GaIT Working Paper. Toni Downes and Fred Kleydish Charles Sturt University, Australia

Transcription

1 FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD GaIT Working Paper Curriculum, participation and performance in senior secondary Computing and IT subjects in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia Toni Downes and Fred Kleydish Charles Sturt University, Australia This report forms part of the output of the Australian Research Council-funded project From High School to Higher Education: Gendered pathways in information, communication and computer technology education (GaIT) undertaken by researchers from University of Western Sydney, Deakin University and Charles Sturt University. November

2 CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION METHODOLOGY Curriculum analysis Participation analysis Performance analysis RESULTS Curriculum Analysis Participation Rates Student Performance SUMMARY BIBLIOGRAPHY Appendix A: The ACM model Appendix B: Curriculum Analysis Extract Appendix C: Analysis of Major CIT subjects by topics and outcomes Appendix D: Participation Rates in Major CIT subjects Appendix E: Participation Rates in Related CIT subjects Appendix F NSW participation rates in Computing Courses 1995 to Appendix G Student performance in Major CIT subjects in NSW Appendix H: Student Performance in Major CIT subjects in South Australia

3 1 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this report is to present curriculum, participation and performance analyses of senior school level Computing and IT (CIT) 1 subjects in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. This analysis is part of a larger Australian Research Councilfunded project From High School to Higher Education: Gendered pathways in information, communication and computer technology education (GaIT). The project seeks to better understand how processes at the secondary school level might contribute to the continuing under-representation of females in post-secondary study and careers in CIT. This analysis will necessarily raise more questions than it will answer. But it does, by its very nature, ensure that some of the popularly-presented cause-effect relationships within local contexts can be challenged through cross-state or cross-subject comparisons. The key features of the analyses are listed below. The Curriculum Analysis: 1. Situates the study of Senior Year CIT subjects within each State s broader K-12 2 Technology Curriculum Framework. 2. Identifies the Major and Related CIT subjects offered in the senior secondary years in New South Wales (NSW), Victoria and South Australia (SA). 3. Maps the content and level of the major offerings with a view to establishing comparability of the subjects. The Participation Analysis: 1. Details male, female and total participation rates between 2002 and 2006 for each of the major subjects. 2. Describes the trends in participation rates within and across States, and within and across like courses. The Performance Analysis: 1. Details student performance by gender in the Major CIT subjects in their final senior school 2006 examination. 2. Reviews historical student performance data (between 2001 and 2006) from Victoria and NSW in the Major CIT subjects in the final year Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) and Higher School Certificate (HSC) respectively. 1 In the GaIT project the term Computing & IT (CIT) refers to a field of study that incorporates Software Engineering, Computing Science and Information Technology. The term ICT refers to information and communication technologies, In the school sector, the term is used interchangeably with computers. 2 The K-12 term is used here to indicate all years of Schooling. K refers to the first year of schooling, variously named Kindergarten, Preparatory and Reception years in each of NSW, Victoria and South Australia, and 12 refers to the final year of school in which students sit for their final school credential. For the purposes of this paper it includes Year 12 and 13 as defined in South Australia. That is, it covers K/P 12/13. When appropriate, referring to a particular State, the individual state nomenclature is used. 1 1

4 2 METHODOLOGY Curriculum, participation and performance data were collected from the relevant curriculum authorities in each of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia: 1. From publicly available data and information on the relevant authority s website. 2. Directly from officers of the relevant authority, through requests or sponsored requests by third parties. The three relevant authorities are: 1. The NSW Board of Studies (NSWBOS): which, amongst other responsibilities, authorises and manages senior secondary curriculum leading to the NSW Higher School Certificate (HSC). 2. The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) : which, amongst other responsibilities, authorises and manages the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE). 3. The Senior Secondary Assessment Board of South Australia (SSABSA): which, amongst other responsibilities, authorises and manages the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE). The following officers kindly provided information upon request: 1. Howard Kennedy - Inspector, Technology Education, Office of the Board of Studies (BOS), NSW. 2. Dr John Bennett - General Manager & Chief Executive Officer, Office of the Board of Studies (BOS), NSW. 3. John Holgate - Curriculum and Assessment Officer, Information Technology, SSABSA. 4. Michaela Bensley - Research-Team Leader, SSABSA. 5. Dr Catherine Harris - Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Education, Deakin University, Burwood Victoria. 6. Paula Christensen - ICT Curriculum Manager, VCAA, Victoria 7. Bev Rogers - Curriculum Superintendent, SSABSA, South Australia. 2.1 Curriculum analysis Using relevant websites and other information provided by the research team, subjects were identified as being either Major or Related CIT subjects, leading to the final school credential. In NSW, this credential is the Higher School Certificate, in Victoria, the Victorian Certificate of Education, and in South Australia, the South Australian Certificate of Education. These subjects are summarised in Table 1. Senior year subjects listed by a curriculum authority as being Computing, or Information Technology subjects were determined as having Major status. Many other subjects were identified as having strands which focused on aspects of Computing and IT. These subjects 2 2

5 were determined to be Related subjects if a strand or focus of the subject was on developing knowledge, understanding or skills about how the technology itself or related information or communication processes worked. Subjects, such as English and Art, that used computers or other information and communication technologies just as tools, albeit for very sophisticated purposes, were not included. When used in this way, most education systems speak of the use of computers across the curriculum. Table 1: Major and Related CIT subjects offered as part of the final school credential in NSW, Victoria, and South Australia. New South Wales Victoria South Australia Major CIT subjects Software Design and Development Information Processes and Technology VET- Information Technology Information Technology Software Development (formerly Information Systems) IT Applications (formerly Information Processing and Management) VET- Information Technology Information Technology - Studies Information Technology - Systems Information Processing and Publishing VET- Information Technology Related CIT subjects Industrial Technology- Multimedia Strand VET- Desk Top Publishing VET- Multimedia Design & Technology Design & Technology Studies Design Practical CISCO CAN Program A more detailed curriculum analysis of Major CIT subjects was undertaken. This included: 1. Mapping the overall K 12 Technology curriculum framework within which these subjects are located. 2. Analysing the structure, content and level of each of the Major subjects K-12 Technology Curriculum Frameworks Maps for each State s K 12 Technology curriculum frameworks were developed or adapted from existing information to describe each State-level curriculum framework within which the CIT subjects were situated. These are depicted later in Figures 1, 2 and 3. The NSW Board of Studies publishes a CIT curriculum framework map in various syllabus documents, for example. Software Design and Development Stage 6 Syllabus (pg. 7), and Information Processes and Technologies Stage 6 Syllabus (pg. 7). This map was modified by the authors to include the mandatory School Certificate (Year 10) Computer Skills Test (first trialled in 2004) and the Stage 5 (Year 9-10) elective Information and Software Technologies introduced in This Skills Test and subject were not included in the original diagram in the Stage 6 syllabuses published in It was considered important to include these, as many of the NSW students included in the data collection were exposed to both the Test and to the subject. 3 3

6 Using the NSW map as a model, the Victorian and South Australian maps were constructed from information in the Victorian Essential Learning Standards for Information and Communications Technology (December 2005) document ( downloads/ vels_standards/velsrevisedict.pdf) available through the Victorian Department of Education and Training ( and from the South Australian Department Curriculum Standards and Accountability Framework website ( The accuracy of the constructed Victorian and South Australian maps was checked using advice from the ICT Curriculum Manager VCAA and GaIT researchers at Victoria s Deakin University, and with South Australian advice from the Curriculum Superintendent, SSABSA Structure, Content and Level Analysis An analysis of structure, content and level of each States syllabuses for relevant CIT subjects was undertaken. These syllabuses were obtained from the websites of each State s curriculum authority. The Structure of the subjects was reviewed in terms of the Year/s in which the subjects were studied, the number of units of study and the nature of the assessment regime. In particular it was noted whether the assessment involved an external examination, and how the subject was categorised in terms of contributing to a university entrance score. The Content and Level analysis drew on a model described in the Model K-12 Curriculum of Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) (Tucker et al. 2003). Further details about the ACM Model can be found in Appendix A. This model was used by Downes (2007) 3 to analyse the nature and focus of the NSW CIT subjects, as it provided a useful framework for mapping the nature of CIT subjects in terms of both content and level of study. The ACM Model identifies a number of possible CIT Content fields including Computer Literacy, Computer Fluency, Information Technology, Software Engineering, and Computer Science (Tucker et al. 2003, pp. 6 10), and are summarised by Downes (2007, pg 70-71) as: 1. Computer Literacy the capability to independently use today s technologies. 2. Computer Fluency adds to Computer Literacy the capability to independently learn and use new technologies as they evolve through one s lifetime. This includes the active use of algorithmic thinking (including programming) to solve problems and skills to think abstractly about computers, computing and IT. 3. Information Technology (IT) an applied field of study that involves the effective use and study of technologies (processes, systems and tools) by which people 3 Downes, T (2007) The nature and purpose of Computing and Information Technology subjects in the senior secondary school curriculum in New South Wales. In J. Lynch (Ed) Gender and IT: Challenges for Computing and Information Technology education in Australian secondary schools. Melbourne: Common Ground. pp

