Australian science courses examined
Australia needs to revamp its science course selections to include those that would foster an understanding of the sciences in daily life, according to a government consultant. The country has lost its "scientific knowledge base" because not enough people are studying science and math. The Australian (1/18)

National curriculum debated in Australia
Western Australia Education Minister Mark McGowan said he supports a nationwide curriculum in the works that would standardize subjects such as math, science and English, while preserving regional differences in the teaching of history and geography. The Age (Melbourne, Australia) (free registration) (2/2)

Create merit-pay, or face sanctions in Australia
Australia's Federal Education Minister Julie Bishop said she plans to withhold money from states that refuse to create merit-pay plans. She said the country is long overdue in properly rewarding its best teachers. The Age (Melbourne, Australia) (free registration) (2/6)

Australian committee urges teachers to be trained as postgraduates
As an Australian government committee considers introducing merit-based pay, the committee's chairwoman has urged that potential teachers should be trained solely in graduate programs. Too many teachers gain insufficient grounding in the subject they are teaching, said the chairwoman, Sen. Judith Troeth. The Age (Melbourne, Australia) (9/13)

Mandarin to become mandatory in some Australian public schools
All students at some Australian public schools as soon as next year may be required to study Mandarin Chinese; several private schools already teach Mandarin to all. "...[A]s the Chinese economy becomes more important ... jobs onshore and offshore will depend on students being conversant in other languages particularly in Mandarin," said headmaster Shane Hogan, whose private school teaches all its fifth-, sixth- and seventh-graders Chinese. The Sydney Morning Herald (9/21)

Australian principals say social-skills classes should be dropped
An Australian survey of primary school principals found most believed their schools were too underfunded to adequately teach the core subjects of English, math and science in addition to classes in manners, nutrition, drug education and financial literacy. "The curriculum is far too crowded," said Australian Principals Association national president Leonie Trimper. "The social responsibilities being placed on primary schools are ever increasing, taking time and resources away from our core business." The Sydney Morning Herald (10/2)

Thousands of Australian teachers set to strike next week
The Age (Melbourne, Australia) (11/15)

Australian obesity-prevention program loses funding
Nutrition Australia, which since 2005 has run the Healthy Eating Schools program that helps elementary schools stock healthier foods in cafeterias and teach children and parents about nutrition, has lost its corporate sponsorship. Teachers say the program -- which cost $3.35 per child annually -- improved student behavior as well as health. The Age (Melbourne, Australia) (1/9)

Australian school uses meditation to boost learning, reduce bullying
Daily transcendental meditation focuses students and reduces bullying at an Australian school named for the man who introduced the technique to the Beatles and other luminaries in the 1960s, says principal Frances Clarke. "It creates dynamic, alert and aware children," she said. "It's not that there's no conflict, but they work it out and talk it through and appreciate where the other person is coming from." The Age (Melbourne, Australia) (1/28)

Australian unions say teacher shortage on the horizon
Some 40% of teachers in one Australian province are expected to retire within six years, while many young educators are leaving the profession, say teachers union leaders, who are calling on the federal government to boost funding to improve teacher salaries and working conditions. The Sydney Morning Herald (1/29)

Group: Australian students could benefit from gambling lessons
The downside of gambling and the probability of winning could be taught in Australian classrooms as part of an initiative backed by the Australian Hotels Association. Association President Bill Healy said the lessons would improve students' financial knowledge points to the fact gambling already is used to teach parts of the maths curriculum. ABC (Australia) (20 Oct.)

Australian teachers urged to learn about Aboriginals
Some Australian teachers don't understand the actions of their Aboriginal students, causing others to suggest that teachers should gain a better understanding of those cultures and their behaviours. Ernie Grant, a Jirribal tribe elder and educator, said that for many Aboriginal children, English is not their first language, or they have been taught not to keep eye contact with adults. The Age (Melbourne, Australia)/Australian Associated Press (22 Oct.)

Official: Australian schools should focus on themes
An approach to learning that focuses on themes is being used to teach immigrant children in Australia and could be used with the continent's native population as well, according to the chairman of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. "We don't get up in the morning and say we are going to do physics or going to look up history; what you say is that you have a problem or a job to do and search out what the things are that will best help to solve that problem," Dr Gregor Ramsey said. The Age (Melbourne, Australia) (17 Nov.)

