Curriculum Policy and Major Education Reports
Western Australia – Key Documents – the 1995 Context
Better Schools in Western Australia (Pearce Better Schools Report) - 1987
- Glossy report prepared by Western Australia’s newly established Ministry of Education as a follow-up to the review of the education system by the Western Australian Government Functional Review Committee.
- Proposes a new structure for the Schools Division in relation to a climate of social change and changing government/community needs and priorities.
- Outlines an overall Rationale for Change, followed by New Directions for Schools that include increased financial and administrative responsibility and authority at the individual school level, the creation of School Districts, and a reorganisation/decentralisation of the Role of the Central Office.
- Concludes with a Proposed Timeline for Implementation of Changes, spanning 1987-1992.
Upper Secondary Certification and Tertiary Entrance (Andrich Report) – 1989
- Designed to examine the degree to which procedures for upper-secondary education and tertiary entrance were achieving their aims.
- Responds to the effectiveness of procedures that were put into place in 1985, in accordance with the recommendations of the McGaw Report (1984).
- Responds to four key terms of reference, which broadly concern: issues of breadth and rigour; the definition of satisfactory performance; the minimum number of TEE subjects required as part of a TEE score; and the advantages/disadvantages of internal and external assessments for determining eligibility for tertiary admission.
- Makes recommendations which support the aims of the McGaw Report (1984) but which argue for a more flexible upper-secondary schooling system.
Review of Education and Training (Vickery Report) – 1993
- Report of the Education, Employment and Training Review, which was commissioned by the Minster for Education in April 1993.
- Proposes to examine the effectiveness of the delivery of support to education, employment and training in Western Australia.
- Makes 54 key recommendations which aim to create a more effective portfolio structure that will secure a better quality of service for students, parents, industry and the community.
- Covers the three key sectors of the Education, Employment and Training portfolio: ‘School Education’; ‘Vocational Education and Training’; and ‘Higher Education’ and provides key recommendations for changes to be made to the portfolio agencies within each sector.