The Australian Curriculum Assessment And Reporting Authority

Understanding Curriculum Experiences

Curriculum is a complex foundation entailing the teaching of key learning areas in schools. Simplifying the complexity of curriculum, it can be simplified as the planning and content involved in structuring a student’s education. The curriculum taught within Australian schools is devised from the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). This foundation provides the nationwide expectations for educators to teach in key learning areas of the curriculum to students. Although ACARA was planned to develop a nationwide Curriculum, it is now utilised as a guideline as the Australian government practices that all states and territories can preside their own education systems. This leads

The Null Curriculum is when certain topics are off limits even if the students show interest in learning; such as same sex, death or other topics labelled taboo. Can you remember a situation at school you experienced either of these?

• How important do you think the relationship between student and teacher is?

• Do you feel boys and girls were treated differently when you went to primary school?

• Is there a teacher you can remember, either liked or disliked at the time? What attributes from them can you remember that made you feel this way?

• What qualities do you think a great teacher should have?

• What was your favourite subject at school? Was it because of the teacher or subject?

• Did your parents have a close relationship with your teachers in primary school? Do you think this helped your studies in anyway?

• From your experience, do you think learning is only something that happens within a classroom setting?

• Do you have a memorable learning memory from school? What do you think attributes to it?

Interviewees’ Context &

Interviewee B discussed in her attendance at a Catholic school in a debate class assignment which was being recorded by the teacher someone brought up as part of their debate about sex. Interviewee B remembers this topic getting diminished very quickly in what was usually an open class environment with the teacher and thought due it being filmed at the time.

• I asked both interviewees about how important they feel the teacher/ student relationship is. Both women felt it is a very important relationship and felt they did better engaging in class when having a bond with a teacher.

• When asked if felt boys and girls were treated differently at school, both interviewees didn’t feel like there was a difference.

• I asked both interviewees to reminisce about their teachers and if they can remember a good or bad experience with a teacher and why? Interviewee A can remember struggling with mathematics throughout her entire schooling and the final year of high school gaining a new teacher. Although failing the subject, as had spent years disengaging in Maths class she notes how supportive and encouraging he was and his effort to engage the class. Interviewee B remembers a teacher whom was very strict and demanded a lot of respect in her earlier years in high school whom she saw in a negative