3 May 2010

A brief Report on the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority's Forum

Held in Sydney on 3 May 2010

Submitted by CHASS representative, Mary Mooney, University of Western Sydney.

Context of the Arts Advice Paper

The Advice Paper was distributed to Forum participants of key stakeholders five days prior to the meeting and it was made explicit that the paper was not for wider distribution. ACARA's invitation to key stakeholders from all arts disciplines included classroom teachers, academics, peak professional associations, the arts industry and community members.

Professor John O'Toole from the University of Melbourne is the lead writer who worked with four discipline contributors: Michael Dezuanni, Elizabeth Grierson, Jeff Meiners and Margaret Barrett and a small advisory group in drafting the first version of this paper. The Paper drew on The Shape of the Australian Curriculum paper. The paper identifies the five art forms for study in the national Arts curriculum as:

• Dance
• Drama
• Media Arts
• Music
• Visual Arts

Some key considerations stated in the Advice Paper place arts learning for all students as a core entitlement in all 5 of the art forms with equal representation from Years K-8. Time allocation for the core curriculum is an indicative minimum 2 hours per week. Extension arts learning beyond the core is also possible from Years K-8. Specialisation is available for some from Year 9 onwards.

Forum feedback

The first feedback session titled, The Arts in the Curriculum: overall direction, comprised 17 tables of stakeholder participants representing a range of the five art forms and stakeholder groups. Feedback was sought by ACARA facilitators on the following areas:

• If the overview and definition for each art form describes clearly the contribution of the arts in the education of young Australians;
• If the paper provides clear direction for the future of arts learning;
• If the proposed direction of the curriculum enables creative, engaging and rigorous learning for all young Australians.

The second group feedback session titled, Teaching and Learning, comprised of stakeholders aligned to a particular art form. Mary Mooney participated at one of the tables that discussed teaching and learning in Drama. Feedback was sought on the following areas:

• The overview of content in each art form indicates a feasible and engaging pathway of learning across the stages of schooling for all young Australians;
• The description of specialisation indicates an approach to ensure a deeper learning pathway for some young people;
• The broad direction of the senior secondary context is useful and provides adequate direction for the development of the senior secondary curriculum in each arts domain;
• Cross curriculum dimensions and general capabilities, including an equitable and accessible curriculum.

Notable advice to the ACARA Arts curriculum writing team covered the following broad areas:

• Continue with the five art forms;
• Tentative support for the 3 organising strands of: generating, realizing and responding, in particular the 'realizing' strand;
• If these strands are used then provide a matrix of current matching language in each of the art forms;
• Foreground practice-led learning;
• Foreground Australian arts in terms of its diverse culture, reconciliation, etc.;
• Reposition the Advice Paper to reflect contemporary arts in a curriculum for the twentieth-first century;
• Consider a more rigorous treatment of the arts through theory, history and culture;
• Align the general capabilities to all art forms;
• Specific art form advice.

The national forum on an Australian arts curriculum received press coverage next day on local Sydney ABC radio and in the following newspapers: The Australian ('Emphasis on arts for young students', Justine Ferrari), The Canberra Times ('Education revolution: a call to arts', Scott Hannaford) and The West Australian ('Push for two hours a week of arts education', Bethany Hiatt).

Process of Arts Curriculum Development

Public consultation on the next version of the Advice Paper will occur over a ten-week period between May - August 2010.

Arts curriculum development is scheduled to occur between October 2010 - February 2011.

Curriculum consultation is scheduled between March - May 2011.

Electronic publication of the National Arts Curriculum is due September 2011.

Mary Mooney
3 May 2010

 

For more information, please contact:

Executive Director

Council of the Humanties, Arts and Social Sciences

Phone: +61 2 6249 1995

director [at] chass.org.au