❓ The Minister for Education provides an update on the implementation of the Australian Curriculum in WA, emphasising a staged approach, resource provision, and support for schools, particularly those in rural and remote areas. Trialing will occur in 2011, with full implementation expected to begin in 2012 after resources and standards are validated.
AnsweredQoN 138Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
EDUCATION — AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM
I am aware of the significant attention being paid to the development of a national education curriculum. Can the minister provide an update on the progress of this development and its future implementation in Western Australia? Dr E. CONSTABLE
I am aware of the significant attention being paid to the development of a national education curriculum. Can the minister provide an update on the progress of this development and its future implementation in Western Australia? Dr E. CONSTABLE
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Kingsley for her question about the national curriculum, which is probably the biggest change we have ever seen in this area of curriculum in Australia and certainly in this state. The Australian curriculum, as it is now called, rather than the national curriculum, is a binding Council of Australian Governments agreement, and all jurisdictions in Australia are now preparing for the implementation of the first four curriculum areas. In the implementation we are very mindful of the debacle of the early part of the first decade of this century: the outcomes-based education experience and the changes in the curriculum in Western Australia. We are going out of our way to make sure that everything that possibly can be done is being done to make sure this is a very smooth implementation. Implementation is something that will be with us for some years, because it will be done in a staged way across all curriculum areas. In order to make sure that we had a good handle on this, in 2009 I asked P rofessor David Andrich from the University of Western Australia to review the curriculum framework and to look at aspects of the impact of the introduction of the national curriculum to give some guidance on what we should be doing in this area. Professor Andrich’s guidance was very valuable for us. He looked at both the development of curriculum and planning and implementation. What he particularly advised us was not to start the implementation before we had all the materials, resources and standards in place. The content in the four areas of English, history, science and maths was signed off in December last year, but we still do not have all the resources or the assessment standards we need in order to implement it. So, 2011 will be a trial year for us in those four areas. A number of schools in Western Australia continue to trial the content. During 2011, resources that are being put together nationally will be available to us, and the final validation of standards will happen in the second half of the year. Implementation of those four areas will not start in a proper sense until we have all those things in place: the content, which we have got; the resources; and the standards. I would see that most schools would begin implementing it next year. It is important also to note that Professor Andrich in his comments said we have to be mindful that some schools do not have a lot of resources. Small schools often have two or three teachers and are often a distance from the metropolitan area. It is important that we make sure those schools are well resourced and helped to implement the curriculum. I would therefore foresee the larger schools, which have more teachers, implementing first and then the smaller schools having access to the work being done by those teachers in the larger schools. We will therefore be watching very carefully the needs of those schools in rural and remote areas. While this has all been happening, there are other areas in which the curriculum is beginning to be developed. The shaping papers of the Australian curriculum for geography, languages and the arts have been released. The implementation of the first four areas will be K–10. We still do not have the timetable for senior secondary courses, and I expect that will be signed off by ministers in the coming few months when it is available. However, our concern is that all sectors work together, which they are doing really well. The Catholic Education Office, the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia—AISWA—and the Department of Education are working together to implement this curriculum. It will not be a top-down imposition on schools; it will be schools implementing with as much support as we are able to give them.
