Holocaust, colonisation in school curriculum overhaul
Students across NSW will learn about the effects of colonisation on Indigenous Australians as part of a major high-school education overhaul.
A student looks at an exhibit at the Sydney Jewish Museum
History students in NSW will learn about the effects of colonisation on Indigenous Australians and the experiences of Holocaust victims as part of a major curriculum overhaul.
The curriculum rewrite will also mean students will be schooled on democratic processes and the Australian constitution.
The sweeping changes will only affect high-school students and are part of several changes to the syllabus in the nation’s largest education system.
The overhaul will also affect the teaching of geography, science, creative arts, and health and physical education.
NSW Education Minister Prue Car said the history syllabus would help students become well-rounded and better informed.
“The new syllabuses will provide students with opportunities for in-depth learning and support teachers with essential content for evidence-based explicit teaching,” she said.
Previously, high-school students could be taught about topics such as colonisation and the Holocaust but there were no guarantees on the extent to which they featured in school curriculums.
Students in years 7 and 8 will now undertake mandatory, in-depth study on Indigenous Australians’ experience of colonisation, including Aboriginal perspectives.
They will also be taught detailed history of the Holocaust, including the experiences of Jewish survivors in post-World War II Australia.
Geography students will also be taught about the impacts of climate change.
NSW Education Standards Authority chief executive Paul Martin said the syllabuses were research-driven and would build on knowledge already established in primary school.
“These documents went through a robust consultation process which has resulted in high quality syllabuses that reflect feedback provided by teachers and the broader community,” he said.
Teachers will have two years to get their heads around the new content before rolling out the updated classes in 2027.
The state in July announced plans to roll out a reworked primary-school curriculum that included a focus on explicit teaching in a bid to reverse sliding results, replacing a pupil-led model formerly in vogue with many experts.
and on the significance of the Nuremberg Trials andthe creation of the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The syllabus also now includes a more diverse range of experiences during WWII, including victims
of the Farhud, a violent dispossession carried out against the Jewish people of Baghdad, Iraq, on 1-2 June 1941.
The Sydney Jewish Museum was a key source in providing input to the State Government to enhance its mandate on Holocaust studies for all students.
Sydney Jewish Museum President Greg Shand said: “It is gratifying to receive this announcement today that the reforms that the Museum advocated for have been incorporated into the new NSW high school syllabus.
It is vital that all students are equipped with evidence-based knowledge, and that they can learn core life lessons from Holocaust survivors; whether from those who are still able to tell of their harrowing experiences, or via an AI-interactive survivor at the Sydney Jewish Museum.
We at the Museum see every day how Holocaust education can serve as a warning against hate and prejudice, and be a catalyst for ensuring tolerance, respect and social cohesion in our Australian society. We welcome the NSW Government’s commitment to increasing education about the Holocaust to achieve a more cohesive society.”
In a statement, the museum commented; “At a time when Australia is seeing an increase in Holocaust denial and antisemitism, and a decline in Holocaust knowledge amongst young people, this revised syllabus structure will ensure that this pivotal period of history is not ‘left out’ from the knowledge base of the largest student population in Australia.
This revision will ensure students understand the Holocaust as a key lever for understanding the potential impact of racial hatred and the mechanisms of genocide.
Another crucial outcome from this revision is the acknowledgment of the important contribution to Australian society by Holocaust survivors.
In 2023, the NSW Government committed development funding in the amount of $8.5 million to the Sydney Jewish Museum, the home of Holocaust education to teachers and students in New South Wales. This important revision to the NSW history syllabus affirms the commitment from the State to increase education about the Holocaust.
The president of The New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies David Ossip told J-Wire: “The expansion of mandatory Holocaust education into NSW schools is a truly landmark moment and we thank and pay tribute to Deputy Premier Prue Car, the NSW Government and NESA.
The lessons of the Holocaust are universal and have never been more relevant. In a multifaith and multicultural society, the Holocaust teaches the next generation about our common humanity, the dangers of baseless hatred and the importance of not being a bystander.
As Australia’s many Holocaust survivors continue to age and the Holocaust progressively moves from living memory to memory alone, this reform ensures that its lessons will be known for generations to come and our society will undoubtedly be the better for it.”
AAP/J-Wire
