The Education System in Australia

Australia is a vibrant economy and a rich cultural melting pot. One of the cornerstones of the development of the once penal colony is the system of education in Australia. There are many rules regarding schooling in Australia and it is these rules that help keep the country moving forward towards greatness and further prosperity.

School attendance in Australia is compulsory to children from five years of age. It is mandated that all citizens and residents are to receive eleven years of compulsory education. With these particular rules, the adult literacy rate in the country is at a high 99%. After the basic education of eleven years, the country has many government funded universities and educational institutions. This has allowed many individuals to enjoy higher education and degrees that can help not only themselves but also their families.

Aside from university education, there is another set of options for education in the country. There are many schools in Australia called TAFE Institutes. These institutions are college level educational systems that provide apprenticeship programs for individuals to train them towards an economic skill needed in the workplace. As of 2009, more than half of Australians between the ages of 25 and 64 have earned vocational qualifications. With both university training and vocational training available in schools in Australia, this has made the country a favored destination for students and other immigrants from all over the world.

After learning about the kinds of schools in Australia, the educational system in the country is primarily governed by individual states and territories in the Australian confederation. The model followed by the country is a three-tier model, with eleven years of primary and secondary education soon followed by tertiary education. The normal school year in Australia runs from January to December for primary, secondary and TAFE education. As for tertiary level schools in Australia, the schedule opens in February and closes in November.

As for the aspects of reporting and assessment, this has been standardized in primary and secondary levels throughout the continent. The grading system has been simplified as follows:

a) A (Excellent) - 85 and above;
b) B (Good) - 70 to 84;
c) C (Average) - 50 to 69;
d) D (Fail) - 25 to 49;
e) E (Failure) - 0 to 24.

The High School Certificate has mandated minimum requirements and depends largely on the legislation per state. Each state has a different set of requirements and is administered by the state's education authorities. In order to obtain the coveted certificate, each subject taken in schools in Australia would be counted to determine the Tertiary Entrance Rank of the individual student. Equivalencies are important to ensure that the individual complies with the minimum requirements set by the state.

As for the tertiary level schools in Australia, the system is built upon the percentage of maximum raw marks obtained by the individual student. This is the system adhered to by many universities to comply with legislated policies. The highest distinction grades are obtained only by at most 5% while fifty percent would receive a basic passing grade. As for those who fail, their grades are not scaled since grade point averages are not always used at the tertiary level.

Schools in Australia are one of the most advanced and modern educational systems in the world. As determined by Australia Forum, "thus it is clearly a move forward once you are able to obtain a degree or certification from a school in Australia. Not only is it of high caliber, but your education can also be your means to enter into a vibrant and burgeoning economy that is located down under in Australia."

Choosing Educational Toys

How do you ensure that the educational toy you buy will be right for your child? As with everything there are no guarantees with children. There are a couple of things to consider when selecting children's educational toys that can improve the chances that your choice will be well received. First, evaluate the developmental stage that your child is at. Select educational toys that target skills and abilities for that stage. An educational toy that is too advanced may cause frustration, and one that is too simple will not be challenging enough to warrant attention. Below is a general guideline for what types of children's educational toys are better suited for developmental stages from newborn through 3 years old. This is only meant to be a guide to start you thinking in the right direction. Use these guidelines and your knowledge of your child's interests to you help make your educational toy purchases.

Newborn to 3 Months: Babies cannot do much at this stage but their senses are eager for stimulation. Children's educational toys with high-contrast patterns and bright colors will capture little ones' attention. Babies can see color from birth but have difficulty distinguishing between similar tones. Educational toys designed with bright and distinctly different colors like red, green, black and white help babies differentiate shapes and patterns. Babies spend a good deal of time on their backs and sides at this age making colorful mobiles that play music a great educational toy choice. Babies are fascinated by their reflection in safety mirrors. They are not able to recognize themselves but the activity is great visual stimulation. Baby gyms are excellent educational toys because of the variety of stimulation they offer. Baby gyms have bright colors, a variety of attachments with different shapes, textures, and sounds. Most gyms now play music and have lights as well. These educational toy gyms require baby to pull, kick, or bat something to set off the stimulus helping to develop motor skills.

Suggested toys for this age: Galt Paynest and Gym, Busy Bear Mirror, 2 in 1 Smart Gym, Farm Friends Mobile, Jumbo Gym, and Farm Linkies.

3 to 6 Months: During this stage your baby will gain better head control and have better movement of arms and legs. They generally grip onto anything they can get their hands on and put it directly into their mouth. Educational toys like rattles promote motor development and provide sensory stimulation. Since everything ends up in the mouth, educational toys that are chewable or soft plush are favorites. Babies need to experience different textures so vary the materials educational toys are made of. Activity centers provide lots of stimulation at this age. These educational toys normally have lots of buttons that produce sounds, lights, and give a variety of textures to explore. Hand-eye coordination will improve as babies explore the activity center. Parents are often on the move more with babies at this age. Activity bars that fit across a stroller, car seat, or bouncy chair that have dangling, squeaky toys and mirrors keep baby stimulated while on the move. Motor skills develop as baby reaches, hits, pulls, and kicks at the accessories on these educational toys.

