Australian Curriculum and the 21st Century Learners - Report Example

STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM Name: Course: Tutor: Date: INTRODUCTION Australia not only boasts of being a dynamically multi-cultured and having a vibrant economy but the nation also boasts of having an education system considered to be of the highest standard, enjoying international renown (Stephenson 1998). The country is recognized globally as a world leader in as far as international education and English language training is concerned. Recent statistics have revealed that the Australian education system offers an estimated 12,000 courses that are well known internationally and are of world class standards (Brady & Kennedy 2010). The country’s education is compulsory up to an age specified by the legislation and is different from one state to the next, from the ages of 15 to 17 years. Additionally, education is regulated by Australian Education System which is usually governed by the individual governments of each state, following a 3-tier model that incorporates Primary education, Secondary Education, Tertiary education in Universities and/or TAFE, also known as Technical And Further Education colleges (Wyatt-Smith & Cumming 2009). Core to the Australian Government’s approach to education is the occurrence of an Education Revolution from the year 2008. This particular revolution incorporated greater collaboration, sharper focus and additional effort on improving outcomes, starting with past years and moving to school and into the training system (McDonald 1999). Australia is considered a safe and friendly destination in addition to being a technologically advanced and sophisticated society having a reputation for excellence, reliability and quality in education services. A successful educational institution owes its applaudable academic performance to an effective and well supported curriculum. ESSAY By definition, a curriculum is a set of subjects laid down as a guideline for what the students will be taught by their educators in the course of their learning year (Courts 1998). Some of the purposes of a curriculum are to develop successful learners with determination to reaching high standards of achievements as well as openness to new thinking and ideas, develop confident individuals with secure values and beliefs and individuals who are able to develop as well as communicate their own beliefs and views of the world (Marsh 2010). The future of Australia is said to be dependent upon each of its citizen having the necessary skills, values, knowledge and understanding for a rewarding and productive life in an educated, open and just society (Rogers 1999). The Australian Government is also keen to ensure that all schools develop students in the most appropriate manner by drawing from a national curriculum which serves as a guideline that all schools are expected to follow (Giroux & Shannon 1997). The national curriculum for Australia is constructed by The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, also known as the ACARA (Brady & Kennedy 2010). The main objectives of the Australian curriculum include making clear to students what they should learn in addition to the quality of learning expected of them, helping to ensure all young Australians are equipped with the appropriate knowledge, competence and skills that provide a basis for successful and lifelong learning as well as participation in the Australian community and making clear to teachers what is to be taught across the year of schooling (Stephenson 1998). Structure and Development of the Australian curriculum There are generally four stages involved in the development of the Australian development namely curriculum shaping, curriculum writing, implementation and evaluation and review (McDonald 1999). In the first stage, expert advise is sought in the development of an initial draft shape paper endorsed by ACARA’s Board of Directors for release to the public for consultation. Depending on the consultation feedback a final shape paper undergoes an approval process for publication on ACARA’s website (Giroux & Shannon 1997). Included in the shape paper is a broad outline of the curriculum K-12 as well as curriculum design advise for the learning region. Curriculum writing is the second stage in the Australian curriculum development and this is where a team of writers, with the support of expert advisory panels and ACARA curriculum staff develop the Australian curriculum (Wyatt-Smith & Cumming 2009). In the second stage writers are also expected to refer to international and national curriculum and assessment research, research on general competence described within the Shape of the Australian Curriculum and refer to state and territory curriculum materials (Brady & Kennedy 2010). The draft for the learning region is the released once again to the public for consultation and modifications made in light of the feedback. This stage culminates in publication of the Australian curriculum for the particular learning area (Stephenson 1998). The third stage is the implementation stage where the Australian curriculum is delivered in an online environment for schools, teachers and school authorities for implementation. ACARA collaborates together with the state and territory curriculum as well as school authorities in developing implementation strategies (Rogers 1999). The final stage in the development of the Australian curriculum is the evaluation and review stage. This is where processes are put in place for the purposes of monitoring and reviewing the Australian curriculum based on implementation feedback (Rogers 1999). The development of the Australian curriculum mentioned above is generally guided by the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians, adopted in the year 2008 by the Council