Civics and Citizenship – Relationships with other domains
- Introduction
- The Arts
- Communication
- Design, Creativity and Technology
- English
- Health and Physical Education
- The Humanities – Economics
- The Humanities – Geography
- The Humanities – History
- Information and Communications Technology
- Interpersonal Development
- Language Other Than English (LOTE)
- Mathematics
- Personal Learning
- Science
- Thinking Processes
Introduction
The advice for this section focuses on the relationships between the domains to provide students with multi domain learning opportunities that will help support their deeper understanding of the essential knowledge and skills.The Arts
Practice in, and responding to the Arts is the means through which an individual can reflect the world as they see it and develop a strong sense of personal identity from which to connect to the world. The Arts provide opportunities for students to learn about, contest and enact the values that are important to be an engaged citizen in the community. The Arts provide a safe platform on which students can express and challenge their most deeply held and intimate values in aesthetic and effective ways that reach out to the essence of what it might be to be human and the kinds of worlds we create through our actions.
Arts education in schools attends to engagement with the community through public presentation and performance of student work. School Arts events help to create community and a sense of belonging for students, enabling those who participate to develop a wide range of skills and behaviours needed to interact with the community and engage with organisations and groups. Opportunities exist for students and schools to participate and create Arts events outside of the school context, either in conjunction with other schools or the broader community.
Communication
Communication skills are essential for active participation in society, for persuading others to a point of view and engaging others. Citizens require skills for decoding and analysing the messages presented to them by a range of media, and separating fact and evidence from opinion and rhetoric. They also require skills in effectively presenting and expressing their own points of view. Communication develops understanding of the messages and motives of others. Students learn that effective communication is dependent on understanding audience and context. They listen to speakers from an increasing range of contexts and respond appropriately. They learn to read verbal and non-verbal messages. They develop skills for communicating in a wide range of media, organising information, and using language and conventions which are appropriate to a variety of audiences.
Design, Creativity and Technology
The domain of Design, Creativity and Technology can be used to explore possible solutions to a range of issues relevant to Civics and Citizenship. These include environmental issues such as recycling and water saving; health and safety issues such as canteen menus, playground safety and design; and social issues such as transport and child care provision. Through investigating such issues, students identify problems, needs and opportunities, and possible solutions to identified problems. As well, they may develop plans, including outlining the processes involved, to address such issues. They make progressively more realistic and detailed plans and design and make products and systems to achieve their aims, for example, no-dig gardens, worm farms and recycling bins, test them and analyse the social and environmental impacts. They assess the benefits to society of their design ideas and products.
English
In English, students develop a critical understanding of texts and how language works that enables them to lead an active, informed and fulfilling life in modern Australian society and the global community. They develop understanding of the language conventions appropriate in different spoken texts, including everyday communication, group discussion, formal presentations and speeches, storytelling and negotiating. Civics and Citizenship focuses on the development of skills and behaviours involved in interactions with the community and in engagement with organisations and groups. Students think critically about their own values and those of organisations and groups across a range of settings, and explore the diversity of society.
Health and Physical Education
Civics and Citizenship focuses on knowledge and understanding of civic institutions and the skills and willingness to actively participate in society. Teaching of civics engages students in sustainable active interaction with their community. Similarly within Health and Physical Education (HPE) students are encouraged to become active and responsible members of their community. Key concepts within HPE classes include: understanding of the importance of personal identity within a community; what makes a community and how to engage with different members and agencies within a community. HPE practical classes are built around the idea that a physically active lifestyle is conducive to more effective participation in all that society has to offer and greater levels of success within and beyond school.
HPE provides the opportunity for students to:
- participate in activities that facilitate the practice of citizenship skills
- understand that rules and laws protect the rights of individuals and teams
- demonstrate responsibilities that accompany rights of individuals and teams
- use democratic decision making to develop rules and responsibilities to reflect community values and social justice within class activities, sport and sport education
- develop leadership skills through class activities, sport and sport education
- explore issues of sexual and racial harassment, homophobia and/or discrimination, and consider their rights and responsibilities in these areas.
The Humanities – Economics
The economic wellbeing of individuals, communities and nations is determined by economic decision-making by governments, businesses and other groups. Their decisions affect all citizens and are part of the daily discussions in the media. Through the study of economics, students learn about factors which affect the Australian and international economies and the role of government in establishing conditions for economic activity. This includes decisions about taxes, wages, interest rates, trade and globalisation. Through the development of economic knowledge, language and skills, students are able to evaluate economic decisions and policies and the values which influence them, such as fairness and equality. They also form and express opinions on economic issues which impact on them personally, locally and nationally.
The Humanities – Geography
Geography is the study of physical and human environments from a spatial perspective. Through the study of a range of natural processes such as floods, drought, bushfires and natural hazards, students learn about the management of natural disasters and how citizens can contribute to decision-making processes that ensure sustainability. Students study how humans have affected the environment and consider issues such as forest use, global warming, climate change, air and water pollution, and the policies for managing these issues. These policies can be those of local, state and national government, and involve international organisations such as the United Nations. Students learn about the role of governments at various levels in solving environmental problems and ensuring sustainability. They also research possible solutions to current and future challenges, and the actions that ordinary citizens can take.
