‘Overcrowded’: Australian curriculum doesn’t focus on essential knowledge, skills

Australian Catholic University Senior Fellow Dr Kevin Donnelly says the Australian curriculum is “overcrowded” whereas other countries focus on essential knowledge, understanding and skills.

A damning report from the Australian Education Research Organisation warns that the new curriculum “does not provide sufficient guidance to teachers”, many of whom are now being required to “invent their own” syllabus resources.

It also found that compared to seven comparable countries, Australia has half the content of other education systems and omits or includes only a low level of some essential topics and teaches other content years later in other systems.

Data shows American students are taught four times as much biology as Australian children and science topics taught in Canada in year 7 are taught to Australians in year 10.

“We’ve known about this issue for over 25 years,” Mr Donnelly told Sky News Australia host Peta Credlin.

“When you look internationally, those countries that outperform us in the international testing, they adopt a more academically rigorous curriculum, they don’t try to do as much as we do, so our curriculum is overcrowded.

“The curriculum promotes a checklist mentality, and they don’t have the time – they’re trying to cover too much; they can’t focus on what’s essential.”

Видео ‘Overcrowded’: Australian curriculum doesn’t focus on essential knowledge, skills канала Sky News Australia