Analysis of Australian Education Policy for Secondary Teaching Course

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of the Australian education policy, examining key aspects such as curriculum development, literacy and numeracy initiatives, and teacher training programs. The analysis references the Australian Government's school education policy, highlighting the importance of literacy, the role of teachers, and the implementation of programs like the Adult Migrant English Program. The essay also explores the significance of Early Childhood Education, the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), and the National Quality Framework. Furthermore, it delves into the impact of political influences on the educational curriculum, the role of the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), and reflections on current educational standards, emphasizing the government's commitment to improving the quality of education and the importance of initiatives like the New Literacy and Numeracy Initiative and the National STEM School Education Strategy. The assignment concludes by highlighting the dynamic functionalities of the Australian educational curriculum and the government's efforts to shape the future of students.

Running head: MASTER OF SECONDARY TEACHING
Master of Secondary Teaching
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1MASTER OF SEECONDARY TEACHING
Introduction
In the contemporary education system, it is very important to take up a proper education
policy and implement it successfully in the schools. The primary purpose of the schools should
be to adopt such a policy by which the school children can be benefitted properly. This is the
reason as to why the schools need to take up a proper education policy by which they could
analyze the difficulties faced by the children and identify them. These difficulties will have to be
tackled properly indeed. It is because the students face several problems in their school lives.
The Australian Government has been looking into these issues proactively. They have adopted
some strategies by which they could enlighten the lives of the children with the light of
education. Literacy is considered to be one of the major weapons in this society to shine. This is
why the government is trying their best to provide the primary education in almost all the
countries. Another important thing in this case is the skills of the teachers. The government is
trying their best to provide the teachers with the best facilities. The teachers should also look to
improve their skills and knowledge properly.
Analysis of the educational document
The educational document that has been taken here is the school education policy of the
Australian Government (Australia.gov.au 2018).. It is a sensible thing that learning and teaching
are two different things altogether. These two things are seen from the perspectives of the
teachers and the students. It is the responsibility of the teachers to improve their skills and make
lot of research on how they can teach their students with much ease. The students will also have
to understand the things that are being taught indeed. The schools have to fix their curriculum
according to that only. The curriculum has to be ser according to the talents of the students in
those areas. The Early Childhood is a very important aspect in this understanding of the

2MASTER OF SEECONDARY TEACHING
curriculum and setting the targets that have to be achieved indeed. The literacy in the 21st century
is much upgraded than the previous times. The digital resources will have to be used in the
schools as well (Kovas et al. 2013).
The literacy and numeracy skills are very important to improve for the teachers. The
government has produced many programs that could cater to the needs of the students and
teachers as well. The government has also taken up the strategies like the Adult Migrant English
Program (Australia.gov.au 2018). They are keen on providing the migrant entrants into the
country. They provide the migrants of different countries and regions with the free English
teaching programs for 510 hours. This might help the migrant people effectively indeed
(Mohammadyari and Singh 2015). The government is also keen on providing the schools with
the relevant literary resources that could help the children in many ways. The government
professionals are also working on the professional development of the students. They also
provide them with free training indeed (Kovas et al. 2013).
The National Literacy and Numeracy Week is also celebrated as the schools in Australia
want to celebrate the success of the students and the allover development that is taking place in
all over Australia (Australia.gov.au 2018). It is also very effective to increase the development
the literacy and numeracy skills for the students. This will surely change the entire scenario
indeed. The school education is kept at the central focus by the government as they think the
school children to be the future talent pool of the country (Ball, Paris and Govinda 2014). They
provide the students with the training courses that could help the students with better speaking,
reading and writing skills along with the basic skills in mathematics. This program also aims at
securing the better future of the students by helping them to get a proper job indeed. This would
in turn make the lives of the children easy from many aspects.

3MASTER OF SEECONDARY TEACHING
Early Childhood Education has not been made mandatory yet indeed. The early
childhood education is provided through the pre-schools or the kindergartens in some parts of the
country. The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) has been developed to provide the light
of learning to the people of the different communities as well (Connor 2012). The government
has set their aim on improving the quality of the childhood education properly indeed. They
always promote the quality in the various parts of the country. The Australian Children’s
Education and Care Quality Authority has focused their views on the care of the school children
in the country indeed (Australia.gov.au 2018). This will be very much important from their part.
They always try to maintain the consistency that is always there. The purpose of the National
Quality Framework should be followed properly (Meyers, Erickson and Small 2013). The
service delivery has to be better always. The new programs should be taken up in order to ensure
the best service quality in providing the education for the children. One of the most important
aspects of this framework is the play based learning. The communication is also very important
for the implementation of this framework (Connor 2012)
In the implementation of this framework, the broader community has to be addressed by
the teachers and the government on a broader scale. The cause of the diverse learners is also
important because the framework should help to mitigate the problems of diverse talented
students (Connor 2012). The integration of the literacy will have to be given a bigger amount of
focus. It is simply because not only the mainland people, but the focus will also have to be on the
aboriginal people. The visual literacy and digital literacy programs could be employed in the
various parts of the country (Eshet 2012). The students will be benefitted indeed if they get the
support of the teachers. Their talents will be revealed in a large way indeed. The Indigenous
Literacy Foundation (ILF) has been set up to support the causes of the aboriginal literacy

