McDowell 1

Elizabeth McDowell
Professor Malcolm Campbell
English 1103
February 16, 2015
Topic Proposal: Australian Education System
Introduction/Overview
The topic I am interested in is the Australian education system; I want to gain knowledge
on how it works compared to the American system. According to an article in the Huffington
Post, Australia is ranked thirteenth compared to seventeenth for the United States. Although
these numbers arent significantly different; I hope find out what contributes to Australias
education system.
My research all began with a discussion with Australian educators and finding basic

Commented [KP1]: Maybe add why you were at the

discussion

knowledge of their education system and the process of becoming a teacher there. I was able to
hear that their students are required to stay in school unless they leave to attain a trade job. I was
also able to hear their perspective of the amount of standardized testing compared to the quantity
here; most tests are given every few years and a giant test for the completion of graduation. All
of the information that I found out in that thirty minutes led me tons of questions and a research
question, how is the Australian Education System different compared to the American education
system?
As time continued my research went to the librarys database; there I was able to find an
article with the overview of Australias Education system. (will insert research when it is
available through interlibrary loan)

Commented [KP2]: I feel like you should definitely add in

some more research in here to give insight to the reader.
While you followed most of the template, I still dont know
much about your topic or if youve narrowed it down
enough for the semester.

McDowell 2

Initial Inquiry Question(s) What is the difference between American and Australian
Education? What are there similarities? How do they treat their teachers differently? How do you
become a teacher over there? What does an elementary classroom look like? Do they have
greater success in Australia? Do the students want to learn more? Do they have a grading scale?
How much do they pay their teachers and does that affect the quality? How does university work

Commented [KP3]: Love all the questions! Do you plan

on answering all of these in your paper or are you going to
just pick a few?

there? It is expensive or does the government contribute money? Are they drowning in student
debt when they graduate? Are they required to attend school? Do they go through school with
intentions of going to College/ University? Can America grow and learn from their education
system?
My Interest in this Topic
My interest in the Australian education system came about when I had the opportunity to
met Australian educators at UNCC, through my Teacher Education Learning Community. We
then met to have round table discussions on our education systems. I learned so much in the span

Commented [KP4]: I had no idea we had one of those!

(Im in the Psychology Learning Community). Maybe you
should explain the significance of this in your own education
to make your topic more personal.

of thirty minutes but I couldnt stop thinking of questions when I left. I was beyond interested in
their system and how it could be compared to ours; therefore, I decided to research the topic for
my Extended Inquiry Project. I am hoping to find out so much information that I can inform my
fellow educators and impact my classroom. I want to use this inquiry as a way to incorporate the
strong aspects of the Australian system into the American.

Next Steps
I will continue my research by searching Australians Educational Government websites
and the librarys databases for articles on the topic. They will be my most reliable source in
finding honest information on the topic. I also hope to interview one of the Australian educators I

Commented [KP5]: What specific things are you going to

look for?

McDowell 3

met through my Teacher Education Learning Community. I feel as if they will have a strong
knowledge on the system since they have experienced it and are studying it through the
University. Both of these forms of sources will have the most up to date information of the
Australian Education System as well as the American. For the American Education System I
hope to get first hand information through teachers and edu websites.

Dear Elizabeth,
I really enjoyed reading your topic proposal. Ive never even thought about Australias
Education System; we mainly just hear about comparisons to the UK. I think that you picked a
topic that will provide enough research for the entire semester. I was just wondering if your goal
is to prove that Australia has a better education system than America or if your research is just
going to be comparison the entire way through. I think that once you put in more research and
facts that your project will complete itself a lot easier than anticipated. Also to make it more
personal I would definitely include something about the TELC. Im excited to learn more about
your topic; good luck!
Karly Perkins