The Pros And Cons Of Curriculum

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Developed by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, the Australian Curriculum provides Australian students with a world-class education comprising of the knowledge, understanding and skills necessary for life and work in the twenty-first-century. The primary goal of the Australian Curriculum is to foster students’ confidence and creativity, strengthening their love of learning and development into active and informed citizens (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2015). This paper shall explore the development of the Australian Curriculum, critically analysing the key criticisms of a unified approach to education. In addition, this paper shall examine the benefits of a unified curriculum, …show more content…
In 2015, ACARA endorsed eight essential learning areas; The Arts, English, Health and Physical Education, The Humanities, Languages, Mathematics, Science, and Technologies (ACARA, 2015). Complimenting these learning areas are general capabilities, incorporating one learning area with others within the guidelines of the curriculum (Brady & Kennedy, 2014). This interdisciplinary approach is an alternate mode of curriculum organisation, encouraging flexible and critical thinking opportunities, and developing the capacity for collaboration - ambitions underpinned within the Melbourne Declaration of Educational Goals for Young Australians (MCEETYA, …show more content…
The aforementioned Melbourne Declaration of Educational Goals for Young Australians (2008) served as a catalyst, initiating the shift to a unified curriculum, encouraging “a solid foundation in knowledge, understanding, skills and values on which further learning and adult life can be built” (MCEETYA, 2008, p.14). Furthermore, this declaration was the first time consensus regarding the necessity of a unified approach to education was attained. Also, ACARA provides educators, and the public, unfettered access to the features of the curriculum, presented as a sequence of learning objectives from Foundation to Year 10. Throughout all curriculum policies, ACARA reiterates the underlying goal of the Australian Curriculum, the development of successful learners, who are confident, creative, active, and informed individuals, able to meet the needs of the twenty-first century (ACARA, 2015). In Victoria, the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority has incorporated the Australian Curriculum to reflect Victorian standards and priorities (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority [VCAA], 2015a). Where the Australian Curriculum is structured by Year levels, specifying attainment at a particular age, the Victorian Curriculum emphasises the continuum of learning, with targeted learning plans developed for all students, administered cat their actual learning level (VCAA, 2015b). While both

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