Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young ...

1 Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians December 2008. This Declaration is made by all Mr Andrew Barr MLA The Hon. Dr Jane Lomax-Smith MP. Australian Education Ministers: Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Education (South Australia). Minister for Children and Young People The Hon. David Bartlett MP. (Australian Capital Territory). Premier and Minister for Education The Hon. Julia Gillard MP and Skills (Tasmania). Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Chair, Ministerial Council on Education, Education, Minister for Employment and Employment, Training and Youth Affairs Workplace Relations, Minister for Social The Hon. Bronwyn Pike Inclusion (Australian Government). Minister for Education (Victoria). The Hon. Verity Firth MP. The Hon. Dr Elizabeth Constable MLA. Minister for Education and Training Minister for Education (Western Australia).

2 (New South Wales). Ministers would like to acknowledge The Hon. Marion Scrymgour MLA. the members of the Working Group Minister for Education and Training responsible for developing this (Northern Territory). Declaration , and thank them for The Hon. Rod Welford MP their valuable contribution. Minister for Education, Training and the Arts (Queensland). Contents Preamble 4. The Educational Goals for Young Australians 6. Goal 1: Australian schooling promotes equity and excellence 7. Goal 2: All Young Australians become: 8. Successful learners Con dent and creative individuals Active and informed citizens A Commitment to Action 10. Developing stronger partnerships 10. Supporting quality teaching and school leadership 11. Strengthening early childhood education 11. Enhancing middle years development 12. Supporting senior years of schooling and youth transitions 12.

3 Promoting world-class curriculum and assessment 13. Improving Educational outcomes for Indigenous youth 15. and disadvantaged Young Australians, especially those from low socioeconomic backgrounds Strengthening accountability and transparency 16. Achieving the Educational Goals for Young Australians 18. Melbourne Declaration ON Educational Goals FOR Young AUSTRALIANS. Preamble As a nation Australia In the 21st century Australia's In the 1989 Hobart Declaration and capacity to provide a high quality the 1999 Adelaide Declaration , the values the central of life for all will depend on the State, Territory and Commonwealth role of education ability to compete in the global Education Ministers committed economy on knowledge and to working together to ensure in building a innovation. Education equips high-quality schooling for all democratic, equitable Young people with the knowledge, Young Australians.

4 The Melbourne understanding, skills and values Declaration acknowledges major and just society to take advantage of opportunity changes in the world that are a society that is and to face the challenges of this placing new demands on era with con dence. Australian education: prosperous, cohesive Schools play a vital role in promoting Global integration and international and culturally diverse, the intellectual, physical , social, mobility have increased rapidly in emotional, moral, spiritual and the past decade. As a consequence, and that values aesthetic development and new and exciting opportunities Australia's Indigenous wellbeing of Young Australians, for Australians are emerging. This and in ensuring the nation's heightens the need to nurture an cultures as a key ongoing economic prosperity appreciation of and respect for social, part of the nation's and social cohesion.

5 Schools share cultural and religious diversity, this responsibility with students, and a sense of global citizenship. history, present parents, carers, families, the India, China and other Asian nations and future. community, business and other are growing and their in uence on education and training providers. the world is increasing. Australians In recognition of this collective need to become Asia literate', responsibility, this Declaration , engaging and building strong in contrast to earlier declarations relationships with Asia. on schooling, has a broader frame and sets out Educational Goals Globalisation and technological for Young Australians. change are placing greater demands on education and skill development in Australia and the nature of jobs available to Young Australians is changing faster than ever. Skilled jobs now dominate jobs growth and people with university or vocational education and training quali cations fare much better in the employment market than early school leavers.

6 To maximise their opportunities for healthy, productive and rewarding futures, Australia's Young people must be encouraged not only to complete secondary education, but also to proceed into further training or education. 04 05 Melbourne Declaration ON Educational Goals FOR Young AUSTRALIANS. Complex environmental, social and outcomes for many Indigenous economic pressures such as climate Australians and addressing this change that extend beyond national issue must be a key priority over the borders pose unprecedented next decade. Second, by comparison challenges, requiring countries to with the world's highest performing work together in new ways. To meet school systems, Australian these challenges, Australians must students from low socioeconomic be able to engage with scienti c backgrounds are under-represented concepts and principles, and among high achievers and over- approach problem-solving in new represented among low achievers.

7 And creative ways. Third, there is room for improvement in Australia's rate of Year 12. Rapid and continuing advances in completion or equivalent. information and communication technologies (ICT) are changing the Literacy and numeracy and ways people share, use, develop and knowledge of key disciplines process information and technology. remain the cornerstone of In this digital age, Young people need schooling for Young Australians. to be highly skilled in the use of ICT. Schooling should also support the While schools already employ these development of skills in areas technologies in learning, there is a such as social interaction, cross- need to increase their effectiveness disciplinary thinking and the use signi cantly over the next decade. of digital media, which are essential in all 21st century occupations. Australia has developed a high- As well as knowledge and skills, quality, world-class schooling system, a school's legacy to Young people which performs strongly against should include national values other countries of the Organisation of democracy, equity and justice, for Economic Cooperation and and personal values and attributes Development (OECD).

8 In international such as honesty, resilience and benchmarking of Educational respect for others. outcomes for 15-year-olds in the 2006. OECD Programme for International As signatories to the Melbourne Student Assessment, Australia ranked Declaration , Australian Education among the top 10 countries across all Ministers seek to achieve the highest three education domains assessed. possible level of collaboration with Over the next decade Australia should the government, Catholic and aspire to improve outcomes for all independent school sectors and Young Australians to become second across and between all levels of to none amongst the world's best government. Australian Education school systems. Ministers also seek to achieve new levels of engagement with all In striving for both equity and stakeholders in the education of excellence, there are several Young Australians.

9 Areas in which Australian school education needs to make signi cant improvement. First, Australia has failed to improve Educational The Educational Goals for Young Australians 06 7. 06 07. Improving Educational outcomes These Goals are: for all Young Australians is central Goal 1: to the nation's social and economic Australian schooling promotes prosperity and will position Young equity and excellence people to live ful lling, productive and responsible lives. Goal 2: All Young Australians become: Young Australians are therefore placed at the centre of the Melbourne successful learners Declaration on Educational Goals . con dent and creative individuals active and informed citizens Achieving these Educational Goals is the collective responsibility of governments, school sectors and individual schools as well as parents and carers, Young Australians, families, other education and training providers, business and the broader community.

10 Goal 1: Australian governments, in ensure that socioeconomic collaboration with all school sectors, disadvantage ceases to be a Australian schooling commit to promoting equity and signi cant determinant of promotes equity excellence in Australian schooling. Educational outcomes and excellence This means that all Australian reduce the effect of other sources governments and all school of disadvantage, such as disability, sectors must: homelessness, refugee status and remoteness provide all students with access to high-quality schooling that is ensure that schooling contributes free from discrimination based on to a socially cohesive society that gender, language, sexual orientation, respects and appreciates cultural, pregnancy, culture, ethnicity, religion, social and religious diversity health or disability, socioeconomic encourage parents, carers, background or geographic location families, the broader community ensure that schools build on local and Young people themselves to cultural knowledge and experience hold high expectations for their of Indigenous students as a Educational outcomes foundation for learning, and work in promote a culture of excellence partnership with local communities in all schools, by supporting on all aspects of the schooling them to provide challenging.