Australian teachers to take part in training on Aboriginal culture
All employees of the New South Wales Department of Education in Australia, including teachers, will be required to take part in training on the continent's Aboriginal population as a way to better serve those students. "The new policy is much wider in its commitment to support systemwide action to close the gap in learning," Minister for Education Verity Firth said. "We see it as a major way of achieving the goal that by 2012 aboriginal student outcomes will match or exceed the outcomes of the broader student population." The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) (18 Nov.)

Australian government moves forward with plan for bilingual schools
A plan by the Australian government to incorporate more English classes into Aboriginal schools has angered some parent groups who say they were not consulted before the government announced the change. Government officials say they did reach out to schools before announcing the initiative to require the first four hours of school to be taught in English. ABC (Australia) (20 Nov.)

Critics: New York City practice not good for Australian schools
The head of New York City's education department is visiting Australia this week, and the country's top officials are interested in using the city's practice of publicly revealing and comparing schools' test results. However, critics say that reported improvements in New York schools have been overstated. They are pressing the federal government not to emulate the practice, which one official said would lead to inaccurate and misleading assessments of schools. The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) (25 Nov.)

Australian education minister pushes plan for reforms
Australia's education minister is pressing for broad reforms, including more teacher training, rewards for those teaching in struggling schools, and increased transparency and accountability. The Council of Australian Governments also is discussing an agreement to create unified standards for accountability, reforms that Education Minister Julia Gillard says will improve the standing of Australia's schools. The Australian/Australian Associated Press (24 Nov.)

Future of Australian schools' funding uncertain
Australian schools have not agreed on a national curriculum needed to secure £12.3 billion in federal funding. Some warn that the Schools Assistance funding bill will not pass if opposition leaders continue to resist certain provisions in it. ABC (Australia) (03 Dec.)

Editorial: School-performance data should be made public in Australia
Achievement data for students in Australia must be made public, according to a column in The Australian, despite union opposition to do so. Researchers say creating more openness in reporting for schools would improve student success and provide more government accountability to parents and taxpayers. The Australian (02 Dec.)

Australia's education minister seeks national curriculum
Australia's education minister said a national curriculum would boost maths and science achievement among the country's students, who often fall behind before reaching high school, according to the recently released Trends in International Maths and Science Study. "Of particular concern was the widening gap in the results of indigenous and non-indigenous students at the year 4 level," Julia Gillard said. "This 2007 study makes it clear that Australian students are falling behind in maths and science." The Australian (10 Dec.)

What is the solution to Aboriginal illiteracy in Australia?
Illiteracy among Australia's Aboriginal children is widespread, with a large percentage of children in some areas unable to meet national reading benchmarks. Officials say the answer is to teach the majority of classes in English, but critics say members of the Aboriginal population have a right to be taught in their native language. The Australian (23 Dec.)

National teaching centre has some support in Australia
Australian students could improve academically if the quality of teaching improved nationwide, leading some to call for a national teaching centre. "The centre is about three things -- about growing knowledge of the best teaching strategies, about articulating and documenting those teaching strategies ... [and] about sharing the knowledge of those teaching practices more widely," said Fran Hinton, Teaching Australia executive. The Australian (22 Dec.)

Australian research group calls for more emphasis on testing
More weight must be given to student achievement on tests, the Australian Council of Educational Research said in a recent report. "Today, educators need to show how they have transformed current and new dollars into student achievement results," said Dr Andrew Dowling, the report's author. "Output measures, particularly those related to student achievement, are the new bottom line." The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) (15 Jan.)

Australian officials not releasing school-comparison data
Some are calling on Australian officials to report data comparing the country's private and public schools. Australia is one of only three countries to suppress the release of OECD results that are believed to show a student's socioeconomic background has more bearing on success than does his or her school. The Australian (19 Jan.)

Survey: Parents spend thousands on education in Australia
Parents in Australia will pay thousands of dollars to send their children to school from as early as preschool, according to annual education-cost estimates released by The Australian Scholarships Group. Information gathered from a survey of 2,000 parents reveals they will spend about £2,630 on each public primary-school student and £2,822 for those attending public secondary schools. The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) (20 Jan.)

Part-time jobs to blame for fatigue among Australian students
New South Wales Minister for Education Verity Firth is encouraging students to re-evaluate their part-time jobs, as more of them are coming to class stressed out, or not coming at all. The Department of Education's Web site will provide a document to help teachers identify signs of stress and fatigue in their students. The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) (04 Feb.)

