By Jordan Baker
A revised national curriculum will elevate the study of Western and Christian heritage in history, remove references to the Anzac legend as “contested”, cement the importance of phonics in teaching reading and reverse changes to maths that left experts worried the subject was being dumbed down.
Education ministers from all Australian governments meet to consider the changes on Friday afternoon, but there are concerns changes to the history syllabus will not go far enough for the federal government, while at least one jurisdiction remains unhappy with maths, sources said.
The reference to debates over the Anzac legend as being “contested” has been removed from the latest version of the new national curriculum.Credit: Getty Images
Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge – who has stepped aside amid an investigation into harassment allegations, which he denies – last year said the history curriculum created such a miserable impression of the nation’s past that Australians would be reluctant to defend it.
A briefing to ministers ahead of Friday’s meeting, obtained by the Herald and The Age, shows the reference to debates over the Anzac legend being “contested” has been removed. The new version says students will have “the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the importance of our Western and Christian heritage in the development of Australia as a prosperous and peaceful democracy, as well as learn more about our First Nations Australian histories and cultures”.
Students will study Indigenous history and an overseas ancient society in year 7, medieval Europe in year 8, World War I in year 9, and World War II and “modern campaigns for rights and freedoms” in year 10.
Sources - who spoke on the condition of the anonymity as they were not authorised to speak publicly - said the history curriculum would not water down Indigenous content but increase emphasis on Western heritage, even though the original purpose of the review was to remove content from the history curriculum.
They said the Australian, Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) was keen to have the draft approved so that it could begin preparing it for classrooms.
References to Christian heritage have been restored to the Civics and Citizenship course after anger over the original decision to use the word “multi-faith” and omit references to Christianity. Students will learn how the country’s secular democracy “draws upon our Christian and Western heritage and diverse cultural origins.”
As Mr Tudge foreshadowed last year, the revised English curriculum will also remove references to “balanced literacy” - a teaching method that’s not backed by scientific evidence but still used by many states when teaching young children to read - and reinforce the primacy of phonics.
The so-called reading wars have been raging for decades and schools in most Australian states, including Victoria, still use balanced literacy as their main method of reading instruction. NSW is emphasising phonics in its new kindergarten to year 2 curriculum.
The changes to maths “lift the current standards expected of Australian students,” the briefing said. They reverse a controversial decision in the draft - released earlier last year - to push back the introduction of times tables from year 3 to 4 and postpone linear equations from year 7 to year 8.
The latest version of the curriculum also brings the teaching of Pythagoras forward from year 9 to year 8, inequalities from year 10 to year 8 and clarifies that references to “problem-solving” relate to maths problems, not to a contested method of teaching known as “inquiry learning”.
However, at least one jurisdiction agrees with the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute that the maths curriculum needs to go back to the drawing board.
Mr Tudge will not attend Friday’s meeting as his role is being filled by Employment Minister Stuart Robert. The meeting has been delayed since late last year, but the curriculum needs to be approved in “early 2022” to begin implementing the changes.
If there is a stalemate on some elements of the national curriculum, work can still proceed on the other subject areas.
NSW and Victoria use their own curricula, but they must be aligned with the national curriculum. NSW is working on its year 3-10 curriculum and introducing its K-2 one this year.
Glenn Fahey, education research fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies, urged education ministers to reach consensus wherever possible, so the curriculum process can move ahead. “Ministers should avoid a reflex partisan response,” he said.
Students will study World War I in year 9 and World War II in year 10.Credit: Getty
“Ministers should progress forward on what can be resolved, and agree to further negotiation on those without agreement. That way most educators can get more clarity on where curriculum will go moving forward.
“Where divisions remain - whether political or technical - those areas could be parked temporarily. The most obvious area would be mathematics - since this has seriously divided educators. ”
A spokeswoman for ACARA declined to comment.
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