Comparative Higher Education in South Africa by Bistra West and Jonathan Sun

Background of Education in South Africa

     Education in South Africa began very early in the 1800’s. The earliest schools established in South Africa was under the Dutch Reformed Church in Cape Colony. Also known as Cape of Good Hope. Basic math and literacy skills were taught. Language was a huge conflict amongst the South Africans in the 1800’s, they complained that the English language was irrelevant to their culture and values. From 1900’s, the British started taking over after victory in the South African War. The British instilled the English language and British culture into the education system. Again to overcome this invasion of the English language, the South African Churches formed a education program that South African schools should follow.

    From the early 1900’s until 1997, not only was language a issue but race was also a big issue in the education system. Most African schools were ran by missionaries and the white schools were ran by teachers from Canada, UK and Australia.  In 1953, the Bandu Education Act was passed and it caused a big problem. Under the act, African students had to learn things that the government wanted them to learn so that they can move on and work in factories also with the Bandu Education Act it cut out the minimal state funding that the African schools had. Therefore cutting out learning time for students in African schools because they would only be able to attend school for just three hours a day. The act was very racist that it basically meant that the African students have to learn and adjust to white culture since they were being ran by a white economy and society.

In 1997, the Curriculum 2005 policy was formed. Which is the South African’s version of outcome based education, which is an educational theory that focuses on an educational system that involves setting goals and accomplishing them by the time you finish your education. "The Curriculum 2005 promises all students a high-quality education that would prepare them for life.” According to (Horn, 2014, para. 5).

Problems with Higher Education in South Africa

Today, education in South Africa is still struggling.  Although there are over a million students across the 23 public universities in South Africa, only 15% of the undergraduates graduate. This is due to many reasons, such as the lack of academic support from universities for the students. Another reason is that the students are not academically ready to take on university.

There are many reasons to why the education system is still failing till this day. For one, teachers have a poor teaching skills and limited knowledge in the subject. Another reason for the failing education system is that students lack the funding to even finish a course in university. Lastly, students do not get sufficient time to properly learn. With the lack of knowledge from teachers and insufficient time to learn, "South Africa has one of the worst school systems in the world." According to (Smuts, 2014, para. 5).

Along with the problems mentioned above, learner and teacher related issues are also a problem. For example, cost of registration fees increasing for universities was a problem for many students. More students had to drop out due to financial constraints. In South Africa, the tuition for universities varies depending on your major. For example, in 2014, to get your bachelor’s in Arts from the University of Cape Town (UCT) was R 41,500 ($3,192) and to get your bachelor’s in Commerce was R 44,000 ($3,384). So when tuition increased in 2015 by 10.8% for bachelor’s in Arts from UCT and 13.6% for Commerce, students who were already financially constrained couldn’t afford it anymore. Therefore dropping out and not finishing their higher education.

    Violence in universities are also a big problem, “University administrators have been punched and taken hostage, buildings set afire, riot police called in, the higher-education minister burned in effigy, campuses shut down or placed under curfew, and exams delayed.” According to (Marcus, 2017, para. 5). Again due to increased tuition costs, a lot of violence occurs during protests from students. Another reason for violence is that inequality in the education systems. For example, with increase in tuition, students and families struggle to pay extra and many of the financially constrained students drop out or have a low success rate while the wealthy and white students have access to the best universities.

Tertiary Education and Issues in South Africa

As stated by the Central Intelligence Agency in 2014 records, the South African government expends 6.1% of the country’s GDP on education. The agency measures that 94.3% of individuals can read and write, 95.5% male and 93.1% female. In South Africa, the school life expectancy ranging from primary to tertiary stages, including repetition of classes, is 13 years on average for both genders. Although individuals have a strong academic foundation, South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates of 26.5%. The crude birth rate is a high 20.5 births per 1000 people and the crude death rate is 9.6 deaths per 1000 people, indicating a young population. South Africa is ranked first with almost 7 million people out of 50 million living with HIV and ranked second with 182,400 people that die from AIDS. This is indicative of a lack in sex education and available contraception, as well as many cases of rape.3 South Africa has the fifth-highest per capita income in Africa, although poverty and inequality remain widespread, with about a quarter of the population unemployed and living on less than $1.25 a day.7 Gaps between the rich and the poor remain, Equipment of public utilities is under pressure and the country prevails to have one of the highest rates of rape and domestic violence in the world, with approximately 150 reported sexual assaults and 50 murders per day. This also facilitates the spread of HIV/AIDS in South Africa.6 According to BBC, South Africa’s educational system is in crisis, not because of the lack of funding, but because of poor teaching, the continuing legacy of apartheid and the many who drop out of school to go on to manage mini-businesses.2


