the australian curriculum progress with its development and implementation plans

The Australian Curriculum

Progress with its development and implementation plans

The Australian CurriculumOVERVIEW

An opportunity to reflect on the

development of the Australian

Curriculum from the perspective

of Religious Education

The Australian CurriculumOVERVIEW

• The Learning Areas/Phases of implementation • General capabilities• Cross-curricular priorities• Elements of the curriculum: K-10• Achievement standards• Assessment and reporting• Consultation findings across learning areas• Catholic Education feedback• Implementation in Western Australia• Senior Secondary Australian Curriculum• Implementation scenario

The Australian CurriculumThe Learning Areas

Learning areas Timeline

English Phase 1

Mathematics Phase 1

Science Phase 1

Humanities and social sciences• History• Geography• Economics, Business, Civics and citizenship

Phase 1Phase 2Phase 3

The Arts Phase 2

Languages Phase 2

Health PE Phase 3

Technologies Phase 3

The Australian CurriculumGeneral capabilities

• Literacy

• Numeracy• Information and communication Technology (ICT)

• Critical and creative thinking

• Ethical behaviour

• Teamwork

• Personal and social competence

• Intercultural understanding

The Australian CurriculumGeneral capabilities

Actions being taken:

1. Identify where the capabilities fall naturally and most powerfully within the curriculum

2. Review how the capabilities could be combined eg. creativity and thinking skills; teamwork, self-management and social competence (personal and social learning)

3. Explain the place of the capabilities within the curriculum and their relationship to the cross-curriculum priorities


Cross-curricular prioritiesFocus Priority

National Indigenous culture and history

Regional Asia and Australia’s engagement with the region

Global Sustainability

Actions being taken:

Address the feedback which overall supported their inclusion and asked for a more consistent approach and more explicit representation both across the years and, as appropriate, across the learning areas


Elements of the curriculum: K-10

Content descriptions• A core of knowledge, skills and understandings – what students

will be taught (with content elaborations as examples)

Achievement standards

• The expected standard or quality; aspirational, but achievable; aligned to a ‘C’ in an A-E reporting framework (with generic descriptors on achievement scale and annotated work samples)


Achievement standard =

‘achievement standard description’+ ‘generic C-grade descriptor’ +‘set of annotated work samples’

Assessment and Reporting

• Need a transition strategy to move from current practices to more nationally consistent assessment and reporting arrangements

• August - mid October 2010: revise and publish with samples; some work on descriptions for mid point on 5 point scale

• December 2010 – December 2012: validate and refine standards; build range of work samples

• Beginning 2013: longer term policy on assessment and reporting

• Revised Shape paper (2010), to provide account of the relationship between curriculum content, achievement standards and the reporting framework and discussion on longer term objectives for assessment and reporting

The Australian CurriculumThe Australian Curriculum


Some consultation findings across learning areas:

1. Content heavy Consistent feedback highlighted overcrowding across the draft curriculum which will detract from the depth and quality of understanding achievable

2. Clearer achievement standards Need to be clearer with stronger links to assessment


3. Catering for students with diverse and special needs

• Clear statement acknowledging ACARA’s responsibility for students with special education needs

• Identify content for those students whose learning will require access to content that is not represented on the map of the draft K-10 content sequences

4. Broader range of annotated work samples Required to exemplify the standards


5. Stronger focus on transition points Specifically highlighted in the transition from year 6 to 7

6. Curriculum structure and nomenclature Improved coherence of sequences and clarity to

language use, terminology and descriptions

The Australian CurriculumCatholic Education Feedback

• Religious Education

We have stressed the need to have consideration to the place of Religious Education for denominationally based schools. ACARA needs to be aware that Catholic Schools have specific curriculum offerings which must be maintained

• Overcrowding

Concern has been expressed regarding the potential for overcrowding of the curriculum

How much time will be available to cover each learning area?

Care needs to be taken to ensure that time will be left for other learning areas in the future, not just phase 2 and 3 learning areas.

The Australian CurriculumCatholic Education Feedback

• Early Years

There is some degree of concern that assessment will focus only on formal assessment (e.g. A-E grades). There is continuing debate on formal assessment in the early years and beginning formal reporting


Revision Process – next steps• National learning area panels (July and August)• Primary schools national workshops (August)• Meetings with states/territories and professional

associations (July and August)• Curriculum Committee (6 September)• AEEYSOC (17 September)• ACARA Board (20 September)• MCEECDYA (30 September)• Proposed release of K-10 Curriculum - December 2010


Implementation in Western Australia

• Even though ACARA has responsibility to develop the curriculum, states are responsible for implementation

• Ministers have agreed that once finalised (each learning area), there will be three years for substantial implementation

• Implementation in Western Australia being guided by the review of Curriculum Framework


Implementation in Western Australia - Timeline

• 2011 – a range of proposed activities

– Some targeted pilot schools to produce additional support. These pilots supported through grants

– Familiarisation by all teachers and school leaders

– Detailed planning by end of 2011

– This doesn’t preclude schools implementing

• 2012 – Everyone commences implementing

• End 2013 – Substantial implementation


Implementation in Western Australia - Strategies

• Liaise with the Department of Education, AISWA and the Curriculum Council for a coordinated approach – these discussions have begun

• Within regular Professional Development and network opportunities, expose teachers and Head’s of Department and leaders to the new curriculum



• Run Professional Development on making consistent judgements for allocating grades based on the standards

• Work with other sectors on a state standard other than “C”



• Specific up-skilling in learning areas where there is significant difference between the Australian Curriculum and the existing Curriculum Framework e.g. maths, science, history, Years 6-7

• Identify schools who could contribute to pilots, allocating consultants to schools to ensure learning is shared with other schools so we don’t just get early adopters. Lessons need to be learnt from low resourced school



• Catholic Network Australia – sharing digital resources

• Continue to be involved in consultation for new phases, e.g. Geography, ICT



• Regular updates on CEOWA noticeboards and/or website

• Curriculum leadership forums with Principals and leadership teams


Senior Secondary Australian Curriculum

PHASE 1• The draft Senior Secondary Australian Curriculum

for English, mathematics, science and history is made up of 14 draft courses across four learning areas

• The current suite of courses was selected to reflect the approach that currently exists across

states and territories

The Australian CurriculumSenior Secondary Australian Curriculum

Achievement standards• Achievement standards will be available - early 2011, the curriculum

content and achievement standards will be subject to further national consultation

Professional Development• The evidence from wide-ranging consultation (collated from Learning

Area Consultants of the Catholic Education Office, Curriculum Council Course Advisory Committee members and school representatives across all learning areas) suggests that the up-skilling of teachers through effectively targeted professional development opportunities will be essential for the successful implementation of the new senior secondary Australian Curriculum


From the material presented today on the Australian Curriculum, how may this impact on the delivery of the Religious Education curriculum?

How and Why

the australian curriculum progress with its development and implementation plans

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