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Indigenous school students
In 2000 there were 76,688 Indigenous students reported as attending primary school and 34,839 Indigenous students attending secondary school.
Most Indigenous students (88%) attended government schools in 2000. Of the remainder attending non-government schools, most were attending Catholic schools (67%) (table 10.22). The increase in ungraded students between primary and secondary education is mostly attributable to the classification of secondary-age students in Northern Territory remote Aboriginal schools as ungraded. This is due to the difficulty of classifying such students in terms of the normal urban secondary grade structure.
10.22 INDIGENOUS SCHOOL STUDENTS(a), By Category of School and Level/Year of Education - 2000
|
 | Government schools | Non-government schools
| |
| | |
| | | |
| Level |
no.
| Anglican
no. | Catholic
no. | Other
no. | Total
no. | All schools
no. |
|
| Primary | | | | | | |
| Pre-year1(b) | 5,963 | 7 | 471 | 129 | 607 | 6,570 |
| Year 1 | 9,986 | 9 | 866 | 272 | 1,147 | 11,133 |
| Year 2 | 9,845 | 12 | 872 | 270 | 1,154 | 10,999 |
| Year 3 | 9,763 | 14 | 823 | 257 | 1,094 | 10,857 |
| Year 4 | 9,368 | 13 | 789 | 236 | 1,038 | 10,406 |
| Year 5 | 9,075 | 5 | 857 | 270 | 1,132 | 10,207 |
| Year 6 | 8,572 | 8 | 733 | 242 | 983 | 9,555 |
| Year 7 (Qld, SA, WA, NT) | 4,980 | 8 | 444 | 181 | 633 | 5,613 |
| Ungraded | 1,051 | 0 | 11 | 286 | 297 | 1,348 |
| Total Primary | 68,603 | 76 | 5,866 | 2,143 | 8,085 | 76,688 |
| Secondary | | | | | | |
| Year 7 (NSW, Vic., Tas., ACT) | 3,054 | 4 | 269 | 82 | 355 | 3,409 |
| Year 8 | 6,860 | 52 | 819 | 399 | 1,270 | 8,130 |
| Year 9 | 6,332 | 63 | 718 | 339 | 1,120 | 7,452 |
| Year 10 | 5,428 | 57 | 608 | 326 | 991 | 6,419 |
| Year 11 | 3,188 | 49 | 469 | 226 | 744 | 3,932 |
| Year 12 | 2,056 | 33 | 324 | 129 | 486 | 2,542 |
| Ungraded | 2,190 | 134 | 229 | 402 | 765 | 2,955 |
| Total Secondary | 29,108 | 392 | 3,436 | 1,903 | 5,731 | 34,839 |
| Total | 97,711 | 468 | 9,302 | 4,046 | 13,816 | 111,527 |
|
(a) Full-time students only.
(b) Pre-year 1 does not include Queensland and Western Australia.
Source: Schools, Australia (4221.0). |
Graph 10.23 shows a decline in government school attendance from Year 1 onwards in 2000. The number of Indigenous students attending non-government schools remained relatively stable across the early grades, followed by a slight increase in Year 8 students, then a decline until Year 12.
Table 10.24 shows an increase in the number of Indigenous students between 1990 and 2000 from 64,735 to 111,527. Over this period, the number of Indigenous people attending each level of school increased in every State and Territory. New South Wales and Queensland experienced the largest increases in Indigenous school attendance, 15,790 and 13,372 respectively.
In both 1990 and 2000 there were more Indigenous males in primary education than females. In secondary education, the reverse was the case.
10.24 INDIGENOUS SCHOOL STUDENTS(a), By Level of Education - 1990 and 2000 |
|
| Level | NSW
no. | Vic.
no. | QLD(b)
no. | SA
no. | WA(b)
no. | Tas.
no. | NT
no. | ACT(c)
no. | Aust.
