Back to basics in maths, civics

Despite good progress in the use of phonics in teaching reading, reform of what is taught in classrooms under the national curriculum still has a long way to go. In maths, a subject with which many students struggle and where getting the foundations right is vital, teaching and learning are being complicated by the inclusion of “cross-curriculum priorities” of sustainability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, and Australia’s engagement with Asia.

These were mandated in 2008 and have been retained despite serious reservations set out in a comprehensive curriculum review in 2014. As education editor Natasha Bita wrote this week, maths teachers are expected to incorporate Indigenous storytelling and dance in lessons. This is not helping students, including Indigenous children, who are falling further behind their classmates in numeracy. The mathematics curriculum includes 37 complicated and at times incomprehensible instructions for teachers to use Indigenous storytelling, dances, reconciliation plans and even traditional weaving to teach basic numeracy skills of addition and subtraction, algebra, statistics and trigonometry. Often taught in a way that is more ideological than factual, cross-curriculum priorities are not relevant to mastering the basics of maths, which is essential to open up careers in science and medicine. Principals also complain the material is impossible to teach, a problem that warrants immediate attention.

From the perspective of students’ future participation in the nation’s democratic and political life, it is concerning that their knowledge about government process and other civic issues also is falling short. The 2024 National Assessment Program by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority found students’ knowledge of the nation’s democracy, political systems and civic processes had fallen to its lowest levels since 2004. That gap needs to be addressed in social studies courses that focus on facts, not ideology.

Such curriculum weaknesses harm all children, especially those who do not have family support to make up for deficiencies of what is taught in classrooms.