Education in Australia began originally as classes provided by church representatives to the children of both convicts and early settlers during early colonisation. Later, the government took responsibility for educating children and a parallel system of public/private education developed. During the 1960s, following agitation from the Roman Catholic Church and their schools, a policy of part funding for private schools developed. Today, this has evolved to a level of government funding roughly equal to the needs and financial resources of individual schools. It is a sometimes contentious and complex situation, which is reputed to have saved the Australian tax-payer tens of billions of dollars over the five decades if it had provided directly for the needs of all students. Currently, nearly one third of all students attend a non-government operated school. There is a great deal of cooperation between the sectors and students and staff are free to move between the sectors and regularly do so.
Education is compulsory from ages 5-16 with some minor variations between the states. The model is generally a 1-7-6-3 structure, although state differences are apparent.
a) School education
Pre-Primary Level
Pre-primary education in both government and privately operated organizations is available to children between the ages of 3-5 for a period of 1-2 years. Activities are largely based around social adjustment in preparation for school and children learning through play and some direct instruction.
Primary Level
The first seven/eight years of formal education is within a primary school model covering grades 1-6/7 depending upon in which state it is offered. A national curriculum is replacing the various state-based models, covering areas of literacy, numeracy, science, studies of society and civics, physical education, ICT, creative arts and music, problem solving and collaboration skills.
In 2010, Australia’s bureau of statistics recorded 6,357 primary schools.
Secondary Level
Secondary education is provided through both private and government-operated schools. The structure of these schools differs greatly in the way year levels and subgroups are organized. There is a growing trend for provision of specialist structures to meet the changing needs of adolescents between the ages of 10-14. The national curriculum (ANTAR) gives fairly uniform requirements for the different types of subjects undertaken at secondary levels. However, each provider has a great deal of latitude upon how they will achieve the learning outcomes so that each school can have its own unique ‘flavour’. There is an increasing trend for government schools to devolve more authority to leadership at each educational site, a situation already enjoyed within the non-government school network.
Australia’s Bureau of Statistics recorded 1,409 secondary schools and 1,286 combined primary and secondary schools in 2010.
Non-Government Schools
Nearly one third of all students attend non-government schools in Australia. There is a high level of competition between the schools of all descriptions, both government and non-government. Historically, Yr 12 attainment levels were published for school comparison. However, recently enacted legislation to make student achievement levels publicly available through websites, such as ‘Myschool’, has extended this freedom of information. Contention exists through measuring strategies that have produced some interesting anomalies. Work is being done to address these issues and resolve them.
1,708 Catholic Schools and 1,017 Independent Schools were recorded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2010.
b) Vocational education and training (VET)
Australia has a wide network of Technical and Further Education (TAFE) colleges and newly created regional Australian Technical Colleges who specialize in vocational training. This has been a response to Australia’s chronic lack of qualified trades personnel in most trade areas. During the 1980s and 90s, many Australian states closed local technical schools through a process of amalgamations with nearby secondary colleges in a bid to reduce operating costs. History has shown the grave error of this policy that has led to Australia having to import large numbers of skilled trades people to meet demand. Recent times has seen an increased linkage between vocational certificates, diplomas and degree courses offered by the current TAFEs and colleges, where pathways have been created to allow students to upgrade trade diplomas into degree courses through further study.
c) Higher education
Pre-Tertiary and Tertiary Education
Tertiary education in Australia is largely funded by government. However, in recent decades there has been a trend of an increasing proportion of tuition costs being borne by students. This is a contentious issue with differing opinions. Students engaged in tertiary education may also be eligible for some government living support, dependent upon a means test of the family. This means test significantly disadvantages those students who originate from rural areas but need to relocate to attend a university and therefore cannot live at home. All students wishing to enter a tertiary institution are required to complete Yr 12 and achieve a Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR), formerly known as the Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER). This enables students to apply for suitable courses anywhere within the nation.
The Commonwealth Government partially funds student enrolment in the following higher education providers. These include universities and other higher education providers:
Australian Catholic University (ACU), NSW (both in Sydney): North Sydney (MacKillop), Strathfield (Mount St. Mary); Qld: Brisbane (McAuley); ACT: Canberra (Signadou); Vic: Ballarat (Aquinas); Melbourne (St Patrick's).