of state and territory education Ministers (Giroux & Shannon 1997). This particular declaration puts emphasis on the importance of skills of learning areas, knowledge and understanding, general competencies and cross curriculum priorities as being the foundation for a curriculum designed for the 21st Century learning (McDonald 1999). The shape or structure of the Australian curriculum lays forth an agreed set of structural elements, guiding principles as well as a wide content of directions consistent with the Board’s dispatch and the Declaration. There are 4 main documents accompanying the shape of the Australian Curriculum namely Mathematics, Science, English and History which outline the curriculum structure for each of the learning areas from Kindergarten through to Year 12 (Brady & Kennedy 2010). Purpose or Goals of Education as promoted by the Australian Curriculum Education plays a very important role in shaping the lives of the country’s future citizens. The Melbourne Declaration is committed to supporting all young Australian citizens to not only become confident and creative individuals and successful learners but also become active and informed citizens and in the process promote equity and excellence in education (Giroux & Shannon 1997). There are a number of goals promoted by the Australian curriculum for instance promote successful learners who have the essential skills in literacy and numeracy and are creative as well as productive users of technology as a basis for success in all learning areas (Marsh 2010). It also aims at developing successful learners who are in a position to plan activities without much supervision from their educators, collaborate, communicate ideas and work in teams. Still under successful learners, the Australian curriculum aims at creating learners who are able to make sense of their world and juggle their minds as to how things are the way they are in it. These successful learners should also be innovative, resourceful and creative, able to solve problems in a manner so as to draw upon a range of learning areas and disciplines (Brady & Kennedy 2010). The Australian curriculum aims at promoting and developing confident individuals who not only have a sense of optimism about their future and lives in general but are also capable of developing personal values as well as attributes such as respect for other individuals and resilience. These confident individuals should also have a sense of self awareness, personal identity and self worth that enables them to manage their spiritual, mental, physical and emotional well being (Giroux & Shannon 1997). They should have confidence and competence to pursue university or post secondary vocational qualifications that would eventually lead to productive and rewarding employment (Wyatt-Smith & Cumming 2009). Such confident individuals encouraged by the Australian curriculum should also be able to embrace opportunities while making informed and rational decisions regarding their individual lives and take up responsibility for their own behaviour. The Australian curriculum also aims at promoting confident individuals who are well prepared in terms of their potential life roles as community, family and workforce members (Stephenson 1998). Other educational goals for young Australians by the Australian Curriculum is to develop active and informed citizens who not only act with ethical and moral integrity but are also able to understand and acknowledge the value of indigenous cultures, possessing the skills, understanding and knowledge to benefit from and contribute to reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians (McDonald 1999). Keeping in mind that Australia is a vast and diverse culture especially in the education sector, the Australian curriculum aims at developing active and informed citizens who appreciate the nation’s cultural, linguistic, religious and social diversity in addition to having an understanding of the country’s system of government, culture and history (Rogers 1999). View of the Australian Curriculum on the Learners The Australian Curriculum clearly acknowledges the changing ways in which young Australians will learn as well as the numerous challenges that will be present in shaping their learning in the future. The Curriculum also recognizes the fact that needs and interests of these students will tend to vary and that educational institutions and teachers will plan the curriculum in a manner so as to respond to those interests and needs (Giroux & Shannon 1997). In educational circles there are 4 main categories of learning theories that are utilized in the process of developing future successful students. These categories are Behaviourism which focuses on observable behaviour of the students, Humanistic which focuses on how emotions and affect play a role in learning, Social which tries to show that humans learn best in group activities and Cognitive which shows learning as purely a mental or neurological process (Brady & Kennedy 2010). During early years of schooling it is quite common to observe that children have an inherent curiosity about their world and the desire they have to make sense of it provides a basis for construction and review of their learning through experimentation, explicit teaching, interactions with others especially their peers, play and practice in the classroom and beyond (Rogers 1999). The Australian Curriculum builds on the national Early Years Learning Framework where it builds on its main learning outcomes which include the fact that children have a strong sense of well being, are confident and involved learners, have a strong sense of identity, are effective communicators and are connected with and contribute to their world (Stephenson 1998). Students between the ages of 8 to 14 years tend to have an increasingly