Notre Dame host conference for History Teachers

Document Type

Media Release

Publication Date

Spring 3-10-2006

Publisher Name

The University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle

Publication Place

Fremantle

Abstract

The University of Notre Dame Australia’s, Fremantle Campus hosted the History Teachers of Australia (HTAA) 2006 National Conference from October the sixth to the eighth.

The Honourable Ms Julie Bishop, Federal Minister for Education, Science and Training officially opened the conference and took the opportunity to present her proposals for a History curriculum in Australian schools.

In a powerful speech, Ms Bishop addressed the need for raising the standard of all education in schools and having one national curriculum for the subject of History.

“We need to take school curriculum out of the hands of the ideologues in the State and Territory bureaucracies and give it to the national board of studies.”

“We have gone from teaching Latin in Year 12 to teaching remedial English in first-year University. We need to improve the quality of curriculum and work to insure we have consistently high standards across the country,” Ms Bishop said.

President of the History Teacher’s Association Western Australia (HTAWA), Tom Loreck welcomed everyone to the conference by highlighting this year’s theme ‘Pushing Boundaries.’

“This theme, ‘Pushing Boundaries,’ matches the mood and developments in history teaching that have occurred over the last 12 months. History as a subject has been thrust into the spotlight and we need to decide the best ways to teach students so that they understand the role history plays in our national identity,” Mr Loreck said.

The HTAA national conference is held annually and once every six years in Perth. This year the conference involved a mix of best teaching practice, academic theory, classroom-friendly resources and integrated the Mapping Australia Project which explores the 400 year old Dutch relationship with Australia.

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