Australian Capital Territory
Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra
Australian National University, Canberra
University of Canberra, Canberra
New South Wales
Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, Wagga Wagga, Albury, Dubbo, Manly, Orange, Canberra
Charles Sturt University Study Centres, Sydney
Macquarie University, Sydney
Southern Cross University, >Coffs Harbour, Lismore, Tweed Heads
University of New England, Armidale
University of New South Wales, Sydney, Canberra,
University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, Port Macquarie, Sydney, Singapore
University of Sydney, Sydney
University of Technology, Sydney
University of Western Sydney
University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Shoalhaven, Batemans Bay, Loftus, Moss Vale, Dubai
Victoria
Charles Sturt University Study Centres, Melbourne
Deakin University, Geelong, Melbourne, Warrnambool
La Trobe University, Melbourne, Albury-Wodonga, Bendigo, Beechworth, Shepparton, Mildura, Mount Buller (former campus)
Monash University, Melbourne (Clayton, Caulfield, Berwick, Peninsula, Parkville, Churchill (Gippsland) , Malaysia, South Africa
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne (CBD, Brunswick,Bundoora), Vietnam (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City)
Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne (Hawthorn, Lilydale, Prahran, Wantirna, Croydon), Malaysia (Sarawak)
Central Queensland University, Melbourne
University of Ballarat, Ballarat, Ararat, Horsham, Stawell
University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Parkville,
Victoria University, Melbourne
Queensland
Bond University, Gold Coast
Central Queensland University ("CQUniversity"), Bundaberg, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton and Brisbane.
Griffith University, Brisbane, Logan, Gold Coast and South Bank (Queensland Conservatorium and Queensland College of Art)
James Cook University, Townsville, Brisbane, Singapore and Cairns
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane
University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba
University of the Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast
Western Australia
Curtin University, Perth, Sydney and Malaysia (Sarawak), Singapore
Edith Cowan University, Perth and Bunbury
Murdoch University, Perth and Mandurah
University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle, Broome and Sydney
University of Western Australia, Perth and Albany
South Australia
Carnegie Mellon University, Heinz College Australia, Adelaide
Cranfield University, Defence College of Management and Technology, Adelaide
University College London, School of Energy and Resources, Adelaide
Flinders University, Adelaide
University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Waite and Roseworthy
University of South Australia, Adelaide , Whyalla and Mt.Gamber
Tasmania
University of Tasmania, Hobart and Launceston
Northern Territory
Charles Darwin University, Darwin and Alice Springs (formerly Northern Territory University)
Other self-accrediting higher education institutions
These institutions are for nearly all practical purposes, universities. However, they are deemed not to be because their academic focus is too narrow:
Australian Maritime College, Launceston (associated with the University of Tasmania)
Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, Northern Territory: Alice Springs, Batchelor, Darwin, Tennant Creek, Nhulunbuy, Katherine, Yarrabah and Western Australia: Kununurra
Melbourne College of Divinity, Melbourne (associated with the University of Melbourne)
State and territory-accredited higher education institutions
Government- Specialist
Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne (associated with the University of Melbourne)
National Art School, Sydney
National Institute of Dramatic Art, Sydney
Australian Film, Television and Radio School, Sydney
Arts Academy (associated with the University of Ballarat)
Government - General
Box Hill Institute of TAFE, Melbourne
Canberra Institute of Technology, Canberra
Gordon Institute of TAFE, Geelong
Monash College, Melbourne (associated with Monash University)
Northern Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne
TAFE South Australia
Christian - National
Australian College of Theology and affiliates, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth
ICI College completely through correspondence via Tasmania
Institute for the Nations - Australia, Youth With A Mission affiliate registered in ACT
Tabor College, Adelaide, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney
Australian Capital Territory
Unknown
New South Wales
