Civics and citizenship – Learning about controversial issues and active citizenship (Week 2)

Here in 5 Tyrrell, students are learning about the values that underpin Australia’s system of government and how they shape our society. Through a Civics and Citizenship Education (CCE) term 2 unit, they are exploring controversial examples of how different countries both past (Germany) and present (North Korea) share a different structure of government (dictatorship) to see how beliefs and values differ in comparison to democracy in Australia.

In Australia, our nation believes in elected Government; a commitment to the rule of law, equal rights for all before the law; and by belief in freedom of religion, speech and association (Victoria State Government, 2013). Through CCE, students expand their knowledge of why our society is accepting of various religious, political, social and cultural beliefs and values in the context of these beliefs in Australia’s democracy.

At the beginning of this unit, students will be immersed in a non-serious, safe and controlled non-democratic environment by following a set of ‘unfair’ rules. With these ‘new rules’ reflecting the ideals of a Dictatorship society, students will generate opinions for themselves through guided discussions, positive, minus, interesting charts and mini investigation projects about German and North Korean Government structure. These tasks monitor academic skill and intellectual development progress throughout, with a final research task used to assess overall learning at the end of the unit (Fisher & Frey, 2014).

By using Dictatorship as a controversial example, students will explore the complexity of this topic by experiencing what it is like to only have one perspective (Oulton, Day, Dillon & Grace, 2004). This will be enhanced by modifying/recreating our own classroom rights, responsibilities, roles and expectations to affirm the values of everyone in the classroom so the learning environment reflects a democratic society with equal opportunities (Department of Education, Employment & Workplace Relations [DEEWR], 2010).

Through this, students become aware that a community is based on shared understandings of agreed values and principles, whilst together become responsible for maintaining those values and principles, through behaviour as an individual and group member. Through use of inquiry skills of questioning, communicating, researching and evaluating and reflecting, your children develop literacy skills, critical and creative thinking, ethical understanding and personal and social capability by covering controversial issues that address ethics, culture and diversity. By doing this, it increases their attention, motivation, critical thinking and appreciation of such topics (Steiner, Brzuzy, Gerdes & Hurdle, 2003).

By learning through CCE, it helps ensure that all young Australians can contribute to the ongoing renewal of Australia’s democracy, as well as foster relationships with others and promote an understanding of Australian society, citizenship and national values (DEEWR, 2010). As a parent/carer, you can support this learning by asking questions to reaffirm and promote further development of topics, understand how your child learns (visual, auditory, kinaesthetic etc.) and encouraging them to be inquisitive and innovative when conducting research (Smart, 2013).

References

Christopher Oulton, C., Day, V., Dillon, J., and Grace, M. (2004).   Controversial issues - teachers' attitudes and practices in the context of citizenship education. Oxford review of education 4(30), 489-507. Doi: 10.1080/0305498042000303973

Department of Education, Employment, Training and Youth Relations. (2010). Civics and citizenship education: Professional learning package. Retrieved from http://www.civicsandcitizenship.edu.au/verve/_resources/DEEWR_CCE_PLP.pdf

Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2014). Checking for understanding: Formative assessment techniques for your classroom. Alexander, VA: ASCD Publishing.

Florida Virtual School (FLVS). (2014). FLVS Civics: Going global - Forms of government [video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdh9xo47OWM

Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs. (2008). Melbourne declaration on educational goals for all young Australians. Retrieved from http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf

Smart, J. (2013). Parent support: 30 ways to support your child’s education. Brandon, MS: Jackson Education Support.

Victoria State Government. (2013). Australian Democratic Principles. Retrieved from http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/department/legislation/Pages/act2006democracy.aspx

Steiner, S., Brzuzy, S., Gerdes, K., & Hurdle, D. (2003). Using structured controversy to teach diversity content and cultural competence. Journal Of Teaching In Social Work, 1-2(23), 55-71. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J067v23n01_05

Images

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2017). Curriculum: F-6/7 HASS. Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/humanities-and-social-sciences/hass/curriculum/f-10?layout=1#yl-5

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.). General capabilities in the Australian Curriculum: Humanities and social sciences. Retrieved from https://acaraweb.blob.core.windows.net/resources/HASS_-_GC_learning_area.pdf

Leremy. (2017). Types of government in the world cliparts icons [image]. Retrieved from https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-illustration-type-government-world-cliparts-icons-set-human-pictogram-representing-different-types-democracy-dictatorship-image46819165

Wildwood, L. (2016). How to build a community website with WordPress [image]. Retrieved from https://www.elegantthemes.com/blog/tips-tricks/how-to-build-a-community-website-with-wordpress