Abstract
Efforts at national curriculum development and co-ordination in Australia date from the late 1960s and early 1970s. The first phase of national curriculum activity involved the creation of national committees. A second phase commenced with the creation of the Curriculum Development Centre, although the work of the CDC was affected significantly by the decision (1980–81) to wind the centre down. Now, with the re-emergence of the CDC in a new form, a third phase of national curriculum activity has commenced.
The Language Development Project (LDP) was the last of three national curriculum projects initiated in the 1970s, and the only one wholly developed by the CDC. The processes of planning and generating LDP activity were therefore different from earlier national curriculum initiatives. It is argued that the experience of the LDP offers important lessons for future national curriculum development, both in terms of models of co-ordination and management, and in terms of appropriate patterns for the involvement and development of teachers.