Q150 Digital Books Section Details

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1 Office of Economic and Statistical Research discover more about historical Queensland Q50 Digital Books Section Details Name: Queensland Past and Present: 00 Years of Statistics, Section name: Chapter 7, Education, Section 5 Pages: Printing notes (Adobe Acrobat): For best results Page Scaling should be set to Fit to Printable Area. Auto Rotate and Center should also be checked. Licence for use: This document is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit You are free to copy, communicate and adapt the work, as long as you attribute the authors. Return to Q50 Collection: The State of Queensland 2009

2 EDUCATION They were administered by boards of trustees and operated under state subsidy. The schools were inspected by the Department of Public Instruction inspectors, and in this respect differed from other private schools which were only inspected upon request. In general, girls' grammar schools were built later and by the 890s were offering academic subjects similar to those offered by boys' grammar schools. Private and denominational schools provided alternatives to the State system. The University Commission of 89 stated: We apprehend... that in the establishment of education as a Government institution on a secular basis the people of Queensland in no way intended to discourage religious teaching by others as a matter of the deepest interest to humanity in the conduct of life in the home, and in public action in the outer world. 26 As noted in chapter 4, one of the few State referendums ever passed was the introduction of religious instruction into state schools in 90. Most non-government schools provided primary education, and most of these were Catholic parochial schools. The Catholic Church strongly defended its right to maintain its own education system independent of the State system. State aid to denominational schools had been abolished in 880 and was not reintroduced until the 960s. In 963 the Commonwealth Government provided financial assistance to government and non-government schools for science buildings and equipment, capital assistance and scholarships. Commonwealth funding was also available in 968 for library facilities. In 969 the Commonwealth undertook continued funding for non-government schools based on enrolments. Under the Grammar Schools Act 975 (Qld), the Department of Education retains links with eight grammar schools that operate as statutory bodies within the portfolio of the Minister for Education. In the total expenditure by grammar schools in Queensland was $2.m, 85% of which came from government grants. State government grants to grammar schools amounted to $5.Om, while Commonwealth grants totalled $5.3m. Almost all of the Commonwealth grants were spent on recurrent purposes compared with about 80% of state government grants. 27 In , $203.3m was allocated to non-state education from Consolidated Revenue and $39.4m from trust and special funds. 28 Data on Queensland s non-government schools by affiliation is only readily available from the 970s (table 7.7). While the total number of non-government schools in Queensland increased from 342 in 970 to 408 in 995, the number of Catholic schools declined from 294 to 27 over the same period. Most of the new non-government schools were opened by institutions not affiliated with either the Anglican or Catholic churches. These schools increased in number from 34 in 970 to 5 in 995. The student to teacher ratio for non-government schools declined from 26.8 students per teacher in 970 to 6.0 in 995. Although the student to teacher ratio for Catholic schools fell from 29.4 to 6.8 over the same period, the ratio for these schools remains higher than the ratios for Anglican and other non-government schools. TERTIARY EDUCATION Tertiary education in Queensland started in 88 with the opening of the Brisbane School of Arts. A university was first proposed in 875, although the University of Queensland did not 223

3 QUEENSLAND PAST AND PRESENT Table 7.7 Retention rates (a) by type of school by level, Queensland, Type of school; year Government Non-government AH schools Year 9 students Year 0 students Year students Year 2 students (a) The proportion of students of a Year 8 cohort group who continued to a particular level/year of education. Retention rates are affected by students repeating a year, migration and other net changes in the school population. Rates may therefore exceed 00%. Source: Department of Education, unpublished data. commence operations until 9. Growth in tertiary education was slow until after World War II. There have since been various changes to the structure of the tertiary education sector. Enrolments in higher education institutions have increased rapidly in the 980s and 990s. Technical education The Department of Public Instruction opened the Brisbane School of Arts in 88 and the Brisbane Technical College in 882. The Technical College was separated from the School of Arts with the passing of the Brisbane Technical College Act 898 which created a separate body corporate not under the control of the Department of Public Instruction. Technical education was again administered by the department from 905, and the Technical Instruction Act 908 (Qld) placed technical colleges in Brisbane under the direct control of the department. An amendment to this Act in 98 also brought the country colleges under the control of the department. In 90 the Brisbane colleges were amalgamated to form the Brisbane Central Technical College which was the chief technical institution in Queensland and a training centre for teachers in technical subjects. Its four-year course in engineering, for example, was recognised by the University of Queensland. Figure 7.5 shows the various departments that comprised the Brisbane Central Technical College and how the college fitted into the overall education system. 224

4 EDUCATION Figure 7.5 Brisbane Central Technical College structure and its relationship to the rest of the education system, Queensland, 90. Source: Department of Public Instruction, Annual Report,

