There are more ways than ever with Thema 1.6 to ensure books and learning materials reach the right audience – including students, educators, and parents looking for curriculum-aligned resources.
Educational metadata isn’t just for school publishers – trade publishers can also benefit by ensuring curriculum-aligned books are discoverable by educators, parents, and institutions. This includes highlighting books that are suitable or even adapted for classroom use.
Educational purpose qualifiers (4*) and Australian curriculum codes (4Z-AU-*) help refine book classification for both trade and educational publishers, improving discoverability in schools, libraries, and retail channels.
In this spotlight, we’ll cover how to effectively use these qualifiers alongside subject categories to ensure resources are correctly classified for their educational use. These qualifiers were available in Thema 1.5, but have not yet had broad use in Australia.
Educational subject codes
For school resources, a YP* - Educational material code must always be the main subject code, unless the material is primarily for teachers, in which case JNU/JNUM - Teaching materials and resources should be used instead, with the relevant YP* code as a secondary category. YP* codes apply to all structured educational resources, including course materials, revision guides, and instructional materials.
A common mistake we see is using the general subject code for the topic area, rather than specifically the YP* Educational code – such as using an L* - Law code instead of YPJM - Educational: Legal studies. This makes discovery of these educational resources much harder.
Key considerations for YP codes:
- YP* must always be the main subject unless the resource is primarily a resource for teachers.
- At least one 4* Educational purpose qualifier must be applied to clarify the resource’s intended use.
- A 5A Interest age qualifier should be included where age suitability is relevant.
Adding additional subject codes
In many cases, one or more secondary subject codes provide further detail about the content area. For example:
A high school Australian history textbook:
- YPJH - Educational: History
- NHM - Australasian and Pacific history
A school English literacy resource focusing on creative writing:
- YPCA2 - Educational: First / native language: Reading and writing skills
- CBV - Creative writing and composition
Pairing YP* codes with other subject and qualifier codes
Some learning areas naturally pair with additional subject codes or qualifiers to provide more depth. For example:
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YPA - Educational: Arts might pair with 6* Style Qualifiers* to define the artistic focus.
- YPC*- Educational: Language, literature and literacy: Pair with a 2 Language qualifier* if specific language learning is involved.
- YPJH - Educational: History: Often benefits from a history (NH*) child code, and a place (1*) and/or time period (3*) qualifiers for greater specificity. Adding the top level NH - History code wouldn’t effectively be adding any additional information, whereas adding NHM - Australasian and Pacific History, plus 1MBF - Australia and 3MPBFB - c 1914 to c 1918 (World War One period) specifies a very specific content area.
Why use educational purpose qualifiers?
Thema’s Educational purpose qualifiers indicate a resource’s suitability for particular educational contexts. They should always be used in addition to subject codes – not as a replacement.
An educational qualifier like 4Z-AU-CD - For Year 10 (Australia) makes it clear that the resource is intended for use in Australian classrooms.
One key consideration with these highly specific qualifiers is that they apply to all subject categories assigned to the product. This means that if you also include an YPJT - Geography code as a secondary subject for the above History example – perhaps because the resource provides significant geographical context – you are effectively indicating that the content is suitable for both Year 10 history and geography curricula. Be mindful of this when assigning multiple subject codes to ensure accurate classification.
Different types of educational qualifiers
In most cases, you’re going to end up with multiple educational purpose qualifiers. While it is unusual to require more than three or four qualifiers, this is not a strict rule, and in the Education area, you may find you are pushing up against this more than in other areas. This is especially true when considering the multiple types of Educational purpose qualifiers:
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4C* - For educational levels: These are general educational level qualifiers that are not specific to a particular national/regional curricula. Because Australian curricula codes do exist, the use of these codes imply that your content is not specifically aligned to the Australian curricula (and therefore no 4Z code applies), but may be suitable in that stage of education anywhere in the world. Err on the side of caution for using these codes in Australia, and you should generally prefer the 4Z codes instead of 4C, and rarely both.
- 4G* - For international curricula and examinations: These refer to particular international qualifiers, such as 4GB - International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma. It’s quite possible that 4Z* codes may also apply.
- 4L* - For language learning courses and examinations: For all material for learners of an additional language other than the first or home language. This could include material targeting specific language proficiency tests, as well as structured language learning both in and outside the classroom. Note: this does not include travel focused phrasebooks, which have their own subject code. 4L* qualifiers should always use a 2* Language qualifier to specify the language being covered.
- 4T - For specific educational purposes: These include codes to indicate textbooks/course material, teacher resources, study guides, and assessment material. These important qualifiers are always going to need to be paired with an additional educational qualifier – and usually, the 4T* should be the secondary qualifier code.
- For example, 4TC - Textbook, coursework is an essential qualifier (when combined with a subject code, such as YPMF - Mathematics) to indicate that it is a resource specifically designed to support a course of study, but not very helpful without additional educational context. This could include a state curricula code like 4Z-AU-VH - Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) or an Australian curricula code like 4Z-AU-CB - For Year 8 (Australia)
- 4Z - For specific national or regional educational curricula: While you may have reason to need codes relating to other international curricula, 4Z-AU - For Educational curricula of Australia is going to cover most of our use cases, and is detailed below.
For Educational curricula of Australia
The 4Z-AU-* Australian curricula qualifiers cover from early years through to VET courses and State based certificates of education. There are currently no 4Z-AU-* qualifiers for higher/tertiary education, which can be covered using the general 4CT - For higher / tertiary / university education (with a 1MBF - Australia qualifier if needed to localise the content for Australian use only).
