The Australian Curriculum

The Australian Curriculum

Australia, as a continental country, has a significant curriculum which develops their education systems. General capabilities of the Australian Curriculum are addressed explicitly in the content of the learning areas. They play an important role in realizing the goals set out in the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (MCEETYA, 2008) -that all young people in Australia should be supported to become successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens.

In the Australian Curriculum, students become literate as they develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to interpret and use language confidently for learning and communication in and out school and for participating effectively in society. Literacy involves students in listening to, reading, viewing, speaking, writing, and creating oral, print, visual and digital texts, and using and modifying language for different purposes in a range of context.

The Declaration forms the Australian Curriculum into dynamic and challenging education systems for both teachers and students. The Melbourne Declaration identifies essential skills for twenty-first century learners in literacy, numeracy, information, and information and communication technology (ICT), thinking, creativity, teamwork and communication. It describes individuals who can manage their own well-being, relate well to others, make informed decisions about their lives, become citizens who behave with ethical integrity, relate to and communicate across cultures, work for the common good and act with responsibility at local, regional, and global levels. To become successful learners in any learning area depends on being able to use the significant, identifiable, and distinctive literacy that is important for learning and representative of the content of that learning area.

The Australian Curriculum includes seven general capabilities:

• Literacy
• Numeracy
• Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability
• Critical and Creative Thinking
• Personal and Social Capability
• Ethical Understanding
• Inter cultural Understanding.

The Circle of General Capabilities in the Australian Curriculum is in the picture below:

The General Capabilities in the Australian Curriculum (www.acara.edu.au)

General capabilities materials for schools and teachers

These materials are presented as a resource to help teachers understand the curriculum:

1. Develop a shared understanding of the nature, scope and sequence of the general capabilities in the Australian Curriculum
2. Confirm their understanding of intended learning wherever general capabilities are identified in learning area content descriptions and elaborations
3. Plan for and guide students' development of the general capabilities in school and classroom learning programs.

Teaching and Assessment of general capabilities in Australia:

• Teachers are expected to teach and assess general capabilities to the extent that they are incorporated within each learning area
• State and territory school authorities will determine whether and how student learning of the general capabilities will be further assessed and reported
• For some students, it may be necessary to adjust the levels of complexity and the processes they use to develop capabilities. However, the role and place of general capabilities in the Australian Curriculum remain the same for all students.

Nature of general capabilities in Australia

In the Australian Curriculum "capability" encompasses knowledge, skills, behaviors and dispositions. Students develop their capability when they apply knowledge and skills confidently, effectively, and appropriately in complex and changing circumstances, both in their learning at school and in their lives outside school. The encouragement of positive behaviors and dispositions underpins all general capabilities. Within individual capabilities, specific behaviors and dispositions have been identified and incorporated into each learning continuum as appropriate.

Although English language is an international language and it is their national language, the Australian considers that the learning of this subject is an important and valuable thing. The interesting point of the Australian Curriculum is that the study of English is central to the learning and development of all young Australians. It helps create confident communicators, imaginative thinkers and informed citizens. It is through the study of English that individuals learn to analyze, understand, communicate with and build relationship with others and with the world around them. The study of English helps young people develop the knowledge and skills needed for education, training and the workplace. It helps become ethical, thoughtful informed and active members of society. In this light, it is clear that the Australian Curriculum considers the learning of English plays an important part in developing the understanding, attitudes and capabilities of those who will take responsibility for Australia's future.

The Curriculum in United States of America

The Curriculum in USA 

We have known, the education tradition in USA, have been known all over the world. The systems and the pedagogic are competence to develop the ability and the skills of both the students and the teachers. The methods are usable for all the education systems around the world. Although all the systems and methodology are popular, but USA Doesn’t Have A National Curriculum. Many international students, scholars and educational visitors are surprised to learn that the United States has no national education system. Since the education is not mentioned in the U.S. constitution, school policy is a matter for each state to decide. 

As underlined items, the American Education System is unlike that in other counties. Though the U.S. Federal Government contributes almost 10 percent to the national education budget, education is primarily the responsibility of state and local government. The Federal government can influence education only by funding it offers, but this is limited. In almost State County almost 80 percent of public education funds come from state sources. About 17-20 percent comes from local sources, while less than 5 percent comes from the Federal Government. Some state doesn’t have national high school graduation examination. The Curriculum is determined at the district level; for example, Minneapolis and St. Paul Schools each set their own curricula. We can see, however, state standards, which are a set of goals schools must reach. Students must pass state graduation examinations, although it’s not compulsory for all state education curricula. 

