Tehan to lobby for review of educational goals charter

Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan will push for a review of the nation’s charter of educational goals.

Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan with Father Chris Riley whose Youth Off The Streets charity operated special assistance to schools across NSW until changes were made to the way money was distributed. Picture: AAP

Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan will push for a review of the nation’s charter of educational goals, amid concerns over declining academic standards since the original agreement was endorsed a decade ago.

Mr Tehan is expected to take a proposal to the Education Council next month, seeking support from state and territory counterparts to revisit and update the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for young Australians.

Endorsed in 2008 by federal, state and territory education ministers, the Melbourne Declaration was designed to be a road map for driving schooling policy across the nation, with its chief goal being to ensure the system promoted ­“equity and excellence”.

Instead of students’ results improving, Australia has fallen behind in international rankings for literacy, science and mathematics, sparking calls for a rethink.

According to Mr Tehan, giving kids “the education they deserve” was “above politics”.

He said all Australian students should get a quality education, tailored to their individual learning needs and relevant to a fast-changing world.

“The Melbourne Declaration is now 10 years old so it’s time we again look at how we are educating our children and agree a way forward to continue improving student outcomes,” he said.

“Australia needs a shared agenda across the country to ensure alignment between policy, practice and delivery.”

Mr Tehan pointed out that the government was providing record funding for Australian schools over the next decade.

It is understood a review could examine the role of the national curriculum, which is currently the subject of a review by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, in achieving national educational goals, along with teaching standards.

Australian Catholic University senior research fellow Kevin Donnelly welcomed the review, saying the Melbourne Declaration had “obvious shortcomings” in regards to achieving its purpose of improving equity and excellence.

“This is an opportunity to look at the national curriculum and the pedagogy and what takes place in classrooms. It’s an opportunity to look at how the national curriculum has been implemented to date; how the states and territories have implemented it, or not,” Dr Donnelly said.

Education advocates, including the Australian Council for Educational Leaders, the Australian Education Union and Australian Curriculum Studies Association, recently united to call for the Melbourne Declaration to be revisited.

“Apparent to us, as the nation’s educators, is that achieving the goals is unfinished business,” the group said in a recent statement.

“We need to refocus our efforts, and our shared commitment, to advance these goals in the interests of the public good and every young Australian.”