no. |
|
| Primary | | | | | | | | | |
| Males | | | | | | | | | |
| - 1990 | 5,403 | 836 | 5,773 | 1,477 | 4,228 | 458 | 3,984 | 151 | 22,310 |
| - 2000 | 10,887 | 1,984 | 10,903 | 2,422 | 6,348 | 1,390 | 5,098 | 282 | 39,314 |
| Females | | | | | | | | | |
| - 1990 | 4,905 | 805 | 5,377 | 1,411 | 4,101 | 474 | 4,026 | 119 | 21,218 |
| - 2000 | 10,348 | 1,965 | 10,327 | 2,367 | 5,861 | 1,356 | 4,882 | 268 | 37,374 |
| Total Primary | | | | | | | | | |
| - 1990 | 10,308 | 1,641 | 11,150 | 2,888 | 8,329 | 932 | 8,010 | 270 | 43,528 |
| - 2000 | 21,235 | 3,949 | 21,230 | 4,789 | 12,209 | 2,746 | 9,980 | 550 | 76,688 |
| Secondary | | | | | | | | | |
| Males | | | | | | | | | |
| - 1990 | 3,089 | 537 | 3,080 | 531 | 1,792 | 319 | 1,103 | 50 | 10,501 |
| - 2000 | 5,502 | 938 | 4,744 | 849 | 2,462 | 892 | 1,769 | 153 | 17,309 |
| Females | | | | | | | | | |
| - 1990 | 3,167 | 581 | 3,125 | 645 | 1,690 | 349 | 1,096 | 53 | 10,706 |
| - 2000 | 5,617 | 1,002 | 4,753 | 866 | 2,556 | 892 | 1,668 | 181 | 17,530 |
| Total Secondary | | | | | | | | | |
| - 1990 | 6,256 | 1,118 | 6,205 | 1,176 | 3,482 | 668 | 2,199 | 103 | 21,207 |
| - 2000 | 11,119 | 1,940 | 9,497 | 1,715 | 5,018 | 1,779 | 3,437 | 334 | 34,839 |
| Total | | | | | | | | | |
| All Indigenous students | | | | | | | | | |
| - 1990 | 16,564 | 2,759 | 17,355 | 4,064 | 11,811 | 1,600 | 10,209 | 373 | 64,735 |
| - 2000 | 32,354 | 5,889 | 30,727 | 6,504 | 17,227 | 4,525 | 13,417 | 884 | 111,527 |
|
(a) Full-time students only.
(b) Pre-year 1 does not include Queensland and Western Australia.
(c) Includes one government primary school in Jervis Bay Territory with 38 students (14 males, 24 females).
Source: Schools, Australia (4221.0). |
Indigenous Vocational Education and Training clients
In 2000, 53% of Indigenous VET clients were male. In all geographic regions, the number of male Indigenous clients outnumbered their female counterparts (table 10.25). Indigenous VET clients were not as strongly affiliated with urban locations when compared to all VET students. Some 27% of Indigenous clients were located in capital cities compared with 56% of all clients, and a further 27% of Indigenous clients were located in remote areas compared with 4% of all clients.
10.25 INDIGENOUS VET(a) CLIENTS(b), Vocational and Preparatory Courses(c) by Geographic Region of Client Address - 2000 |
|
| | Capital city | Other metropolitan | Rural | Remote | Other | Total |
|
NUMBER ’000 |
|
| Indigenous clients | | | | | | |
| Males | 7.4 | 1.7 | 10.2 | 7.4 | 0.4 | 27.2 |
| Females | 6.5 | 1.6 | 9.6 | 6.6 | 0.2 | 24.4 |
| Persons | 13.9 | 3.2 | 19.8 | 14.0 | 0.6 | 51.7 |
|
PER CENT |
|
| All Indigenous clients | 26.9 | 6.3 | 38.4 | 27.2 | 1.2 | 100.0 |
| All clients | 56.3 | 7.3 | 29.9 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 100.0 |
|
(a) Includes all VET delivery by TAFE and other government providers, registered community providers, some VET delivered in schools, and publicly-funded delivery by private providers. Fee for service VET delivery by private providers has been excluded.
(b) A client is any individual participating in a specific enrolment or training contract with a specific organisation.
(c) Courses leading to a vocational award.
Source: National Centre for Vocational Education Research, ‘Australian Vocational Education and Training Statistics 2000: In Detail’. |
Since clients may be enrolled in more than one VET course, the number of course enrolments is greater than the total number of clients. There were 70,400 Indigenous course enrolments in 2000 compared with 51,700 Indigenous clients.
There was an overall increase of 121% in Indigenous VET enrolments since 1994 (table 10.26). While the greatest increase in enrolments over the period 1994 to 2000 was for Art, humanities and social sciences (5,500 enrolments), the most rapid growth over that period was for Education, where enrolments increased by more than 1000%.
In 2000 there were more Indigenous enrolments (29%) in multi-field VET courses (including school courses offered in VET institutions) than in other courses. Business administration and economics was the second most popular field of study, accounting for 12% of Indigenous enrolments.
