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The Shadow Minister for Education, Kate Ellis, has accused Christopher Pyne of tinkering with the national curriculum as a distraction from the government’s budget cuts.
Speaking in Adelaide following the release of the Review of the Australian Curriculum report, Ellis said the government had cut the Curriculum authority’s funding by $20 million. [Read more…]
The Minister for Education, Christopher Pyne, has released the Review of the Australian Curriculum.
The review was conducted by Dr. Kevin Donnelly and Dr. Ken Wiltshire.
The report says that there is too much content in the curriculum, especially in primary school years. It says some aspects of the curriculum make teaching it complicated. It says there are content gaps in the curriculum and calls for parents to be more closely involved in what their children learn. It says there needs to be improved accessibility for all students, including those with disabilities and special needs. [Read more…]
The former Prime Minister, John Howard, has again criticised the teaching of history during a lecture at the University of New South Wales.
He repeatedly returned to the question of history teaching during his lecture. At one point he lamented the teaching of Kylie Minogue and ACDC in preference to economic globalisation. He also claimed the rise and fall of Soviet communism was not catered for in the Australian curriculum.
Howard said the curriculum did not require students to study Australia history from the late 18th century until 1914. He said the achievement of Federation was overlooked and that important reforms, such as the granting women the right to vote, were understated. History devolved too much into issues rather than focussing on what actually occurred. [Read more…]
Tony Abbott was 21 years old when he made this appearance on ABC television to discuss curriculum and teaching in Australian universities.
Abbott appeared on the ABC’s nightly current affairs program, Nationwide. At the time, he was the President of the Students’ Representative Council at the University of Sydney.
Abbott attacked Marxist influence in the universities and claimed there had been a decline in academic standards. [Read more…]