Australian alliance hopes laureate will promote reading
The Australian Children's Literature Alliance hopes to make native youth literature and authors more prominent and promote reading by naming a children's laureate -- similar to an approach adopted by Britain a decade ago. Officials said they hope that by promoting reading among children, they will learn to value literature. The Australian (16 Feb.)

Civics proficiency low among Australian students
Australian students know less about their own government than officials expected, and only one of every three Year 10 students know what the constitution is, according to a national assessment. "Lacking such fundamental information will restrict the capacity of students to make sense of many other aspects of Australian democratic forms and processes, and they may, therefore, be disadvantaged in their capacity to engage in meaningful ways in many other levels of civic action or discourse," the report states. The Australian (18 Feb.)

Opinion: Lack of math focus dangerous for Australia
As the number of advanced math students in Australia has fallen, so has the number of math majors and quality math teachers in the country's schools. Math scores among Year 8 students have been falling for more than a decade, and the president of the Australian Mathematics Society is calling on the country's prime minister to focus more on mathematics. The Australian (18 Feb.)

Australian officials pushing for consistency in exams
A move to include multiple-choice questions on history exams taken by students in Australia should make the exams more consistent and less stressful for students, said testing officials. Other exams already ask students multiple-choice questions, and some officials are pushing for English exams to feature them as well -- a move that is opposed by teachers. The Australian (24 Mar.)

Principals: Australia's curriculum lacks scientific content
Australia's science curriculum has low expectations for the country's primary-school teachers and students, according to principals who say the lessons lack scientific content. "The aims are unbalanced in being too focused on active citizenship and the social outcomes of science at the expense of scientific knowledge and skills," according to a statement from the Australian Primary Principals Association. "The focus is on the uses of science and on matters which cluster around science, such as values, attitudes, approaches, rather than on science itself." The Australian (21 Mar.)

Australia officials urge principals to boost literacy
Australian principals are being encouraged to improve literacy standards among the country's low-income students. A federally funded programme will assess the ability of the officials to improve student achievement and will develop principals into "literacy leaders". Brisbane Times (Australia)/Australian Associated Press (26 Mar.)

Teachers can strike students in some Australian private schools
Teachers at some Queensland, Australia, schools are able to strike children if parents first sign a written waiver. As the number of suspensions at state schools continues to grow, more private schools in Australia have started offering the option of corporal punishment. The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) (29 Mar.)

Australian private schools see more students with disabilities
The number of students with disabilities in Australian schools is increasing, and that population's enrollment in private schools increased 30% from 2003 to 2007. Jennifer Buckingham, a research fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies, says private schools have experienced an increase in the number of enrolled students with disabilities despite financial barriers and other issues. The Australian (21 Apr.)

Study: Family income affects success of Australian students
Poor children in Melbourne, Australia, are more likely to struggle in school, according to a study of schools in the city's working-class suburbs. Researchers found that poor students who struggled in school in Year 7 were more likely to continue struggling than their more affluent peers. The Age (Melbourne, Australia) (18 Apr.)

Australia furthers commitment to digital education
More than 460 secondary schools in Australia will be outfitted with wireless Internet. The £33.9 million contract with IBM is part of the country's £968 million investment in digital education. The Australian (25 Apr.)

Australian students get laptops as attendance incentive
Australian officials are hoping to boost attendance among rural students in the Northern Territory and Western Australia by giving them laptop computers. "We want to use it as an incentive: Come to school. And no computer if you don't come. Simple as that," said school council Chairman Marcus Lacey. The Australian (27 Apr.)

Professor: Test Australian primary-school teachers for competency
Professor Geoff Masters, CEO of the Australian Council for Educational Research, is recommending that Australia's primary-school teachers take a national exam. Under the proposal, teachers would be tested in reading, writing, maths and science. The Australian (01 May.)

Most of Australian state's education budget to go to teachers
Victoria Education Minister Bronwyn Pike says teachers in the Australian state can expect higher pay, more planning time and increased support, including the hiring of 200 learning coaches to assist teachers with professional development. The bulk of 2009's budget for education will be spent on teachers. The Australian/Australian Associated Press (05 May.)