7 manipulate and share information in its various forms text, graphics, sound and video. 4. Software Engineering the practice of designing and implementing large software systems (programs). 5. Computer Science the study of computers and algorithmic processes, including their principles, hardware and software designs, applications and impact on society and how tools are designed and deployed - exposing students to the scientific and mathematical theory that underlies the practice of computing. It is a continuum that has some overlap with IT and Software Engineering but extends well beyond either of these other fields. The ACM Model also provides a set of Levels of learning outcomes that can be used to classify both stages and learning-breadth/depth within the curriculum. The ACM Model uses levels to set out a curriculum framework from K to Year 12 in Computing Science (Tucker et al. 2003, pp10-11). For the purposes of this study, we de-coupled the levels from the various stages of schooling and removed any relationship between employment or external accreditation and level. This enabled us to use the modified levels to compare a set of syllabuses all in the same stage of schooling, and to incorporate the subjects with VET qualifications into the comparison. Simple descriptors for each level were developed by the authors. These are: Level 1 provides foundational concepts by integrating basic skills in technology. Level 2 provides a coherent and broad understanding of the principles, methodologies and applications. Level 3 provides an understanding and application of mathematical/scientific principles and fundamental processes such as algorithmic problem solving, programming, software and hardware design, networks and information systems, Level 4 involves depth of study in one particular area that builds on Level 3 understandings. We used these descriptors to analyse the level of learning outcomes across all the identified Major CIT subjects, in the fields of computing science, software engineering and/or information technology in each of the states. Using the ACM framework it would be expected that subjects with an instrumental focus in developing literacy or fluency would generally be positioned at Level 1, while subjects with a focus on one or more of the fields of computing science, software engineering and/or information technology may vary from Level 1 through to Level 4. The content and level analysis used the following process: a) The essence of the syllabus was identified. In this paper essence refers to the content as determined by a thorough reading of all aspects of the syllabus, including rationales, commentaries, assessment methods, and is considered a more accurate reflection of what students study than the list of topics and strands which organise syllabuses. This was considered necessary as a simple reading of a list of Topics/ Units would not necessarily indicate the actual content covered. 5 5

8 b) Each of the syllabus outcomes were also examined and allocated an ACM level. c) An overall whole-of-subject level was determined based on the professional judgement of the rater. d) The results of b) and c) were compared to confirm the appropriateness of the whole-ofsubject level. The rater was a very experienced and qualified Senior CIT teacher from NSW. Where necessary, the rater corresponded with the relevant State curriculum officers to clarify interpretations Comparative curriculum mapping The syllabuses from the three States were compared by structure, content and level. The subjects were categorised into groups and the degree of alignment within and between groups was identified. Alignment of CIT subjects across States is illustrated through a series of tables and figures later in this paper (Tables 2-5 and Figure 4). 2.2 Participation analysis The participation rates for each of the Major CIT subjects were downloaded from the websites of the respective state education boards: New South Wales: in their HSC analysis, student entries by gender. Victoria: in the senior secondary VCE research statistics. South Australia: Tables and Column graphs for each Major and Related CIT subject in each state were generated from the data. These are presented later, in Tables 6-10 and Figures Performance analysis Student performance data in each of the Major CIT subjects were collected from New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. New South Wales performance data were provided by the General Manager of the NSW Board of Studies after an application for access was submitted. Results are reported in Bands from 1 through to 6 (with Band 6 being the highest). The Band result is based on a final mark that is an aggregation of internal assessment and written examination. Results from 2001 to 2006 were made available. The Victorian performance data are published on the Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority website ( Results are reported as one of 10 Grades, from A+ through to E with an additional UG grade. Grades are available for each of the coursework and external written examination components between 2003 and In this report we only present the grades for the external written examination as this is most comparable to NSW. South Australian performance data are published in the SSABSA 6 6

9 Annual Report found at: Only 2006 data were able to be located. Grades are reported as a five point scale from A through E. We have no information on how these grades were calculated in subjects with exams. 3 RESULTS In the following sections, results are reported for the curriculum analysis, participation analysis and performance analysis across all Major and some Related CIT subjects in the senior secondary curriculum in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. These results need to be treated with caution as they can only be fully understood in the context of the curriculum framework in each of the States, and also within the limits of available data. The frameworks vary significantly and especially so in terms of the end-ofschool certification system and the senior secondary curriculum that underpins each particular senior certificate. Furthermore, and at least in Victoria and South Australia, schools have significant authority to shape their curriculum focus and organisation to meet the needs of their students and school community leading up to the senior secondary years. Also in the time since the GaIT study began in 2005, each state has introduced new elements into their overall K - 12 curriculum, and have revised and renamed curriculum elements. Notwithstanding these cautions the following sections provide some important findings about the nature, similarities and differences in curriculum, rates of participation and student performance in CIT subjects in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. 3.1 Curriculum Analysis The Major CIT subjects in the senior secondary years vary from state to state in their focus, content, outcomes, labels and language used. They also vary in their overall positioning because of the different K 12 curriculum frameworks within which the use of computers for teaching and learning, the development of computer literacy and the teaching of CIT subjects are situated. Any interpretation of the data also needs to take into account the historical framing of senior curriculum and certification practices and policies within each of the States. These practices and policies have varied significantly over the years within and between States. For example, in NSW the scope of available subjects and the approach to assessment changed dramatically in 2001, as a result of the 1996 McGraw Review into the NSW Higher School Certificate 4. 4 McGaw, B. (1996) Their future: options for reform of the Higher School Certificate. Sydney: Dept of Training and Education Co-ordination, NSW. 7 7

10 3.1.1 K 12 Curriculum Frameworks In New South Wales, study of Computing and IT resides within the Technology and Applied Studies (TAS) Key Learning Area (KLA). The pathway for students from primary level to senior secondary is presented in Figure 1. Figure 1: Computing and IT Pathways - New South Wales 8 8

11 In Stages 1-3 ( K - Year 6 ) CIT concepts are introduced in the Science and Technology KLA through a strand called Communication and Information. In Stage 4 (Years 7-8) Computing is taught as a 50-hour mandatory component of Design and Technology. In stage 5 (Years 9-10) an elective CIT subject, Information Software and Technologies, is offered. In Stage 6 (Years 11-12) three CIT subjects are offered: Software Design and Development, Information Processes and Technology and VET- Information Technology. Students may choose to undertake one, two or all three CIT subjects and can undertake Stage 6 subjects without having completed the Stage 5 elective. As well as the formal study of CIT topics, all students both use and learn about using various applications and technologies across all of their Key Learning Areas. In Stages 4-5 the compulsory syllabuses have mandated computing experiences to support learning outcomes in each particular syllabus 5. At the end of Stage 5, it is a requirement of the NSW School Certificate that all students sit for a Computer Skills Test. These results are reported to the students, separate from their NSW School Certificate. Figure 2 presents the pathways to CIT subjects in Victoria. Within Victoria s Essential Learning Standards (VELS) Framework ( index.html), Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is one of 16 domains. The ICT domain focuses on providing students with the tools (knowledge, skills and behaviours) to change how they learn and to enrich their learning environment in all learning areas ( Individual schools may choose different curriculum structures for developing the knowledge, skills and behaviours that define effective use of ICT. Typically within primary schools, the classroom teacher takes responsibility for ensuring that students acquire and apply these knowledge and skills, however many schools still allocate specific blocks of time for knowledge and skill acquisition. At Level 5 (Years 7-8) all schools must offer, and all students must attempt a learning program that covers Level 5 ICT standards again, schools determine how this will be achieved. At Level 6 (Years 9-10) all schools must offer, but students can elect to study a learning program that covers the Level 6 ICT Standards. This is often through elective subjects. Students selecting to study CIT subjects in their senior years for the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) can do so without undertaking elective studies in Level 6. Within the senior years, leading up to the VCE, students can elect to study a Year 11 course in Information Technology followed by either or both Software Development and Information Technology Applications in Year 12. Three different VET courses in Information Technology, Desktop Publishing and Multimedia, with embedded AQF Certificates are also available. 5 Mapping of Information and Communications Technologies in Revised Mandatory Stages 4-5 Syllabuses ( 9 9

12 Figure 2: Computing and IT Pathways Victoria The South Australian Curriculum Standards and Accountability (SACSA) Framework describes Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as integral to all learning 6. All eight Learning Areas make explicit mention of the purposeful use of ICTs and they are also identified within one of the five Essential Learnings - the Communications component. The Communications component has three parts - Literacy, Numeracy and ICTs. A context statement at the beginning of each band ( Stage or Level ) for each learning area describes 6 ICT and the SACSA Framework, pg 1. developed by Russell Phillipson, Policy and Programs Officer ICT, Department of Education and Children s Services (phillipson.russell@saugov.sa.gov.au) 10 10

13 the use of ICTs in terms of operational skills and critical understandings. Many Curriculum Standard Outcomes in other Learning Areas also reference the use of ICTs. In the Early, Primary and Middle Years, all students undertake studies from the Design and Technology learning area. In this Learning Area, students design and produce ICT solutions, within the Critique - Design - Make process, and also consider issues and the impact of ICTs on society. In Year 10, a CIT elective is offered within the Design and Technology Learning Area. This subject is not a pre-requisite for studying CIT subjects in the senior years for the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE). Figure 3: Computing and IT Pathways South Australia In the Senior Years, students can choose to undertake studies in Information Technology Systems (as 1 or 2 units, and in Year 11 or Years 11 and 12); in a VET- Information 11 11

14 Technology Course that also provides an AQF Certificate III; Information Processing and Publishing (as 1 or 2 units, and in Year 11, Year 12 or both Years 11 and 12); and Information Technology Systems or Studies (2 units in Year 12). This latter subject (Information Technology Systems) is the only subject with an external examination whose mark contributes without condition to a university entrance score. As well, students in Years 11 or 12 can undertake a CISCO CNA program. There are similarities and differences within the curriculum frameworks across all States. All three frameworks have very strong focus on the purposeful use of ICTs to enhance and support learning across all areas of the curriculum. ICTs are explicitly mentioned in many of the outcomes/standards at each Stage/Level/Band across all Key Learning Areas. This feature is represented in each of Figures 1, 2 and 3 as the large vertical arrow on the right hand side of each figure. In two of the three States, NSW and South Australia, the formal study of CIT is embedded within a Learning Area that has the design process as its organising principle, as articulated in the NSW Technology and Applied Studies Key Learning Area, and the South Australian Design and Technology Learning Area. That is, these studies are undertaken within Design - Make - Critique processes. In South Australia, this approach is consistently applied through electives in the middle secondary years and into the senior years. In NSW, the Stage 5 (Years 9-10) elective, Information and Software Technologies, also has some elements of content from the ACM defined domains of Information Technology, Software Engineering and Computing Science. In Victoria, while Information and Communication Technology (ICT) itself, is one of the 16 Domains, the focus of this area remains one of literacy and fluency in the use of ICTs as tools to transform learning, enrich learning environments and create products or solve problems. Nowhere in this domain does the learning focus on the technology itself. In terms of the ACM Model Curriculum, there are no opportunities in Victoria for students to engage in discipline-based CIT studies prior to the senior years. However, within the freedom of school-based decision making, many students at Level 5-6 demonstrate their standards through elective studies such as game development. Given the nature of the Level 6 standards it is difficult to imagine that these students would be exposed to key disciplinary concepts that underpin studies in say Software Engineering or Computing Science. Across the three States, the elective studies that precede the senior years are not pre-requisites to studying the senior-level CIT subjects. Thus many students who take senior CIT subjects in the senior years are, for the first time in their schooling, meeting the content and processes drawn from the ACM Model Curriculum domains of Information Technology, Software Engineering and Computing Science. Students studying these CIT subjects thus do not have the benefit of prior knowledge, such as they do experience from formal study in arts, science and humanities where foundations are laid at the beginning of their secondary years. One of 12 12

