1 - Education in Australia
from PART I - THE SETTING
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 May 2011
Summary
This chapter provides an overview of the Australian education system: enrolments, funding and institutions in schools, technical and further education (TAFE), and higher education. It also looks at the changing relationship between education and the labour markets, the politics of education, and the different and conflicting roles performed by education – custodial, academic, democratic, economic and selective. It is ironic that although education is no longer an automatic passport to a job, the connection between education and the economy dominates government education policies.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Education is an important social activity. More than one Australian in three is a student. Educational institutions employ seven out of every hundred people in the workforce: in employment terms, education and health are the two largest industries in the country. The production of education is valued at over 6 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In 1989–90, governments in Australia spent $17.6 billion on education. Private expenditure, including industry training by companies, was $4.7 billion. Total expenditure was $22 billion (Burke 1992: 18, 24).
Education also plays a central role in public policy and political debate. The demands on education have increased in recent years, although relative to GDP its resource allocation has declined. The education system is expected to absorb youth unemployment while playing a key role in the modernisation of the economy. The politics of education are changing and volatile, with little consensus on some issues.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Education and Public Policy in Australia , pp. 3 - 28Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1993