Recommendations
1. Establish a set of principles for any revision arising from the Review of the Australian
Curriculum to ensure the process leads to a positive outcome. These could include:
a. effective representation of current primary school teachers in undertaking and
advising on the redevelopment;
b. effective representation of primary organisations, and academics and curriculum
experts with primary experience, in undertaking and advising on the
redevelopment;
c. development of a different set of writer guidelines for the primary curriculum to
those used for the secondary curriculum, reflecting the primary focus on literacy
and numeracy and the ways of working that are characteristic of primary
classrooms;
d. giving priority to literacy and numeracy throughout the primary school curriculum,
and especially in the first three years;
e. strict adherence to notional time limitations and a requirement that writers and
advisory groups demonstrate how the content outlined can be delivered at depth,
in a normal classroom, in the time available; and
f. establishment of an independent process for analysis of consultation feedback
and determination of actions to be taken in response to consultation.
2. Develop a much briefer dedicated document describing the whole primary curriculum for
use by classroom teachers, including:
a. a single introduction to the entire curriculum of no more than 10 pages; and
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b. only those content elements that are determined to be essential in each learning
area.
3. Increase the notional time allocation for English and Mathematics throughout primary
schooling and especially in Years F-2. For English in F-2, increase time significantly to
enable a strong focus not only on the subject of English but also on literacy related to,
and found in, other learning areas.
4. Vary the current arrangements for introduction or representation of the following subjects
during the primary years:
a. Remove Economics and Business from the primary curriculum, introducing the
area only in the secondary years (see Donnelly & Wiltshire, 2014: 202);
b. Remove the separate study of Civics and Citizenship from the primary years but
include elements related to the area in the History curriculum;
c. Include History and Geography as components of Humanities and Social
Sciences from Year 3, and leave to schools decisions about integration;
d. Remove the formal study of the two Technology subjects from the primary
curriculum, but ensure that those elements directly relevant to other learning
areas and especially to English, Mathematics and Science are included in those
areas; and
e. Provide a time allocation to The Arts in keeping with the APPA model but also
recognise that schools, supported by their communities, will always offer a set of
experiences in The Arts that will broaden student contact with the range of Arts
subjects (see Donnelly & Wiltshire, 2014: 219).
5. Review content descriptions as follows:
a. Review and, where necessary, reduce content descriptions in all areas to ensure
that they focus only on what is essential. Make clear which elements of content
are essential, leaving the inclusion of additional elements to schools;
b. Review content descriptions in all areas on the premise that adequate time must
be available to teach the material specified in a regular classroom; and
c. Proceed on the basis that each content description will, on average, require eight
hours teaching time, and require that any significant variations to this is to be
justified by those proposing such a variation.
6. Recognise and communicate that Languages can only be taught effectively in primary
schools if there is a qualified teacher available, if adequate time is available, and if the
language can be maintained for a period of years.
7. Develop and undertake a research study to monitor time taken to teach elements of
content in depth and to provide advice to ACARA about areas in which further
refinement might be needed.
8. Establish an independent and expert review panel that will exam, analyse and evaluate
any change to the Australian Curriculum relevant to primary schools, the Curriculum’s
impact on the learning and achievements of students, and the staffing and resourcing
available to primary schools to fully and successfully implement the Curriculum. In the
main, such a panel would be made up of persons with a strong knowledge of, and
experience in, primary school education.
Based on the structural changes proposed here, our model for the primary curriculum is
illustrated below. Note that, while time allocations are not specifically stated they show that
there is a clear emphasis and time allocation devoted to what APPA recognises as the core
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of the primary school curriculum – English (literacy), Mathematics (numeracy), Science, and
the Humanities and Social Sciences. The early years have a greater focus on these areas
together with an amoun