15 the authors has argued (Downes, 2007) 7 that the discontinuity between the literacy/fluency focus of the early-middle years and the discipline-focus in the senior years, in the absence of a transitional pathway, contributes to a lack of understanding about what students are selecting or rejecting when they make their subject choices for their senior years Structure, Content and Level of CIT subjects in the Senior Years The Structures of the Major CIT subjects reflect the curriculum framework and regulations for each of their respective end-of-school certification certificates. Subjects are undertaken either as 1 or 2 units of study, in Year 11 and/or Year 12, and have an external examination which may be optional or mandatory. In each of the States, subjects are categorised in terms of the contribution they can make to a student s aggregated tertiary entrance score. For the purposes of this paper Category A means that these subjects count (unrestricted), Category B means that only a certain number of these types of subjects count (restricted), Category C subjects do not count. Table 2 sets out the findings of a structural analysis of the CIT subjects in the Senior Years. In New South Wales, most Higher School Certificate (HSC) subjects consist of 2 units (two full years) of study across Years 11 and 12 with only Year 12 topics being externally examined. Two CIT subjects fit this description - Software Design and Development and Information Processes and Technologies. VET- IT is an industry curriculum framework subject, with an optional external examination. In the senior secondary years in Victoria, Year 11 studies provide foundational study which may or may not lead to different subjects being studied in Year 12, and only year 12 subjects count for the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE). For example, a Major CIT subject Information Technology is studied in Year 11 and either or both Software Development (formerly Information Systems) or IT Applications (formerly Information Processing and Management) are studied in Year 12, both of which are externally examined. VET- IT is very similar to the NSW subject 8. In South Australia, the curriculum framework for the senior years is more flexible than either NSW or Victoria. One of the 2-unit CIT subjects is offered in two modes, each with a different subject name. Each mode shares the same content and prescribed outcomes, but Information Technology Studies is externally assessed while Information Technology Systems is internally assessed with external moderation. The other Major CIT subject, Information Processing and Publishing, can be undertaken as either a 1 or 2 unit course of study. A student studying two units selects 2 out of 4 elective study units which can be studied in year 11 or 12. These units are internally assessed but externally moderated. The VET- IT subject aligns with the NSW and Victoria versions 7 Downes, op. cit. 8 We found no documentation to confirm whether there was an optional examination as in NSW

16 Across the three States there is remarkable similarity in the three VET- IT subjects. This is to be expected as they are all based on the same Industry Curriculum Frameworks and Australian Qualification Framework Standards. What varies from State to State is the opportunity for the students to also sit for an external examination in this subject, where marks count for university entrance. This is only the case in NSW. In Victoria and South Australia, the results from the optional examination cannot count towards university entrance scores.. Table 2: Structure of Computing and IT subjects in NSW, Victoria and South Australia STATE SYLLABUS Year of Study No. of Units External Exam Tertiary Entry Score NEW Software Design and 11 & 12 2 Yes A SOUTH WALES Development Information Processes and 11 & 12 2 Yes A Technology VET- Information Technology 11 & 12 2 Optional B - Exam C - no exam VICTORIA Information Technology 11 2 NA NA (Units 1 & 2) Software Development 12 2 Yes A (formerly Information Systems) (Units 3 & 4) Information Technology 12 2 Yes A Applications (formerly Information Processing and Management) (Units 3 & 4) VET- Information 11 & 12 2 Optional C Technology SOUTH Information Technology 11 2 NA NA AUSTRALIA Systems Information Technology 12 2 Yes A Studies OR Information Technology No C Systems Information Processing and Publishing 11 and/ or 12 1 or 2 No but externally B VET- Information Technology moderated 11 & 12 2 Optional C As would be expected, the Content and Levels of the CIT subjects in each of the States varied. Whilst some variation related to the titles, topic labels and language used, other variations were more substantial, in terms of both the nature and focus of the topics studied. It is 14 14

17 important to note that the rules of the various Senior Certificates help shape the suite of allowable subject combinations in each State. In NSW, the Higher School Certificate rules allow students to study one, two or all three of the major CIT subjects. The Victorian Certificate of Education rules allow a student to take all six units in Information Technology design. This means that after undertaking Units 1 and 2 in Year 11, students can choose to do either or both Units 3 and 4 from Software Design and Development, and/or from Information Technology Applications. Students in Victoria can also elect to take the VET-IT subject. The South Australian Certificate of Education allows students to take units from both the Information Technology Systems/Studies and the Information Processing and Publishing subjects. Table 3 lists the Topics/Strands as set out in each of the syllabus documents and assigns the a level to each CIT subject (based on adapted ACM Levels). These levels were confirmed by analysing the ACM Level of each topic and its outcome as set out in the various syllabuses. The details of Topics/Strands, Syllabus Outcomes and ACM Levels for each of the content topics and their outcomes are set out for each of the subjects in Appendix C. It is worthy of note that there were variations of levels within subjects, with some particular topics/outcomes representing higher or lower levels than the aggregated level descriptor. Table 3: Curriculum Mapping and ACM determination for NSW, Victoria and South Australia State Subject ACM Level Topics/Strands as set out in the Syllabus New South Wales Software Design and Development Information Processes and Technology 2 & 3 (equal) Development & Impact of Software Solutions (including Social/ Ethical Issues) Software Development Cycle Developing a Solution Package (practical programming) Options Topics Evolution of Programming Languages Software Developers View of Hardware 1, 2 & 3 (majority 2) Communication Systems Social/Ethical Issues System Development Cycle/Project Work Option Topics Transaction Processing Decision Making Systems Automated Manufacturing Systems Multimedia System 15 15

18 State Subject ACM Level Topics/Strands as set out in the Syllabus. New South Wales (cont d) Victoria South Australia Information Technology VET Information Technology (Year 11) [Foundation subject for both Software Development and Information Technology Applications] Software Development (formerly Information Systems) Information Technology Applications (formerly Information Processing and Management) Information Technology VET Information Technology Systems [Yr 11 component foundations studies with a view to Students undertaking Stage 2 Information Technology Systems or Studies]. 1 Competency Based Units Computer packages Computer Hardware Equipment maintenance System integrity maintenance Workplace communication Connecting Peripherals Installing applications OHS RTO and AQTF compliance Work Placement 1 & 2 (majority 2) 2 & 3 (majority 3) 1, 2 & 3 (majority 2) IT in Action IT techniques (Web authoring & Multimedia) Data Management ICT Issues IT Pathways Programming & Career Pathways Networks Tools, techniques and procedures (problem solving to create information products) Systems Analysis & Design Software Development Software Engineering Systems Engineering Problem Solving/System Development Cycle (DBMS) Networks & Collaborative Problem Solving Organisations & Information Needs Data & Information Security Problem Solving in Multimedia Web Authoring Spreadsheets 1 Competency Based Units Computer packages Computer Hardware Equipment maintenance System integrity maintenance Workplace communication Connecting Peripherals Installing applications OHS RTO and AQTF compliance Work Placement 2 & 3 (majority 3) For 1 unit of Study any two of, and for two units any four of Computer Systems Relational Databases Application Programming Multimedia Programming Website Programming Dynamic Websites (all topics have a focus on the design process and social responsibility) 16 16

19 State Subject ACM Level Topics/Strands as set out in the Syllabus. Victoria (cont d) South Australia Information Technology Studies (and Systems) Information Processing and Publishing Information Technology VET 2 & 3 (majority 3) 1 & 2 (majority 1) Information Systems Computer & Communications Systems Options Relational Data Bases Applications Programming Multimedia Programming Website Programming Dynamic Websites (all core and option topics have a focus on the design process and social responsibility) Skills Unit Options any two of Data Input Desktop Publishing Personal Documents Business Documents Electronic Publishing Each area is defined across four strands: Designing, Skills, Knowledge & Understanding and Issues 1 Competency Based Units Computer packages Computer Hardware Equipment maintenance System integrity maintenance Workplace communication Connecting Peripherals Installing applications OHS RTO and AQTF compliance Work Placement Given that the South Australian Information Studies and Information Systems subjects only differ in terms of the assessment and status with regards to university entrance score, for the purposes of further content and level analysis, they will be analysed as one. Figure 4 sets out a further analysis of each of the Major CIT subjects, based on the essence of the content of each of the syllabuses. This analysis reveals differences in the study-mix of the ACM-defined topics Software Engineering and Information Technology. The NSW subjects show a clear differentiation between these two areas, each having its own subject. Software Design and Development clearly focuses on Software Engineering, and Information Processes and Technologies on Information Technology. In Victoria and South Australia, the Year 11 subjects have a strong focus on Information Technology, and the Year 12 subjects have a mixture of Software Engineering and Information Technology. In South Australia, the main focus of the Year 12 subject is Information Technology. In Victoria, the main Year 12 focus is on Software Engineering, however like NSW, Victoria also has a separate subject - Information Technology Applications, that clearly focuses on the field of Information Technology. It is also fair to say that all of these subjects also have some of the broader elements of Computing Science as well, especially in terms of social and ethical issues