Dr E. CONSTABLE replied: I thank the member for Kingsley for her question about the national curriculum, which is probably the biggest change we have ever seen in this area of curriculum in Australia and certainly in this state. The Australian curriculum, as it is now called, rather than the national curriculum, is a binding Council of Australian Governments agreement, and all jurisdictions in Australia are now preparing for the implementation of the first four curriculum areas. In the implementation we are very mindful of the debacle of the early part of the first decade of this century: the outcomes-based education experience and the changes in the curriculum in Western Australia. We are going out of our way to make sure that everything that possibly can be done is being done to make sure this is a very smooth implementation. Implementation is something that will be with us for some years, because it will be done in a staged way across all curriculum areas. In order to make sure that we had a good handle on this, in 2009 I asked P rofessor David Andrich from the University of Western Australia to review the curriculum framework and to look at aspects of the impact of the introduction of the national curriculum to give some guidance on what we should be doing in this area. Professor Andrich’s guidance was very valuable for us. He looked at both the development of curriculum and planning and implementation. What he particularly advised us was not to start the implementation before we had all the materials, resources and standards in place. The content in the four areas of English, history, science and maths was signed off in December last year, but we still do not have all the resources or the assessment standards we need in order to implement it. So, 2011 will be a trial year for us in those four areas. A number of schools in Western Australia continue to trial the content. During 2011, resources that are being put together nationally will be available to us, and the final validation of standards will happen in the second half of the year. Implementation of those four areas will not start in a proper sense until we have all those things in place: the content, which we have got; the resources; and the standards. I would see that most schools would begin implementing it next year. It is important also to note that Professor Andrich in his comments said we have to be mindful that some schools do not have a lot of resources. Small schools often have two or three teachers and are often a distance from the metropolitan area. It is important that we make sure those schools are well resourced and helped to implement the curriculum. I would therefore foresee the larger schools, which have more teachers, implementing first and then the smaller schools having access to the work being done by those teachers in the larger schools. We will therefore be watching very carefully the needs of those schools in rural and remote areas. While this has all been happening, there are other areas in which the curriculum is beginning to be developed. The shaping papers of the Australian curriculum for geography, languages and the arts have been released. The implementation of the first four areas will be K–10. We still do not have the timetable for senior secondary courses, and I expect that will be signed off by ministers in the coming few months when it is available. However, our concern is that all sectors work together, which they are doing really well. The Catholic Education Office, the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia—AISWA—and the Department of Education are working together to implement this curriculum. It will not be a top-down imposition on schools; it will be schools implementing with as much support as we are able to give them.
I thank the member for Kingsley for her question about the national curriculum, which is probably the biggest change we have ever seen in this area of curriculum in Australia and certainly in this state. The Australian curriculum, as it is now called, rather than the national curriculum, is a binding Council of Australian Governments agreement, and all jurisdictions in Australia are now preparing for the implementation of the first four curriculum areas. In the implementation we are very mindful of the debacle of the early part of the first decade of this century: the outcomes-based education experience and the changes in the curriculum in Western Australia. We are going out of our way to make sure that everything that possibly can be done is being done to make sure this is a very smooth implementation. Implementation is something that will be with us for some years, because it will be done in a staged way across all curriculum areas. In order to make sure that we had a good handle on this, in 2009 I asked P rofessor David Andrich from the University of Western Australia to review the curriculum framework and to look at aspects of the impact of the introduction of the national curriculum to give some guidance on what we should be doing in this area. Professor Andrich’s guidance was very valuable for us. He looked at both the development of curriculum and planning and implementation. What he particularly advised us was not to start the implementation before we had all the materials, resources and standards in place. The content in the four areas of English, history, science and maths was signed off in December last year, but we still do not have all the resources or the assessment standards we need in order to implement it. So, 2011 will be a trial year for us in those four areas. A number of schools in Western Australia continue to trial the content. During 2011, resources that are being put together nationally will be available to us, and the final validation of standards will happen in the second half of the year. Implementation of those four areas will not start in a proper sense until we have all those things in place: the content, which we have got; the resources; and the standards. I would see that most schools would begin implementing it next year. It is important also to note that Professor Andrich in his comments said we have to be mindful that some schools do not have a lot of resources. Small schools often have two or three teachers and are often a distance from the metropolitan area. It is important that we make sure those schools are well resourced and helped to implement the curriculum. I would therefore foresee the larger schools, which have more teachers, implementing first and then the smaller schools having access to the work being done by those teachers in the larger schools. We will therefore be watching very carefully the needs of those schools in rural and remote areas. While this has all been happening, there are other areas in which the curriculum is beginning to be developed. The shaping papers of the Australian curriculum for geography, languages and the arts have been released. The implementation of the first four areas will be K–10. We still do not have the timetable for senior secondary courses, and I expect that will be signed off by ministers in the coming few months when it is available. However, our concern is that all sectors work together, which they are doing really well. The Catholic Education Office, the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia—AISWA—and the Department of Education are working together to implement this curriculum. It will not be a top-down imposition on schools; it will be schools implementing with as much support as we are able to give them.
