The Interim National Curriculum Board met for the first time on 23 April 2008 in Canberra. The Board will oversee the development of a national curriculum from kindergarten to Year 12.
The Interim National Curriculum Board was established primarily to develop a national curriculum in English, maths, science and history.
The group is chaired by Professor Barry McGraw, director of the Melbourne Educational Research Institute, and made up of representatives from each state and territory, and three representatives each from Catholic and independent sectors.
The Interim National Curriculum Board will be meeting with stakeholders in Melbourne on 27 June 2008 to discuss the curriculum form.
Professor McGraw said:
'Participants will consider, for example, the best relationships between content and outcomes, between common national content and regional variation and between curriculum specification and school and teacher discretion.'
In preparation for consultation, the Board will evaluate all state and territory education curriculum systems and samples of curricula from high-performing countries, including Finland, Canada, Hong Kong–China and Singapore.
At the 23 April 2008 inaugural meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard addressed the Interim National Curriculum Board, saying:
'We have a rare opportunity here to create a curriculum which helps achieve educational excellence across the whole community and it should be shaped by the best material and experience there is.'
Read the Federal Government's media release: 'First Steps towards a National Curriculum'.
View these related news items on the Early Childhood Australia website:
- January 2007 - Federal Opposition unveils new early childhood education initiative
- November 2006 - Nationwide review of early childhood education services
- March 2006 - New Government plan for compulsory preschool education
- January 2006 - National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy
