New Curriculum's Teacher Challenge

The Age

Wednesday November 12, 2008

Farrah Tomazin, Education Editor

THE man appointed by the Federal Government to create Australia's first national curriculum has warned that schools will require more teachers and better training if it is to be successful.

National Curriculum Board chairman Barry McGaw said it was one thing to develop a new curriculum in English, maths, science and history, but quite another to ensure there were enough teachers, and properly trained, to teach the revamped subjects when they are introduced from 2011.

Under the draft changes, English will be stripped back to basics so that students learn more about grammar, punctuation and spelling. Maths could become compulsory up to year 12, history would be taught from prep to year 10 - with students focusing more on world events rather than just Australian history - and in science, teachers would place greater emphasis on contemporary topics such as climate change, stem cell research and hybrid-car technology.

But speaking in the lead-up to a curriculum conference in Melbourne yesterday, Professor McGaw told The Age that consideration would have to be given to recruiting more teachers, particularly in areas such as history, maths and science, which are already experiencing shortages of properly qualified staff. And providing existing teachers with professional development would also be necessary to ensure they can teach the new curriculum.

"There will be some quite interesting differences proposed in the curriculum, so there's an important professional development activity that needs to go on. It will be partly about professional development, and it will be partly about recruitment," said Professor McGaw, the director of the Melbourne Education Research Institute at Melbourne University.

His comments came as educators and politicians debated the merits of the new curriculum at a two-day conference in Melbourne.

Victorian Education Minister Bronwyn Pike, who spoke at the conference, said educators and governments must work together to ensure the planned changes would lead to better results for students. "Curriculum alone will not be enough without quality infrastructure and a quality workforce operating in conjunction," she said.

Federal Education Minister Julia Gillard said the Government was working with the states on a national partnership to boost teacher quality and give them greater support.

This included recruitment, initial training of new teachers and further training for existing staff, she said.

© 2008 The Age

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