Update
on
the
Arts
in
the
Australian
Curriculum


Report
prepared
by
Kerry
Thomas,
VADEA
Co­President,
State
and
National
Issues

and
Special
Projects


April
27,
2010


We
are
keen
to
keep
members
updated
of
developments
with
the
proposed
Australian

Curriculum,
and
at
this
stage
development
around
the
draft
Shape
Paper
for
the
Australian

Curriculum:
the
Arts.
Since
our
VADEA
conference
last
year,
where
we
sought
to
generate

some
ideas
around
a
preferred
NSW
position,
and
following
the
Forum
that
was
organised

as
a
joint
venture
with
COFA
last
November,
there
have
been
a
number
of
developments.



Writers
and
process


Many
of
you
will
know
that
a
lead
writer
for
the
Arts
was
appointed
towards
the
end
of
last

year.
His
name
is
Professor
John
O’Toole
and
he
is
Foundation
Chair
of
Arts
Education
at
the

University
of
Melbourne.
Professor
O’Toole
has
a
background
in
drama
and
the
arts,

particularly
as
it
relates
to
primary
education
although
it
is
less
clear
as
to
whether
he
has

any
background
in
the
visual
arts/art
education
except
in
a
generic
arts
sense.
Nonetheless,

some
would
see
Professor
John
O’Toole’s
appointment
to
this
position
as
the
natural
heir
to

the
Melbourne
University
based
Professor
Lee
Emery
and
Dr
Geoff
Hammond,
both
of
whom

were
appointed
as
the
Arts
writers
of
the
National
Statement
and
Profile
in
the
1990s.

Professor
O’Toole’s
previous
work
as
National
Coordinator
of
the
Mayer
Key
competencies

in
the
Arts
and
his
co‐authoring
role
in
writing
the
National
Advocacy
Paper
for
the
National

Affiliation
of
the
Arts
in
the
mid
19990s
would
also
make
him
attractive
to
ACARA.



Professor
O’Toole
has
also
been
appointed
to
write
for
drama
and
he
has
four
additional

writers
that
have
been
accepted
by
ACARA
for
‘providing
specific
advice’
to
the
lead
writer

in
the
other
artforms.
These
are:


• Professor
Elizabeth
Grierson,
Head
of
the
School
of
Art,
Royal
Melbourne
Institute
of

Technology
(RMIT):
Visual
Arts

• Professor
Margaret
Barrett,
Head
of
the
School
of
Music,
University
of
Queensland:

Music

• Jeff
Meiners,
Lecturer,
School
of
Education,
University
of
South
Australia:
Dance

• Dr
Michael
Dezuanni,
Lecturer,
Film
and
Media,
Queensland
University
of

Technology:
Media


The
process
of
section
of
these
writers
remains
opaque
other
than
we
do
know
that
an

initial
reference
group,
composed
of
‘key
stakeholders’
from
industry,
national
professional

associations,
selected
universities
and
schools
across
the
country,
was
invited
to
make

suggestions.
It
is
noteworthy
that
this
initial
reference
group
did
not
include
one
tertiary
or

secondary
visual
arts
teacher
from
NSW.
It
is
also
noteworthy
that
a
further
advisory
group

was
instituted
during
the
period
of
the
development
of
the
draft
initial
advice
for
the
draft


Kerry
Thomas
VADEA
Arts
Curriculum
April
27,
2010
 1


Shape
Paper
although
the
composition
of
this
group
has
not
been
made
public
on
ACARAs

website.
We
are
also
concerned
at
this
stage
that
Art
Education
Australia
(AEA),
the
national

art
education
association,
who
because
of
their
national
status
will
be
quite
influential

through
this
process,
has
had
little
contact
with
VADEA
despite
our
requests
and

reaffiliation
with
the
association
last
year.
We
know
that
AEA
has
been
working
with
the

other
artforms
during
this
time
in
a
joint
national
body
known
as
the
National
Alliance
of

Arts
Educators
(NAAE).



VADEAs
meetings
with
Rob
Randall
to
date


The
VADEA
Co‐Presidents
contacted
Robert
Randall,
currently
Relieving
Executive
Officer

ACARA,
expressing
our
concern
about
what
we
tactfully
described
as
an
‘oversight’
in
the

composition
of
the
initial
reference
group.
As
a
consequence,
Karen
Profilio,
Karen
Maras

and
I
were
invited
to
meet
with
Rob,
Mark
Askew
and
Josephine
Wise
(with
a
drama
and

arts
advocacy
background),
his
then
current
Arts
team,
in
what
appeared
as
an
attempt
to

restore
some
trust
in
the
process
and
situation.
The
meeting
seemed
reasonably
useful
in

that
we
were
asked
to
provide
reasons
as
to
why
NSW
art
education
was
so
different
from

the
other
states.
We
were
able
to
discuss
the
impact
of
theory
in
respect
of
the
frames,
and

the
concept
of
practice
that
permeates
the
syllabuses,
centralised
syllabus
development,
the

