Principles of the Higher Education and Research Reform Bill 2014, and related matters

This Senate report recommends that the Higher Education and Research Reform Bill 2014 be rejected by the Senate. Overview The Senate Education and Employment References Committees\u27 inquiry and report looked at: (a) the principles of the Higher Education and Research Reform Bill 2014; (b) alternatives to deregulation in order to maintain a sustainable higher education system; (c) the latest data and projections on student enrolments, targets, dropout rates and the Higher Education Loans Program; (d) structural adjustment pressures, and the adequacy of proposed measures to sustain high quality delivery of higher education in Australia’s regions; (e) the appropriateness and accuracy of government advertising in support of higher education measures, including those previously rejected by the Senate; (f) research infrastructure; and (g) any other related matter

Looking in the mirror: Reflecting on 25 years of Inclusive Education in Australia

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis (Routledge) via the DOI in this record.Australia was an early signatory to the Salamanca Statement, and it espouses inclusive education (IE) as the overarching philosophy of education for all. A 2015 critique of IE in Australia (Anderson and Boyle 2015) found that while some gains had been made, particularly in the recognition of the needs of some of the nation’s minority groups, the lack of a nationally accepted understanding of IE meant that it was transpiring in fundamentally distinctive ways across the eight education jurisdictions, with different outcomes for different groups of students. This paper reflects upon why Australia has struggled to enact the recommendations outlined in the Salamanca Statement a quarter of a century ago. The impacts of current education reforms, including the current model of educational provision, the understanding of disability and educational need, and the neo-liberal concepts of standardisation, measurement, and choice are explored. It challenges the idea that IE is the work of schools, and instead argues the need for a national approach to IE. Governments must acknowledge the barriers that their current policies and structures erect and shift towards a more inclusive model of educational delivery – for the benefit of all children and young people in Australia

Aspiring to Excellence: Report into the Quality of Vocational Education and Training in Australia

This document forms part of the research materials collected in the 'School knowledge, working knowledge and the knowing subject: a review of state curriculum policies 1975-2005' project. The research was led by Professor Lyn Yates and was funded as a Discovery Project by the Australian Research Council (2007-2008), supplemented by further funding from the University of Melbourne through 2009. Curriculum policies and major education reports collected as part of this project were digitised to preserve as a resource for future researchers and policy makers with the support of the University Library and the Social and Cultural Informatics Platform

Aspiring to Excellence: Report into the Quality of Vocational Education and Training in Australia

This document forms part of the research materials collected in the 'School knowledge, working knowledge and the knowing subject: a review of state curriculum policies 1975-2005' project. The research was led by Professor Lyn Yates and was funded as a Discovery Project by the Australian Research Council (2007-2008), supplemented by further funding from the University of Melbourne through 2009. Curriculum policies and major education reports collected as part of this project were digitised to preserve as a resource for future researchers and policy makers with the support of the University Library and the Social and Cultural Informatics Platform