The Life and Growth of Year 12 Computing in Victoria: An Ecological Model - History of Computing: Learning from the Past - page 124

The Life and Growth of Year 12 Computing in Victoria:
An Ecological Model
Arthur Tatnall 1 and Bill Davey 2
1 Graduate School of Business, Victoria University, Australia
[e-mail]
2 School of Business Information Technology, RMIT University, Australia
[e-mail]
Abstract. This paper seeks to apply the techniques of ecology, used in a wide
range of fields, to analyse a series of events in the history of computing. The case
analysed here is the history of development of computer studies curriculum at
the senior level in high schools in the Australian state of Victoria. Although
theoretically directed by a central body, development of the curriculum for the
final high school year in computing shows a history containing many anomalies.
Applying an ecological method to the historical narrative shows that seemingly
illogical changes can be explained by the interaction of organisms and the envi-
ronment in which the history has taken place. From this example we will show
that ecological principles can also be useful in analysing an historical event.
Keywords: Computer Science, Information Technology, computer studies cur-
riculum, history, senior secondary school curriculum, ecological methods.
1 Introduction
In many school systems the 'worth' of a subject is measured in terms of its interaction
with the final year of schooling (Year 12) as many ascribe special importance to those
subjects that are seen as valid preparations for tertiary study. In 1981, as a result of
many years of effort by a group of academics, Computer Science was first offered as a
Higher School Certificate (Year 12) subject in the Australian state of Victoria [1].
Until the 1960s the final year of high school in Victoria had been known as Matricu-
lation. This word, meaning qualification to enter the University, illustrates the way in
which the final year of high school was seen as a preparation for university studies, and
all subjects were closely aligned to a similar study at university. In the 1960s in a review
of the senior secondary school system the Higher School Certificate (HSC) was intro-
duced in place of the Matriculation certificate. Another review of upper secondary
school curriculum in the early 1990s replaced the Higher School Certificate by the Vic-
torian Certificate of Education (VCE) that extended over Years 11 and 12.
Introduction of the VCE brought with it a number of changes to existing subjects,
and saw Computer Science replaced with three new Year 12 subjects: Information
Processing and Management , Information Systems and Information Technology in
Society . Each of these subjects comprised two units. An additional new subject:
Information Technology was offered only at Year 11.