ACARA Updates
Draft Senior Secondary Australian Curriculum Released for Consultation
The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) has released the draft senior secondary Australian Curriculum in 14 subjects for English, Mathematics, Science and History for public consultation until 20 July 2012. See the ACARA website for more information.
Draft Technologies, Health & Physical Education shape papers released for consultation
Draft papers, the Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Technologies and the Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Health & Physical Education, are now available for national public consultation until 3 June 2012. Feedback will be used to revise the draft Shape papers, which will then be published as the Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Technologies and the Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Health & Physical Education. These papers will guide the writing of the Foundation to Year 12 curriculums in these learning areas.
Australian Curriculum Version 3.0 Released
The Australian Curriculum Version 3.0 has been released and can now be accessed via the Australian Curriculum website.
Phase 1 Development Process Concluded
Phase 1 of the Australian Curriculum development process has concluded, with the consultation process on the draft documents for senior English, history, mathematics and science closing on the 30 July 2010. The final K–12 Australian Curriculum for English, mathematics, science and history were released in December 2010. Further changes to the final curriculum for these core subjects may occur in 2011.
Phase 2 constitutes the subject areas of geography, languages and the arts. The public consultation process on initial shape papers begun mid-2010, with feedback gathered used to revise and refine the final shape documents by year's end. Writing, consultation and publication of the final curriculum for geography, languages and the arts will occur in 2011.
View a guide to the development process on the ACARA website.
Barry McGaw recently spoke about Australia’s move to a national curriculum as part of the series The Global Search for Education. The interview is one of many to be conducted with international education leaders. Read the article.
F–10 Learning Standards Approved
ACARA has reported that on 14 October 2011 the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs approved the Foundation to Year 10 Achievement Standards for the first four learning areas of the Australian Curriculum – English, History, Science and Mathematics – as well as the latest version of the paper, Shape of the Australian Curriculum. Read the paper
For information on implementation in your state visit the Australian Curriculum website or view the summary document.
Implementing the Australian Curriculum
ACARA has produced a guide to using the Australian Curriculum to develop rigorous and relevant teaching programs that are inclusive of students with special education needs. ACARA is also working towards developing additional curriculum content and achievement standards for school age students with special education needs who are working towards the Foundation level of achievement.
For states and territories implementing the F–10 Mathematics, Science, English and History Australian Curriculum, or those who are commencing preparation, ACARA has put together a chart setting out implementation details.
At the request of Ministers, work continues to validate the achievement standards in 2011. So far work has focused on their coherence, consistency, pitch and usability. ACARA, together with states and territories, and groups of classroom teachers – selected from schools Australia-wide – who are providing feedback, are conducing this validation process, with final versions to be presented to Ministers in October 2011 for endorsement.
EAL/D Teacher Resource now available from ACARA
ACARA has announced the development of an English as an Additional Language: Teacher Resource, providing support for teachers as they plan for and introduce learning programs using the Australian Curriculum for students for which English is a second language.
The EAL/D (English as an Additional Language/Dialect) resource supports all learning areas and makes content for the F–10 Australian Curriculum accessible to EAL/D students.
Additional resources are being developed for publication in late 2011. These include:
· a range of annotated work samples that illustrate aspects of the EAL/D learning progression
· annotations to content descriptions in the English, mathematics, science and history learning areas.
(Source: Quoted from ACARA updates/ACARA website 13-09-2011)
Access the English as an Additional Language: Teacher Resource from the ACARA website.
Please contact ACARA for more information.
Shape of the Audtralian Curriculum
The original shape of Australian Curriculum was drafted in 2008 by the interim National Curriculum Board, and was based on the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. However more detail is needed to guide curriculum development. ACARA has announced that it will release a revised Shape of the Australian Curriculum, covering the whole curriculum.
During this process Ministers actively sought advice on matters of significant importance, including the F–10 curriculum and achievement standards. July 2011 saw Ministers adopt a position paper presented by ACARA on these issues. Details of this position paper will be incorporated into the final Shape of the Australian Curriculum, to be released later this year.
Key points in the paper:
· The F–10 Australian Curriculum is designed around eight learning areas, seven general capabilities and three cross-curriculum priorities and provides a great degree of flexibility. The curriculum sets out a learning entitlement for all young Australians but is written on the assumption that teachers and schools are best placed to decide how to organise learning for young people, taking account of their individual needs and interests
· The F–10 Australian Curriculum across all learning areas will be designed to be teachable within 80% or less of available teaching time in schools
· The curriculum assumes that students will learn in English, Mathematics, Science, History and Health and Physical Education in each year of schooling F–10. The curricula in other areas will be written on the assumption that all students will learn in those areas across F–8, though the Australian Curriculum will cover years 9–10 as well. This reflects a commitment to provide a broad general education across F–8 and greater choice in years 9 and 10.
(Source: Quoted from ACARA updates/ACARA website 13-09-2011)
Development of the Australian Curriculum in the Arts, Geography and Languages currently underway is also being guided by information in the position paper supplied by ACARA. In addition, it will also be used as a guide for the initial planning for the Technologies, Health and physical education, Civics and citizenship, and Business and Economics curriculum.
ACARA Updates
Subscribe to ACARA updates.
For more information about the Australian Curriculum in your state visit the following websites:
State:
ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies
Board of Studies NSW
Curriculum Council of Western Australia
NT Board of Studies
Queensland Studies Authority
SACE Board of South Australia
Tasmanian Qualifications Authority
Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA)
National:
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA)
