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The two examples above, although brief and only selective of events that arose during this
era, demonstrate the increase in profile of Indigenous issues highlight the multiplicity of
socio-political discourses operating and show the rise in consciousness of the general
community to issues directly and significantly impacting Indigenous Australians.
6.2 Education Context
Just as this era presents as a period of rapid social and political change in the wider national
and international community, so too were there major shifts in Queensland’s schooling
context. This period saw significant changes occur in areas such as school-based assessment,
school structures, an increase in student participation in high school and matriculation to
university, and pedagogical approaches catering to educate the whole child. For a discussion
of some of these key changes and their relationship to assessment, see Clarke (1987). This
section primarily outlines the compulsory age of schooling, syllabuses used during this era,
and key textbooks selected for analysis, in order to establish the schooling context relevant to
this project.
6.2.1 Compulsory age of schooling.
In the first major review of education since the Education Act of 1875, The Education Act of
1964 increased compulsory school age to “not less than six years to 15 years” (Education Act
1964, ss 4). This meant that students were generally in grade 9 when it was no longer
compulsory for them to attend school. The “Steps in Education in Queensland” (see Source
6.1) shows all possible formal education pathways for students.
Source 6.1: Steps in Education in Queensland in Social Studies for Queensland
schools grade 7. (Department of Education, 1960/1963, p. 74)
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