Australian students begin national testing
National student assessments begin this week in Australia. Students will be tested on reading, writing and numeracy skills; students in odd-numbered years also will be tested on their abilities in spelling, grammar and punctuation. "The Rudd government is committed to improving outcomes for all Australian children through clear reporting on student and school performance to make sure resources are targeted where they are needed most," said Federal Education Minister Julia Gillard in a statement. The Australian/Australian Associated Press (11 May.)

Australian students quarantined after swine flu scare
A 10-year-old girl in Melbourne, Australia, has tested positive for the H1N1 virus -- commonly called swine flu -- which marks the second case in one class at a primary school; a 9-year-old classmate and his two brothers also have reported positive results. Students in select classes in the school have been quarantined. The Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia) (22 May.)

Australian official pushes for curriculum changes
Tom Alegounarias, the head of the New South Wales Board of Studies, says Australia's curriculum must be more specific and outline exactly what students should be learning. "I don't believe in a separate curriculum for groups of students, and I don't think we have been as clear as we should in the past about making sure it doesn't happen," Alegounarias said. "The syllabus should set out in a systematic way the fundamentals to be taught that allow for further learning that enfranchises all students and gives them an opportunity to participate in a range of learning." The Australian (20 May.)

Australian students test Microsoft's Windows 7 system
Three public schools in New South Wales, Australia, are among those that have been chosen to test the Windows 7 operating system. "We've agreed with Microsoft to participate in their first-wave programme, and the netbooks that are on trial at the moment -- there's about 400 of them -- have all got Windows 7 on them. The kids love it," said Stephen Wilson, the chief information officer for the NSW Department of Education and Training. The Australian (26 May.)

Some Australian principals get more authority to combat bullying
School principals in South Australia are able to punish pupils caught bullying their peers outside of school and also can take cell phones from students suspected of cyberbullying. The Australian/Australian Associated Press (28 May.)

Australia considering online courses for dropouts
Australian officials are considering adopting a successful British programme to allow dropouts to continue their education. Under the British programme, called NotSchool.net, dropouts are given a computer and access to online courses to help them earn matriculation certificates. Australian IT (18 Jun.)

2,000 Australian teachers are moved to administrative jobs
About 2,000 Australian educators, 1,200 of whom serve special-needs students, will be removed from the classroom and given administrative roles. The president of the New South Wales Teachers Federation criticised the plan, which he said is an attempt by the Department of Education to save money. The Australian/Australian Associated Press (21 Jun.)

Do Australian teachers need more training to use new technology?
Australian technology experts say a government effort to bring more technology into the country's schools will not be effective unless teachers receive training in how to use the new equipment in the classroom. "It's like giving someone a BlackBerry or an iPod without instructions -- it's a bit baffling, you're only using a small potential of the machine," said a researcher at Murdoch University. The Australian (25 Jun.)

Australian officials are criticised for ban on publishing school rankings
Rankings of Australian schools can no longer be published, and any effort to do so by individuals or organisations will result in fines. "There is nothing about this that would assist in protecting students' individual privacy," said Cameron Murphy of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, which is critical of the decision. "People are entitled to know what governments are doing about schools." The Australian (29 Jun.)

Study: Maths, science must become focus in Australia
Australia's national security could be jeopardised if the country does not begin training more students in maths and science, according to a recent study. The study states that over the next decade the country's supply of research scientists, engineers and tradespeople will not meet the demand. The Australian (07 Jul.)

Australian educators are urged to accelerate computer purchases
Australia's technology industry is calling on educators to fast-track a plan to provide more of the country's students with computers in order to provide some economic stimulus to that sector and provide new technology to students sooner. Australian officials hope to enable each student to have access to a computer by the end of 2011. Australian IT (07 Jul.)

Australian students, parents protest decision not to build Islamic school
Plans have been scrapped to build a school in Australia for 1,200 Islamic students, and those interested in attending the school and their parents are questioning why the decision was made. Muslims in Australia say the school was to offer much-needed faith-based education for the growing Islamic community. BBC (27 Jul.)

Australian college encourages global education with Wi-Fi
An Australian college is improving digital learning through a partnership with Xirrus, which provides high-performance Wi-Fi throughout the school. Educators say Wi-Fi and other resources encourage students to become global learners. TMCNet.com (30 Jul.)

Principals: Relax deadlines for Australian school-building programme
Australian principals in public and private schools are asking Education Minister Julia Gillard for some flexibility regarding a school-building programme now under way. Principals say they might have trouble meeting some of the deadlines. "We would not want to see a school having to change what they want to do because of a timeline," said Leonie Trimper, president of the Australian Primary Principals Association. The Australian (01 Aug.)

