A Chronology of the Secondary English Curriculum in an Australian State, from 1969–2011

Author(s):

Marion Meiers(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2012

Network:

17. Histories of Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

17 SES 12, Parallel Paper Session

Parallel Paper Session

Time:

2012-09-21

09:00-10:30

Room:

ESI 3 - Aula 3

Chair:

Beatrice Haenggeli-Jenni

Contribution

This paper traces the chronology of English curriculum in secondary schools in one Australian state from 1968-2012. The English curriculum in the state of Victoria, Australia, has been shaped and reshaped in many ways over the past 40 years. The formal requirements of the school curriculum were historically the responsibility of the eight Australian states and territories. From 2012 the progressive implementation of an Australian curriculum has changed this arrangement. In this new national context, it is of particular interest to trace the evolution of the English curriculum for secondary schools in Victoria. In Victoria, secondary education covers Years 7-12. This study is focused on curriculum in the years of general education, from Years 7-10. The senior years, Years 11-12, involve high stakes assessment and certification, and have not been included in this study.

Key research questions

The school subject that is the focus of this investigation has consistently been titled ‘English’. This subject has encompassed English language and literature, and has always been a continuous study for all students at each of the four year levels.

A number of research questions have framed this research project:

· How has the subject of English in secondary schools been conceptualised over this period?

· What were the significant influences on the secondary English curriculum in the period of the study?

· In implementing the English curriculum, what degree of flexibility did schools have to adapt and vary the curriculum at the school level?

· Who initiated and who developed the curriculum?

· What changes have taken place in the ways in which the subject English was conceptualised over the period of the study?

· What changes took place in the context of secondary schooling from the 1960s to the present?

· What does it mean to move from a state-based curriculum to an Australian curriculum?

Theoretical framework

The paper is based on a detailed analysis of key curriculum documents from 1968 until 2011. Key themes that have emerged from this analysis include the ways in which the rationale and purpose of secondary English have been defined, the perceptions of the needs and interests of students in the secondary years; the degree of school-based curriculum innovation; and the key principles and concepts highlighted in the major documents from different eras.

A major change has been from a period when schools were asked to take on responsibility for curriculum development, through a period where state-based curriculum structures came into being, to the present when a nationally-agreed curriculum is progressively being implemented by all states and territories. Another major change has been the retention rates of students in the secondary school years. In the mid-1950s in Victoria, fewer than 50% of the Year7 intake stayed into year 10. A decade later, this proportion had risen to 70%, and continued to rise to almost 100%.

The paper will focus on the content and structures of this key skill subject in the school curriculum, and on what changed and what has remained constant over forty years.

Method

Methods The methods used in this study involved a series of close analyses of the key policy initiatives and curriculum documents that have guided the secondary English curriculum in Victoria from 1968-2011. Each document was selected because it marked the introduction of a major state-wide curriculum change. The nature of the different authorities that held responsibility for secondary school education was also analysed to determine the relative roles of educators, policy makers and teachers in curriculum development. The changes and constant influences identified from the analysis have been set against an historical account of the expansion of secondary schooling in Victoria. The analysis also focused on the changes, continuities and connections in the subject English at each introduction of a new state-wide curriculum. The final stage of the study involved the analysis of the extent of the commonalities between the curriculum that evolved in Victoria, and the 2011 Australian Curriculum: English.

Expected Outcomes

Findings A number of key findings were identified in the study. The first was the clear evidence of a shift from a period of school-based curriculum development to centrally developed curriculum policies. These policies took different forms, but were generally characterised as curriculum frameworks that left decisions on matters such as the texts to be studied to schools. A second key finding was the move from a focus on broad expectations for what was known as ‘mixed-ability teaching’ that acknowledged the diversity of knowledge and experience of students at any year level, to the articulation of more specific expectations, or standards, for students at different stages of schooling. Thirdly, the study identified clear links and commonalities between the main elements of secondary school English curriculum in each era, including the 2011 Australian Curriculum: English. The constant place of a range of texts was clearly evident, but there was also evidence of broadening concepts of the nature of texts in English, to include media and digital texts. Overall, the study provides a chronological account of how school curricula in one area of learning have evolved over time, and of the strengths and complexities of different curriculum models.

References

References Reed, R. A. (1968) Curriculum Revision Project. Circular to Principals of all State Secondary Schools. Education Department, Victoria. Reed, R.A. (1967) Theory and Practice in Secondary Education: Four papers for circulation to all Victorian high Schools. Typescript. Secondary English Committee, Education Department of Victoria. (1981). Teaching Secondary English. Ministry of Education, Schools Division, Victoria. (1988). The English Language Framework, P-10. Hannan, W. (2009). The Best of Times: the story of the great secondary school expansion. Lexis Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (2011) Australian Curriculum: English. http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/English/Curriculuim/F-10

Author Information

Marion Meiers (presenting / submitting)

Australian Council for Educational Research

Mt Waverley

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