Australian National Curriculum 2010

Australian National Curriculum 2010 Australian National Curriculum 2010 Australian National Curriculum 2010 Australian National Curriculum 2010

Australia is currently undergoing an ‘Education Revolution’ which includes a major curriculum review designed to provide some coordination across state boundaries.

National collaboration in education in Australia is not new. Both the 1989 Ministerial Hobart Declaration and the subsequent 1999 Ministerial Adelaide Declaration authorised and stimulated national effort. The new National Curriculum currently being prepared will be a significant further step and will provide a framework for the National Curriculum Board’s development of a national, K–12 curriculum in English, mathematics, the sciences and history and later in geography and languages other than English.

The challenge for teachers now and in the future is going to be to create coordinated and integrated learning opportunities for students. As we learn more about the process of learning, and use this to integrate our responses to a rapidly changing world, teaching is becoming a process of facilitation of effective learning rather than simply the transmission of accepted, imposed, compartmentalized curriculum.

We believe that successful learning and development requires a purposeful approach to learning, facilitated by teachers who have strong philosophical, theoretical and principle-centered bases. These educators work to create a powerful alignment between the learning environment, an integrated approach to conceptually based learning in interactive classrooms, and an approach to assessment in which the individual ultimately learns to assess and challenge themselves.

We envision a coherent curriculum that would do justice to the integrity of each subject and also bring each to bear on all the others in a way that reflects an integrated, as opposed to compartmentalized, approach to real life.

Educational goals for young Australians

Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs, National Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians, December 2008, pp. 8–9.

Successful learners… • develop their capacity to learn and play an active role in their own learning • have the essential skills in literacy and numeracy and are creative and productive users of technology, especially ICT, as a foundation for success in all learning areas • are able to think deeply and logically, and obtain and evaluate evidence in a disciplined way as the result of studying fundamental disciplines • are creative, innovative and resourceful, and are able to solve problems in ways that draw upon a range of learning areas and disciplines • are able to plan activities independently, collaborate, work in teams and communicate ideas • are able to make sense of their world and think about how things have become the way they are • are on a pathway towards continued success in further education, training or employment, and acquire the skills to make informed learning and employment decisions throughout their lives • are motivated to reach their full potential.

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Confident individuals… • have a sense of self-worth, self-awareness and personal identity that enables them to manage their emotional, mental, spiritual and physical wellbeing • have a sense of optimism about their lives and the future — are enterprising, show initiative and use their creative abilities • develop personal values and attributes such as honesty, resilience, empathy and respect for others • have the knowledge, skills, understanding and values to establish and maintain healthy, satisfying lives • have the confidence and capability to pursue university or post-secondary vocational qualifications leading to rewarding and productive employment • relate well to others and form and maintain healthy relationships • are well prepared for their potential life roles as family, community and workforce members • embrace opportunities, make rational and informed decisions about their own lives and accept responsibility for their own actions.

Active and informed citizens… • act with moral and ethical integrity • appreciate Australia’s social, cultural, linguistic and religious diversity, and have an understanding of Australia’s system of government, history and culture • understand and acknowledge the value of Indigenous cultures and possess the knowledge, skills and understanding to contribute to, and benefit from, reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians • are committed to national values of democracy, equity and justice, and participate in Australia’s civic life • are able to relate to and communicate across cultures, especially the cultures and countries of Asia • work for the common good, in particular sustaining and improving natural and social environments • are responsible global and local citizens.

