Are you preparing your students for their world?

Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians Major changes in the world: rapid global integration and international mobility environmental, social and economic pressures extend beyond national borders requiring countries to work together in new ways

Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians ‘India, China and other Asian nations are growing and their influence on the world is increasing. Australians need to become ‘Asia literate’, engaging and building stronger relationships with Asia…’

AsiaEuropeAmericas * * * * * * ** * * * ** * * * * * ** * * * * * * * Annual growth 4.9% Annual growth 1.8% Annual growth 2.6% GDP “Asia’s GDP is expected to more than double by 2030, exceeding that projected for the America’s and Europe combined… Developing an Asia Capable Workforce, Asialink 2012 The Asian Century

Australia’s engagement with Asia growing at much greater rate than our engagement with rest of the world combined. Asialink Index:

“Australia needs greater investment in education to prepare the nation for the growing role Asia will play in the world economy.” Asialink Report 6 September 2012 Developing an Asia Capable Workforce: A National Strategy

In the Asian Century, business as usual is not enough….there isn’t a single aspect of government policies and national planning that won’t be touched by the great changes to come. Food security and foreign investment, immigration and education, stock market structures, energy policy and environmental standards. This is a vast landscape of change. PM Julia Gillard announces a White Paper on Australia in the Asian Century. 28 September 2011 Australia in the Asian Century

CSIRO believes that the geo-centre of global innovation is shifting eastward… “Collaboration between scientists in Australia and Asia has never been so fundamental to the relevance, standing and impact of Australia’s science as it is today.” White Paper Submission: CSIRO asiancentury.dpmc.gov.au

White Paper Submission: Football Federation Australia “…over 80 million Asians played football in By 2020, this number may have increased to 380 million… there will be a steady shift in the primacy of professional football from Europe to Asia.” asiancentury.dpmc.gov.au

Within Australia…our Asia-born population is growing as fast as our local born population Source: Access Economics 2010

‘Asia literacy’ is foundational and deep knowledge, skills and understandings about the histories, geographies, societies, cultures, literatures and languages of the diverse countries that make up our region.

Coming up: new Australian Curriculum Cross curriculum priority: Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia General capability: Intercultural understanding Languages: Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian, Korean, Vietnamese, Hindi

Australian Curriculum: Cross Curriculum Priorities 1.Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures 2.Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia 3.Sustainability © The University of Melbourne - Asia Education Foundation, 2011

“Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia allows all young Australians to develop a better understanding of the countries and cultures of the Asia region. Students will develop an appreciation of the economic, political and cultural interconnections that Australia has with the region.” ACARA

Asia-Australia Organising Ideas 1.Asia and its diversity: traditions, beliefs, ethnicity, geography, histories economies 2. Achievements and contributions of the peoples of Asia: to world history, human endeavour, to Australia, the region and globally 3.Asia-Australia engagement: good neighbours, long term connections, Asia in Australia

What does the Asia cross curriculum priority look like? English Year 7 Understand, interpret and discuss how language is compressed to to create layers of meaning in poetry, for example haiku, tankas, couplets, free verse and verse novels. History Year 6 Stories of groups of people who migrated to Australia (including from ONE Asian country) and the reasons they migrated, such as World War II and Australian migration programs since the war. Mathematics Year 8 Solve problems involving duration, including using 12 and 24-hour time within a single time zone Elaboration identify regions in Australia and countries in Asia that are in the same time zone. Science Year 4 Earth’s surface changes over time as a result of natural processes and human activity Elaboration consider the effect of events such as floods and extreme weather on the landscape, both in Australia and in the Asia region. © The University of Melbourne - Asia Education Foundation, 2011

Subject content we want students to learn includes content related to the Asia priority © The University of Melbourne - Asia Education Foundation, 2011 Australian Curriculum

Australian Curriculum Asia-related content of subjects adds up to what we want students to learn about the Asia priority knowledge, skills and understanding © The University of Melbourne - Asia Education Foundation, 2011

Year 12 Modern History “Typically, Modern History includes many opportunities for an Asian focus – however most students don’t choose them. “ In NSW Modern History, National Studies module: 2% chose China 4% chose India, Japan, Indonesia and Australia combined 4% - South Africa 6% - USA 65% - Germany 19% - Russia/Soviet Union ACER study on the proportion of Year 12 students studying about Asia in English, History, Geography, International Studies, Politics and Art.

Year 12 VCE English The prescribed texts for Literature (40 texts) contains 4 texts with Asian focus or content: Pearl Buck: The Good Earth William Dalrymple: City of Djinns Andrew X Pham: Catfish and Mandala Michelle de Kretser: The Hamilton Case Neither of the 2 texts available for examination (The Hamilton Case (Novel) & City of Djinns (Other Literature) is mentioned in the Examiners’ Report. The Great Gatsby (Scott Fitzgerald) was the most popular choice in the Novel section. Studies of Asia in Year 12, Australian Council for Educational Research, April 2009

Asian Languages % of Australian school students currently study an Asian language Decreases to 5.8% in Year 12 94% of year 12 students of Chinese have Chinese background Indonesian losing 10,000 students a year since 2005 Japanese declined 20% - now mostly in primary schools Korean taught in very few schools. Four Languages, Four Stories: the Current State of Japanese, Chinese, Indonesian and Korean Languages Education in Australian Schools Asia Education Foundation 2010

Australian Curriculum: General Student Capabilities Literacy Numeracy Information and communication technology (ICT) competence Critical and creative thinking Ethical behaviour Personal and social competence Intercultural understanding

‘70% of jobs created in the last decade were ‘interaction intensive’… these interactions increasingly occur on a global scale putting a premium on cross-cultural knowledge and understanding, such as multilingualism, and the values of appreciation, understanding and respect’. Equipping Every Learner for the 21 st Century, Cisco 2008 Equipping Every Learner for the 21 st Century

Action Required Clear guidelines (& monitoring) in the Australian Curriculum Investment in Asia literate school leaders Investment in Asia literate teachers Asia focused classroom resources (Radical) innovation in Asian languages teaching Increased student, parent and community demand for Asia literacy Noted by AEEYSOC September 2011

An Asia mindset & skill-set 21 st Century reality for all young Australians Globalisation: connected people Global issues: connected countries Rise of Asia: Asia and Australia =new skills, knowledge, understandings