Types of Institutions

There are 23 public universities in total, of which 11 are general, 6 of them technological and the 6 left are comprehensive. Universities offer basic formative degrees such as Bachelor of Arts & Bachelor of Science, and professional undergraduate degrees such as Bachelor of Engineering, Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. At postgraduate level, universities offer honors degrees, and an array of masters and doctoral degrees.Technological universities offer mainly vocational or career‐focused undergraduate diplomas, and a Bachelor of Technology, which serves as a limited qualification for diploma graduates. They offer a limited number of masters and doctoral programs. Comprehensive universities offer programs for both theoretically oriented and vocationally oriented diplomas and degrees.7

Tuition fees

At Wits they range from R94,700 up to R177,770 (£5,987–11,239) for clinical courses. At Cape Town, international students pay a minimum (R70,000/£4,425) of the standard course fee plus an international student fee of R35,000 (£2,213) a year (total minimum R110,000/£6,955).

In addition, Wits, for example, recommends that students budget for an additional R6,000 (£380) for books and stationery.7 International students are not eligible for support from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.1 The major banks offer loans to foreigners who have proof of a study permit.7

Accomplishments from Higher Education in South Africa

One of the most notorious accomplishments was by Nelson Mandela. Mandela studied law in University of Fort Hare and University of Witwatersrand. He became president of South Africa in 1994 and served in office until 1999. He received a Nobel Peace Prize for ending the apartheid policies that were ingrained in the South African society. Before desegregation in 1994, segregation divided universities for the black majority and the white minority. He has been recognized for bringing about unity in South Africa after many decades.5  

Grading System for Higher Education

Scale	Grade Description	Division	US Grade
75.00 - 100.00	First Class		A
70.00 - 74.99	Second Class	Division One	B+
60.00 - 69.99	Second Class	Division Two	B
50.00 - 59.99	Third Class		C
0.00 - 49.99	Fail		F

AJ Diaz and Soph Dvinskikh

 Japan Higher Education

Positives of Comparative education

    There are four types of institutions in Japan: universities, junior colleges, vocational/technological colleges, and professional graduate schools. Undergraduate degree is bachelor’s, and the postgraduate ones are master’s and doctorate. There are private and public institutions, but the line between them is blurred due to the autonomy of the public institutions in terms of finance, staff, self-assessment. There are 1217 colleges, universities, and other institutions providing higher education, in which 4,033,000 students are enrolled, 123,829 of them are international. (http://www.chronicle.com/academicDestination/Japan/33/)

    In order to get in the higher education institution, students have to complete 12 years of the elementary and secondary education (6 years each), after which 70% of students choose to take higher education.

    Grading

Grade	4-scale	description
A	80-100	very good
B	70-70.99	good
C	60-69.99	average/pass
F	0.00-59.99	fail

    Types of the institutions:

• Universities - 4 years (except for the medical specialty, dental medicine, pharmacy, and veterinary science department which require 6 years)
• Junior colleges - 2-3 years (mostly home economics, education, nursing, humanities and sociology)
• Professional Training Colleges - mostly 1-2 years of training for a life skill. These colleges teach you one main skill to use in the workforce after completion.
• Colleges of Technology - 5 years (engineering field, merchant shipping and other related areas of study)
• Graduate Schools - depends

The academic accomplishments of students in Japan are higher according to the international criteria. The Ministry of Education controls the growth and development of the higher education in Japan, even though majority of the institutions are self-sufficient and do not need the government’s support. The average score of the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) for students in Japan was 540, which higher than the average of 497. (http://www.japaneducation.info/Higher-Education/index.html)

    One of Japan's greatest strengths is its ability to learn what does and does not work and cut out what does not work as soon as possible. They will change anything they see from when school starts to when schools ends to how long school days are to get optimal results out of there education. They also keep their students highly motivated throughout the school year which helps keep grades up throughout the entire year. Compared to other students Japanese students have a much higher will to succeed in school and do well in school throughout the entire year.