HSC
examination
and
ARTEXPRESS
and
how
NSW
at
a
state
level
took
an
alternative
path
to

the
other
states
in
its
ultimate
rejection
of
the
National
Statement
and
Profiles
in
the
Arts

during
the
1990s.
We
went
on
to
discuss
the
effects
on
teachers’
and
students’
thinking
and

actions
in
artmaking
and
critical
and
historical
studies.



We
were
subsequently
invited
to
meet
with
Rob
and
the
ACARA
team
again
with
Professor

John
O’Toole,
the
lead
writer.
Our
brief
was
to
set
out
how
the
conceptual
framework

operates,
as
represented
in
the
NSW
Visual
Arts
syllabuses
and
which
also
underscores
the

K‐6
Creative
Arts
Syllabus,
and
how
it
might
be
adapted
to
the
Arts
in
the
Australian

Curriculum.
We
addressed
these
points
from
different
angles
of
the
K‐6
Creative
Arts
and

Visual
Arts
syllabuses,
research
and
children’s
theorising
in
the
visual
arts,
the

developments
of
concepts
beyond
process
and
teaching
and
learning
in
classroom
practice.

While
the
meeting
appeared
to
have
some
resonance
any
advance
cannot
be
taken
for

granted.
We
have
recently
heard
that
Mark
Askew
and
Josephine
Wise
have
finished
their

short‐term
employment
contracts
with
ACARA,
and
thus
what
is
corporately
remembered

and
taken
forward
from
these
meetings
is
any
one’s
guess.



It
is
clear
that
NSW
visual
arts
educators
and
others
with
an
interest
in
the
visual
arts
as
a

distinctive
field
of
creative
practice,
with
a
history,
traditions
and
a
future
trajectory,
will

have
to
lobby
hard
for
visual
arts
to
retain
its
identity
at
a
time
when
a
more
generic

approach
to
the
arts
could
be
predicted,
given
the
lead
writer’s
background
and
the

approach
adopted
by
ACARA
that
the
‘Arts’
(rather
than
the
subjects)
are
the
learning
area.

Questions
need
to
be
raised
about
this
anomalous
conceptualisation
given
that
all
of
the

learning
areas
involved
in
stage
1
development
(English,
history,
mathematics)
are
subjects

in
their
own
right.
Most
will
try
to
repress
this
point
claiming
that
we
are
lucky
to
have
a

place
in
the
curriculum.
I
argue
that
if
we
are
uprooted
and
departicularised
our
inclusion

may
come
at
a
great
price.
In
my
view
it
is
important
that
the
subjects
of
the
visual
arts,

music,
dance,
drama
and
media
are
not
amalgamated
into
a
framework
that
distorts
their

identities
as
subjects
through
a
Romantic
view
of
the
aesthetic
and/or
a
common

conceptualisation
of
the
creative
process.
These
subjects
are
genuinely
quite
different
as
the

involve
different
practices
and
bodies
of
understanding.
Any
authentic
collaboration
that

may
occur
happens
through
the
recognition
of
difference.
This
is
what
makes
the
subjects

valuable
to
one
another.
Any
discussion
that
fails
to
recognise
these
differences
will
be
ill‐
fated.
If
a
common
view
of
the
aesthetic
and/or
process
is
prevalent
there
will
be
all
manner

of
complications
and
distortions
for
assessment.



Kerry
Thomas
VADEA
Arts
Curriculum
April
27,
2010
 2


While
Rob
Randall
clearly
stated
that
he
did
not
want
the
Arts
to
become
a
‘blancmange’
at

the
VADEA/COFA
forum
in
November,
it
is
also
noteworthy
that
Dr
Brian
Croke,
Chief

Executive
Catholic
Education
Commission,
appeared
to
take
a
different
view
at
the
same

forum
in
his
assertion
that
the
ACARA
Board
wanted
the
arts
to
be
clear
cut
and
‘simple’.

From
the
syllabuses
and
practice
of
teachers
in
NSW
schools,
it
is
clear
that
our
approach
to

the
visual
arts,
and
the
other
artforms,
runs
counter
to
what
occurs
in
other
states,
in
part,

due
to
the
legacy
of
the
impact
of
the
National
Statement
and
Profiles
and
how
curriculum

and
assessment
has
been
constructed
at
a
state
level
over
the
last
15
years.


