Author: Roger Cross,
born in the UK, is an Australian citizen; he has a PhD in physical organic
Chemistry, University of Adelaide. After spending time in research and industry
he taught in schools for 10 years before becoming a science education lecturer.
Prior to his retirement in 2003 he was senior lecturer, Department of Science
and Mathematics Education, University of Melbourne. Now he researches science
for citizenship. His most recent book is
The
education system in each of the Australian States and Territories has
distinctive features. This
resulted from the autonomy of the States from each other prior to Federation in
1901. There are six States and two
Territories although both the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital
Territory now have parliaments of their own and are no longer administered by
the central government.
Consequently there are eight separate educational systems which, while
they contain many common features, also have particular characteristics of
their own. This makes it difficult to generalize, except to say the Australian
educational system owes much to that of the United Kingdom, both in the
structure of primary and secondary schooling and the mix of State Schools and
private schools.
One
interesting feature is the strength of the Catholic segment of private
schooling, which stems from the large predominantly catholic Irish and Italian
immigration to Australia particularly in the State of Victoria. The State Educational Authorities
exercise different control over the curriculum in their schools to different
extents, some very prescriptive and other giving control to the schools. It is this latter type that is perhaps
the most interesting and is seen to the greatest extent in the State of
Victoria, the second most populous State.
It should be noted that the Federal Government has been attempting to
convince the States of the need for a common core curriculum across the
States. The rationale for this has
been the difficulties children experience when they move from one State to
another. This has met with limited
success at the moment because of the differing philosophical stances taken by
States towards education.
The Example of Victoria
Approximately
one third of all children are in private schools; of these Catholic religious-based
schools predominate. Schools have
total autonomy to set the curriculum for the first 11 years of schooling
(called p-10), however the Ministry of Education has released Framework
documents for the key subject areas which can be viewed as a retreat from this
position. It should be noted that
the documents are in no way imposed on schools. The political and educational debate surrounding the battle
for autonomy was, I believe, lively and initiated by reformists in education in
the 1960s and early 1970s.
The
schooling consists of:
1.
Kindergarten: optional for 4 year olds
2
Primary School: Seven years
of schooling, classes Preparatory to grade 6. Children enter at age 5.
3.
Secondary School (now called post-primary school): Six years of school,
of which grades 7-19 are compulsory.
The
retention rate to year 12 is rapidly increasing and is now approaching
70%. The retention rate has been
steadily increasing from a rate of 45% and is expected to rise to 85% by the
end of the decade. Students can
leave school at the end of year 10 (approximately 16 years). Those students who complete
post-primary school go on to year 12 and upon graduation receive the Victorian
Certificate of Education (VCE).
This new policy requires all students to take four units of
mathematics/science/technology studies.
Australian
Science Education: The Case of the State of Victoria
Primary
school science (P-6) is quite variable. Many schools run a
completely thematic approach to teaching, although mathematics and language are
separated out for special attention.
The amount of science may vary from grade to grade as much as it varies
from school to school. A recent
study by the Federal Government into Maths and Science has recommended an
increase into the time devoted to science in pre-service training. It is probably valid to say that few
children receive what can be identified as science for primary children in a
systematic way throughout their primary schooling.
Secondary
school science is quite a different story. In the first 4 years of secondary school (years 7-10),
science is a core part of the curriculum and is generally compulsory to year
10. The allocation varies, but is
normally in the order of 3 to 4, 50 minute periods per week (150-200 minutes). Although there is autonomy and a wide
range of textbooks to choose from, the curriculum doesn't vary a great deal
from school to school. Students are involved in laboratory activities. Students work in small teams to
investigate phenomena related to the topic.
Some
schools organize each year of science around a theme, such as "Sun,"
or "Earth." By the use of the theme, Earth, as a unifying concept, it
is believed that students will better appreciate that compartmentalization of
science is artificial and unnecessary, and come to know and understand, just a
little more about the "spaceship" or planet that hurtles earthlings
through space.
The
science subjects for the last 2 years are part of the offerings of the VCE
administered by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Board. The following subjects are available to
students: biology, chemistry, geology, science, psychology, and physics. Each subject is divided into 4 parts
and counts 4 units of the 24-unit value VCE. Students are expected to complete at least two of the four
units of a course. Some
flexibility is built in allowing students to enter the beginning of unit 1, 2,
or 3 of each course.
One
of the innovative attempts of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Board is
the science syllabus for each subject. There is a strong attempt to give
students a picture of the role of science in society, thereby emphasizing an
S-T-S approach. Central ideas or concepts are identified in the science
syllabus, followed by very explicit contexts in which the ideas can be
explored. The contexts involve the students in exploring science in everyday
environments.