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Planned educational change tends to be imposed from the top down and increases the requirements for local reporting. This paper reports on the effects of a curriculum-planning workshop on teachers' instructional practices. Eight teachers at a Catholic college in rural Western Australia participated in a curriculum-planning workshop to learn how to use the integrated Instructional Information Management System (IIMS). They completed a questionnaire, as did a group of six teachers and two administrators who had not participated in the workshop. The participating group reported greater use of computers than did their nonparticipating counterparts. The workshop attenders continued to use the language of computing and curriculum planning. The paper concludes that focused professional development in the areas of curriculum and assessment is a vital implementation-training component of effective IIMS use. If instructional systems are not well understood, then fundamental change is unlikely to occur. One table is included. Appendices contain essential features of an IIMS and sample questionnaire items. (Contains seven references.) (LMI)

Australia's economy slowly emerged from recession in the 1990s. Populist government leaders claimed that their economic restructuring policies of the 1980s were responsible for the economic turnaround. But even with greater national economic optimism, Australians have wondered why their country has not fared better economically both internally and in competition with other nations. Public pressure has pushed politicians to attempt to maintain high living standards and improve social conditions with fewer resources. Education also has been redefined in essentialist and instrumental terms to serve labor market needs. This view has clashed with the liberal-humanist tradition of curriculum most educators embrace. The national government's emphasis on economics in education policy can be seen in its national education goals: increased participation in education, skills training, private sector and trade union involvement in skills education, improved school retention, and improved overall quality. National curriculum frameworks also have played an increased role in furthering social and economic policy objectives. Frameworks provide an overall approach and focus for curriculum, but allow schools the freedom to make local changes. Also, inclusive curriculum has attempted to make education more inclusive of students' different gender, race, and culture. (Contains 29 references.) (JPT)

Outcomes-based education (OBE) is growing in stature in Australia and other Westernized nations. In Australia, education systems have adopted OBE within the framework of National Profiles curriculum statements in eight learning areas, including arts, health and physical education, science, English, languages other than English, mathematics, studies of science and environment, and technology. Schools must assess students' progress against more comprehensive outcomes and engage in evaluation and assessment of teaching in a publicly verifiable manner. The scope of these changes has overwhelmed many educators who do not have access to the most advanced information processing technology. Instructional Management Systems (IMS) utilizing computers are designed to manage many aspects of schooling: curriculum development, instruction, evaluation, and assessment. However, computer technology and its benefits to information flow have been slow to enter the classroom and instruction. A new curriculum model must be adopted that keeps up with and effectively manages emerging and rapidly changing information. Well constructed IMSs allow unobtrusive and automatic acquisition of data in areas of curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment. The IMSeries software provides the information management tools to meet educators' needs. (Contains 15 references.) (JPT)

This paper reports on the conceptualization and first year of implementation of a model of preservice teacher education and training established at the University of Notre Dame Australia to meet the specific needs of the Catholic education system. In setting up an appropriate model, the notion of the graduate teacher as one who is critically self-aware and sensitive to students' needs within a faith community assumed central importance. The nature of the Catholic school is outlined, with its emphasis on a holistic approach to education and its view of school as community. An essential component of the Diploma in Education program is students' involvement in a regular, well-planned, professionally supervised experience in schools. A curriculum sequence based on developmental and sequential stages was designed to facilitate the development of competence in planning, implementing, and evaluating teaching-learning processes and contexts across different subject areas. Data analysis that used a modified version of the Developmental Research Sequence provided evidence that the first year of the course has helped neophyte teachers move towards an ideal of reflective practice through building self-efficacy. (Contains 16 references.) (JDD)

A study investigated whether high school students would show gender differences in receptivity to health education curricula given in coeducational classes. Results indicate that when sexuality education content increased, students became more receptive to the practice of sexually responsible behavior, with females becoming more receptive than males. (MSE)

The question of whether the social composition of postsecondary education in Australia has changed since the 1930s and 1940s is analyzed. Based on a review of studies of higher education students in Australia, it is proposed that concern for equity in access to education developed during the 1960s and has continued until the present. Attention is directed to enrollment trends for the universities, College of Advanced Education, and technical and further education. Additional topics include: the age distribution of students, enrollment influences and trends for women students, the effects of social conditions on enrollment, college participation by public and private school students, the effect of place of residence on college attendance, the effects of local tertiary institutions on participation, interstate and interinstitutional variations on enrollment, educational aspirations of migrant students, the national background of students, aborigines and the irrelevance of education, the socioeconomic background of students, type and level of study, and social background of technical and further education students. It is concluded that although these colleges are represented by students from many different backgrounds, access to higher education is mainly limited to the privileged. (SW)