Negatives about Japanese Higher Education Education: Students must endure rigorous testing to make it secondary level schools. The tests are much harder than the test in the united states and all students must take all the tests. Less than half do well enough to get into a four year university. The value of creative classes is very low in Japan. Japan does not take creative classes or classes that let you express your individuality in a high regard so students who may prosper in classes like this do not get the chance to showcase these abilities. Japan is more strict on classes mostly pertaining to core subject classes. Math, sciences and different social studies classes are focused on more than others. In Japan there are no remedial classes so if there is a student struggling they have to go a ‘jukus” school. These schools will help you to understand your classes better if you do not understand certain topics. These classes run after school hours so they do not interfere with regular school times. Also universities do not usually provide “undecided majors” you need to know what you want to do when you come into any university in Japan. This can be a major downfall in some cases because some people need time to figure things out and learn what they like and do not like and do not always get that opportunity in Japan.

    Also changing your major can be quite the problem. For example say you are in university to become a chemist but you realize you have a strong love for math and you want to do something in engineering. This could lead to you having to drop out of school retaking your tests to get into school again and declaring your new major.

Competition:

Japanese students like all higher education students have a high level of competition to get into highly regarded school. There is only so much room in schools so doing well on your entrance test is very important. Getting into a well recognized school gives students the best opportunity to do well later on in life so the competition to have that kind of luxury is very high in Japan.

History of Japanese education

    Japanese higher education was based on the Shinto, Buddhism and Confucianism philosophy, and in 19-20th centuries, the education was altered to make education more focused on originality, individuality, and internationalization, as well as make it equal for all, not only the elite.

    During WWII, Japanese education was focused on training elite leadership for government, business, and society, but the major reforms took place after the WWII, increasing the number of the universities and creating the junior colleges.

    After world war two there was a lot of changes that took place in the education system in Japan. There was a big reform in public schooling and training teachers in public schools so they could teach at a high level just like any other teacher.  Japan also adopted teacher unions and parent teacher groups.

Japan developed thirty universities to help aid foreign students wanting to come to japan to receive higher education. Their main goals being making an environment suitable to for all foreign kids. English classes for students to learn English and speak English well. Also to have a great staff and support of staff of Japanese and foreign teachers.

How Japanese culture affected the education

    After the WWII, the reforms were made to make sure that the education in Japan is more general, including such courses as arts and sciences. Because of that, many students started seeing university as a way to rest, while others (mostly the ones studying medicine and engineering) had to work hard to graduate. Until then, the education is Japan was not popular and mostly given to the elite instead of being accessible for all students in the country. However, the chances of being admitted in a university are higher for those from rich families, as the national policy is not interested in special treatment of students from poor families or disadvantaged groups.

    Even though women have an equal chance of being admitted in a university, only a small part of them chooses to enroll, making 10% of students at the University of Tokyo.

(http://members.tripod.com/h_javora/jed9.htm)

Financial cost of higher education in Japan:

The cost to go to school in Japan is extremely low compared to the united states. College only costs around five thousand to ten thousand dollars. Depending on which route you take when you choose higher education. Public schools cost closer to the five thousand range. While private four year schools cost closer to the ten thousand dollar range. Students pay for education the same way in America through their own money or a loan. This is an extremely low price for higher education compared to the united states which can be around thirty thousand dollars for private schooling. Also even public schooling is much more expensive being an average of eighteen thousand dollars. It is lower if you stay in state at around twelve thousand dollars.

Best Universities in Japan:

The university of Tokyo, Kyoto university and Osaka university, are the three best universities in Japan. They all rank in the top two hundred best global universities. The university of Tokyo is one of the best colleges in the entire world ranking forty four globally. Here at this university they have some of the greatest ranking science classes in the world from engineering to psychology. They also rank as the number one school in Asia and japan. Kyoto university has one of the best chemistry programs in the entire world ranking seventeenth overall globally. Osaka university has one of the top immunology programs in the world ranking nineteenth overall. 

