The Office of the Board of Studies NSW Archives

Past Exhibitions
Past exhibitions of MYDA and DesignTech are available on this page.

Learning & Technology Forums 1 & 2
After the tremendous success of the first Learning and Technology Forum on Wednesday 25 June 1997, the Board of Studies NSW held the second of the series on Saturday 1 November 1997 at the University of Western Sydney, Commerce Building (South Werrington Campus). Some documents from the second Forum are available here. Dr. Peter Ellyard was the keynote speaker at the first Forum at the University of New South Wales, Australia. A small collection of his writings are available here.

The Nature of the Learner Forum
From the proceedings of a forum conducted by the Board of Studies NSW on 26 October 1995.

Occasional Paper No. 1 - Setting Standards for Public Examinations
Setting Standards and Applying Them across Different Administrations of Large-scale, High-stakes, Curriculum-based Public Examinations

A paper summarising key issues, research and practices associated with setting performance standards in examinations and their implications for the setting of standards in the NSW Higher School Certificate program.
Dr. John Bennett , November 1998

Acrobat version This Adobe Acrobat file is
137k in size and 16 pages long.

Occasional Paper No. 2 - ICT and the Curriculum
Workshop on Information and Communication Technologies and the Curriculum held at the Board of Studies NSW, February 1999.

Acrobat version This Adobe Acrobat file is
137k in size and 14 pages long.

Stage 6 English Forum
7-8 March 1998

In its HSC White Paper, Securing Their Future, the Government recognises the urgent need to redevelop the Higher School Certificate English curriculum.

A key element in the Review and Consultation Phase of the Syllabus Development Process for Stage 6 English was the Stage 6 English Forum. The purpose of the Forum was to seek advice on the future development and directions of Stage 6 English courses, including advice on the merits of the options of offering Literature as a separate course or of offering Extension English that would include Literature.

Securing Their Future

White Paper
The White Paper outlines the New South Wales Government's reforms for the Higher School Certificate.

The HSC and SC Review Newsletters
The latest newsletters to schools concerning the New South Wales Government Reforms for the School Certificate and the Higher School Certificate.

Australian Federation, 1901

A set of study materials for Years 7-10 Australian History

These notes are included on the educational multimedia CD-ROM Oz I.D. -The Search for Australian Heritage and Identity published by the Board of Studies NSW.

K-6 Science and Technology Report

The Limited Evaluation Report provided a snapshot of the views of primary teachers. The report was presented to the Board on 25 February 1997. This report identified findings based on interviews conducted in 38 primary schools in October and November 1996. Some of the key findings from the evaluation were that:

• there appears to be measured acceptance of the Science and Technology K-6 document by the majority of teachers;
• the support document is the primary document used for programming and planning;
• teachers are yet to develop a full understanding of Technology as it is described in the syllabus (many teachers see Technology as referring to computers);
• the integration of Science and Technology content with content from English or Human Society and Its Environment is very common;
• time allocations to Science and Technology range from 60 to 120 minutes per week in teaching programs;
• four factors appear to determine the selection of units and the extent of Science and Technology teaching in a school:


1. teacher understanding and confidence,
2. student interest,
3. the availability of resources, and
4. content being taught in other Key Learning Areas;
• the learning processes are viewed as separate and distinct areas with priority given to Investigating;
• content from the Living Things, Physical Phenomena, and The Earth and Its Surroundings strands appears to receive greater attention in class programs than content from the Products and Services and Information and Communication strands;
• selective use is made of the syllabus outcomes.