• Literacy knowledge, skills and understanding need to be used and developed in all learning areas. Initial and major continuing development will be in English but the national curriculum will ensure that this competency is used and developed in all learning areas. • Numeracy knowledge, skills and understanding need to be used and developed in all learning areas. Initial and major continuing development of numeracy will be in mathematics but the national curriculum will ensure that this competency is used and developed in all learning areas. • Information and communications technology (ICT) skills and understanding are required for all learning areas. Some aspects of ICT competence are as much about information management as about the use of technology, so an important aspect of the competence is the ability to evaluate the source, reliability, accuracy and validity of information that abounds in cyberspace. New digital technologies are used in creative and artistic pursuits, and in civic and political activities. These opportunities for private and public expression, unimagined half a generation ago, will make up important elements of the national curriculum. • Thinking skills refers to a range of kinds of applied intellectual activities that are involved in using information to achieve outcomes. They include elements such as solving problems, making decisions, thinking critically, developing an argument and using evidence in support of that argument. Thinking skills constitute the core of most intellectual activity. • Creativity enables the development of new ideas and their application in specific contexts. It includes generating an idea which is new to the individual, seeing existing situations in a new way, identifying alternative explanations, seeing links, and finding new ways to apply ideas to generate a positive outcome. Creativity is closely linked to innovation and enterprise, and requires characteristics such as intellectual flexibility, open-mindedness, adaptability and a readiness to try new ways of doing things. • Self-management enables a student to take responsibility for their own work and learning. It includes managing one’s learning; monitoring, reflecting on and evaluating one’s learning;

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identifying personal characteristics which contribute to or limit effectiveness; planning and undertaking work independently; taking responsibility for one’s behaviour and performance; and learning from successes and failures. • Teamwork enables a student to work effectively and productively with others. It includes working in harmony with others, contributing towards common purposes, defining and accepting individual and group roles and responsibilities, respecting individual and group differences, identifying the strengths of team members, and building social relationships. • Intercultural understanding enables students to respect and appreciate their own and others’ cultures, and to work and communicate with those from different cultures and backgrounds. It includes appreciation of the special place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; respect for Australia’s multicultural composition; communicating and working in harmony with others within and across cultures, especially in relation to cultures and countries of the Asia-Pacific; and appreciation of difference and diversity. • Ethical behaviour involves students understanding and acting in accordance with moral and ethical principles. Ethical behaviour includes the willingness, determination and capacity to think, make judgments and behave independently. It includes identifying right and wrong and having the willingness, determination and capacity to argue the case for change; understanding the place of ethics and values in human life; acting with moral and ethical integrity; acting with regard for others; and having a desire and capacity to work for the common good. • Social competence will enable students to interact effectively with others by assessing and successfully operating within a range of changing, often ambiguous human situations. It includes initiating and managing personal relationships; being self-aware and able to interpret one’s own and others’ emotional states, needs and perspectives; the ability to manage or resolve conflicts and to foster inclusive and respectful interactions; and participating successfully in a range of social and communal activities.

Cross-curriculum perspectives

There are other cross-curriculum matters that can be thought of as perspectives rather than capabilities. These are: • Indigenous perspectives, which will be written into the national curriculum to ensure that all young Australians have the opportunity to learn about, acknowledge and respect the culture of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders • a commitment to sustainable patterns of living which will be reflected, where appropriate, in national curriculum documents • skills, knowledge and understandings related to Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia. Each of these perspectives will be represented in learning areas in ways appropriate to that area. The curriculum documents will be explicit on how the perspectives are to be dealt with in each learning area and how links can be made between learning areas.

Pedagogy

It is clear that pedagogy and curriculum content and processes cannot be treated entirely discretely, and that best current pedagogy and practice must be used when constructing curriculum documents. Even so, while the national curriculum will make clear to teachers what has to be taught and to students what they should learn and what achievement standards are expected of them, classroom teachers are the people who will decide how best to organise learning for students. They will make decisions about the pedagogical approach that will give the best learning outcomes.

From: SHAPE OF THE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM May 2009

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Students at the Centre Students at the Centre Students at the Centre Students at the Centre

Adapted from Darryn Kruse

Since the 1990s, there has been a growing interest in issues associated with educational provision for students in early adolescence and there has been an increased awareness of the need to reconsider current policies, programs and practices in the "middle years of schooling", a period that coincides roughly with years 5-9 in Australia. There is a general understanding that students at the year 5-9 level form a distinct group with particular needs that are not sufficiently met by traditional upper primary and junior secondary structures and practices.

