Discovering Democracy in Action

Civics and Citizenship Education

Discovering Democracy in Action:

Implementing the Program Written by teachers from the Grants to Schools Program 2001–2003

This Project: Discovering Democracy in Action: Implementing the Program was supported by funding from the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training under the Discovering Democracy programme and through the Victorian Discovering Democracy Professional Development Strategy. Published by

Student Learning Division Office of Learning and Teaching Department of Education & Training] Melbourne, Victoria] 2004

Also published on © Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2004 This work is Commonwealth copyright. It may be reproduced in whole or in part for study or training purposes subject to the inclusion of an acknowledgement of the source and this copyright notice. No commercial use, including offering the work for sale, may be made for this work and the work must not be altered in any way. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the Commonwealth Copyright Administration, Intellectual Property Branch, Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, GPO Box 2154, Canberra ACT 2601 or posted at http://www.dcita.gov.au/cca Authorised by Department of Education, Science and Training, GPO Box 9880, Canberra City, Australian Capital Territory, 2601 Printed by Design and Print Centre, University of Melbourne ISBN 07594 0391 0 The views expressed in this document are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training OR the Victorian Department of Education and Training.

Acknowledgments Front Cover The images used in the front cover design of Discovering Democracy in Action: Implementing the Program symbolise the three interacting areas of a whole-school approach to Civics and Citizenship Education: • studying Civics at Rosanna Primary school as part of their classroom teaching and learning; • the Junior School Council at Haslem Street (Kyabram) Primary School illustrates active citizenship within the school ethos and environment; • community links and partnerships are shown through students at Korumburra Secondary College working with community experts. The photographs throughout this book have been supplied by the Grants Schools to illustrate their work during 2001 to 2003.

Writers The case studies in this book have been written by teachers within the schools, as part of their final reports on the use of their grants. ROGER HOLDSWORTH is a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Youth Research Centre, Faculty of Education, The University of Melbourne. He was a member of the team that presented professional development and provided consultancy support to the schools in 2001–2004. SUZANNE MELLOR is a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Council for Educational Research. She was the Evaluator of the Grants to Schools Program in 2002–2004. The commentaries at the beginning of each section were written by her.

“Civics and citizenship education is an important national priority. Our democracy depends on informed participation. Schools play a crucial role in helping to foster such participation. Young people need to understand the workings of our political and legal system and our history as a democratic nation so they can take their place as confident and open-minded citizens in a twenty-first century Australia.”

Hon. Brendan Nelson Australian Government Minister for Education Ministerial Statement Discovering Democracy website http://www.curriculum.edu.au/democracy/aboutdd.htm

Contents Introduction

Section A

Auditing and Whole School Practice and Policy Work

Auditing and Planning

Castlemaine Primary School

vi

1 3

Implementing the Discovering Democracy Program Materials into our Integrated Curriculum

Apollo Parkways Primary School

Discovering Democracy in a Small School Environment

Arthurs Creek Cluster

10

Whole School Unit Matrix Planning

Beechworth Primary School

13

Civics and Citizenship Education in the Early Years

Chilwell Primary School

17

Introducing Civics and Citizenship Across the School

Rosanna Primary School

19

Australia, Society and Rules

Western English Language School

22

Section B

Classroom Teaching and Learning and Curriculum Development

6

25

Teaching Towards an Ideal World

Christ the King Primary School

27

Year 8 SOSE: Government and Law

Distance Education Centre, Victoria

30

Working as a Cluster on Discovering Democracy

Flightpath Cluster

34

A Web Site Calendar of Civics and Citizenship

Keysborough Park Primary School

37

Review of Years 8 and 9 Civics and Citizenship Courses

Newhaven College

41

Planning for Multiple Perspectives within an Integrated Curriculum

St Michael’s Parish Primary School

43

Embedding Civics and Citizenship in the School Curriculum

St Gregory the Great Primary School

46

Section C

Learning Activities in Active Citizenship

49

Confronting Issues of Indigenous Human Rights

Ballarat Secondary College (East)

Students Teaching Students: Junior Council Representation on Local Council

Drouin West Primary School and Warragul Regional College

56

Who Represents Us?

Haslem Street Kyabram Primary School

60

Everyone Can Make a Difference

Little River Primary School

63

Developing a Sense of Democratic Process in the Post-Compulsory Years

Maryborough Specialist School

66

51

Valuing the Future Citizens of our Community

Mooroopna Park Primary School

69

Far East Citizenship Action

Orbost Cluster

72

We Make It Happen!

Templestowe Heights Primary School

75

Section D

Community Links and Partnerships

79

Democracy at Work in our Community and Around the World

Altona West Primary School

82

Active Citizenship in the Chiltern Community

Chiltern Primary School

84

Bunurong Environmental Wildlife Corridor: A Whole-School Approach

Dromana Secondary College

87

Community Experts

Korumburra Secondary College

91

Peady Street: A School’s Environmental Action

Mount Pleasant Primary School

93

Time, Tiles and Thomastown

Thomastown West Primary School

95

Australian Studies, People Power: ‘We Dream, We Do’

Torquay Primary School

W G Morris Reserve Environment Action Project

Wantirna College

101

Suzanne Mellor

105

And Finally: What Do We learn?

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Roger Holdsworth

Discovering Democracy in Action: Implementing the Program

97

Acronyms and Abbreviations ABC ACER ADASS ANZAC AYRC CCE CD CFA CSF DD DE&T DEST EPA ESL GST ICT IT JSC KLA LOTE MP MYRAD P-6 PD PDF RAP RSL ruMAD? SAT SDP SOSE SRC SSO TAFE UNESCO VASST VCAL VCE VET

Australian Broadcasting Corporation Australian Council for Educational Research Adult Day Activity Support Service Australian and New Zealand Army Corps Australian Youth Research Centre Civics and Citizenship Education Compact Disc Country Fire Authority Curriculum and Standards Framework Discovering Democracy (Victorian) Department of Education and Training (Australian Government) Department of Education, Science and Training Environment Protection Authority English as a Second Language Goods and Services Tax Information and Communication Technology Information Technology Junior School Council Key Learning Area Language(s) Other Than English Member of Parliament Middle Years Research and Development (Project) Prep(aratory) to Year 6 (etc.) Professional Development Portable Document Format Reading Achievement Program Returned and Services League of Australia Are You Making a Difference? Student Action Team School Development Plan Studies of Society and the Environment Student Representative Council School Services Officers Technical and Further Education United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation Victorian Association of Social Studies Teachers Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning Victorian Certificate of Education Vocational Education and Training

Acknowledgments Many thanks are extended to the teachers, school administrators, students and others who have contributed to the writing of this book. We would like to acknowledge the dedication and commitment of all members of the Grants to Schools Program school teams in their work in exploring ways in which Civics and Citizenship Education can come alive in primary and secondary schools. The support of the Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training, through the Discovering Democracy program, has been invaluable for the operation of the Grants to Schools Program. The Victorian Discovering Democracy Teacher Professional Development Strategy Coordinating Committee and Project Officers have provided timely and appropriate advice and guidance throughout the project.

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Introduction Since 1997 the Discovering Democracy program has provided an extensive array of resources to schools to support Civics and Citizenship Education. How do we encourage schools to integrate this material and these approaches into their teaching and learning program? How do we ensure that Civics and Citizenship Education is ‘embedded’ in what schools do? This challenge is about changing school and classroom practices, but the challenge can often also be about changing school cultures. In Victoria, a teacher professional development program around Civics and Citizenship Education had several aspects. In one of these, over 200 schools were provided (in three rounds between 2001 and 2003) with small grants and other support, to implement the program. There were small schools, large schools, schools working individually and in clusters, schools in metropolitan and rural areas, and schools within the Government, Catholic and Independent sectors. The intention of the Grants to Schools program was the provision of centralised and school-based professional development for teachers, with a view to sustaining developments in Civics and Citizenship Education. The initiating individual or team of teachers within each school was seen as a focus for school action; they were supported in learning about the resources available, challenged to think of themselves as ‘agents of change’, and asked to conduct wider professional development for colleagues. Many schools in applying for grants through this program said: ‘we have not dealt with these issues seriously before, but it is now a priority’. Some others were already well on a journey and perhaps had some specific initiative in mind. In each of the year-long programs, the grant recipients were provided with an initial briefing session and professional development, continuing consultancy support and advice, information about the resources available, support for in-school professional development, and networking opportunities, such as sharing information through newsletters about what was being done. In the third round of grants, and in response to program suggestions, we added a mid-year professional development event to support the schools in telling each other about initiatives and thinking specifically about issues of sustainability.

How Did the Schools Start Their Work? It was important for most schools to begin by surveying and analysing their current position or starting point by asking: ‘What are we doing at the moment about Civics and Citizenship Education?’ This was valuable for two major reasons. First, the teachers in the schools needed to recognise that they were already doing much in the area, and that the challenge was often to integrate existing work by pulling it together and providing a coherent framework. Core team members needed to reassure colleagues that Civics and Citizenship Education need not be something extra (in the face of fears about and resistance to further requirements being loaded onto schools); rather it can be something that pulls together things that are already happening. Secondly, such an analysis was required in order for teachers to see where gaps in practice existed and, therefore, to analyse and decide on priorities for action. We called that process ‘auditing’ and introduced it in these terms at the first meetings.

A Framework for Auditing: Whole School Change But simply auditing – or writing lists of current initiatives – is not enough. To be effective and useful, auditing needs to happen against some sort of framework about expectations.

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Figure 1: Civics and Citizenship Education: A Whole School Approach

db s an e u Val

Value s

eliefs

School policies and programs

Classroom teaching and learning

Val ues and be

and

beli

ef s

School organisation, ethos and environment

Partnerships and community links liefs

i ef s d bel n a s e Valu

Based on the Health Promoting Schools model, WHO

We encouraged schools to think about ‘whole school’ change, suggesting that consistency of direction, sustainability, and the interaction of various parts of the school, all imply a broader picture of the school as a ‘complex system’ and the need to work at this level. By having that whole school framework, we are also able to see more clearly where gaps exist. The framework that we introduced was one developed through Health Promoting Schools. We had used it previously in a pilot round of grants to schools (see the report Discovering Democracy in Action: Learning from School Practice) and found it made sense to teachers within the context of Civics and Citizenship Education, too. This idea of whole school goes beyond ideas of ‘all year levels’ or ‘across KLAs’ or ‘involving parents as well’ to specifically identify three interrelated domains: ‘classroom teaching and learning’, ‘school organisation, ethos and environment’ and ‘partnerships and community links’, which are all framed within ‘school policies and programs’ and, in turn, are given context within a statement of the school’s ‘values and beliefs’. We have previously portrayed this in the above diagram. This framework was again well regarded by teachers, and many schools have written in their accounts about taking it back to their staff meetings and using it to focus discussion there.

