Victoria has warned that it will not accept an “insular dumbing down” of the Australian history curriculum when education ministers meet on Friday for a final attempt to reach consensus, ahead of the federal election, on how and what the nation’s students should be taught in schools.
Further revisions to the teaching of maths and Australian history have been made since the last meeting in February, at which both the Commonwealth and Western Australia vetoed its adoption, including stripping content out of the primary years maths curriculum and elevating the study of Australia’s 20th century migrant history.
Education Minister James Merlino said it was essential to agree to the curriculum if it is to be taught in schools next year.Credit:Joe Armao
Those changes follow previous revisions, made at the urging of the Morrison government, that increased emphasis on Australia’s Western heritage and deleted reference to Anzac Day as “contested”.
Education Minister James Merlino said it was essential that the latest draft of the curriculum be endorsed at the meeting if it is to be taught in Australian schools next year.
“However, we won’t accept a prescriptive, insular dumbing down of the history curriculum, and we’ll continue to adapt the curriculum to ensure Victorian students receive a world-class education,” he said.
At the previous ministers’ meeting in February, the Commonwealth and Western Australia refused to endorse the curriculum, but for different reasons.
While the Morrison government wanted some maths content introduced earlier in the primary years, WA’s Labor government wanted to see some maths concepts taught in later years. It is believed WA is prepared to endorse the latest version of the curriculum at Friday’s meeting.
The draft curriculum cannot be adopted in classrooms until all states and territories approve it.
Acting education minister Stuart Robert directed the Australian Curriculum and Assessment Authority in February to make changes to the mathematics and humanities components of the draft curriculum, and to give greater prominence to student mental health in the health and physical education curriculum.
On maths, he insisted that the curriculum must lift standards “to ensure they match those of high-performing nations” such as Singapore, where 15-year-old students are as much as two years ahead of Australian students on the Programme for International Student Assessment.
This includes limiting students’ reliance on a calculator and bringing forward their mastery of foundational material such as times tables in primary school.
Mr Robert also called for a cut to the amount of material in the maths curriculum, “ensuring only those that show the most effective, evidence-based way to teach content are included”.
Victoria has its own curriculum, which is used by all government and Catholic schools and is underpinned by the national curriculum, while most independent schools in Victoria use the Australian curriculum.
The first draft of the new curriculum – released for consultation in April last year – would have increased focus on Australia’s First Nations history and culture and reduced emphasis on the country’s Christian heritage. It followed a review that found the current curriculum did not include enough “truth telling” about the experiences of Indigenous Australians since European arrival.
The move to reduce emphasis on Australia’s Christian heritage provoked a prompt backlash from the Commonwealth. Mr Robert included in his list of directions in February “a more balanced view of history”, including the period between 1750 and 1914 and Australia’s post-World War 11 migrant history.
“Our history curriculum must be balanced, properly teach students about the origins of Australia’s liberal democratic institutions and promote a strong understanding and pride in who we are as a nation,” he told The Age Schools Summit in March.
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.
Most Viewed in National
From our partners
Source: Read Full Article