This has been widely recognised throughout the educational community. In particular, much work has been done for some years now at the individual school level, and middle schooling has predominantly been a grass roots movement. Additionally, over the last five years, a range of reviews and reconsiderations of the middle years of schooling have been undertaken by state and federal education systems (Eyers, 1992; Schools Council, 1993; Queensland Board of Teacher Registration, 1994). Early 1998 saw the culmination of two major long term research projects on middle schooling, both producing reports outlining a series of principles and recommendations for the middle years. The National Middle Schooling Project was established in 1996 to provide professional development, produce curriculum materials, and develop a series of nationally agreed strategies for middle schooling in Australia. The project report, Shaping Middle Schooling in Australia: A report of the National Middle Schooling Project (Barratt 1998: 29), presented "a common Australian view of the needs of young adolescents; the principles which guide our work with them; and the strategies that are regarded as most appropriate for their positive and successful development." The Victorian Years 5-8 Research Project, commissioned in 1995, had a brief to conduct an investigation of the educational needs of students in years 5-8, and of school structures and programs that meet those needs. The final report, Rethinking the Middle Years of Schooling: A Report to the Minister for Education of the Victorian years 5-8 Research Project (Kruse, with Maxwell & Spooner, 1998: 17-18), was an attempt to "bring together recent thinking regarding schooling for the middle years and to provide recommendations for Victorian schools and those who would seek to support those schools in designing policies, programs and practices that best meet the needs of students in the middle years of schooling." It contains a discussion of early adolescence and the changing world of the young adolescent and a set of recommendations on school organisation, curriculum, pedagogy, teacher training and professional development, and systemic support for middle years education.

There is considerable commonality between these two recent reports, and indeed between these report and those that have come before them. In particular, there are two main areas of very strong general agreement: the centrality of the needs and nature of young adolescents to planning for the middle years of schooling; and the importance of interconnected and holistic approaches to middle years reform.

Putting Young Adolescents at the Centre of Middle Schooling Students in the final years of primary school and the first years of secondary school are caught in the middle of a system which is designed for the needs of students at either end of it, but which is not always appropriate for the needs of the young adolescents who make up years 5-8. While there is great heterogeneity between individual students in the middle years of schooling (as students will be at a range of stages on the developmental continuum, and experiencing those stages in a range of ways depending on factors such as gender, cultural background and socio-economic status), there is considerable agreement on the identifiable characteristics and developmental needs of adolescents as a group. Young adolescents need to (Schools Council, 1993): • adjust to some profound changes: physical, social, emotional and intellectual; • grow toward independence (while still needing security in many personal relationships); • gain experience in decision making, and in accepting responsibility for these decisions; • develop a positive self confidence through achieving success in significant events;

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• progressively develop a sense of "Who am I?", and of personal and social values which become part of a person's life; • establish their own sexual identity; • experience social acceptance, and gain affection and support among peers of the same and the opposite sex; • think in ways which become progressively more abstract and reflective; • become more aware of the social and political world around them, and gain skills in coping and interacting with that world; • and establish or maintain relationships with particular adults, who can provide advice and act as role models.

These tasks are reflected in the reports of Barratt (1998) and Kruse (1998). The delineation of such a set of tasks has been extremely useful given the great variability of young people in the middle years and the difficulty of categorising them in anything other than a very generalised way.

Also useful is the recognition that such things are a natural part of life for students in the middle years. Indeed, it is these tasks that stamp the middle years as somehow different from those that have come before or those that will come after. Consequently, the middle years of schooling do not just require a more demanding version of junior primary school or a watered down version of the senior secondary years, but their own distinctive phase of learning - encompassing both upper primary and junior secondary schooling - that take account of these tasks. Thus, according to both of the recent middle schooling projects, these tasks of adolescence are most profitably seen as natural developments in each student's life rather than as sources of problem behaviour or difficulties to be sorted out. It is important that we recognise that it is not these tasks themselves, but rather school practices that hinder the fulfilment of these tasks, that constitute obstacles to learning. Similarly it is important that early adolescence be seen as a time of potential and promise, an exciting time when students' interests in and abilities to undertake profound exploration intermesh, rather than a time when young adolescents are victims of hormones or threats to authority and order. Both reports call for an understanding of early adolescence as a basis for middle schooling reform, but it is a fresh and exciting model of adolescence, recognising the promise and potential of these young people, that they present.

