Australian school

Di Alessandro Mo, Alessio Crepaldi e Alessandro

Giaccardo
 Australia is a federation of six States (Victoria, New South Wales, Western
Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland) that are independent;
each one of them has its own Ministry of Education. There are differences in
school organization from State to State, in particular with regard to compulsory
education. These differences relate in general to the age at the beginning and end
of compulsory school, the terminology used to define tests and examinations,
and the choice of how many and which subjects are considered essential. The
Australian central government is currently involved in a campaign of reforms to
implement “common” guidelines for all states, thus facilitating the
communication both between the various ministries and the students that move
from one state to the other.

 The problem does not exist for non compulsory education. All States recognize
the AQF, the Australian Qualification Framework, a program established by the
Central Government. Schools in Australia are divided into public or government
schools and private schools. Public schools are generally free, but books and
uniforms are paid.
 Private or independent schools are divided
into Catholic schools managed by the
Catholic Education Office, and schools of
other religions, managed by their own
committees. Some private schools may be
single-sex schools.
 The school is spread into 12 years starting
from 5/6 years of age up to 15/17 years.
Being Australia in the southern
hemisphere, seasons are reversed and
therefore the school year begins in late
January/early February and ends in mid-
December. This is split into two semesters,
which in turn include two terms. Each
term lasts about ten weeks followed by two
weeks of vacation. The longer school
holidays are the summer holidays, from
mid-December until the end of January
the following year.
 The Australian educational system is
divided into five main areas: pre-school,
primary school, secondary school and
tertiary education, ie TAFE colleges and
universities.
 Pre-School
 The Government or public
“pre-school” must be attended
for two years. The first year is
called kindy, and is for
children of three years of age
who attend for one or two
days a week. The second year,
the pre-primary, requires full-
time attendance and became
compulsory in 2013.
 In addition to public schools
there are many private
organizations, that welcome
children from birth to school
age, all day long.
 Primary School
 The Primary School begins at six years
of age. It includes seven years, from
Year 1 to Year 7. The program includes
eight subjects: English, maths, science, A excellent
environment and society (including
history, geography and economics),
technology and technical education, B good
languages, art and physical education.
In addition to these materials;, other
extra-curricular activities – such as C satisfactory
music, theater and sports.
 The knowledge of a subject is divided D limited
into eight levels. Based on the average
ratings, 5 levels were established for
each grade that state what each student
should achieve. Once the level of E very low
competence for the school year has
been established, grades are assigned
according to letters:
 The report is delivered at the end of each
semester and during the Year 3, 5 and 7
there are examinations on two key
subjects, English literature and maths.

 In primary school strong parental

involvement is welcomed all along the
educational path of the children, so that
within the school there are members of
parents committees who attend meetings
with the teachers to plan lessons and
activities together. Many parents – in
particular in public schools – also
volunteer and actively help in the kitchen
or refectory, acting as assistants to
teachers for extra-curricular activities or
the organization of special. There are
Italian schools in Western Australia, but
many of these actually only offer Italian
as a second language, especially the
private Catholic schools.
High School or Secondary
School
 It includes five / six years, from Year 7/8
to Year 12. Secondary School is
generally completed by the age of 17.
Until Year 9 students continue with the
eight subjects studied in primary school.
From Year 10 the core subjects are
reduced to six, and five in Year 12, where
only English is really compulsory while
the others are chosen by the student. The
subjects chosen are generally related to
what the student deems to do after
school.
In Australia one can also leave school at
the end of Year 10, but only if employed
in a full-time job. Few students opt for
this opportunity.

 After the compulsory education, the

central government has developed a
school curriculum that is common to all
Member States and is called the AQF,
Australian Qualification Framework and
is divided into two academic courses.
 TAFE Colleges
 Also known as VET (Vocational Education and Training) this
school path is characterized by vocational training institutions
that offer a variety of courses of different duration (from ten
weeks to 3 years) depending on whether you want to obtain a
Certificate or a Diploma or an Advance Diploma. Technical
subjects in preparation for professional career are generally
studied. The TAFE, Technical and Further Education colleges
and institutions are closely linked to the business world.
Students learn the basics with the possibility of training
periods within companies that give them the opportunity to
study and work at the same time. It is also possible to enter
university after a full-time course of two or three years
 Universities
 Access to university is possible when
meeting the requirements outlined by each
single university for the selected program
degree. Each university may only accept
students with specific results.

 The degree course is divided into two

cycles:

 1. Undergraduate cycle: after 3/5 years of

study students obtain a Bachelor’s Degree
or First Level Degree. With one more year
of study one reaches the Honour Degree.

 2. Postgraduate cycle: it includes the post-

graduate training programs for a period of
six months / two years and allows to
achieve the following certificates:
Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diplomas,
Masters Degree, Doctoral Degree .
Finish