An Australian Curriculum has been en route for almost three decades, but due to inadequate support of its implementation, the ongoing developments had been short-lived, until now. This essay will discuss how an Australian Curriculum is a major priority for the 21st century and will look at the construction of this new curriculum including the impact that historic and current learning has had on present developments. Models of curriculum have always provided support to educators, so how do these models relate to the Australian Curriculum? Are they still suitable reference points? And what is the view of the learner? There are many definitions of curriculum, but this essay is going to discuss which definitions are valid for defining the Australian Curriculum and look at what the purpose of this new curriculum is. The teaching and learning cycle and assessment are the three dimensions to education; therefore the processes of each dimension are going to be highlighted. The 21st century and new ways of life t has pushed education to change. The need for this change has seen phase one of the Australian curriculum implemented. However, what else is going to be in the curriculum and how does all of these changes impact on the 21st century. The impact of these changes is going to be discussed in relation to current learning needs.
An important part of delivering the Australian Curriculum is, knowing what its content is. Curriculum is organised by outcomes. As stated by Marsh (2010, pp. 14) the Australian Curriculum has an ‘outcomes based’ learning perspective. This learning perspective is delivered by creating learning goals and objectives that specifically relate to at least one outcome in the new curriculum. However curriculum is not ...
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from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au
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Hill, P. (2010) An Australian Curriculum to promote 21st century Learning. Accessed from http://www.eqa.edu.au/site/anaustraliancurriculumtopromote21stcentury.html
International Commission on education for the 21st century. (1996). Learning: The treasure within. Paris: UNESCO
Marsh, C. (2010). Becoming a Teacher: Knowledge, Skills and Issues. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Australia
Rudd, K., Smith, S. (2007). New Directions for our Schools. Retrieved from http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/library/partypol/VSPO6/upload_binary/vspo63.pdf;fileType%3Dapplication%2Fpdf
Shaw, A. (n.d). What is 21st Century Education? Accessed from www.21stcenturyschools.com/What_is_21st_Century_Education.htm
middle of paper ... ... Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 25 (1), 45-51. Retrieved from http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol25/iss1/5. Western Australian Department of Education. a.
The first Australian Professional Teaching Standard is ‘Know students and how they learn’(AITSL, 2011). Understanding how students learn is a significant component of effective teaching (1.2 AITSL, 2011). Furthermore, effective teachers require an understanding of students physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics (1.1 AITSL, 2011). In addition, APST Standards require teachers to demonstrate both content and pedagogical knowledge through lesson plans (2.1 AITSL, 2011) with the curriculum content being structured and sequenced to facilitate effective learning (2.2 AITSL, 2011). However, it is also critical to have a repertoire of teaching strategies which are responsive to a diverse range of student backgrounds, including linguistic, cultural, religious, and socioeconomic (1.3 AITSL, 2011). An effective learning, in accordance with The Australian Curriculum and Assessment Reporting Authority, provides learners with general capabilities (knowledge, skills, behaviours and characteristics) and include understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island students learning needs and incorporate differentiated teaching methods to meet the needs of specific
The Australian Curriculum is fluid, ever-changing and highly politicised. There is constant debate surrounding what should, and should not be taught in Australian schools. The Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) Curriculum in particular, has undergone dramatic changes over the last few years. This essay will critically analyse two provocations relating to the HASS 7-10 curriculum, and some of the surrounding issues that HASS teachers contend with on a day to day basis. The first provocation, the purpose of Civics and Citizenship teaching is to teach about democracy, not for democracy, will be examined in relation to opinions regarding left-wing bias in the Civics and Citizenship curriculum, and the idea that the course teaches too much ‘for’
The development of a national curriculum for Australia is not a new endeavour (Marsh, 2010). The ideal is that national curriculum across Australia would mean that students are provided with a quality education that helps to shape the lives of the nations citizens and continue developing the productivity and quality of life within Australia. The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA] have the task of developing and implementing a nationwide curriculum. ACARA (n.d.-c) claims have addressed needs of young Australians while considering that changing ways in learning and challenges will continue to shape students education in the future. A look at what the Australian Curriculum is, its purpose, structure and scope, learning theories and teaching processes and whether the curriculum has the capacity to meet the needs of 21st century learners will show that the initial construction of a national curriculum appears to be successful. However, the effectiveness of the Australian Curriculum will only be able to be evaluated in the future after implementation across the country.
