Research

Studies of Asia in Australian Schools

‘Parents strongly support policy initiatives to engage Australia and Australians with Asia’

This quote is from a survey of Australian parents published in 2006. The report,Views of Members of the Executive of the Australian Council of State School Organisations and Australian Parents Council on Studies of Asia in Australian Schools, analysed the thoughts of 137 members.

It found that:

• 88% believed the government should have a long-term strategic plan for the study of Asia in Australian schools
• 92% acknowledged the importance of business and economic ties linking Australia with the countries of Asia
• 91% believed an important skill for all Australians to possess is the ability to communicate across cultures. Sixty per cent of parents said they would like their child to learn an Asian language
• 82% said Australians needed to understand China as well as they understood Britain and the USA, although India did not feature as prominently in their thinking
• Approximately 74% agreed with the proposition that good relationships with Asian countries would help maintain Australia's long-term security.

You can read the executive summary (PDF: 200 kb) of this report for more details.

Studies of Asia in Year 12

Written by Jenny Wilkinson and Gina Milgate, April 2009, ACER for the AEF, this report analysed the extent to which students completed year 12 subjects with content or focus on Asia using a sample of predominantly tertiary entrance subjects that included: English, History, Geography, International Studies, Politics, and the Arts.

• Across Australia only a small minority of students undertake studies with content or focus on Asia.

• Generally there is a strong disposition for the inclusion of content on Europe rather than content on Asia.

• Teachers are not likely to select material which they are unfamiliar with or may never have studied.

• Simply making content or focus on Asia available as an option in courses does not appear to be stimulating the study of Asia.

• What teachers know and teach about reflects to some extent the content of their own teritary education, including teacher training.

Research that focuses on the importance of school leadership can be found in a report The Future of Studies of Asia and Australia in Australian Schools: An Evaluative Investigation (PDF: 1 Mb). It examines the views of education stakeholder groups, schools and the Asia Education Foundation. 

Read other reports

The AEF has commissioned a number of reports on the implementation of Studies of Asia in schools. View more research in our For Teachers' section.