The Australian Curriculum & History
AIS LIBRARIAN’S CONFERENCE
Friday, 15th October, 2010
Strengths
• A real strength of the Australian Curriculum in
History is the explicit attempt to make clear the
geopolitical, cultural and economic reality of Asia
and the Pacific in the development of Australia as a
nation.
• Strong emphasis on Chronology
• Contemporary – recent history
• 19th Century Australia is back.
History Courses
• Implementation will be gradual – from c. 2011? - by 2015 BOS has still to
decide on timeframe
• History as a distinctive subject from K – 6 – (TIME?)
• 7 – 10 History (consistent across the country) + (TIME?) – NSW
• Implications for SC Test
• Senior Ancient History – (Archaeology)
• Senior Modern History – WWI??
• NSW BOS will recommend a Core topic.
• AH will remain Pompeii & Herculaneum
• MH – WWI will be replaced with another option possibly Topic 4 ??
• Extension History will remain as part of the NSW BOS subjects
• Implications for the status of Elective History in Tears 9 – 10.
Cross curriculum priorities
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Sustainability
Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia
Aboriginal and Torres Strait histories and cultures
Literacy
Numeracy
ICT
Critical and creative thinking
Ethical behaviour
Intercultural understanding
General Capabilities
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Literacy
Numeracy
ICT
Thinking Skills
Creativity
Ethical Behaviour ??????
World History Framework
in K - 10
Focusing on Historical Skills
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Chronology and Historical language
Historical questions and research
Analysis and use of sources
Perspectives and interpretations
Explanation nd communication
World History Framework
in K - 10
Historical Understanding
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Evidence
Continuity and change
Cause and effect
Perspectives
Empathy
Significance
Contestability
K – 10 History Continuum
Kindergarten – Stories
What is my story/history?
What stories do other people tell about the past?
How are stories of the past told?
Year 1 – Present and Past
• How has family life changed or remained the same
over time?
• How can we show that the present is different from
or similar to the past?
• How do we measure and describe time?
Year 2 – Past in the Present
• What aspects of the past can you see today?
• Why have some remains of the past been retained as
part of the local community?
• How have changes in technology shaped our daily
life?
Year 3 – Community & Remembrance
• Who lived here first?
• How has our community changed?
• What is the nature of the contribution made by
diverse groups and individuals in the community?
• How and why do people choose to remember events
of the past?
Year 4 – First Contacts
• What was life like for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people before the arrival of the Europeans?
• Why did people (Europeans and Aboriginal & Torres
Strait Islander) explore? Where did they go?
• Why id they decide to settle there?
• What was the nature of the contact between
Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people and early
explorers and settlers.
Year 5 – Colonial Australia
• What do we know about the lives of people in
Australia’s colonial past?
• How and why did Australia’s colonies develop?
• What were the significant events and who were the
significant people that shaped Australia’s colonies?
Year 6 – Modern Australia
• Why and how did Australia become a nation?
• How did Australian society change from colonial
times to the 20th Century?
• Who were the people who came to Australia and
what contribution did they make?
• What significant world events contributed to
Australia’s migration patterns and cultural diversity.
Year 7
Prehistoric to Ancient History
60 000 – c. 600 CE
• Organised into THREE distinct areas.
• Topic 1 – How we know about the past with special
emphasis on the Archaeology of Ancient Australia.
• Topic 2 – The Mediterranean World with a Depth
Study on either Egypt, Greece or Rome.
• Topic 3 – The Asian World with a depth study on
China or India.
Year 8
The Modern World
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C 600 CE – 1750 CE
Organised into THREE distinct areas.
Topic 1 – The Islamic and Western World
One Depth Study to be studied from either the
Vikings, Medieval Christendom, The Ottoman Empire
or Renaissance Italy.
Topic 2 – The Asia-Pacific World
One Depth Study from either Angkor/Khmer Empire,
Shogunate Japan, the Polynesian expansion across
the Pacific.
Year 9
The Making of the Modern World
1750 – to 1918
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Return of the 18th & 19th Centuries
Organised into THREE distinct areas.
Topic 1 – Making a Better World???
