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do meet this description, however for this era the textbook content and style deployed were
quite interesting. It seems an effort was made by the Departmental curriculum writers to
engage and sustain the interest of school students. Through informal conversations held with
adults who used these textbooks as school students in the 1960s and 1970s I have learnt that
they remember quite fondly these textbooks as pedagogical devices and can also remember
some of the narratives—demonstrating the long lasting impact curriculum has on students
post-schooling.
8.3.3 1988 Bicentennial era.
This era presents a largely contradictory curriculum approach. Although with a surface look it
is couched within a seemingly progressivist view, that is one that presents “curriculum as
open process... [and]... curriculum relevant to contemporary issues” (Gilbert, 2003, pp. 6-7).
However, an argument against categorising it in this way is that overall, and in many
examples from primary and high school year levels, it is not progressivist, nor inquiry, in a
way that encourages students to adopt perspectives that may differ from those of the textbook
authors. Instead, students are directed, through skilful manoeuvre and selection of primary
source documents to arrive at distinct, predetermined conclusions. Whereas students may be
encouraged to engage in discussion and ask questions, there is a clear direction that they are
guided to take, epitomised by the primary source documents that are available in the
sourcebooks and textbooks. This is evident, for example, in Case studies in Australian history
(Stewart, 1986). Here, a conservative Prime Minister (McMahon) is criticised for his
handling of the issue; whereas the Labor Prime Minister (Whitlam) that followed him was
praised for his dealing with the issue despite backing away from his election promise of
granting land rights to Indigenous Australians. In addition, primary source perspectives other
than those of the Gurindji tribe and their sympathisers, such as the landholder and the
government are excluded; resulting in a one sided view of the issue presented to students.
Exchanging one overarching view for another, applies to the curriculum approach taken, a
point made by Gilbert: “To promote participation in the system as if it was open and fair
would be to disguise injustice, not much better than the indoctrination of Queen and Country
of earlier times. It would also betray the less powerful...by neglecting the need to make the
system more open” (2004, p. 12).
Aspects of traditional approaches are also evident through the teacher information sheets and
pupil information sheets from the Social Studies sourcebooks. With knowledge presented as
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