The Curriculum Council of Western Australia is a defunct government department that once set curriculum policy directions for kindergarten to year 12 schooling in Western Australia. It was located at 27 Walters Drive, Osborne Park, Western Australia 6017. The Curriculum Council was governed by the 1997 Curriculum Council Act.
Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, and the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Australia is Australia's largest state, with a total land area of 2,529,875 square kilometres, and the second-largest country subdivision in the world, surpassed only by Russia's Sakha Republic. The state has about 2.6 million inhabitants – around 11 percent of the national total – of whom the vast majority live in the south-west corner, 79 per cent of the population living in the Perth area, leaving the remainder of the state sparsely populated.
Osborne Park is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia in the local government area of the City of Stirling.
The School Curriculum and Standards Authority is the statutory authority of the Government of Western Australia responsible for developing school curriculum and standards in education across Western Australia. The agency superseded the Curriculum Council of Western Australia which was disbanded following a litany of failures in 2012 by the education minister Peter Collier.
The goal of the Curriculum Council was to provide for the development and implementation of a Curriculum Framework for schooling which sets out the knowledge, understandings, skills, values and attitudes that students are expected to acquire; provides for the development and accreditation of courses of study for post-compulsory schooling; and provides for the assessment and certification of student achievement.
Principles
Student learning is the major stated principle of the Curriculum. The Curriculum policy directions are underpinned by the following stated principles:
an encompassing view of the Curriculum (K-12);
a recognition of the significance of learning outcomes;
fair and explicit standards;
inclusivity;
an agreed set of values;
consultative and transparent decision making processes;
collaboration with stakeholders.
History
Paul Albert was appointed as the inaugural Chief executive of the Curriculum Council by the then education minister, Colin Barnett, shortly after the formation of the Council in 1997 when it superseded the Secondary Education Authority. Albert was appointed on a five-year contract,[1] and left the Council in 2001, leaving Norma Jeffery as the CEO.[2]
Colin James Barnett is a former Australian politician who was the 29th Premier of Western Australia. He had previously served as the state's Treasurer, as well as holding various other portfolios in Western Australia's Cabinet.
Norma Jeffery was appointed as Chief Executive of the Council in 2003.[3] Jeffery was responsible for the implementation of the Curriculum Framework and in 2005 began to introduce the new courses of study into Year 11 of senior high schools in Western Australia under the direction of the then education minister Ljiljanna Ravlich.[4]
Ljiljanna Maria Ravlich is a Western Australian politician. She was a Labor Party member of the Western Australian Legislative Council from 1997 to 2015. She was most notable for being the Minister for Education during the debate over the introduction of outcomes-based education. She subsequently served as Minister for Government Enterprises; Multicultural Interests and Citizenship; Youth; and Minister Assisting the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure.
Jeffery commissioned a report on the assessment scheme that was to be used in the controversial system of outcomes based education from Professor David Andrich, the Dean of Education at Murdoch University in 2005. The report was duly completed later the same year and found that strongly argued case for marks arising from analytic assessments to be used for tertiary selection and against the levelling system that was currently being used.[5] Consequently, Jeffery was removed from her position and transferred elsewhere in the public service[6] and replaced by Greg Robson.[7] Robson left shortly afterward accepting a position in the Department of Education in South Australia.[8]
Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university in July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its name is taken from Sir Walter Murdoch (1874–1970), the Founding Professor of English and former Chancellor of the University of Western Australia.
South Australia is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of 983,482 square kilometres (379,725 sq mi), it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, and fifth largest by population. It has a total of 1.7 million people, and its population is the second most highly centralised in Australia, after Western Australia, with more than 77 percent of South Australians living in the capital, Adelaide, or its environs. Other population centres in the state are relatively small; Mount Gambier, the second largest centre, has a population of 28,684.
David Axworthy, who was appointed as the acting Chief Executive of the Curriculum Council in 2005, announced in July 2006 that he would not continue in the position. This followed widespread opposition to the introduction of the states ill-conceived outcomes based education system into the school system that Axworthy was in charge of. As a result, the Council was going to have to find its fourth Chief in twelve months.[9]
Dave Wood was appointed to the role of Chief executive of the Curriculum Council in 2006, in the midst of a furore of the botched introduction of Outcomes Based Education in schools in Western Australia.[10]
In 2009 the Council miscalculated final scores for students who had completed practical tests for three courses.[10]
The Chief executive of the Curriculum Council, Dave Wood, was dumped in 2010 by the then education minister, Liz Constable, following a string of errors being identified in the WACE examinations from 2010. The minister stated that serious problems with the year 12 examinations were the reason Woods' contract was not renewed. Errors had been identified in the History, Physics, Maths, English and Business Management and Enterprise exams, evidence of failures in the councils proof-reading processes.[10]
Some of the mistakes included a Physics question where the incorrect unit of measurement was used, a history exam where an image was labelled 1915 instead of 1925.,[11] a mathematics exam where an incorrect answer had been given in an example question, a music exam where questions were asked that were not in the subject syllabus.[12] Other more serious blunders by the Council included a printing error in an economics exam where questions from the history course had been included and an exam supervisor allowing students to use notes when they were not supposed to.[11]
In another instance of outright incompetence a food science and technology exam had to be rewritten after it had been displayed on the Council web-site for two days.[11]
The Council claimed that the mistakes were the result of budget cuts, although its budget had actually increased from A$7 Million in 2007 to A$14million in 2010.[11]
Both the Council charmain, Professor Bill Louden, and the Chief executive, Dave Wood, were reprimanded by the then minister of education, Liz Constable after she had expressly asked them to recheck all papers after initial errors were discovered.[12]
Further problems occurred in 2011 when complaints about the Chemistry exam made by teachers concerned that a large proportion of the exam had been devoted to an obscure part of the course. Also the exam had asked for an essay to be written on a topic when the exam design brief specified that only short paragraph style answers were required. The current acting Chief executive, Allan Blagaich, claimed that the exams did fit the design brief. Additional complaints were also made about the Modern History and the English exam.[13]
In the United Kingdom, the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification, generally taken in a number of subjects by pupils in secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. State education in Scotland does not use GCSEs, instead its Scottish Qualifications Certificate operates National / Intermediate exams at the equivalent level, however, certain private schools in Scotland offer GCSEs, and the proportion of Scottish pupils taking GCSEs to facilitate admission to English universities is increasing.