Avondale College, Cooranbong (New South Wales)
Campion College Australia, Sydney
College of Christian Higher Education, Sydney
Lois Reid College of Counselling Studies, Tamworth
Moore Theological College
Sydney College of Divinity, Sydney
Wesley Institute for Ministry and the Arts, Sydney
Sydney Missionary and Bible College
South Australia
Adelaide College of Divinity (associated with Flinders University)
Adelaide College of Ministries
Australian Lutheran College, Adelaide
Bible College of South Australia, Adelaide
IIBIT,Adelaide
Tasmania
Worldview Centre for Inter-Cultural Studies, Hobart
Queensland
Brisbane College of Theology
Christian Heritage College, Brisbane
Malyon College, Brisbane
Nazerene Theological College, Brisbane
Victoria
Catholic Theological College, Melbourne
Harvest Bible College, Melbourne
John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family, Melbourne
Kingsley College, Melbourne
Western Australia
Harvest West Bible College, Perth
Perth Bible College
Other private - Specialist
Australian Academy of Design, Melbourne
Adelaide Central School of Art
Australian College of Natural Medicine, Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne
Australian College of Physical Education, Sydney
Australian Guild of Music Education, Melbourne
Australian Institute of Public Safety, Melbourne
Australian Institute of Music, Sydney
Australian International Hotel School, Canberra
Australian National College, Melbourne
Careers Australia College of Healthcare, Adelaide, Brisbane
Billy Blue College of Design, Sydney
Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School, Leura
Brandon Raynor's School of Massage and Natural Therapies, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Gold Coast
Earth Institute, Sydney
International College of Hotel Management, Adelaide
Invisage, Brisbane
Jansen Newman Institute, Sydney
Jschool: Journalism Education & Training
Kaylene Kranz and Associates, Adelaide
Kollel Beth Hatalmud Yehuda Fishman Institute, Melbourne
Le Cordon Bleu Australia, Adelaide
Marcus Oldham College, Geelong
National Institute of Health Sciences, Canberra
Nature Care College, Sydney
Oceania Polytechnic Institute of Education, Melbourne
QANTM, Brisbane
Raffles College of Design and Commerce, Sydney
SAE Institute, Sydney, Byron Bay, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth
Southern School of Natural Therapies, Melbourne
Taylors College, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth
William Blue College of Hospitality and Tourism, Sydney
General
Alexander Institute of Technology, Perth
Gibaran Learning Group (incorporating Australian Institute of Business Administration, Entrepreneurship Institute Australia, and Tourism Institute Australia), Adelaide
Holmes Institute, Melbourne
ILM Australia, None. Although registered in Australia, it only delivers courses outside the country
Navitas World, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and various places in other countries
Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, via an affiliate in Melbourne
Overview of Distance Education
Australia has a long and successful tradition of distance education. Even before World War II, distance education had become part of the educational landscape. By the early years of the 20th century, it was common for children in isolated parts of the country to learn through correspondence courses. The University of Queensland (UQ) established its Department of Correspondence Studies in 1911, while TAFE Colleges in the different states had distance education programs in place by the late 1930s.
These early experiments laid the foundation for growth in the decades after World War II. In 1950, the School of the Air began offering lessons to school-age students in remote areas using short-wave radio. The creation of University of New England (UNE) in 1954 led to the development of the influential dual-mode or “Australian model” of distance education. The distinguishing feature of the dual-mode approach was that distance and on-campus students were taught to an identical curriculum by the same teaching staff and sat the same examinations.
The dual-model approach was widely adopted by Australian universities over the next two decades. By the early 1980s, 48 universities and colleges of advanced education across Australia had distance education programs. The Australian experience also provided a model for new distance education institutions in different parts of the world. The influence of the Australian model was greatest in the Pacific area, shaping the distance learning programs offered by universities in New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji.