Formal
Consultation
on
the
draft
Shape
Paper


On
Monday
May
3
ACARA
is
holding
a
large
full
day
forum
on
the
Initial
Advice
for
the
draft

Shape
Paper
on
the
Australian
Curriculum:
the
Arts
in
Sydney,
now
ACARAs
home.
Over
120

‘arts
stakeholders’
have
been
invited.
The
choice
of
some
participants
is
surprising,
the

omission
of
others
regrettable
and
the
process
of
selection
remains
opaque.

We
do
know

that
Rob
Randall
has
tended
to
focus
on
nationally
based
associations
to
be
part
of
this

process
but
we
question
their
status
and
understanding
of
curriculum
development.

However,
on
the
more
positive
side,
VADEA
has
been
invited
to
send
two
of
its
Co‐
Presidents,
not
an
ideal
situation
but
better
than
not
being
‘at
the
table’.



ACARA
notes
on
their
website
that:


Feedback
from
the
forum
will
inform
the
development
of
the
draft
Shape

paper
for
the
Arts,
which
will
be
available
for
public
consultation
in
mid

2010.
Following
consultation,
the
draft
paper
will
be
published
as
the
Shape

of
the
Australian
Curriculum:
The
Arts,
which
will
guide
the
writing
of
the

curriculum.


We
will
keep
you
posted
on
the
outcome
of
the
event.



The
uncertainty
of
the
situation


This
is
a
time
that
may
result
in
some
significant
changes
that
could
have
profound
effects

on
teachers,
their
workloads
and
their
positions
in
schools
in
the
future.
But
it
may
not.
At

this
stage
we
don’t
know.
The
reason
for
this
is
that
the
states
remain
responsible
for

curriculum
and
its
implementation.
While
the
National
Curriculum
appeared
as
a
fait

accompli
in
the
1990s
the
state
government
ultimately
rejected
it.
Thus,
while
there
was

much
argy‐bargy
and
innumerable
professional
development
courses
on
the
National

Statement
and
Profiles
they
meant
so
little
in
the
long
run.
Within
two
years
any
trace
of

their
existence
had
been
erased
from
the
Visual
Arts
7‐10
syllabus
(see
the
1994
syllabus

and
the
1997
reprint).
All
the
same,
our
advocacy
skills
need
to
be
honed
for
a
range
of

forums
as
few
things
can
be
taken
for
granted.



We
also
need
to
keep
in
mind
that
NSW
is
the
only
state
in
Australia
that
legislates
the
study

of
Visual
Arts
and
Music
in
primary
schools
and
mandates
its
study
in
the
Mandatory
Course

in
Years
7
and
8.
This
in
itself
differentiates
us
from
the
other
states
and
any
curriculum

proposals
for
the
Arts
must
be
mediated
via
a
questioning
of
the
commitment
of
the
NSW

government,
the
Board
of
Studies
and
school
sectors
as
to
whether
they
will
hold
onto
this

long
held
curriculum
provision.
Achieving
the
mandatory
status
for
Visual
Arts
and
Music

was
a
hard
fought
win
that
came
about
by
the
work
of
the
Visual
Arts
Inspectors
in
the

1960s.
The
subsequent
changes
were
structured
into
the
revised
curriculum
framework
of

the
Wyndham
Scheme
when
the
subjects
were
mandated.
Art
flourished
in
schools

supported
by
the
Inspectors,
educational
systems,
statewide
consultants
and
the
great
work

of
a
growing
band
of
qualified
art
teachers
who
were
employed
as
a
consequence
of
this

structural
change
in
the
curriculum.
It
would
be
reprehensible
if
this
hard
won
battle
that


Kerry
Thomas
VADEA
Arts
Curriculum
April
27,
2010
 3


has
been
normalised
as
a
students
entitlement
for
forty
years
were
lost
now
in
the
name
of

‘equity’
across
the
arts
at
a
time
when
there
is
such
an
urgent
need
to
address
the
‘visual’

more
knowingly
in
education,
given
how
it
shapes
much
of
our
communication
in

contemporary
societies.



The
Board
of
Studies
does
not
appear
to
be
shirking
from
its
responsibilities.
Currently

curriculum
committees
are
reforming
in
English,
mathematics,
science
and
history
to
review

the
curriculum
proposals.
It
is
reasonable
to
expect
an
‘Arts’
committee
will
be
formed
in

due
course
as
difficult
as
that
may
be.
It
is
also
good
to
note
that
Ms
Carol
Taylor,
Chief

Executive
of
the
Board
of
Studies,
in
her
recent
address
to
the
Curriculum
Directors
from
the

Association
of
Heads
of
Independent
Schools
of
Australia
(AHISA),
reiterated
the
point
that

the
Board
of
Studies
has
the
final
say
as
to
whether
the
Australian
Curriculum
is
accepted
in

NSW.
However,
in
what
may
appear
as
a
counter
move,
Mr
Tom
Alegounarias,
President
of

the
Board
of
Studies
will
address
the
Professional
Teachers
Council
(PTC)
next
Monday

evening,
May
3.
His
topic
focuses
on
‘what
[the
Australian
Curriculum]
will
look
like
in

NSW’,
‘timelines’
and
‘support
for
implementation’.





