Home-schooling families have launched a fierce campaign against moves by the Queensland government to force them to teach the Australian curriculum.
Amanda Bartle says asking parents to report on all subjects, instead of just three, would increase pressure on parents who have often already given up a second income to home-school.Campaign convenor Amanda Bartle said many home-schooling families chose alternative approaches to better suit their children’s needs and interests.
Bartle, a registered teacher in Queensland, recommended that teaching the national curriculum should not be legislated, and instead the words “high-quality education” should remain.“Parents are in the best position to determine what is in their children’s best interest when it comes to education,” she said.
“The department’s own review of home education in 2003 showed that significant numbers of families were not registered because of a fear of government intrusion, a perception of a hostile regulatory environment, a belief the department did not understand home education and home-school families’ needs and over-regulation,” she said.
“That gives us confidence that it’s appropriate and able to be used,” Kathleen Forrester, deputy director-general in the Education Department’s policy, performance, international and intergovernmental section, told a parliamentary committee briefing last week.