There is a wide range of providers offering distance education programs from kindergarten to secondary school level. The peak organisation for primary and secondary school distance education is the Australasian Association of Distance Education Schools (AADES). The following Australian DE providers are members of the AADES:
Victoria
Distance Education Centre Victoria
Victoria School of Languages
Queensland
Brisbane School of Distance Education
Cairns School of Distance Education
Capricornia School of Distance Education
Charleville School of Distance Education
Charters Towers School of Distance Education
Longreach School of Distance Education
Mount Isa School of The Air
Queensland LOTE Centre
South Australia
Open Access College
New South Wales
Rural and Distance Education
Dubbo School of Distance Education
Sir Eric Woodward Memorial School
Camden Haven High School
Karabar High School
Open High School
Southern Cross K-12 School
Sydney Distance Education High School
Bourke Walgett School of Distance Education (Bourke Campus)
Bourke Walgett School of Distance Education (Walgett Campus)
Broken Hill School of the Air (Broken Hill Campus)
Broken Hill School of the Air (Hay Campus)
North East Public School of Distance Education (Port Macquarie Campus)
North East Public School of Distance Education (Casino Campus)
Queanbeyan Public School
Sydney Distance Education Primary School
Tibooburra Outback School of the Air
South Australia
Distance Education Academy
Western Australia
Schools of Isolated and Distance Education
Carnarvon School of the Air
Kalgoorlie School of the Air
Kimberley School of the Air
Meekatharra School of the Air
Port Hedland School of the Air
Northern Territory
NT Distance Learning Service
NT Virtual School
Northern Territory Open Education Centre
Alice Springs School of the Air
Katherine School of the Air
These institutions teach according to the relevant State or Territory curriculum using a range of distance education approaches. Typical modes include HF-radio, correspondence, CD-ROM/DVD or online delivery. Many institutions provide courses in a range of formats.
The use of distance education in the delivery of TVET is a well-established practice in Australia, dating back to the pre-World War II period. The number of distance education providers in the sector that make use of distance education, online or blended learning approaches is probably in the hundreds. Only a few of the major providers can be covered here.
The State-based TAFE systems remain the major providers of distance education-based TVET. The largest Australian provider of distance education programs in the TVET field is the Open Training and Education Network (OTEN). OTEN is part of TAFE - Western Sydney Institute and functions is a specialist distance education and open learning institute within TAFE NSW. OTEN has currently 60,000 students undertaking over 250 courses. The Network has students throughout NSW, interstate and overseas. OTEN students gain a TAFE NSW qualification, recognised nationally as part of the AQF (Australian Qualifications Framework). OTEN provides online certificate to advanced diploma level courses in the fields of Agriculture, Horticulture & the Environment; Building & Construction; Business & Office Skills; Communication; Community Services; Computing & Information Technology; Engineering; English Language; Management & Human Resources; Property, Real Estate & Valuation; Workplace Training & Assessing.
Australia universities have been a leader in the provision of distance education to serve regional communities. A number of regional universities specialise in distance education and have the majority of their students studying through this mode.
In terms of distance enrolments, the major Australian distance education universities are:
Charles Sturt University
University of Southern Queensland (USQ)
University of New England (UNE)
Deakin University
Monash University
Central Queensland University
Southern Cross University
University of South Australia
Queensland University of Technology
University of New South Wales
All of these institutions have adopted e-learning approaches and are moving progressively towards the complete online delivery of distance education. At a number of institutions, the replacement of printed materials by CD-ROMs containing learning resources and support materials has been an intermediate step before the transition of all distance education teaching to an online platform, such as Moodle.
All of the major regional distance education providers offer a wide scope of courses through distance education, including foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate programs. The Open Universities Australia consortium has also emerged as major provider of online distance education programs (see below).
Administration and Finance
The Australian Government has significant financial and policy responsibility for higher education, while state and territory governments retain major legislative responsibility. At the national level higher education policies and programs are administered by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations – DEEWR. The provision of government funding is outlined in the Higher Education Support Act 2003.
Australian students can undertake higher education studies at an approved institution as either a Commonwealth support student or a fee-paying student. Students have to pay for their tertiary education.
Commonwealth support places (formerly known as HECS) are made possible through the financial contribution to higher education providers by the Australian Government.
The Australian Government contributes about one-third of government funding for vocational education and training, with the other two-thirds coming from state and territory governments.
Higher Education Reforms
On 4 March 2009, the Australian Government announced a public commitment to the rapid expansion of student numbers and to improved access for students from low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds. The Commonwealth’s goals include:
- 40% of 25–34 year olds to attain a qualification at bachelor level or above by 2025; and
- 20% of higher education enrolments at undergraduate level should be people from low SES backgrounds by 2020.