One Depth Study to be studied from either the
Industrial Revolution, Movement of Peoples,
Progressive Ideas and Movements
Industrial Revolution
• Impact of industrialisation on Australia and the
world
• Progress and modernity
Movement of Peoples
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Slavery
Convicts
Free Settlers
Australian experience of settlers on the frontier
Progressive Ideas and Movements
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One of the following isms on Australia
Capitalism
Socialism
Darwinism
Imperialism
Nationalism
Chartism – (working class labour movement focusing
on reforming the political and social structure such
as the voting system )
Topic 2 – Asia and Australia
1750-1918
SIGNIFICANT REVISION TAKING PLACE
WATCH THIS SPACE?
A TALE OF TWO CITIES
COMPARATIVE DEPTH STUDY –
AN ASIAN AND AUSTRALIAN CITY
Topic 3 – Nations in Conflict
1750 – 1918
REVISION
One Depth Study
WWI – Eastern and Western Fronts
OR
WWI – Home fronts (1914-1918)
GREATER INTEGRATION NEEDED
YEAR 10 –
The Modern World & Australia
• THREE topics with a degree of internal choice.
• Topic 1 – Wartime experiences
• One Depth Study from WWII (1939-1945) OR Vietnam (19451975)
• Topic 2 – Rights and Freedoms (1954 to the present)
• One Depth Study from either Civil Rights & Freedom Rides OR
Women's Liberation Movement (1963 to the present)
• Topic 3 – The globalising world
• Choice of TWO Depth Studies – Popular Culture (1954 to the
present) OR the Environment movement (1960s to the
present)
Programming of the Senior Courses
CHALLENGES FOR NSW
NO HISTORICAL INVESTIGATION in YEAR 11
PRELIMINARY COURSE?
HSC COURSE?
EACH UNIT IS DESIGNED TO BE
ONE SEMESTER IN DURATION
Ancient History – Year 11
Unit 1 – Investigating the Past
• Methods of historians/archaeologists
• Investigating ancient sources through ONE of the
following:
• A significant archaeological source or written source
Ancient History – Year 11
UNIT 2a
Representing & Interpreting the Ancient Past
• ONE representation of the ancient past
• TWO controversies
OR
Year 11 Ancient History
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UNIT 2 b
Ancient Lives
1 theme with reference to TWO civilisations???
Slavery
Death & burial
Art & architecture
Weapons & warfare
Technology & engineering
The family
Year 12 Ancient History
UNIT 3
Ancient People, Power & Politics
ONE HISTORICAL PERIOD
and
ONE HISTORICAL PERSONALITY
Year 12 Ancient History
UNIT 4
Ancient Societies, Sites & Sources
• ONE Ancient Society
• ONE Ancient Site
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ONE ANCIENT SOURCE
For Year 12 topics must be drawn from at least TWO of
either Egypt, Near East, Asia, Greece or Rome
YEAR 11 MODERN HISTORY
UNIT 1
Investigating Modern History
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Investigate key events, people, ideas
Evaluate significant historical debates
Working with sources
ONE Case Study and WW1
YEAR 11 MODERN HISTORY
UNIT 2 a
The Nation State & National Identity
• Key events in the first half of the 20th Century
• ONE Nation State and an individual from either
- Australia, Germany, India, Japan, USA
YEAR 11 MODERN HISTORY
UNIT 2 b
Recognition & Equality
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ONE From the following:
Women’s struggle
First Nations
End of Apartheid in South Africa
Civil Rights in the USA
YEAR 12 MODERN HISTORY
UNIT 3 a
International Tensions & Conflict
ONE from the following:
• Cold War Era
• Conflict in the Middle East
• Decolonisation/Independence in Asia/Africa
OR
YEAR 12 MODERN HISTORY
Unit 3 b
Revolutions
ONE from either of the following:
- America
- France
- Russia
- China
YEAR 12 MODERN HISTORY
Unit 4
Asia & Australia 1937- 2000
• World War II in the Pacific
• Developments since WW2
• Increasing influence of Asia
War in SE Asia and ONE Asian nation
Criticism of the Senior Courses
• Restriction in number of topics and choices on offer
ie in AH – Old Kingdom
• A degree of repetition in MH
• Focus on Australia in MH
• Jumping into Year 12 course without an experience
of Year 11 skills development
• Timeframe – too rushed
• Lack of transparency
• Assessment
Contact Details
Carlo Tuttocuore
Head of History & AIS History Convenor
tuttocuore@krb.nsw.edu.au