THE ARTS IN THE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM

1. THE ARTS IN THE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOLS and TEACHERS

2. The consultative design process ALL decisions made or ratified by ACARA Curriculum Committee Senior Project Officer appointed - Sept 2009 26 person Reference group – all arts, states, systems, levels - Sept 2009 Lead writer and writing team for Shape Paper –Dec 2009 Advisory group of 12 – all art forms, levels, systems, teachers - Jan 2010 Primary teachers trial – April 2010 Sydney forum – 300 stakeholders – May 2010 Internet consultation 16 weeks – public AND authority responses Informal presentation/discussions – most states - 2010 & 2011 Rewriting by team and advisory group – final paper - Aug 2011 Writing teams – 2 each art form + 2 – Oct 2011 Advisory Panel – 10 inc. 1st writers team – Oct 2011 Regular NAAE consultation throughout

3. FIRST AGREEMENTS • BASIC ENTITLEMENT: FIVE ART FORMS: Dance, Drama, Media Arts, Music, Visual Arts All 5 art forms equally through Primary (F-6) Flexibility in Years 7 & -8 Availability in Years 9-12 with no diminution • ASPIRATIONAL • ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF DIFFERENCE • ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF CONNECTIVITY • 21st CENTURY CURRICULUM

4. WHY MEDIA ARTS?

5. THE SHAPE PAPER • Collective wisdom • Coherent vision and structure but • Plain language • Twenty pages

6. Timeline (unofficial) Curriculum drafting October 2011 - ?May 2012 Phase 1: Aims, rationale, scope & sequence – Jan 2012 Phase 2: Detailed curriculum – Feb - ?May 2012 Internet consultation - ?May- July 2012 Revising and redrafting ?July – December 2012 Trial implementation - ? 50 schools 2013 Gradual implementation, based on what arts can be initially delivered 2013-2015 Full implementation ? 2016

7. KEY PRINCIPLES • All children have arts capability and entitlement • Creativity, imagination and play are central • Arts knowing is sensory, cognitive and affective • Arts are culturally mediated • Full understanding is practical, critical, knowledgeable • Process is as important as product • Arts in schools are highly collaborative • Arts need different times and structures

8. REQUIREMENTS - Literacy- Numeracy- ICT- Critical and creative thinking- - Personal and Social competence- Intercultural understanding- Ethical behaviour • Three Cross-curricular Perspectives - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders - Asian-Pacific arts - Sustainability • Seven General Capabilities

9. ORGANISERS • Simple, clear and not too many • “What do people do when they engage in arts?” MAKING (by artists) (inc. CREATING, PRODUCING, PRESENTING, COMMUNICATING) RESPONDING (by audiences) • All recursive • All equally important

10. AESTHETIC KNOWLEDGEa particular way of knowing Arts are experienced and communicated through the senses, the brain and the emotions Arts learning is holistic and embodied Arts are experienced in all domains of experience and perception: subjective (‘I’), relational (‘you’ and ‘us’) and objective (‘it’ and ‘them’) Arts learning moves from experiencing to comprehending through key questions

11. Key questions Meaning Form Society Culture Historical Philosophy and ideology Critical and evaluative Psychological Other – eg institutions, spiritual

12. WRITING THE CURRICULUM • 2 Year Bands for reporting: F-2, 3/4, 5/6, 7/8, 9/10 • 11/12 (Senior) still sub-judice – but principles drafted to fit in with State Senior programs • Content in 2 year bands – general principles not lockstep prescription • Familiarity with all State & Territory syllabuses & Shape paper designed to synch. • Achievement standards in aesthetic knowledge

13. LOGISTICAL CHALLENGES(or not) • TIMEArts need differentiated allocation and different kinds of management in integrated curriculum • SPACE& PHYSICAL RESOURCES • PARENTS & SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION • ACARA COMMUNICATION • TEACHERS

14. TEACHERS • ACARA & ESA WEB RESOURCES • PROFESSIONAL LEARNING? • PRE-SERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION? • SPECIALISTS & COMMUNITY • ARTS INDUSTRY – increasing importance