20 Figure 4: Computing and IT syllabus content alignment SYLLABUS COMPARISONS NEW SOUTH WALES VICTORIA SOUTH AUSTRALIA = equivalence Software Design and Development Software Development (formerly Information Technology Studies Information Systems) 1. Social / Ethical Issues 1. Information Systems 1. Information Systems 2. Software Development - Communications - Relational Data Base Approaches - Networks - Communications 3. Software Development 2. Software Development - System Development Cycle used Cycle - Software development process on practical project 4. Developing Solutions - Design of software - Design ( practical programming) - Legal / ethical issues - Social / Ethical issues 5. Options - Programming 2. Option Topics - Evolution of programming - Software Development Cycle - Development of rel DB languages (practical programming) - Programming project - Software developers view of hardware - Social Responsibility Information Processes and Technology 1. Project Work (System Development Cycle) 2. Information Systems and Dbases - Examples - Issues 3. Communication Systems - Examples - Issues 4. Options - Transaction Processing Systems - Decision Support Systems - Automated Manufacturing Systems - Multimedia Systems IT Applications ( formerly Information Processing and Management) 1. Problem Solving - Rel. Dbases (system development Cycle) - Networks ( Communications and Information Systems) 2. Applications - Spreadsheets ( system Development Cycle to solve problem) - Legal / ethical issues - Data security Information Processing and Publishing 1. Information System 2. Communication Systems 3. Social / ethical issues 4. Design process on : - DTP - Personal Documents - Business Documents - Electronic Publishing Information Technology - VET Information Technology - VET Information Technology VET 1. Competency Based Units 1. Competency Based Units 2. Competency Based Units The South Australian subject that does not seem to align at all with any of the NSW and Victorian subjects is Information Processing and Publishing. This subject, while sharing the consistent South Australian framework of Design and having a minor focus on the ACM Information Technology strand, has a very strong skills focus augmented by a set of issues and understandings related to the use of processes, applications and technologies in each of the areas studied. Along with the VET subjects, this subject has the clearest connection with post-school vocational employment. It clearly prepares students to use a range of applications in purposeful ways in the design and production or a variety of paper-based and digital products. It is interesting to note that in the 2007 version of Stage 1 of the subject there is a half- unit topic: Data Input. The scope of this topic clearly, though implicitly, refers to Typing as the key skill 9. This is the only Major CIT subject that includes such a basic skill. 9 Stage 1 and Stage 2 Information Processing and Publishing. Curriculum Statements Senior Secondary Assessment Board of South Australia, 2007, pg

21 3.1.3 Preliminary Discussion Taking account of both ACM Content and Levels, it would appear that there is a reasonable alignment between the NSW and Victorian suite of CIT subjects available in the senior years. In both of these States, students may choose between subjects with either a predominantly Software Engineering focus, or an Information Technology focus, or indeed take both. In comparison, there is only one Major CIT subject for the South Australian Certificate of Education at the same level as the NSW and Victorian suite of subjects, combining as it does, a focus on both Software Engineering and Information Technology. As its second Major CIT subject, the South Australian curriculum authority offers a very practical skills-focused course with clear outcomes related to employment in office administration. Table 4 sets out the overall alignment in summary form. All three States offer in almost identical mode, the VET- Information Technology subject. Table 4: Alignment by ACM Content Focus and Level across CIT subjects in NSW, Victoria and South Australia New South Wales Victoria South Australia Software Engineering Software Design and Development Level 2 & 3 (equal) Software Development Level 2 & 3 (majority 3) Information Technology Information Processes and Technology Level 1, 2 & 3 (majority 2) Information Technology Applications Level 1, 2 & 3 (majority 2) Information Technology Studies & Systems Level 2 & 3 (majority 3) Information Processing and Publishing Level 1 VET- Information Technology Level 1 VET- Information Technology Level 1 VET- Information Technology Level 1 Identifying the nature and scope of the similarities and differences in the subjects offered in each of the States is particularly significant within the GaIT project because it provides the context within which to interpret the differences in the overall and the gendered participation rates within and between States

22 3.2 Participation Rates This section presents the participation rates in the Major CIT subjects between 2002 and 2006, with a view to identifying similarities, differences and trends in overall and gendered rates within and across States. It is important to note that, given that students can undertake one or more Major CIT subjects, with the available data it is not possible to obtain a simple total candidature across the major CIT subjects to get an overall sense of the number of students taking at least one CIT subject in their senior years. Another complication in comparing participation rates, stems from the dual pathways of the South Australian Major CIT subjects, Information Technology Studies and Information Technology Systems, that share content and level but differ in assessment and contribution to university entrance. This may be sufficient to attract a different cohort of students in each pathway, so it is important to carefully analyse the participation rates in these subjects prior to making a judgement about whether to combine or keep separate these cohorts when making comparisons with other Major CIT subjects or across States. Therefore, we will explore this possible difference before undertaking a more general analysis. The individual and combined participation rates for the two South Australian subjects Information Technology Systems and Information Technology Studies are presented in Figure Information Technology Studies shows an overall higher participation between 2002 and 2006, with the gap between the two subjects increasing over time. The difference in the magnitude of the gap is most apparent in the decline between 2005 and By 2006 the candidature of the subject with the examination and university entrance contribution (Information Technology Studies) was three times more popular that the one without (Information Technology Systems). Figure 5: Trends in Participation in South Australian subjects Information Technology Studies and Information Technology Systems 10 See Appendix D for the data from which these graphs were constructed

23 Trends relating to the percentage of females who participate seem to be similar across the two subjects, indicating that one mode was not relatively more popular than then other. Overall there is a decline in the percentage of female participations between 2002 and 2006, except for a small increase in both subjects in Given the overall similarity of both content and participation rates in these two subjects, it would appear appropriate to combine the numbers for purposes of comparison with other Major CIT subjects within South Australia and across NSW and Victoria. Henceforth, in this report, these subjects are referred to as Information Technology Studies/Systems Participation Rates in Major CIT subjects across states Table 6 presents enrolment data from 2002 to 2006 for each of the Major CIT subjects in each of the three States. For each subject the number of male, female and total students is reported. The data reveal differences between States, between subjects within States, and across the years, with an overall downward participation trend for both boys and girls in all subjects in all States. Table 6: Participation rates in Major CIT subjects across NSW, Victoria and South Australia New South Wales Victoria South Australia Software Design and Development Software Development / Info Systems Information Technology Studies/Systems Year Male Female Total Year Male Female Total Year Male Female Total Information Processes & Technology Information Technology/ IP&M Information Processing & Publishing Year Male Female Total Year Male Female Total Year Male Female Total VET- Information Technology VET VET- Information Technology VET VET- Information Technology VET Year Male Female Total Year Male Female Total Year Male Female Total

24 Graphs of the Participation Rates for the Major CIT subjects in each of the States can be found in Appendix D. It is important to note that the numbers in the South Australian subject, Information Processing and Publishing, represent the aggregated number of students taking a 1-unit module. Advice from the Curriculum Superintendent from SABSA indicates that halving these numbers is a better indication of the total number of students as almost invariably each student takes 2 units. Overall, there are marked similarities in the proportion of students taking the different CIT subjects in NSW and Victoria. Over the period from 2002 to 2006 there is a definite downward trend in the total numbers of students participating in all Major CIT subjects. The only subject to defy the downward trend is the South Australian subject, Information Processing and Publishing. Across the subjects with a downward trend, the degree of decrease varies. For example, within Victoria the 2006 enrolment in the Software Development/Information Systems subject is 60% of the 2002 enrolment, while the 2006 enrolment in Information Technology/IP&M is 44% and VET: IT subject is just 27%. In NSW the 2006 enrolments represent 50% (SSD), 51% (IPT) and 45% (IT: VET) of the 2002 enrolments. Table 7 presents the female participation rates as a percentage of total enrolments. The table approximately aligns subjects by Content focus and Level, as per the ACM analysis presented in Table 4 above (pg.19). This alignment against ACM content focus and level partly contextualises the participation rates as a function of content focus.. Table 7: Female Participation rates as a percentage of total enrolments in CIT subjects in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia New South Wales Victoria South Australia Year % Female Year % Female Year % Female Software Design and Development Software Development / Info Systems % % % % Information Technology - Studies % % % % % % % % % Information Processes & Technology Information Technology/ IP&M % % % % % % % % % % % % Information Processing & Publishing % % % % % VET- Information Technology VET- Information Technology VET- Information Technology % % % % % % % % % % % % % 22 22

25 The similarities between NSW and Victoria data, in terms of both female participation rates and the decreases from 2002 to 2006 are evident. South Australia presents a different picture, with Information Technology Studies showing female participation rates as well as the subject Focus and Level as sitting between the NSW/Victorian Software Engineering and Information Technology-focused subjects, but with similar relative decreases, and with Information Processing & Publishing presenting very high and relatively consistent female participation rates from 2002 to It is worth remembering, that according to the content and level analysis, this subject could be best described as a Level 1 subject focusing on skills and understandings directly related to office work. The high female participation rate gives pause for thought and further investigation. Figure 7 graphically displays the participation trends in the Information Technology (IT)- focused and Software Engineering-focused subjects in NSW and Victoria. In 2002 the subjects with an IT focus - Information Processes and Technology (IPT) in NSW and IT/Information Processing Management (IT/IPM) in Victoria - were both very popular, attracting between 10,000-11,000 students. Figure 7: Trends in Participation in Senior Secondary CIT Subjects with clear focus on the ACM-defined field of Information Technology The data would also suggest that, relative to the total populations undertaking the Senior Certificate in each State 11, participation rates were relatively higher in Victoria than NSW in the IT-focused subjects. In 2002 in NSW, setting aside enrolments in English and Mathematics subjects, IPT was the third most popular elective subject in the HSC, coming after Business Studies (16,831 students) and Biology (12,400 students). The subjects with an Information Technology-focus had more than twice the number of students enrolled than those subjects with a Software Engineering-focus. The NSW IT-focused subject also had substantially more students than the most popular of the pre-2001 HSC CIT subjects, 2U 11 There are in the order of 60,000 students who undertake the NSW HSC each year, in the order of in Victoria and in South Australia. These orders of magnitude were estimated by the authors based on figures obtained from the curriculum authority web sites in each state

