THE agency charged with delivering the Federal Government's national curriculum and schools transparency agenda is to be led by a former geography teacher who has helped transform school systems on five continents.

Programs involving pupils in community service are now considered key aspects of many schools' curriculums.

SCHOOLCHILDREN would be studying the same curriculum in maths, English, science and history by 2011, regardless of which state or territory they lived in, the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, vowed yesterday.

THE State Government will introduce more "home-grown" Australian literature into primary and high school curriculums.

PRIMARY school curriculums have too many subjects and schools are too underfunded to meet standard requirements for English, maths and science, a national study of principals has found.