AustLit

This paper is concerned with the ways Asia literacy can be developed in response to the new Australian Curriculum. In particular, it addresses the learning possibilities of the Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing Project (AACLAP) available through AustLit: the Australian Literature Resource. The paper contends that AACLAP has the potential to make a valuable contribution to teachers' efforts to incorporate this cross curriculum priority in their classroom practice whilst also developing the general capabilities of intercultural understanding and use of information and communication technologies. The paper concludes that by drawing on a broad range of texts available in the AACLAP collection as well as the Critical Anthology and Research and Learning Trails, teachers and students, particularly of English and History, will be much better positioned to develop a deeper understanding of the diversity of the Asian region and the complexities of Asian-Australian relationships.

This paper considers how Asia can be meaningfully studied and understood in the first national history curriculum to be implemented in Australia. Its focus is on how empathy might be conceptualised as part of the process of becoming ‘Asia literate’ and the ways in which an empathetic understanding can be developed in the Australian Curriculum: History by engaging students with children’s literature. We argue that stories about Chinese experiences in Australia from particular episodes in the nation’s past can be utilised for their potential to prompt historical inquiry and empathetic engagement in the classroom. This paper is informed by the Asian-Australia Children's Literature and Publishing (AACLAP) project.