Designing the Classroom Curriculum Designing the Classroom Curriculum | Page 26

Designing the Classroom Curriculum
1. Curriculum as a Body of Knowledge to be Taught
In Australia the body of knowledge to be taught in schools is universally referred to as “the syllabus” or ‘the
mandated State curriculum’. A syllabus is an outline and summary of topics to be covered in an education
or training course and has formal “sign-off” or approval from a government statutory authority.
In Australia, education systems are an instrument of the State in so far as governments use schools for
example to socialise future citizens to produce productive, law abiding citizens who live in harmony with
each other. In this way schooling is a conservative, domesticating process for achieving social order and
control while individuals who succeed at school increase their life-chances substantially in comparison with
those who do not (Moorhouse, et al., n.d.). Various state and territory acts of parliament prescribe laws
governing schools. The ‘Education Act’ is the usual statute.
Central to the functioning of the school is the principal or Head, who has powers, under the act to operate
that school. While the principal is the designate authority and is named as such in acts of parliament, it is the
teacher who specifically deals with student learning programs and has carriage of the day-to-day teaching
program. The teacher is therefore the school’s chief student learning resource.
Governments communicate the intent of their respective education acts to schools through
various statutory bodies and by releasing mandated study syllabi. The development of the mandated curriculum,
the syllabus, at the State or government level falls to a series of government agencies which determine what
is to be taught in respective schooling jurisdictions.
In NSW, for example, statutory responsibilities reside in a number of agencies, most notably the NSW
Department of Education and Training and the NSW Board of Studies. The former is the NSW
government’s bureaucratic arm that administers education legislation and operates public schools in the
state, while the latter administers what is to be taught in all NSW schools and provide certification for post
compulsory schooling such as the ‘Higher School Certificate’. Australia is moving towards a National
Curriculum and the role and function of the NSW Board of Studies will change to accommodate the
establishment of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). A similar
process is underway in other states and territories.
The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) is charged with the
development of the Australian national curriculum from Kindergarten to Year 12. Its functions are to:
(a) develop and administer a national school curriculum, including content of the curriculum and
achievement standards, for school subjects specified in the Charter; and
(b) develop and administer national assessments; and
(c) collect, manage and analyse student assessment data and other data relating to schools and comparative
school performance; and
(d) facilitate information sharing arrangements between Australian government bodies in relation to the
collection, management and analysis of school data; and
(e) publish information relating to school education, including information relating to comparative school
performance; and
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