Disabled designation is abused in Australia for funding, report says
Australian students are increasingly being labelled as disabled by schools that collect more government money if they are teaching more special-needs students, according to a recent government review. The report said that as a consequence, disabled students are being separated from other students, "leading to their stigmatisation and reducing their access to mainstream curricula", according to the report. The Australian (05 Aug.)

Australian officials urged to discipline lagging schools
An education policymaker is calling on Australian Education Minister Julia Gillard to close schools that chronically fail to meet certain testing standards. "If it doesn't change then quite drastic action should be taken, even if it involves replacing the head, replacing teachers or closing the school," said Ken Boston, a previous head of England's curriculum authority and a former Australian teacher. The Australian (11 Aug.)

Australian principal says test results show limited picture
An Australian primary-school principal says that national tests in reading and maths are not true indicators of student success and that charts, known as league tables, do not show the entirety of a school. "All the league tables show is how the school is performing in literacy and numeracy," Phil Walker said. "A school shouldn't be judged on three days of testing. You've got to look at the whole picture." The Australian (12 Aug.)

Report says Australia's best teachers should be paid more
Australian Education Minister Julia Gillard says teacher quality is the most important factor in student achievement, and a new government report calls for higher pay for the country's best teachers. Gillard also announced a plan to increase funding to attract, train and retain quality classroom teachers. The Australian (17 Aug.)

Survey: Australian special-needs students receive limited education
Many Australian schools are limiting the amount of time the country's special-needs students can spend in the classroom, based on the limited availability of teachers aides, according to recent surveys done by university researchers. "A child should be at school and receiving an education unless there's a valid educational reason not to be there, such as going to another facility or school," said Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graham Innes. "On the face of it, it's a breach of the law." The Australian (26 Aug.)

Australian students, teachers sound off on homework's merits
Some Australian students say they should be assigned only a small amount of homework, and a former teacher from the country says that in students' early years, homework is largely "parent-driven," according to letters to the editor. An education specialist says that homework might not be useful to students with learning difficulties, and comparing their homework with their peers might hurt their self-esteem. The Age (Melbourne, Australia) (31 Aug.)

Australian workshops look to boost quality of Spanish teaching
Educators hoping to enhance the presence of Spanish-language classes in Australia are sponsoring workshops for teachers that are also supported by the Spanish government. Officials hope the training helps to boost the quality and quantity of Spanish-language teachers in Australia. The Australian (07 Sep.)

Australian official suggests ranking schools on improvement
Schools should not be measured solely on student test scores, according to the incoming chief executive of the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. Peter Hill is responsible for creating a system to report school performance to the public. He suggested ranking schools based on student improvement on assessments over time. The Australian (10 Sep.)

Report: Australian businesses want return to larger classes
Some Australian business groups have issued a report calling for larger class sizes, higher standards for teachers and testing of students for global competitiveness. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA says that smaller class sizes have led officials to hire 13,000 more teachers than were employed in 1974, but during that same time, standards for becoming teachers have declined. The Australian (14 Sep.)

Australian teachers union calls school testing data "misleading"
The Australian Education Union says a plan to post student test results online will not give the public a full picture of school success. The data will not include information about funding and resources, the union says, which "makes any comparison of school performance misleading and potentially harmful". The Australian/Australian Associated Press (16 Sep.)

Netbooks are distributed to teachers, students in Australia
Officials in one region of Australia are working toward their 2011 goal of having one laptop computer for every student, with about 19,000 netbooks already having been distributed to Year 9 students. About 9,500 netbooks have been distributed to teachers, who have less restrictive filtering software on their machines, allowing them access to YouTube and other sites blocked for students. The Australian (22 Sep.)

Australian teachers institute would offer new teaching standards
A new national accreditation system for teachers in Australia would set quality and professional excellence standards for teachers under a plan that was to be presented this week by Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Under Gillard's plan, a National Teachers Institute would be established to provide standards of excellence, give teachers accreditation and provide professional development. The Australian (28 Sep.)

New Australian partnership to improve teacher training
Thirteen schools in an Australian state have been selected for a partnership intended to improve teacher training. The schools, to be labelled Centres for Excellence, will partner with local universities to train student-teachers, and staff already at the schools will receive professional development. The Australian/Australian Associated Press (30 Sep.)

