Catholic schools represent the major alternative to government schools in providing formal primary and secondary education for the Australian school-going population. The organisational structure of the Catholic school "system", however, differs significantly from that of government systems. Traditionally, Catholic schools form a decentralised network of administrative and governing authorities. Within this tradition, there are difficulties in developing a conceptual model fur a state or national view of Catholic school structures. During the past couple of decades, changes of a sociopolitical, economic, and ecclesiastical nature have caused public and private education authorities in Australia to view Catholic schools in an aggregated as well as individual sense. Along with increased public subsidies for the establishment and operation of schools, public accountability ana scrutiny for fiscal and other policy development purposes have likewise grown. The future of the Catholic school system is therefore of interest to both government agencies and Catholic authorities. To facilitate an analyses of the broad future for a school system, one useful tool is a model of the system which can be used to project enrolments. Enrolment projections in the very best of organisationally structured environments are precarious predictors of the future, so the business of applying a projection model to base data requires qualification. Since Catholic schools form an irregular organisational pattern which is undergoing change, projections of Catholic school enrolments at state or national levels in Australia require particular qualification. This study is mainly concerned with the development of a model for projecting Catholic school enrolments. It is aimed at taking advantage of data produced by the 1976 Australian Census of Population and Housing when this becomes available. However, it also analyses the historical development of Catholic schools in a general sense, and looks to a number of social, political, and economic trends which may act as pointers towards future developments.

Enrolment trends in non-Catholic, non-Government schools since 1962 show various interesting features. Overall the percentage of students enrolled in such schools today is about the same as it was in 1962, but this percentage has fluctuated in the intervening period. It contrasts notably with the trend in Catholic schools which is one of a sustained decline. Further analysis reveals that the number of boarders in non- Catholic, non-Government schools as a percentage of total enrolments in such schools has declined markedly, and during this decade has declined in absolute terms. This fall appears to relate to declining rural incomes and to rural-urban migration. The drop occurs despite the fact that increases in boarding fees are less than increases in tuition fees, the former relating closely to trends in the consumer price index, the latter to movements in the gross national product per capita. The masculinity level for All Schools and for non-Catholic, non-Government schools is about 1O5 in each case. However, in All Schools there has been a notable decline to reach this point, whereas in non-Catholic, non-Government schools there has been a steady increase in masculinity over the last fifteen years to arrive at the same point. Since 1962 Undenominational Schools have increased their enrolments at a considerably faster rate than have other religions. Presbyterian schools have lost ground, reflecting, perhaps, their interest in non metropolitan boarding schools, a sector which has been adversely affected in recent years, and also, perhaps, reflecting some inertia resulting from the impending union into the Uniting Church. In non-Catholic, non-Government schools a ratio of about 2:1 between secondary and primary enrolments seems common. Enrolments within these two sections seem to be affected by somewhat different factors, but a balance has been maintained at this level. Trends noted are not the result of particular variables but of a large number of interrelated factors. Relationships can be noted but not causality. Many interesting paths appear, often paths which cannot be followed in this field study. Nevertheless, there are various questions which beg further research. For example, why it is that New South Wales (including the Australian Capital Territory) with the highest per capita income of any state has the lowest percentage of school students attending non-Catholic, non-Government schools?

