Civics and Citizenship

Planning Grid Questions

Overview

This organiser encompasses the knowledge, beliefs, skills and actions
that our society considers to be essential for good citizenship. By interacting with others to discuss issues, make decisions and solve problems, students come to value other viewpoints and perspectives and share
civic responsibility.
 
There are a number of definitions given to civics and citizenship education.  "Civics and citizenship" is the phrase currently used as a shorthand way of talking about the knowledge, beliefs, and skills citizens need in order to act as good citizens.  A Civics Perspective K-10  (Canberra, 1997) defines civics and citizenship as learning how to live and work with each other in communities within contemporary Australia through understanding and participating in our democratic process.
 
A central purpose of civics and citizenship education is to highlight our connections to each other as members of the public.  Our interdependence from local through to international level is a fundamental theme of the whole learning area.  Underpinning this organiser is the values of democratic process and social justice. These values contribute to students' development of active citizenship.
 
The three key questions offered as a summary of the Civics and Citizenship organiser in the Planning Grid form the foundation for planning a teaching and learning program that concentrates on developing citizens with the knowledge, skills and concern necessary for them to act as informed and active members of our community. These questions are:

• What does it mean to act as an informed, deliberative member of the public in a democracy?
  
• What are the formal processes and institutions necessary to further develop democratic government in Australia?
  
• What are the personal and public beliefs and actions essential to the further development of democratic process and social justice?

Many fundamental lessons about what it means to be an effective citizen are taught through the culture of the school community: the ways problems are solved, how power is used and how learners live their normal lives within the formal and informal rules of the school.  Civics and citizenship education, therefore, is integral to all educational and pastoral-care programs of a healthy school community.

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Strand	Civics and Citizenship
Time, Continuity and Change
Key ideas to be developed ways of organising and recording time  patterns of change  evolution and revolution  heritage  the nature of change   - predicted and    unpredicted   - intended and    unintended  cause and effect continuity, change and discontinuity	What significant events - local, Australian and global - have contributed to pluralist, secular constitutional democracy in Australia?  What are the philosophical foundations of democracy and how have these philosophies been interpreted and acted upon by individuals and groups in Australia?
Place and Space
Key ideas to be developed spatial patterns  reason for location and distribution  interaction between features or components of places  valuing places  interdependence within and between natural and built spaces	To what extent have democratic principles, particularly individual rights and social justice, influenced the way in which Australians decide ownership of land and use of natural resources?  To what extent have beliefs about democracy influenced the building of cities and towns and how people will share and care for public spaces and facilities? In what ways are some individuals and groups advantaged and disadvantaged by government decisions on how natural and constructed environments will be used? How do local, national and global political boundaries influence the behaviour of governments and private enterprise?
Culture
Key ideas to be developed construction of personal and group identity  diversity within and between cultures  nature and purpose of cohesion  development and consequences of belief	How do different cultural groups in Australia define what it is to be an Australian citizen?  In what ways do diverse cultural groups in Australia solve shared public problems?  What are the similarities and differences between cultural groups in defining and using power?  What makes a good community?  What is meant by the term "good citizen"?
Resources
Key ideas to be developed efficiency and productivity in resource management  decision-making in resource use  principles of sustainable development  management of human, financial and natural resources  enterprise practices  scarcity and consumption	How are decisions made and problems solved within business and industry?  What makes people more or less powerful as employers, employees and consumers?  What beliefs about individuals and good communities influence how resources are used and distributed?  What key concepts influence rules and regulations about who gets what?
Systems - Natural, Legal, Political and Economic
Key ideas to be developed human community systems  decision-making and conflict resolution systems  interrelationships and integration of all systems  power and authority	What are the civic, social and economic systems in which people act, and how are these connected to them in their daily lives?  What different formal systems of government operate in countries around the globe?  How are individuals and groups involved in the planning and implementation of government policy?  What sort of informal systems exist for solving social civic problems without the use of formal laws?

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