Is the NESA Syllabus different from the Australian Curriculum?
- BOSTES has changed its name to NESA
If you are getting registered to homeschool in NSW then you know that the NESA Home Schooling package requires your educational program to be “based on the relevant board of studies syllabus and content. “
I have often suggested that you can use the Australian Curriculum or the NSW syllabus for planning. Recently I was contacted by a homeschooler who told me at her registration visit that their homeschool BOSTES assessor said they must use the NSW Curriculum and not the Australian Curriculum to plan.
Whilst I knew this perception was prevalent it got me thinking – what is the actual difference between the two and would a NESA assessor even know if I planned according to the Australian Curriculum or the NESA syllabus?
This led me on a search to find out what the actual differences were. Here is what I found out.
What’s the Difference Between the Terms ‘Curriculum’ and ‘Syllabus’
‘Curriculum’ refers to the overall content that is presented – the big picture. In this case everything taught in all subjects from Foundation to the end of high school along with teaching ideas and goals.
A ‘syllabus’ is more specific referring to particular subjects and it’s usually more descriptive – the details.
The NESA syllabus has much more information to absorb than the Australian Curriculum.
The Content of the NSW Syllabus & the Australian Curriculum is Similar
There is not a lot of difference in the content of the NESA Syllabus and the Australian Curriculum. The NSW Syllabus and the Australian Curriculum were written for school teachers and academics.
Within the NESA syllabus each Australian Curriculum code is referenced and matched with each of the outcomes.
For example the NESA Syllabus for English Key shows how they reference the Australian Curriculum content codes and the NESA Syllabus codes.
Difference is the Outcomes & Extras & Order
The NESA syllabus is an outcome based syllabus. Outcome based curriculums are the new favourite catch phrase in education, another way to phrase it would be educational goals or objectives. They talk about what you want to achieve rather than focusing on what is taught.
In most cases the Australian Curriculum’s learning content has been rephrased into an assessable NESA Syllabus outcome by adding a verb to the content statement like: identifies, describes, explains or demonstrates. This slight difference is a philosophical one about children being tested on their knowledge rather than a teacher just making sure she taught it – this theoretical debate is one for academics and teachers and home educators needn’t worry about it.
Here is an example shown from NESA Syllabus Science Stage 2 – Physical World
NSW Outcome Syllabus – Code ST2-7PW
- identifies ways heat is produced and that heat moves from one object to another
Australian Curriculum Content – Code ACSSU049
- Heat can be produced in many ways and can move from one object to another.
See how the difference is just in the phrasing.
There is also an addition of Technology and Design to the science curriculum.
Apparently in the math curriculum there is also a difference in the higher grades on where certain concepts i.e. simultaneous equations are taught.
The Australian Curriculum and NSW Syllabus Stages Are Different
The Australian Curriculum is divided into four general stages whereas NSW is divided into six stages:
- Foundation to Year 2 (which is Stage 1 NSW)
- Year 3 to Year 6 (which is Stage 2 and 3 in NSW)
- Year 7 to Year 10 (which is Stage 4 and 5 in NSW)
- Year 11 and Year 12 (which is Stage 6 in NSW)
The Australian Curriculum is written in grades/years even though the curriculum is actually still based on the concept of teaching students in stages. This means that the Australian Curriculum will often list the same content in both grades/years whereas the NESA Syllabus will only list the Australian Curriculum content once for each stage.
At times one outcome can meet a few content requirements.
For example in the English Year 3-4:
- uses effective handwriting and publishes texts using digital technologies (NSW Syllabus Code EN2 -3A) meets four codes in the Australian Curriculum:
- ACELY1684 – Write using joined letters that are clearly formed and consistent in size (or begins cursive)
- ACELY1685 – Use software including word processing programs with growing speed and efficiency to construct and edit texts featuring visual, print and audio elements
- ACELY1696 – Write using clearly-formed joined letters, and develop increased fluency and automaticity (or becomes confident with cursive)
- ACELY1697 – Use a range of software including word processing programs to construct, edit and publish written text, and select, edit and place visual, print and audio elements
NSW Stage Statements and Australian Curriculum Achievement Standards
The Australian Curriculum Achievement Standards are almost the same as the NESA Stage Statements. They both use the same content and both have an outcome based approach that describes the learning expected in each subject’s stage or year. However the Australian Curriculum gives a little more instruction on the content.
When comparing the Australian Curriculum Year 3-4 and Stage 2 of the NESA syllabus for English, the outcomes could be matched but the Australian Curriculum added that Australian literature, classics, contemporary and poetry should also be a part of the content. In the NSW Syllabus you had to go to separate section looking for suggested texts.
The Australian Curriculum has general stage statements for each stage; this is not the same as the NSW stage statements.
More Explanations in the NSW Syllabus
The NSW Syllabus spends more time explaining the depth to which content is to be covered. Whilst these can be helpful, if you need clarification, you are not required to use these elaborations when planning.
Here is another example taken from the NSW Science Stage 2 NSW BOSTES Syllabus.
Australian Curriculum Content – Code ACSSU076
- Forces can be exerted by one object on another through direct contact or from a distance.
NESA Outcome—Code ST2-6PW
- describes everyday interactions between objects that result from contact and non-contact forces
Additional Explanation of Student Assessment:
- investigate the effect of forces on the behaviour of objects, eg dropping, bouncing or rolling objects
- observe the way the force of gravity pulls objects towards the Earth, eg dropping objects from different heights
- observe everyday situations where the direct contact force (friction) affects the movement of objects on different surfaces, eg a bike or skateboard
- carry out tests to investigate the forces of attraction and repulsion between magnets.
Should I Use The Australian Curriculum or The NESA SyllabusTo Plan?
When documenting your plan for registration NESA Home Schooling package states, ““the educational program is BASED ON, and taught in accordance with the relevant Board of Studies syllabus… the syllabus stage statements or syllabus content [can be used]to demonstrate your program is BASED ON the NSW BOSTES syllabus.”
Based ON are the key words here. You don’t need to follow it identically. It needs only to be BASED ON the state syllabus, so if you find the Australian Curriculum easier to read than your state syllabus that is fine.
Therefore you can use either when planning your documentation for registration because the NSW BOSTES syllabus and the Australian Curriculum have the same content. The Stage Statement and Achievement statements are also very similar.
I like using the Australian curriculum for planning. Here’s why:
- the Australian Curriculum has less information and is therefore easier to absorb. Much of the information given with the NSW BOSTES Syllabus is not needed for homeschooling.
- the Australian Curriculum website is easier to navigate. It also provides PDFs on each subject for you to print off which includes syllabus content and achievement standards.
- the Australian curriculum is easier to understand because you don’t need to sort through all the elaborations and outcomes to get to the content .
- sharing information with other homeschoolers from different states is easier when the same reference point is used.
- homeschool guides are written for the Australian Curriculum.
Understanding the Australian Curriculum will help tick the boxes with regards to NSW homeschool registration but it is my hope that you will also be inspired to provide a generous curriculum—one that is broad in its content, generous in its substance and not limited by the constraints of a set syllabus.
So next time someone tells you that you can’t plan using the Australian Curriculum you will be able to politely tell them that they are incorrect.
You can say your homeschool plan is based on the NSW Syllabus because the Australian Curriculum is what the NSW Syllabus is based on.
Knowledge is power!
If you are interested in the Victorian Curriculum and Australian Curriculum Differences here is an article to help you.