The Report of the Field Study is a descriptive record of:- (i) the development of the A.C.T. Schools Authority according to a particular philosophy and operational structure of devolution of responsibility to schools and community participation in decision making at school and system level. (ii) the impact which changes in government policy in the areas of (a) growth of the Australian Public Service and Canberra (b) funding of the A.C.T. government schools have on the A.C.T. Schools Authority operations. (iii) the mechanism by which policy is being developed for the maintenance of small high schools as individual organizations in a situation of contracting enrolments. The functions of the A.C.T. Schools Authority are, amongst others, to establish and conduct,pre schools, primary schools, high schools and secondary colleges. In 1980 there were 165 schools and of these only three were outside the city of Canberra. During the 1960's Canberra underwent extensive expansion of the city boundaries because of rapid increases in population as a result of government policy in establishing the city as the seat of government. Government departments were moved from rented premises in other cities to new purpose built buildings in Canberra. Economic conditions and government funding supported all aspects of the expansion as it continued into the '70's. The government school building programme was one of many which had to be integrated into the city growth plan. In 1960 there were three secondary schools, in 1970 there were nine and in 1980 there were twenty three. This Field Study is concerned with the A.C.T. Schools Authority's approach to its responsibilities under the following changed circumstances. 1. Change in growth rate of Canberra. From 1976, as a result of a change in government policy and in different economic conditions and policies there was a dramatic and unpredicted decrease in the rate of population increase. Movement of government departments to Canberra was severely curtailed and the service industries and building industries consequently also dramatically reduced their expansion. By 1978 there was evidence of a severe contraction in these industries and the growth of Canberra in the 60's to mid 70's had changed to a no-growth and then a decline. 2. Schools with small enrolments. Added to the nil or very slow population increase in some suburbs is the decline in the number of school age children in the inner suburbs of the city resulting in schools accommodating down to half of their previous numbers of students and the completion of school buildings in the as yet underpopulated outer suburbs. This latter situation developed because the lead time required for the planning and building of new schools is such that irreversible decisions had been made in the context of the population growth period and the resulting building programme was overtaken by the unexpected policy reversal causing a no growth situation to develop. The empty school buildings provoked the sparsely populated new communities to press for their opening and so provide what were seen to be essential community facilities. 3. Strict controls on costs. Allied to its policy restricting the growth rate of Canberra the government introduced strict controls on the cost of government education services in the A.C.T. The real difficulty was in the nature of the controls. Per-pupil costs were not to rise in real terms after 1976/77. With "fixed" costs such as cleaning, heating, maintenance, lighting and janitor rising or at least remaining constant whilst school enrolments decline, there was little hope of meeting the government directive. The Authority therefore considered the possibilities of deferring the opening of new schools and phasing out some inner Canberra schools as the only means of carrying out its responsibility. The proposal evoked strong community reaction. It was claimed that such an edict from the central authority was in contravention of the philosophical and legal foundations of the A.C.T. system. School Boards and communities were the places where decisions could be made that would enable their schools to remain as functioning entities, providing their students with creative educational programmes and still adapt to the economic constraints of the total system. Faced with this resounding community disapproval the Schools Authority established a Working Party on llth June 1979 "To consider the problems of declining and shifting school populations and its effect on the A.C.T. school system. In particular it will examine educational, financial and staffing problems associated with conducting small secondary schools and report to the Authority no later than June 1980". The Working Party then mounted a programme of enquiry throughout the A.C.T. Teachers, parents, students, School Boards, P & C committees and public meetings were asked to submit proposals, express opinions and respond to models. The resulting report Declining and Shifting Enrolments in A.C.T. Secondary schools was presented and public response invited. Once again the philosophy of the A.C.T. government school system was being put into practice. The study also investigates some of the issues in respect of the individual small school facing declining enrolments and consequently reductions in staffing and financial resources. Some conclusions are posed for the individual school, the A.C.T. Schools Authority and the various government instrumentalities which service and to some extent control, the A.C.T. government school system.

Magister Educationis - MEd / Over the past few years researchers have been studying access reforms, as well as uncovering challenges related to systems with low participation rates; Examples of this type of work are Teferra and Altbach (2003), Maharasoa (2003) and World Bank (2008). A key factor often addressed are various reforms related to access policies, often merely descriptions of access reforms in general or the status quo of systems are given, particularly those with low participation rates or needing access reforms (Weber, 2005). The relationship between participation rates, access policies and the governance of higher education has however not yet been thoroughly examined. The purpose of this qualitative study is to present the results of an analysis carried out to investigate the research question: Is there a relationship between participation rates, access policies and the governance of higher education access in Malawi? The access-policygovernance theory whose proponents are Tapper (2005), Ball (1990), Bunting et al (2005) and Clark (1983), among others, formed the basis for a proposed framework of evaluating the governance of higher education access in Malawi. The data involved in this study are national educational policies and institutional policy. The second data set are interviews with fourteen personnel who are involved in formulation and implementation of higher education access policies and the governance of higher education, both at a national level in Malawi and institutional level at the University of Malawi. A conclusion is drawn that the policies which were utilised and the governance structure created from them generated the limited nature of access which characterises Malawi’s higher education sector. The policies belonging to the University of Malawi, for example, generated proposed growth in student numbers without drastic changes in the general governance structure of the university. Thus the University of Malawi was unable to maintain the growth that the institutional policies intended. This research is of significance to the domain of governance of access as it extends the knowledge base that currently exists in the field of higher education studies. The concept of linking participation rates, access policies and the governance of higher education is relatively under-researched in this field. It is hoped that this study has added to the understanding of this relationship by addressing the significance

Enrolments in agriculture programmes at universities in South Africa are low when compared to the other programmes. The purpose of this study was therefore to identify factors influencing the choice of agriculture as a study discipline by undergraduates in agriculture, in an open distance education university in South Africa. The study also investigated the impact of the three agriculture curricula taught at school level, as well as how well it prepares students for tertiary education. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used. Open distance-learning agriculture students and agriculture educators participated in the survey. A structured online questionnaire and an open-ended questionnaire were employed. The study revealed that two major composite variables, namely family and friends, as well as job considerations, were highly significant in the students’ choice of agriculture at tertiary level. The impact of the agriculture curricula taught in the schools in preparation for tertiary education gave learners basic terminology and concepts involved in agriculture. The study also revealed challenges faced by agricultural science educators amongst which were the revealed challenges faced by agricultural science educators amongst which were the learners’ negative attitude towards the subject, inadequate or lack of infrastructure, and lack of proper guidance and counselling regarding choosing of subjects as factors that could hinder effective teaching and learning of agriculture in South Africa schools. Students studying through open distance learning indicated convenience, flexibility of studying at own pace, and ample time to spend with family and work, as factors that influenced their choice of studying through open distance learning. Recommendations on how to improve the agriculture curriculum in South African schools and attract more students’ enrolment in agriculture as a field of study at tertiary level upon completion of grade 12 are discussed in detail in the study / Agriculture, Animal Health and Human Ecology / M. Sc. (Agriculture)