Utopia or Dystopia? A critical examination of the Melbourne Declaration (original) (raw)

" promises to keep ... " Potential and pitfall in the Australian Curriculum: History

In 2008, the vision of a national curriculum was foreshadowed in the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (MCEETYA, 2008) – widely hailed as setting directions for the type of schooling that would prepare young people for life in the twenty-first century. Initial documents from the NCB and ACARA referenced the Melbourne Declaration, offering hope that the national curriculum would be not only inspiring and challenging but also visionary and timely. Now, in 2011, as the first phase of the Australian Curriculum is rolled out, it’s appropriate to start asking whether the promise is likely to be realised in practice.

Education policy outlook in Australia

Education policy pointers, 2023

This policy profile on education in Australia is part of the Education Policy Outlook series, which presents comparative analysis of education policies and reforms across OECD countries. Building on the OECD's substantial comparative and sectoral policy knowledge base, the series offers a comparative outlook on education policy. This country policy profile is an update of the first policy profile of Australia and provides: analysis of the educational context, strengths, challenges and policies; analysis of international trends; insight into policies and reforms on selected topics in Australia and other education systems; and policy pointers to inform possible future action. It is an opportunity to consider developments in the education system, including areas of progress and areas for ongoing attention, viewed from the perspective of the OECD through synthetic, evidence-based and comparable analysis. This country policy profile considers both country-level and international policies, offering analysis of current strengths, challenges and policy priorities for Australia at each level: 4  No. 67-EDUCATION POLICY OUTLOOK IN AUSTRALIA OECD EDUCATION POLICY PERSPECTIVES © OECD 2023 In Brief Figure 1. Trends in key educational outcomes Note: "Min"/"Max" refer to OECD countries with the lowest/highest values.

Australian Schooling: What future

Schooling in Australia is a concept that has changed little since its Nineteenth Century naissance, leaving it vulnerable to rapid historical change and an emerging education market . This article examines the future of Australian schooling in its current change malaise, arguing that without significant workforce reskilling, schooling and education will be concepts more attuned to the profits of the market than the needs of the individual and society as a whole.

Educating Australia: Government, Economy and Citizen since 1960

History of Education Quarterly, 1999

Educating Australia: Government, Economy and Citizen since 1960 Simon Marginson This book is the first comprehensive history of Australian education systems, programs and policies of the period since 1960. The narrative of changes in schooling, training and university life is placed in the context of changing policies and governments and evolving economic and social trends. The book draws on economic and sociological data, key texts and political events, anecdotes and a review of other analyses to build its rich picture of the role of education programs in the modernisation of Australian life. The book traces the shift from universal public provision to market systems, with the concomitant change in definitions of participation and equity. It examines the implications of this change for the labour market and the economy, in social policies and in cultural life. An important focus of the book is the discussion of the extension of citizenship through education.

The context of 3 out of 4 sectors of Australian education

The new part of this paper considers 5 major trends in Australian school education over the last decade: government policy to keep young people in school longer; increased privatisation of school education; introduction of external national tests during the compulsory years; increased public reporting of schools’ performance; and the introduction of a national school curriculum. Aside from the introduction of a national curriculum which seems to be a peculiarly Australian development (which is motivated for non educational reasons), the other developments seem to be common to some other wealthy white English speaking countries: Aotearoa New Zealand, the UK and the US. I suggest that each of these developments reflects the importance that parents and governments invest in school education. Education is now considered too important to be left to the educators, as one might say adapting the common saying about war and generals.

Research and national debate on Australian schooling

This paper is a response to the paper prepared by Masters that is titled 'The case for an Australian Certificate of Education'. It argues that a national debate is needed urgently on the many issues that have arisen in Australian education. These issues include not only the curriculum provided for students at the final stages of secondary schooling, and the certification of attainment of educational outcomes on completion of 12 years of schooling, but also the curriculum of schools across Australia, particularly at the lower and middle secondary school levels. In addition, there are related issues associated with participation in higher education and the completion of a first degree at an Australian university. All too often, decisions are made at all levels of education on ideological grounds and without consideration of the body of research findings that are available to guide the making of decisions and the monitoring of development and change. This paper draws on readily...