Major General Philip Michael Jeffery is a retired senior Australian Army officer who was the 24th Governor-General of Australia, serving from 2003 to 2008, and the 30th Governor of Western Australia, serving from 1993 to 2000.
The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) was a charity, and an executive non-departmental public body (NDPB) of the Department for Education. In England and Northern Ireland, the QCDA maintained and developed the National Curriculum and associated assessments, tests and examinations, advising the minister formerly known as the Secretary of State for Education on these matters.
The Victorian Certificate of Education or VCE is one credential available to secondary school students who successfully complete year 11 and 12 in the Australian state of Victoria. The VCE is the predominant choice for students wishing to pursue tertiary education. An alternative to VCE is the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learnings (VCAL), a vocational based senior secondary school qualification.
The Governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of the Queen of Australia, Elizabeth II. As with the other governors of the Australian states, the Governor of Western Australia performs important constitutional, ceremonial and community functions, including:
The Scottish Qualifications Authority is the executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for accrediting educational awards. It is partly funded by the Education and Lifelong Learning Directorate of the Scottish Government, and employs approximately 750 staff based in Glasgow and Dalkeith.
OCR is an examination board that sets examinations and awards qualifications. It is one of England, Wales and Northern Ireland's five main examination boards, and has been dogged by controversies concerning inaccuracies in its work, ever since its formation.
The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), established in 1930, is an independent educational research organisation based in Camberwell, Victoria (Melbourne) and with offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Dubai, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, London, New Delhi, Perth and Sydney. ACER develops and manages a range of testing and assessment services and conducts research and analysis in the education sector.
The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) is a statutory authority of the Government of Victoria responsible for the provision of curriculum and assessment programs for students in Victoria, Australia. The VCAA is primarily accountable to the Victorian Minister for Education. It is also responsible to the Minister for Training and Skills and the Minister for Families and Children in relation to sections of Part 2.5 of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006.
Research Quality Framework (RQF) was a component of Backing Australia's Ability, an initiative of the Australian Government to formulate a best practice framework for assessing research quality and the impact of research, and ensure that public funding was being invested in research which would deliver real benefits to the wider community. RQF was to bring public funding of research in line with government policy for funding to be determined by outcomes achieved.
Education in Western Australia consists of public and private schools in the state of Western Australia, including public and private universities and TAFE colleges. Public school education is supervised by the Department of Education, which forms part of the Government of Western Australia. The School Curriculum and Standards Authority is an independent statutory authority responsible for developing a curriculum and associated standards in all schools, and for ensuring standards of student achievement, and for the assessment and certification according to those standards.
The Barnett Ministry was the 35th Ministry of the Government of Western Australia. It included 13 members of the Liberal Party, three members of the National Party and an independent. It was led by the Premier of Western Australia, Colin Barnett, and Deputy Premier Liza Harvey. It succeeded the Carpenter Ministry on 23 September 2008 following the 2008 election and was succeeded by the McGowan Ministry following the Liberal Party's defeat at the 2017 election.
Curriculum for Excellence is the national curriculum for Scottish schools for learners from the ages 3-15.
The Court–Cowan Ministry was the 32nd Ministry of the Government of Western Australia, and was led by Liberal Premier Richard Court and his deputy, the Nationals' Hendy Cowan. It succeeded the Lawrence Ministry on 16 February 1993, following the defeat of the Labor government at the 1993 election ten days earlier. The Ministry was reconstituted on 9 January 1997 following the December 1996 election, due in part to the retirement and resignation of several ministers—Richard Lewis, Kevin Minson, Roger Nicholls and Bob Wiese. The ministry was followed by the Gallop Ministry on 16 February 2001 after the Coalition lost government at the state election held on 16 February.
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a series of tests focused on basic skills that are administered annually to Australian students. These standardised tests assess students' reading, writing, language and numeracy and are administered by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). The National Assessment Program is overseen by the Council of Australian Governments Education Council.
John Leslie Bennett is an Australian educator. He is Conjoint Professor of Education at the University of New South Wales. Bennett was Chief Executive of the Office of the Board of Studies (OBOS) from 2002 to 2009.
David Andrich has made substantial contributions to quantitative social science including seminal work on the Polytomous Rasch model for measurement, which is used in the social sciences, in health and other areas. He is currently a Winthrop Professor at the University of Western Australia, where he holds the Chapple Chair in Education. He was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences of Australia in 1990 for contributions to measurement in the social sciences. David Andrich spent time working with Georg Rasch in Denmark and Australia. He is one of the most prominent advocates of Rasch's probabilistic measurement models.
Gilmore College is an independent public mixed-sex educational high school (IPS) in Western Australia that is approx. 32 km SSW of the Perth CBD. The school is located on Dargin Place in the suburb of Orelia. The name Gilmore College has been there for over a decade, it was formerly known as Kwinana Senior High School, and originally was called Medina Junior High School.
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