From the Principal
The current educational landscape Jonathan Walter Principal
Through COVID-19, we have had a glimpse of an alternative future for education: one which embraces technology and the flexibility it affords us, and which has the potential to meet the individual learning needs of each child. An education system which genuinely caters to individuals is something I’ve thought a lot about during my 28 years as an educator. For some time, I’ve felt that Australia’s current system is not meeting the needs of our students as well as it could. Across the country, nearly a third of students are chronically absent from secondary school and one in five students don’t complete Year 12. Additionally, a 2019 study by O’Connell, Milligan and Bentley showed that one in four young people at the age of 24 are still not fully participating in education or employment. It is clear that not all students are connecting with our current schooling system. Our system ranks children against their peers and doesn’t place enough value on the skills and pathways beyond school that reflect the needs of society or the interests of the individual students. It is outdated and needs to evolve.
What are the skills our students need? There is increasing acknowledgement from a growing number of educational professionals, leading educational 2 | Torch
researchers and writers, as well as authorities like the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, that the current model of education has limitations when it comes to preparing our students for the future. The current emphasis is on high-stakes testing, which reveals achievements and progress in only a narrow set of skills, particularly those that lend themselves to the recall of information under time constraints. The existing assessment tools do not provide scope to acknowledge the broader range of strengths a student has or wishes to develop, and, in many cases, supresses an individual’s creativity and imagination. Students must develop capabilities that go beyond literacy, numeracy and the use of information technology. This requires authentic, challenging learning tasks that are relevant and engaging for the student and develop broader social skills of communication, collaboration and ethical behaviour. If the pandemic has shown us anything, it is that the capacity to be creative, caring and empathetic are important skills that society needs. Students need to have the ability to solve problems, think critically and find creative solutions to previously unseen problems, and they must learn to do this in a genuinely collaborative way. All students have varying skills, strengths, perspectives and experiences to bring to the table
which are all important, all have a place in society and all need to be valued. By rethinking our approach, we have the ability to redefine excellence – to have all students strive to be the best they can be in their area of passion, that space where they will find their own sense of purpose and belonging and be able to make a positive difference in the world.
The way forward At Carey, we are fortunate to be in a position to support the development of multiple pathways for students that are equally valued for the contribution they will make to society. One of our greatest strengths is the breadth and diversity of experiences we offer, alongside our great ability to support each student to reach their potential and strive for excellence. It is this that we need to honour with any change we make moving forward. Every student should be able to start their learning journey in the place that suits them, where they can progress at their own rate and experience a sense of success, even – and especially – in areas where they need more support and those where they naturally thrive. We can provide a suitable education for each student without compromising the achievements of the more academically minded students, but in doing so, we will need to redefine the set of desired outcomes for our students that are embedded in our current programs. Our students’ goals should be based on the