Structure of Reporting Through the Case Studies The same framework structures the school case studies in this book. While they have been grouped into four sections corresponding to the framework, with the common theme of each section a ‘lens’ through which changes and initiatives can be viewed, the reality is more complex and interrelated. Multiple perspectives, or ‘multifocal lenses’, are needed if we are to fully understand schools’ work. Some schools began their work with a sharp, but, perhaps, limited focus on one aspect of Civics and Citizenship Education. The initial professional development asked them to reexamine this within the context of sustained school change, and look at other connections to their work across the whole school. Some schools took up this challenge thoughtfully and enthusiastically, and some changes in their focus occurred.

Introduction

[ vii ]

Let us look briefly at each of these areas:

A: Auditing leading to whole school practice and policy work When we started talking of a ‘whole school process’, some schools immediately recognised their need to look at the ‘bigger picture’ of an integrated approach to Civics and Citizenship Education that encompassed many aspects of their school programs. In most schools there was an initial focus on auditing current initiatives and planning for wider school acceptance of these ideas. They spent much time doing this. As a result of this auditing process some schools decided that a focus on whole school policy or on integrating existing approaches was most relevant to them. (For others, the audit confirmed a focus on a specific aspect of the school’s work; some schools didn’t audit at all, but simply continued with their specific plans.) Descriptions in the first section focus on the process of auditing, and on whole school integration of initiatives or policy development.

B: Classroom teaching and learning – principally curriculum development Following a review of priorities through the auditing process, some schools determined that their classroom teaching and learning – principally the existence and content of formal studies around civics – should be the focus of their work. They rewrote existing units, developed new approaches, found resources, extended materials to other levels of the school or other population groups, and supplemented print materials with electronic resources.

C: School ethos and environment: active citizenship From the auditing process, issues of active citizenship were identified by some schools as a priority. This may have included enhancing the role of students in formal school governance – student representative councils, junior school councils, youth parliaments and so on – but schools also paid attention to curriculum action and student-centred pedagogy: students taking action around issues of laws, rights and responsibilities, and community development, and defining and negotiating their learning in this area. Such action does not exist in isolation, but interacts with formal classroom units and the development of stronger community links.

D: Community links and partnerships In carrying out an audit of existing initiatives in Civics and Citizenship Education, some schools were drawn to exploring community links and partnerships. These schools took initiatives in their wider communities, and here write about the roles of their students that extend beyond the school walls, principally in environmental action. However, these accounts also indicate changed roles for schools as an institution within their communities. They see themselves both as community resources and as integral and interested members of those communities. There are implications in this for teachers and students – and for what is taught and learned – and how that happens.

[ viii ]


A Focus on Implementation The rounds of grants reported on here differed from the pilot program in 1998–2000. Then the focus had been on ‘How do we implement Civics and Citizenship Education?’; now it was on extending implementation of Discovering Democracy to more schools. There were other differences, too. The period of the grants was shorter (one year) and, as there were larger numbers of schools involved and fewer opportunities for them to meet together for central professional development, this put a greater reliance on school action. The case studies presented here are drawn from the schools’ end-of-year reports. They talk about two things: what some of we need to understand them did to implement Civics and Citizenship Education across what schools do and how the school, within classroom programs, or to encourage active change happens citizenship within the school or beyond the school’s traditional walls; but they also talk about how they – and, more specifically, core teams of enthusiastic teachers – went about the processes of setting goals, reviewing, changing and developing. (Readers should note that the reports were written at the end of each of the three rounds of grants and have usually not been updated in the intervening years.) The schools achieved much with their small grants. In some ways, the funding symbolised support for their initiatives, but, in another sense, it was vital in freeing teachers to meet, plan and implement action. What also interests us is this process of school change, for, if we are to learn how initiatives such as Discovering Democracy can be implemented and embedded as ongoing programs, we need to understand what schools do and how change happens. Based on the case studies, the following elements seem to be important: • The creation of a small core team of teachers to take responsibility for change and its direction. • Supported time for members of that team to work together. • An external challenge from a consultant or ‘critical friend’ to support teachers’ reflection about a school’s situation and their consequent initiatives. • Preparation of local documents in ways that are easy to use within the school. • Support from the school’s administration. • Conscious initiatives to involve larger numbers of staff members, both in terms of the teaching of the program and its ‘ownership’. • Explicit attention to sustainability of the program within the school. Each of the four sections begins with a commentary by Suzanne Mellor in her capacity as the ACER evaluator of the program for the Department of Education and Training. These commentaries highlight the key characteristics of the school reports to be found in that section. They draw out common threads, identify crucial elements, challenge limitations. They also sometimes point out that what is not written about – some aspect a school may have overlooked and not reported on – can be as important as what is reported here. The comments are intended to assist readers to locate points in the narratives that provide key indicators of success, and to bring to the foreground the issues that need to be considered by schools contemplating introducing the explicit delivery of Civics and Citizenship Education or renewing their commitment to it.

Who Are These Schools? In selecting these reports from the 200 available over the three rounds of grants, we wanted to provide both a cross-section of the Grants to Schools program and a glimpse of schools at different stages of development and with different priorities. There are schools here that struggled with implementation, others that say ‘we are part way along’, and still others that

Learning to Implement Civics and Citizenship Education

[ ix ]

recount their achievements and journeys with pride. These are frank accounts of schools working to implement Civics and Citizenship Education in ways that reflect their situation and needs. We wanted to tell you about ‘ordinary colleagues’ seeking to improve educational approaches in their own circumstances, and not simply to profile great stories of charismatic success (though these exist here, too).

Using This Book This book is published with the express intention of encouraging ongoing dialogue between the readers and the narrators. We know there are many more stories about Civics and Citizenship Education in schools throughout the state, and encourage continued sharing of resources and approaches through journals of practice, school websites, and professional development opportunities. We hope you can see your school reflected here. We hope, too, that these accounts provide you with some ideas – even guidance – about what you could do to implement Civics and Citizenship Education across your school. Roger Holdsworth Australian Youth Research Centre

Section A Auditing and Whole School Practice and Policy Work

The seven schools whose reports are in this section have written of how they sought change at both the big picture level and in the detail, with precision in the documentation they created. They dealt both in whole school policies and practices. They are characterised by possessing all the following key indicators: • • • •

They planned and implemented. They adopted ‘whole school approaches’ in Civics and Citizenship Education. They had pre-existing conditions upon which the core team was able to build. Prior to gaining the grant, they had already made a whole school commitment to Civics and Citizenship Education. • There was already a pattern of practice in the schools manifested by the staff working together. • They had a well-developed sense of school and/or cluster identity and purpose, supplemented by an existing culture of inclusion of the local and/or regional community and a tradition of practice within this culture. • Thus the grant enabled the core team to reflect on the school’s goals and staff practice and consider what was required in that school to take the ‘next step’ in Civics and Citizenship Education. • The school leadership team actively supported the core team. • The core team was expected (and able) to lead. • The core teams demonstrated clarity of purpose and developed plans that focused on those purposes. • Planning and programs (of professional development and curriculum development) built upon programs previously successfully implemented. As a result of the existing Civics and Citizenship Education culture, plus the expectation of change, the following actions were taken in the grant program and were successful: • • • • •

Time was bought with the grant to fund the reflection of the core team. Real documented outcomes were expected to result from this time. The members of the core team were strategic about who they brought into the team to win further support for the innovations being planned. Professional development in Civics and Citizenship Education was provided for all staff, often out of the grant funds. The distinctions between ‘Civics’ and ‘Citizenship’ were understood and apparent in the programs implemented.

Section A: Auditing and Whole School Practice and Work Policy

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•

All staff members were expected to actively engage in the process of curriculum development adopted by the school and core team. • Decision-making processes in the school were adapted so they became more explicitly linked to curriculum development and so all staff remained involved in the curriculum changes and on task for their part in the development. • New Civics and Citizenship curriculum was developed that encompassed the whole school, sometimes resulting in new levels of integration of curriculum and teaching across the school. • Resources were strategically managed: existing resources were audited, catalogued, linked to curricula and augmented by new purchases. All staff worked with the new curricula explicitly linked to resources. These schools moved decisively and quickly during the period of the grant. The core teams hit the ground running. The ‘ground’ that was effectively covered is impressive. The depth of change and the sustained nature of it bear witness to the strength of the intention and support for the changes being implemented. The hard work and commitment of core teams is evident. The narratives indicate that pausing to consider Civics and Citizenship can cause whole scale recasting of a school’s purpose. These narratives demonstrate that when there is a clear and explicit purpose, Civics and Citizenship Education can be seen by a staff as assisting in this mission, rather than being a hurdle that has to be leapt each day. Ownership of the purpose is crucial to the acceptance of any innovation. It must be intellectually integrated at a theoretical and professional level before it can be adopted and put into practice. This ownership was made possible by the way in which the culture and processes of decision making were used to reinforce cultural inclusion. You will notice, perhaps, that none of these reports reflects on pedagogy or on making any changes to the teaching practice of staff in (or outside of) classrooms. Given the holistic nature of the implementation described in these reports, the absence of comment is surprising. Perhaps an interactive classroom pedagogy is commonly used in the schools. If such were the case, it helps to explain why the core teams were able to create programs and plans that were so readily understood by school staff, and why those staff were then able to so comprehensively ‘take on board’ the Civics and Citizenship Education approaches referenced in the reports. Any evaluation schools can make of the effectiveness of these innovations must include such assessment. Assessment of student learning outcomes was not mentioned in any of these reports. Presumably assessment is part of the teaching and documentation. It is an interesting omission, especially given the explicit documentation developed in these programs. The omission indicates how much care is needed to make explicit all stages in the learning process… to ensure it happens and to explain to others what one is doing. These schools provided fertile ground for the changes they describe as being implemented. They also used effective processes of implementation. Greater conceptual clarity and organisational coherence and delivery in Civics and Citizenship Education have been gained in all these schools, including the cluster of small schools. Documentation and collegial practice means teacher time has been saved, for now and into the future. The narratives indicate that sustainability of the Civics and Citizenship Education programs, by the nature of their ‘whole school’ development and delivery, is thus ensured in these schools.

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Castlemaine Primary School

Auditing and Planning The small grant gave us the opportunity to develop a whole school approach to Civics and Citizenship Education. An increase in our resource base was needed to allow this to be implemented across the whole school. Our school is organised into multi-age classes. This year’s structure of three Year Prep–2 classes, one Year 3, two Years 4–5 classes and two Years 5–6 classes, represents a typical arrangement. Our school community supports our programs by participating in activities such as Reading Helpers, the Perceptual Motor Program, the Performing Arts, swimming, excursions and camps. While some school programs lent themselves to Civics and Citizenship Education, our previous approach was not purposeful and planned. School community involvement was not embedded in our programs.

