australian curriculum: languages design, development and opportunities for engagement

Australian Curriculum: Languages Design, Development and Opportunities for Engagement

Suzanne Bradshaw

Senior Project Officer, Languages

National Symposium: Japanese Language Education 2012Friday 2 November 2012

Outline of Presentation

• ACARA• Design features of the Australian Curriculum• Curriculum development process• Update on the curriculum development process

for Languages• Opportunities for engagement

ACARA

• The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) is a Commonwealth statutory authority responsible for the development of an Australian curriculum that supports 21st century learning for all Australian students.

• ACARA’s work is carried out in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, including teachers, principals, students, academics, State and Territory education authorities, professional education associations, community groups and the general public.

Preparation for life

Australian governments commit to working in collaboration to promote equity and excellence in Australian schooling with school sectors supporting all young Australians to become:

•confident successful learners

•and creative individuals

•active and informed citizens.

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Shape of the Australian Curriculum v3.0

Available at www.acara.edu.au

The Australian Curriculum• Sets out what all students are to be taught (content) and

what students are typically able to understand and able to do (achievement standards)

• affirms the central importance of discipline-based knowledge and skills as well as general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities

• acknowledges that classroom teachers are best placed to organise learning for students; they will make decisions about the pedagogical approach intended to achieve the best learning outcomes

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A curriculum for all young AustraliansA world-class curriculum for the 21st century

AssessmentThe Australian Curriculum does not specify how teachers / schools / curriculum authorities will assess student learning

CurriculumThe Australian Curriculum details what students should learn (content descriptions) and describes the quality of learning expected (achievement standards)

Organisation of learning / pedagogySchools and teachers are best placed to decide how to organise learning, taking account of the needs and interests of students and school context

Curriculum

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General capabilitiesIn a world where knowledge is constantly growing and evolving students need to develop skills, behaviours and dispositions that apply across subject areas; equip students to be lifelong learners

Learning areasThe Australian Curriculum is designed to ensure that students develop the knowledge, understanding and skills on which major disciplines are based; reflecting ways in which knowledge has and will continue to be developed and codified

Cross-curriculum prioritiesSpecial attention to three contemporary issues

Dimensions of the Australian Curriculum

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General capabilities•Literacy•Numeracy•Information and Communication Technology Capability•Critical and Creative Thinking•Ethical Behaviour•Personal and Social Capability•Intercultural Understanding

Learning areas•English•Mathematics•Science•Humanities and Social Sciences – History, Geography, Economics and Business, Civics and Citizenship•The Arts•Languages•Health and Physical Education•Technologies

Cross-curriculum priorities•Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures•Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia•Sustainability

Dimensions of the

Australian Curriculum

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The Learning Areas

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Learning areas Phase

English Phase 1

Mathematics Phase 1

Science Phase 1

Humanities and social sciences•History•Geography•Economics, Business, Civics and citizenship

Phase 1Phase 2Phase 3

The Arts Phase 2

Languages Phase 2

Health and Physical Education Phase 3

Technologies Phase 3

General capabilities

Literacy Personal and social capability

Numeracy Intercultural understanding

ICT capability Ethical behaviour

Critical and creative thinking

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• General capabilites embedded in learning areas, identified by icons in content descriptions

• Overview of general capabilities with description published at http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities

General capabilities

Cross-curriculum priorities

• Three cross curriculum priorities

– Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures

– Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia

– Sustainability

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Elements of the curriculum: F–10

Content descriptions• A core of knowledge, understanding and skills –

what students will be taught

Achievement standards

• The expected standard or quality; challenging, but achievable – the quality of student learning as a result of what they are taught

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Development of the learning areas F−10

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Learning areas Timeline

English 2008-2010

Mathematics 2008-2010

Science 2008-2010

Humanities and social sciences•History•Geography•Economics and Business, Civics and citizenship

2008-20102010-20122011-2013

The Arts 2010-2013

Languages 2010-2013

Health and physical education 2011-2013

Technologies 2011-2013

Australian Curriculum development timelines

Online delivery

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Digital curriculum and resources

• The Australian Curriculum has been published online

• ACARA works with Education Services Australia to publish draft material on the consultation portal and when approved the online curriculum

• Australian Curriculum Connect project linking state/territory digital resources to support the teaching of the curriculum

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http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au

More information …

ACARA WebsiteACARA Websitewww.acara.edu.au

Australian Curriculum WebsiteAustralian Curriculum Websitehttp://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Home

Curriculum Development Process

Australian Curriculum development

The Curriculum Development Process, outlines four stages in the development of the Australian Curriculum

1. Curriculum shaping

2. Curriculum writing

3. Preparation for implementation

4. Curriculum monitoring, evaluation and review

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Australian Curriculum: LanguagesShaping Process

Shaping of the Languages CurriculumShaping of the Languages Curriculum

Broad consultation at key stages in curriculum

development

Languages advisory panelAboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander Languages Expert Group

Consultation –January – April 2011

• There were a total of 2150 responses to the online survey (1913 from individuals, 236 from organisations)

• Main categories of respondents: parents (21.46%); students (18.83%); and secondary teachers of languages (16.35%)

• State responses; notably NSW 34.5%; Vic 40.5%

Japanese Responses

• 115 responses from individuals, 47 responses from organisations

• Main categories of respondents: secondary teachers of Japanese (40.8%); teachers of Japanese teaching across primary and secondary (13.9%); students (9.57%);

• Sectors: Independent schools (42.55%); Government Department schools (10.64%); Catholic Education Schools ( 8.51%)

• State responses; notably NSW 41.98%; Vic 20.99 %

Key Strengths

• The strong positioning of languages within school education

• The development of language-specific curricula

• Recognition of the diversity of language learners and pathways

• The strong positioning of Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages

• The rationale for learning languages• Key concepts and understandings in learning languages

Key Issues

• Staging of Language-specific curricula development

• Indicative hours

• Implementation and policy issues

Beyond curriculum development – policy and implementation matters

Policy and Implementation Issues

• The need for a national languages policy• The availability of qualified teachers as well as the provision of high

quality teaching and appropriate resources, including digital resources, to enhance face-to-face teaching.

