An exploratory study of Board-Registered School Subjects was
undertaken in 1989 to investigate the impact of this category
of subjects on the curriculum for Year 11 and 12 students in
Queensland secondary schools. The study was undertaken at two
levels -the Systems and the Schools levels. At the Systems
level, analysis of Reports and other documents was supplemented
by interviews with key personnel in the education authorities.
The segment at the Schools level consisted of interviews with
administrators or teachers in ten schools in South East
Queensland and a small student survey.
Board-Registered School Subjects, first developed in that State
in 1982, broadened the Senior curriculum from its traditionally
academic base. The development of this category of subjects
also heralded the beginnings of school based curriculum
development in many secondary schools in that State. However,
in the latter years of the 1980's, policies and syllabuses
developed by the Queensland Department of Education indicate
that a shift to systems based curriculum development is
probable in the 1990's.
Four sub-categories of Board-Registered School Subjects were
identified in the sample schools. These were alternatives to
core subjects, such as English and Mathematics, vocationally
oriented subjects, those related to life/leisure skills and
subjects which reflected the nature of the geographical area.
The response by many schools to the development of these
subjects was enthusiastic; most schools in the sample offered
six to eight Board-Registered School Subjects to students in
Years 11 and 12. Although many of these subjects were
developed initially for students of "lower ability", a reported
recent trend was for "academic" students to select one
Board-Registered School Subject.
The enthusiastic response by schools was curbed to some extent
by the reaction of some teachers, students and parents to these
subjects. Several Board-Registered School Subjects offered in
1989 were not implemented because insufficient numbers of
students selected them. The major factor which mitigated
against successful implementation of Board-Registered School
Subjects was that students' results in these subjects could not
be used in the calculation of the Tertiary Entrance Score, the
basis for selection to tertiary institutions. For many
students and parents, the Tertiary Entrance Score appeared to
be the major goal of Senior secondary education.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219276 |
| Date | January 1990 |
| Creators | Randall, Dell, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Dell Randall |
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