Castlemaine is a central Victorian town, the hub of the most centrally located shire in Victoria, Mount Alexander. With a population of approximately 7600, it is set in beautiful bush, woodlands and rolling hills. The town has a rich history in the goldrush era. Today it is home to a thriving arts community. It also boasts the famous Old Castlemaine Market and Old Castlemaine Gaol, both now popular tourist attractions. Castlemaine Primary School has 187 students, nine classroom teachers, two specialist teachers, a principal, and three SSOs.

Our Journey We set out to develop our awareness of Civics and Citizenship Education by exploring what a whole school approach would mean and then developing links within the wider community and units of work on Civics and Citizenship forYears P–6. To achieve this, we set up a specific subcommittee, organised a professional development day for staff, held planning sessions, and began a Community Group to broaden our community projects. In previous years, Civics and Citizenship Education only occurred in the senior end of the school at level 4 of the CSF, with use of the Discovering Democracy resources, participation in Junior Parliament, the SRC, and a camp to Canberra. With a change of staffing, much of the expertise in this area was lost and we felt that professional development was needed so all staff could help us address this issue and extend Civics and Citizenship Education into other levels within the school. Our new charter was also implemented, with priority given to the wellbeing of students and staff. We decided this was an opportunity to link the idea of being an active and responsible citizen to wellbeing: feeling good about oneself, sharing with community, and being part of a group. During 2003 schools within our district began to implement the You Can Do It program as a whole school priority. We felt that You Can Do It would begin to provide the foundation for Civics and Citizenship development on a whole school basis, thus meeting our charter goals.

Classroom Learning and Active Citizenship We began with our existing senior school classroom work, in which level 4 completed units of work from Discovering Democracy on ‘Parliament versus Monarchy’ and ‘The Law Rules’. Here, children accessed documentation from web pages. A new unit of work was written to allow them to study the Australian parliamentary system. They formed their own government subcommittee, deciding upon an issue and working towards reform. Literacy was linked into the theme using ‘Our Voices’ as guided reading material for language groups.


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After writing the units of work on Australian Government, the structure of our Junior School Council was reviewed. Elections were held for office bearers (President, Secretary, Treasurer) and the role of the Council was broadened to include reporting to School Council and whole school assemblies. The Council began to plan more activities based on Civics and Citizenship principles. A ‘Students in Action’ page was included in our weekly newsletter to report on students’ involvement in community activities.

Community Involvement In the past, community involvement within our school was primarily based on parents assisting with school programs; a sense of the school being part of the wider community was lacking. With the appointment of a new principal, a whole school professional development day was planned to develop a vision towards 2010 and establish an understanding of the values and future directions of our school. This day gave us specific aims and ideas for improving our community links and was made possible by the Civics and Citizenship Education grant. We produced a whole school vision statement and a broad planning document to link community to curriculum.

Outcomes and Directions Our major finding from this experience was that the approach to Civics and Citizenship Education in our school has been a little disorganised. The grant committee set up this year has put in place many changes to curriculum and community involvement for 2003, but feel we have not yet achieved a whole school approach. To address this in 2004, a subcommittee has been formed to specifically plan Civics and Citizenship outcomes on a whole school basis. The sub-committee includes the Principal and representatives of both the junior school and senior school units, with parent and community co-opted when needed. While we had, in previous years, always included a unit on Australia in our theme rotation, the grant encouraged us to plan a subcommittee has been specifically for Civics and Citizenship outcomes and focus our formed to specifically plan attention on the content of our unit. The junior-school unit Civics and Citizenship outcomes completed the theme of ‘Me’, which touched on some aspects of on a whole school basis what it is to be part of a group or community, but did not have Civics and Citizenship as its main focus. We plan to address this by revisiting our theme rotation, having whole school themes rather than junior- and senior-school themes, and rewriting the junior-school ‘Me’ unit to focus specifically on Civics and Citizenship outcomes. Our curriculum audit showed that we had minimal resources for Civics and Citizenship Education. We addressed this in the senior school by purchasing guided reading material and resource books. Next year we will buy more resources for the junior school. Our major professional development day, facilitated by the Civics and Citizenship Education grant, provided us with a fantastic refocus on the future development of our school. ‘Caring, Creative, Learning Community’, our new school motto, was adopted as a result of this day. Community involvement in our school was limited and a sense of the school being part of the wider community was lacking. The Civics and Citizenship Education grant has made us review our priorities and look at ways of bringing the wider community into our school, and our students out and into community-based projects. This year we believe that we have made a start in making this happen, though more specific programs need to be put in place. We have completed one major community project and several smaller school-based activities.

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Our professional development planning identified three major projects to provide long-term involvement with the community: • • •

Kalimna Park Environmental Reserve; Buda Historic Gardens; Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park. Our Community Group was set up with the intention of allowing children to experience contributing to the community in three ways:

... form a committee ... encourage a whole school vision ... take small steps

• • •

working within the school; inviting the community into the school, for example, the historical society; working in the community, for example at Buda Historical Home. However, planning was incomplete and interruptions during fourth term caused the program to falter. To address this problem in 2004, the Civics and Citizenship Education subcommittee will plan a program for each term based on a rotation of children through the three activities. A ‘Community Day’ resulting from our Community Group program, is planned where a wide variety of local community groups will interact with the children.

We Learnt … •

•

•

Form a committee to address planning and development of the program for leadership and direction, but do not let one or two people do all the work. The program needs ownership by the entire staff in order to be successful. Encourage a whole school vision. We found the whole school focus on professional development extremely useful in getting everyone thinking that this is what we want to do for our school. Take small steps. Have the big picture as a vision, but realise that not all outcomes can be reached at once. Look at what you already do well and build on that foundation.

Lisa Boucher and Julie Fitzgerald Grade 5/6 Teacher and Welfare Coordinator; Grade 3/4 Teacher and SOSE/SRC Coordinator

CONTACT: Lisa Boucher Castlemaine Primary School Urquhart Street Castlemaine 3450 (03) 5472 1452


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Apollo Parkways Primary School

Implementing the Discovering Democracy Program Materials into our Integrated Curriculum Apollo Parkways is a large primary school of approximately 700 students in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. We first introduced our integrated curriculum in 1993. Since that time, we have worked hard to keep our topics, issues and understandings up to date and in line with the specific needs of our local community and recent Department of Education and Training initiatives. In 1995 we were named one of the ‘Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow’ schools and in 1996 we became a ‘Navigator School for Learning Technologies’. This meant that over a very short time we had many computers, many visitors, and many new ideas to try with our students while at the same time coming to terms with the new technological approaches that we now take so easily in our stride.

Our whole school professional development in ICT progressed at a rapid rate; so did our understandings about learning, current teaching practice and theory. Whole staff professional development days were facilitated by leaders in education from interstate and overseas in the fields of ‘brain theory’ and learning. As a staff we were learning at an amazing level and rate. It was a most exciting time for us all. The new learning empowered us to affirm our strong beliefs about integrating the curriculum so as to offer our students a whole, meaningful and related ‘big picture’ approach where inquiry and thinking skills were the foundations of learning. Over the past ten years our approach to integrating the curriculum has continued to be documented and updated annually in our hard copy book: Apollo Parkways Integrated Curriculum – Policy, Planning and Implementation Guidelines. Consequently, this planning document becomes more complex year by year as it incorporates the growing number of team contributions.

Setting Program Objectives I saw the Discovering Democracy School Grant Program as the perfect avenue for enabling us to extend the usefulness of this hard copy professional planning tool by building an Internet site (linked to our school site), which would be of great assistance to teachers on planning days. Our teachers would be able to use the site to share how Civics and Citizenship Education can be further integrated into an existing comprehensive curriculum. It was felt that a clear map, or matrix, of each Civics and Citizenship Education topic linking the DE&T and DEST curriculum initiatives to our program would be appreciated and well used by our staff when coming to terms with the new Discovering Democracy materials. A complementary objective was to encourage better use of the excellent resources provided to all schools in 2000 and 2001 through the Discovering Democracy program. The upperschool and middle-school units and readers, along with the Prep–Year 2 big book Australians All form an integral part of this approach. They had been in our school for some time, but were not being used well. Our third objective was to share the way in which we have incorporated the recent initiatives of the CSF, Curriculum@work, Turning the Tide Drug Education and the Discovering Democracy programs through understandings about Civics and Citizenship in our integrated planning and development. To this end, our Years P–6 matrices outline how Civics and Citizenship Education can be fully integrated into our approach using the Discovering Democracy units and readers, as well as clear links to other recent initiatives. Between December 2001 and February 2002, as an interested Integrated Curriculum convenor, I wrote our successful submission for the Discovering Democracy Grants to Schools Program and attended the initial briefing.

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Starting the Project In March, I began work on the home page during first term vacation. I wrote overviews of our approach and created a history map of our integrated curriculum developments over the past ten years. At this time I selected the topics that ‘linked’ the Discovering Democracy program with our whole school integrated curriculum key areas (‘key area’ being our term for ‘topics’, the term we have used since the days of the National Profile Statement trial prior to the development of the term ‘key learning area’.) Some of our school-based units of work from Prep to Year 6 were selected as the best vehicles for ‘integration’ and web page development. It is through these key areas that we aim to develop our students’ understandings of Civics and Citizenship. The topics chosen were ‘Social Harmony’ and to a lesser extent ‘Heritage’, which operate in even years in Strand A; and ‘Cultural Diversity’ or ‘Well Being’, which are undertaken during odd years, which we call Strand B. In late March and early April, our Discovering Democracy web pages were compiled. The home page would allow teachers to read a brief outline of our approach, then click on various links that took them through to the level-based matrices, student work samples using the materials, our two-year scope and sequence chart, and then back to the full school website. The ‘Reflections’ link took them to an area that showcases our students’ responses to topics following investigations using the Discovering Democracy readers. Visitors to the web site can also click on the ‘concept map’ (produced using Inspiration, a computer program with concept web features), which highlights the development over time of our integrated curriculum. By April, I had completed the first draft of the web site. I completed reviews of the four readers and Australians All and worked with the Integrated Curriculum Team to determine best fit.