• Professional development of existing teachers to implement new concepts in the proposed curriculum.

• Management of the multiple pathways within schools as well as the continuity of language learning across primary and secondary schools.

• Incentives for learning languages and ‘eligibility requirements’ for entry into languages courses at the senior secondary level.

Language -specific curriculum development process

Considerations for determining which languages and which pathways will be the subject of curriculum development

• Coverage of the maximum number of students

• Australian Government priorities for language learning

• Languages most widely spoken by particular communities in Australia

• Community support, particularly through ethnic and community schools

• Languages of global importance

• Immigration and international students

• Economic significance.

Languages to be considered for development as part of the Australian Curriculum F-10

• Arabic, Auslan, Chinese, Classical languages, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Modern Greek, Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese.

The Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Languages paper paragraph 110

Board Decisions October 2011

• The ACARA Board approved initial work on the Chinese and Italian curricula F-10 and the development of a Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages

Languages for development by end of 2013

Pathways

The ACARA Board has agreed to develop: • For Chinese, pathways are being developed for three learner

groups, second language learner, background language learner and first language learner

• that for the majority of specific languages one curriculum pathway will be developed for each language in Years F-10 by the end of 2013, pitched to the dominant cohort of learners for that language in the current Australian context.

• For Aboriginal languages and Torres Strait Islander languages, a framework is being developed that provides different learner pathways that also take account of the varied states of the language(s) involved.

Senior secondary curriculum development

• ACARA will provide advice to the Ministerial Council in December 2012 on the scope of senior secondary curriculum development (beyond English, Mathematics, Science, History and Geography)

Australian Curriculum: LanguagesWriting Process

Australian Curriculum: LanguagesWriting Process

The Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Languages

The procedures and guidelines document

Procedures and Guidelines document

• A support document intended to provide more detailed advice for writers to complement the Languages Shape paper and the Curriculum Design Paper (v3.0)

• Aims to provide the degree of specification necessary to ensure appropriate consistency in writing across the scope of Languages curriculum being developed by ACARA.

Procedures and Guidelines

• Introduction

• Structure and design specifications for developing the Languages Curriculum

• Developing a language-specific curriculum-process

• Resources and exemplification

Curriculum WritingCurriculum Writing PhasePhase

Broad consultation at key stages in curriculum

development

Languages Advisory Panel

Language-specific Curriculum Experts

Languages National Panel

Register of Writers and Advisory Panel Members

• Overarching Languages Advisory Group and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages Advisory Group has been appointed

• ACARA appointed language-specific writers and language-specific experts in September.

• A register of curriculum writers and language-specific experts has been developed

Consultation processes

• State/territory consultation forums (teachers, academics, authorities, associations)

• National panel meetings (2 representatives from each state and territory and national professional teacher associations; DEEWR rep)

• Meetings with state and territory authorities and major professional associations

• Web surveys and written submissions

• Trial schools and teachers participation

• Critical readers and reviewers

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Timelines

Stage 1 curriculum development F-10:Chinese and Italian

Activity Date

Curriculum writing begins November 2011

Draft curriculum approved by Board for consultationChinese (second language learner pathway background language learner pathway, and first language learner pathway)Italian (a single pathway)

27 November 2012

Consultation period December 2012 – April 2013

Consultation report approved by Board May 2013

Final curriculum approved by Board for publication September 2013

Stage 1 curriculum development F-10: Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages

Activity Date

Curriculum writing begins May 2012

Draft curriculum approved by Board for consultation March 2012

Consultation period April – June 2013

Consultation report approved by Board July 2013

Final curriculum approved by Board for publication November 2013

Stage 2 curriculum development F-10:Arabic, French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Modern Greek, Spanish and Vietnamese

Activity Date

Curriculum writing begins October 2012

Draft curriculum approved by Board for consultation May 2013

Consultation period May 2013 – July 2013

Consultation report approved by Board September 2013

Final curriculum approved by Board for publication December 2013

Sequences

• F-10 sequence

• 7-10 sequence ( year 7 entry)

• Curriculum written in bands i.e.– F-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10

Relationship between the curriculum and indicative hours for the purpose of writing curriculum

CurriculumIndicative hours

( for the purpose of writing curriculum)

Foundation – Year 10 sequence

Foundation – Year 4 (Level 1) 

175 hours

Years 5-6 (Level 2) A further 175 hours

Years 7-8 (Level 3) A further 160 hours

Years 9-10 (Level 4) A further 160 hours

Years 7-10 sequence (Year 7 entry)

Years 7-8 (Level 1) 160 hours

Years 9-10 (Level 2) A further 160 hours

Languages

• Preamble – Curriculum Architecture

• Common Rationale

• Common Aims

• Learning area organisation

Language-specific page

• Context statement

• Band descriptions

• Content descriptions

• Content elaborations

• Achievement standards

Suzanne BradshawSenior Project Officer, LanguagesAustralian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA)Level 10 | 255 Pitt Street | SYDNEY | NSW | 2000Ph: 02 8098 3149| Fax: 1300 995 468Ph: +618 8302 4794 (Adelaide)Email: suzanne.bradshaw@acara.edu.au