The rationale underpinning the drive to develop and implement a national curriculum is endorsed in principle by the State School Teachers’ Union.

“We live in the 21st century with state boundaries crossed regularly by families and students. The proposition of common curriculum and portability of student assessment should be a positive”, said Anne Gisborne President of the SSTUWA, “but, we  also cannot lose sight of the need to respond to the local context in developing and implementing curriculum.”

To ensure that implementation is optimal and manageable, the Minister must pay attention to the lessons of past curriculum change”.

The SSTUWA has identified the following key aspects which are fundamental to a successful engagement of the profession and schools in implementation of a new Australian Curriculum:

• as captured in the recently released Andrich Review of the Curriculum Framework, explicit syllabuses with content must be on the table prior to implementation [recommendation 2]
• substantial support materials including assessment and planning documents should be ready for access to teachers and schools
• quality professional development programs must be in place and accessible particularly to those in rural regions.
• a decision with regard to the placement of year 7 students in government schools needs to be made
• establishment of a reasonable implementation timeline
• ongoing and  genuine consultation with key stakeholders

All of these factors are critical to the successful engagement on implementation of the Australian Curriculum.

“The Union is calling on the Minister for Education Dr Constable to immediately provide explicit information to the schools system on these matters. W.A. teachers and students deserve to be assured that the implementation of the Australian Curriculum will be given a ‘fair go’,” said Anne Gisborne.

WHERE TO NEXT?

1. Members are encouraged to log on to www.acara.edu.au ; review the materials for English, Maths, Science and History; and provide feedback to ACARA.
2. Send copies of your feedback to the Union on fax 9210 6001 : Attention Anne Gisborne

3. Look out for the SSTUWA Forum on Australian Curriculum, coming soon.

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