Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
Objectives Upon successful completion of this subject, students should have developed the ability to critically analyse the historical contexts of major policy initiatives and directions in Australian education, and understand the influence of social forces, bureaucratic actions and individual or group leadership on the development of key legislation, major inquiries and programs in public schooling, especially since 1900. Students should also have acquired research skills in historical inquiry and public document analysis to conduct their own study of an historical context to a major policy in state or non-government education.
Synopsis Drawing on the perspective of historical studies this subject examines some of the legislative and administrative developments in Australian education. The subject will cover the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries with special emphasis on Victorian state education. The focus will be on the following: sources of influence on public policy; the working of education bureaucracies; the provision of primary and secondary schooling; the `administrative style' of political and professional leaders in education; development of the school inspectorate and the teaching service; studies of centralisation, decentralisation and structural reform, and the development of industrial relations in education and Commonwealth/State relations in education.
Assessment Prescribed reading and commentary exercise (1500 words): 20% + Individual history essay (3500 words): 80%