In order to make sure that we had a good handle on this, in 2009 I asked P rofessor David Andrich from the University of Western Australia to review the curriculum framework and to look at aspects of the impact of the introduction of the national curriculum to give some guidance on what we should be doing in this area. Professor Andrich’s guidance was very valuable for us. He looked at both the development of curriculum and planning and implementation. What he particularly advised us was not to start the implementation before we had all the materials, resources and standards in place. The content in the four areas of English, history, science and maths was signed off in December last year, but we still do not have all the resources or the assessment standards we need in order to implement it. So, 2011 will be a trial year for us in those four areas. A number of schools in Western Australia continue to trial the content. During 2011, resources that are being put together nationally will be available to us, and the final validation of standards will happen in the second half of the year. Implementation of those four areas will not start in a proper sense until we have all those things in place: the content, which we have got; the resources; and the standards. I would see that most schools would begin implementing it next year. It is important also to note that Professor Andrich in his comments said we have to be mindful that some schools do not have a lot of resources. Small schools often have two or three teachers and are often a distance from the metropolitan area. It is important that we make sure those schools are well resourced and helped to implement the curriculum. I would therefore foresee the larger schools, which have more teachers, implementing first and then the smaller schools having access to the work being done by those teachers in the larger schools. We will therefore be watching very carefully the needs of those schools in rural and remote areas. While this has all been happening, there are other areas in which the curriculum is beginning to be developed. The shaping papers of the Australian curriculum for geography, languages and the arts have been released. The implementation of the first four areas will be K–10. We still do not have the timetable for senior secondary courses, and I expect that will be signed off by ministers in the coming few months when it is available. However, our concern is that all sectors work together, which they are doing really well. The Catholic Education Office, the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia—AISWA—and the Department of Education are working together to implement this curriculum. It will not be a top-down imposition on schools; it will be schools implementing with as much support as we are able to give them.
It is important also to note that Professor Andrich in his comments said we have to be mindful that some schools do not have a lot of resources. Small schools often have two or three teachers and are often a distance from the metropolitan area. It is important that we make sure those schools are well resourced and helped to implement the curriculum. I would therefore foresee the larger schools, which have more teachers, implementing first and then the smaller schools having access to the work being done by those teachers in the larger schools. We will therefore be watching very carefully the needs of those schools in rural and remote areas. While this has all been happening, there are other areas in which the curriculum is beginning to be developed. The shaping papers of the Australian curriculum for geography, languages and the arts have been released. The implementation of the first four areas will be K–10. We still do not have the timetable for senior secondary courses, and I expect that will be signed off by ministers in the coming few months when it is available. However, our concern is that all sectors work together, which they are doing really well. The Catholic Education Office, the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia—AISWA—and the Department of Education are working together to implement this curriculum. It will not be a top-down imposition on schools; it will be schools implementing with as much support as we are able to give them.
While this has all been happening, there are other areas in which the curriculum is beginning to be developed. The shaping papers of the Australian curriculum for geography, languages and the arts have been released. The implementation of the first four areas will be K–10. We still do not have the timetable for senior secondary courses, and I expect that will be signed off by ministers in the coming few months when it is available. However, our concern is that all sectors work together, which they are doing really well. The Catholic Education Office, the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia—AISWA—and the Department of Education are working together to implement this curriculum. It will not be a top-down imposition on schools; it will be schools implementing with as much support as we are able to give them.
