This commentary reflects on what it means to have a mandatory policy for supporting trans students in education settings, drawing on the South Australian context. The authors argue that for policy to be productive, it needs to move beyond a document to being implemented in practice.

The article focuses on how the present vocational education and training (VET) system in Australia might be modified to better accommodate possible VET futures change. It begins with the premise that VET's role is to contribute to skills acquisition through "formal" education and training. The authors propose a simple VET futures role…

Whilst the past 35 years have seen numerous attempts at national curriculum collaboration in Australia, these have invariably failed largely due to the constitutional reality that the States have responsibility for curriculum. Federal government involvement in curriculum can only be achieved, therefore, with the consent of the States. To achieve…

In the increasingly research and innovation-driven landscape of higher education, the Federal Government's Teaching and Learning Fund is supposed to redress the balance. Leesa Wheelehan is unconvinced. She argues the fund simply encourages game-playing between institutions in manipulating their teaching outcomes, and rewards good teaching on…

This essay focuses on the recent introduction by the Australian Federal Government of standardised literacy testing in all states across Australia (that is, the National Assessment Program--Literacy and Numeracy, or NAPLAN), and explores the way this reform is mediating the work of English literacy educators in primary and secondary schools. We…

This paper contributes to the debate over how the federal government can best help state and local authorities improve student achievement by providing examples from other countries of innovations in the role of the national government. The authors believe that the degree to which foreign policy structures parallel those of the United States are…

Compares the operation and control of public schooling in Australia and the United States by exploring and contrasting the changing roles, concerns, and activities of school administrators, the federal government, the courts, elected officials, citizens, pressure groups, and "new breed" professionals. (Author/MP)

Examines the Australian experience of legal deposit mandated only to the national and state libraries, supplemented by a free issue to 19 university libraries. Also examines the value of the depository program in providing accessible information and alternative strategies for providing public access to government information. There are 33…

The postsecondary education policymaking process in Australia, rather than being goal-oriented and rational, is a series of adjustments to existing policy dictated by political expediency, often over many years and changes of government and leading to decisions reflecting unstable origins. This committee's broad influences illustrate this process.…

This volume is part of a series of monographs from Australia devoted to outlining an alternative approach, based on neo-Marxist concepts, to policy studies in education. The opening essay in this volume is a historical analysis of federal involvement in Australian educational policy development. After a descriptive overview of the role of…

It is suggested that current Australian higher education policy focuses more on quality control than improvement. The way "quality" is presented in current federal policy documents is examined, and it is argued that an improvement approach could be used to generate new practices while meeting external pressures for accountability. (MSE)

Australia's national policy concerning equity in higher education is examined, particularly policy concerning funding and accountability mechanisms. The absence of any analytical or theoretical basis for planning and prioritization of equity initiatives and resulting limitations on their effectiveness are discussed. (MSE)

Analysis of the current unmet demand for higher education in Australia looks at the social and economic factors that have led to it since World War II. The labor government's approach is examined, including enhanced distance education, expanded technical education, and alternative schooling. (MSE)

In this paper, the author looks back over some 43 years of involvement in language teaching and examines the progress educators have made as a profession. He also considers their present situation, given a Federal Government, which, at least until this year, has seemed antipathetic to languages education, and State and Territory Governments which,…

This essay discusses the effects of feminism on educational policy in Australia and the role of feminist educators in developing and implementing the feminist agenda. It also examines the conditions framing Australian feminist work in education. The essay reviews the gains that girls and women have made in educational attainment and employment, as…