     References

Academic Destinations Japan. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2017, from http://www.chronicle.com/academicDestination/Japan/33/

Best Global Universities in Japan. (2017). Retrieved March 28, 2017, from https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/university-of-tokyo-500248

Deady, C. (2015, January). The High Cost of Higher Education: Financing Models from Japan, Norway, England and the United States. Retrieved March 28, 2017, from http://pellcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Higher-Ed-Affordability-FINAL.pdf

Higher Education in Japan. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2017, from http://www.mext.go.jp/en/policy/education/highered/title03/detail03/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2012/06/19/1302653_1.pdf

Higher Education System in Japan. (2012). Retrieved March 28, 2017, from http://www.japaneducation.info/Higher-Education/index.html

Japanese Education System - Higher Education. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2017, from http://members.tripod.com/h_javora/jed9.htm

Wieczorek, Craig. C. (2008, Winter). Comparative Analysis of Educational Systems of American and Japanese Schools: Views and Visions. Retrieved March 28, 2017, from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ781668.pdf

Comparative Higher Education in the UK-by Sara Stateva and Winter McLeod

History of the UK and Education

The University of Oxford was both the first established university in the UK and the first university amongst “the English-speaking world.” While the exact date of foundation is unknown, evidence of its existence dates back to 1096. Higher education and education in the UK in general has been changing ever since, but a few large scale events had unique effects on the education system:



In response to the industrial revolution (starting around 1760), education became more common and more accessible. Throughout the 1800s, schools continued to become more accessible to the poor, specifically, and the Factory Act of 1833 required 2 hours of school a day for child factory workers. This also sparked the Education Act of 1902, which opened over a thousand secondary schools. Eventually, this shift towards practicality and work based education from the industrial revolution led to the “red-brick” universities to be established in the early 1900s. These universities were the first to focus on vocational training.  


As a result of WWI, many children were still employed in factory work and not getting adequate education. The response to this was the Education Act of 1918, which raised the child leaving age to 14 (when it was previously at 12). Furthermore, this act eventually led to to the decision to make it illegal to employ children under 12 years old. The act was based on the 1917 Lewis Report, which also suggested that education, in some form, should be extend to the age of 18. However, it wasn’t until the Education and Skills Act of 2008 that the child leaving age was actually extended to 18.

In response to WWII, the Education Act of 1944 was established to ensure free secondary education to everyone, and raised the school leaving age to 15. This act also established the 11 plus exam and the tripartite education system. The 11 plus exam is a standardized test students took at 11 years old, which determined the type of school they went to. Grammar schools were the most elite type and they trained students for higher education. However, people soon noticed that the success on the test was highly classist, and the system eventually was phased out.

The Education Act of 1962 “required LEAs to provide students with grants for living costs and tuition fees” but this was eventually changed in the Teaching and Higher Education Act of 1998, which “required students to contribute towards education fees.”

Basic Design of Higher Education in the UK

This video explains the basic format of the UK schools, but I’ll attempt to explain some of the concepts that the video mentions that most people outside of the UK may not be familiar with.



The main step in preparation for college is the A levels, or sixth form. These take place the last 2 years before university. In year 12 (equivalent to 11th grade), students pick 4 subjects to study, and in year 13, they study 3 of those 4 subjects. Students grades on the exams for these years are what universities look at when accepting students.  



Once in university, UK schools work fairly similar to American schools with students able to get a BA (or similar degrees) in 3 or 4 years, and then a master’s in 1 or 2. The first notable difference in the UK system is that students take courses more related to what they want to study, and don’t have an equivalent to “core” classes. In other words, if a UK student is studying, say, art, they wouldn’t be required to take an English or science course.  



The second big difference is the option for honours degrees as a bachelor. These degrees can be classified as first class honours (which is the highest level), second class honours, which is split into upper division (2:1) and lower division (2:2), and third class honours, which is the lowest degree. Usually, a 2:1 or better is required for graduate school. 



Another more recent difference is that many students are going to apprenticeships after sixth form instead of university. Apprenticeships are similar to paid internships, but they can be used to get a degree as well (or taken alongside other degree programs).

