Currently the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) is undertaking the task of developing a national arts curriculum from Kindergarten to Year 12. NAVA's Executive Director has been invited to be a member of the reference group to support ACARA's work. The first meeting of this reference group took place in Sydney on 18th September and the second on 13th October 2009. Prior to appointing writer/s to draft the proposed new curriculum, ACARA will be undertaking broader consultation over the next few months including holding a national forum with key stakeholders.
ACARA's work follows on the announcement in mid April 2009 by Arts Minister Peter Garrett that the Ministerial Council for Education, Employment Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) agreed to the inclusion of arts education in the second phase of the development of the national school curriculum. The foundation was laid in December 2008 when MCEETYA released the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. These included mention of the value of arts-rich aspects such as cultural, creative and aesthetic. Importantly, however, the declaration listed a range of learning areas including the arts (performing and visual).
The National Advocates for Arts Education (of which NAVA is an active member) had been lobbying for meaningful sequential and continuous arts education in school, and will continue to consult with its constituents and offer advice and assistance to ACARA in the task of developing the best possible arts curriculum model to be applied across the nation.
Behind the visual arts component of this lies early work done by NAVA and the broadly representative group it convened - the Visual Education Roundtable. This group of key stakeholders includes representatives of school education (State, Catholic and Independent systems), parent groups, primary and secondary school principals’ and teachers’ associations, teacher education and research institutions, commercial galleries, national and state galleries, visual arts, craft and design peak bodies and professional associations and art supplies retailers, with observers from state education departments.The Roundtable group continues to be active in the current process.
Because of increasing concern that the state of visual education needed some concerted attention (particularly to keep pace with the rapidly expanding use of visual communication tools), in 2004 a successful campaign was conducted by the Visual Education Roundtable which resulted in the allocation of $250,000 by government for the National Revue of Visual Education (NRVE). The NRVE report was delivered at the end of 2007 making four key recommendations in relation to 'visuacy'.
To read the NRVE report click here
To read NAVA and NAAE's position click here
