ABSTRACT

For the last five decades, the development of “Asia-literate” students has been a key objective in Australian education policy. The contentions surrounding this educational goal have been well documented by academic literatures, policy documents and media commentary. This paper seeks to redress the absence of student voices in these debates by examining students’ experiences with Asia-related curriculum in the context of Languages and History teaching and learning in secondary schools in Victoria, Australia. Engaging the lens of curriculum inquiry, we use select thematic episodes from qualitative interview data to interrogate students’ understanding and evaluation of planned and experienced Asia-related curriculum. Their stories highlight the incongruences of Asia learning as framed by (and within) formal sites of learning, and students’ lived experiences in other spaces. We argue that in order to effect a shift in the current expressions of Asia-related curriculum policy towards a more student-centred articulation, students’ roles in shaping curricular knowledge warrant more attention and scrutiny. As our analysis suggests, a deeper understanding of students’ experiences of curriculum-as-lived may be the catalyst for a long-overdue reorientation towards a curricular landscape of multiplicity, where new and authentic possibilities for Asia learning could be envisaged.

摘要

过去五年来，培养具有“亚洲素养”的学生一直是澳大利亚教育政策的一个关键目标。学术文献、政策文件和媒体评论都详细记录了围绕这一教育目标的争论。本文旨在通过研究澳大利亚维多利亚州中学语言和历史教学背景下学生对亚洲相关课程的体验，来弥补这些辩论中学生声音缺失的问题。我们从课程探究的角度，利用定性访谈数据中精选的主题片段来询问学生对计划和经验丰富的亚洲相关课程的理解和评价。他们的故事凸显了亚洲学习在正式学习场所（及其内部）的不一致，以及学生在其他空间的生活经历。我们认为，为了使当前与亚洲相关的课程政策的表达方式转向更加以学生为中心的表述，学生在塑造课程知识中的作用值得更多的关注和审查。正如我们的分析所表明的那样，对学生生活中的课程体验的更深入理解可能会成为早就该重新定位到多元化课程格局的催化剂，在这种格局中可以设想亚洲学习的新的、真实的可能性。