IN VICTORIA
6. Availability of Support and Assistance 10
7. Applicability of Guidelines 11
Section B: Guidelines for School Councils
8. Fundamental Expectations 11
9. Access and Success 12
10. The School Program: Approaches to Teaching and Learning 15 11. The School Program: Areas of Learning 1 б
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1. PREAMBLE 1.1 This is the sixth in a series of Ministerial Papers. It takes up the issues of curriculum planning and development which were raised in Ministerial Paper 1, Decision Making in Victo- rian Education. Recent amendments to the Education Act 1958 make school councils responsible for school policy within guidelines to be issued by the Minister. This Paper, which has been prepared with the assistance of the State Board of Educa- tion in consultation with community groups and the Education Department, sets out such guidelines.
1.2 The State Board will later be publishing discussion papers which explore the implications for schools and school councils of the guidelines set out in this statement. The Education De- partment is also preparing materials and supporting docu- ments intended to guide councils in the processes of curriculum development.
SECTION A: POLICIES AND DIRECTIONS
2. GOVERNMENT 2.1 For more than a decade, Victorian schools have been as- POLICY suming increasing responsibility for their own curricula. De- volution of this responsibility to schools has already led to much thoughtful and imaginative innovation and has brought curriculum issues to the forefront of public discussion. The Government intends that the devolution of curriculum devel- opment be extended and set within clear guidelines for plan- ning at the school level.
2.2 The amended Section 14 of the Education Act 1958 which states A Council shall, ...determine the general educational policy of the school within the guidelines issued by the Minister outlines the Government's policy for increasing the school council's role in curriculum development.
2.3 The present document elaborates the Government's gen- era1 educational philosophy published in Ministerial Paper 1, Decision Making in Victorian Education, and this Paper's pur- pose is to:
(a) explain how Government policies apply to school curri- cula; and
(b) stimulate discussion about the best ways of putting these policies into practice, particularly at the school level.
2.4 The Government recognises that the implementation of these policies requires that schools have appropriate resources and assistance and that the provision of these necessary sup- ports may take some time to achieve. For example, the exten- sion of community language programs to all schools can only be accomplished gradually as more trained teachers become available, and the provision of computers and related mate- rials will require a phased program over several years.
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3. WHAT 3.1 The term "curriculum" is often used to refer to the course CURRICULUM of study or to the subjects taught in a school. In this Paper INVOLVES curriculum refers not only to the content of courses but also to the effects on student learning of such matters as staffing policy, facilities, teaching and learning styles, school organisation, and assessment and reporting procedures.
3.2 Every curriculum is also an expression of values. Some are explicit and some are indicated by the practices of the school.
Where particular values are clearly understood and supported, they can provide a firm basis for curriculum planning; where they are either not clear or not publicly recognised, decisions about curriculum are likely to be controversial, arbitrary or trivial.
3.3 School communities may not easily reach agreement about values. In a society as diverse as ours, different groups hold different beliefs and values. Such differences should be re- spected. But there is much common ground among all groups.
Values such as honesty and justice are widely shared. Schools should seek to identify these common values as a basis for educational policy and to find ways of reconciling differences where values conflict. In formulating these guidelines, the Government has drawn upon values which it believes are widely supported.
4. THE CENTRAL 4.1 Our society is undergoing continuing and accelerating so- PURPOSES OF cia!, economic and technological changes. These changes affect SCHOOLING schools in several ways. Sometimes schools are blamed for causing some of the changes or for problems associated with them. It is important that schools not be expected to solve problems, such as youth unemployment, for which they are not responsible and which they are powerless to overcome.
More reasonably, schools are called upon to modify the curric- ulum in response to these changes. Certainly, they should be prepared to adjust their curricula to ensure that they are rele- vant to new circumstances. But they should not be expected to make ad hoc and piecemeal changes or to lose sight of their central purpose which is to prepare young people to enter fully into the life of their society.
4.2 Schools are charged with the responsibility of providing all young people with experiences that cannot be readily or uni- versally gained through other life experiences and that are nec- essary for them to become effective adults. The significance of this responsibility is such that the school is the one institution in our society in which young people are compelled to partici- pate.
4.3 In discharging this responsibility the school's central com- mitment must be to provide a broad general education for all students. The school's educational policy should thus include a statement of the knowledge, competencies and values which the school will seek to develop. The curriculum is the medium for achieving these goals.
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4.4 Schools do serve many functions. They do so sometimes because other social supports for young people are lacking and sometimes because they are regarded as convenient agencies for administering particular services. These functions are not necessarily of equal importance nor ought they be seen as the main function of schooling or as primarily the function of schools.
5. RESPONSIBILITIES 5.1 As responsibility for decisions about the nature of the cur- riculum is to be shared between central authorities and schools, it is important that the balance and interplay of responsibilities be understood.
5.2 Responsibilities which arise from The Education Act, the Regulations and common law cannot be wholly delegated from the central authority to schools. Consequently, in forming its educational policy, the school is influenced, constrained and protected by the various Acts and the Regulations governing public education, and by other determinants such as industrial agreements and funding decisions. These, of course, will be subject to regular review to ensure that they continue to be consistent with the needs of students and with current social practices.