Dr E. CONSTABLE replied: I thank the member for Kingsley for her question about the national curriculum, which is probably the biggest change we have ever seen in this area of curriculum in Australia and certainly in this state. The Australian curriculum, as it is now called, rather than the national curriculum, is a binding Council of Australian Governments agreement, and all jurisdictions in Australia are now preparing for the implementation of the first four curriculum areas. In the implementation we are very mindful of the debacle of the early part of the first decade of this century: the outcomes-based education experience and the changes in the curriculum in Western Australia. We are going out of our way to make sure that everything that possibly can be done is being done to make sure this is a very smooth implementation. Implementation is something that will be with us for some years, because it will be done in a staged way across all curriculum areas. In order to make sure that we had a good handle on this, in 2009 I asked P rofessor David Andrich from the University of Western Australia to review the curriculum framework and to look at aspects of the impact of the introduction of the national curriculum to give some guidance on what we should be doing in this area. Professor Andrich’s guidance was very valuable for us. He looked at both the development of curriculum and planning and implementation. What he particularly advised us was not to start the implementation before we had all the materials, resources and standards in place. The content in the four areas of English, history, science and maths was signed off in December last year, but we still do not have all the resources or the assessment standards we need in order to implement it. So, 2011 will be a trial year for us in those four areas. A number of schools in Western Australia continue to trial the content. During 2011, resources that are being put together nationally will be available to us, and the final validation of standards will happen in the second half of the year. Implementation of those four areas will not start in a proper sense until we have all those things in place: the content, which we have got; the resources; and the standards. I would see that most schools would begin implementing it next year. It is important also to note that Professor Andrich in his comments said we have to be mindful that some schools do not have a lot of resources. Small schools often have two or three teachers and are often a distance from the metropolitan area. It is important that we make sure those schools are well resourced and helped to implement the curriculum. I would therefore foresee the larger schools, which have more teachers, implementing first and then the smaller schools having access to the work being done by those teachers in the larger schools. We will therefore be watching very carefully the needs of those schools in rural and remote areas. While this has all been happening, there are other areas in which the curriculum is beginning to be developed. The shaping papers of the Australian curriculum for geography, languages and the arts have been released. The implementation of the first four areas will be K–10. We still do not have the timetable for senior secondary courses, and I expect that will be signed off by ministers in the coming few months when it is available. However, our concern is that all sectors work together, which they are doing really well. The Catholic Education Office, the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia—AISWA—and the Department of Education are working together to implement this curriculum. It will not be a top-down imposition on schools; it will be schools implementing with as much support as we are able to give them.
I thank the member for Kingsley for her question about the national curriculum, which is probably the biggest change we have ever seen in this area of curriculum in Australia and certainly in this state. The Australian curriculum, as it is now called, rather than the national curriculum, is a binding Council of Australian Governments agreement, and all jurisdictions in Australia are now preparing for the implementation of the first four curriculum areas. In the implementation we are very mindful of the debacle of the early part of the first decade of this century: the outcomes-based education experience and the changes in the curriculum in Western Australia. We are going out of our way to make sure that everything that possibly can be done is being done to make sure this is a very smooth implementation. Implementation is something that will be with us for some years, because it will be done in a staged way across all curriculum areas. In order to make sure that we had a good handle on this, in 2009 I asked P rofessor David Andrich from the University of Western Australia to review the curriculum framework and to look at aspects of the impact of the introduction of the national curriculum to give some guidance on what we should be doing in this area. Professor Andrich’s guidance was very valuable for us. He looked at both the development of curriculum and planning and implementation. What he particularly advised us was not to start the implementation before we had all the materials, resources and standards in place. The content in the four areas of English, history, science and maths was signed off in December last year, but we still do not have all the resources or the assessment standards we need in order to implement it. So, 2011 will be a trial year for us in those four areas. A number of schools in Western Australia continue to trial the content. During 2011, resources that are being put together nationally will be available to us, and the final validation of standards will happen in the second half of the year. Implementation of those four areas will not start in a proper sense until we have all those things in place: the content, which we have got; the resources; and the standards. I would see that most schools would begin implementing it next year. It is important also to note that Professor Andrich in his comments said we have to be mindful that some schools do not have a lot of resources. Small schools often have two or three teachers and are often a distance from the metropolitan area. It is important that we make sure those schools are well resourced and helped to implement the curriculum. I would therefore foresee the larger schools, which have more teachers, implementing first and then the smaller schools having access to the work being done by those teachers in the larger schools. We will therefore be watching very carefully the needs of those schools in rural and remote areas. While this has all been happening, there are other areas in which the curriculum is beginning to be developed. The shaping papers of the Australian curriculum for geography, languages and the arts have been released. The implementation of the first four areas will be K–10. We still do not have the timetable for senior secondary courses, and I expect that will be signed off by ministers in the coming few months when it is available. However, our concern is that all sectors work together, which they are doing really well. The Catholic Education Office, the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia—AISWA—and the Department of Education are working together to implement this curriculum. It will not be a top-down imposition on schools; it will be schools implementing with as much support as we are able to give them.
