1136.0 - A Directory of Education and Training Statistics, 2009

ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 24/03/2009

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Contents Introduction Statistical Collections Related Publications Education and Training - General Contents Expenditure and Costs Contents Higher Education Contents Labour Force Contents Early Childhood Education Contents Schools Contents Social Contents Vocational Education and Training Contents Indigenous Education and Training Statistics Contents Other Statistical or Research Reports Contents Classifications or Manuals Contents About this Release	INFORMATION PAPER: MEASURING LEARNING IN AUSTRALIA: CONCEPTS AND DIRECTIONS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD LEARNING CONTACT National Centre for Education and Training Statistics Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra Telephone (02) 6252 7798 DESCRIPTION The ABS Information Paper Concepts and Directions in Early Childhood Learning outlines a project to develop quality statistics in early childhood learning, focussing on children aged 0 to 8 years (which can be further divided into age cohorts of 0-2, 3-5 and 6-8 years); the educational and developmental services available for these children; and the providers of these services. The paper proposes a suite of ideal early childhood learning measures and data development activities which would be needed in order to provide relevant and quality data for comparable analysis across states and territories. Descriptions and evaluations of currently reported indicators and data collections are included as well as examples of data. The paper provides an opportunity for input and further discussion among researchers and the community. The paper has five chapters: Introduction, Early childhood research, Information needs, Current indicators, and Proposed measures. Chapter 4, Current indicators, assesses 25 existing measures against a consistent set of criteria. Chapter 5, Proposed measures, groups a suite of 32 possible measures under the elements of the Framework for Education and Training Statistics (cat. no. 4213.0), and identifies the main source for each measure. Information needs on early childhood learning were organised under the eight elements of the Framework: Participants, Non-participants, Providers, Resources, Activities, Outputs and Outcomes, and Context. The goal, 'improve early childhood education information', was an agreed priority in the 2004 Information Development Plan (IDP) for education and training statistics. Noting that 'The early childhood area of statistics is not well served', the IDP identified three major sets of data deficiencies: gaps in available data; inconsistent use of standards and definitions; and lack of national agreement on early childhood indicators. However, the 2005 IDP review noted significant progress towards meeting some early childhood education information needs. Demographic characteristics Age Date of birth Sex Cultural and language characteristics Main language spoken at home Main language other than English spoken at home First language spoken Languages spoken at home Proficiency in spoken English Indigenous status Country of birth of person Year of arrival in Australia Education characteristics Highest Year of school completed Level of highest non-school completion Year non-school qualification completed Main field of highest non-school qualification Level of highest educational attainment Main field of highest educational attainment Geographic characteristics Location address Postal address DISSEMINATION Information Paper: Measuring Learning in Australia: Concepts and Directions in Early Childhood Learning (ABS cat. no. 4232.0) was released 20 December 2007 and is available electronically from the ABS web site. Document Selection These documents will be presented in a new window.