling.

Figure 15: Proportion of 15–19 year olds enrolled in full-time or part-time education

Source: Education at a Glance, OECD Indicators 2002

Figure 16: Reading proficiency of 15 year olds

Note: Reading proficiency has been measured according to the PISA reading literacy scale, in which Level 3 identifies students who are capable of moderately complex reading tasks. PISA Levels 4 and 5 identify students who are proficient in difficult and sophisticated reading tasks respectively.

Source: Education at a Glance, OECD Indicators 2002

Internationally, Australia also performs well in the level of skills acquired by young people entering further education or employment. Figure 16 shows the reading proficiency of 15 year olds in Australia and a selection of OECD countries. Australia has the same percentage of students in the highest category as Finland, the country with the highest number of students with a reading proficiency above the moderate level (Level 3). Australia compares favourably to countries with a similar percentage of students at Level 3 proficiency, for example the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. In comparison to those countries, Australia has a larger proportion of students at the higher levels, indicating Australia has more students who are capable of difficult and sophisticated reading tasks involving critical evaluation and the use of specialised information.

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