8/8/2019 NSW Teachers Federation Curriculum Decision Oct Council 2010

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Teachers Federation Decision October Council 23/10/2010Organiser; David Ferguson

NSW TEACHERS FEDERATION

NATIONAL CURRICULUM

The Teachers Federation has a longstanding in-principle support of a national curriculum forAustralia. However the current process surrounding the development of such a curriculum by

the Federal government and ACARA has lost the confidence of the teaching profession inNSW. Federation notes the stand to date by the Minister in rejecting the National Curriculum.

Accordingly, the union must now withdraw its support for an Australia wide curriculum untilthe state and federal governments abandon the obscene haste with which it is currently beingdeveloped and engage in a sustained and educationally focused dialogue with the professionand the educational community.

The proposition that any national curriculum could be endorsed by December of this year isabsurd. Current curriculum proposals are ill-conceived, exceedingly ideological, regressive inphilosophy and approach and completely unfit to be used for the development of school-based or system wide programs. Any national curriculum must be based on students needs

not the timetables of politicians or distant bureaucrats.

The existing national curriculum proposals are shoddy, incomplete, and a threat to NSWshigh educational standards, therefore potentially threatening vital curriculum areas andsubjects. As a result of the flawed process, implementation in its current form is bound tocause massive turmoil in schooling. The National Curriculum, as it currently stands, is hastilydeveloped and lacking intellectual integrity, equity and inclusiveness. There is no educationalgroup of any consequence in NSW who believes that a national curriculum is ready to besupported or implemented on the current formulations.

The Federation welcomes the statement by the Shadow Education Minister, Adrian Piccoli,expressing grave fears around the present curriculum proposals.

1. The Federation insists that the NSW Education Minister does not sign any endorsementof a national curriculum this year as it has not been recommended by the Board ofStudies. It also calls upon the Minister to insist that no implementation take place in2011 in any part of Australia as any such implementation would make the existingnational curriculum framework a fait accompli for the rest of the nation. The Federationwill work with the AEU and will be contacting the responsible ministers at all levels toensure that the current national curriculum documents are not introduced into schoolsnext year.

2. The Federation will campaign to ensure that 2011 be a year of consultation between

governments, ACARA, the teaching profession and the educational community. Duringthese twelve months agreement will be sought around the content of a nationalcurriculum with the possibility of initial implementation from 2012.

3. The Federation will hold discussions with all sectors of the educational community toensure that there is no ministerial sign-off of any national curriculum in 2010 and toguarantee that 2011 is a year of professional dialogue and consideration of a nationalcurriculum. Further, that a National Curriculum Symposium be held prior to NovemberCouncil which brings together representatives from all the Professional Associations K-12.

4. If the NSW government is so willful that it would disregard the interests of the states

school students and the clearly expressed views of the teaching profession by signingoff on a national curriculum in 2010 then the Teachers Federation will have aprofessional responsibility to guarantee that such a low standard curriculum is nottaught in the public schools of the state.

8/8/2019 NSW Teachers Federation Curriculum Decision Oct Council 2010

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5. That Federation initiate an open letter to NSW Minister for Education Verity Firth andthe leader of the NSW Opposition to be endorsed by key education stakeholders. Thisopen letter will be published in the mainstream media. It will outline the communitysopposition to the National Curriculum in its current form and call for additional time forconsultation.

6. The Federation calls on the DET to reject any Australian Curriculum that is inferior tothat currently in place in NSW. We call on the DET to ensure that the needs of all

students, including those with special needs and those studying extension courses aremet in Stage 6.

7. The NSW Teachers Federation will develop an aggressive media campaign thathighlights the deficiencies of the proposed National Curriculum, and the responses ofpoliticians to this issue.

8. As a matter of urgency the Federation pursue genuine teacher consultation in areasonable time frame with ACARA concerning the national curriculum, particularly inregard to the decimation of creative and performing arts and other syllabuses as theycurrently stand in NSW.