5 QUEENSLAND PAST AND PRESENT Students in a Practical Physics class, Brisbane Technical College, c Students of the Technical College, Cairns,

6 EDUCATION The increase in the number of technical colleges had been in response to the 89 Universities Commission which had criticised the non-practical basis of the State education system. One viewpoint was that the system did not provide a labour force responsive enough to the needs of industry. Australia followed the European tradition of apprenticeship. This involved apprenticing adolescents to master tradespersons or firms for 4-5 years, supplemented by part-time courses at a technical college, usually in the evening. By 944 the Junior examination was generally regarded by employers as being a satisfactory qualification for apprenticeship, and further training was provided by the technical colleges. An Army Education Service was established in 943 to provide primary and secondary education for soldiers by correspondence. The army hoped that the education program would maintain morale within the armed forces as well as prepare personnel for jobs after the war. In 945 this service became the Technical Correspondence School and included courses for Junior, Senior and Teachers' examinations. The number of enrolments grew rapidly. By the 960s the apprenticeship system was perceived to be inadequate. In 964 the Apprenticeship Act (Qld) transferred training from night school to technical colleges. In the same year, the Federal Government began supplementing state moneys for such colleges by annual grants. From 968 bridging courses were offered to provide a transition between basic trade courses and higher technical studies. In 97 block release training for certain apprenticeship courses was authorised to allow apprentices to attend technical colleges. The growth in number of students undertaking technical education from 905 to 970 is shown in table 7.8. While the number of technical colleges remained fairly constant, the number of students increased except during the 930s due largely to depression and war and the 960s due mainly to changes in the tertiary education system which resulted in the establishment of colleges of advanced education. Technical education, along with other branches of tertiary education, underwent considerable change in the 970s. Following recommendations of the Martin Committee, the upper segments of technical colleges were upgraded to colleges of advanced education in 970 with little Table 7.8 Technical colleges and students, Queensland, Students Year Technical colleges Full-time 3, Part-time - number 9,90 8,628 6,763 27,959 5,97 Technical correspondence (a) 74 2,824 6,499 7,668 Total ,744,863 2,422 9,86 9,725 34,596 24,593 (a) Students enrolled in the Technical Correspondence School. Source: Department of Public Instruction, Annual Report 905, 90, 920, 930; ABS, Year Book Australia, various years; GSO, Queensland Year Book, various years; ABS, Queensland Year Book, various years. 227

7 QUEENSLAND PAST AND PRESENT Table 7.9 TAFE students by status, Queensland, Year (a) 995 (a) 996(a)(b) Full-time 6,478 3,96 29, ,042 Part-time number 0,06 223,376 24, , ,330 Total 07, ,292 27, ,372 distinction being made between colleges of advanced education and universities. The lower end of trade courses and adult education were consolidated to form technical and further education (TAFE) colleges in 977. TAFE colleges aimed to make education available to post-school students with courses designed to meet the needs of changing technologies, manufacturing and rural industries, and new apprenticeship training. In 982 (a) Break in series after 993 due to a new standard in data collection, Australian Vocational Education Training Management Information Statistical Standard the first full-time college apprenticeship course (AVETMISS). (b) Figures include private providers which are government was introduced at Kangaroo Point TAFE funded and adult education students. College. In June 992 the Commonwealth Source: ABS, Queensland Year Book 983; National Government upgraded TAFE. The Australian Council for Vocational and Educational Research,Selected National Training Authority was established TAFE Statistic* 992, Selected Vocational and Educational and Training Statistics 994 and unpublished data. in Queensland to determine priorities in consultation with industry groups. It became the centre for vocational training. TAFE is the largest provider of post-secondary education in Queensland. In 996 there were 25 collegesand 254,372 students enrolled in programs that provided various qualifications with national recognition, an alternative career path to higher education, and on-the-job training (table 7.9). In 996,9.5% (24,042) of students were full-time and 90.5% (230,330) were part-time. Colleges of advanced education The first tertiary level college of advanced education was the Queensland Institute of Technology established in Brisbane in 965. This was followed by the Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education at Toowoomba in 966 and the Capricornia Institute of Advanced Education at Rockhampton in 967. The colleges at Rockhampton and Toowoomba were affiliated with the Queensland Institute of Technology. Courses were standardised across the three campuses, with the two regional colleges lacking a local identity in their early years. The Colonial Government recognised the need for agricultural training when it established the Queensland Agricultural College at Gatton in 897. As part of moves to rationalise technical education throughout the State, responsibility for the college was transferred from the Department of Agriculture and Stock to the Department of Public Instruction in 923. It was reorganised as the Queensland Agricultural High School and College. The college paved the way for university activities 'in regard to agricultural education; and generally in making agricultural education a potent factor in pushing forward our great primary industries'. 29 In 990 the Queensland Agricultural College was affiliated with the University of Queensland, and the college's principal became its first professor of agriculture. The college also provided training to teachers in the rudiments of agricultural education in primary schools. The Queensland Conservatorium of Music opened in 956 and had an enrolment of 202 students in 957. By 966 there were 338 enrolments. The conservatorium focuses on both the performance and composition of music while developing the vocational needs of students who intend to become professional musicians. In 996 there were 569 enrolments