Year based Australian curricula qualifier codes exist across early years, primary and secondary. State and territory specific curricula codes exist for all states (example VIC and NSW), with a child-code for each state/territory’s certificate of education such as the VCE, HSC, and QCE.
It may be that additional national extensions are needed to provide additional curricula specificity – contact Cat Colwell to discuss. In some cases there could be better ways to describe evolving curricula details like skills and outcomes elsewhere in ONIX, instead of being embedded in a long-term hierarchy such as Thema.
Using 4Z-AU-* for Australian curriculum alignment
The 4Z-AU-* qualifiers are designed to specify a resource’s alignment with the Australian curriculum or state-based curricula. Since many resources could be relevant across multiple states, it’s important to consider whether a resource aligns nationally, or if state-level codes are needed (or needed in addition).
For example:
- A Year 10 history textbook could use:
- YPJH - Educational: History
- 4Z-AU-CD - For Year 10 (Australia)
- 4TC - Textbook, coursework
- A revision guide suitable for the HSC Maths curriculum in New South Wales would use:
- YPMF - Educational: Mathematics
- 4TM - Revision and study guide
- 4Z-AU-NH - For the Higher School Certificate (HSC)
- If that book was also suitable for the South Australian Certificate of Education it could also have 4Z-AU-SH.
- To indicate that it was specifically suitable for year 12 include 4Z-AU-CF.
- For trade publishers, if a novel is widely studied across multiple states and multiple years, using a broader qualifier such as 4Z-AU-C for secondary education in Australia might be the best approach.
Trade publishers: using curriculum alignment for discoverability
Trade publishers often produce books that are suitable for classroom use, even if they were not originally created as educational resources. There are two key qualifiers that can highlight this:
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4TE - Content specifically adapted for guided classroom use:
For books that were originally published for a non-educational purpose but have been adapted for classroom use. This could include novels with added teaching notes or study materials.
- 4TG - Content suitable for classroom use but not specifically created for educational purpose:
This allows the highlighting of titles that were not specifically created with school use in mind but are widely used in schools (for example a novel commonly set as an English text).
How to classify Educational material in Thema
Step 1: Choose a primary subject code
As always, every piece of published content needs a primary Thema subject code that best reflects its content, chosen from A* through Y*. For education resources targeting the school market, this is going to be a YP* - Educational material code, unless the material is primarily for teachers, in which case JNU/JNUM - Teaching materials and resources should be used instead.
For trade publishers: If a book is commonly used in schools education but not written specifically for that context, use a standard fiction or non-fiction subject code that best represents the book’s content.
Step 2: Consider whether any secondary subject codes are helpful or necessary
If the applicable YP* subject category is quite broad, and the resource you are describing covers a specific area of content within that category, consider adding a general A-Y subject code to indicate the precise nature of the material. For teaching materials and resources, always add the relevant YP* code as a secondary category.
Do not just replicate the YP* education code with its equivalent general subject (adding History to Educational: History, for example), but use child codes that add additional detail. If the resource offers comprehensive coverage of the broad subject area indicated by the YP* code, it is not helpful or necessary to indicate all of the potential subcategories within – however the reverse is also true. If the resource only covers a particular subcategory, then it is important to indicate that with the secondary subject code.
Remember that all qualifiers are considered to qualify all subject codes – so if you are adding a 4* qualifier you must be comfortable that this resource would support the structured study of all subject categories indicated.
Step 3: Apply educational purpose qualifiers (4)*
Educational purpose qualifiers refine how learning material is classified within an educational setting. These qualifiers are essential for all YP educational material codes, as they indicate the curriculum relevance, purpose, and level of study.
When assigning 4* qualifiers, consider:
- Educational level: Whether the resource is for early years, primary, secondary, or vocational study.
- Curriculum alignment: If the resource follows a specific national or regional curriculum for a particular stage.
- Type of resource: If the material is a textbook, revision guide, or teacher resource.
- Specialist use cases: If the resource supports language learning, international curricula, or specific educational purposes.
Step 4: Apply additional qualifiers for depth
Beyond educational purpose, additional qualifiers help refine classification by providing more context about the subject of a resource.
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Place qualifiers (1*): Used when a resource focuses on a specific geographical region. This is particularly relevant for subjects like history, geography, or environmental studies where location is central to the content.
- Language qualifiers (2*): Essential for language learning resources or books that focus on language as a topic. Any material designed to teach a language should include the relevant 2* language qualifier alongside its subject code.
- Time period qualifiers (3*): Useful for resources covering historical topics, art history, or literature from a specific era. These help educators and librarians find resources that align with period-based curricula.
- Interest qualifiers (5*): Often useful in educational contexts, particularly when material relates to identity, culture, or social issues that are core to the learning experience. In some cases an age interest qualifier (5A*) may also be relevant.
- Style qualifiers (6*): Relevant for art, music, literary studies and performance-based educational materials, indicating the particular style of artistic or creative expression covered by the works content.
Possible gaps
As more publishers of learning materials begin implementing these codes, gaps may emerge. If you believe there are gaps, please let Cat Colwell know and we can ensure they are covered in Thema 1.7. This isn’t just limited to educational codes – but Thema has historically seen broader international adoption in trade publishing, and local curricula, by nature, require local input.
An example of a possible gap is in the indication of stages, for both state and national curricula. A resource that is designed to cover multiple years – but not all of secondary – is currently left with the need to repeat the qualifier for each year.