26 Computing Studies 12. While the initial levels of participation in 2002 were very impressive, between 2002 and 2006, in both Victoria and NSW, these IT-focused subjects experienced a significant decline, such that five years hence, the number of students taking them has just about halved. Female participation rates in these subjects are comparable across States and range from 40% to 28% between 2002 and Figure 8 displays the participation rates across the three Software Engineering-focused subjects. The South Australian subject Information Technology Systems/Studies is included in this group as it contains some Software Engineering content. In 2002, the Software Engineering-focused CIT subjects in NSW and Victoria enrolled between 3,000-4,000. Compared with other senior subjects in NSW, the candidature of 3,666 in Software Design and Development demonstrate relatively strong rates, similar to Industrial Technology (3,603) and 4-Unit Mathematics (3,009). Again, relative to the total population undertaking final year certificates in NSW and Victoria, rates in Victoria seem slightly higher than in NSW. Female participation rates in these NSW and Victorian subjects in very low, ranging from 13% to 8% between 2002 and These rates are significantly lower than those in the IT-focused subjects. Enrolments in the South Australian subject of nearly 1500 in 2002 are relatively high, compared to the NSW and Victorian Software Engineering-focused subjects, but relatively lower than the IT-focused subjects, with which it also partly aligns. Similarly, the rate of female participation is relatively higher than that of the NSW & Victorian Software Engineering-focused subjects, but relatively lower than the IT-focused subjects. Figure 8: Trends in Participation in Senior Secondary CIT Subjects with a focus on the ACM defined field of Software Engineering These graphs also clearly demonstrate that the proportion of female students taking Information Technology-focussed subjects is much greater than for the subjects with a Software Engineering focus. In 2002, 36% (NSW) and 40% (Victoria) of total students were 12 Appendix F sets out the participation values and trends in the all three pre-2001 NSW CIT subjects

27 female in the Information Technology- focused subjects, declining to 28% and 29% respectively by During the same time period, Software Engineering-focused subject female enrolments were 13% (NSW) and 12% (Victoria) of total, declining to 8% in both states. In South Australia the popular CIT subject, Information Processing and Publishing, enrols about 1500 students 13 undertaking up to 2 units worth of study. Participation rates remain relatively steady with a very high proportion of female students. It is interesting to note that the male participation rates also did not decline between 2002 and 2006 (see Figure 9). Figure 9: Trends in Participation in Information Processing and Publishing, South Australia The enrolment data for the VET- IT subjects demonstrate significant differences between the NSW and Victoria (see Figure 10). Figure 10: Trends in Participation in VET- IT subjects in NSW, Victoria and South Australia New South Wales Victoria 13 As mentioned earlier, numbers on the Y axis represent enrolments in 1 unit of study. Given that almost all students enrol in two units, we need to halve the number on the Y axis to get the approximate number of students in South Australia

28 In NSW, the trend towards an overall decline in VET-IT enrolments, with the female decline in participation greater than male, is consistent with the trends in other CIT subjects within NSW. The data for Victoria suggest a significant structural event between 2003 and 2004 which needs further investigation. In the absence of the contextual data, it is not appropriate to comment further. The very small numbers in South Australia (see Appendix D, pg 51) do not allow for any sensible across-state analysis. Suffice to say, that the very small numbers are noteworthy in themselves, and reflect the fact that in South Australia VET-IT is often imbedded in other subjects or is completed as a 'stand alone' unit where the hours are counted but no particular subject is listed in results. VET IT as a SACE subject started in 2004 in South Australia though students have been doing it as stand alone units or imbedded in other subjects for a considerable period of time. South Australia is also notable for having the industry-based CISCO CAN Program available to Senior Secondary students. Overall, across all states and all major CIT subjects the change in total enrolments have dropped remarkably between 2002 and Using the total enrolment figures found in Table 6, the drop can be quantified as almost 50%. Over this time, in all but one subject, the rate of decline for female students was greater than for male students Participation Rates in Related CIT subjects across States Participation rates for the NSW and Victorian Related CIT subjects are summarised in Figure 12. The rates for the South Australian related subjects were not available at the time of writing the report. Appendix E presents the same data in tabular form. While the numbers in the Victorian VET- Desktop Publishing are very low, these in the VET- Multimedia are significant and increasing. At their current level, they are about half of the numbers in the VET-IT. It is interesting to note that the significant drop of enrolments in 2004 in the VET- IT, happened at the same time as the first intake into the VET-Multimedia subject. It is worth investigating whether this is a causal relationship. Participation rates for New South Wales Industrial Technology subject are substantial, being about the same size as the NSW Software Design and Development subject. It is not possible however, to determine how many of these students undertake the Multimedia option. Proportionally the female participation is relatively low, similar in magnitude to the NSW Software Design and Development. It is clear from the enrolment data that these Related subjects in NSW and Victoria are not replacing the Major CIT subjects 26 26

29 Figure 12: Participation rates in Related Computing and IT courses Preliminary Discussion Participation data presented above leads to two important conclusions. The first relates to the influence of CIT subject focus in overall participation and gendered participation in Senior Secondary CIT studies. The second relates to the almost universal decline in participating across all types of CIT subjects regardless of subject-focus and level. In terms of the influence of CIT subject focus, it is clear that NSW and Victoria subjects with an ACM-defined Information Technology-focus are much more popular than subjects with an ACM-defined Software Engineering-focus. For male students, the difference is twofold, for female students, who make up a lesser proportion than male students in each subject, the difference is almost eightfold. In South Australia, where the two ACM-focus areas are combined into one subject, overall relative participation rates fall somewhere between the two, as do relative female participation rates. These patterns of gender difference seem to hold over time, even within the framework of a dramatic decline in overall, and particularly female participation rates. These enduring patterns certainly point towards a conclusion that differences in the content matter of CIT subject influence female participation rates in significant ways. The overall decline in CIT subject participation rates between 2002 and 2006 are almost universal. Senior secondary students in NSW, Victoria and South Australia have moved away from any study of CIT subjects for their Senior Certificate. The only major CIT subject to withstand this trend is one from South Australia; it essentially has an office employmentfocus and is very popular with female students. All other Major CIT subjects, regardless of their level and focus have become less popular over the last five years, and even more so with female students. Given the instrumental focus of these subjects, in terms of pathways to further professional study and careers, it might be reasonable to suggest that the overall decline is more connected to circumstances and contexts beyond the syllabus content. It may include the field itself (as defined by jobs and careers and almost universal access to ICTs in homes and communities) and/or to the changing position of these senior subjects within the 27 27

30 general curriculum framework within schools, and the increasing emphasis on computer literacy and fluency across the school curriculum, or the almost universal presence of ICTs in homes. 3.3 Student Performance Data were collected on student performance by gender for each Major CIT subject in each of the three States. Different data were publicly available for each State. NSW data were available by request for Software Design and Development (SDD), Information Processes and Technology (IPT) and VET- Information Technology (VET-IT) from 2001 to Victorian data were available on the website for the three Major CIT subjects from 2003 to South Australian data were available only for 2006 for two of the Major CIT subjects. Given the very small enrolments in the South Australian VET- IT subject the performance results are not presented. The graphs of NSW data, in Figures were constructed from tables in Appendix G. The Victorian graphs, Figures 16-17, were taken straight from the website, and the South Australian graphs, Figure 19, were generated from data available in Appendix H. Care needs to be taken in interpreting this data, within and across States and subjects for a number of reasons. These include the variation in nature and type of data available, and the inability to undertake any statistical tests of significance. The NSW data aggregate a moderated school-based assessment mark and the final external examination mark to report a final score in one of six bands; the Victorian results are drawn from the written examination scores reported across 10 grades; the South Australian results, like NSW, are an aggregation of a school-based assessment mark and the final external examination reported in one of five grades. A further problem arises because of the very low number of female students in some of the subjects. These include the NSW Software Design and Development and the Victorian Software Development subjects. Data from 2001 to 2006 indicates relatively comparable performance of male and female students. Where differences do occur, they seem slight. As mentioned above, we were unable to perform any statistical tests of significance, so caution is advised when interpreting the data. The performance results from 2001 to 2006 for the New South Wales Software Design and Development subject are presented in Figure 13. The pattern of gendered performance is consistent with across the years, with slight differences favouring female students in the higher bands. From 2001 to 2003 and in 2006, this was the case in Bands 6, 5, and 4, in 2004 and 2005 only in Bands 6 and 5. A trend worth noting is the changing patterns of overall percentages in the top two bands (Bands 6 and 5) across 2001 to In the GaIT interviews with teachers in NSW schools, a number of teachers commented that when the subject was first introduced very few students achieved Band 5 and 6. These teachers indicated that they 28 28

31 thought this was one of the reasons that fewer teachers recommended and fewer students took this subject in the following years. Figure 13: Student Performance by Band percentage in NSW - Software Design and Development, from 2001 to % 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% BAND MALE FEMALE 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% BAND MALE FEMALE 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% BAND MALE FEMALE 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 2004 MALE FEMALE 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 2005 MALE FEMALE 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 2006 MALE FEMALE 0% BAND % BAND % BAND Patterns of performance for the NSW Information Processing and Technology subject (presented in Figure 14) were similar to those seen in the Software Design and Development subject, in terms of greater percentage of female students in the higher bands. Given the higher numbers of female students enrolled in these years the difference in performance levels by gender is more noteworthy. Over time, the boys performance seems to improve in the higher grades, such that in 2006 the percentage of male and female in each of the bands seems to be equal. The similarity also extends to the very low percentages of students in Bands 5 and 6 in the early years of the subject (2001-2)

