Education and Training


Arts education is twofold - it is the provision of education for practitioners and for audiences. For practitioners, professional training develops skills and professional excellence. For audiences, education increases the ability to appreciate and participate in the nation's cultural life.

It is important to develop the skills of potential workers, and to increase the skills of those currently working in the arts. Rapid developments in technologies underline the need for ongoing education and training in the cultural industries. If Australia is to retain its global reputation for innovation in the arts, a commitment to training in new forms of technology is essential.

Arts education can be divided into four areas:

schools

All Australians should have the opportunity of a school education which regards appreciation of the arts and the more traditional areas of learning as equally important.

Primary and secondary education play a fundamental role in developing a capacity for appreciation of, and participation in, the arts.

In 1991, the Commonwealth and State Ministers for Education agreed on eight key learning areas for curriculum development to provide a national approach to school curriculum frameworks. As one of the learning areas, the arts is now receiving due recognition as a necessary component of a well-rounded education.

The Commonwealth provides substantial support to educational children's television through funded organisations such as the Australian Children's Television Foundation, the ABC, and the SBS.

Increased funding to Musica Viva for the extension of its National Music in Schools program is described elsewhere in this document.

professional training

Professional training for work in the arts, film-making, and the conservation of cultural heritage is provided through specialised schools or departments, most of which are located in universities. There are also specialised national centres of excellence in several areas.

The levels of funding for individual schools or departments within institutions are a matter for decision by universities, but these decisions are influenced by the formula used by the Commonwealth to determine block grants to universities. The `relative funding model', which is the basis of the formulae for all discipline areas, is under review by the Higher Education Council in 1994. The Commonwealth cultural portfolio will participate fully in this review.

Three leading national training institutions, - the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, the National Institute of Dramatic Art and the Australian Ballet School - are funded directly through the Commonwealth cultural portfolio. The excellence of these organisations is widely acknowledged.

This statement also sets out Commonwealth initiatives to establish centres of training excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Performance and in Music.

national institute of dramatic art

The Commonwealth's aim of inspiring standards of excellence is well demonstrated by its approach to training for theatre. Since 1958, the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) has trained several generations of actors and directors who have achieved recognition on the international stage and screen as well as at home. NIDA provides training for some of the most talented individuals in Australia, as well as access to a wide range of drama training courses throughout Australia.

NIDA's primary role is to select and train exceptionally gifted young people who will move into the fields of theatre, film and television, and make the Australian performing arts richer and more exciting. NIDA courses emphasise quality rather than quantity, and while responding to developments in other countries, will continue to be identifiably Australian.

As well as its full-time courses, NIDA conducts a range of other activities, including a self-funding Open Program which operates in every State and Territory, providing access to drama training for young people, teachers and the community at large. The Open Program attracts private sponsorship and has strong links with Education Departments. NIDA also enjoys an international reputation as a drama training institution, and engages in an active program of international exchanges.

vocational education and training

A vocational education and training body for the arts has been established as part of the Commonwealth's national training reform initiatives.

Skills formation in arts-related fields is dependent on a number of important sources of vocational education and training. These include the TAFE sector, training provided by the cultural industry itself, and courses offered privately.

There are some 7,500 students in professional and para-professional TAFE courses in fields such as photography, ceramics, fashion, art and design and fine arts. Many more are enrolled in courses at the trades or sub-trades level. The Commonwealth provides substantial funding to the State and Territory Governments for the TAFE sector, which in part goes to fund these training places.

Training reform underpins economic growth by ensuring a coherent and coordinated approach to education and training. In recognition of the role of education and training in economic growth, the Commonwealth established the Australian National Training Authority. In recent years, competency-based training and assessment have become major influences in vocational education and training. Through Industry Training Advisory Bodies, the Commonwealth Government has provided the critical link between industry, and the education and training which supports its success.

Industry training advisory bodies have been established in most fields to assist in the formulation of the required competencies and advise on training needs. Arts Training Australia (ATA) is the National Industry Training Advisory Body on education and training for the arts, heritage, entertainment and media industries. It is also the competency standards body for those industries.

It provides the national forum through which the arts and cultural industries identify their education and training needs.

ATA's achievements to date include the development of an Australia wide consultative network. The network brings together the major employers, unions and professional associations in the industries, and these bodies represent thousands of arts organisations and practitioners across Australia. ATA has also developed the first comprehensive Vocational Education and Training Plan for the arts and cultural industries, which provides the blueprint for training reform for the next two to three years and competency standards which will cover approximately 51,000 workers.

parallel education

Parallel education includes any form of education separate from formal education structures. It covers the educational role of institutions such as libraries, art galleries and museums. Growing visitor numbers suggest such institutions are assuming increasing importance.

Institutions such as the National Gallery of Australia and the National Library make a significant contribution to community understanding of cultural heritage.

open learning

Courses offered through the Open Learning Agency of Australia (OLAA) are a potential source of education in the appreciation of the arts, and in examining what it means to be an Australian. OLAA is a private company owned by Monash University through which a consortium of nine universities offer courses. Courses in Australian studies presently offered by OLAA have made substantial use of the holdings of national cultural institutions.

The Open Learning Electronic Support Service is a Commonwealth government initiative to foster a common national infrastructure for electronic delivery of education services.

The objective of the OLESS is to support open learners and other clients by utilising the communications capabilities of personal computers. At a minimum it will allow clients to communicate with each other, with teachers and with educational institutions via electronic mail, and access library facilities. Access will be via home or workplace computers or from local access points (LAPs) located in community based facilities.

The OLESS will be jointly managed by the Open Learning Technology Corporation (OLTC) and the Open Learning Agency of Australia (OLAA).

The OLTC is a company established by Commonwealth, State and Territory Education and Training Ministers to facilitate the development of delivery systems for open learning.


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