School of Education history

1969: The School of Education is established at La Trobe’s Bundoora campus, with 13 academic staff and Professor Ronald Goldman as foundation Dean. The School offers a Diploma in Education as a fourth-year option, or concurrently with a four-year program.

1970: Centres of Comparative Education, Educational Media and Communication, Innovation in Education and Teachers, Teaching and Teacher Education, and Urban Education are established.

1971: The option of undertaking a task-based Diploma in Education is offered, allowing students to undertake research projects in schools.

1972: Centre-based, one-year, post-initial Bachelor of Education and higher degree programs are introduced. The Centre for Comparative and International Studies in Education is established with expertise in Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean and Russian.

1974: Master of Education is offered for the first time.

1975: Centre for the Study of Teaching and Human Interaction is established. Bachelor of Education (Counselling) is introduced. Masters coursework programs in comparative and international education are included the study of Asian languages. Teacher education subjects for English as an additional language are offered within in-service programs. A course structure for the Diploma in Education is introduced. Students are able to select the orientation of their diploma at enrolment, including a primary methods option.

1976-1978: The Centre for Curriculum and Teacher Education is established, with an enhanced subject focus on community and adult education, family literacy, bilingual education, comparative education, multiculturalism, film and media studies.

1977: Systematisation of an alternative entry program for Victorian registration overseas educated teachers whose qualifications were not recognised in Australia.

1979-1981: The School develops new research perspectives on the education of girls and literacy.

1983: A separate Primary course within the Diploma in Education is introduced.

1985-1987: The School plays a major role in supporting the implementation of the Victorian Certificate of Education, which replaces the Year 12 Higher School Certificate.

1987: Centre for Community Education and Social Change replaces the Centre for the Study of Urban Education. A distinction between the Diploma in Education (Secondary) and the Diploma in Education (Primary) is made.

1988: Centre for the Study of Cultural and Educational Practice replaces the Innovation Centre.

1990: Graduate Diploma in Physics and Education is introduced.

1991: Doctor of Education program is established. It is offered by La Trobe, and other Australian universities, for the first time. Graduate Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) formalises the previous specialist TESOL studies within the Bachelor of Education. Bendigo College of Advanced Education affiliates with La Trobe University as the La Trobe University College of Northern Victoria. Its Faculty of Education joins the Department of Physical Education and Outdoor Education. Staff from Bundoora commence teaching Bachelor of Education programs in Albury-Wodonga.

1992: Master of Counselling and Graduate Certificates in Education (TESOL, Adult Literacy and Basic Education) introduced.

1993: In collaboration with Griffith University, the National Institute for Deaf Studies and Sign Languages, Research and Training is established. Graduate Certificate in Education (Languages Other Than English) introduced.

1993-1997: With the University of Melbourne, the School heads the Victorian node of the National Child Literacy and English as a Second Language Research Network.

1994: The La Trobe University College of Northern Victoria joins La Trobe University, Bendigo, with faculty status. The Faculty of Economics, Education and Social Sciences is established and the Graduate School of Education is located within it. At Bendigo, the Faculty of Education is renamed the School of Education. The School’s centre structure is abandoned. Media Studies staff transfer from Education to the School of Arts and Media in the Faculty of Humanities. The Graduate Certificate in Education (Adult Education) is introduced.

1995: The Faculty of Economics, Education and Social Sciences becomes the Faculty of Social Sciences. The Graduate Diploma and Graduate Certificate in Education (Industry Training and Education) is introduced. Bundoora staff commence teaching graduate diploma programs at Shepparton. The Graduate Certificate in Adult Literacy and Basic Education is offered at La Trobe’s Albury-Wodonga campus.

1996: Master of Applied Linguistics program, taught in Vietnam, is established. A suite of programs related to Auslan and Sign Language Interpreting is introduced. Master of Education by coursework and research is offered at La Trobe’s Albury-Wodonga campus. Master of Teaching is established. The Graduate Diploma in Counselling and Human Services is introduced. Professor Gilah Leder is appointed as the first female Head of the Graduate School of Education.