5.3 Similarly, the Government must ensure that schools do not devise programs that promote narrow, sectional interests or that exclude important aspects of learning. More positively, schools can expect to be provided with a coherent framework which will assist them in making decisions about their curri- cula. This is the primary purpose of this document.
5.4 As stated earlier, however, it is the Government's inten- tion that the majority of important decisions should be made at the school level. Unless the school is a place where signifi- cant decisions are made, it cannot provide a model which will assist in preparing young people for life in a democratic com- munity.
5.5 The last decade has shown that devolution of some re- sponsibility to schools has resulted in important benefits which the Government seeks to extend. Teaching staff (taken throughout this Paper to include principals) and parents un- derstand the needs and problems of their students and can often best see how everyday life and experience are related to school learning for those students. Students can also contribute views about the kinds of learning they feel are most appropri- ate for them. Teachers, working closely with students and par- ents, are best placed to choose materials and activities appropriate for individual students. Parents, teaching staff and students who have taken part in planning a school's curriculum are more likely to be committed to making it work.
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5.6 In seeking to extend this development and to promote collaborative decision making, the Government recognises that parents and community members may be called upon to as- sume roles with which they will take time to become familiar.
In the past, they may have seen curriculum as a matter for teachers. Teachers themselves have often seen curriculum pol- icy as the speciality of experts in curriculum development.
Consequently, the sorting out of the various roles and respon- sibilities of parents, students, teaching staff and other commu- nity members may take some time. While it is easy to distinguish between the school council establishing broad pol- icy and the teaching staff developing that policy into detailed programs, simple clear cut rules to cover all schools and all situations are not easy to draw up. Consensus about curriculum policy and its implementation is likely to grow best out of ongoing discussion and negotiation between all the parties con- cerned.
6. AVAILABILITY OF 6.1 The opportunity to participate in the development of an SUPPORT AND educational policy which will meet the needs of young people ASSISTANCE in the second half of the 1980s is the most challenging of school councils' new responsibilities. But in meeting this challenge, councils are not obliged to make a completely new start. They may choose to begin with policy based on their existing curric- ulum and introduce changes over time. In making these deci- sions, they should take advantage of the full range of support which is available.
6.2 The first and most accessible support available to school councils is the teaching staff whose professional training and experience should be acknowledged, valued and used by coun- cils when they are formulating school policy.
6.3 Schools are further assured of support from the Govern- ment and from the Education Department. Ministerial Paper 1, Decision Making in Victorian Education, outlines this com- mitment as follows:
In many cases schools will wish to use centrally prepared curricu- lum materials or perhaps make only minor modifications to meet local needs. In a number of cases, however, schools will see the need to develop curricula in order to meet their own special needs.
In both cases, there is an obligation on the part of the Government to provide curriculum support.
The role of the centre is to define general principles of curriculum and to provide curriculum materials of the highest quality which schools may adapt to meet local needs.
Regions also have an important role to play, a role which empha- sises the provision of curriculum support, primarily through con- sultancy services.
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6.4 The Government intends to investigate the development of educational resource centres within regions that will be re- sponsive to the needs of schools and complement the support work already performed by regional personnel.
6.5 School councils can also draw on the support network being developed within the School Improvement Plan. Minis- terial Paper 2, The School Improvement Plan, explains its aims and operations which are to:
. assist schools to reflect on their total practice (including curric- ulum, teaching/learning styles and organisation) and to develop in ways that improve the learning experiences of all children.
6.6 Finally, school councils should be aware that provided they are acting within the guidelines set out by the Minister in carrying out their responsibility, they are supported by the legal authority of the Education Department and the Government.
7. APPLICABILITY OF 7.1 Section B of this Paper summarises the guidelines on which GUIDELINES every school's educational policy is to be based. As they must cover a wide range of existing schools—primary, secondary, technical, post-primary, special—they are broad and flexible.
While schools are required to work within these guidelines, they may include in their own educational policy additional principles which are consistent with these and which reflect their school's needs and character.
7.2 The broad principles outlined in this Paper should provide a basis for consistent and coherent planning from Years P-12 and for educational programs which provide all students with a sound preparation for further schooling and other post-school options. However, in planning programs for years 11 and 12 school councils may need to adapt the guidelines to take ac- count of the particular requirements of the Higher School Cer- tificate, Tertiary Orientation Program, Technical Year 12 and the prerequisites for entry to all post-secondary education and training. Arrangements for years 11 and 12 are currently under review as part of the Ministerial Review of Post-Compulsory Schooling.
SECTION B: GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOL COUNCILS
8. FUNDAMENTAL 8.1 In important ways schools represent people's hopes for a EXPECTATIONS better future. In working towards the achievement of these hopes schools may need to begin with limited, short-term ob- jectives. To this end, schools need to establish clearly-defined objectives and periodically review those objectives to ensure that they are contributing to the achievement of their long- term goals.
