The Coalition has refused to element modifications it will make to the nationwide curriculum after Peter Dutton mentioned college students had been being “indoctrinated” and pledged in his price range reply speech to “restore” a curriculum centered on “critical thinking, responsible citizenship, and common sense”.
Dutton has made repeated references to the training system in latest weeks, together with floating on Sky Information inserting a “condition” on funding to make sure children weren’t “guided by some sort of an agenda that’s come out of universities” and pledging “we need to stop the teaching of some of the curriculum that says that our children should be ashamed of being Australian” within the Channel 7 debate.
Guardian Australia requested the shadow training minister, Sarah Henderson, for an interview to element the Coalition’s plans, after she flagged on the ABC originally of April there can be “more to say” on the curriculum throughout the marketing campaign, however she repeatedly declined.
As a substitute, she supplied a press release which contrasted with Dutton’s sturdy language that “classrooms should be for education, not indoctrination”.
Henderson mentioned the Coalition was “strongly focused on getting back to basics to raise education standards in our schools”, pointing to declining Naplan proficiency in literacy, maths and science.
“Students learn best when taught explicitly, which is why the adoption of explicit instruction and other evidence-based teaching methods is so vital,” she mentioned.
“Primary principal organisations from every sector say the national curriculum is impossible to teach, but Labor has failed to listen to the concerns of educators. If elected, we will work hard to listen and consult in order to drive practical, positive improvements in our schools.”
Henderson additionally pointed to a latest Coalition announcement to supply $100m to construct and broaden boarding faculties for Indigenous college students, and an early years literacy program for youngsters dwelling in deprived communities.
The Nationwide Catholic Training Fee welcomed the boarding college funding announcement. It has been lobbying all through the marketing campaign for the key events to permit faculties to choice the employment of employees who assist their spiritual worldview.
“Maintaining the authenticity of our mission is critical to the educational, pastoral and spiritual care we provide and our schools must be able to continue to employ staff who support that mission,” its government director, Jacinta Collins, mentioned.
Earlier this month, the training minister, Jason Clare, wrote to Collins and the CEO of Impartial Faculties Australia (ISA), warning a Coalition authorities might “use funding as a lever to determine what students in non-government schools are taught”.
“This shows an absolute abrogation of responsibility when it comes to the role of the majority government funder of the non-government school sector,” he wrote.
When requested in regards to the letter, the CEO of ISA, Graham Catt, mentioned the physique strongly believed “governments should not dictate how teachers deliver education in the classroom”.
“Federal funding already carries requirements around standards, accountability, and curriculum frameworks,” he mentioned. “Teachers are the experts and they know their students and school context.”
Catt mentioned the curriculum was already topic to common evaluation and too many modifications might be “highly problematic” as a result of resourcing and time it took to implement. Any reforms, he mentioned, should “respect sectoral diversity, school autonomy and the diverse needs of all learners”.
The nationwide curriculum was final reviewed and up to date in 2021-2022, beneath a federal Coalition authorities.
Government officer of the Australian Affiliation of Christian Faculties, Vanessa Cheng, mentioned there must be much less authorities regulation and oversight in faculties, no more.
However she mentioned the curriculum had scope to be decluttered, including “ideological overlays” had been making it cumbersome and it didn’t tailor to particular person college contexts.
“It needs to be fit for purpose and adaptable for different types of education philosophies,” she mentioned. “I feel [the curriculum agreed to in 2022] didn’t give a strong sense of identity, in hope and confidence in who we are as a nation.
“It’s not about culture wars, it’s about pride as Australians … There’s been an emphasis on negative parts of our history rather than celebrating positives. I would hope that balance would go back other way.”
