An overview and comparison of Australian State and Territory K-10 science curriculum documents

In 1994, two documents, A statement on science for Australian Schools and Science--a curriculum profile for Australian schools, were published. They heralded the start of a new era in science education in Australian primary and secondary schools. Since that time each state and territory has produced their own curriculum documents for the learning area of science so that there are now eight separate curriculum documents that describe the teaching, learning and assessment of science in Australian schools. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview and summary of the key features of the documents and to highlight some of the similarities and differences. This paper is timely as there are renewed calls for a national curriculum and it will provide readers with background information needed to participate in an informed debate about the advantages and disadvantages of both national and state-based approaches. This paper is also of significance to those teachers who move from one state system to another, for educators involved in national curriculum projects such as Primary Connections and indeed to anyone who wonders what is taught in other states and territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]