It’s the Curriculum stupid!

This week, the welcome news was that the South Australian and Federal governments have signed off on funding increases for South Australian Schools. South Australia has committed to various reforms as part of the funding agreement, including increasing retention to year 12 and the number of students gaining accreditation at year 12. The urgency of these reforms is highlighted in the South Australian Productivity Commission draft report, “Positioning all South Australians to share in the benefits of Economy,

South Australia does a much worse job than the national average at giving our young people the skills and support they need to successfully transition out of school into work or education that is meaningful to them.

The long-term unemployed in South Australia are much more likely than the national average to:

·       be young,

·       have left school without completing year 12, and

·       have never worked.

These negative impacts are not evenly distributed around our state. Where young people live in our state substantially affects their schooling outcomes and life paths.

Falling school retention and lowering achievement is undoubtedly an equity issue but also a workforce issue. Low retention and low achievement correlate with high unemployment and the occupation of precarious jobs.  Between the end of last year and the beginning of year 12, we will lose, based on previous years, around 3.000 students.  Before the end of the year, another 4,000 students will drop out before they complete year 12.  To have the workforce we need in what used to be manufacturing centres in the Northern Suburbs and in the energy hubs of Whyalla, Port Augusta and other remote and rural areas., we need to tackle the issue as an investment in the future of the economy and the community. Using the “Gonski” funding to do more of the same will increase the inequity already built into the system. The curriculum and pedagogical challenge ensures young people can see their lives, achievements, community and future in the school's curriculum.

We continue to hide the scale of the problem in opaque data that allows the State to claim year 12 completion rates of 93.6 per cent and year-on-year “record numbers of students completing year 12.” School leaders, teachers, and especially students know that the billboard outside their school boasting 100% completion of SACE isn’t true and disrespects the experiences of young people who jumped or were pushed to boost the figures. An honest look at the data could tell us what is going on. Listening to the lives and stories of young people could tell us what to do about it.  

If we don’t listen to the real concerns of young people, we can fill the silence with our myths.  One myth is: “our students “don’t need or want their SACE.”  This isn’t borne out by research that shows overwhelmingly that 90% of students want to complete their SACE with challenging work. When sites report that students don’t want or need the SACE, the real message is that students don’t see the subjects and structure of the school helping them get where they want to. For too many young people, there is a serious disconnect between school culture and their day-to-day youth culture.  Retention to year 12 disguises that too many of those who start year 12 find what they are asked to do and who they are asked to does not tally with their life, aspirations and community. Too many students in disadvantaged schools and remote and rural areas cannot access a curriculum that reflects their lives and aspirations, and when they find they don’t fit in, they leave school.

Retaining students at school without significant curriculum and pedagogical reform will be a hollow exercise. Over the past decade, schools have tried a range of mentor programs, career advisory programs, and even tracking young people into alternative programs in the state, Catholic, and independent sectors, only to see a sharp decrease in retention and, at best, a stagnation of the number of young people achieving year 12.

Our research is unequivocal: Young people will remain at school if they can see in their schoolwork a connection to their lives and the choices they want to make about their future. This is the curriculum and pedagogical challenge that faces the system and schools to increase retention and achievement meaningfully.  

As a teacher and principal and now as a researcher, I have seen the effect of involving young people in projects and proposing solutions to issues in their community.  Immersing them in the work of the community in ways that build their knowledge, skills, capabilities, and networks.  I have always worked to make the lives of the students’ curricula. This has gained one form in the University of SA Culturally Responsive Pedagogy.

Responsive Curriculum and Pedagogy recognise the importance of youth culture and involve young people in the real work of the community. They use this to build a curriculum that engages them in the real work of the community and gives them a stake in the future of the state.