Key international developments affecting Australian education and training

Phil McKenzie, ACER

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Paper presented to the Monash University-ACER Centre for the Economics of Education and Training Annual Conference Melbourne, 31 October 2008

Abstract

Education and training in Australia are increasingly operating in an internationalised environment Overseas students are major sources of funds and enrolments, Australian institutions operate overseas and form a wide range of international partnerships, and holders of Australian qualifications work throughout the world. This paper discusses three sets of international developments and outlines their potential implications for Australian education and training: the development of bilateral Free Trade Agreements between Australia and individual countries in the Asia-Pacific region; the initiatives of groups of countries such as ASEAN and the East Asia Summit to strengthen educational cooperation on a multilateral basis; and, overshadowing all, the rapidly worsening international economic outlook.