10.26 INDIGENOUS VET(a) COURSE ENROLMENTS, Vocational and Preparatory Courses(b) - 1994 and 2000 |
|
| Field of study | 1994
’000 | 2000
’000 |
|
| Land and marine resources, animal husbandry | 1.6 | 5.6 |
| Architecture, building | 1.1 | 2.9 |
| Art, humanities and social sciences | 2.5 | 8.0 |
| Business, administration, economics | 4.4 | 8.6 |
| Education | 0.3 | 3.4 |
| Engineering, surveying | 2.2 | 5.4 |
| Health, community services | 2.0 | 7.2 |
| Law, legal studies | 0.1 | 0.5 |
| Science | 0.8 | 2.2 |
| Veterinary science, animal care | - | - |
| Services, hospitality, transportation | 2.1 | 6.3 |
| VET multi-field education | 15.0 | 20.1 |
| Total enrolments | 32.2 | 70.4 |
|
(a) Includes all VET delivery by TAFE and other government providers, registered community providers, some VET delivered in schools, and publicly-funded delivery by private providers. Enrolments in fee for service VET courses of private providers have been excluded.
(b) Courses leading to a vocational award.
Source: National Centre for Vocational Education Research, ‘Australian Vocational Education and Training Statistics 2000: In Detail’. |
Indigenous higher education students
In 2000, some 7,350 Indigenous students were attending higher education. Females comprised 65% of Indigenous higher education students, compared to 55% of the total higher education student population.
Table 10.27 shows the distribution of Indigenous higher education students across States and Territories in 2000. New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia had the largest number of Indigenous students, with the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania having the lowest.
The proportion of Indigenous students who were females was highest in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia (71%, 68% and 66% females respectively). The Australian Capital Territory had the least differential between the number of male and female Indigenous students attending higher education institutions (52% were female).
10.27 INDIGENOUS HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS, By State - 2000
|
| Commencing Indigenous students
| All Indigenous students
|
|
| |
| State/Territory | Males
no. | Females
no. | Persons
no. | Males
no. | Females
no. | Persons
no. |
|
| NSW | 347 | 518 | 865 | 748 | 1,247 | 1,995 |
| Vic. | 127 | 196 | 323 | 268 | 426 | 694 |
| Qld | 256 | 393 | 649 | 541 | 884 | 1,425 |
| WA | 287 | 509 | 796 | 499 | 975 | 1,474 |
| SA | 75 | 143 | 218 | 162 | 345 | 507 |
| Tas. | 36 | 47 | 83 | 81 | 132 | 213 |
| NT | 115 | 292 | 407 | 184 | 458 | 642 |
| ACT | 28 | 38 | 66 | 78 | 85 | 163 |
| Multi-State(a) | 25 | 78 | 103 | 49 | 188 | 237 |
| Total | 1,296 | 2,214 | 3,510 | 2,610 | 4,740 | 7,350 |
|
(a) Multi-State institution(s) have campuses in more than one State and/or Territory.
Source: Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, ‘Students 2000: Selected Higher Education Statistics’. |
Graph 10.28 illustrates the increasing trend in Indigenous participation in higher education over the past decade. Between 1990 and 2000 the number of Indigenous students increased from 3,609 to 7,350 (104%). The greatest annual increase of Indigenous students was between 1990 and 1991 (33%).
Table 10.29 shows that in 2000, Indigenous students were more likely to choose social or community-oriented courses, such as Arts or Education. Arts, humanities and social sciences had the highest percentage of Indigenous student enrolments (38%), followed by Education (28%).
10.29 INDIGENOUS HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS, By Broad Field of Study and Level of Course - 2000 |
|
| Field of study | Postgraduate
degree
no. | Postgraduate
diploma and
equivalent
no. | Bachelor
degree
no. | Diploma and
advanced
diploma
no. | Other
education
no. | Total
no. |
|
| Agriculture, animal husbandry | 2 | - | 53 | 61 | 6 | 122 |
| Architecture, building | 3 | 12 | 41 | - | - | 56 |
| Arts, humanities and social sciences | 161 | 35 | 1,696 | 483 | 419 | 2,794 |
| Business, administration, economics | 62 | 27 | 512 | 60 | 2 | 663 |
| Education | 84 | 61 | 922 | 321 | 636 | 2,024 |
| Engineering, surveying | 6 | 3 | 91 | 2 | - | 102 |
| Health | 62 | 76 | 594 | 237 | 3 | 972 |
| Law, legal studies | 20 | 10 | 385 | 55 | - | 470 |
| Science | 33 | 18 | 357 | 6 | 32 | 446 |
| Veterinary science | - | - | 17 | - | - | 17 |
| Non-award | - | - | - | - | - | 12 |
| Total(a) | 433 | 242 | 4,343 | 1,225 | 1,095 | 7,350 |
|
| (a) The data take into account the coding of combined courses to two fields of study. As a consequence, counting both fields of study for combined courses means that the data in the total row may be less than the sum of the data aggregated down each column. |
Source: Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, ‘Students 2000: Selected Higher Education Statistics’. |
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