In March 2008, the Federal Government initiated a Review of Australian Higher Education. The Report (Bradley, Noonan, Nugent and Scales, 2008) highlighted the fact that Australia has reached a key stage in its history with respect to higher education. It states that Australia is falling behind other countries in performance and investment in…

This report examines how and why Australia's Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act (1986) and the Racial Discrimination Act (1975) produced changes in the provision of education services by Queensland and New South Wales for residents of Toomelah. Toomelah is an economically and educationally disadvantaged Aboriginal community in upper…

In 2002, people with disabilities in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) expressed their vision "that all people with disabilities are valued as full and equal members of the ACT community" (Australian Capital Territory Government, 2004). Despite the ACT being regarded as a very fortunate and prosperous place to live, some Canberrans…

White Australian history has displayed rampant racism, sexism, and cultural chauvinism. Since 1947 Australia has undergone a demographic revolution in both size and ethnic composition. The four million migrants, 56 percent of whom are of non-British origin, and their 2 million children, account for nearly 60 percent of Australia's post-war…

The Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission visited over 50 communities throughout Australia to assess the state of human rights in rural, regional, and remote Australia. Education and health services predominated the discussions. Rural children, especially Aboriginal children, have lower school attendance and completion rates…

This paper contributes to an emerging rational reconstruction of the concept of educational leadership in a critical theory (or method) of education. This partly accomplished task is extended by appropriating and analyzing the social philosophy of Jurgen Habermas. In particular, the theory of communicative action and the notion of the ideal speech…

Because Australia and the United States have similar backgrounds, constitutions, and concerns about equal educational opportunity, says the author, an examination of Australia's extensive, longtime federal aid to private elementary and secondary schools may provide useful evidence in Americans' debate over public funding for private education. The…

The last 2 decades of curriculum policy in Australia are reviewed in this paper, with a focus on reforms concerned with females and schooling. Two general areas are examined: (1) the theoretical relationship between state power and feminist concerns about schooling; and (2) the progressive direction for schooling. The first section compares two…

This paper reviews and analyzes the research in rural education in Australia in recent decades. Research undertaken in other countries is examined where comparisons, differences, or explanations are useful in understanding the Australian context. Following an introduction to the Australian education system and summaries of demographic features of…

The education and socialization of immigrant children and youths is a problem for educators and policy makers around the world, particularly in developed countries. The challenge is to achieve social equality or at least equal social opportunity for minorities; the dilemma is whether the culture of these immigrants should be replaced by that of…

Optimally all individuals should contribute fully to the collective spirit and human capital within the workplace, supporting and enabling the development of a mature workforce. Human resource policies endeavour to address diversity and inclusion in the workplace through a variety of methodologies including training and professional development…

This paper presents a critical analysis of literature relating to why males choose to become primary school teachers. Discussion within the paper concentrates on identifying and exploring connections between what is currently known about being a male primary school teacher and what motivates these men as they both pursue and practice within the…

This paper explains the social and legal contexts that affect the status and employment of women in education in Australia. It examines data on women in educational management at all levels, with a focus on the tertiary sector. Methodology involved document analysis of the affirmative action plans submitted by 6 government school systems, 6…

Two sets of opinion exist regarding the control of schools. The first pertains to the freedom of parental choice in education and the right of individuals and associations to run private schools subject to minimal government controls. The second stresses the overriding need to promote greater equality of opportunity in the form of publicly…

Australian aboriginal unemployment stands at somewhere between 45 percent and 80 percent, a situation caused, according to certain observers, by aboriginal attitudes and values regarding work and by educational disadvantage, not by anything in the working environment. According to this view, aborigines are said to be lacking in motivation, to…