The National Voice for All Primary School Principals
Released on 1 October 2007:
Click here to download the Charter on Primary Schooling (PDF - 287Kb).
Click here to download the Charter on Primary Schooling (Draft Version) (PDF - 237 Kb).
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Context statement
Primary schools are under pressure. Teachers feel that their core business has been devalued and made more difficult as they are expected to provide solutions for a range of social problems. The limited resources available are being stretched to cover increasing responsibilities and demands.
Principals have been saying this for years. Now, there is evidence. An extensive program of research has been conducted since 2000 under the auspices of the Australian Primary Principals Association. It shows a growing trend to load the primary school with every issue that others are unable to solve.
The research demonstrates that new forces are coming to bear on schools and their traditional focus on the whole child is being blurred. Many primary schools cannot teach the full range of learning areas and content set out in curriculum documents. The expected role of primary schools is less clear than it once was as public debate sees strong and conflicting public views about the role of primary schools. Interest groups increasingly demand that schools respond to their special concerns. The growth of programs for the middle years seems to question the importance and effectiveness of the primary school. Principals largely support rigorous testing and accountability, but they worry that this movement might also put at risk the excitement, enthusiasm and variety of primary schooling.
These changes have placed extraordinary pressure on primary schools. The Charter on Primary Schooling sets out a response to this situation from the Australian Primary Principals Association. It sets out the Association’s views on the nature and purposes of primary schooling in Australia. It argues that the identity of primary schools should be strengthened, not weakened.
The charter has already received overwhelming support from primary educators. It should constitute a foundational document during policy deliberations about the role of primary schools, their curriculum and the level of support that they require to achieve high standards. The charter aims to restate the importance of a rich, vibrant classroom, and of schools which focus on creative, cooperative and innovative teaching and learning.
Australia’s primary schooling deserves a strategic, thoughtful and forward-looking statement of its purposes. This charter is intended to fulfil that need.
What should primary schooling be like?
Primary schooling is distinctive. The beginning of primary schooling is a cultural milestone in the lives of young Australians. Most children begin their schooling at a time when they are making a transition from the immediate family. While many children attend early childhood services, the school attended by children during their primary years is the first major social institution with which we expect all children to have sustained contact. School is not only the provider of education; it is also the medium in which children experience social and intellectual life.
This is a phase of schooling which is directly matched to particular stages of development in the lives of children. Where secondary and tertiary education are increasingly organised around subjects and disciplines, primary schooling is organised around children. During this phase, children can be children. The primary classroom is characterised by enjoyment, engagement, discovery and curiosity. Children experience wonder and excitement, take risks, sometimes succeed and sometimes fail. They take increasing responsibility and become more independent learners. Together, these features (enjoyment and responsibility) are the basis for life-long learning.
During these years children form a strong sense of self, establish independent relationships, gain resilience, enhance their sense of right and wrong and begin the process of understanding themselves and their strengths and weaknesses. They begin to see themselves as part of a local and wider community. They are supported in these developments by experiencing a wide range of activities and beginning to gain the essential skills and knowledge which form a foundation for further education, employment and a rich and productive life. They do this in schools which demonstrate and enact the values and behaviours which they encourage in children.
The fact that children are engaged in the transition from family to wider society shapes primary schooling. It requires a partnership between their parents, from whom they have gained much of their education to this point, and their teachers, who will be increasingly responsible for their further education. Parents can support teachers in their work, and require clear and accurate information about the progress of their children, including the display and celebration of children’s work. Teachers form close and sustained relationships with children, as they support their increasing independence and openness to new experiences.
Teachers of primary children constitute a distinctive feature of primary schooling. Effective primary teachers have a rich set of skills and capacities. They have a deep understanding of how children learn and how they learn about learning. They have a depth of understanding of core curriculum areas. They combine careful attention to the stage of development of each individual with high expectations and a concern to set high standards for all children. They balance the need for explicit teaching of core concepts, knowledge and skills, with innovative ways of encouraging cooperative work, research, problem solving and student management of elements of their learning.
Purpose of primary schooling
The main purpose of primary schooling is ensuring that all children learn, and that they gain an enduring love of learning. This purpose is not, however, unlimited. Schools are increasingly under pressure to expand the curriculum and to take on additional responsibilities and roles. Partly for this reason, the charter defines a core of essential learning for all children, which is intended to lead to depth of understanding.