Suggested toys for this age: Tummy Play Trainer, Curiosity Cube, Toe Time Infant Car Toy, Musical Arch 'N Play, Jungle Pals Pushchair Arch.

6 to 12 Months: Your baby has much better control over arm and leg movement. By 9 to 10 months, your baby should be able to move around by some means- either pulling, crawling, or scooting. By 12 months they should be able to stand by themselves and many will even start walking. Educational toys including wooden blocks that baby can stack and knock down, throw, or bang together to make noise are good choices. By 12 months, educational wooden blocks can be used for early construction play to promote development of motor skills, cause and effect, sensory and visual stimulation. Educational toys like the Sensory Ball from Edushape, provides great stimulation with different textures. Once babies learn to sit up, they will enjoy rolling a ball and trying to catch it as you roll it back. Letting your baby chase the ball will encourage movement. Trying to figure out why a square block won't go through a round opening will help develop problem solving skills- though it may cause some frustration in the beginning. By the time your baby is 12 months, they will start to enjoy stacking activities, though they will need help in trying to get the right order. More interest in books will be noticeable now. Try to buy books that have pages with different textures and simple flaps. This will help to develop their sense of touch.

Suggested toys for this age: Frog in the Box, Activity Cube, Farm Friends Stacker, Soft Books, Hug a Bug, Textured Blocks.

1 to 2 years: With each step your baby becomes more independent and confident. Little ones at this age spend every waking hour exploring and experimenting. For those still a bit unsteady walking, educational toys that promote mobility such as a walker or push car are great choices. Pushcarts and wagons are a great way for children to tote things around- another favorite activity at this age. Educational toys including soft plush toys and dolls remain favorites at this age. Children often become very attached to one or two and use them in creative play. Toddlers can find many ways to make loud sounds. Musical instruments like drums, maracas, and tambourines are educational toys that will help them learn to appreciate music while they make noise. Inset puzzles require toddlers to lift out pieces and find the right places to put them back. These first puzzles improve problem skills and fine tune motor skills. Puzzles are educational toys that your children will play with over and over again.

Suggested toys for this age: 4 in 1 Walker, Galt Wooden Baby Walker, Little Hands Music Band, Mini Edublocks, First Blocks, Baby Puzzles, Wooden Shaped Puzzles, First Puzzles.

2 to 3 Years: Your toddler's motor skills are now well developed. They can run, jump, and climb. The area of explosive development in this stage is speech and language. Imaginative play becomes the focus for this age group. Educational toys that children use as props in pretend play help build language and communication skills. Great educational toy choices for this age include character toys, puppets, dolls, toy vehicles, and animal figures. These educational toys foster creativity and imagination by allowing your child to create wonderful adventures, model adult behavior, and role-play. Large piece puzzles are great educational toys for this age. Children at this age should be able to complete a 4 to 6 piece puzzle on their own. Puzzles are a great activity to build hand-eye coordination, problem solving, and fine motor skills.

Suggested toys for this age: Table and Chairs, Wooden Stacking Train, Airport Blocks, Maggie's Friends, Shaped Puzzles, Play and Learn Puzzles.

Teacher Education

Online teacher education is for those people who lead such a busy life that they cannot go to a regular university to get trained as teachers. There are many universities on the Internet that offer good programs for online teacher education.

Online teacher education provides teaching information and tips for teachers, as well as aspiring teachers. This is even useful for teachers with regular teacher education degrees.

The University of Phoenix Online is a private university which offers online teacher certification processes and teacher education. This is like any other distance education degree that one takes up rather than attend regular colleges. Students can choose from a variety of subjects and earn credit points required for the online degree. They will cover all the advanced theories and teaching techniques that they would cover in a regular course of teacher education.

The Western Governor's University has certification and graduate programs in teacher education that aim at getting students qualified as teachers in American schools. The university's licensure programs are meant for people who are not certified teachers, and include all major subject areas like mathematics, science and social sciences. WGU also has graduate programs for certified teachers who aim at specializing further. The Master's degree programs offered by the university include English language and learning, learning and technology, management and innovation, mathematics, science, and measurement and evaluation.

Capella Online University has a proven track record with more than 2,400 students who have gone on to have successful careers in teaching. The university offers programs in K-12 education and adult and continuing education. They offer Master's and doctoral programs in core areas like educational administration, professional studies in education and advanced classroom management. They also offer graduate certificate programs in Leadership in Educational Administration.

Websites like teachnet.com, sitesforteachers.com and tcrecord.org are storehouses of information on teacher education, training, development and improvement. These sites have a variety of resources on all topics useful for teachers.