The Humanities – History
History provides foundational knowledge for Civics and Citizenship. Through History, students learn about the origins of Australia’s political and legal systems; key concepts such as governance, the rule of law, liberty, authority and leadership; values such as freedom, equality, fairness, responsibility, respect and tolerance; and the democratic heritage of Australia. History also provides students with understanding about the histories of Australians and Australian identity – the various cultural groups which have contributed to a diverse multicultural society. They learn about how other societies are organised and the values that are important to other societies and their own. They learn about the concept of global citizenship through a study of Australia’s involvement in regional and global events. Through History, students develop an appreciation of the struggles for political and civil rights – rights that are part of Australian society today. This includes the movements for Indigenous political and civil rights, the vote for all citizens and fair working conditions. Through history, students are able to place current issues in context and develop perspectives on social change and preferred futures.
Information and Communications Technology
Students’ understanding of concepts, relationships and processes associated with civic institutions, political, government, and legal systems is assisted by using Information and Communications Technology (ICT) tools to visualise thinking. They identify and collect data from primary and secondary online sources to inform their opinions about local, national and global issues and to assist them to think critically about their own values and those of organisations in society. ICT online tools are applied to engaging students with the community and organisations on a local and global level. Students use contemporary communication tools to articulate and justify their own opinions on local, national and global issues in private and public forums.
Interpersonal Development
Learning about relationships, diversity and appropriate behaviour in different contexts are just a few of the interpersonal skills that help students to develop a more universal understanding of Australian social and political institutions. Civics and Citizenship involves developing skills and behaviours for interacting with the community. To do this, students need, first, to develop a sense of personal identity. This is a pre-requisite for developing a broader sense of identity as a community member and, subsequently, to developing an understanding of the role of citizens. Interpersonal skills are fundamental to this process. For instance, effective communication enables students to express their viewpoints, and to listen and respect the viewpoints of others.
Language Other Than English (LOTE)
Through the study of Languages other than English, students are introduced to other cultures and ways of thinking. They gain an understanding of the way that societies organise themselves; their social, historical and familial relationships, the values underpinning the culture, and the ways people make meaning of their world. Learning a language also requires the learner to move outside the norms, practices and acquired behaviours of their first language and reflect on the differences and similarities between their own and other societies. Students develop the necessary knowledge and skills to reflect on their own society, as well as intercultural awareness. These understandings support the development of citizens who understand and appreciate the diverse cultures in Australian society and our increasing global interconnections.
Mathematics
The concepts developed in the study of Mathematics are applicable to a range of Civic and Citizenship understandings. Mathematical structure and working play essential roles in key aspects of our society as well as key civics concepts. Particular aspects of Civics and Citizenship require mathematical understanding, including concepts of majority rule, absolute majority, one vote one value, representation based on electorates of equal sizes, and the preferential and proportional voting systems. Mathematical understanding also supports the development of community research and the presentation of findings, for example, the use of data and statistics, and including the analysis and presentation of information in charts and diagrams. The recognition and understanding of this mathematical basis to many social structures and processes is integral to the development of informed and active citizens.
Personal Learning
The skills, knowledge and behaviours developed in Personal Learning underpin successful student learning in Civics and Citizenship, both in the context of school and throughout their lives. Personal Learning supports the development and awareness of positive learning approaches and relationships with others from a diverse range of cultural and societal beliefs, values and practices. In developing these relationships, students learn about the nature of a diverse society. Civics and Citizenship encompasses learning and research in contemporary and historical contexts that are relevant to students’ interests and developmental needs. Effective research requires the skills of developing questions to focus their learning, planning, monitoring, revising and reflecting. It also requires that students cooperate with their peers, develop responsibility for their learning and participation, and the quality of their achievements.
Science
In Science, students engage in informed community debate and decision-making about current and future science and its applications. A range of issues which have important implications for the future, including sustainability, the impact of humans on the natural environment and ethical and responsible conduct in scientific research are explored. Students use the relevant science concepts and relationships as one dimension of debating the merits and problems of contentious and/or ethically based science-related issues of broad community concern. In the Civics and Citizenship domain, students are encouraged to know their rights and responsibilities as citizens and to gain an appreciation of Australia’s role in the global community. Both Science and Civics and Citizenship support active participation in local and global citizenship projects of particular interest to students. Through studying the work of significant Australian scientists within their local and global communities, students learn how individuals can contribute to society.
Thinking Processes
The domain of Thinking Processes provides students with strategies which enable them to access, process, evaluate, reflect on and present their knowledge and understanding in Civics and Citizenship. Students explore the community around them; seek evidence for explanations, and order and sequence ideas. They progressively use a wider range of sources in investigating the origins and current aspects of Australian democracy, contemporary issues and the role of citizens. They develop skills in collecting and organising ideas from a range of sources, questioning sources and recognising diverse points of view. They transfer knowledge from one context to another, for example, by comparing historical struggles for political rights with contemporary issues. They learn to evaluate points of view and provide reasons for their thinking, and recognise and accommodate alternative points of view in a diverse society. They can recognise gaps in understanding and evidence, identify strategies for gathering further evidence, analyse the relationships between ideas, and synthesise information.
