Which values regarding nature and other species are we promoting in the Australian science curriculum?

Through a critical textual analysis of the content and structure of the new Australian science curriculum, in this paper I identify the values it encourages and those that are absent. I investigate whether the Australian science curriculum is likely to promote the attitudes needed to educate generations of children who act more responsibly with other species and the environment. Over the past decades, there has been an increasing awareness of the human impact on the environment and other species. Consistently, there is a growing awareness of the role of education in encouraging children to act in a more ethical, responsible, and caring way. However, it is still unclear as to whether national curricula can (or will aspire to) accomplish this. In Australia, a national science curriculum has been implemented. In this paper I argue that the Australian science curriculum is likely to miss the opportunity to cultivate values of care for nature and other species. Instead, it is likely to reinforce anthropocentric attitudes toward our natural environment. The importance of explicitly promoting values that encourage care and respect for all species and challenges anthropocentric views of other animals and nature are discussed.