The Need for Holistic Change in the Middle Years of Schooling The conclusion of both reports is that middle schooling reform must be holistic. Recent large scale longitudinal studies have shown that 'reforms implemented independently of one another are likely to produce little or no significant rise in student achievement' and that 'not until a critical mass of reforms is in place and operating together in an integrated manner do significant positive changes in student outcomes occur' (Lipsitz, Jackson & Austin 1997, p. 519).

Indeed both the national and Victorian studies found that changes often start with school structures and organisation, and sometimes don't go any further. It is clear that such changes enable reform in other areas such as curriculum and pedagogy, but it is equally clear that they do not, in themselves, guarantee such reform. It is important therefore, that middle schooling reform tackles these areas in an inter-related and holistic manner. What is needed, therefore, is middle schooling reform that addresses structure, curriculum and pedagogy in an integrated way. In each of these three areas there are a range of possible directions for schools to consider - but to consider as part of a broad holistic picture. In terms of organisation, students in the middle years would benefit from school structures that: support relationships between young adolescents, their peers, and their teachers; provide easy and confidential access to health and welfare services; provide safety, security and privacy; encourage autonomy and responsibility of both students and their teachers; and promote partnerships between the school and families, the community and relevant support services. These students deserve a curriculum that: addresses adolescent interests and concerns, and supports the fulfilment of adolescent developmental tasks; provides opportunities for challenge and success in a range of significant and valued learning; is presented in a cohesive and coherent form; continues to emphasise the development of literacy, numeracy and social skills across the curriculum; and provides opportunities for student learning and participation beyond the classroom. The key emphases in teaching and learning include; catering for individual needs in the classroom and providing opportunities

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for students to explore their own interests, abilities and values; emphasising per relationships and collaborative activities (with an emphasis on "cooperative learning"); the use of pedagogies that access students' interests in exploration and inexperiential and active learning; supporting the development of independent learning skills and providing opportunities for their use; increasing the use of media and learning technologies as learning tools; and using authentic assessment strategies which recognise the full range of student talents and achievements.

Another way in which both reports recommend a holistic approach is in integrating school-based change with an understanding of the role of those outside the school. It is not only schools that work with and provide support to young adolescents. Holistic change in the middle years can also include a focus on developing partnerships with parents and a range of individuals and groups beyond the school. Such inter-agency support for middle schooling initiatives will be crucial to their broader success.

Both reports put their recommendations in broad or philosophical terms, suggesting general directions for change. In so doing, each recognises that schools will address middle schooling in different ways - making changes appropriate to their individual circumstances and context, incorporating local responses to local conditions. What is crucial is that such change is holistic change and that it is underpinned by an understanding of the needs of students in the middle years. The case for middle years reform has clearly been made. What is needed now (and made possible particularly by the work of the National Middle Schooling Project) is a clear and cohesive strategy for middle schooling - one that helps coordinate the work of the myriad individuals and organisations working in this area, and that takes on board, in a consistent and coherent way, the need for such things as: appropriate teacher training and professional development; further long term research into the efficacy of a range of middle schooling practices; and a targeted injection of resources to support developmentally appropriate reform in the middle years of schooling.

About the Author Darryn Kruse was Project Coordinator of the Victorian Year 5-8 Research Project from 1995 to 1997 and Principal Writer of Deakin University's Middle Years of Schooling of ACSA's Middle Years of Schooling Network.

References

Barratt, R., (1998). Shaping Middle Schooling in Australia: A Report of the National Middle Schooling Project, Australian Curriculum Studies Association, ACT. Eyers, V., (1993). The Education of Young Adolescents in South Australian Government Schools: Report of the Junior Secondary Review, Education Department of South Australia, Adelaide. Kruse, D., in consultation with Maxwell ,L. & Spooner, N., (1998). Rethinking the Middle Years of Schooling: A Report to the Minister for Education of the Victorian Years 5-8 Research Project, unpublished report. Lipsitz, J., Jackson, A.W. & Austin, L.M., (1997). 'What Works in Middle-Grades School Reform', Phi Delta Kappan, March, pp. 517-19. Queensland Board of Teacher Registration, (1994). Preparing Teachers for Working with Young Adolescents: An Issues Paper, BTRQ, Toowong. Schools Council, National Board of Employment, Education and Training (1993). In the Middle Schooling for Young Adolescents, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