Knowledge and skills
The range and quality of activities in the primary classroom is the basis for the enthusiasm and creativity which characterises good primary education, and enables primary schooling to ensure that all children are introduced to major areas of human knowledge. Two of these are the heart of primary schooling, and are entitled to a substantial proportion of the time available for teaching:
Primary schooling is characterised by offering children experiences in the arts (especially music), sport and physical activity, community activities, the use of learning technologies, rites of passage, matters of the spirit, and activities involving other languages and cultures. These activities can be delivered through, and are often the means for learning in, the core areas, and have a value in themselves as introductions to important areas of life. Primary schooling will benefit from the flexibility arising from adopting a limited core curriculum, which frees time for a wide range of activities of this kind. This has a particular value in enabling schools to respond to individual and local needs, interests and circumstances.
If children are to make successful progress at school, they also need to gain skills in key foundational and enabling areas. These are not an additional core. They are learned in different forms within the core domains outlined above and are the essential basis for higher order capacities in each domain. They are transferable beyond domains of knowledge, and equip children to play a part in the world beyond school. The major enabling skills are literacy and numeracy.
Students also gain learning skills, including an initial understanding of how they learn new skills and knowledge. They develop thinking skills, including some experience of analysis, synthesis, problem solving in different domains, innovation and creativity. They learn communication skills, involving an introduction to and experience in the characteristic forms of communication in different domains. Their school work is supported by gaining self-management skills in research, organisation of work tasks and time management; and skills in the use and application of information and communication technologies.
Personal and social development
Primary schooling shares with parents and the general community a set of responsibilities for the personal and social development of children. Some of these are addressed directly through the curriculum, some dealt with incidentally and ad hoc, and some by providing a wide range of opportunities for children to interact with others, take leadership roles, and make a contribution to the life of the school and the wider community.
Primary schools also have a range of legal responsibilities for children. They are responsible, for example, for establishing a safe environment, and reporting cases of abuse.
Outside these areas, there are continuing substantial demands on schools to accept responsibility for supporting children in dealing with a wide range of social problems. Schools have often voluntarily taken on much wider responsibilities because they are directly faced with the consequences of social disadvantage, including poverty and domestic violence. It is the responsibility of schools to ensure that they only adopt programs and interventions of this kind if they can also protect their capacity to deliver on their core business, student learning. Schools complement, but do not replace, the responsibilities of families and other professionals.
The primary years share responsibility with parents and the wider community for helping young people achieve personal development outcomes. During these years, children develop ethically, gaining an understanding of right and wrong, social justice and treating others with respect and fairness. They develop their beliefs and values, including an understanding of shared foundational values, the capacity to articulate personal values, and acceptance of different values and beliefs. They enhance their personal and social responsibility, learning about managing and taking responsibility for their own behaviour and responding to the needs of others within a community. They learn to manage their health and safety, acting in ways which enhance personal health and safety and the safety of others.
Children during the primary years also gain significant social capacities. They learn teamwork skills, involving the ability to work productively and
harmoniously with individuals and groups. Children gain skills in working in organisations, including sufficient understanding of the structure, processes and routines of schooling to be able to operate effectively in the school environment and within other community organisations. They also learn how to deal with conflict and disagreement and gain the capacity to seek solutions sensitively in difficult situations.
Conclusion
Primary schooling has a critical role in the lives of children. It is the only means by which every child can gain access to essential learning, so the quality of primary schooling is a key criterion for a good society. This charter seeks to define high-quality primary schooling, characterised by high expectations and enjoyment of learning; rich experiences and depth of understanding; respect for the past and openness to change and the future. If this is to be achieved, it will rest firmly on the professionalism, inventiveness and thoughtfulness of primary teachers.
An education of this kind is in the interests of every child. It is also in the interests of families and communities and essential to Australia’s future. Our children hold the nation’s future in their hands, and it is through their primary schooling that they begin to be equipped to lead the nation through the 21st century. This charter is a call to action for all of those who have roles in ensuring that a high-quality primary schooling is delivered to all our children.
October 2007
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This project was funded under the Quality Outcomes Programme administered by the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training.
Â
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training.
Â
Click here to download the Charter on Primary Schooling (PDF - 287Kb).
Click here to download the Charter on Primary Schooling (Draft Version) (PDF - 237 Kb).
Â
Context statement
Primary schools are under pressure. Teachers feel that their core business has been devalued and made more difficult as they are expected to provide solutions for a range of social problems. The limited resources available are being stretched to cover increasing responsibilities and demands.