Gender and Education in the UK

Women didn’t get equal rights in higher education in the UK for centuries after higher education was developed. Currently, though, the opposite issue has arose: Women are much more likely to go to university in the UK, and much more likely to succeed when they go. The main reasons theorized for this are that (1) women work harder and get better grades in primary/secondary education and (2) “Female graduates earn three times as much as women without a degree, while male graduates earn around twice as much as other men.”


Despite the female dominated modern higher education, most of the elite schools in the UK are still majority male. I did a bit of research, and using “The Complete University Guide’s” top college list and their school demographic information (as well as additional websites for University College of London and the UK college average), I compiled a graph of the top UK universities with the percent of females at those schools from the 2014/15 school year.


As you can see, an average of 56% of students are female among all UK universities, but of the top ten universities, only four are majority female, one is 50/50 and the other five are majority male. In addition, nine of the ten universities have a larger proportion of men than the average. Factoring for the student body size at each school, the average gender ratio of the top ten universities is 48% female. No one has formally discussed the gender ratio discrepancy between the top universities and the average universities, but based on the earlier point about women making proportionally better money with a degree than without, combined with the fact that men in poverty are the least likely subgroup to go to university, it can be inferred that men still have the upper hand, but they don’t have to rely on university to get good work if they can’t afford it. However, when they can afford it, they’re more likely to get into elite schools.

Financing

In the UK, the fees for tuition to universities have a cap on the maximum amount they can charge (with most universities charging the full amount). In England, this cap is at £9,250 ($11,297) if you live in the UK. Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales all have similar prices for the whole UK, but are cheaper if you’re a resident to that respective part of the UK. Furthermore, while England schools are the most expensive overall in the UK, it’s important to note that “In England, fees do not have to be paid up-front. Repayments begin only when students are earning above an income threshold of £21,000 - and debts are written off after 30 years.”

When compared to United States private schools (which average around $33,500 a year), the UK numbers are pretty low. However, in terms of public universities, England has the highest average tuition rate in the industrial world. The pie chart below shows the 2016-17 allocation of government funds to different aspects of colleges and universities in England from the HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England) website. In England, the HEFCE gets money from the government and decides how to allocate it in the education system.

Of the government money being spent on education in the UK, only about 12% is going to higher education, with around 44% going to secondary education and approximately 31% going to primary education (the rest of the money going to other education related fields or under-5s).

Admissions to Universities

Somehow both similar and distinct from other countries, the admission process to British Universities has its own unique processes. Regardless of the course, the university, or the social background of the student, all applications are submitted through a non-profit online platform called “UCAS” (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service). First founded in 1993, UCAS has successfully operated with the motto “At the heart of connecting people to higher education.” This organization makes the otherwise challenging process of applying to universities fairly simple - one can choose a course, select a specific school according to personal preferences, write a personal statement, and submit applications through the UCAS website.

It’s important to mention that the application process through UCAS limits the student to only 5 universities, but it cost much less than most college application. Similar to many places in Europe and unlike the US, UK Universities focus mostly on grades and your academic performance. The entry requirements can be listed in various ways: e.g. DDD (BTEC), AAB (A-level), AAAB (Highers). The terms in parentheses refer to the different education systems in the United Kingdom – BTEC (Business and Technology Education Council) is when you have both a secondary school qualification and a vocational one; A-level (Advanced levels, exams taken at the age of 18) is the most common one; and Highers (short for Higher Grade), which are national school-leaving certificate exams and university entrance qualifications used by the Scottish secondary education system. All of these are equivalent to one another and can be graded with a system of letters from A to E (or numeric grades in some recent cases). Traditionally, UK students take the exam in 3 subjects, which is why the different entry requirements for universities are written in a 3-letter form. Another way for UK universities to present their requirements is through UCAS tariff points, which are basically different points awarded according to the exams you have taken (e.g. A is worth 120, B - 100, C - 80, D - 60 and E- 40).

Furthermore, UK universities will always require the student to fill out an application, and most do an interview where one can present his or her abilities, outside of school activities, and personality. However, all of the above criteria can significantly vary depending on the course you apply to or the country you’re from. For instance, if the student comes from a place where English is not the official language, (s)he is obliged to take some kind of exam (most often the TOEFL) to prove his or her English proficiency. Also, the entry requirements for medicine or engineering, for example, are much higher than those for business or economics.