Sharing Our Work I was invited to present our work on integrating the curriculum using the Discovering Democracy materials across KLAs (with particular reference to English) at the 2002 National Forum on Discovering Democracy in Canberra. In preparation for this event, I began the ‘Reflections’ page on the web site with my class, following a successful session using the middle-school reader for ANZAC Day ‘reflections’. This began the students’ work sample pages, a place where our children can showcase their written expression and reflections following readings and discussions using the resources. I submitted this work, along with other samples, to VASST for publication some time later in their regular journal Watering The Grass Roots. In May, I presented our first draft of the website, along with our integrated curriculum approach, at the National Museum, Canberra. This was responded to very favourably and then the real work began. As soon as I got home, I revised and added to the web site. Links and matrices were completed for ‘Social Harmony’, ‘Cultural Diversity’, ‘Heritage’ and ‘Wellbeing’. I worked with our school learning technologies support teacher on web page updates. During June I revaluated the work done so far, sharing it with my Integrated Curriculum Team. In taking a really close look at what I was doing, I found many mistakes and things that were not quite right!

Developing the Passion in Others The ‘passion’ inside about Discovering Democracy was beginning to spread! Our first version was now put on the web for all to share. As our school’s work in planting an indigenous nursery and establishing our greenhouse was in full swing, I took advantage of the Civics and Citizenship Education community links and added another page to the site based on Section A: Auditing and Whole School Practice and Work Policy

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Arbor Week when all children in the school planted indigenous seedlings. This program was extended recently when our ‘buddy’ Prep and Years 5 and 6 children worked together with the Buildings and Grounds Committee and the local Shire of Nillumbik to develop and plant out a commemorative garden in celebration of our school’s 25th Anniversary in 2004. The Mayor of Nillumbik worked with the children during the planting sessions and the Shire donated, through an Arbor Week Grant, the required plants for our extension of the indigenous gardens around our school. The second version of our web site, with direct links to the new Curriculum@work web site, was completed in July. I prepared for and presented our first full staff (45 teachers) professional development session around this project. I worked with the Year 4 teacher who was very involved with that team’s topic: ‘Greensborough’s Heritage’. He was able organise a community project linked with the local Council. We now have a joint project set up to save our local icon: an apple tree which features on our school logo, and which was planted nearby from seed from John Batman’s garden on the banks of the Yarra River in the days of early Melbourne. An arborist has been engaged by the Council to care for this tree, which still blossoms and bears fruit. This project has been reported in local newsletters and the Shire of Nillumbik’s publications sent to ratepayers.

Accessing Resources In August I worked with the library technician to catalogue all copies of the middle-school and upper-school Discovering Democracy readers, along with the big book copies of Australians All. We ordered eight more copies of this wonderful resource for all teams in Years P–2 and, after putting them on the library system, distributed them to teams. The readers were organised into labelled book boxes and placed, with the help of middle school representatives, in rooms ready for use during Term 3 (Year 3) and Term 4 (Year 4). Around the ‘Social Harmony’ topic, I worked individually with a representative from Year 3 and another from Year 4 to assist with implementation ideas and ways the units match the texts and our unit understandings. These two representatives, both first-year teachers, now have the skills to implement use of the resources by their teams. Members of our Integrated Curriculum Committee attended the Civics and Citizenship Education Extended Professional Development Program full day in September, and other staff were organised to attend the October sessions. We held a professional development session during our Years 5–6 planning day, explaining how our ‘Social Harmony’ topic for Term 4: ‘Decisions, Decisions’ could make best use of the units and readers. In October I checked with the Years 3–6 teachers about the effectiveness of the resources. As I am the Years 5–6 team representative, this involved seeing the Years 3 and 4 teachers for their input and suggestions, which will be added to the findings section. I also worked through an integrated unit on ‘Social Harmony – Decisions, Decisions!’ with the seven classes in our Years 5–6 area and integrated many of the texts from the Discovering Democracy readers and units in the upper-primary book.

Thinking About What We Did Initially I was not sure what to expect. I now understand that writing a submission for a grant is very different from actually following through with the project. Our ten-year integrated curriculum timeline (1993–2003) Figure 2 indicates the lengthy process involved in our implementation journey. I certainly did not expect the ‘passion’ I now feel for Civics and Citizenship Education to be as strong. However, as a ‘socially’ biased teacher, I am not surprised by this. Civics and Citizenship Education is, I believe, why we teach, and our mantra is ‘to equip the future generations for successful life in society’.

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As well as the focus on site development, I became passionate we have a school contact about the value and vital nature of Civics and Citizenship Education person who is keen to keep development. This happened during my visits to professional integrating the curriculum development activities like the National Forum for Discovering ...and to maintain staff Democracy, and then our teachers also began to feel my passion interest, enthusiasm and for the area. Since I am very interested in integrated curriculum, curriculum content through becoming so passionate about Civics and Citizenship Education program planning and was a natural progression that our teachers respect and support. regular updates This has ensured that we have a school contact person who is keen to keep integrating the curriculum in this way. We also have a key person to maintain staff interest, enthusiasm and curriculum content through program planning and regular updates about our web site and Discovering Democracy ideas shared with the whole teaching staff of Apollo Parkways in professional development sessions. On the 14 November 2004, our school is planning to celebrate its 25th year with an expo in the school so we can share our history with past students, parents and staff. We have an organising committee arranging this event. Our weekly school newsletter is publishing a ‘Where are they now?’ segment, which includes staff, student and parent photos taken years ago, together with current photos that have a small biography explaining what the students have done with their lives since leaving us at Apollo. Interest is building through this and the use of our CONTACT: school web site and others like www.schoolfriends.com This case study report will be another wonderful addition to Lea Gill the planned ‘historical’ documentation of this special time in our Apollo Parkways Primary School school’s life. Brentwick Drive Greensborough 3088 (03) 9433 1300

Lea Gill Integrated Curriculum Convenor

Figure 2: Whole school integrated curriculum timeline 1994–95

STAGE 1 1993: A group of interested teachers talk for much of the year planning our approach and thinking about our key areas and understandings. Whole staff curriculum days held. PD used extensive jigsaw technique.

1992–93 STAGE 6 Integrating Discovering Democracy through the development of P-6 matrices that link all current DE&T initiatives with our school-based units, Social Harmony and Cultural Diversity on a school website link that incorporates students’ reflective writing.

2002–03

STAGE 2 Eight Whole School Key Areas with issues statements and understandings implemented.

1996–97

STAGE 3 Introduction and evaluation contexts added to program documentation. CSF links added and revised Strand B. (Odd year units.)

The ten-year evolution of our APPS Whole School Integrated Curriculum

STAGE 5 Extensive additions and revisions to documentation to include our developing Learning model, evaluation and assessment ideas, team planning, teaching and learning contexts. CSFII and Curriculum@work Teacher Support Materials links.

1998–99

STAGE 4 Program outlines developed to include grade-specific topic headings and links to Turning the Tide Drug education programs in topics – Social Harmony and Well Being. Two year whole school scope and sequence added.

2000–01


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Arthurs Creek Cluster

Discovering Democracy in a Small School Environment The five small primary schools of Arthurs Creek, Doreen, Middle Kinglake, Strathewen and Yan Yean are in isolated locations around the Kinglake Ranges. Enrolments range from 9 to 60 students, and all five schools are proud of being outstanding educational institutions with committed staff having an absolute goal of providing the best curriculum for each of their students.

For the past decade, all schools in the cluster have pooled their resources and expertise to ensure that they have stayed at the cutting edge of teaching thought and practice. However, access to professional development is a constant challenge because of the limited number of staff in each school, restricted finances, and the distances to be travelled to attend regional professional development sessions. In 2002 the Civics and Citizenship Education grant enabled the schools to arrange professional development at central locations and pay for replacement teachers. The schools met on a regular basis, shared responsibilities, wrote a cluster policy, compiled curriculum materials and ensured that all staff members from every school received professional development in the implementation of the Discovering Democracy tools.

Setting Up a Team A project team was set up to include one teacher from each school. Two of the project team attended the initial Civics and Citizenship Education grant briefing day, a further two attended the Discovering Democracy conference, and the remaining team member undertook the extended Discovering Democracy professional development. While this was occurring, each school audited its current practices and programs in Civics and Citizenship Education under the following headings: • classroom teaching and learning; • school organisation, ethos and environment; • partnerships and community links; and a cluster Civics and Citizenship Education policy was written (see box, next page).

Auditing The audits established that all five schools were already doing an outstanding job in the implementation of Civics and Citizenship Education objectives in their daily curricula. The ethos of the small schools is consistent with the aims and goals of the Civics and Citizenship Education program.The first focus of the project was, therefore, to acknowledge and celebrate this. The positive findings from the individual audits gave the schools an increased appreciation of their own performance in the The first focus was to area of Civics and Citizenship Education and an understanding acknowledge and celebrate that this permeates all aspects of the Discovering Democracy program. The second focus was to acknowledge that teachers in small schools have very limited time for curriculum planning and resource preparation in all key learning areas. An objective was, therefore, established to combine expertise to unpack the Discovery Democracy materials and represent them in a way in which they could be easily used as excellent curriculum materials in school programs within the multi-age environment of a small school. A key component of our approach was the devising of lower school units so curriculum provision could carry right across Years P–6.

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Assigning Tasks

... each school would have a comprehensive kit of Civics and Citizenship Education materials ...

One area of the Discovery Democracy materials was allocated to each school, or team of schools, in the areas of: ‘Who Rules’, ‘Laws and Rights’, ‘The Australian Nation’ and ‘Citizens and Public Life’. The task assigned each team was to devise lower school units of work, and to elaborate upon the middle- and upper-school units. All of this was to go into a Discovering Democracy kit, one copy of which would be located in each school. The schools sourced all relevant resources so that each school would have a comprehensive kit of Civics and Citizenship Education materials with which to easily implement curriculum programs.

Cluster Professional Development A shared professional development evening was held, which was attended by our ‘critical friend’. All staff presented the units of work they had compiled, demonstrating how they fitted into the Civics and Citizenship Education program, and displayed the resources they had prepared. Teachers were genuinely excited by the Civics and Citizenship Education materials when presented in a format suited to a small school, and became committed to making this a part of their ongoing curriculum. Throughout this process, they kept their school councils and communities informed of project progress through meetings and newsletters.

