Australia: An Overview

This chapter offers a comprehensive overview of educational provision in Australia that shows Australia as a dynamic society with high levels of immigration and population growth, and an open economy subject to considerable change. There is much debate about the role of education in preparing people for an uncertain future, and education's contribution to reducing social disadvantage. Educational provision is highly differentiated with a large and growing non-government sector, and policy development is complicated by the federal system of government within which education sits. Topics covered include Australia's population, government, economy and labour market. The structure of education and training in Australia is presented with a description of preschool programs, primary education, secondary education, adult and community education.