Major UK Universities

UK is maybe the country with the most ancient and highest quality higher education. In fact, 345 of the top 800 higher education institutes are located in Europe and, as we can see from the the infographic below, most of them are found in England. The two most famous and recognized UK universities are Oxford and Cambridge (both in the top 10 of the world’s higher education institutions). They are often referred to collectively as “Oxbridge” to distinguish them from other UK Universities, with implications of greater intellectual and social status. Another top university in the territory of England is King’s College which is lower in the rankings but is also a representative of a major higher education facility. Here is a table comparing these three universities but also emphasizing how similar they are in their high standards:

Refugee Education in Australia by Emily Temkin and Elijah Septoff

History of Australia

Australia is home to one of the oldest cultures indigenous groups in the world, called the Aboriginals. They are believed to have arrived at Australia by boat over 50,000 years ago. At the time of European settlement, there was an estimated   1 million aboriginal people spread across the continent of Australia. At that time, the people were broken up into 500 nations and 700 languages were being spoken. Australia  was colonized by Captain James Cook who claimed the land for the British. The land was colonized to be used as a penal colony and the British sent convicts there to be imprisoned. Free settlers started to flow into the continent in the early 1790’s. As more and more people were entering the country, the Aboriginal people were pushed out of their land and were exposed to foreign illnesses. As the 1800’s rolled around more people continued to come from Britain. Land was turned into farms. By 1901, Australia was divided into 6 states, but they came together to sign a constitution and contined to become more independent from the British.

The First World War had a big impact on Australia; Australia did not have enough men representing them in the war to be a competitive force, and many of the men during their service. During the Great Depression, Australia took a hit as many of its financial institutions collapsed. Following the Second World War, migrants from all over Europe and the Middle East moved to Australia and got jobs in the prospering manufacturing sector. The economy continued to boom throughout the 1950’s as the country had large national building projects, international demand grew for Australian exports and Australian home ownership increased by 30%. Although still being a part of the British Commonwealth, Australia gained much independence during the 1960’s as they resisted to participate in the Vietnam war. Australia itself takes up 5% of the world's mass and is the 6th largest country, and the largest country that is surrounded by water. It is the smallest of the continents on earth. It has a population of 17.5 million.

Refugee Education

        All people, natives or refugees, have the right to an Education as the 1989 convention on the rights of the child, the 1951 Refugee convention, and UNICEF highlight: “Education is a fundamental human right: every girl and boy in every country is entitled to it.” Six million refugees are school aged, however, more than half of them (3.7 million) have no school to go to. Without an education, these refugees are put at a disadvantage; attending school can provide so much to students which help them grow into productive adults. As Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, says, “Education is one of the few opportunities we have to transform and build the next generation” and UNICEF says, “Education enables refugees to positively shape the future of both their countries of asylum and their home countries when they one day return.”. Refugee students are 5 times more likely to be out of school than non-refugee students. 50% of refugee students of the primary school age attend school and this number vastly decreases down to 22% enrolment rate of refugee students in secondary school. Additionally, only 1% of refugee kids go on to attend college or university. With less than 2% of humanitarian aid going towards education, this problem is often overlooked.

Refugees (in Australia)

There are 65.3 million displaced people across the world, of that 21.3 million were classified as refugees in 2015. Of the total  number of refugees, 11,766 refugees are in Australia which means only .48% if the world’s refugees are protected in Australia in 2015. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Turkey who houses 2.5 million refugees making them the country hosting the most refugees. The top home countries for refugees are Syria, Afghanistan, and Somalia.

Education in Australia

        The Australian educational system is split up into three divisions: primary school (kindergarten – 6th or 7th grade), secondary school (7th or 8th – 10th grade), and senior secondary school (grades 10 - 12), this is similar to how school is broken up in other countries, including the United States. In addition to their traditional schooling system, as mentioned above, Australia offers a tertiary education as well including universities and Vocational Education and Training (VET). Since English is the official language of Australia, it is used to teach in classes as well. Some schools offer bilingual languages or programs for learning other languages, however compared to other countries, a vast majority of Australian students are monolingual. The Australian school year runs from January – December. There is a national Australian Curriculum which sets country wide expectations for all students. Besides the national curriculum, the schools really vary by state and territory with how the curriculum is implemented.  