Reflecting on the Journey Looking back over the year, the Civics and Citizenship Education grant enabled five small schools to gain access to this extremely valuable program, which would not otherwise have been possible within the constraints of our small-school boundaries. We are grateful for this opportunity and have made a joint commitment to ensuring implementation of this program in our schools. The schools also made a joint commitment to even greater cooperation in providing learning experiences for their students, particularly in terms of excursions and group activities. We have also made a commitment to include Discovering Democracy in all future cluster meetings to ensure its ongoing role in our curriculum planning. Carol Cardile Principal Arthurs Creek Primary School


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Arthurs Creek Cluster CIVICS AND CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION POLICY Rationale We believe that, in order to be effective and knowledgeable members of society, students should have access to Civics and Citizenship Education (CCE). With the knowledge, skills, values obtained from CCE, students are able to: • have an understanding of the democratic process • be accepting of the rights of others to have opinions differing from their own • develop critical skills in relation to local and world events • feel empowered to participate in the democratic process • feel empowered to have input in issues • function cooperatively and demonstrate conflict resolution skills. To facilitate the acquiring of the above skills, the schools will provide a sequential, school-wide program. Each school has a high level of community involvement that will be used to model civics and citizenship processes and principles. It is the intention of this cluster that students are not simply learning civics and citizenship, but are immersed in this by the democratic nature of our schools. Implementation Civics and Citizenship environment: • All members of the school community (students, staff and parents) have access to accurate, pertinent information so that they can make informed decisions. Input is valued and consensus is aimed for. • A mechanism where participation is made possible and valued is encouraged. • A supportive, welcoming environment for access and involvement in curriculum and school programs is provided. • Links with the wider community are encouraged. Discovering Democracy: • Implement a major Years P–6 program based on the four units of the Discovering Democracy program. • These programs will be supported by constant immersion in current and topical issues, where applicable. • Through curriculum planning, schools will ensure that equal access is given to all units of Discovering Democracy over a period of time. • Within the limits of the schools’ budgets, schools will provide resources to support the program. Evaluation • Analysis of parent/staff opinion survey data. • Audit of cluster program • Student participation in whole school/community activities

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CONTACT: Carol Cardile Arthurs Creek Primary School 900 Arthurs Creek Road Arthurs Creek 3099 (03) 9714 8204

Beechworth Primary School

Whole School Unit Matrix Planning The first steps on Beechworth Primary School’s Discovering Democracy journey were taken at the March Professional Development session in Melbourne. At this point I had assembled a core team of Years 5–6 teachers, because I knew that in 2002 they had tried using a Bloom and Gardiner’s Multiple Intelligences matrix for planning our topics to increase the engagement and active participation of all students. I had prepared a grant proposal around planning SOSE units of work using the matrix and auditing our units to incorporate Civics and Citizenship Education. I attended the professional development session with the leader of the Years 5–6 unit. I was then teaching a Years 3–4 class and hoped that I could be the driving force in the Years 3–4 unit in integrating this form of planning. I knew the Years 5–6 teacher was also keen to see it develop in her area of the school. I felt it was important to make this change within the school in order to engage children with different learning styles and because I felt it was important to teach Civics and Citizenship values and understandings. But I did not have clear reasons as to why my school needed to teach Civics and Citizenship explicitly. Nor did I know how to go about getting the whole school on board. The Discovering Democracy professional development session clarified this for me, especially the introduction to ideas about auditing our school’s current practice and ethos using the Whole School Approach Venn Diagram.

Beechworth is an historic gold mining town in which tourism is the major industry. It has a unique culture of environmental and historical preservation and a vibrant arts community. Beechworth Primary School was built in 1875 and consists of a central heritage building and some relocatable rooms. Our students are drawn from the town and its surrounding rural community. We currently have an enrolment of around 200 students. Our Vision Statement says: ‘At Beechworth Primary School we aspire to promote and provide a happy, friendly, challenging and flexible learning community in which all members are valued. We also aim to achieve excellence in our academic, physical, social, emotional and community life.’

Outcomes of an Audit When my colleague and I completed the diagram, it was clear that the school had included Civics and Citizenship Education in its ethos, environment, and policies (formalised in its vision statement and charter documents) and was supporting this with many community links and partnerships. For example, the school provides opportunities for student leadership and roles of responsibility, such as participation in the SRC, school and sport captains, Learnscapes, Web Page project, office monitors and Media Group. The school also believes that it is a community resource and that the education of children is a joint effort involving parents, teachers, children and the wider community. With this in mind, we have students interacting with their community through volunteer work with Meals on Wheels, choir groups visiting the elderly, the Waterwatch program, Street to Stream, preparing work for Special Forever, Learnscapes, etc. A major current focus of the school is developing a ‘thinking curriculum’ where students have more say in what they learn and Our classrooms did not can evaluate their own progress. Our school recognises that boys have explicit, formalised and girls learn differently and we value students’ individuality. plans for teaching Civics Welfare programs are targeted to individuals and groups in need. and Citizenship We strive to engage all students in learning, and set challenging and achievable tasks.


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However, this fell down when we looked at our classroom teaching programs. Our classrooms did not have explicit, formalised plans for teaching Civics and Citizenship. We also began to weigh up how we were going to get whole school support for the project. We became aware of the resources we should have and the concept that Civics and Citizenship could be incorporated into almost any topic. In recent years we have had a high staff turnover. This has led to many positive changes, but has also meant that resources have been misplaced and that most people in the school are unaware of what resources are available. Because teachers are new, they are planning from scratch for each topic they teach, rather than using plans devised in previous years. This leads to inconsistency in priorities and what is taught from year to year, wasting teacher time. Another barrier to the incorporation of Civics and Citizenship Education was the overloaded curriculum and the possible reluctance of staff to take on ‘something extra’.

Creating an Action Plan We created an action plan. The first step was to convince a colleague from the P–2 unit to join the core team so that we had a driving force promoting the project in each area of the school. We decided it would be best if that person was also the Science Coordinator, as combining the SOSE and Science unit topics would reduce the problem of the crowded curriculum (helping us sell the idea to staff) and the concepts of Civics and Citizenship melded well with these areas. After a brief ‘sales pitch’ on the value of Civics and Citizenship Education and demonstrating that our school was already performing so well in many areas of the Venn diagram, the Science coordinator was on board. Together with me in my role as SOSE coordinator, we quickly restructured the whole school SOSE/Science topics in terms of their relevance, the CSF, and their ability to link with Civics and Citizenship.

Reporting to Staff I then reported back to staff on the professional development using the same sales pitch about how our school was already doing so much in this area, but our class program planning was lacking. However, this time I could also show them the streamlined topic ideas and the extra planning time the project would provide. Some members of staff were concerned because they could not see the link between their topic (for example ‘China’) and Civics and Citizenship. I spent time explaining that almost every topic related to being a citizen and, in the case of the ‘China’ example, it would relate to multiculturalism and immigration. To help convince staff of the value of the goals of the project, I also referred to the annual ‘reinvention of the wheel’ that each teacher was caught up in, and showed how this project would ease that problem. I then called on my Years 5–6 colleagues to show their planning from 2002 and explained that this project would give them the chance to put all their ‘thinking curriculum’ professional development into action. Most staff seemed to respond positively, especially after being told they would be given time at the end of the term to plan for the following term.

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I had tried to locate the Discovering Democracy resources before this meeting and was able to share some and ask about the whereabouts of others. When these could not be located, I ordered any missing ones. Copies of the new unit topics were then given to each unit for discussion to ensure teachers were happy with these. I met with the Science coordinator before the planning days to ensure she understood the Multiple Intelligences matrix and goals of the project, and to give her some handouts that would be useful to her team on their planning day.

School Planning Time A half-day was given to each area of the school for planning their Term 2 topics.Verbal reports from each team suggested that the sessions went very well, although the work was slow as they were adjusting to a new planning format. I met with the core team members to discuss how they felt it went, and all reports were positive. I made sure they all understood that an electronic copy of their matrix needed to be handed in at the end of the term to give them a chance to make changes. This electronic copy would then be saved on the Intranet. A curriculum day based on planning a whole school environmental approach was held in July. I was pleased to hear on this day that when it came to auditing class programs, each unit was saying that the environmental approach would fit into their planned topics and clearly linked to citizenship. This demonstrated that they were broadening their understanding of the meaning of ‘citizenship’. The second Discovering Democracy professional development session was held in August. I attended and this time took the Science Time is the most coordinator along so as to further develop her understanding valuable thing you can of the purpose of the project. Later we also attended a regional offer a teacher professional development session together, further consolidating this understanding. The planning process was repeated for terms 3 and 4. Most recent reports suggest planning has become faster now members of staff are more familiar with the process.

Reflections and Directions Some of the things I have learned by going through this process: • Time is the most valuable thing you can offer a teacher. Many teachers expressed their gratitude for the time they were given to plan, rather then seeing this as additional work. • People need to know the reasoning and vision behind the task People need to know to value it and give it high priority. the reasoning and vision • I was pleasantly surprised by the way staff took on board the behind the task to value concept that the values of Civics and Citizenship are embedded it and give it high priority in all topics. They now seem to look for ways to draw out these values in their teaching. This trend will hopefully continue and have an effect on planning for our even-year topics. • The reluctance of staff to take the priorities of the process on board was considered an issue at the beginning, because teachers were disinclined to add more to an already crowded curriculum. This was overcome by showing that the process could reduce this problem and eventually ease the workload, as well as offering time (something teachers are always too short of).


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Our school now has its odd-year topics planned on the matrix, and has named the evenyear topics. We have staff familiar with the planning format and the priority of highlighting Civics and Citizenship in each topic. The next step is to plan our even-year topics in the same manner, and to organise the resources. Funds will need to be allocated out of the SOSE and Science budgets for this, as well as from the Administration account. Although most unit teams are working faster with the planning now, I still feel they need to be given extra time for this initial planning of each topic. Next year’s new staff members will be planning with teams familiar with the process, so I do not anticipate a problem in that area. Any new staff member will need to be informed of the plans and resources on the Intranet sites. Vicky Drage SOSE Coordinator

CONTACT: Wendy Renshaw Beechworth Primary School Junction Road Beechworth 3747 (03) 5728 1066

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Chilwell Primary School

Civics and Citizenship Education in the Early Years When considering an application for the Civics and Citizenship Chilwell Primary School is situated Education grant, research was done within the school from in a high socio-economic area of Years P–6 to identify areas where we needed further resources Geelong. In 2003, there were 340 and professional development. This research was approached children enrolled. as a team, with representatives from each area, and the decision was made that Civics and Citizenship Education was going to be a priority in 2003. We were successful in our application and then were able to present our action plan, goals and priorities for 2003 to all staff and the leadership team. We met with the Principal to gain his support and to keep him in touch with what the team was planning around the use of the grant money. We were able to get his guidance on the amount of work staff were involved with in 2003. We were also able to use the school’s yearly planner to make sure that all of our goals and priorities would be accepted by staff, and that the plans entailed a manageable workload for all.

Identification of Need The discussion centred on the amount of Civics and Citizenship Education that was already taking place in Years 3–6, but the concern was the absence of this program in Years P–2. It was then decided that this would be the focus of our implementation, and that the grant funding would be used to resource and develop the Years P–2 area, with updates available for the Years 3–6 area. We proceeded to gather information across the school from planning documents, term planners, and themes covered, in We met with the Principal order to audit the integrated curriculum and pinpoint areas to gain his support where we were very strong or lacking. The teachers were all very supportive and willing to be a part of this priority as a school approach. We found that there were elements of Civics and Citizenship already being taught across the school, however they were not recognised as being part of this program. The emphasis that was placed on Civics and Citizenship in Years 3–6 was much greater than that in Years P–2, and we noticed this occurred in all professional development sessions we attended and through the materials that were available. However we were convinced that children are able to learn and understand aspects of Civics and Citizenship through a variety of teaching approaches right across Years P to 6.

