The politics and pedagogy of teaching literacy in the state of Victoria, Australia

This education policy analysis reviews the state of Victoria, Australia’s position on the teaching and learning of literacy. This is of interest because until recently Victoria had resisted the trend of mandating pedagogical approaches to the teaching of literacy and more specifically to the teaching of reading which has and is occurring nationally and internationally. While much has been written in criticism of Victoria’s approach to the teaching and learning of literacy, limited documentation has been found on why Victoria has developed the stances it has to underpin its ideology and epistemology. Through a document analysis of curriculum websites and the research literature, this paper will argue a confluence of unique circumstances has determined Victoria’s position. These circumstances include the development of a national curriculum and Victoria’s place in the Commonwealth of Australia with respect to education, Victoria’s past approaches to the teaching of literacy, the influence of national and international reviews on literacy and Victoria’s ranking in national and international literacy assessments, including Victoria’s response to the Phonics Screening Check assessment task. Prior to June 2024, the absence of a clear and concise policy to argue for Victoria’s position, however, left education leaders and teachers open to continued criticism and debate. As a result of this mounting pressure from politicians, academics and education think tanks, Victoria has fallen into line with the status quo mandating a synthetic phonic approach to the teaching of reading. Time and hindsight will be the critical evaluators of Victoria’s recent decision.