Curriculum Changes
Curriculum's narrow focus leaves students bereft of big ideas
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/curriculums-narrow-focus-leaves-students-bereft-of-big-ideas-20100301-pdi2.html#ixzz2N1UHM6l2
Australia needs an innovative, world-class approach to school curriculum, but it is clear from the ''back to basics'' national curriculum draft that we have a long way to go yet. While maths, science, history and English - the disciplines the draft gives priority to - are all critically important, they do not cover many areas of significance for 21st-century learners.
Curriculum must pay attention to questions and issues that confront the world today, such as climate change, economic issues, refugees, social dislocation among young people, and the challenges of a technology-driven world.
Yes, we want students who are knowledgeable in maths, science, history and English, but we must recognise that some of the most important knowledge will not fall neatly into these disciplines - politics, multiculturalism, water shortages, increasing violence and under-age drinking are vital concerns in their lives.
Students need to develop the knowledge and skills to be active and informed citizens who know how to think critically, and how to respond to contemporary issues; a narrowly focused curriculum will not do this.
That is why teachers nationwide are expressing strong concerns about what is being launched as the new ''world-class Australian national curriculum''.
Speaking at the Social Educators' Association of Australia national conference in Adelaide last week, Professor Cathie Holden, of Britain's University of Exeter, urged the writers of the Australian national curriculum not to make the mistakes that her country is now fixing.
She says that by focusing too narrowly on history, Australia's curriculum risks failing to address big-picture education in fields such as civics and citizenship, global education, sustainability and economics.
In Britain, a
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/curriculums-narrow-focus-leaves-students-bereft-of-big-ideas-20100301-pdi2.html#ixzz2N1UHM6l2
Australia needs an innovative, world-class approach to school curriculum, but it is clear from the ''back to basics'' national curriculum draft that we have a long way to go yet. While maths, science, history and English - the disciplines the draft gives priority to - are all critically important, they do not cover many areas of significance for 21st-century learners.
Curriculum must pay attention to questions and issues that confront the world today, such as climate change, economic issues, refugees, social dislocation among young people, and the challenges of a technology-driven world.
Yes, we want students who are knowledgeable in maths, science, history and English, but we must recognise that some of the most important knowledge will not fall neatly into these disciplines - politics, multiculturalism, water shortages, increasing violence and under-age drinking are vital concerns in their lives.
Students need to develop the knowledge and skills to be active and informed citizens who know how to think critically, and how to respond to contemporary issues; a narrowly focused curriculum will not do this.
That is why teachers nationwide are expressing strong concerns about what is being launched as the new ''world-class Australian national curriculum''.
Speaking at the Social Educators' Association of Australia national conference in Adelaide last week, Professor Cathie Holden, of Britain's University of Exeter, urged the writers of the Australian national curriculum not to make the mistakes that her country is now fixing.
She says that by focusing too narrowly on history, Australia's curriculum risks failing to address big-picture education in fields such as civics and citizenship, global education, sustainability and economics.
In Britain, a