At the higher education level, students have a wide range of options when they choose a college or university. Although there are agencies that attempt to place American colleges and universities in rank order, the concept of “FIT” is also important. The grade point averages of admitted students are important, but major offered, location, number of students enrolled, and campus culture are all factors in a prospective student’s decision. 

The most important point is the value in American education is equal access for all levels. At all levels, the goal is for each learner to reach her or his potential, whatever that might be. We do not always reach this goal and disparities remain. Nevertheless, the United States aspires to offer everyone opportunities to achieve as much education as they can. As an international students, scholar, or visitor, you will hear lots of debate about the proper balance of excellence and equality. American is hopeful that these two values are compatible and not competing goals. 

The Two Values of American Education: 

• Excellence 

• Equality 

Every State has its own department of education and laws regulating finance, the hiring school personnel, student attendance, and curriculum. 

States also determine the numbers of years of compulsory education. In most states, education is compulsory from five or six to sixteen; but in some states teens have to stay on in school until age 18. So every state has great control over what is taught in its schools and over the requirements that a student must meet, and it is also responsible for the funding of schooling. 

The unique system is in most States, the public education system is further divided into local school districts, which are managed by a school board, representing the local community. School districts can be small, covering just a small town or rural county, or enormous, covering a whole large city; according to their local policy, they are responsible for coordinating education policies, planning for changing educational needs in the community, and often even establishing programs and curricula. They will also delegate a varying amount of freedom or independence to each individual school within their sector (with some exceptions, such as general rules concerning health and safety). 

From this we can see the curriculum doesn’t have to be crucial standards to measure the education or to control the education systems to meet the needs. The interesting point, that the local community can influence both the curriculum and the education systems. Nevertheless, the basic foundation of curriculum is to make the education systems runs along the need of a country, and to prepare the pupils overcome the later life of this modern environment.

The Challenging New Curriculum in England

The Challenging Curriculum in England 

The development of education systems and progress in England has running so firmly established. The new curriculum will challenge the teacher to provide the needs of students in face of later life in modern Britannia. This can be an advantage for the teacher to develop and force them in collaborate all of the aspects to gain the attainment targets. In term of education, this will be a best moment to achieve a higher expectation for the teacher in develop the students competence based from the new curriculum. 

These programs obviously aim on the development of pupils’ competence, especially in numeracy, mathematics, language and literacy across the school curriculum. The attainment targets are for all subjects from range 5 years old to 16 years old. 

The role of teachers in this curriculum is absolutely important. Instead of using the conventional ways, they must find new techniques and social-technology approach in teaching according to the basic foundation of new curriculum. In this curriculum, teachers should set high expectations for every pupil. They should plan stretching work for pupil whose attainment significantly above the expected standard also an obligation to plan lessons for pupils who have low levels of prior attainment or come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

In addition from this curriculum, teachers should take account of their duties under equal opportunities legislation that covers; race, disability, sex, religion or belief, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity and gender reassignment. 

The school has an obligation to prepare and introduce this new national curriculum in England massively. The statutory national curriculum needs the school to actively playing the role to spread broadly this knowledge, they are; schools must provide access to a minimum of one course in each of the four entitlement areas (the arts, design and technology, the humanities, and the modern foreign language), schools must provide the opportunity for pupil to take a course in all four areas should they wish to do so, a course that meets the entitlement requirements must give pupils the opportunity to obtain an approved qualification. 

All state-funded school must offer a curriculum which is balanced and broadly based and which: 

 Promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupil at the school and of society, also 

 Prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life 

The structure of the national curriculum, in terms of which subjects are compulsory at each key stage, is set out in the table below: 

The New Curriculum in England

 http://www.gov.uk/dfe/nationalcurriculum. 

Concerning a wide range of pupils have special educational needs, many of whom also have disabilities. The lesson should be planned to ensure that there are no barriers to every pupil achieving. In many cases, such planning will mean that these pupils will be able to study the full national curriculum. The SEN Code of practice includes advice on approaches to identification of need which can support this. A minority of pupils will need access to specialist equipment and different approaches and the Sen code of practice outlines give the needs to be done for them. 

In the end, all elements that have roles about this national curriculum must realize that this is just only a beginning. The real challenge lies upon the teachers who will make this project success.