ABSTRACT
Australia has a population of approximately 18 million people, of whom over 3 million are school students. There are government and non-government schools in the Australian education system, thus a dual system operates. Approximately 74 per cent of students are enrolled in government schools. The non-government schools are frequently supported by a religious denomination but this is not always the case, as there are community schools, Montessori schools, Steiner schools and other alternative schools. Australia has a federal system of government and each of the six states and two territories is provided with an allocation of funding for education. Policy for the education system is constructed at three levels. At the macro or national level there are broad guidelines set down regarding the objectives and expected outcomes for education in Australia. This policy is then further specified at the meso or state level where curriculum frameworks and guidelines for the schools in the state are articulated and where the management system of government schools is decided. The third level of policy construction and decision making occurs at the micro or local level and involves the school community as a whole in decisions regarding curriculum and organization of the school. There are, then, three levels of policy with each level further refining and narrowing the policy directions so that it pertains to specific contexts of education.