What
you
can
do


• Get
organised
to
advocate
in
your
schools,
with
your
principals,
executive,
parent

groups
and
students.
Be
ready
to
talk
with
politicians
and
influential
community

members
if
need
be.


• Try
to
get
to
the
Board
of
Studies
meeting
at
the
PTC
in
Leichhardt
on
Monday
May
3.
To

indicate
your
attendance
please
email
PTC
Administration:

admin@ptc.nsw.edu.au
by

3pm
on
Monday.
Their
address
is
PTC
Conference
Centre
101‐105
Norton
St,
Leichhardt

2040.

• Review
the
audio
file
from
the
joint
COFA/VADEA
arts
forum
and
listen
to
the
views
of

the
different
speakers
and
comments
in
the
plenary
session:


o http://vadea.blogspot.com/
and
http://tv.unsw.edu.au/mp3/how‐should‐the‐
arts‐be‐positioned‐in‐the‐australian‐curriculum‐

• Encourage
other
visual
arts
teachers
to
join
VADEA
so
you
have
a
professional
voice
in

these
ongoing
curriculum
developments.


• Look
at
the
ACARA
website:
http://www.acara.edu.au/

o In
particular,
the
sections
on
the
development
of
the
Australian
Curriculum
and

the
Melbourne
Declaration
on
Educational
Goals
for
Young
People,
the
phases
of

curriculum
development
and
the
questions
that
have
been
proposed
for
the
Arts

in
the
shaping
the
draft
Shape
paper.


o Find
out
how
the
other
curriculum
documents
from
phase
1
are
travelling.

o Follow
the
links
to
the
lead
writer’s
bio,
along
with
the
other
writers’
bios.


o Look
at
the
composition
of
the
reference
group.


o Review
the
questions
on
ACARAs
website
for
the
Arts
and
let
them
know
your

thinking.
Indicate
how
the
visual
arts
is
important,
not
simply
the
arts.


• Look
at
the
Board
of
Studies
website
on
developments
in
the
Australian
Curriculum:

http://news.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/index.cfm/2010/4/22/Australian‐curriculum‐
FAQs

• You
might
also
like
to
talk
with
teachers
from
phase
1
subjects
(English,
mathematics,

science,
history)
and
get
there
views
of
the
process
to
date.

• Talk
with
your
Principal
and
other
teachers
in
the
arts
in
your
school
and
get
a
sense
of

their
thinking.
Recognise
that
differences
will
emerge
that
will
need
to
be
negotiated.


• Look
at
the
national
professional
associations
websites.
They
vary
but
it
is
worth
your

while.
For
instance:


o Australian
Art
Education
Association’s
website
and
what
they
have
to
say
so
far:

http://www.arteducation.org.au/


Kerry
Thomas
VADEA
Arts
Curriculum
April
27,
2010
 4


 o Drama
Australia:
http://www.dramaaustralia.org.au

o See
what
the
NAAE
says
it
has
done
so
far:

http://www.arteducation.org.au/advocacy/campaign/NAAE‐the‐story‐so‐
far_update_14Sept.pdf

• Register
for
the
VADEA
annual
conference.
The
issue
will
be
addressed
via
a
series
of

research
papers,
a
keynote
address
and
break
out
groups
where
we
will
respond
to
the

draft
Shape
paper
in
more
detail.





All
the
best
with
what
you
can
do.

We
all
have
a
lot
to
do.

Please
 feel
 free
 to
 use
 this
 information
 in
 your
 discussions
 with
 others.
 Citing
 the
 paper

from
the
VADEA
website
would
be
useful.


Please
don’t
hesitate
to
contact
me
if
you
would
like
further
information.




I
look
forward
to
meeting
with
you
at
the
conference
if
not
beforehand.



Kind
regards



Kerry



Dr
Kerry
Thomas

Co‐President
VADEA
(State
and
National
issues
and
Special
Projects)

Senior
Lecturer,
School
of
Art
History
and
Art
Education

COFA.UNSW

Phone:
02
93850755

Email:
k.thomas@unsw.edu.au


Kerry
Thomas
VADEA
Arts
Curriculum
April
27,
2010
 5