Franklin Bobbitt in The Curriculum writes: ‘The central theory [of curriculum] is simple. Human life, however varied, consists in the performance of specific activities. Education that prepares for life is one that prepares definitely and adequately for these specific activities. People need the abilities, attitudes, habits, appreciations and forms of knowledge and these will be the objectives of the curriculum. The curriculum will then be that series of experiences which children and youth must have by way of obtaining those objectives.’ (Bobbit...
166-173). Linda Darling-Hammond (2000) discusses how teacher education has changed and how it has affected our education system (p. 166). The author also notes how even the most intelligent people found it hard to prosper in the field without the right skills and preparation (Darling-Hammond, 2000, p. 166-173). In the article, she presents how post baccalaureate programs are carefully structured, versus alternative routes which can be no more than backup employment options. Darling-Hammond (2000) also addresses how it becomes difficult for aspiring teachers to learn both subject matter and pedagogy (p.
Marsh, C.J. (2010). Becoming a teacher: Knowledge, skills and issues. Frenchs Forest, Sydney, NSW: Pearson Australia
Marsh, C. (2010). Becoming a teacher: Knowledge, skills and issues (5th Ed). Frenchs Forest: Pearson Australia
Dillon, J., Maguire, M. (2007) Becoming a Teacher: Issues in Secondary Teaching. Third edition. England: McGraw-Hill.
In the education sector, a curriculum has been defined as the totality of all the experiences that a given student passes through his or her process of education. It is the way in which educational instructions are given to students for purposes of helping them to learn and succeed in their studies. As such, the way that different schools develop their curriculum may
Curriculum is important being it’s the underlying factor that plays a role in determining ones growth, achievement and success. The majority of curriculum con...
Understanding the curriculum experience: Curriculum being more than just a document: Rather than curriculum being just a formal document which is written by the government for teachers to implement in their classroom, Blaise and Nuttall (2011), give a different insight to what curriculum is. They break curriculum down into five different concepts; the intended curriculum, the enacted curriculum, the hidden curriculum, the null curriculum and the lived curriculum. (Blaise & Nuttall, 2011, pp. 82-95). These five concepts create a method of teaching where the students are learning through experiences.
Every academic institution like public schools needs a curriculum as a guideline to teach. A curriculum according to Ebert (2013:1) and Bentley (2013:1) refers to the means and materials with which students will interact for the purpose of achieving identified educational outcomes. The curriculum can be seen as the core of any learning institution. Learning cannot happen without a curriculum. The curriculum has become a growing system due to the changes that happens in our life. When you look at it in a bigger picture, curriculum refers to the “total learning experiences of individuals not only in school but society as well” (Bilbao et al., 2008).
According to McNeil (1977) he states that others see curriculum as to boost learning of school subjects. Curriculum is basically a guideline for teachers to teach the content of the nine key learning areas in primary school education. The curriculum development unit with its members make the curriculum for teachers for implementation thus, how teachers implement it depends on them. Although teachers are the ones to use curriculum and implement it, they don’t get much opportunity of providing a helping hand in the making of the curriculum.
The model doesn’t value the role of objectives in the curriculum development. The model, therefore, focuses on the content of learning and the process of delivering the content. The model is based on the presumption that content have their own value and should not be skewed towards certain objectives. The content usually contains procedures and concepts that are useful in curriculum assessment. Furthermore, the model insists that the translation of content into objectives might falsify the knowledge therein.