Principals have been saying this for years. Now, there is evidence. An extensive program of research has been conducted since 2000 under the auspices of the Australian Primary Principals Association. It shows a growing trend to load the primary school with every issue that others are unable to solve.
The research demonstrates that new forces are coming to bear on schools and their traditional focus on the whole child is being blurred. Many primary schools cannot teach the full range of learning areas and content set out in curriculum documents. The expected role of primary schools is less clear than it once was as public debate sees strong and conflicting public views about the role of primary schools. Interest groups increasingly demand that schools respond to their special concerns. The growth of programs for the middle years seems to question the importance and effectiveness of the primary school. Principals largely support rigorous testing and accountability, but they worry that this movement might also put at risk the excitement, enthusiasm and variety of primary schooling.
These changes have placed extraordinary pressure on primary schools. The Charter on Primary Schooling sets out a response to this situation from the Australian Primary Principals Association. It sets out the Association’s views on the nature and purposes of primary schooling in Australia. It argues that the identity of primary schools should be strengthened, not weakened.
The charter has already received overwhelming support from primary educators. It should constitute a foundational document during policy deliberations about the role of primary schools, their curriculum and the level of support that they require to achieve high standards. The charter aims to restate the importance of a rich, vibrant classroom, and of schools which focus on creative, cooperative and innovative teaching and learning.
Australia’s primary schooling deserves a strategic, thoughtful and forward-looking statement of its purposes. This charter is intended to fulfil that need.
What should primary schooling be like?
Primary schooling is distinctive. The beginning of primary schooling is a cultural milestone in the lives of young Australians. Most children begin their schooling at a time when they are making a transition from the immediate family. While many children attend early childhood services, the school attended by children during their primary years is the first major social institution with which we expect all children to have sustained contact. School is not only the provider of education; it is also the medium in which children experience social and intellectual life.
This is a phase of schooling which is directly matched to particular stages of development in the lives of children. Where secondary and tertiary education are increasingly organised around subjects and disciplines, primary schooling is organised around children. During this phase, children can be children. The primary classroom is characterised by enjoyment, engagement, discovery and curiosity. Children experience wonder and excitement, take risks, sometimes succeed and sometimes fail. They take increasing responsibility and become more independent learners. Together, these features (enjoyment and responsibility) are the basis for life-long learning.
During these years children form a strong sense of self, establish independent relationships, gain resilience, enhance their sense of right and wrong and begin the process of understanding themselves and their strengths and weaknesses. They begin to see themselves as part of a local and wider community. They are supported in these developments by experiencing a wide range of activities and beginning to gain the essential skills and knowledge which form a foundation for further education, employment and a rich and productive life. They do this in schools which demonstrate and enact the values and behaviours which they encourage in children.
The fact that children are engaged in the transition from family to wider society shapes primary schooling. It requires a partnership between their parents, from whom they have gained much of their education to this point, and their teachers, who will be increasingly responsible for their further education. Parents can support teachers in their work, and require clear and accurate information about the progress of their children, including the display and celebration of children’s work. Teachers form close and sustained relationships with children, as they support their increasing independence and openness to new experiences.
Teachers of primary children constitute a distinctive feature of primary schooling. Effective primary teachers have a rich set of skills and capacities. They have a deep understanding of how children learn and how they learn about learning. They have a depth of understanding of core curriculum areas. They combine careful attention to the stage of development of each individual with high expectations and a concern to set high standards for all children. They balance the need for explicit teaching of core concepts, knowledge and skills, with innovative ways of encouraging cooperative work, research, problem solving and student management of elements of their learning.
Purpose of primary schooling
The main purpose of primary schooling is ensuring that all children learn, and that they gain an enduring love of learning. This purpose is not, however, unlimited. Schools are increasingly under pressure to expand the curriculum and to take on additional responsibilities and roles. Partly for this reason, the charter defines a core of essential learning for all children, which is intended to lead to depth of understanding.
Knowledge and skills
The range and quality of activities in the primary classroom is the basis for the enthusiasm and creativity which characterises good primary education, and enables primary schooling to ensure that all children are introduced to major areas of human knowledge. Two of these are the heart of primary schooling, and are entitled to a substantial proportion of the time available for teaching:
- English literacy: reading, writing, speaking and listening in English, including knowledge and skills in the use of the English language and some experience of reading and producing a variety of literature and other texts in English. This area is foundational to virtually all other learning.
- Mathematics (including numeracy): knowledge and skills in core mathematical operations; understanding and using concepts, patterns and relationships in number and space.