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AUSTRALIAN SECONDARY AUSTRALIAN SECONDARY AUSTRALIAN SECONDARY AUSTRALIAN SECONDARY PRINCIPALS ASSOCIATION PRINCIPALS ASSOCIATION PRINCIPALS ASSOCIATION PRINCIPALS ASSOCIATION

MIDDLE SCHOOLING MIDDLE SCHOOLING MIDDLE SCHOOLING MIDDLE SCHOOLING

DRAFT STATEMENT 1. The middle years of schooling encompass the developmental stages of young adolescence, which most typically falls somewhat within the age range 10-15 years and grades 5-9. The quality of this phase of schooling is of crucial importance to the future lives and prospects of young Australians. Those who prosper emotionally, socially and educationally in the middle years have an excellent chance of success at the senior secondary level and beyond. On the other hand, students who fail to prosper in the middle years often become alienated from school and learning and sometimes develop strong anti-social attitudes.

2. Until recently, this stage of schooling has received little attention on the senior secondary area. Partly because of this and also for administrative convenience the curriculum and certification requirements of the senior secondary areas have tended to dictate the structure, curriculum and educational programming of the middle years. This has been a mistake. It is the social, emotional, physical and intellectual needs of young adolescents that should inform the structure and educational program of middle schooling.

3. Adolescent development is characterised by the growth of independent thought and activity and is accompanied by major physical emotional and social change. The search for identity as an individual within a social group can lead to counterdependent behaviour and attitudes, conflict, anxiety, group focussed behaviour and sometimes difficult peer relationships. Adolescence can present a considerable challenge to students, teachers and parents.

4. There are certain modes of learning and forms of classroom organisation which are particularly appropriate for young adolescents. Most young adolescents will respond well to structured group learning activities which provide for their continuing need for social learning interaction. Within this context the team metaphor is a powerful symbol. Those young adolescents who do not fit the typical pattern must also be catered for.

5. A less subject-centred approach to learning is often successful with young adolescents: if this can be linked to their immediate emotional and social needs then there is a high chance of acceptance and success. Most young adolescents do well in learning tasks which achieve their objectives within a short time frame. The "postponement of gratification" argument which can be convincing with senior secondary students is not often effective with young adolescents who need to see immediate purpose in their learning tasks.

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6. In all areas of schooling, productive teacher-student relationships are important, but in the middle years, as in the early childhood years, this relationship assumes a critical importance in determining the success of the learning enterprise. Students should be able to form a long term relationship with a teacher who take them for a large part of the school day.

7. Because of the quest for personal identity within a group, young adolescents spend a considerable amount of time and effort experimenting with forms of personal and social communication. they seek to promote personal relationships, often with members of the opposite sex, and also place great store in group acceptance. Young adolescents benefit from assistance in this endeavour through programs such as peer support, pastoral care and life skills. Such programs also promote the feelings of self worth which are so important in coping with the stress of adolescence, as well as providing essential skills for the adult world. These programs should form the basis of a more wholistic approach to curriculum organisation.

8. The curriculum for the middle years should emphasise the successful acquisition of broad general knowledge, skills and attitudes, in an iterative process which is relevant, accessible, and flexible in its pedagogy. Students should not be encouraged to over-specialise but rather to engage in a wide range of activities and programs which integrate general and vocational understandings, technologies and learning experiences.

9. The designers of educational programs for middle school students also need to take account of the wide range of individual differences that exist. There is a particular need to take into account the very different rates and styles of student learning.

Curriculum organisation and delivery needs to be flexible and responsive to the changing needs of the middle school student.