32 Figure 14: Student Performance in NSW - Information Processes & Technology, 2001 to % 30% 25% 2001 MALE FEMALE 35% 30% 25% 2002 MALE FEMALE 35% 30% 25% 2003 MALE FEMALE 20% 20% 20% 15% 15% 15% 10% 10% 10% 5% 5% 5% 0% BAND % BAND % BAND % 30% 25% 2004 MALE FEMALE 35% 30% 25% 2005 MALE FEMALE 35% 30% 25% 2006 MALE FEMALE 20% 20% 20% 15% 15% 15% 10% 10% 10% 5% 5% 5% 0% BAND % BAND % BAND Figure 15 presents the relative performance data for the NSW VET- IT subject from These graphs indicate that generally the male students outperform the female students across the higher bands, though the relative performance does vary from year to year. Figure 15: Student Performance by Band Percentage in NSW, VET- IT, 2004 to % 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Band Male Female 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Band Male Female 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 2006 Band Male Female The Victorian peformance data present a slightly different picture. In the Victorian graded assessment graphs (Figures 16 and 17) it is interesting to note the relatively high proportion of grade A compared to NSW grades in Band 6. Figure 16 displays the performance data for Software Developoment. No data were available from the website for female students in 2005 or In 2003 and 2004 male students seemed to out perform female students, with a greater percentage of boys in the higher grades than girls. This is the reverse pattern to that found in NSW

33 Figure 16: Student Performance in Victoria - Software Development, 2003 to 2006 Figure 17 presents the performance data for the Victorian IT Applications (Information Processing and Management) subject. The 2003 data is the reverse to the above Software Development performance data, in that the females out-perform the male students in the higher grades. Between 2004 and 2006 the differences are of a smaller magnitude, but tend to favour the boys. Overall there is a relatively even proportion of male to female students in each of the grades. Again, the high proportion of students gaining the higher grades is in stark contrast to the NSW performance results

34 Figure 17: Student Performance in Victoria,- IT Applications (IPM), 2003 to 2006 Figure 18 presents the performance data for the Victorian VET- IT subject. In this subject the greater percentage of boys in the higher grades is apparent, particularly in 2003 and This is a similar pattern to the NSW VET- IT results. Figure 18: Student Performance in Victoria - VET- IT, 2003 to

35 The South Australian performance data is presented in Figure 18. These graphs indicate that in Information Technology Studies the male students out-perform the female students across all grades. In Information Processing and Publishing the relative performance of the female candidates is higher in the A and B grades. It is also noteworthy that a relatively large proportion of candidates achieve grade A or B. Figure 19: Student Performance in South Australia - selected CIT subjects, Preliminary Discussion Gendered performance rates vary across States, CIT subjects and time. The VET- IT subjects in NSW and Victoria have the most obvious differences, consistent in direction and possibly magnitude over time, with male students consistently out-performing female students. Gendered patterns of performance also exist across all other NSW, Victorian and South Australian Major CIT subjects, but they seem to be less marked, differ in direction, and differ over time. In the Information Technology-focused subjects, NSW (Information Processes and Technologies) female students seem to marginally out-perform male students, while in Victoria (IT Applications), the pattern is not consistent, with male students generally outperforming female students to a greater or lesser extent across the years. In the Software Engineering-focused subjects, the State differences between NSW and Victoria seem to hold, with female students out-performing male students in NSW and male students out-performing female students at least in 2003 and 2004 where data are available. In South Australia, the subject that is a blend of the two focus areas (Information Technology and Software Engineering) Information Technology Studies, the male students out-perform the female students, while in the Information Processing and Publishing subject, it is the reverse. Overall these results present a complex picture, where in some circumstances there are consistent gendered patterns within a subject across states (VET- IT), in others there is difference across subjects within a State, and in others the consistency seems to be state-based across subjects. The state-based consistency of direction of gendered patterns of performance 33 33

36 is the most interesting as it brings into question the notion that the nature of curriculum itself always exerts the strongest influence on patterns of performance. 4 SUMMARY The curriculum analysis demonstrates similarities and differences in Technology Curriculum Frameworks, the structure content and levels of the Major CIT subjects in senior secondary schools in NSW, Victoria and South Australia. All curriculum frameworks share a common across-curriculum approach to the purposeful use of ICTs to enhance teaching and learning. In NSW and South Australia, the formal study of Computing and IT are embedded in Learning Areas that has design and technology as their organising processes and products. In Victoria, ICT itself is one of sixteen domains. This difference in curriculum frameworks, of itself, does not seem to influence the nature content of the subjects, as there are more commonalities between NSW and Victoria in the structure and content of the Major CIT subjects in the Senior Years, than between NSW and South Australia. Table 4 (pg.19) sets out the overall alignment of the Major CIT subjects in each of the states in summary form. The Participation data leads to two important conclusions. The first relates to the influence of CIT subject focus in overall participation and gendered participation in Senior Secondary CIT studies. The second relates to the almost universal decline in participating across all types of CIT subjects regardless of subject-focus and level. In terms of the influence of CIT subject focus, it is clear that NSW and Victoria subjects with an ACM defined Information Technology focus are much more popular than subjects with an ACM defined Software Engineering focus. For male students, the difference is two fold, for female students, who make up a lesser proportion than male students in each subject, the difference is almost eight fold. In South Australia, where the two ACM focus areas are combined into one subject, overall relative participation rates fall somewhere between the two, as do relative female participation rates. These patterns of gender difference seem to hold over time, even within the framework of a dramatic decline in overall, and particularly female participation rates. These enduring patterns certainly point towards a conclusion that differences in the content matter of CIT subject influence female participation rates in significant ways. In terms of the overall decline in participation rates between 2002 and 2006, these are almost universal. Senior secondary students in NSW, Victoria and South Australia have moved away from any study of CIT subjects for their Senior Certificate. The only major CIT subject to withstand this trend is one from South Australia; it essentially has an office employmentfocus and remains very popular with female students. All other major CIT subjects, regardless of their level and focus have become less popular over the last 5 years, and even more so with female students. Given the instrumental focus of these subjects, in terms of pathways to further professional study and careers, it might be reasonable to suggest that the overall decline is more connected to the field itself (as defined by jobs and careers and almost universal access to ICTs in homes and communities) and/or to the changing position of these 34 34

37 senior subjects within the general curriculum framework within schools, and the increasing emphasis on computer literacy and fluency across the school curriculum. The Performance data is more complex and does not provide consistent nor easily explainable gendered patterns of performance. Three different patterns emerged: consistent gendered patterns within a subject across states; difference across subjects within a state; and state based consistencies across subjects. The state-based consistency is the most interesting as it brings into question the notion that the nature of curriculum itself always exerts the strongest influence on patterns of performance. As mentioned in the introduction to this paper, the findings are likely to raise more questions than answers. These findings in this report reinforce the complexities of the curriculum and the complexities of the relationships between curriculum (as intended in policy, curriculum and syllabus documents), participation and performance. Notwithstanding these complexities, it is clear that there is an overall decline in rates of participation in Major CIT subjects in NSW, Victoria and South Australia, and that decline is more pronounced for female students than male students. Whether the decline is an appropriate correction, as ICTs and CIT subjects find their place in schooling, or whether the decline is a result of out-of-school forces, or whether it is a decline that needs to be corrected, and can be done so through changes to curriculum and pedagogies and school cultures is the question that needs further research

38 5. BIBLIOGRAPHY Syllabus documents: NSW Board of Studies Information Processing and Technology Stage 6 Syllabus from website [retrieved 20/7/07] NSW Board of Studies Software Design and Technology Stage 6 Syllabus from website [retrieved 20/7/07] NSW Board of Studies Information Technology VET curriculum Framework Stage 6 Syllabus from [retrieved 20/7/07] Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority VET in the VCE Multimedia Syllabus from website [retrieved 20/7/07] Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority VET in the VCE Desk Top Publishing and Printing Syllabus from website [retrieved 20/7/07] Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority VET in the VCE Information Technology Syllabus from website [retrieved 20/7/07] Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority Information Technology Processing and Management Syllabus from website [retrieved 20/7/07] Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority Information Technology Software Development Syllabus units 3 and 4 from website [retrieved 20/7/07] Victorian K-12 Curriculum Structure from [retrieved 20/7/07] Senior Secondary Assessment Board of South Australia Information Technology Systems/Studies Syllabus from website [retrieved 20/7/07] Senior Secondary Assessment Board of South Australia Information Processing and Publishing Syllabus from website [retrieved 20/7/07] Senior Secondary and Assessment Board of South Australia Information Technology VET Syllabus(?) from website [retrieved 20/7/07] Participation rates: NSW Participation rates for Software Design and Development, Information Processing and Technology, Information Technology VET, and Industrial Technology available from the NSW Board of Studies website statistics archive Victorian Participation rates for Information Technology-Software Development, Information Technology Processing and Management, Information Technology VET, Desk Top Publishing and Printing VET, and Multimedia VET are available from the VCAA website [retrieved 20/7/07] South Australian Participation rates for Information Technology- Studies/Systems, Information Processes and Publishing, and Information Technology VET are available on the SSABSA website of [retrieved 20/7/07] 36 36

39 Information contacts: Professor Toni Downes - Charles Sturt University tdownes@csu.edu.au Professor Margaret Vickers - University of Western Sydney mhv@uws.edu.au Catherine Harris - Researche, Deakin University Catherine.harris@deakin.edu.au Clare Sidoti - Researche, University of Western Sydney c.t.sidoti@uws.edu.au Kerry Robinson - Researcher, University of Western Sydney K.Robinson@uws.edu.au John Holgate - IT Curriculum officer, SSABSA JohnH@ssabsa.sa.gov.au Michaela Bensley - Researcher, SSABSA michaelab@ssabsa.sa.gov.au Howard Kennedy - Inspector, Technology Education, Office of the Board of Studies howardkennedy@bos.nsw.edu.au Paula Christensen - ICT Curriculum Manager, VCAA, Victoria, Christensen.paula.p@edumail.vic.gov.au Bev Rogers - Curriculum Superintendent, SSABSA, South Australia. Rogers.Bev@saugov.sa.gov.au 37 37