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8.2 It is important to be clear about what schools can and cannot do. Although our present society provides many people with a satisfying way of life, it has still to eliminate social and economic injustice and various forms of discrimination, and to find solutions to many persistent social and technological problems. In such matters, schools alone cannot provide the answers. But they can ensure that all young people receive an education which enables them to participate fully in society, to contribute to overcoming injustice and inequality, and to solve the problems of our society. So the Government's fundamental expectation of schools is that they further the knowledge, un- derstanding and competencies necessary for young people to be able to:
(a) participate effectively in the life of a multicultural society;
(b) undertake worthwhile work; and
(c) plan an active role in the processes through which our society is regulated and improved.
8.3 As institutions within a democratic society schools should ensure that their own processes are democratic. They should:
(a) involve teaching staff, parents, students (increasingly as they mature) and, where appropriate, other members of the community in discussion and planning of the school's educa- tional program; and
(b) see that the members of its community are provided with the information and assistance (for example, interpreters and inservice) they may need to contribute effectively to the proc- ess of planning and reviewing the school's curri- culum policies.
8.4 While these expectations can easily be supported in prin- ciple, they need further elaboration in order to indicate how they might be put into practice. This is done in the following sections that discuss:
(a) the concepts of access and success in relation to schooling;
(b) approaches to teaching and learning; and (c) areas of learning.
These three sections are interdependent and of equal signifi- cance.
. ACCESS AND 9.1 The Government intends that all students have access to SUCCESS educational experiences that are challenging, purposeful and comprehensive and that result in all students improving their educational achievement.
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9.2 Formal access is not enough. Although all young people are entitled to a full secondary schooling many are discouraged or diverted from taking full advantage of those opportunities.
While some students may leave school prematurely because of factors beyond the control of the schooling system, others may leave because of unsatisfactory schooling experiences. The practices and processes that schools adopt greatly affect the way young people respond to the educational opportunities formally available to them. Real access requires that programs take account of differences in social and cultural background and that teaching methods provide for differences in pace and style of learning.
9.3 The task of ensuring effective access requires that schools:
(a) provide learning experiences which build upon the pre- vious learning of students;
(b) ensure that their courses are appropriate for, and reflect the lives, values and experiences of both boys and girls and of students from various social and cultural backgrounds;
(c) design courses so that students may participate in each area of learning and are not prevented from continuing their learn- ing as a result of school organisation, inappropriate subject choices or differences in performance in reading and writing English;
(d) ensure that students are not arbitrarily excluded from school or transferred from one school to another on the basis of judge- rents about their learning potential;
(e) provide opportunities for students and parents to con- tribute to decisions about student allocation to classes; and (f) ensure that test-scores and general measures of ability are not used to stream students into particular classes and that classes are organised to cater for students with a range of pre- vious learning.
9.4 The Government's commitment to extending real access :to education is best understood in conjunction with its objec-
tive that all children experience success at school. Such an objective is easily misunderstood or misrepresented. It should not be taken to mean that all students do everything equally well. Some students do some things better than other students do, and particular students are more successful at some things than they are at others. Nor should this commitment to success be trivialised by offering some students courses based on low expectations which deny them real challenges or which prevent them from progressing to further stages of schooling.
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9.5 Clearly, when we speak of students succeeding, we intend that they should achieve something of value to themselves and to others. Young people must learn that they can succeed only by making a conscientious effort to achieve goals which extend their limits and which are still within their capabilities. Hence, the policy of success for all students cannot be understood simply in terms of examination scores or competitive achieve- ments. It is based upon the belief that all young people are capable of improving their educational achievements.
9.6 School curricula should be planned on the basis that all young people have the capacity to continue learning. Students do not lose the capacity to learn at age 15 or at any other age;
and schools should provide them with realistic opportunities to continue their learning, unrestricted by pre-conceived as- sumptions about their potential or by low expectations based on test scores or similar measures.
9.7 If, after a genuine effort, students do not accomplish what they set out to do, then they should be assisted to overcome any blockages to learning and/or to review their goals. Schools must adopt the view that the failure to achieve goals provides a basis for future teaching and learning and that low expecta- tions lead to low performance, whereas high expectations en- courage students to succeed and that success builds upon previous success.
9.8 In seeking to ensure success for all students, schools should:
(a) provide a caring and supportive environment;
(b) ensure that students are clear about what they are expected to accomplish and provide them with increasing opportuni- ties to help determine the educational tasks and goals that are set for them;
(c) base assessment of students' work on their success in reach- ing achievable goals; and
('i)
ensure that assessment policies do not emphasise compari- sons between students and that the reporting of student prog- ress to students, parents and prospective employers focuses on what students have achieved and on their developing talents and competencies.9.9 It is also intended that the rights of access and success will be progressively extended to students with disabilities, impair- ments or problems in schooling which in the past have pre- vented them from being integrated into regular schools.
Adaptions of teaching styles and support for specialised staff will be required if schools are to ensure access and success in the full range of the curriculum for these students.
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