The curriculum appeared to broaden by the time our parents reached primary school age in the 1970s, with a greater focus on exposing children to diverse disciplines and experiences. Whilst literacy and numeracy were still a focus, it was no longer the predominant focus of education. Indeed, Sophie's father Matthew noted that handwriting was not a concern of his teachers, which contrasts with the experience of our grandparents who felt that handwriting was of major importance when they were at school. Schools had a significant focus on Australian history in the 1970s and 1980s, with Dannielle remembering learning about content such as Matthew Flinders' circumnavigation of Australia and the Eureka stockade. Similarly, Josh's mother Karen mentioned learning a lot of Australian history as well. However, this was not as prevalent for Josh's father, Stewart, because his school had a significant focus on physical education. The curriculum explored Australian history for us in the 21st century as well, where we learnt about events such as the Indigenous civil rights movement. Just like we did, our parents enjoyed a greater exposure to visual and performing arts in primary school. For example both Sophie and Matthew learnt guitar at primary school.

Our experience in primary school during the 21st century bears similarity to that of our parents but is dissimilar to our grandparents. For both of us, there was a diverse curriculum including humanities, sciences and arts as well as school camps. We remember primary school being very hands-on, where we would experience a lot of student-centred learning. For example, Sophie remembers dissecting a brain in Year 6, which was more tactile than anything her grandparents experienced. For our grandparents' generation, teacher-centred pedagogies appeared to be favoured.

The reason why more diverse disciplines such as the arts were more present during primary school for us moreso than our grandparents in the 1950s and even our parents in the 1970s is due to the fact that in the employment market has continued to change due to globalisation, meaning it became increasingly important for students to learn skills like creative thinking and citizenship (Zhao, 2010). Indeed, this is a stark contrast to the credentials required for our grandparents (Wayne mentioned that students were prepared mainly for clerical or trade-based jobs).

Our grandparents' generation during the 1950s, and to some extent our parents' generation in the 1970s witnessed corporal punishment in schools. It was more common for our grandparents to receive the strap, and sometimes for very unnecessary reasons. For example, not lining up correctly or in time would result in getting the strap. Sophie's grandfather, Wayne, remembered that because writing with one's right-hand was favoured, some children would get the strap if they wrote with their left hand. When Josh's parents went to school, the strap was not as common, however they remember some students did occasionally receive punishment. If they were misbehaving, they would be hit over the knuckles with a ruler or a hard cover textbook over the hand. However, Sophie's parents did not experience this. They did not receive corporal punishment because throughout the 1970s, proliferation of the practice continually decreased until it was eventually banned. Many childhood welfare agencies fought to get rid of these types of punishments and eventually succeeded in changing the rule, meaning that we did not have to witness this practice at school in the 21st century.

The notion of large classrooms also tied in with the amount of babies being born after the war. “The first peak of Australia's baby boom occurred in 1947 with 182,400 babies born to couples resuming family lives disrupted by the war”, (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2004). In order to resume family life and help restore the economy, the government encouraged the increased production of babies. During the Great Depression the total fertility rate was 2.1 per 1000 females. This increased to 3.1 per 1000 females during 1947. Being part of this generation, our grandparents remember there being more children in one classroom than there are nowadays.

Due to the increase number of students leaving to pursue other forms of education, the education department created alternative pathways for students, for example VCAL which is an alternative to VCE, which occurs in Year 11 or 12. VCAL takes a more hands-on approach to learning, for example learning about mathematics relevant to their chose apprenticeship. They are also examined quite differently compared to VCE (Debrincat, 2015). Even nowadays, some students do not gain the opportunity to complete VCAL, as Josh's school Keysborough Secondary College offered it but Sophie's school Balcombe Grammar School did not. Programs like VCAL may be the reason that many students remain at school rather than leaving school early. Indeed, many of our grandparents remember students finishing school early during the 1960s due to the academic focus of school, but nowadays we have witnessed many of our peers wanting to pursue apprenticeships but remaining at school and undertaking programs such as VCAL. 

STEM is also another program becoming increasingly emphasised nowadays where science and technology are the focus points for learning. It gives students who are more talented in these areas of school an opportunity to further develop their skills. STEM is a highly regarded program as it is believed that STEM encompasses vital concepts that are seen as a necessity for the future (Hobbs et al., 2017). STEM education appears more encouraged nowadays than it was previously, with Sophie's Year 9 program devoting specific STEM time for students. However, this was not as prevalent in the 20th century, with family members such as Sophie's grandmother Cheryl not learning science extensively in secondary school.

Another reason as to why students took part in tertiary education, is due to the fact that it is believed that there may be a bias towards those with some experience with tertiary education. This bias is referred to as the 'skill biased technology change’ (Machin & McNally, 2007, p. 10). 

A decisive factor in whether or not you attend tertiary education, is whether or not it is financially accessible. When Josh's grandparents were at the tertiary education stage, many of their friends could not afford to pay for the education. HECS was not around when they went to tertiary education, so they had to pay the full fee up front, making it hard for most families to afford such payments. This impacted Sophie's grandparents as well. Indeed, Wayne's family could not afford a university tuition.

Not having interest in tertiary education and wanting to pursue other passions is also another big factor. Josh's father, Stewart, decided not to partake in tertiary education as he had other things going on in his life. For example, my father had interests in pursuing a career as a professional golfer. At the age of 17, he had a handicap of 8 and was very passionate about playing full-time. It was a very legitimate possibility as he had won a tournament in Hawaii. However, when he left school his parents wanted him to work full time instead, and he began working in a bank after leaving after year 11. Similarly, Sophie's grandfather Dave chose to undertake a pattern-making apprenticeship because he enjoyed woodwork and wanted to work in a trade-based profession.