Instruction for Mathematics and Science in Primary and Lower Secondary Grades

Grade at Which Specialist Teachers for Mathematics and Science are Introduced

Students in Australian primary schools typically have one teacher for most subjects, with some teachers having completed special training in particular subjects. Students in secondary schools typically have a different teacher for each subject area, including teachers with specialist education in mathematics or science.

Instructional Materials, Equipment, and Laboratories

In Australia, individual schools are responsible for selecting mathematics and science textbooks. Schools must ensure that textbooks cover the content and achievement standards outlined in the curriculum.

According to the report Teaching Science in Australia: Results from the TIMSS 1999 Video Study, Australian secondary school teachers and students were relatively well equipped with science laboratories, microscopes, and reference materials.19 All schools participating in TIMSS 2011 at Year 8 reported having science laboratories, with two-thirds having assistance available when conducting experiments. Due to the generalist nature of primary education in Australia, most primary schools did not have laboratories.20

Use of Technology

The use of calculators in mathematics is widespread in Australian schools. The Australian national report on TIMSS 2007 mathematics indicated that 95 percent of teachers at the fourth grade level allowed the use of calculators in the classroom, mainly to check answers, solve complex problems, and explore number concepts.21 Similarly, 99 percent of Australian teachers at the eighth grade level allowed the use of calculators, mostly for routine computations, checking answers, and solving complex problems.

Computers are widely available in Australian schools, with approximately two thirds of fourth grade students and nearly 90 percent of eighth grade students attending schools where there was at least 1 computer for every 1 to 2 students.22 The ways in which computers are used varies from classroom to classroom.

In addition to computers in classrooms, digital technologies have revolutionized distance education programs, such as Australia’s Schools of the Air, which service students in remote and isolated communities. Where radio was utilized formerly (hence “School of the Air”), broadband satellite networks now allow Web conferencing and similar interactive technologies.23

Accommodation Policies for Instruction and Testing

The Australian Curriculum (and also curricula developed by state and territory authorities) does not prescribe how content must be taught. This allows teachers and schools to address the individual learning needs of their students. Curriculum documents provide guidance on how to provide personalized learning experiences for students with disabilities, gifted and talented students, and students for whom English is an additional language or dialect.24 The Disability Standards for Education (2005) seek to ensure that students with disabilities are able to access and participate in education on the same basis as other students.25 The standards provide a framework for enabling them to participate in national testing (e.g., the National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy), through the use of adjustments such as a scribe, assistive technologies, extra time, and breaks. Adjustments are determined in line with national protocols on a case by case basis by the school together with the relevant test administration authority.26