Identification of Resources We found a Civics and Citizenship Education software program – Cockatoo Island – that we thought would be very appropriate for the children inYears 1–2. Each of the teachers at this level implemented this in their classrooms and found it to be very effective in teaching these ideas to children in the early years. We also explored our current resources and noted teachers who had already been a part of professional development in this area. We were then able to work closely with them to


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extend our knowledge of the implementation that was already happening. From this we aimed to increase the physical and human resources available in the Years P–2 area.

Using Teachers’ Expertise At the same time, we responded to the needs ofYears 3–6 teachers by gathering their planning documents and looking at their teaching approaches and their themes in the area of Civics and Citizenship Education. We also decided to use these teachers’ expertise to increase our own knowledge of the area. We asked them to provide us with background information, details of their most successful teaching strategies, their assessment of the appropriateness of some of the materials for children in the early years, and their knowledge of the resources already available. Along the way, we took part in a regional extended professional development day, discussing the core units of Civics and Citizenship Education.We also conducted professional development for the whole school, outlining concepts of Civics and Citizenship Education, gaining staff views and understandings, and providing information about the implementation of the Discovering Democracy resources and the use of ICT. We were able to show staff examples from these resources and encouraged them to take advantage of these in their teaching of Civics and Citizenship.

Where Are We Now? Part of our expectation was that we would easily come across resources to implement and support a Civics and Citizenship Education program in the early years. This is not the case: there are only limited resources for Civics and Citizenship Education in the Years P–2 area; however, much can be achieved through themes, such as ‘Our Neighbourhood’, ‘Community Helpers’ and ‘Me and My Family’, where there is a focus on being a part of a community and the roles and responsibilities we have as citizens. With this grant we have been able to implement Civics and Citizenship Education across the school.We have also been able to identify expertise within the school and recognise the amount of much can be achieved emphasis already placed on Civics and Citizenship Education. through themes where there The Years P–2 team members have embraced the project and is a focus on being a part of been eager to see it implemented in the area so that they can better a community and the roles prepare and equip students with Civics and Citizenship knowledge and responsibilities we have and experiences to underpin later learning in the Years 3–6 area. as citizens It is also pleasing to see the Years 3–6 team support the Years P–2 program by providing professional development and associated resources and encouragement. To sustain the implementation of Civics and Citizenship Education, we have included topics from Years P–6 in our integrated curriculum. These address specific learning criteria outlined in the CSF. This will be a priority in our school with the use of the Discovering Democracy kit, ICT, continual professional development and the introduction of the Cockatoo Island software package. CONTACT: Teachers have committed themselves to maintaining Civics Mylea Adams and Heidi Brown and Citizenship Education by adding a specific program budget Chilwell Primary School in the SOSE area for Civics and Citizenship resources, materials 313a Pakington Street and professional development. Mylea Adams and Heidi Brown Classroom teachers SOSE and LOTE Budget Leaders

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Newtown 3220 (03) 5221 2738

Rosanna Primary School

Introducing Civics and Citizenship Across the School This year Rosanna Primary School has been developing a ‘Mission Statement’ for our school. This has meant examining educational priorities, and our mission statement now strongly incorporates the rights and responsibilities of citizenship: At Rosanna Primary School our purpose is to: •

develop each child to their potential as a literate, numerate and socially competent citizen who acknowledges both their rights and responsibilities and those of others;

•

design and deliver a dynamic and flexible curriculum within a nurturing environment that meets the needs of each child, as they become an active participant in life-long learning.

Rosanna Primary School is in Melbourne’s north-east and has an enrolment of over 250 students, a situation that is likely to remain stable for the next few years. We have a school community that is positive and caring, thus providing a stimulating and supportive environment for children. We also encourage and value parental involvement. The staff forms a strong team, providing highquality education by implementing strategies that cater for different styles of learning. This underpins our teaching and learning philosophy. We strive to ensure that our policies and programs are relevant to the needs of our students and consistent with government policies and recent educational research.

Activities in our school and our general education support the development of the children as good citizens. For example, the whole school focus on ‘Healthy Relationships’ links being a good citizen with values that are important in our school and in Australian society. The development of school and classroom rules reinforces the notion of the rights and responsibilities of all people in our school community (children, teachers and parents). The Junior School Council meets regularly and makes suggestions and decisions about matters of real importance to the students. All children are involved in monitorial and leadership positions, both across the school and within classes. The children and the community already combine on several community service projects: tree planting (both within the school grounds and in the local parklands) and environmental protection. We have also investigated opportunities for involvement in activities at local senior citizens’ homes. Previously, an annual school camp to Canberra had helped cover the area of Civics and Citizenship Education in theYears 5 and 6 area of the school, but this ceased due to increased cost. Learning about government and Australia then needed to be addressed in a different way. The units of work were still covered, but it was time for a new and enthusiastic approach to cater for the increasing awareness that children needed to develop about democracy and their role as citizens. Using the Discovering Democracy material in the Years 5–6 area highlighted the need for this area of study to be extended throughout the school. There has also been increasing awareness of the need for Civics and Citizenship Education to receive recognition as increasing awareness of the an area of education in its own right, whereas formerly it had need for Civics and Citizenship been included as part of the Integrated Studies program. The Education to receive decision had already been taken to allocate a curriculum day to recognition as an area of the development of Civics and Citizenship Education and to education in its own right give priority to its ongoing implementation.

Receiving the Grant Our grant was obtained to increase the curriculum knowledge of the staff through ongoing professional development, thereby facilitating the development of Civics and Citizenship units suitable for all year levels. This approach was chosen as we felt that Civics and Citizenship


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Education would be best defined in the curriculum by the development of specific units. Making Civics and Citizenship Education an integral part of the formal curriculum was seen as the best way of embedding it in our school and ensuring it continues in future years.

Setting Up a Team A Civics and Citizenship Education leader and team were identified. We: • attended professional development days for Civics and Citizenship Education program leaders; • investigated the school resources available for Civics and Citizenship Education and, in consultation with the librarian, purchased further resources; • audited our integrated curriculum programs and identified Civics and Citizenship Education components; • consulted with the librarian about the storage of Civics and Citizenship Education resources and increasing their availability and maximum usage; • conducted a curriculum day to educate staff about Civics and Citizenship Education, at which we all planned and wrote Civics and Citizenship units to create a sequential teaching program from Prep to Year 6 to cover the four areas of Civics and Citizenship Education; • trialled one unit in the Years 5–6 area; • created a two-year scope and sequence plan to formalise Civics and Citizenship Education in our curriculum.

created a two-year scope and sequence plan

We Discovered…

We found that a lot of teaching in the area of Civics and Citizenship already occurred, some as part of planned units in Integrated Studies and some informally where appropriate. There was a good understanding among members of staff of the meaning of Civics and Citizenship Education and the value of including it in the curriculum. There was also a willingness to make changes and be involved in the necessary planning and implementation. This year we have begun a two-year plan that will see implementation of Civics and Citizenship Education and the development of resources that are teacher friendly. All staff needed to be involved to enable Civics and Citizenship Education to be successfully introduced. A focus was placed on approaching this in such a way as to enable all teachers to feel confident about planning units with a Civics and Citizenship Education focus for implementation in 2004.The involvement of all the school from Prep to Year 6 was seen as vital in developing a sequential program in the areas of Civics and Citizenship. We have tried hard to deliver all information in a way that is clear and accurate, with elements that encourage easy recall. All staff needed to understand the concepts involved and be able to identify the different aspects of Civics and of Citizenship. It has been a challenge to keep the momentum going where there are so many other demands on teacher time. With only a small staff to call on, it was already difficult to find enough people and time to cover the various charter, staff, literacy, numeracy and area meetings. It will be important to continue to find time to meet in 2004 and 2005 to maintain our current momentum in Civics and Citizenship Education.

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Directions and Challenges We view this year as the beginning and planning stage for the implementation of Civics and Citizenship Education as an ongoing part of our curriculum. For us it has been a year to investigate, plan and get ready for implementation. The real challenge will be in the implementation over the next proposed that Civics and two years of new integrated studies units, the writing of further Citizenship Education become units and the updating of units already in existence. Evaluation of a priority area in our charter these units will be invaluable as a source of information guiding the development of additional units to cover all areas of Civics and Citizenship Education. Evaluation will also provide valuable information as to whether the sequence planned and the depth of information given or investigated in these units is appropriate to the age group and understanding of the children. Further work in this area will also reveal ways in which the children can be involved in the wider community, and the children themselves will be asked for suggestions. We have proposed that Civics and Citizenship Education become a priority area in our 2004–2006 charter as we feel that this would track and evaluate Civics and Citizenship Education implementation. The real benefits will be in the increasing knowledge of the children and in seeing their growth and development. We aim to have children who have a real sense of themselves and their place in their own country, and who are proud to call themselves Australian. Lynette Sudborough CCE and SOSE Curriculum Coordinator Carol Ross and Shelley Cleary Curriculum Coordinators

CONTACT: Lynette Sudborough, Carol Ross and Shelley Cleary Rosanna Primary School Bellevue Avenue Rosanna 3084 (03) 9457 2592

We aim to have children who have a real sense of themselves and their place in their own country, and who are proud to call themselves Australian.


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Western English Language School

Australia, Society and Rules Western English Language School (WELS) was established in 2000 through an amalgamation of four Primary and Secondary English Language Centres. WELS provides intensive English language programs for newly arrived students of primary and secondary age in the Western Region of Melbourne. Students attend for six months before moving on to mainstream schooling. The main primary–secondary campus is located in Braybrook and serves as the administrative base, while an additional primary campus is located with Footscray City Primary School. In addition to the campus programs, ‘outpost programs’ operate four days a week in a number of primary schools throughout the region. Further, but more limited, support is offered through the ‘Visiting Outpost’ program, which provides visiting English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers on a needs basis in 20 to 30 identified primary schools. The current school population is 295 with additional students participating in the Western Region serviced by the Outpost and Visiting Outpost programs.

The WELS curriculum is based on the ‘communicative approach’ to teaching ESL students and flexibly adapts the content of the KLAs in ways that are appropriate for the students. Assessment and reporting of ESL students relates to the ESL Companion to the English CSF, which describes learning outcomes appropriate for the students. The organisation of classes is based on a multi-age structure, which encourages and enhances individual achievement and social development. As a newly formed school, WELS’ whole school focus was initially on establishing procedures and policies. We are now reviewing our curriculum and developing new units of work specific to the needs of new arrivals. The Discovering Democracy Grant Project provided the opportunity to undertake a whole school approach to curriculum development in Civics and Citizenship Education.

