Transcript Sheth Lecture, Illinois

Productivity and participation:
a national perspective
Barry McGaw
Chair, National Curriculum Board
Director, University of Melbourne Education Research Institute
Former Director for Education, OECD
C21st Learning: Acting (Inter)Nationally
Curriculum Corporation Conference 2008
Melbourne, 10 November 2008
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Australian education in a shifting international
context.
2
550
350
300
Finland
Canada
New Zealand
Australia
Ireland
Hong Kong-China
Korea
United Kingdom
Japan
Sweden
Austria
Belgium
Iceland
Norway
France
United States
Denmark
Switzerland
Spain
Czech Republic
Italy
Germany
Liechtenstein
Hungary
Poland
Greece
Portugal
Russian Federation
Latvia
Israel
Luxembourg
Thailand
Bulgaria
Romania
Mexico
Argentina
Chile
Brazil
FYR Macedonia
Indonesia
Albania
Peru
600
Mean reading results (PISA 2000)
Australia tied for 2nd
with 8 others
among 42 countries.
500
450
400
OECD (2003), Literacy skills for the world of tomorrow:
Further results from PISA 2000, Fig. 2.5, p.76.
3
Australia’s ranking in OECD/PISA Reading

Reading ranks
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PISA 2000: 4th but tied for 2nd
PISA 2003: 4th but tied for 2nd
PISA 2006: 7th but tied for 6th
PISA 2000
PISA 2003
PISA 2006
Finland
Finland
Finland
Korea
Canada
NZ
Hong Kong
Korea
Canada
NZ
Hong Kong
Korea
Canada
NZ
Ahead of
Australia
Same as
Australia
Behind
Australia
Hong Kong
4
560
Trends in reading performance
Higher performers in Korea improved.
Korea
550
Finland
540
Lower performers
in HK improved.
Hong Kong
China
530
Canada
New
Zealand
520
Australia
510
Changes for Finland, Canada & New Zealand are not significant.
500
PISA 2000
OECD (2007), PISA 2006: science competencies for
tomorrow’s world, Vol. 1 - analysis, Fig. 6.21, p.319.
PISA 2003
PISA 2006
5
700
Trends in Australian reading performances
95th %ile
650
90th %ile
600
75th %ile
550
Mean
500
25th %ile
450
400
10th %ile
5th %ile
350
300
PISA 2000
OECD (2007), PISA 2006: science competencies for
tomorrow’s world, Vol. 1 - analysis, Fig. 6.21, p.319.
PISA 2003
PISA 2006
6
700
Trends in Australian mathematics performances
95th %ile
650
90th %ile
600
75th %ile
550
Mean
500
25th %ile
450
10th %ile
400
5th %ile
350
PISA 2003
OECD (2007), PISA 2006: science competencies for
tomorrow’s world, Vol. 1 - analysis, Fig. 6.21, p.319.
PISA 2006
7
30
20
10
0
OECD (2007) Education at Glance 2007.
Table A1.2a, p.37.
Portugal
Turkey
Spain
Italy
8
Mexico
1st
Greece
19th
Korea
Ireland
Poland
Belgium
Iceland
90
Australia
55-64 year olds
(1960s)
France
Luxembourg
Netherlands
United Kingdom
Finland
Hungary
60
New Zealand
4th
Slovak Republic
Austria
Sweden
70
Norway
10th
Canada
Denmark
40
Switzerland
50
Germany
80
Czech Republic
100
United States
Percent of age group with upper secondary education
1st
3rd
25-34 year olds
(1990s)
6th
10th
18th
23rd
Labour market disadvantage of low-qualified (2002)
Unemployment to population ratio:
24 year-olds without upper secondary compared to those with upper secondary
2.5
Incidence of unemployment among those young people in
Australia who have not completed Year 12 or equivalent is more
than double that of young people who have.
2
1.5
Sweet, R. (2006) Education, training and employment in
an international perspective. ([email protected])
Greece
Spain
Portugal
Italy
Poland
Finland
Hungary
Canada
Slovak Republic
Denmark
United States
Netherlands
France
United Kingdom
Belgium
Sweden
Austria
Germany
Ireland
0
Australia
0.5
Czech Republic
1
9
National Curriculum Board’s view of a national
curriculum.
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Principles and specifications

10 in The Shape of the National Curriculum: A
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Including claims that the curriculum should:
Proposal for Discussion
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Make clear what has to be taught and learned
Set high standards for all assuming all can learn
Build firm foundational skills and basis for expertise
Be feasible for teachers:
• In terms of time and resources available
• Written with beginning teachers as primary audience
Value teachers’ professional knowledge
Reflect local contexts
Use a strong evidence base of what works
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View of understanding, knowledge and skills

Expertise is domain specific
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Foundations in literacy and numeracy are essential
Content is important
BUT selection of content is crucial
General capabilities are also important
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They may be C21
Many were defined in C20
Some are overstated
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General capabilities
Key competencies (1992)
Employability skills (2002)
Communicate ideas & info
Communication
Work with others in teams
Teamwork
Solve problems
Problem solving
Use technology
Technology
Plan & organise activities
Planning & organisation
Collect, analyse & organise info
Initiative & enterprise
Self management
Learning
Use maths ideas & techniques
Precision Consultancy (2006) Employability skills: from
framework to practice, Canberra: DEST.
Contained in several of above
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NCB’s current view of general capabilities

Foundational
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Domain specific (or at least partly so)
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Problem solving
Creativity (in part) as breaking out of constraints
Genuinely general
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Literacy, Numeracy, ICT competence – emphasis on I, C & T
Working with others
Managing own learning
Perspectives
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Cultural sensitivity
Engaged citizenship
Commitment to sustainable patterns of living
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Decluttering the curriculum
General need across whole curriculum
 Need within learning areas
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Mathematics
• Allocate time according to importance
• Extend with more complex problems on current content not
introductory work on more advanced content
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Science
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History
• Extent of current content promotes memorisation of content
• Students become disengaged and turn from science
• Students complain of repetition of (Australian) content
• Organise and sequence but in a world context
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Equity.
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Equity

Curriculum contribution limited but important
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Setting high expectations for all
Limiting differentiation that excludes students
Other actors have key roles
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Those allocating funds and staff
Schools and teachers
• Particularly in building strong foundational skills
• Continuing to address weaknesses as students progress
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Use of evidence base.
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Out with idiosyncracy
Professional not equivalent to idiosyncratic practice
 A mathematics example
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Four key bases for learning subtraction
• backwards counting
• modelling situations in which one part of the whole is unknown
• number strategies that are useful for subtraction
• solving subtraction word problems
Sequence in learning them not crucial
Value
• comprehensive and succinct
• give teachers clear indication of experiences for students
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Assessment.
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Assessment
 National Curriculum Board’s role and view
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Achievement standards central to curriculum specification
Curriculum should drive national assessment
ACARA’s possibilities
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Having curriculum shape NAPLAN framework
Examples of changes
• Numeracy testing understanding, fluency, problem solving and
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reasoning and not predominantly fluency
Literacy using range of texts and not predominantly narrative
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Being realistic.
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Look to us and but also to others
 National Curriculum Board
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Shape of National Curriculum – on website for comment
Framing Papers on English, Mathematics, Science, History
• First advice discussed in Forums in week of 13 October
• Revised draft soon on website for comment
 National Goals of Education for Young Australians
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Painting on a broader canvas
Associated national action plans
Pedagogy and resource beyond the curriculum
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Curriculum documents delivered electronically
Connected via links to:
• Relevant resources
• Ideas for practice
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Thank you.
Contact
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
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