8 EDUCATION Delegates to the Farmers' Conference, Queensland Agricultural College, Gatton, 897. The first teachers' college, intended to replace the pupil-teacher system, was established in 94 at the Central Technical College building in Brisbane. Training involved either a two-year course for matriculated students or a short course of six months for trainees in small country schools. The latter course was discontinued in 929. Matriculated students were chosen from the Senior examination lists to attend the college. Students at the college also attended university lectures and undertook practice in nominated state schools. A second teachers college opened at Kedron Park in 957 and two more at Townsville and Mount Gravatt in 967. The Education Act Amendment Act (No. ) 970 (Qld) established a Board of Advanced Education and a Board of Teacher Education. In 970 a teachers college was established as a college of advanced education and the Queensland Agricultural College and the Queensland Conservatorium of Music became colleges of advanced education. The four state teachers' training colleges in Queensland became autonomous colleges of advanced education in 972. In 975 teacher registration was introduced and all schools, including private schools, had to employ registered teachers. Four of the Brisbane colleges merged into the Brisbane College of Advanced Education in 982. In the late 980s and early 990s the institutes of advanced education became universities, and the other colleges of advanced education were amalgamated with those universities (see the following subsection on universities). Universities The first proposal for a university in Queensland was made in 875. This proposal was restated in 89 by the University Commission with the view that: 229

9 QUEENSLAND PAST AND PRESENT Our secondary schools will never do the educational work of which they are capable until they become component parts of a system vitalised by the controlling influence of a University... It is clear that the bulk of our people must be educated in their own country, if for no other reason than because of the impossible expenditure in providing education elsewhere. To promote identity of interest and feeling in our children with the people amongst whom they must pass their lives is even more important than economy. The highest duties of citizenship are best discharged under the influence of the most enlightened love of the fatherland; in short, of those patriotic emotions which place our best men and women above the narrow and more selfish ideals and feelings of political party fidelity. 3 The depression of the 890s precluded the immediate establishment of a university. Queensland students were forced to seek a university education interstate, usually at the universities of Sydney or Melbourne, or overseas. The Colonial Government offered exhibitions to universities, which were awarded to successful students attending the grammar schools. In 896 nine candidates presented themselves for examination and three were successful, including the first female candidate to obtain a university exhibition. 32 The University of Queensland was established under the University of Queensland Act 909 as part of activities to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the separation from New South Wales. The university commenced teaching in 9 with the faculties of Arts, Science and Engineering. In the 920s adult matriculation was introduced for prospective students aged 25 years and over. Although there was a small number of scholarships, university fees were payable by most students. By 938 the faculties also included Commerce, Law, Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Science, and Agriculture. The university recognised the need for providing students in remote parts of the State with access to a university education. External studies started in 9. Adult education classes in civic and cultural subjects began in 93 in association with the Workers' Educational Association which had been formed in all States. Public lectures were given in country districts although these were replaced by broadcast lectures from 93. These lectures were supplemented by the Ringrose libraries which were placed in provincial centres to allow external students access to reference books. For many years the University of Queensland remained the only centre for university studies in Queensland. This situation made it difficult to increase the number of enrolments and tended to concentrate resources in the south-eastern corner of the State. The National Education Co-ordination and University of Queensland Acts Amendment Act 94 recommended university colleges outside Brisbane, which eventually resulted in tertiary facilities in Townsville in 957, Toowoomba in 966 and Rockhampton in 967. In the 950s and 960s the Commonwealth Government was heavily involved in the future direction of Australian universities. Rising undergraduate enrolments led to the introduction of quotas, and open entry was never restored. Increasing strains were placed on the University of Queensland during the 960s and 970s such as higher school retention rates and in 974 the abolition of university fees. James Cook University of North Queensland became the State's second university in 970 and Brisbane's second university, Griffith University, opened in 975. The Townsville College of Advanced Education merged with James Cook University in 982. In the late 980s the federal Department of Employment, Education and Training produced two papers that recommended ending the binary system of tertiary education (i.e. the colleges 230