Another aspect of the Government’s reform program is the introduction of mission-based compacts. Every Australian public university will negotiate annual compacts with the Commonwealth. These will contain agreed targets, achievement of which will trigger reward payments.
Also, as part of its package of reforms, the Commonwealth is moving towards a deregulated, student-centred funding model. From 2012, Australian public universities will be funded on the basis of actual enrolments. There will be no limits on the number of students that each institution will be able to admit and institutions will be able to set their own entry standards. The Commonwealth will provide funding for every eligible university student accepted into an eligible course at a public university.
Future Direction of Tertiary Education
The new decade is expected to see a rapid increase in student enrolments as a consequence of deregulation. However, the costs and benefits of this expansion will not be distributed evenly across the higher education sector. The new demand driven system will see a shift of students and funding toward those institutions most willing and best able to attract students. Those institutions unable to defend their market share are expected to lose funding. This pressure will be greatest in the case of regional institutions, which have relied on regulation to help protect their market share in the past. Many of these institutions, which include the major distance education providers, will be under pressure to reduce standards in order to increase or maintain student recruitment. At the other end of the spectrum, many of the major metropolitan universities are expected to resist the trend towards mass education. It is predicted that these institutions will position themselves as high quality providers, reducing undergraduate intakes in favour of postgraduate students. It is for this reason that some observers have referred to the likely emergence of a new binary system.
Information and Communications Technology Initiatives
Australia has a modern, deregulated communications infrastructure, with high levels of Internet penetration, computer ownership and broadband access. This situation is likely to improve still further as a result of the National Broadband Network (NBN). The NBN initiative will involve the laying of fibre optic cabling to connect 93% of Australian homes, schools and businesses. This network will provide broadband speeds of up to 100 megabits per second (Mbps). The remaining 7% of Australians will be connected by means of high speed wireless and satellite technologies delivering peak speeds of at least 12 Mbps or more. As a result of the NBN, the use of IT within Australian education is expected to increase dramatically over the next five years.
a) Information society strategy
The Australian Information and Communications Technology in Education Committee (AICTEC) is a national, cross-sectoral committee responsible for providing advice to all Australian Ministers of Education and Training on the economic and effective utilisation of information and communications technologies in Australian education and training and on implementation of the Digital Education Revolution.
An ICT policy and organisational framework exists for the use of Information and Communication Technologies in Australian Education Training. A Joint Ministerial Statement on Information and Communications Technologies in Australian Education and Training: 2008-2011 was endorsed by MCEETYA and the Ministerial Council for Vocational and Technical Education (MCVTE) in June 2008.
b) Major e-learning initiatives
There have been many e-learning initiatives in Australia. One example is the Australian Flexible Learning Framework , an e-learning strategy for the vocational education and training (VET) sector that provides essential e-learning infrastructure and expertise needed to respond to the challenges of a modern economy and the training needs of Australian businesses and workers. The Framework was launched as a strategy in 2000, in response to information and communication technology (ICT) developments in workplaces and society. The Australian Government and all states and territories agreed to work together nationally to advance the use of e-learning in VET. The 2008-2011 Framework Strategy focussed on embedding e-learning in registered training organisations (RTOs), business and industry, opening up more than $7 million in funding opportunities.
Recent research shows that 36% of all VET activity in RTOs now formally involves e-learning, compared to just 3-4% in 2003-2004. Research also confirms that 91% of students and 88% of teachers and trainers now use e-learning as part of their VET experience.
c) Benchmarking e-learning
Australian interest in benchmarking online and distance learning initially lagged far behind trends in the United Kingdom and Europe. In more recent years, an Australian benchmarking scheme has been created. This is the ACODE benchmarking scheme for e-learning, under development by the Australasian Council on Open, Distance and E-Learning. The ACODE scheme has been trialled at a number of Australian universities since 2004. Another scheme which has been piloted in Australia is the E-Learning Maturity Model (eMM), originally developed in New Zealand. The eMM (now available as eMM V2) was originally developed after testing in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
d) Support for OER
At present, support for OER within Australia is at an early stage. Only one Australian university has a formal OER strategy. This is the University of South Queensland, which joined the OpenCourseWare (OCW) Consortium in 2007. At present, the USQ OCW site offers sample courses from each of USQ’s five faculties and also courses from its Tertiary Preparation Program. Another Australian university with a growing stake in OER is the University of New England, which has received funding from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council to develop a Feasibility Protocol to enable the wider adoption of OER within the Australian higher education sector.
e) Government entities
Only the main agencies are listed here.
