English in Australia

Abstract

Given the federal structure in Australia, there is no national curriculum in English. Instead, the various states are responsible for school education, including English education. However, events over the last half century at least have caused the federal government to assume an increasing amount of power in the provision of education. Broadly two themes emerge from a review of English curricula in Australia over the last 40 years or so. One has involved significant changes in the manner in which the content of subject English has been conceived. The other has been the increased power and influence the federal government has come to exercise in the provision of English programs. Nowadays, 'English' is often almost synonymous with 'literacy', and governments, both federal and state, pursue programs designed to lift the levels of literacy in schools. The preoccupation with 'literacy' often at the expense of a richer model of subject English, has left the subject rather impoverished. There is a need to reinvent English, giving it a clearer and more coherent focus if it is to survive.