ABSTRACT
The expression ‘explicit’ purposes have been used to highlight the importance of educational purposes being public and transparent, rather than existing by default. Over time the economy slowly industrialised, and a number of social and political changes led to wider participation by citizens in democratic life. These developments meant that a different form of education was required, and so there were increasing expectations of governments to expand their educational provision. The once-a-decade statement on the future directions for Australian education is an ideal vehicle for the country to establish the purposes of its systems of school education and then to use these to develop goals. If purposes are the bedrock of the educational narrative, then values and principles are its soil. The importance of educators engaging in discussions about broad societal trends and their educational implications may seem to be an obvious point, and yet it seems that most professional conversations avoid such discussions.
