Danielle Meddemmen
30 March 2022: The University of Canberra celebrated five decades of teacher education with a nostalgic-themed event welcoming current and former staff and students onto the Bruce campus.
The Five Decades of Education event on Friday 25 March – postponed in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic – looked back through the ages of the University, and its predecessor, the Canberra College of Advanced Education (CCAE).
The faculty had its first intake of students in early March 1971 for the Graduate Diploma in Education, and began offering a Bachelor of Education later that same year.
Executive Dean of the Faculty of Education Professor Barney Dalgarno said it was great to see the wider education sector come together for the event last week.
“It was really special seeing members of our past and present communities come together on Friday, celebrating the achievements of our organisation and education as a whole,” he said.
“Based on our records, we know at least 20,000 education students have graduated from the combination of CCAE and UC – just showing our contribution to the education system in the ACT and beyond.
CCAE was a trailblazer in education offering the bachelor’s degree in 1971, with teachers in Australia received their training in state-based teacher colleges up until that point. Fast-forward to today, with 2,000 students enrolled in education courses through the faculty each year.
It has also built strong partnerships throughout the ACT and surrounding regions through both the Affiliated Schools Program with 25 schools in the local region and the Capital Region Schools Network, which includes NSW and ACT government, Catholic and independent schools.
Professor Dalgarno said the faculty was only continuing on an upward trajectory, and planned to further its impact on education through the region.
“Not only does the University make a major impact in education through our job-ready graduates, but also through the outstanding work of our research centres, the STEM Education Research Centre [SERC] and the Centre for Sustainable Communities [CSC].”
“I am really proud to be involved with the University of Canberra’s Faculty of Education, and look forward to seeing what we can achieve in the next 50 years.”
