Educating the Australian Adolescent/Schooling Memories (2009–2011) is an ARC-funded project on secondary schooling and adolescence in the middle decades of the twentieth century. Undertaken by Julie McLeod (University of Melbourne) and Katie Wright (La Trobe University), the project examines ideas and debates about how best to educate Australian secondary school students and the role of schooling in shaping social values and citizenship in the past and present.
It takes a close look at curriculum programs and reforms and at the role and development of child and adolescent guidance in schools during three decades of educational upheaval – the 1930s, 1950s and 1970s. The study offers historical perspectives on current concerns about school values, student wellbeing and citizenship education. It explores the transnational dimensions of educational ideas and some of the historical drivers of policy reform, particularly in relation to curriculum.
The project has resulted in a rich collection of data and publications over the decade since its beginnings, with a monograph to be published on the findings in 2019 and a new website, Schooling Memories, exploring the biographies and experiences of the participants ranging from the 1920s to the present. The data, including digitisation of analogue material is in the process of being prepared for deposit in the SOCEY Repository.
Further information about the project, as well as participant life stories can be found on the Schooling Memories website.