Priorities Our priority at the start of the project was to introduce all staff to Civics and Citizenship Education and the Discovering Democracy materials and the place of these in a new arrivals curriculum. Within Years P–2, Years 3–6 and secondary, we aimed to develop units of work covering ‘Australia, Society and Rules’. These units would be taught across the school from P to Year 10. Our aim was to develop units of work focusing on ‘rights and responsibilities’ and have these available on our intranet. These would build upon units already studied, such as ‘Family and Neighbourhood’, ‘Communities’, ‘Self and Relationships’ and ‘Australia’s People and Places’.We would incorporate Early Years and Middle Years approaches and strategies in the units. We planned to start with the materials available and adapt them to meet the needs of new arrival students.

Challenges Our students have a wide range of abilities and needs. Their backgrounds range from those with no previous schooling, to those with interrupted schooling, and those with schooled equivalence. Our program is funded for students to receive six months of intensive English regardless of previous educational background or individual needs. As our students are newly arrived in Australia, they are introduced to a new education system and society. As they enter and exit the language school throughout the year, we have a constant change of students and class groupings. We can Our priority ... was to apply for extensions of stay for individual cases. This presents introduce all staff to Civics a challenge for our curriculum as we have the students for and Citizenship Education and only two terms. We must plan and develop units that can be the Discovering Democracy easily adapted. We take a flexible approach to the delivery of materials and the place of these these units because of the short length of stay of our students in a new arrivals curriculum. and their diverse needs.

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Establishing a Team In 2002 two teachers attended the Discovering Democracy Extended Professional Development Program. They were introduced to the Civics and Citizenship Education program and the Discovering Democracy materials. In 2003 a project team was established and an action plan developed.We identified existing WELS resources and explored new resources appropriate to new arrival students. One team member attended a ‘Stop Think Do’ professional development session, and another visited Collingwood English Language School to look at what they have done in the area of Discovering Democracy and Civics and As we review curriculum, Citizenship Education for new arrivals. We also shared useful we need to be specific as to resources. (We now intend to share our completed units with what the needs of a newly Collingwood English Language School.) arrived student are. Civics As we review curriculum, we need to be specific as to what and Citizenship Education is the needs of a newly arrived student are. Civics and Citizenship being seen as a priority as Education is being seen as a priority as students are introduced students are introduced to to Australia and our society. Australia and our society.

Staff Development We presented a professional development session to the primary staff and then to the secondary staff. The area was totally new to the staff and was well received. Staff could see the relevance to our program and were impressed by the resources available, seeing the need to make them accessible to our students. We invited staff to work in teams to develop units of work with a more narrow focus on ‘Rules’. The grant enabled teacher release days for this to happen. Four units were developed: ‘Rules’ for Years P–2, ‘Rules and Laws: Why do we need rules?’ and ‘Rules and Laws: Road Safety’ for Years 3–6, and a secondary unit on ‘Discovering Democracy: Rules’. The units of work promote understandings of the similarities that exist within and across cultures. Resources were purchased to complement the units. The It is clear that such a whole units are housed in three separate Discovering Democracy tubs school approach delivers with the intention of building upon them in the future. Some effective change units were trialled, feedback received, and were then ready to be used in Term 1, 2004. We presented the completed units to the whole staff to show how the area is taught from Years P–10, using a whole school approach. We intend to further evaluate the units in 2004 and use the model to develop more units.


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As a new P–10 school, we have the opportunity for primary and secondary methodology to be shared.

Whole School Approach

It is clear that such a whole school approach delivers effective change. Teachers are more confident in handling Civics and Citizenship Education with new arrivals. Our new charter priorities are now student wellbeing and Civics and Citizenship Education. The units we have prepared are a great starting point for future curriculum development. A focus will be on developing our student code of conduct. The Discovering Democracy grant enabled valuable curriculum development in our school. As a new P–10 school, we have the opportunity for primary and secondary methodology to be shared. The project was the first time that WELS primary and secondary teachers worked on developing units of work for a joint curriculum project. This has been highly successful.

Louise Holley PD/Curriculum Coordinator P–10

CONTACT: Nevis Mallon Western English Language School 46 South Road Braybrook 3019 (03) 9311 9325

Section B Classroom Teaching and Learning and Curriculum Development

The seven school reports in section B have a more specific focus than those in section A.Their goals are less broad, but this is not to say these core teams’ achievements are any the less for that, only that their situations are different. It is valuable for readers of these case studies to see how, if a whole school approach cannot be reasonably adopted, then focused implementation, albeit partial, can be beneficial to a school’s program and to students’ learning. The goals of these schools generally centred on the delivery of improved or increased Civics and Citizenship curriculum units. They wanted to get these units into the formal teaching and learning program of the schools. All of the schools did some of the following: • audited existing programs for Civics and Citizenship Education content; • audited existing resources; • created new units of work based on Civics and Citizenship Education, using topics and themes that linked to other curricula in the school; • created new units of work based on Civics and Citizenship Education and included connections to Civics and Citizenship Education resources; • worked collegially, in small teams; • provided professional development in Civics and Citizenship Education for some staff; • developed strategies for greater student involvement in school governance (some also provided opportunities for outside-school decision making and activities, but those who focused on this goal are in section C). Some of the section B narratives report that greater coherence and consistency in the delivery of an explicit Civics curriculum has been achieved as a result of programs implemented as part of the grants. By virtue of the new units written in the programs, learning outcomes in Civics and Citizenship Education should be greater than prior to the grant. Teachers’ commitment to the units they helped create helps ensure a continuance of their delivery. But due to the containment of the Civics and Citizenship Education goals in these schools, student learning outcomes will probably be less comprehensive, than in the schools in section A. In some of the schools, student engagement in decision-making has increased. Strategies for increasing the participation of more students in school governance are seen as adjuncts to curriculum work in classrooms, and as a case of ‘practising what you preach’. More schools adopting these approaches appear in section C.

Section B: Classroom Teaching and Learning and Curriculum Development

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There are hints in the narratives of relatively high levels of student engagement in classrooms in these schools. This may mean that an interactive-classroom pedagogy is commonly used in those schools. If this is so, then it is worthy of acknowledgment as an important part of the explanation of the successes experienced. Perhaps the lack of explicit reference to pedagogy reflects the way teachers often assume pedagogy is a ‘given’. They do not want to analyse pedagogy in case they trespass into another professional’s territory. There can be an intuitive resistance amongst teachers to being open about the way they teach. This reluctance is a serious problem when seeking agreed and effective innovation. For when pedagogy is not unpacked by a staff in professional development, implementation by different teachers must vary, which inevitably leads to program confusion. Appropriate pedagogies are crucial to effective innovation and program implementation, such as are being described in these narratives. Schools with cultures where pedagogy is regarded as a suitable topic of professional conversation are much more likely to have energised and effective program reform and innovation. The writers of these reports make it clear that their schools intend to continue and extend their implementation of Civics Schools with cultures where and Citizenship Education and they indicate they have plans pedagogy is regarded as a for future changes, building on the steps they narrate in the suitable topic of professional reports. They are well-pleased with what they have achieved, conversation are much more and rightly so. Not surprisingly, some of them comment on the likely to have energised and large scale of what they are trying to manage. Some of them effective program reform and have been under-resourced in trying to achieve the goals their innovation schools espoused and the tasks they initially set themselves. Because support from the school leadership for extensive Civics and Citizenship Education is not as encompassing as is described in the narratives in section A, Civics and Citizenship Education has not become as embedded in these section B schools. Thus one cannot be as sanguine about the sustainability of the programs. The programs reported in section B have placed considerable demands on the time and commitment of individual teachers, and without the continued funding for this time, and with a continued reliance on those committed staff, the programs are not as secure as they could be.

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Christ the King Primary School, Braybrook

Teaching Towards an Ideal World Our desire for a community characterised by unity, empathy and understanding of all peoples and cultures underpins all programs Christ the King is a Catholic and practices at Christ the King. Christ the King is a highly primary school of 275 students multicultural school community. The world is full of tension and is situated in the western suburbs of Melbourne. The majority amongst races and religions and this makes it imperative that we of our students are from develop in our students the knowledge, skills and understandings non-English speaking backgrounds, that will inspire them to make a commitment to working ‘towards although most were born in a more beautiful world’. Australia. Many families fall into To do this, students need knowledge and appreciation of the a low socio-economic group with interconnectedness of our world and of the diversity of people 52 per cent receiving Educational in it. As educators, we need to foster the idea that even though Maintenance Allowance. people come from different cultures and places, we all share the planet, have similar needs and desires for a peaceful future and are bound together as citizens within Australian society and the global society of which we are a part. We need to promote and develop personal character traits, attitudes and values that will promote a more peaceful and harmonious world. These include: a sense of personal identity, self-esteem, empathy, a sense of equity and justice, respect for people and things, a sense of responsibility and skills in cooperation, communication and conflict management.

Our Background in CCE Prior to 2003, Civics and Citizenship Education at Christ the King Primary School had not been a curriculum priority. However elements of Civics and Citizenship Education had been and are addressed throughout the school. As a Catholic school, we focus on promoting attitudes and values associated with Civics and Citizenship particularly through our religious education program and our health curriculum. In 2002 we recognised we needed to do more in this area and so applied for grants to assist us. We identified that, as well as needing to incorporate Civics and Citizenship Education into our curriculum in a more overt way, teachers also needed professional development in this curriculum area. In 2003, as well as receiving a Discovering Democracy grant for Civics and Citizenship Education, we received a grant from the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria to investigate Civics and Citizenship Education through multiple perspectives in the curriculum. We elected to explore we wanted to foster in our civics and citizenship through the perspectives of: community a sense of being • the Studies of Asia; Australian • cultural and linguistic diversity; • health and well being; • a global perspective. Through these perspectives, we wanted to foster in students the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to become active and responsible citizens of Australia and the global society that is our world. For some of our multicultural community, a sense of identity as an ‘Australian’ was missing, as many saw themselves as being primarily Vietnamese, Chinese, etc. and, therefore, as having little responsibility as citizens of Australia. Through undertaking this approach to Civics and Citizenship Education, we wanted to foster in our community a sense of being Australian with all the benefits, rights and responsibilities that go with democratic citizenship.


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While our multicultural community has its challenges, it also brings great rewards and opportunities for fostering acceptance and appreciation of diversity and difference, knowledge and understanding of contributions that have been and can be made by all regardless of race and religion. It also enables us to focus on the similarities we share as human beings who inhabit the same world and have the same needs and wants.

