National Curriculum to be Considered for Senior Secondary Students

Sunday Herald Sun, 30 August 2009

According to the Sunday Herald Sun, state and federal education ministers are considering the implementation of a single national senior secondary curriculum.

A paper prepared by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) has recommended that the current Prep to Year 10 national curriculum be extended to introduce national subjects and standards in years 11 and 12 as part of a new ‘Australian Certificate of Education’ (ACE).

The Chairman of ACARA, Professor Barry McGaw, indicated that ACARA was already developing details of the national curriculum for English, mathematics, science and history in years Prep to 12, and that these would be introduced in 2012. He stated that a national ACE might be introduced after that.

Advocates of the proposal have argued that it would enable students to compete on an equal basis, and for universities to accurately compare student performance across jurisdictions. However, others have expressed concern about the possible creation of a ‘homogenised’ curriculum that failed to allow for legitimate state-based differences.

The Victorian Minister for Education, Ms Bronwyn Pike, confirmed that the ACARA paper was the first step towards a national senior secondary curriculum and indicated that it was ‘inevitable that we move towards a national [senior secondary] certificate’.

The Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs will consider the proposal at a meeting on Monday 28 September 2009.

 

 

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