May 2023
New curriculum support resource for teachers now available
We’ve just launched our Professional learning hub – a new Australian Curriculum support resource for teachers and educators.
It’s designed so that teachers and educators can undertake ongoing professional development at their own pace as they prepare to implement the new curriculum.
The first 2 modules just released focus on the key changes across the new curriculum.
Sign up now and start building familiarity with the Australian Curriculum, Version 9.0.
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Explore our Professional learning hub
National Report on Schooling data portal updated
We updated the interactive National Report on Schooling in Australia data portal in April with new information on student and staff numbers, school finances and teacher education information.
Through the National Report on Schooling in Australia data portal, we provide online access to national data on Australian schooling, including general statistics on enrolments and funding, and data on agreed performance measures for schooling.
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Update on the current phase of the Australian Curriculum Languages Review
The public consultation period for the proposed revisions of 4 of the Australian Curriculum: Languages (Arabic, Hindi, Turkish and Vietnamese) has now closed.
We would like to thank everyone who gave us their feedback, which will be considered in finalising the revisions.
Stay tuned for further updates about this review in a future edition of the ACARA Update.
ACARA in the news
The Weekend Australian recently published an opinion piece by ACARA CEO, David de Carvalho, on the challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI) to the wider purposes of education – “the ‘why’, not just the ‘what’ (curriculum) or the ‘how’ (pedagogy)”.
“My mother is about to turn 90. She has just successfully completed two short online courses in Chinese history through HarvardX (and has emailed copies of the certificates to her six children).
“What motivated her? She didn’t need it for her career. It was completely disconnected with any practical or financial concerns.
“So was it for pleasure? No, because she could have just continued to enjoy the various history documentaries she watches and books she reads. ‘It was very difficult.’
“So why did she put herself through it?”
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Supporting secondary students to develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills
The Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) has published new research investigating how to support students who enter secondary school with gaps in their foundational literacy and numeracy skills.
Together with the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), they spoke to teachers and school leaders to understand how students are currently supported. The research identifies the most effective school support framework for assisting older students to develop foundational skills.
With students in the bottom NAPLAN band to be described as "Needs additional support" in reporting from this year, AERO’s accompanying guides can assist schools to put in place a structured approach to delivering this support.
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