Australian truancy programme not found to be effective
Schools in Australia's Northern Territory communities say they lack the resources necessary to monitor a programme that links student attendance to welfare payments. The principal of one school said teachers were only able to follow up with a small number of absent students. The Australian (06 Oct.)

Opinion: Phonics should be a focus for Australian teachers
Australian teachers must understand how to teach phonics to improve student literacy, according to a columnist for The Australian. Experts and recently graduated teachers say there should be more of a focus on how to teach reading -- an area where many young students are having difficulty. The Australian/Janet Albrechtsen Blog (07 Oct.)

Australian officials are urged to adopt new evaluation system
An education expert at Australia's Grattan Institute in Melbourne is calling on officials to adopt a system for evaluating schools and teachers. Bert Jensen advocates a value-added evaluation system that would track the effects of programmes, policies and teachers on student performance from year to year. The Australian (13 Oct.)

Australian school is cracking down on inappropriate student affection
An Australian primary school is more closely monitoring student affection, and has banned inappropriate hugging and other displays. Innocent hugs among friends are still allowed, officials say. "We have standards, and we've got young children in the school yard, so we expect appropriate forms of affection," the school principal said. Australia Broadcasting Corp. (20 Oct.)

Australian officials rethink decision to repair rural schools
Australian officials who gave out about taxpayer funds to repair rural schools have decided to shut down some of them -- a process called mothballing -- and are asking for the money to be returned. Mothballing allows for consultation with a community before final decisions are made about closing a school, government officials said. The Australian (22 Oct.)

Should Australian principals make staffing, salary decisions?
Australian principals and school boards should have the power to hire teachers instead of state education officials, according to a report released by the federal government. The report said there is considerable support from principals for more autonomy. The Australian (27 Oct.)

Some want Australian curriculum to consider immigrant impact
Some say Australia's national curriculum does not do enough to recognise the contributions of immigrants to the country despite that by 2015, half of all schoolchildren will be from abroad or have a parent born overseas. "Children from diverse backgrounds will be entering educational environments in which their familial and cultural backgrounds will not be recognised as contributing anything to a shared knowledge of the world," said sociology professor Andrew Jakubowicz. The Australian (27 Oct.)

Majority of Australian high-schoolers are taught by unqualified teachers
A recent survey finds that about 60% of high school students in Australia are being taught by unqualified teachers. The data shows that the problem is especially severe among maths teachers, who are among the most likely to be considered unqualified. Other affected subjects include technology, languages, science and special education. The Daily Telegraph (Australia) (27 Oct.)

Schools to use technology to access labs throughout the world
Students in the US are using lab equipment at Australia's University of Queensland via a live webcam and a programme known as the iLab Network. "ILabs demonstrate how innovative learning technologies can level the playing field and provide all students -- regardless of a school's location or resources -- access to advanced and authentic science lab experiences," one educator said. United Press International (17 Nov.)

Expert: Australian teacher satisfaction could improve with changes
According to the Australian Education Union's annual survey of new teachers, their top concern is classroom violence and bad student behaviour -- and it may be why many new teachers are quitting and about half plan to leave the profession, an education expert writes in this opinion column. Kevin Donnelly suggests that conditions could improve if principals were given more autonomy over school operations. The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Australia) (16 Nov.)

Survey: Majority of Australian students experience racism
About 70% of Australian high-school students who participated in a recent survey by The Foundation for Young Australians said they had been a victim of racism at school. Researchers and teachers are calling for more of a focus on racism prevention in schools. "What the research overwhelmingly shows is that schools that have some sort of compulsory in-classroom program about racism or cultural stereotyping were less likely to have young people who displayed ignorance about cultural issues or racist attitudes," the lead researcher said. Australia Broadcasting Corp. (19 Nov.)

Australian government plans to filter Web content to protect children
Australian officials say that the country's children will be better protected if officials block obscene Internet content -- a practice already in place in several countries, including China. However, critics of the plan say that limiting Internet access will limit freedom. Yahoo!/The Associated Press (15 Dec.)

Violence could deter Indian students from studying in Australia
Australian officials expect that the number of Indian students undertaking studies there will drop by 20% in 2010 because of what some Indian students say was targeted violence in the country this year. About 70,000 Indian students were studying in the country this year, and an enrolment decline is expected to cost Australia about £44 million. BBC (30 Dec.)