One of the biggest changes to teaching & learning in WA schools launched

July 23, 1998

One of the biggest changes to teaching and learning in Western Australian schools was launched by Education Minister Colin Barnett today.

The Curriculum Framework, developed by the Curriculum Council, provides a framework to be used by every Government and non-Government school in WA for all students from kindergarten to Year 12.

Mr Barnett chose a classroom of Year 9s at Balcatta Senior High School for the landmark event.

The launch of the Curriculum Framework follows almost two years of consultation, reviewing and re-drafting. The draft Curriculum Framework was released for a seven-month period of public consultation in July last year during which time everyone concerned about education in WA had a chance to provide input.

The Minister said that more than 10,000 people, including classroom teachers, employers, community members educationalists, parents and students, were involved in its development.

The Curriculum Framework set out what every student in WA should know, understand, value and be able to do as a result of programs they undertook in schools.

"It covers eight key learning areas: the arts; English; health and physical education; languages other than English; mathematics; science; society and environment; and technology and enterprise," Mr Barnett said.

He said that the new framework represented a fundamental shift in school curriculum away from focusing on what schools had provided and teachers had taught as prescribed in a syllabus, to what students would learn.

"The framework is not prescriptive. It is a set of common defined learning outcomes around which teachers can develop their own programs to suit the particular needs of their students and the school's ethos," the Minister said.

"It focuses around student-centred learning and, in particular, it provides increased flexibility for teachers."

Mr Barnett said there would be professional development for teachers to ensure the successful implementation of the framework. Their role would be critical to its success.

"It will enable them to act as facilitators to help students develop such skills as selecting, using and adapting technologies and communicating, retrieving, critically evaluating and using information, and constructing knowledge," he said.

"An increased focus on problem solving, critical thinking and accessing information will mean that our students will be at the forefront of the technological revolution and be well-prepared for the world of the new millennium."

Mr Barnett said that another important feature of the Curriculum Framework was its focus on values.

"The values generally describe human qualities and beliefs about education, social justice and the natural environment that educators, students and the community believe should underpin student learning," he said.

The Minister thanked everyone who had been involved in the consultation process.

"All those who were involved have made a major contribution to education in WA," he said.

"For example, this open process has resulted in a number of important changes to the draft document during the seven-month consultation period.

"These changes include making the document more user-friendly for teachers; a greater focus on educative assessment as part of the learning process rather than simply based on grades or scores as a result of tests; the shared core values in the document have been refined and strengthened; and improving the connections between the different learning areas so teachers could address learning outcomes from a number of subject areas in a lesson or lessons."

Mr Barnett also made special mention of the efforts of Mrs Therese Temby in her role as chair of the Interim Curriculum Council and Professor Lesley Parker, current chair of the Curriculum Council.

He said that schools and every teacher had received their copies of the Curriculum Framework.

"This will enable them to plan its implementation," the Minister said.

"It will be phased-in over five years from 1999 to allow schools to introduce the framework at a pace which suits them.

"This is the first time that such a comprehensive and forward-looking curriculum document has been developed in Australia.

"It establishes WA at the forefront of curriculum development nationwide.

"The launch of the Curriculum Framework, together with other significant initiatives in areas such as literacy and technology, reflects the Government's emphasis on promoting and supporting quality teaching and learning in WA classrooms."

Media contact: Justine Whittome 9222 9699