        The Australian curriculum differs from that in other countries as they have the Australian Qualifications Framework (AFQ). The AFQ was created in 1995 and is a way of tracking progress in tertiary education. It consists of 10 levels each represent different accomplishments ranging from Certificate I through a Doctoral degree, with various degrees like associate, bachelor, graduate and masters as levels in between.  

        In Australia, the public schools are free for Australian Residents, however students on visas may be required to pay to attend the public school. Additionally, even for Australian residents, they are still expected to pay for school uniforms, books, and supplies.  In addition to the public schools, there are also private and boarding schools in Australia. The private schools are mostly religion based. The majority of these school are Christian schools, however in larger cities there are often Jewish, Islamic and Buddhist schools as well. The boarding schools in Australia are typically for students who live in isolated areas, and subsidized by the state or territories government. The private and boarding schools, aren’t required to follow the Australian National Curriculum although many do. The schools that don’t follow that often offer the International Baccalaureate.

        Results from the PISA exam show that Australian teens are falling behind their peers in other countries. For example, a 15-year-old Australian student tests the same as a 12-year-old Korean student for their problem-solving abilities. Additionally, foreign born Australian students are out performing Australian students born in Australia. The highest performing students in Australia are those that were born in China, Korea, and Sri Lanka. This may be because Australia’s early child education is behind other countries. So, students aren’t exposed to a classroom as early as their peers in other countries. Only 18% of Australian 3-year-olds attend an early childhood classroom, which is far behind the average for developed countries which is 70%.

Refugee Education in Australia

In 1990, Australia attended the Convention on the Rights of Children (CRC). In this convention, five guidelines were created with the goal to give all asylum seeking and refugee students a fair education. The guidelines are as follows:

1. “The best interest of the child shall be primary consideration” (Bourgonje, 2010)
2. “Detention must be as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time” (Bourgonje, 2010)
3. “Children in detention have the right to be treated with humanity and respect” (Bourgonje, 2010)
4. “Children have the right to enjoy, to maximum extent possible, develop- ment and recovery from last trauma”  (Bourgonje, 2010)
5. “Asylum-seeking and refugee children are entitled to appropriate protection and assistance” (Bourgonje, 2010)

The author of this report, Paloma Bourgonje, also says that from the years 1999 to 2003,  2,184 asylum seeking children arrived into Australia and of those people, 976 were in detention at some point over the four year span. Numbers like these, violate the guidelines created in the CRC. These detention centers were supposed to provide an adequate amount of education none of the faculties available or systems provided were in any way on acceptable levels. In one case at the Woomera Detention Center, 3 staff members were responsible for teaching up to 2,000 people. One of those three staff members speaks of teaching as, “a haphazard affair” (Bourgoneje, 2010). Additionally,  Australia and the schools don't train the teachers adequately enough to be able to deal with children who have gone through traumatic experiences and the way that affects learning, which again violates the rights of the children as established in 1990.

Refugees entering Australia come in with various backgrounds of education. Some have had a formal education while others have had limited access (Ficarra, 2017). Ficarra writes about a study conducted by Taylor and Sidhu in 2012m this study targeted four schools in Queensland, Australia. These schools were known for their good approach to educating refugee students well, unlike what Bourgonje speaks of. Of the four schools this study looked into, one was public while three were catholic. These schools had a policy that focused on the inclusion of refugee students and strived to meet their needs. They took in refugee students and worked on their language skills, rather than expecting them to jump into the classroom appropriate for their age. Additionally, these schools promoted social justice in and out of their classrooms which is part of their holistic approach to education. These schools included the student’s families in the school community (Ficarra, 2017). As refugees continue to enter Australia, if more schools act as these four schools in Queensland does, refugees will have more opportunities in the classroom.

Works Cited:

Bourgonje, Paloma. Education for refugee and asylum seeking children in OECD countries: case

studies from Australia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Brussels, Belgium:

Education International, 2010. Print.

Ficarra, Julie. "Comparative International Approaches to Better Understanding and Supporting

Refugee Learners." Issues in Teacher Education Spring 2017 26.1 (2017): 73-84.