1997: School of Arts and Education is created at Bendigo (with outreach to Mildura). The Graduate School of Education becomes the Institute of Education and moves outside the faculty structure. Graduate Certificates in Educational Administration, Industrial Training and Education, Master of Arts, PhD and Doctor of Education added to Albury-Wodonga offerings. Graduate Certificates in Educational Administration, Industrial Training and Education, Master of Arts, PhD and Doctor of Education added to Albury-Wodonga offerings.

1997-1998: Introduction of the Master of Applied Linguistics program taught in Yunnan, People’s Republic of China.

1997-2001: The School partners with a global network of universities on the World Bank-funded ‘Indonesia-International Bank for Reconstruction and Development Primary Teacher Development Project’ (1997-1998) and ‘Indonesia Asian Development Bank Secondary Teacher Development Project’ (1998-2001).

1998: The School of Arts and Education in the Faculty at Bendigo forms three departments: Education, Visual Arts, and Outdoor Education and Nature Tourism. The Bundoora-based Institute of Education becomes the Graduate School of Education. Introduction of Graduate Diplomas in Educational Administration, and Vocational Education and Training. Master of Counselling becomes the Master of Counselling and Human Services. Doctor of Education program, delivered in Vietnam, is introduced.

1999: The Institute of Education – a co-ordinating arrangement for education activities across all University campuses – is established. The Graduate Diploma in Education (Prep to Year 12) is offered at La Trobe’s Albury-Wodonga campus. Introduction of the Graduate Diploma in Vocational Education and Training, a course offered in collaboration with Technical and Further Education institutions at both Bundoora and Albury-Wodonga.

2000: Deaf Studies programs transferred from Education to Health Sciences.

2000-2009: The School co-leads the Adult Migrant English Program Research Centre with Macquarie University. Master of Educational Leadership and Management is introduced at La Trobe’s Bundoora and Albury-Wodonga campuses.

2001: The Graduate Diploma in Technology Education, offering and alternative entry for people with experience in trades, is introduced. So too is the Graduate Diploma in Special Education and Human Services.

2003: The Institute for Education joins the Faculty for Regional Development, replacing the Faculty at Bendigo. Each campus is identified as a distinct component of the Institute. Introduction of double degrees: Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Arts Education and Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Science Education. Master of Science and Technology Education is also introduced.

2004: The Institute of Education on the Bundoora, Albury-Wodonga and Shepparton campuses forms the School of Educational Studies in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. The remaining parts of the Institute of Education are renamed the School of Arts and Education, including the Department of Arts, the Department of Outdoor Education and Nature Tourism, the Department of Visual Arts, and the School of Educational Studies. Master of Arts in Student Welfare and Guidance and Master of Special Education are introduced.

2005: An independent Faculty of Education is created with Professor Lorraine Ling as Dean. The Faculty includes the School of Education (led from Bendigo and including Mildura), the School of Educational Studies (led from Bundoora and including Albury-Wodonga and Shepparton) and the School of Outdoor Education and Environment (Bendigo). First and fourth-year Education Studies is offered at La Trobe’s Mildura campus.

2007: The Centre for Regional Education established within the Faculty of Education to provide a link between the Albury-Wodonga, Mildura and Shepparton campuses. Introduction of the Master of TESOL.

2008: A full four-year Education program is offered at the Mildura campus for the first time, along with the Graduate Diploma in Education (Secondary). The Graduate Diploma in Education (Middle Years) is introduced in Shepparton.

2010: First offering of the Graduate Diploma in Education (Middle Years) in an intensive, mobile-device (iPods) format.

2011: Undergraduate pre-service teacher education is introduced at La Trobe’s Bundoora campus including the Bachelor of Teaching (Primary), the Bachelor of Teaching (Secondary) and the Bachelor of Outreach and Community Education. A suite of Early Childhood Education programs are introduced at the Bendigo campus, via the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education.

2015: The Faculty of Education becomes the School of Education in the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Commerce.

2019: The School is re-structured to create a unified, research-led organisation across all campuses around the themes of social justice and diversity, learning sciences and impactful pedagogies. Outdoor Education is fully integrated into the structure.

2020: Master of Special Education becomes the Master of Inclusive Education. Nexus and the Science of Language and Reading (SOLAR) Lab are launched.