organised curriculum and this is done through distinct learning areas, highlighting as well as promoting links between these learning areas as a way of deepening understanding and knowledge. On the other hand, secondary years of schooling are viewed as being a period of transition to adulthood where students tend to have a clearer sense of their interests, goals and strengths (Marsh 2010). They also begin viewing themselves as active players and participators in community life where they often concern themselves with major environmental and social issues as well as the ethical implication of human knowledge and activity. The Australian curriculum is written to build on prior learning and enhance understanding in each learning area (Wyatt-Smith & Cumming 2009). Processes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment valued by the Australian Curriculum Academic institutions and teachers continue to have flexibility as a way of enabling the students to progress at different rates via the curriculum. It is important that teachers be able to identify current levels of student achievement using the Australian Curriculum as a way of meeting students’ learning needs and catering for the wide range of performance in classes (Giroux & Shannon 1997). When planning for teaching and learning within any given year group of students teachers are required to take into account a range of prior achievement. For English, Science, History and Mathematics the Australian Curriculum has been written on a year by year basis as a way of assisting teachers to identify current levels of students’ achievement and be able to plan for further learning, building on prior learning and achievement (Brady & Kennedy 2010). The process of assessment is considered a core element where overall quality of teaching and learning is concerned. It is also a strategic tool for teachers with which to spell out the learning that will be rewarded in addition to guiding students into effective approaches to learning (McDonald 1999). The Australian curriculum is well aware of a number of benefits associated with assessment for instance the fact that assessment tasks perceived as real are more valued by students. Majority of students especially those in higher education tend to express a strong preference for choices in weighting, timing and nature of assessment tasks and therefore encouraging these students to engage with the curriculum expectations should help them in becoming more independent as well as autonomous learners (Rogers 1999). Australian Curriculum and the 21st Century Learners In the course of the coming few years majority of educators and school leaders will put all their focus on realisation of the development and implementation of a unique Australian curriculum that will be in a position of preparing young individuals for life in the 21st Century. Ensuring such an Australian curriculum depends on how it is being conceptualised and structured, how it is developed, whether or not teachers and schools will gain access and utilise it and how they will be supported (Giroux & Shannon 1997). So far the Australian curriculum has catered to the needs of the 21st century learner by being delivered online as majority of learners and young adults spend most of their time online either for social or educative reasons. Online delivery of the Australian curriculum provides users with the capacity to interrogate its multidimensional structure as well as be able to manipulate it according to their individual needs (Stephenson 1998). The Australian curriculum is well aware of the entitlement of each student to understanding, skills and knowledge that provide a basis for successful as well as lifelong learning in addition to their participation in the Australian community. As a way of catering to the needs of 21st Century learners the Australian curriculum has given explicit attention to a number of capabilities which include self management, intercultural understanding, creativity, literacy, thinking skills and numeracy (McDonald 1999). It is thus a curriculum that not only places great emphasis on the importance of general capabilities that all individuals use, develop and need in the course of their lives but also provides for foundational understanding, knowledge and skills in the agreed discipline areas (Wyatt-Smith & Cumming 2009). CONCLUSION The Australian curriculum is responsible for preparing all young Australian citizens to develop into capable members of society. It is also founded on strong evidence base related to pedagogy, what works in professional settings and learning and has in the recent years been benchmarked against international curricula. 21st Century learning is considered a vital aspiration for Australia and one that is already widely accepted and supported. Even though the Australian curriculum does not ensure it, it is in a position to give educators and learners better strategies and tools to work with. REFERENCES Brady, L., & Kennedy, K. (2010). Curriculum Construction. 4th Edition. French’s Forest: Pearson. Courts, P. L. (1998). Multicultural Literacies: Dialect, Discourses, and Diversity. New York: Peter Lang. Giroux, H., & Shannon, P. (1997). Education and Cultural Studies. London: Routledge. Marsh, C. (2010). Becoming A Teacher. 5th Edition. French’s Forest: Pearson. McDonald, J. P. (1999). Redesigning Curriculum: New Conceptions and Tools. Peabody Journal of Education, 74(1). Pp. 12 - 28. Rogers, B. (1999). Conflicting Approaches to Curriculum: Recognising how Fundamental Beliefs can Sustain or Sustain School Reform. Peabody Journal of Education, 74(1). Pp. 29 – 67. Stephenson, J. (1998). Values in Education. London: Routledge. Wyatt-Smith, C., & Cumming, J. (2009). Education Assessment in the 21st Century: Connecting Theory and Practice. New York: Springer. Read More