Review of The Australian Curriculum: Mathematics
September 8, 2020
On 12 June 2020, ministers for education through the Education Council tasked ACARA to undertake a review of the Australian Curriculum for Foundation to Year 10.
ACARA has been preparing for this review since Education Ministers agreed in 2015 that ACARA undertake a six-year cycle of review of the Australian Curriculum. In preparing for the review, ACARA has undertaken a program of research that has included: comparative studies of the Australian Curriculum against international curricula; feedback from states and territories on the effectiveness of the Australian Curriculum through its annual monitoring process; and involvement in international research projects such as the OECD 2020 Future of Education and Skills project. This work has informed the terms of reference agreed by Education Ministers.
The focus of the review is on content refinement within the existing structure and dimensions of the Australian Curriculum. The overall findings from ACARA’s program of research are that there is no need, nor support for, a major overhaul of the F-10 Australian Curriculum, but there is broad-based recognition that the current curriculum needs refining, updating and ‘decluttering’ to better support teachers with implementation.
ACARA curriculum officers will lead the review process in each learning area, engaging a small team of subject matter experts and practitioners to assist in the content refinement. ACARA mathematics curriculum specialist Rachael Whitney-Smith leads the Mathematics review team. To support engagement with jurisdictions and teachers, ACARA has established a Mathematics Curriculum Reference Group to provide jurisdictional advice and feedback, and a Mathematics Teacher Reference Group to provide practitioner advice and feedback to the review. ACARA is also consulting with key stakeholders such as the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI), the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers (AAMT) and affiliated state and territory professional associations, and the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA).
ACARA will review and make any necessary content refinements to the Australian Curriculum in all learning areas from Foundation to Year 10 by the end of 2021 and, subject to ministerial approval, publish the next version of the Australian Curriculum on an improved website in 2022. The timeline includes two formal windows for open stakeholder consultation on the proposed changes to the curriculum content during 2021.
The F – 10 Australian Curriculum: Mathematics has been prioritised in this review, with the proposed curriculum revisions ready for the first consultation window by the end of January 2021.
Visit the website to find out more and for regular updates https://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/curriculum-review/.
For further information, email: engagement@acara.edu.au or for specific informaton on the review of the F – 10 Australian Curriculum: Mathematic, please contact Rachael Whitney-Smith: Rachael.Whitney-Smith@acara.edu.au