4MASTER OF SEECONDARY TEACHING
(Indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au 2018). They believe in the equality of opportunities. They
provide the free books to the different communities that are very important to know about their
own cultures. The early literacy programs are designed for the children under five years of age.
The Book Buzz books are translated for them as well. These things are really useful for the
literacy drive of the aboriginals that is complementary to the EYLF (Connor 2012).
Literacy aspects in Australian educational curriculum
Literacy is one of an essential component of the Australian Curriculum. Teaches make
active participation for polishing the communication skills of the students. Delving deep into the
aspect, literacy covers both the reading and the writing skills. Political influences enable the
teachers to make the students acquainted with the stately events. The recent researches lack
reference to political knowledge (Kennedy et al. 2015). This is because the experiences ones are
either ignorant towards making the students the future leaders. This mentality reflects the selfish
nature in terms of not passing the legacy to the future generation. On the other hand, there are
evidences of political parties taking initiative to fund for the upliftment of the schools as well as
the students. Typical example of this are the schemes and scholarships for attract the students.
The political influences have compelled the educational curriculum of Australia to
undergo various transformations. Different stately affairs have altered the educational discourse,
compelling the administrative to focus on particular issues. According to the recent updates from
the ACARA General Capabilities, Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education is the discourse
included within the Australian curriculum (Australiancurriculum.edu.au 2018). This inclusion is
the result of the numerous State and Commonwealth political initiatives undertaken by the
Australian government for shaping the future of the young minds.

5MASTER OF SEECONDARY TEACHING
Budget is an essential factor in terms of providing quality education to the students.
Inadequate funds are a compromise with the educational needs of the students. In addition to
this, lack of skilled and qualified teachers aggravates the complexities. Hiring teachers from the
foreign countries is also not an effective solution due to the incapability of affording their
accommodation costs. These global and national issues push the education of the students into
dark.
Reflection on current educational standards
I think education is the keystone towards demarcating the gap between the right and
wrong actions. I feel every student possesses the right to free and elementary education for
achieving a proper development. Government plays an important role in preserving this right of
the children, as they are the ones, who will be an asset for the nation (Australia.gov.au 2018).
This is not only the story of Australia but the whole world. However, as the previous points
cover the national educational curriculum focuses on Australia, I would emphasize my points on
Australian education.
Formation of Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) is
a wise step in terms of providing quality and standardized education to the students. I feel
involvement of the statutory body of law is essential in terms of assessing the effectiveness of the
ways and means adopted by the schools and the educational institutions for enriching the
knowledge of the students. I feel reporting the current educational states helps the ACARA
authorities to decide for any additional resources, which can raise the standards and quality of
education, which the students are getting (Acara.edu.au 2018).

6MASTER OF SEECONDARY TEACHING
I think teachers are the torch bearers in the life of the students. In this context, I am elated
at the scheme of New Australian Curriculum: resources to support teacher. According to this
scheme, the government personnel can be informed about the resources, which the teachers need
for upgrading the knowledge of the students (Australiancurriculum.edu.au 2018). I think the
video, which the government has uploaded is extremely helpful for the teachers to be acquainted
with the easiest ways and means to access the Australian curriculum website.
I feel the teachers also need to be trained in terms of delivering the lectures to the
students in an efficient and effective manner. Here, I can relate the New Literacy and Numeracy
Initiative scheme. This scheme was launched on 18th January 2018 to help the teachers with the
lesson plans in English and Mathematics (Acara.edu.au 2018). I think this assistance takes the
stages of development to an advanced level, as the students are getting guidance, which is being
upgraded. Specifically, I like the fact that the scheme does not cover any specific grade.
Commonality in the learning process provides each student to proceed towards their educational
development equally.
All these schemes and initiatives are the components of National STEM School
Education Strategy. Strategy has enabled the administrative authorities to achieve positive
outcomes in terms of the educational establishment of the students (Harris and Ammermann
2016). I personally feel that making strategies proves effective in terms of systematizing the
activities. This is important in terms of catering to the educational needs to the students.
Haphazard lesson plans can overstrain the minds of the students, deviating them from their
development. I think all the schools and the educational institutions need to develop a framework
for catering to the educational needs to the students in an efficient and effective manner.