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Overview of the Schools Council’s Middle Overview of the Schools Council’s Middle Overview of the Schools Council’s Middle Overview of the Schools Council’s Middle Years of Schooling Project Years of Schooling Project Years of Schooling Project Years of Schooling Project

Issue Perspectives Profiles Profiles Pointers Principles Possibilities

Adolescence Increase our understanding Health Education Programs Balance independencesuccinctly Teachers & other adults should aim to promote: Key players could:

Recognise diverse cultures Strengthen relationships Explore schools & community Appraise role of mass media * Address adolescent needs * Enhance life skills * Foster learning partnerships

Learning and Teaching

Acknowledge lived experience Focus on the learner Develop learning environments Transform traditional practices Teach students how to think Build student selfesteem Generate high expectations Improve transition efforts Promote networking Outcomes Move to outcomebased education Apply learning to “real life” Debate the issue of guarantees Consider the whole child Consider the nature of change Recognise cultural diversity Review collaboratively Student Passport Initiative

* Enhance Self-

Esteem * Promote critical reflection * Establish trust

Stepping Out Program

Address literacy needs Improve student outcomes Provide professional development Recognise profound change Enhance relationships Consider impact of television Consider impact of advertising Note interest in alcohol & drugs Accept differentiate in growth Acknowledge cultural capital Consider key competencies Focus on the learner Adopt a proactive stance Integrate technology Relate learning to living

Define outcomes and successes Help all students to succeed Emphasise quality Start with intended outcomes Maintain emphasis on people Develop key competencies Assess and report achievement Maintain a vision Understand the middle school * increased understanding * positive relationships * practical support * youth participation * sustain networks * work in teams * determine priorities * formulate strategies * participate in projects

Learning should be:

* purposeful * self-directed * co-operative

Teaching should be:

* rigorous * holistic * adaptive Key players could:

* reflect critically * negotiate learning contracts * provide practical support * maintain positive climate * establish authentic contexts * fulfil role of critical friend

Key players could:

construct scenarios seek consensus generate flexibility

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Issues Perspectives Structures and Organisation Overcome rigidity Explore worth of middle schools Maintain continuity Retain existing structures Create organic structures Plan collaboratively Generate greater flexibility Review structure of school day

Middle Schooling Acknowledge the challenge

Recognise the intrinsic value Examine roles and purposes Trial exchange programs Respond to individual needs Note conditions of teaching Profiles Pointers Principles Possibilities

Sub-schooling Arrangement

* Create caring environment * Develop learning climate * Foster student participation

Year 5-8 Study Group

* Establish team approach * Review learning teaching * Generate flexibility Review traditional structures Unite the sectors Reconstruct the typical timetable Reject streaming and tracking Generate greater flexibility Reconceptualise knowledge Consider Year 7 views Respond to adolescent dilemma Consider school size Articulate clear purposes & goals

Consider Year 8 student views Focus the middle years Avoid retention at primary level Work cooperatively for change Structures should be:

* flexible * smaller rather than larger * humane

Middle schooling should be:

* challenging * responsive * empowering Move to outcome based education Apply learning to ‘real life’ Debate the issue of guarantees Consider the whole child Consider the nature of change Recognise cultural diversity Review collaboratively

Key players could:

* establish task forces * establish exchange schemes * trail new structures * develop training courses * undertake research

Curriculum and Assessment Provide structure and balance Fuse academic and life skills Provide serious content Focus on literacy Integrate

Aboriginal education Include activity and exploration Avoid overassessing students Extend the core Research mathsscience Provide a relevant curriculum Focus on methodology Unitised Vertical Timetable

* Address individual needs * Accommodate ability range * Create learning pathways Prepare for changing futures Integrate real-life problems Recognise

‘multiple literacies’ Reform curriculum & assessment Note allocation of teaching time Join curriculum & competence Provide a rich curriculum for all Curriculum should be:

* worthwhile * integrated * inclusive

Assessment should be:

* valid * fair * co-operative

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Key players could:

* promote selfassessment * develop individualised programs * arrange contextualised learning

29

Issues Perspectives Profiles Pointers Principles Possibilities Training, Development & Leadership Develop generic training Develop classroom orientation Develop specialised training Question focus on relevance Address issues of disadvantage Examine teachers’ knowledge Master new skills Promote networking and sharing Maintain focus on the child Co-operative Leadership

* Share responsibility * Work cooperatively * Communicate effectively Target beginning teachers Reform professional development Generate meaningful reform Improve teacher learning Develop collective responsibility Integrate key competencies Introduce mentoring Analyse effects of gender Give teachers breathing space Training should be:

* needs-based * participatory * systematic Key players could:

* expand team work * expand mentor schemes * co-ordinate networks * support leaders & teachers

Participation & Partnership Involve all parents Expand parent roles Address NESB parent needs Address

Aboriginal parent needs Establish two way reporting Provide moral support Avoid disfranchising parents Work Education Reform

* Integrate the world of work * Maintain flexibility * Develop citizenship Establish genuine partnerships Work collaboratively Avoid alienating environments Assume collective responsibility Use partnerships as catalyst Transform schoolindustry links Participation should be:

* authentic * productive * mutually beneficial Key players could:

* develop charter for parents * ensure commitment * establish local ownership * evaluate liaison activities * create crossmembership

Equity and Social Justice Improve equity in schools Build on

Aboriginal culture Respond to cultural diversity Ensure gender inclusiveness Address needs of the isolated Address special needs Equity and Learning Program

* Identify social justice issues * Support school clustering * Implement action plans Consider NEPS principles Acknowledge role of school Implement multiculturalism Ensure Aboriginal participation Respond to the needs of girls Support early school leavers Identify success requirements Equity requires:

* fairness * equality * flexibility Key players could:

* collect and analyse data * establish affirmative action * adopt wholeschool approach * work cooperatively

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Resourcing Address resourcing imbalances Generate greater flexibility Provide discrete funding Local Resource Management

* Empower teachers * Improve student outcomes * Create ‘bank’ of

PD time Let schools control resources Support early intervention Address tensions Note impact of retention Draw on former students Acknowledge change demands Resourcing should be:

* equitable * flexible * needs-based Key player could:

* Establish discrete phase * Establish pilot projects * Establish learning community * Utilise resources

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A School Council’s Model for Improving A School Council’s Model for Improving A School Council’s Model for Improving A School Council’s Model for Improving the Quality of Middle Schooling the Quality of Middle Schooling the Quality of Middle Schooling the Quality of Middle Schooling

Context: Acknowledge the range of cultural, social, economic, political and other factors that can influence an adolescent’s access to, and participation in, education. Aim: Generate high order outcomes for all adolescents so that they will be able to function effectively in a range of settings in the 1990s and beyond. Objective: Pursue rigorously the systematic intellectual development of all adolescents in a social context. Strategy: Implement a process of continuous improvement involving the examination of priority issues through access to current knowledge and fundamental beliefs, for example:

Action: Develop future-oriented perspectives and implement productive practices

that will add value to the learning environments and achievements of all

adolescents

Knowledge

• Research Findings • Evaluation outcomes • Data and information • Theories and Models • Projections and Trends • Report and Papers • Records and Profiles • Statistics and Analysis Issues

• Adolescence • Learning and Teaching • Outcomes • Structures and Organisation • Middle Schooling • Curriculum and Assessment • Training, Devt. & Leadership • Participation and Partnership • Equity and Social Justice • Resourcing and Management Beliefs

• Principles • Values • Ethical Considerations • Moral Judgements

Outcomes: Students to exhibit, appreciate, apply and demonstrate a comprehensive range of qualities, understandings and skills in a variety of authentic contexts, for example:

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Basic Attributes Essential Knowledge Key Competencies

All students will be able to exhibit significant levels of:

• self-esteem • self-confidence • optimism • respect for others • self-motivation • self-reliance • self-directed learning • personal excellence All students will be able to understand, appreciate and apply fundamental elements of:

• English • Mathematics • Science • Technology • The Arts • Languages other than

English • Studies of Society &

Environ. • Health All students will be able to demonstrate the capacity to:

• collect, analyse & organise information • communicate ideas & information • plan and organise activities • work with others and in teams • use mathematical ideas & techniques • solve problems • use technology

Evaluation: Implement a continuous process of monitoring, critical reflection and action that will enable individuals and groups to measure the extent to which intended outcomes are being achieved and to identify areas requiring attention.

Adapted from Australian Curriculum Studies Association (ACSA) PO Box 884 BELCONNEN ACT 2616 Tel 02 6253 4222 Fax 02 6253 4220 From Alienation To Engagement Opportunities for Reform in the Middle Years of Schooling

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