10 EDUCATION of advanced education and the universities) and introducing a unified national system. University status was to be granted to colleges of advanced education after scrutiny by State and federal monitoring bodies. In June 988 the Queensland Government brought down its guidelines for the colleges to become universities. The federal proposals on amalgamations were contained in the Ramsay Report of April 989. Queensland Institute of Technology became Queensland University of Technology under the Queensland University of Technology Act J988-J990. Brisbane College of Advanced Education, except Mount Gravatt campus, merged with Queensland University of Technology. Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education became University of Southern Queensland under the University of Southern Queensland Act 989. Capricornia Institute of Advanced Education became University of Central Queensland under the University of Central Queensland Act 990. Queensland College of Art, Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Mount Gravatt campus of Brisbane College of Advanced Education and Gold Coast College of Advanced Education merged with Griffith University. Queensland Agricultural College was amalgamated with University of Queensland. Two other universities have been established in Queensland, bringing the total to eight. The State's first private university, Bond University, commenced teaching on the Gold Coast in 987. Funding problems have led to several changes of management and in 995 the University Table 7.0 Universities, teaching staff and students, Queensland, Year (c) 995(c) Universities Teaching staff (a) number , ,589 7,496 Students (b) ,70 4,245 8,700 7, ,999 0,809 (a) For includes part-time staff; for 960 includes part-time staff delivering at least 0 lectures; for 970 excludes part-time staff, who provided a total of 88,500 hours of tuition; for 980 includes full-time equivalent of part-time staff on the basis of 250 hours per year for lecturing and 700 hours per year for tutoring and demonstrating; for 990 and 995 figures apply to full-time equivalents, and data for University of Queensland include senior professional and administrative staff. (b) For excludes students attending Extension Lectures at university; for 990 and 995 figures are based on full-time equivalents, where available, and number of student enrolments. (c) Excludes Bond University and Australian Catholic University. Source: ABS, Year Book Australia, various years; GSO, Queensland Year Book, various years; ABS, Queensland Year Book, various years; GSO, Compendium of Queensland Statistics 996. of Queensland gained a controlling interest. A Brisbane campus of the Australian Catholic University was established in 99. The passing of the Sunshine Coast University College Act 994 led to the establishment of the Sunshine Coast University College. The expansion of the tertiary education sector is shown in table 7.0. The number of university students more than doubled in each decade from the 920s to the 960s. The number increased by more than threefold from 22,249 in 980 to 76,999 in 990, a period in which the colleges of advanced education achieved university status. In 989 the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) was introduced by the Commonwealth Government. Most students enrolled in undergraduate higher education (excluding TAPE) were required to pay HECS. The fees are based on a student's workload. In 996 the average annual fee for full-time study was $2,442 if the student chose to defer payment and $83.50 (a 25% reduction) if the student paid up-front. From the 980s an increasing number of fee-paying overseas students have attended Queensland universities. Tuition fees 23

11 QUEENSLAND PAST AND PRESENT for postgraduate students have also been introduced. Postgraduate fees vary between universities and courses, but a typical annual fee for a full-time student was $4,000 in 990, increasing to more than $6,000 in OTHER EDUCATIONAL SERVICES After World War II the Commonwealth Government became further involved in funding of other educational services including migrant education, Aboriginal schools, preschools and special education. Migrant education The postwar immigration program included Commonwealth funded schemes for the education of immigrants. Special centres to teach English were established at Wacol and Enoggera to prepare children to attend primary schools and adults for the workplace. Classes were conducted by teachers from nearby schools. By 949, 89 teachers conducted about 20 classes with an enrolment of about,450 students. Correspondence courses with notes in different languages were arranged for children in remote areas. In 957,,659 children were enrolled in these courses. 34 By 964 instruction was complemented by radio broadcasts. The services provided by the department continued to develop with the increase in migration from non-englishspeaking countries. In 987, 963 newly arrived school children and,950 adults were given English language courses. 35 Aboriginal schools Aboriginal schools were established at Myora, Deebing Creek and Murray Island, and on government reserves and at church missions. In , of the 2,083 students enrolled in Aboriginal schools, about a third (688) were enrolled in mission schools. 36 In 962 control of schools on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander settlements was transferred from the Department of Native Affairs to the Department of Education. Specific educational problems of Aboriginal children were observed through research projects such as the Bernard Van Leer Project and increasingly attracted Commonwealth funding. Government authorities encouraged the use of community education counsellors in schools with significant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander enrolments. Preschools Kindergartens were not originally part of the government school system. The first teacher training for kindergarten was provided in 9 by the Creche & Kindergarten Association of Queensland and by 95 kindergarten teachers were studying the Montessori system for application within the State. In 972 a Preschool Division was established within the Department of Education. Each preschool was staffed by a teacher and a teacher aide, and was located in the grounds of an existing primary school. Preschools provided a smooth transition between home and school. In February 996, 580 preschool units with an enrolment of 32,735 children were in operation