Commonwealth Government

Curriculum and pedagogy

• Curriculum Corporation
• Department of Education, Science and Training, Schools
• Education Network Australia (EdNA)
• MindMatters - A Mental Health Promotion Program for Secondary Schools
• National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Website (NATSIEW)

Curriculum Corporation

Curriculum Corporation works in the education sector and is owned by all Australian State, Territory and Commonwealth Ministers of Education. The company develops products and services to help schools improve student learning. It is the premier national organisation providing curriculum support to schools and school systems.

The company supports schools in several ways. It assists in improving classroom learning with a wide range of curriculum materials based on best practice teaching. These include traditional materials: books, video and audio tapes, posters and kits. They also include materials using new media: an extensive website, CD ROMs and other digital resources. Materials which aim to assist teachers address emerging issues, such as Discovering Democracy material, are particularly relevant for countering racism.

Department of Education, Science and Training, Schools Group

Schools Group develops and implements the Commonwealth's policies for government and non-government schools and administers programs of financial assistance that are directed towards achieving the National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty-first Century. Programmes administered by Schools Group include:

• Capital Grants
• Civics and Citizenship Education
• Commonwealth Initiatives in School Drug Education
• Enterprise and Career Education
• General Recurrent Grants
• Grants for improving learning outcomes for educationally disadvantaged students
• Languages
• Literacy and Numeracy
• Quality Outcomes.

Education Network Australia (EdNA)

Education Network Australia (EdNA) is an Australian network of education services which is manifested as a website network. The EdNA website points to thousands of resources identified and contributed by Australian educators including resources to counter racism and networks all bodies responsible for Australian education.

MindMatters - A Mental Health Promotion Program for Secondary Schools

MindMatters places mental health on the agenda in secondary schools throughout Australia. The program promotes a whole school approach that acknowledges the importance of the school as a setting for promoting mental health and wellbeing. MindMatters was developed to enhance school environments where young people feel safe, valued, engaged and purposeful.

One of three overarching documents to MindMatters is CommunityMatters: Working with diversity for wellbeing. CommunityMatters takes a holistic, social and emotional wellbeing approach to mental health and explores the interrelationship between community, culture, identity and resilience. It addresses how schools, in partnership with their diverse communities, can promote the wellbeing needs of all their students, particularly those who may feel marginalised for social reasons.

MindMatters also addresses a range of other mental health issues such as friendship and belonging, bullying and harassment. The program consists of a range of resource materials supported by professional development activities and a dedicated website: www.curriculum.edu.au/mindmatters

The MindMatters initiative is expanding to include elements that provide support for parents of secondary schools students, known as FamilyMatters, and support for schools to assist young people at risk of developing mental health problems or illnesses, known as MindMatters Plus. Further information about these elements can be found at the dedicated website:www.curriculum.edu.au/mindmattersAnother element of the MindMatters initiative is currently underway to gather information to assess the needs of primary school communities, known as Primary School Mental Health Initiative: Scoping Study, and has a dedicated website: www.hoi.com.au/psmhi.

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Website (NATSIEW)

NATSIEW recognises, nurtures and builds upon the needs, interests and experiences of all individuals becoming autonomous and interdependent learners by use of technology to amplify, extend and transform new ways in learning.

NATSIEW is a gateway to over 800 websites related to Aboriginal and Islander culture, education and training and fulfils individual and collective responsibilities to confront prejudice, eliminate discrimination and address the implications of gender and race relations. Address: http://www.natsiew.nexus.edu.au

© Conference of Education Systems Chief Executive Officers 2000
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Racism, No way! is an Australian anti-racism education initiative managed by the Department of Education and Training on behalf of education systems nationally.