Curriculum Framework - Society and Environment

The Scope of the Curriculum

PHASES OF DEVELOPMENT

MIDDLE-CHILDHOOD (typically years 3 to 7)

Children in the middle-childhood years develop a greater breadth of knowledge about societies and environments and make inferences and assertions which may be quite simplistic. Later in this phase children begin to link cause and effect, provide supporting evidence and generalise beyond the specific context being investigated.

Children in this phase tend to form quite stereotypical views of society and environment, with some awareness of the interdependence within and between societies and environments.

Teaching therefore aims to broaden and extend children’s knowledge of the past and the world beyond their immediate environment. Investigations focus on the purposes underlying the interactions in society and environment, and how these purposes lead to different practices, which are often in conflict.

As part of these investigations and through the increasingly independent use of technology, students need to learn how to evaluate these practices, make judgments about how just they are, consider alternatives and develop strategies for taking responsible civic action. The investigations centre on assisting students to become aware of the interdependence of people and their environments.

Investigation, Communication and Participation
In this phase, the processes of investigation, communication and participation build on the skills from the previous phase, but foster greater independence and precision: for example, students interview people about issues; plan questions and observations for excursions; select and organise print materials, such as newspaper clippings; and speak with confidence to a range of audiences.

They also gather evidence from a range of sources, including historical documents, journals and biographies; summarise and paraphrase material; recognise different purposes and audiences in the mass media; identify trends and patterns in tables, graphs and maps; read, construct and interpret various types of maps, timelines, tables and graphs with precision; and use compass points, latitude and longitude and different scales in reading and constructing maps.

As part of these investigations, students can increasingly make independent use of CD-ROMs, the Internet and computer software to gather and present information and ideas. As part of their investigations, students identify different points of view in pictures, texts, media, discussions, cartoons, advertising and films. They consider the positions and arguments in local issues, evaluate their own prejudices and behaviours towards others, and develop and present arguments.

Place and Space
Understanding by students of place and space is extended by assisting them to make connections between the local area and broader national and international contexts.

The emphasis is on students being able to identify patterns and processes in natural landscapes and environments, especially in Australia. Through their investigations they identify spatial variations in aspects such as climate, the availability of water in the environment and landform types, and understand how these relate to different human livelihoods and lifestyles.

They also recognise patterns and processes in human activities and their association with various landscapes, at the regional, national and global levels, in areas such as commerce and industry, trade, communication, media and travel networks. Students begin to generalise about settlement patterns and how they are changing in Australia. They may refer to such aspects as greater access to movement and transport, immigration, differences in social welfare among communities and regions, and the varying cultural significance of places to people.

Students can make value judgments in identifying desirable landscapes in Australia and around the world focusing on the natural and social relationships in them. They investigate the distribution of resources and their sustainability in particular landscapes, the issues related to environmental quality and the need for conservation and protection in particular landscapes.

Resources
Students understand the types, locations and uses of Australia’s resources. They recognise that these can be broadly classified as including land, labour, capital and enterprise.

In terms of land, they identify and locate natural resources such as minerals, agricultural land, water sources and forests. They assess these resources in terms of whether they are renewable or non-renewable and how this affects patterns of use and management practices. They understand that resources are used and valued in different ways by different cultural groups.

Students develop an understanding of why the principles of ecological sustainability are important in managing resources.

In terms of labour, students understand different types of paid and unpaid work and the relative value attached to each of these. They investigate job stereotyping and recognise that duties associated with employment types are changing. They also recognise how people with disabilities and unemployed people access work.

In terms of capital, students investigate different types of equipment and how this equipment relates to resources. Examples include information technology, dams, machinery, railways and tools.

They can distinguish between natural resources and manufactured products. They also recognise that money per se is not capital, but represents a form of exchange of goods and services. In terms of enterprise, they understand the role of management and decision making.

They see how these can lead to more efficient and innovative approaches to decisions about resources, especially in terms of some uniquely Australian innovations. Some examples include agricultural machinery, land management practices, solar water heating, medical technologies and information technology systems. A study of their home, school or industries in the local area provides concrete examples of enterprising approaches to the use of land, labour and capital.

Culture
Students in this phase demonstrate the ability to infer the beliefs and practices underlying the interactions between people, cultures and nature and how these interactions can lead to divergent practices which are often in conflict. Through the Cultures outcome children investigate these interactions and begin to develop their understanding of how membership of different groups influences the identity of individuals. They also investigate gender roles and relationships in the home, school, community and various cultural groups.

Students understand how different groups function to meet their needs. They understand how these groups have a social organisation that reflects particular beliefs through investigation of aspects such as the influence of religion on cultural practices and societal features and the customs, norms, symbols and myths.

Through investigation of the diverse cultural heritages of people in Australia, students should understand changes to the composition of Australian society. This will enable them to identify some of the reasons for conflict and tension in Australian society and consider how peaceful, non-violent resolution of conflict can occur. They also understand that beliefs and traditions influence the nature of cultures and see evidence of this in the survival of traditions and heritages of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. This can also be developed through investigation of the perception of Australians by others, (for example, different Asian views of Australia and diverse Australian views of Asia).

Time, Continuity and Change
The development of students’ understanding of time, continuity and change is achieved mainly through Australian history.

They investigate important people, ideas and events and infer reasons for their significance. They also investigate the causes of major changes and continuities in their local area, Australia and other selected countries over time, and understand that changes in the past have affected peoples’ beliefs and ways of life. They use information from a variety of sources, including photographs, local histories and first-hand accounts and understand that different perspectives on people, events and ideas at a particular time can be gained through these historical accounts. They further develop this understanding to see that the different perspectives people have reflect their beliefs and heritage.

Through these investigations, students understand significant elements of heritage in the local community, such as buildings, place names and memorials and natural places of significance to Aboriginal people. Their understanding of celebrations held every year enables them to reflect on elements of heritage in modern Australia such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, British, other European and Asian beliefs and traditions. They also consider the impact of these beliefs and traditions on Australian institutions and practices such as government, law, religion and culture, and how they have resulted in advantages and disadvantages for people and the environment.

Natural and Social Systems
Students build on their previous understanding of the elements of systems by identifying the ways in which these elements link to form flows and cycles that enable the system to achieve an equilibrium: for example, they can investigate food chains, natural cycles (such as the water cycle), distinctive ecosystems within Australia and the world and the earth as part of a natural system called the “solar system”.

This understanding should also be developed in social systems through investigation of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, the structure of community organisations, the institutionalisation of some rules and laws and an understanding of the flows that exist in the production and distribution of goods and services.

Students realise that systems are dynamic and that there is interdependence between and within people and their environments. They understand how different elements respond and adapt to changes in these systems: for example, they investigate the formal structures for making and enforcing laws to ensure people’s rights and responsibilities; the role of the consumer and access to the benefits of economic production and distribution; and the impact of agricultural and industrial systems on the natural environment and on people.

Active Citizenship
Students demonstrate behaviours and practices of active citizenship by using ideas of social justice and the democratic process to evaluate social situations, decisions and change: for example they plan more just and democratic ways of relating to others and organise group work democratically and efficiently to promote group participation and cohesion. They resolve conflicts by accepting people’s strengths and weaknesses, knowing when and how to disagree, and by jointly proposing and acting on solutions to interpersonal issues.

Students act on their decisions by identifying how they might appropriately participate in community issues. They plan and work on environmental improvement projects at home, school and community. They interact, through visits and invitations, with members of cultural groups and practise tolerance of cultural difference.