1330.0 - Education News, Aug 2007  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 30/07/2007   
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ABS Education Services

ABS Education Services is the unit within the Australian Bureau of Statistics dedicated to promoting statistics in schools and assisting teachers and students to increase their statistical literacy. Statistics is a life skill and ABS Education Services aims to give the school community the resources, knowledge and confidence to develop this skill and become more confident using, understanding and applying statistics in the classroom.

This newsletter highlights the latest curriculum related teaching resources, student activities and statistical tools that have been developed by ABS Education Services.


CENSUS 2006 First Release Data

The first release Census 2006 data is out and it shows Australians are getting older. The median age of Australians was 37 years in 2006, compared to 34 years in 1996. Since 1996, the proportion of the population aged 65 years and over increased from 12.1% to 13.3%, and the proportion of children aged 0–14 years decreased from 21.6% to 19.8%.

How does your local area compare? It is now easier than ever for students to find information about their local area. In coming months ABS Education Services will be adding specific Census activities for the classroom onto our webpages. But you don't have to wait until then, over the next few editions of Education News we'll discuss different ways you and your students can access Census 2006 data that is of interest to them.

QuickStats

When looking for Census data, QuickStats is a great place to start. It provides a snapshot of an area, your postcode, the whole of Australia, your state, your local government area - in fact there are 18 different geographies you can use. QuickStats presents population by age groups and sex, country of birth, religion, language spoken at home, type of dwelling, marital status, family characteristics etc, and compares the area to the whole of Australia.

Image: Quickstats

Here's how to do it:
  1. From the ABS home page, choose Census (If you are interested in a postcode area, just type the postcode into the QuickSearch icon on the right and the QuickStats will be displayed.) Otherwise:
  2. Choose QuickStats
  3. If you want a State or city, you can choose it from this page. Otherwise select Search from the tabs (Search, Address, State and Cities, Browse, Map)
  4. Type in the location in which you are interested.
  5. Press Search
  6. Highlight the particular location that you want. A map will appear so that you can check it is the correct area.
  7. Choose View QuickStats and there they are.

If you have any queries about how to use Census 2006 data, you can call the ABS National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070, or email clientservices@abs.gov.au.


Education Services Webpages

The new Education Services webpages were launched on 2 July. You can now directly access the Education pages using www.abs.gov.au/teachers, or www.abs.gov/students, where separate areas for Teachers and Students have been created. Resources include statistical games; ABS data sets that have been designed for use in the classroom; classroom activities for Mathematics, Geography and Economics; statistical stories; and much much more.

Image: Education Services

Let us know what you think of our new pages. You can call on 1800 623 273 or email education@abs.gov.au


Use CensusAtSchool Data in 2007

CensusAtSchool data is available online through the Random Sampler for use in the classroom throughout 2007. Check out this FREE and invaluable resource.

ABS Education Services has recently produced a professional development DVD which provides an insight into the CensusAtSchool project and contains all the information you'll need to get started with CensusAtSchool. Obtain your FREE copy by contacting ABS Education Services (see contact details below).
    Image: CensusAtSchool

CensusAtSchool - have your say

We are currently preparing for CensusAtSchool 2008 and we welcome your input. What questions would you like to see included that were missing in 2006? How can we improve CensusAtSchool? Please email censusatschool@abs.gov.au with your suggestions and ideas.

Recently Released Publications

Australian Demographic Statistics, December 2006 (cat. no. 3101.0)
Quarterly estimates of total population for states, territories and Australia. Includes the most recent estimates of the population in five-year age groups; numbers and some rates of births, deaths, infant deaths, and interstate and overseas migration.

Voluntary Work Australia, 2006 (cat. no. 4441.0)
Information about participation in unpaid voluntary work through an organisation or a group. Includes data about the types of organisation with which the voluntary work is associated, the types of activities carried out and time spent volunteering. Also information about givers of monetary donations to organisations.

Corrective Services Australia, March 2007 (cat. no. 4512.0) .
Contains national information on persons in custodial corrective services in Australia. Quarterly information is presented for each state and territory. Statistics
are presented by open and secure custody and periodic detention, for all prisoners and for Indigenous prisoners.

CONTACT ABS EDUCATION SERVICES

Emaileducation@abs.gov.au
Fax 03 9615 7798
Free Call1800 623 273
MailGPO Box 2796, Melbourne, Victoria 3001