40 Appendix A: The ACM model ( from the website The ACM Model is a curriculum model for K-12 computing science developed by a task force curriculum committee lead by A.Tucker as chairman. The model curriculum is used to integrate computer science fluency and competency throughout the primary and secondary years of schools. The curriculum model provides a four level framework levels 1 and 2 should be mastered by all students while levels 3 and 4 are topics that can be elected by students with special interests in computer science. It is to be noted that computer science and information technology are intrinsically different in aspect: Information Technology concentrates on learning how to use and apply software as a tool, while computer science is concerned with learning how these tools are designed. 14 Computer science is the study of computers and algorithmic processes including their principles, their hardware and software designs, their applications and their impact on society. 15 While computer science and Information Technology have a lot in common neither is substandard to the other. The ACM model presents four levels: Level 1 provides foundational concepts in computing science by integrating basic skills in technology with simple ideas about algorithmic thinking. Level 2 provides a coherent and broad understanding of the principles, methodologies and applications of computer science Level 3 involves mathematical principles, algorithmic problem solving and programming, software and hardware design, networks and social impact Level 4 involves depth of study in one particular area of computer science 16 It is from these descriptions that the authors modified the levels to enable them to be used for comparing the major CIT subjects in senior secondary schools in NSW, Victoria and South Australia. 14 A Model Curriculum for K-12 Computer Science : Final Report of the ACM K-12 Task Force Curriculum Committee October 2003, pg Op cit. As per footnote 1, pg 5 16 Op cit. Levels 1 to 4: as per footnote 1, pg

41 Appendix B: Curriculum Analysis extract An extract from Downes, T (2007, in press) The nature and purpose of Computing and Information Technology subjects in the senior secondary school curriculum in New South Wales. In J. Lynch (Ed) Gender and IT: Challenges for Computing and Information Technology education in Australian secondary schools. Melbourne: Common Ground. pp As part of the broader Technology KLA students in Stages 1 3 (K Year 6) are expected to learn about CIT across a range of curriculum areas, but particularly within the Science and Technology Syllabus. In the Science and Technology Syllabus, one of the six content strands is Information and Communication in which students learn about communication technology and the ways people make, store, organise and transfer images and information (NSW Board of Studies, 1993, p. 4). In other curriculum areas such as English, Mathematics, and the Creative Arts the focus is on competence and confidence with using current technologies and applying them to tasks relevant to the student. Comparing these outcomes with the definitions supplied in the ACM model curriculum (Tucker et al. 2003), it is evident that the NSW outcomes contribute to building literacy only, rather than fluency, and that the curriculum focuses on information technologies rather than computing science. What is absent from the NSW documents is any reference to the importance of learning to learn to use new technologies as they evolve through one s lifetime, or making active use of algorithmic thinking (including programming) to solve problems beyond teaching students the basic steps of arithmetic. Given that the Stage 1 3 (K Year 6) curriculum provides the foundations which lead to the discipline-based Stage 6 (Years 11 12) subjects, it would be reasonable to ask how and when students in NSW schools might gain experience with certain simple antecedent concepts that underpin the study of computing science, software engineering and information technology. In particular, the ACM model curriculum highlights the failure of the curriculum to introduce concepts such as algorithmic thinking and the digital representation of information, during Stages 1 3 (K Year 6). Yet there are simple approaches to algorithmic thinking and the digital representation of information that could easily be explored in Stage 1 3 Mathematics, and Science and Technology syllabuses (Tucker et al. 2003, pp. 12, 28 29). The only discipline-based concepts that are introduced in the Technology area during Stages 1 3 are those relating to design. In the early years of secondary schooling in NSW (Stage 4), the instrumentalist focus on computer literacy is continued. This occurs in three different ways. The first is through the Technology (Mandatory) Years 7 8 syllabus. This syllabus uses the concepts and processes from the field of design as the basis for their CIT work. Within this syllabus students will utilise ICT within each design project and have the opportunity to study ICT in depth in the Information and Communications area of study (NSW Board of Studies 2003a, p. 18). The second is through a formal expectation that in Stages 4-5 (Years 7 10) all students should use and learn about computers and information technologies in a variety of ways within the context of other curriculum areas. These experiences are framed by explicit statements in all syllabuses about forms of information and computing technology (ICT) that are to be incorporated into teaching and learning. As the Board of Studies states, the basic aim of this across the curriculum policy is to ensure that all students become better able to achieve syllabus outcomes through effective use of ICT for enhanced learning (NSW Board of Studies 2006). The outcomes of these experiences form the basis of what is now tested 39 39

42 through a mandatory component of the 2006 NSW School Certificate the Computer Skills exam. This test measures students skills in five areas: computer operations, word-processing, spreadsheets and databases; graphics and multimedia; and internet and . The implication embedded in this entire operation is that computers and related technologies are merely a toolkit to be used to manage information and to enhance one s performance in other subjects. Thirdly, the instrumentalist focus is continued through a number of elective subjects that directly or indirectly address the use of computing and information technologies as relevant tools and technologies. These include the Industrial Technology syllabus (NSW Board of Studies 2003c) which explicitly addresses multimedia technologies, and the Graphics Technology syllabus (NSW Board of Studies 2003b) whose outcomes assume a significant competence in using computing and information technologies to generate and manipulate images. The only subject that has the potential to provide a different perspective to the dominant instrumentalist/literacy perspective during Stage 5 (Years 9 10) is the Information and Software Technology Syllabus (IST). An analysis of the core content and outcomes of this syllabus also suggests a continuation of the instrumentalist perspective. However, it places a much stronger focus on computer fluency, practical problem-solving and ethical practices. This is best evidenced in the learning outcomes (NSW Board of Studies 2003d) that refer to problem-solving, designing solutions, analysing decision-making processes, justifying practices, manipulating data, working collaboratively and communicating to target audiences. The IST syllabus stresses that the core content needs to be taught through project work, with the selection and sequence of options planned in such a way to allow the entire core to be taught through the project options over the course of study. 17 It is within a number of these options that students are formally exposed to some of the fundamental ideas and concepts that underpin the three fields of study (or disciplines) that the ACM model curriculum identified as the foundational disciplines (i.e. information technology, software engineering and computing science). In Stage 6 (Years 11 12), students are able to select one or more of three CIT subjects and other technology-related subjects. There is also an increased opportunity to use computing and information technologies and further develop CIT literacy in other Stage 6 subjects such as English Extension and Visual Arts. 17 See Chapter 8 by Susanne Gannon for a discussion of how these intentions are enacted

43 Appendix C: Analysis of Major CIT subjects by topic and outcomes The following modelling was conducted using the Outcomes from each of the respective CIT subject syllabuses. This was used as a check on the ACM determination of Level using the syllabus Content. It is to be noted that other Levels may be inherent within the outcomes resulting in a judgement being made on a Level. The results are shown below for each syllabus. NSW: SOFTWARE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT Syllabus Content Summary Development and Impact of Software Solutions : - Social and Ethical Issues - Application of Software Development Approaches Software Development Cycle - Defining and understanding the problem - Planning and design of software solutions. - Implementation of software solution - Testing and evaluation - Maintenance Developing a Solution Package Options topics: - Evolution of Programming Languages OR Syllabus Outcomes Explains interrelationships between hardware and software. Differentiates between various methods used to construct software solutions. Describes how major components of a computer system stores and manipulates data. Describes the historical development of different language types. Explains the relationship between emerging technologies and software development. Identifies and evaluates social / ethical issues in a number of contexts. Constructs software solutions that address legal, social, ethical issues. Identifies needs to which software solutions are appropriate. Applies appropriate development methods to solve software problems. Applies a modular approach to implement well constructed software solutions and evaluates effectiveness. Applies project management technologies to maximise the productivity of the software development. Creates and justifies the need for various types of documentation required for a software solution ACM Determination Level 2 Level 3 Level 2 Level 2 Level 2 Level 2 Level 3 Level 2 Level 3 Level 3 Level 3 Level

44 - Software Developers View of Hardware Selects and applies appropriate software to facilitate the design and development of software solutions. Assesses the relationship between the roles of people involved in a software development cycle. Communicates the process involved in a software solution to an experiences user. Uses a collaborative approach during the software development cycle. Develops effective user interfaces in consultation with appropriate people. Level 3 Level 2 Level 2 Level 1 Level 3 NSW: INFORMATION PROCESSES AND TECHNOLOGY Syllabus Content Summary Syllabus Outcomes ACM Determination Project Work: Level 3 - Use and understanding of the System Development Cycle. Information Systems and Databases: - Information Systems - Examples of database information systems - Organisation methods - Storage and Retrieval - Other information processes - Issues related to Information Systems Communication Systems: - Characteristics of communication systems - Examples of communication systems - Transmitting and receiving in communication systems - Other information processes in communication systems - Issues related to Applies an understanding of the nature and function of information technologies to a specific practical situation. Explains and justifies the way in which information systems relate to information processes in a specific context. Analyses and describes a system in terms of the information processes involved. Develops solutions for an identifies need which addresses all of the information processes. Evaluates the effect of information systems on the individual, society and the environment. Demonstrates ethical practice in the use of information systems, technology and processes. Proposes ways in which information systems will meet emerging needs. Justifies the selection and use of appropriate resources and tools to effectively develop and manage projects. Assesses the ethical implications of selecting and using specific resources and tools Level 2 Level 2 Level 3 Level 2 Level 2 Level 2 Level 1 Level

