In 1976, following the recommendations of the Campbell Report, school-based course development and assessment
replaced the New South Wales Higher School Certificate
courses and public examinations. Under the auspices of
the A.C.T. Schools Authority, the A.C.T. Accrediting
Agency took control of administering the new system.
Nine years after the system was introduced, the benefits
of the new system were very clear in the area of English
curriculum at Years 11 and 12 level. To a considerable
degree, the hopes of the Campbell Report have been
fulfilled in terms of providing students with greater
freedom of choice and flexibility in the selection of
options in an English course composed of a number of term
or term equivalent units. Assessment instruments have
become much more wide-ranging. Teacher/student
relationships have become less authoritarian. Teaching
strategies and learning approaches have generally made
students more active participants in the learning process.
The field study drew heavily on English course documents
in the senior secondary colleges, presenting an overview
of the workings of the English curriculum. Because
courses are being continually reaccredited, it was
necessary to set the curriculum overview at a particular
time, in 1984. As the A.C.T. is a small education system
in Australian terms, it was possible to gain some concept
of the whole picture, although 428 term units is not an
inconsiderable number.
The field study, because of its significant data base,
poses more questions than it answers. It does, to a
degree, present "what is", or rather "what was" in the
1984 English curriculum at Years 11 and 12 level in A.C.T.
colleges. And it points directions for further research.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/218960 |
| Date | January 1985 |
| Creators | Gordon, Phillipa, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Phillipa Gordon |
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