Performance in Media in Western Australian Government Schools 1991, by Robyn Quin and Barrie McMahon. Reprinted by permission of authors. Australia has one of the longest track records for media education in the world, with media analysis as an integral component in the curriculum. In Western Australian secondary schools, media analysis skills are outlined in the secondary English syllabus.
Some students also take an optional media studies course.
In Western Australia, media analysis is not formally a part of the elementary curriculum. The Western Australian Ministry of Education has just released its report of the first comprehensive effort to measure media analysis skills for lower secondary schooling. A team of teachers developed a continuum of student outcomes in media analysis based on the syllabus documents. The Instrument A media analysis continuum was used as the basis for the development of assessment instruments and subsequently, for marking student work. In addition, ten levels of difficulty were developed for each of the organizers.