The study investigates the nature and extent of provision
of English as a Second Language (ESL) programs and
services for students of non-English speaking background
(NESB) in government school systems in the six Australian
states and two territories and the interrelationship of
state/territorial education authority provision and levels
of commonwealth funding. The study further examines
perceptions of state/territorial service providers of
where the onus of responsibility for ESL provision lies.
The study is limited to examination of ESL provision at
the school level in government education systems only and
does not address services for adult NESB learners or
provision in the non-government sector.
The study is set in the context of the impact of
commonwealth immigration policies on the nature of
Australia's multicultural society and on the evolution of
provision of appropriate programs and services for NESB
students in Australian government schools.
The major findings to emerge from this study which bear on
the issues identified in the literature and which are of
significance for the future of ESL service delivery are:
· the existence of overall commonality of definition of
NESB students and identification of such students for
ESL programs on the basis of need, but a degree of variation in procedures used by state and territorial
systems which falls short of standard practice and
renders comparative measurement of perceived shortfalls
in provision difficult;
· variation in definition of intensive programs which
renders comparison of provision difficult;
· strong commonality in overall provision of both
programs and services across all schooling sectors,
with limited local variation in service delivery;
an increasing commitment in all systems to the
mainstreaming of ESL provision through language across
the curriculum programs aimed at complementing
specialist ESL provision by enabling mainstream
teachers to accept responsibility for the language
needs of NESB learners;
· variation in degrees of dependence on commonwealth
funding for provision of programs and services ranging
from almost total dependence on commonwealth funding in
two systems to significant local education authority
provision in four systems;
· commonality of opinion among local service providers of
the commonwealth's responsibility for some degree of
funding of ESL provision, but variations in perceptions
of the extent of the commonwealth's responsibility in
this area;
· commonality of experience of initial identification of
need at the local level, but dependence on commonwealth
intervention to approach adequate provision to meet
identified need;
· a degree of tension between on the one hand,
recognition of individual differences among systems and
the concomitant need, or desire, for state/territorial
autonomy in service delivery; and on the other hand,
recognition of commonality of purpose and provision and
the concomitant need for some standardisation of
practice in the interests of efficiency and
accountability of service delivery.
The study concludes with an examination of the
implications of these findings for policy for future ESL
service delivery.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219163 |
| Date | January 1988 |
| Creators | Nielson, Pam, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Pam Nielson |
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