Austrailian School Curriculum

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Recommended: Essays on curriculum development

Structure and Development of Curriculum

Education needs to address the knowledge and skills that young Australians require to become competent citizens in the 21st century. In 2008, a nation-wide curriculum was announced by then-Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Minister for Social Inclusion and Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard under the power of the Rudd Labour Government (Brady, 2010). Based on the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs [MCEETYA], 2008), The Australian Curriculum, developed by the Australian Curriculum and Assessment Authority [ACARA], proposes to be a more homogenous approach to education that gives all students in Australian schools access to a world-class education that has nation-wide cohesive learning outcomes (Marsh, 2010). This essay discusses the philosophies that have been influential in the development of The Australian Curriculum, the impact these changes in curriculum has on students, teachers and schools, and the extent to which the new curriculum model caters to the educational needs of Australia’s future.

The Australian Curriculum

The Australian Curriculum is a national framework that documents the standards of knowledge, understanding, skills and capabilities that all Australian students are desired to and expected to achieve at each stage throughout their schooling. It is to be implemented in three phases, with the first phase released by 2011 that focuses on the core learning areas of English, mathematics, science and history, and in future years for Phases 2 and 3 for geography, languages and the arts; and design and technology, health and physical educati...

... middle of paper ...

...Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf

New South Wales Board of Studies (2010). K-6 Syllabuses.

Retrieved from http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/k-6/

Smith, M. K. (2000). Curriculum theory and practice. The encyclopaedia of informal

education. Retrieved from www.infed.org/biblio/b-curric.htm.

Tyler, R. (1949). Basic principles of curriculum and instruction (pp. 51-59). Chicago: University of

Chicago Press. Retrieved from http://blogs.ubc.ca/ewayne/files/2009/02/tyler_001.pdf

Wiles, J. (2005). Curriculum essentials: a resource for educators (2nd Ed.).

Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

Wraga, W. G. (2003). Toward a renaissance in curriculum theory and development in the

USA. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 35(4), 425-437.

DOI: 10.1080/0022027032000098494.

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