Education, Careers & Professional News
Reforms Aim For ‘Smarter’ Education
Reforms Aim For Smarter Education
A $127 million overhaul of Queenslands education system will take the Smart State to the classroom in a bid to deliver better education and skills.
Making education a foundation stone of phase two of the Smart State strategy, Premier Peter Beattie yesterday announced a range of initiatives to boost learning for gifted students, give parents more information on their childrens progress and equip teachers with the latest technology.
Mr Beattie will today unveil the complete package of funding and policy reform for the 10-year blueprint, which will cover education, training, research and development, agriculture and mining.
He will warn that the state needs to innovate or stagnate as he urges Queenslanders to back his vision.
If we dont change, we wont continue creating the jobs of tomorrow, the Premier will say.
Under the package unveiled yesterday, two centres of excellence will be established in Brisbane for senior students who excel in science, maths and technology and the creative arts.
The most comprehensive review of Queenslands TAFE system will address skills shortages and better training.
In the school system, the curriculum, assessment and reporting systems used for Prep to Year 10 will be overhauled to set new standards for what is studied, how students work is assessed and how their achievements are reported back to parents.
Concerns that students and teachers have been overwhelmed by the amount of material will be addressed so students learn more about less.
Parents with children in the state system will get unprecedented access to how their children are performing at school by being able to log on to the Internet for updates on their results, attendance records and assignment-due dates.
For the first time, parents of early and middle-school students will be given information on where their children rank compared with other students.
Education Minister Anna Bligh said the changes would ensure Queensland schools were equipping students for the future and keeping parents informed.
This is absolutely overdue, Queensland Council of Parents and Citizens Associations president Wanda Lambert said of the changes.
Queensland Teachers Union president Steve Ryan said teachers had been calling for more consistency in reporting and assessment.
But the independent sector was more reserved, with Queensland Association of Independent Schools executive director John Roulston saying moves to simplify the curriculum and introduce comparable testing could threaten their independence.
Queensland Catholic Education Commission Executive Director Joe McCorley supported the broad thrust of the changes but was waiting on more details.