In order to make sure that we had a good handle on this, in 2009 I asked P rofessor David Andrich from the University of Western Australia to review the curriculum framework and to look at aspects of the impact of the introduction of the national curriculum to give some guidance on what we should be doing in this area. Professor Andrich’s guidance was very valuable for us. He looked at both the development of curriculum and planning and implementation. What he particularly advised us was not to start the implementation before we had all the materials, resources and standards in place. The content in the four areas of English, history, science and maths was signed off in December last year, but we still do not have all the resources or the assessment standards we need in order to implement it. So, 2011 will be a trial year for us in those four areas. A number of schools in Western Australia continue to trial the content. During 2011, resources that are being put together nationally will be available to us, and the final validation of standards will happen in the second half of the year. Implementation of those four areas will not start in a proper sense until we have all those things in place: the content, which we have got; the resources; and the standards. I would see that most schools would begin implementing it next year. It is important also to note that Professor Andrich in his comments said we have to be mindful that some schools do not have a lot of resources. Small schools often have two or three teachers and are often a distance from the metropolitan area. It is important that we make sure those schools are well resourced and helped to implement the curriculum. I would therefore foresee the larger schools, which have more teachers, implementing first and then the smaller schools having access to the work being done by those teachers in the larger schools. We will therefore be watching very carefully the needs of those schools in rural and remote areas. While this has all been happening, there are other areas in which the curriculum is beginning to be developed. The shaping papers of the Australian curriculum for geography, languages and the arts have been released. The implementation of the first four areas will be K–10. We still do not have the timetable for senior secondary courses, and I expect that will be signed off by ministers in the coming few months when it is available. However, our concern is that all sectors work together, which they are doing really well. The Catholic Education Office, the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia—AISWA—and the Department of Education are working together to implement this curriculum. It will not be a top-down imposition on schools; it will be schools implementing with as much support as we are able to give them.
It is important also to note that Professor Andrich in his comments said we have to be mindful that some schools do not have a lot of resources. Small schools often have two or three teachers and are often a distance from the metropolitan area. It is important that we make sure those schools are well resourced and helped to implement the curriculum. I would therefore foresee the larger schools, which have more teachers, implementing first and then the smaller schools having access to the work being done by those teachers in the larger schools. We will therefore be watching very carefully the needs of those schools in rural and remote areas. While this has all been happening, there are other areas in which the curriculum is beginning to be developed. The shaping papers of the Australian curriculum for geography, languages and the arts have been released. The implementation of the first four areas will be K–10. We still do not have the timetable for senior secondary courses, and I expect that will be signed off by ministers in the coming few months when it is available. However, our concern is that all sectors work together, which they are doing really well. The Catholic Education Office, the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia—AISWA—and the Department of Education are working together to implement this curriculum. It will not be a top-down imposition on schools; it will be schools implementing with as much support as we are able to give them.
While this has all been happening, there are other areas in which the curriculum is beginning to be developed. The shaping papers of the Australian curriculum for geography, languages and the arts have been released. The implementation of the first four areas will be K–10. We still do not have the timetable for senior secondary courses, and I expect that will be signed off by ministers in the coming few months when it is available. However, our concern is that all sectors work together, which they are doing really well. The Catholic Education Office, the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia—AISWA—and the Department of Education are working together to implement this curriculum. It will not be a top-down imposition on schools; it will be schools implementing with as much support as we are able to give them.
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