- Science involves children in conjecture, problem solving and the discovery of new ideas. It relates science to the social world, and offers knowledge and experience of the natural world, participation in the identification and collection of scientific evidence and an introduction to experiment. It helps children to make informed decisions about the environment and their health and wellbeing.
- Social education teaches children about their identity and place in the world through stories, people and events from the history of Australia and Australians, including Indigenous Australians; Australian geography and environment; and other cultures and places. It also teaches children how decisions are made in Australia.
Primary schooling is characterised by offering children experiences in the arts (especially music), sport and physical activity, community activities, the use of learning technologies, rites of passage, matters of the spirit, and activities involving other languages and cultures. These activities can be delivered through, and are often the means for learning in, the core areas, and have a value in themselves as introductions to important areas of life. Primary schooling will benefit from the flexibility arising from adopting a limited core curriculum, which frees time for a wide range of activities of this kind. This has a particular value in enabling schools to respond to individual and local needs, interests and circumstances.
If children are to make successful progress at school, they also need to gain skills in key foundational and enabling areas. These are not an additional core. They are learned in different forms within the core domains outlined above and are the essential basis for higher order capacities in each domain. They are transferable beyond domains of knowledge, and equip children to play a part in the world beyond school. The major enabling skills are literacy and numeracy.
Students also gain learning skills, including an initial understanding of how they learn new skills and knowledge. They develop thinking skills, including some experience of analysis, synthesis, problem solving in different domains, innovation and creativity. They learn communication skills, involving an introduction to and experience in the characteristic forms of communication in different domains. Their school work is supported by gaining self-management skills in research, organisation of work tasks and time management; and skills in the use and application of information and communication technologies.
Personal and social development
Primary schooling shares with parents and the general community a set of responsibilities for the personal and social development of children. Some of these are addressed directly through the curriculum, some dealt with incidentally and ad hoc, and some by providing a wide range of opportunities for children to interact with others, take leadership roles, and make a contribution to the life of the school and the wider community.
Primary schools also have a range of legal responsibilities for children. They are responsible, for example, for establishing a safe environment, and reporting cases of abuse.
Outside these areas, there are continuing substantial demands on schools to accept responsibility for supporting children in dealing with a wide range of social problems. Schools have often voluntarily taken on much wider responsibilities because they are directly faced with the consequences of social disadvantage, including poverty and domestic violence. It is the responsibility of schools to ensure that they only adopt programs and interventions of this kind if they can also protect their capacity to deliver on their core business, student learning. Schools complement, but do not replace, the responsibilities of families and other professionals.
The primary years share responsibility with parents and the wider community for helping young people achieve personal development outcomes. During these years, children develop ethically, gaining an understanding of right and wrong, social justice and treating others with respect and fairness. They develop their beliefs and values, including an understanding of shared foundational values, the capacity to articulate personal values, and acceptance of different values and beliefs. They enhance their personal and social responsibility, learning about managing and taking responsibility for their own behaviour and responding to the needs of others within a community. They learn to manage their health and safety, acting in ways which enhance personal health and safety and the safety of others.
Children during the primary years also gain significant social capacities. They learn teamwork skills, involving the ability to work productively and
harmoniously with individuals and groups. Children gain skills in working in organisations, including sufficient understanding of the structure, processes and routines of schooling to be able to operate effectively in the school environment and within other community organisations. They also learn how to deal with conflict and disagreement and gain the capacity to seek solutions sensitively in difficult situations.
Conclusion
Primary schooling has a critical role in the lives of children. It is the only means by which every child can gain access to essential learning, so the quality of primary schooling is a key criterion for a good society. This charter seeks to define high-quality primary schooling, characterised by high expectations and enjoyment of learning; rich experiences and depth of understanding; respect for the past and openness to change and the future. If this is to be achieved, it will rest firmly on the professionalism, inventiveness and thoughtfulness of primary teachers.
An education of this kind is in the interests of every child. It is also in the interests of families and communities and essential to Australia’s future. Our children hold the nation’s future in their hands, and it is through their primary schooling that they begin to be equipped to lead the nation through the 21st century. This charter is a call to action for all of those who have roles in ensuring that a high-quality primary schooling is delivered to all our children.
October 2007
Â
This project was funded under the Quality Outcomes Programme administered by the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training.
Â
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training.
Â
2012 APPA Conference
Venue: Melbourne Convention & Exhibiton Centre, VictoriaDates: 18-21 September 2012
Theme: Our Primary Purpose: Leading Learning