7MASTER OF SEECONDARY TEACHING
Adhering to this framework is of utmost importance in terms of upgrading the standards and
quality of education.
Conclusion
This assignment emerges successful in providing an insight into the dynamic
functionalities of Australian educational curriculum in terms of shaping the future of the
students. Special emphasis has been given on the initiatives taken by the Australian government
to upgrade the standards of education. This upgradation is an indication towards enhancing the
brand image of the schools and the educational institutions. Viewing it from the other
perspective, commercialization of education, acts as interplay with the educational needs to the
students. Herein lays the correlation with the global and the national issues, which is one of an
important area, covered by the assignment. Political influences reflect an attempt towards
making the students acquainted with the stately affairs. Insertion of reflective tone can be
considered as an evaluation for the teachers and the government personnel in terms of assessing
their role towards shaping the lives of the students. Framework and strategy attaches value to this
assessment, making the teachers and the government personnel an agent in the life of the
students. Consistency needs to be maintained in the execution of evaluation as it would help the
teachers and the government personnel to bring creativity and innovation in the lesson plans and
making education interesting for the students.

8MASTER OF SEECONDARY TEACHING
References and Bibliography
Acara.edu.au (2018). ACARA. [online] Acara.edu.au. Available at: http://www.acara.edu.au/
[Accessed 12 Mar. 2018].
Australia.gov.au (2018). [online] Available at: https://www.australia.gov.au/information-and-
services/education-and-training/school-education%20(2018).%20School%20education%20%7C
%20australia.gov.au.%20[online]%20Australia.gov.au.%20Available%20at:%20https://
www.australia.gov.au/information-and-services/education-and-training/school-education
%20[Accessed%2011%20Mar.%202018]. [Accessed 13 Mar. 2018].
Australiancurriculum.edu.au (2018). New Australian Curriculum: resources to support teacher.
Available at: https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/resources [Accessed on: 11th March
2018]
Ball, J., Paris, S.G. and Govinda, R., 2014. Literacy and numeracy skills among children in
developing countries. In Learning and education in developing countries: Research and policy
for the post-2015 UN development goals (pp. 26-41). Palgrave Pivot, New York.
Connor, J., 2012. Foundations for learning: Relationships between the early years learning
framework and the Australian curriculum.
Eshet, Y., 2012. Thinking in the digital era: A revised model for digital literacy. Issues in
Informing Science and Information Technology, 9(2), pp.267-276.
Harris, A. and Ammermann, M., 2016. The changing face of creativity in Australian
education. Teaching Education, 27(1), pp.103-113.

9MASTER OF SEECONDARY TEACHING
Indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au, (2018). The Indigenous Literacy Foundation | ILF |
reading opens doors charity non profit. [online] Indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au. Available
at: https://www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au/ [Accessed 11 Mar. 2018].
Kennedy, M., Billett, S., Gherardi, S. and Grealish, L., 2015. Practice-based learning in higher
education: jostling cultures. In Practice-based Learning in Higher Education (pp. 1-13).
Springer, Dordrecht.
Kovas, Y., Voronin, I., Kaydalov, A., Malykh, S.B., Dale, P.S. and Plomin, R., 2013. Literacy
and numeracy are more heritable than intelligence in primary school. Psychological
science, 24(10), pp.2048-2056.
Meyers, E.M., Erickson, I. and Small, R.V., 2013. Digital literacy and informal learning
environments: an introduction. Learning, media and technology, 38(4), pp.355-367.
Mohammadyari, S. and Singh, H., 2015. Understanding the effect of e-learning on individual
performance: The role of digital literacy. Computers & Education, 82, pp.11-25.
Polesel, J., Rice, S. and Dulfer, N., 2014. The impact of high-stakes testing on curriculum and
pedagogy: A teacher perspective from Australia. Journal of Education Policy, 29(5), pp.640-657.
Woods, A., Dooley, K., Luke, A. and Exley, B., 2014. School leadership, literacy and social
justice: The place of local school curriculum planning and reform. In International handbook of
educational leadership and social (in) justice (pp. 509-520). Springer, Dordrecht.