Commonwealth
Australian Education International (AEI)
Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC)
Australian Research Council (ARC)
Australian Universities Quality Assurance Agency (AQUA)
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)
Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR)
Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA)
States and Territories
Note that all States have Technical and Further Education (TAFE) agencies within their departments of education. The Northern Territory is an exception. In NT, the public provision of TVET is shared between the university sector and the Bachelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education.
ACT
ACT Department of Education and Training
ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies
New South Wales
NSW Department of Education and Training
Board of Studies NSW
Vocational Education Training and Accreditation Board
Northern Territory
Northern Territory Department of Employment, Education and Training
NT Board of Studies
Queensland
Queensland Department of Education and the Arts
Queensland Studies Authority (for Syllabus Development and Certification)
South Australia
Department of Education and Children’s Services
Senior Secondary Assessment Board of South Australia (SSABSA)
Tasmania
Department of Education
Tasmanian Qualifications Authority
Victoria
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
The Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority
The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority
Western Australia
Department of Education and Training
f) Associations and networks
Australian Council for Computing in Education (ACCE)
Australasian Council on Open, Distance and e-Learning (ACODE)
Australasian Association of Distance Education Schools (AADES)
Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE)
Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA)
Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia (ODLAA)
Universities Australia (formerly the Australian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee)
g) Distance Educationjournals
Australasian Journal of Educational Technology
Australian Educational Computing
Australian Journal of Adult Learning
Distance Education
Education in Rural Australia
Impact: Journal of Applied Research in Workplace E learning
Training and Development in Australia
Australasian Journal of Educational Technology (AJET)
Interesting Distance Education Initiatives
Open Universities Australia (OUA) is owned by a consortium of Australian universities: Curtin University Griffith University, Macquarie University, Monash University, RMIT, Swinburne University of Technology and the University of South Australia. In addition, OUA sources credit courses and units from ten other providers. These include TAFE South Australia, the Central Gippsland Institute of TAFE (GippsTAFE), Polytechnic West and the Australian Computer Society, as well as six public and private Australian universities. OUA is a trend-setter in online higher education within Australia, as all its programs are online. In addition, most of OUA's first-level undergraduate units have no entry requirements. The institution provides courses in a wide variety of subjects: Arts & Humanities, Business, Education, Health, IT, Law and Justice, and Science and Engineering. Programs are available at a range of levels. These begin at Certificate IV vocational courses to Masters level postgraduate qualifications. OUA offers a range of preparatory programs: flexible, non-credit UNILEARN bringing units, enabling units which focus on developing traditional study skills, units to help NESB students prepare for IELTS test, and Learning Skills units. The latter are designed to equip students to meet the particular demands of online study by distance.
Perhaps no institution better exemplifies Australian enthusiasm for innovative solutions in distance education than the School of the Air. The School of the Air represents an Australian response to the tyranny of distance in a large, thinly populated nation. During the early 20th century, students living in isolated parts of the country’s interior undertook studies by correspondence. Extremely poor communications in the outback meant that the results were often unsatisfactory. The idea for the School of the Air was born in 1946. In that year, Adelaide Miethke of the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) in South Australia observed that outback children were all taught to use the RFDS radio service. She realised that this skill could easily be turned to educational advantage. In 1948, the Alice Springs RFDS base was used to broadcast the first school lessons to local children. The first School of the Air (SOA) was launched two years later, using short-wave radio and correspondence to provide lessons to students in remote stations and isolated communities. In 1956, the SOA program spread to New South Wales, other States following by the late 1960s. Shortwave radio has been replaced by telephone, fax, high frequency (HF) radio and satellite-based Internet access, the last technology permitting email and interactive Web-based video. The 12 Schools of the Air in Australia follow the State or Territory curriculum.