Department for Education (South Australia)

Education in Australia at school level is managed by each state, though the Commonwealth government makes a significant contribution.

After World War II, rising birth rates, large scale immigration and increasing demand for secondary education led to very rapid growth in the Department.

The early settlers believed in a non-conformist tradition of self-help and opposed any State involvement in community services such as schooling where volunteerism could fill the role.

One such school opened in 1847 at Mitcham, a few miles south of Adelaide, with Thomas Mugg being the teacher, a former cabinet maker.

[9] The Act made provision for support for school buildings and a stipend for teachers, paving the way for universal elementary education.

[13] The number of free high schools spread slowly and in 1915 only amounted to 6.2 secondary pupils per thousand people.

The Qualifying Certificate was an important assessment at the end of primary schooling, indicating a standard of elementary literacy and numeracy.

There was a growing concern in the school sector for a more child-centred focus and in teachers having greater flexibility in their teaching methods.

[16] The memorandum gained nationwide attention as an explicit statement of a change in philosophy in the operation of a major government department—towards more local control and more democratic approaches.

In this climate of rapid change, the government commissioned a major review of education in the state which was published in 1971.

[18] It outlined a progressive view of the purposes of schools with eight areas of the curriculum, four priorities and twelve expectations.

[5] The report recommended greater specificity in the curriculum and observed that Into the 80s gave little indication of the degree of emphasis required for a large number of expectations.

The arrangement became controversial following highly publicised investigation by the state Ombudsman into the reporting of child abuse incident.