ACARA Update, May 2016
Public consultation open: draft Auslan, the Framework for Classical Languages, Classical Greek and Latin language curricula
Draft language curricula for Auslan, the Framework for Classical Languages, Classical Greek and Latin, funded by the Australian Government, have been released for public consultation. You can find the draft language curricula and provide feedback at the Australian Curriculum consultation website.
Auslan
The release of the draft Auslan curriculum for consultation represents a significant achievement and reflects the importance of Auslan in Australia. The development of the draft curriculum has involved collaboration between members of Australia’s Deaf community, including organisations, community members, educators, Auslan teachers and leading academics.
In a first for Australia there are two pathways for teaching Auslan in schools: the first pathway is for deaf children to access education in and about their language; the second pathway gives hearing children a chance to learn to communicate using Auslan.
“As a native user of Auslan, and as an advocate for the language and for the Deaf community, I am thrilled to see a national curriculum in Auslan come to fruition. For the first time, deaf children will have access to a formal first language learner pathway for acquiring Auslan, acknowledging their status and strengths as visual learners, and offering a ‘Deaf gain’ perspective to their lives. In turn, the second language learner pathway provides unparalleled opportunities for hearing children to access and use Auslan in their schools and in society, reducing barriers for participation and increasing equality in the wider community. Children learning Auslan in schools have the potential to fundamentally change the social fabric of Australia.”
Drisana Levitzke-Gray, Deaf advocate and Young Australian of the Year (2015)
Classical Greek and Latin
Draft curricula for Classical languages have also been released for consultation. These languages will complement, and form a part of, the wide suite of languages available to study in the Australian Curriculum. Classical Greek and Latin are included in the Australian Curriculum: Languages because of their historical significance.
Classical Greek and Latin have been developed from the Framework for Classical Languages. State and territory education and school authorities or schools will have an opportunity to use the Framework and Latin and Classical Greek curricula as a guide to developing curriculum for other Classical languages currently offered in schools, such as Classical Hebrew and Sanskrit.
The Classical Languages Teachers Association Inc says: “Inclusion of a National Curriculum in Classical Languages … acknowledges the important role of Latin and Classical Greek in Australia's rich cultural fabric, education and heritage [and] will ensure that all Australian secondary school students have access to the same high-quality learning experiences in Latin and in Classical Greek.”
As a part of the Australian Curriculum: Languages, ACARA has progressively released curricula for Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Modern Greek, Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese. ACARA has also developed and released a Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages.
National Report on Schooling in Australia 2013
The National Report on Schooling in Australia 2013 (parts 1–6 and 8–10) has been released. ACARA produces this report on behalf of the Education Council.
The report describes the national policy and reporting context for school education in Australia; outlines nationally agreed policy initiatives and reports against the nationally agreed key performance measures for schooling.
Visit the ACARA website for more information.
ACARA's new video
View our new video where ACARA’s Director of Curriculum, Dr Fiona Mueller, talks about the Australian Curriculum.