Draft Shape Paper for Geography - APPA's Response

Consultation on the draft Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Geography has now closed. APPA submitted a response to the draft paper on 27 August. Click here to download and read APPA's response to the draft paper.

In the response paper, "APPA congratulates ACARA on a number of areas of the draft geography document. The document is comprehensive in its description of the range of approaches to geography and of the work of geographers. This is useful background for teachers. The discussion of the general capabilities is more serious and substantial than has been the case in some other documents, and makes a genuine attempt to offer a link with the subject. This is also true of the discussion of the three cross‐curriculum priorities that are again explored in greater detail and depth than was the case in some earlier documents." The paper then goes on to provide feedback on areas of the draft paper that are seen as positive and those that are of concern to APPA members and their schools.

Background: The Draft Shape Paper for Geography was developed by ACARA following feedback from a national forum in May 2010. A survey was developed to help support the national public consultation process, which closed on 27 August 2010. This feedback will be used by ACARA to further revise the draft Shape Paper, which will then be published as The Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Geography. This paper will guide the writing of the final K-12 geography curriculum. The time line for the process can be found on the ACARA website - click here to go to the ACARA website page for Geography.