45 communication systems Option Strands: Select two of : - Transaction Processing Systems - Decision Support Systems - Automated Manufacturing Systems - Multimedia Systems Analyses situations, identifies a need and develops solutions. Selects and applies a methodical approach to planning, designing or implementing a solution. Implements effective management techniques. Uses methods to thoroughly document the development of individual and / or group projects. Level 3 Level 3 Level 1 Level 1 NSW: VET- INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Syllabus Content Summary Syllabus Outcomes ACM Determination Completion of Competency General syllabus outcomes are that students Based Units : complete the units of competency. Each unit of competency has outcomes. Only Core : core competency outcomes are presented. - Work effectively in an Work Effectively in an IT environment: IT environment Comply with general IT policies Level 1 - Apply OH&S precautions Promote the organisation and IT dept. Identify IT equipment, software and - Operate computer operating system Apply OH&S precautions packages Level 1 Determine OH&S issues relating to the - Operate computer immediate work area hardware Document and disseminate OH&S - Design organisational documents using requirements Provide basic ergonomic advice computing packages Operate computer packages Level 1 Use appropriate software - Integrate commercial Access, retrieve, manipulate data computing packages Access and use help - Maintain equipment and Use keyboard and equipment consumables Operate computer hardware Level 1 - Communicate in the workplace Use appropriate office peripherals Operate and maintain a range of - Connect hardware hardware Use keyboard and equipment peripherals Design organisational documents using computer - Install software packages Level 1 application Design documents to meet organisational - Maintain system requirements integrity Access, retrieve and manipulate data Integrate commercial computing packages Electives: Level 1 Produce required organisational - Receive and process oral documents / written Determine and use help communications Maintain equipment and consumables Level 1 - Maintain equipment and software inventory Clean disk drives and peripherals Replace and maintain consumables - Interact with clients supplies 43 43

46 - Identify components of Multimedia - Access the internet - Record client support requirements - Apply problem solving techniques to achieve organisational goals - Determine client computing problems and act on - Administer network peripherals Workplacement Certificate III qualification in Information Technology Maintain peripherals Communicate in the workplace Establish contact with clients Process information Connect hardware peripherals Confirm requirements of clients Obtain required peripherals Connect hardware peripherals Install software applications Determine software upgrade requirements of clients Obtain software or upgrade Install software or upgrade Maintain system integrity Carryout file maintenance Carryout virus scanning Follow software copyright procedures Record software licences Restore system backup Level 1 Level 1 Level 1 Level 1 VICTORIA: SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT Syllabus Content Summary Syllabus Outcomes ACM Determination Units 3 and 4 Unit 3 Study 1 : Systems Analysis and Design - System Development Cycle - Apply network knowledge - Analysis of existing information system - Physical design - Security procedures - Design specifications Study 2 : Software Development - Development of software - Tools / Techniques for software development - Design, development and testing of software development - Development of software modules to specifications - Legal / ethical responsibilities - Use of software Analyse an existing networked information system used in an organisation and propose physical design specifications for a new or modified networked information system. (includes key knowledge and skills) Produce a software module suitable for implementation on a portable computing device, in response to a design specification, verify its performance against this specification and explain how the program has taken into account an ethical dilemma or a legal obligation. ( includes key knowledge and skills) To apply the stages of software development to produce purpose designed software that takes into account a networked information system objective and the needs of end users. ( includes key knowledge and skills) Level 2 Level 3 Level

47 development languages Unit 4 Study 1 : Software Engineering - Range of tools / techniques to produce designed software. - Apply all areas of software development cycle - Produce documentation for end users - Use of approved programming languages. Study 2 : Systems Engineering ( Development, implementation and evaluation) - Software Development Cycle - Exploration of problems and possibilities for individuals and organisations. - Documentation strategies. - Project management strategies. To propose and justify strategies for managing, implementing and evaluating the introduction to an organisation of a networked information system that will operate in a global environment. ( includes key knowledge and skills) Level 3 VICTORIA: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS Syllabus Content Summary Syllabus Outcomes ACM Determination Units 3 and 4 Unit 3 Study 1 : Problem Solving - Use of the System Development Cycle ( Analysing, designing, planning, developing, testing, implementation and evaluating) - Relational Database project Study 2 : Networks and Collaborative Problem Solving. - Settings of networked information systems. - Collaborative problem Propose and apply project management and problem solving strategies to produce a solution and an information product, using DBMS which meets the needs of a specific audience. ( includes key knowledge and skills) Design, create and evaluate a prototype website that meets an organisation s needs of sharing knowledge and collaborative problem solving within a virtual team environment, and explain the requirements of the networked Level 2 / Level 3 Level

48 solving. - Types of networks, network architecture, protocols and operating systems. - How networks communicate and share resources. - Design working prototypes of websites. - User interfaces and information architecture. - Identify networked requirements for organisations and individual users. - Support for applications. Unit 4. Study 1 : Organisations and Information Needs. - Information systems - Problem solving methodology - User documentation. - Use of Spreadsheet software, web authoring or multimedia authoring. Study 2 : Data and Information Security. - Procedures and technologies appropriate for protecting the integrity and security of data and information. information system that supports the use of this website.( includes key knowledge and skills) Use spreadsheet software to solve an ongoing information problem taking into account the information needs of an organisation and evaluate the effectiveness of their problem solving strategies. (includes key knowledge and skills) Evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies used by an organisation to manage the storage, communication and disposal of data and information, and recommend improvements. ( includes key knowledge and skills) Level 2 Level 2 VICTORIA: VET- INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Syllabus Content Summary Syllabus Outcomes ACM Determinati on Units 3 and 4 Completion of Competency Based Units Core : - Create user documentation - Install and optimise Operating System software - Run standard diagnostic Specific outcomes are included in each competency based unit. General aims: 46 46

49 tests - Apply OH&S procedure - Provide advice to clients Electives: - Use advanced features of computer applications - Customise packaged software applications fundamentals - Install and manage network protocols - Provide basic system administration - Provide network system administration - Administer network peripherals - Provide basic system administration - Maintain equipment and software in working order - Connect internal hardware components - Manage customer relationships Workplacement Certificate III in Information Technology Provide participants with the knowledge and skills to achieve competencies that will enhance their employment prospects in the information and communications technology related industries. Enable participants to gain a recognised credential and to make a more informed choice of vocation or career paths. Level 1 Level 1 SOUTH AUSTRALIA: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STUDIES Syllabus Content Summary Syllabus Outcomes ACM Determination Core Topics (each involving focus, design and social responsibility components) Information Systems Computer and Communication Systems Option Topics ( involving the Apply and use Information Technology concepts with appropriate terminology Explain how data is represented and transferred in computer based systems Apply skills and concepts to Level 2 Level 2 Level 3 use of the System Life Cycle ) Select 2 of : manipulate and process data to produce components involving Relational Data Bases complex processes Application Programming Apply information technology Level 3 Multimedia Programming Website Programming knowledge skills and problem solving techniques to create and 47 47

50 Dynamic websites document user friendly, reliable and accurate systems Critically analyse the responsibilities of the developer of systems Critically analyse and discuss ethical use, and social impact on individuals and society, of current and potential computer based systems technologies. Level 3 Level 3 SOUTH AUSTRALIA: INFORMATION PROCESSING AND PUBLISHING Syllabus Content Summary Syllabus Outcomes ACM Determination 4 Units of Study Offered Identify and use appropriate Level 2 students choose 1 or 2 units computer hardware and software Desk Top Publishing applications for the completion of Electronic Publishing communication tasks Personal Documents Demonstrate manipulative and Business Documents organisational skills applicable to Level 2 Use of the Design Process as a the operation and management of central theme involving: information processing technology. Investigating the processing Apply to the production of the Level 1 or publishing task document or presentation layout and Devising or planning to design conventions that allow complete the task effective communication. Producing the task Understand and apply the designing Evaluating the process and process in the planning and Level 1 the product execution of tasks. Each Unit has: Demonstrate knowledge and Level 1 An Introduction understanding of current hardware Practical skills and their and software applications used in intended outcomes information processing and Issues and Understandings publishing and their intended outcomes Demonstrate an understanding of the issues ( e.g. social, ethical, legal Level 2 and / or environmental ) which arise from the use of information processing technology which affect individuals, organisations, and society

51 SOUTH AUSTRALIA: VET - INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Syllabus Content Summary Syllabus Outcomes ACM Determination Completion of the Competency Units selected from: Demonstrate the knowledge and skills detailed in the units of competency required by the industry Level 1 - Follow workplace safety Apply relevant knowledge and skills Level 1 procedures in a workplace context as required by - Connect hardware the industry. peripherals Operate in a workplace context to Level 1 - Install software investigate, interpret and applications communicate information to clients - Maintain system integrity and colleagues. - Access and use the Design and create a product, task or internet service, independently and in teams, Level 1 - Receive and process oral for a range of contingencies, using and written acquired skills and techniques. communication Identify and investigate issues Level 1 - Capture a digital image relating to the industry. - Provide advice to clients Critically reflect on their experiences - Care for computer with the processes, values, Level 1 hardware procedures, and perspectives that - Run standard diagnostic operate in the industry. tests Identify and investigate information - Create user related to career pathways. Level 1 documentation - Install and optimise operating system software - Apply OH&S procedures Workplacement Qualifications from National Training Framework 49 49

52 Number of Students Number of Students Number of Students Number of Students Number of Students Number of Students GaIT Working Paper Appendix D: Participation Rates in Major CIT subjects New South Wales Software Design and Development NSW Year Female Male Information Processes and Technology NSW Year Female Male Information Technology VET - NSW Female Male Year Victoria Software Development ( formerly Infomation Systems) Victoria Year Female Male IT Applications ( formerly Information Processing & 0 Management) Victoria Year Female Male Information Technology VET Victoria Year Female Male 50 50

53 South Australia Table 5: Individual and Combined Participation rates for Information Technology Studies and Information Technology Systems Information Technology - Studies Information Technology - Systems Combined Male Female Total % female Male Female Total % female Male Female Total % female % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % 51 51