Towards a Beautiful World ‘Towards a Beautiful World’ involved students at Christ the King Primary School in exploring the notion that although there are many different cultural and linguistic groups of people in our world and within our local community, as people we are linked through the similarities, needs and desires that we share. Our basic needs, rights and responsibilities and our hopes for a peaceful and productive future are what bind us as global citizens. The project began and was supported throughout its development by a substantial professional development program that involved exploring Civics and Citizenship Education and its relevance locally, nationally and globally. A strong focus for units of work for students was on ‘identity’: the identity of our school, our local community and Australia’s identity as a democratic nation. Students explored the meaning of identity and examined the many ways identity can be transmitted to others. We examined the personal character traits, attitudes, values and skills that we all need to develop in our quest for a more beautiful school, local community, Australia and world. Through this study, we developed an understanding of our interconnected world, and the responsibilities, both communal and individual, that we have to our immediate community and global society. The inclusion of a range of curriculum perspectives (Global, Environmental, Asian, Cultural and Linguistic Diversity, and Health and Well Being) into units of work strengthened the students’ involvement in their learning by intensifying the relationship between classroom learning and the real world, and their participation in it.

The Mosaic The concepts explored and the attitudes developed by the project have been drawn together in a representation in the form of a mosaic. Students and staff have shared in the design and construction of images that depict our identity as a Catholic school community and the values that we believe will create a peaceful and purposeful future.

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Unfortunately, the Civics and Citizenship Education curriculum team leader took a leave of absence during the year teachers do not view Civics and this affected both the outcomes of her class and also the and Citizenship Education design and creation of the permanent mosaic display, as she as an ‘add-on’ was the driving force behind the artistic elements of the mosaic work. While this was a real dilemma, it did have the effect of strengthening the remainder of the Civics and Citizenship Education team and getting staff to step out of their comfort zone to help solve the problem. It developed the problem-solving and collaborative skills of many members of staff and resulted in the involvement of more community agencies. We learnt to appreciate that there are people in the wider community who are willing to help if they are only asked!

Directions Major projects at Christ the King are now approached in an organised and methodical way that helps to sustain learnings brought about by the project. It also encourages future efforts in the area being addressed, in this case the inclusion of Civics and Citizenship Education in future curriculum. This involves four basic steps: • Professional development, so members of staff feel confident and able to address the curriculum and other elements of the project. • Resource development, so that comprehensive and up-to-date curriculum can be planned and implemented. • Whole school curriculum development, so that there is ownership and involvement by the whole school. • Celebration of achievements – helping to build enthusiasm and involving the wider community of the school. In relation to this project, this trend has once again proven successful. Teachers better understand and appreciate the extent to which Civics and Citizenship Education can be included in our curriculum. They better understand how Civics and Citizenship Education can be included in topics seemingly unrelated to civics and citizenship, and in other areas of school life, so do not view Civics and Citizenship Education as an ‘add-on’. They better appreciate the need for responsible action by students as an integral part of any Civics and Citizenship Education. Vicki McNamara Deputy Principal, Curriculum Coordinator

CONTACT: Vicki McNamara Christ the King Primary School Riley Court Braybrook 3019 (03) 9311 7387


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Distance Education Centre, Victoria

Year 8 SOSE: Government and Law A curriculum audit in 2002 at the Distance Education Centre, Victoria (DECV) identified a lack of any Civics content in our The Distance Education Centre, Year 8 courses. Therefore, it was decided to develop a whole Victoria (DECV) is a P-12 school term’s work based on Discovering Democracy to give students based in Melbourne. It is the State’s major provider of distance an understanding of ‘Government and Law’ and the manner education from Prep to Year 12. in which they can become involved in the decision-making We deliver programs to more than process. 2500 individual students each DECV’s courses combine quality print-based, audio and year. The school caters for students visual learning materials and electronic interaction facilities throughout Victoria who, for a through the Internet. Our courses are written as lesson-byvariety of reasons, cannot attend lesson, week-by-week programs by our teaching staff, who also schools in the face-to-face system. These students are enrolled in a assess and report on the students’ work.TheYear 8 SOSE course, number of categories that include: for example, is broken up into four books, one for each term. Social Emotional, Referral, Medical, The four books look at one particular topic each and cover the Traveller and School-based. The three strands of SOSE CSF 5. Book 1 is a look at Antarctica and school has a current enrolment of focuses mainly on the geography of the continent. Book 2 is a 1680 full-time-equivalent students look at Medieval Britain and covers things such as the Norman and a teaching staff equivalent to invasion through to everyday life and religion. Book 3 is a look 98.4 people. at the world of work including the influence technology has had on the workplace. The plan was to make Book 4 a Civics and Citizenship module that looks at government, law and the processes involved in active citizenship. The courses are designed to meet the educational needs of students whose circumstances prevent them from accessing courses at regular schools.

Writing the Course The course was written during terms 2 and 3 by a team of two teachers. It was based on the Discovering Democracy modules, but also included ‘thinking curriculum’ activities and was designed for our online delivery platform. We tried to include as many activities as possible to show how students could become involved in the decision-making process. Most of our students are in situations where it is difficult for them to become involved in their communities in any way, so we needed to find ways to show students how this may be possible. While the course was based on the Discovering Democracy modules, due to the circumstances of many of our students, we give students the opportunity needed to look at ways of engaging them, via distance education, to share their ideas with others in what can at times be considered a boring subject. We needed to develop a variety of activities that all of our students could complete successfully, whether they were isolated at home due to illness, or whether their parents were missionaries based in the Papua New Guinea Highlands. Therefore, the new course development needed to include a wider variety of engaging tasks that utilise the ‘thinking curriculum’ and ICTs. We wanted to develop a print-based version of the course that included activities that catered for different learning styles and used a variety of graphic organisers to aid in the development of students’ thinking skills. The online version of the course needed to include all of this, but we also wanted to add some interactivity with the materials and opportunities for students to interact with each other. We felt it was important to add online elements such as chats and forums to the course to make it more interesting and to give students the opportunity to share their ideas with others their age. Our online

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platform includes features that make it easy to add these elements; it was just a matter of coming up with some interesting topics to include in our chats and forums. Unfortunately many of our students do not have access to the internet so we also needed to make sure they were not disadvantaged by not participating in these online activities.

Planning Preparatory meetings for the SOSE 8 Book 4 module development were used to develop a timeline for the course production. The book needed to be ready for students by the beginning of Term 4 and, therefore, would need to be completed by the middle of Term 3 to meet our production schedule. The production process includes burning the course onto CD, converting the course to PDF files for printing, printing the course, and uploading the course to our online platform and adding online elements such as chat and discussion forums. We also used these meetings to develop an outline of the course. First, we identified the topics and themes we would like to address in the course and used this as the basis of our planning. We then reviewed the Discovering Democracy modules and selected the parts that we thought would fit into our plan. We also looked at other materials we had collected and identified parts of these we would be able to use to add to the course. Our last function in these preparatory meetings was to we would use the bulk of discuss how we would use the grant money. We decided that, as the money for replacement we had all of the teaching resources that we needed, we would teachers for the course use the bulk of the money for replacement teachers for the writers course writers.

Course Development Begins Initially the course development was undertaken without any replacement teacher assistance, as we wanted to save this for the last part of the development. The team touched base weekly to monitor the progress and exchange ideas. Many changes were made over the first month, as new ideas were developed and old ones redeveloped. The pace was quite slow, but we realised that once we got it right everything should go according to plan. We also decided to leave most of the formatting until the course content was completely written. Therefore, the course writers would only have to concentrate on getting one thing done at a time. For the last part of the course we set aside one day a week of replacement teacher time for the teacher who was writing the continued to meet weekly bulk of the course on his own. This became quite effective as to discuss the progress of he was able to spend a whole day working on the content of the the course course. At this stage, the development really took off and some very good material was produced. We continued to meet weekly to discuss the progress of the course and look at the completed sections. This was also very effective as we were still able to exchange ideas and make sure we stayed on track. After the content had been completed, the team met for a day to design the layout of the print version of the course. All courses at the DECV must follow specific formatting guidelines, so we needed to make sure our course fitted these and we also needed to include graphics to add a bit of life. The course was now proofread and sent to our course production manager for printing and CD burning.

Online: Students Begin Work on the Course The print version of the course was converted to .asp files so it could be uploaded to our online delivery platform. This meant re-formatting parts of the course so they were more online friendly. It also meant it was time to add those discussion forums. We decided not


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to include online chats, as these had proved difficult in past courses. Instead, three forums were added through which we hoped to engage the students in some interaction with each other and the materials. The beginning of Term 4 saw 105 students start work on the Discovering Democracy course. The work being submitted showed that it was engaging the students, but unfortunately not many students were completing it online. Many of our students do not have computers, so it is impossible for them to do any work online, but most of those who do have computers, still prefer to do their work straight from the book. Many will use the word processor on their computer to type their work, but will not engage online. The majority of the students completed the course satisfactorily, with some high flyers and some just scraping through. We typically have quite a lot of new enrolments in Term 4 due to students being referred from other schools. It is quite difficult to engage these students, as they have usually just come from a bad experience at their previous school. Therefore, the number of students who achieve a satisfactory result decreases during this time. Not only were a large proportion of students engaged in the course, but many seemed to enjoy it and excel at it. The findings from the completed evaluations and from completed

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activities show that many students gained a great deal of knowledge in the areas covered by the course and enjoyed learning about these topics. Before we began we thought it would be extremely difficult to engage students in a course based around government and law presented in a text based book. The fact that we received many evaluations that gave the course 9 or 10 out of 10 and that students said gained a great deal of that their knowledge improved very much, was certainly knowledge in the areas something we were very happy about. Although we received covered by the course and many positive responses, we received a lot more negative ones enjoyed learning about as we had expected. In the end, the vast majority of responses these topics to the evaluation gave the course an ‘average’ rating.

Directions The very low use of the online version of the course is certainly something we will need to look at in the future. We were quite rushed getting the course online in time for the beginning of Term 4 and this may have contributed. It is an essential part of our teaching that we keep in regular contact with our students by phone or through email. In future we will need to spend more time discussing the merits of working online with our students who have computers, and will also look at ways of developing more interactive elements that we can incorporate into the course. As more students gain access to computers and the internet, we believe that more will start working in this environment. The course will be reviewed in 2004 with the aim of improving the materials. As it is to become an integral part of the Year 8 SOSE course, it will be updated annually to improve the content and engage the students further. These updates will be based on results of student and teacher evaluations. We will also present a report to the SOSE KLA for further feedback and information. When we revisit the course in 2004, we will need to look at ways of further engaging the students. Most students seemed to enjoy the topics of ‘Pressure groups’ and ‘How to make a difference’ and presented some wonderful projects on how they could make a difference. But the ‘government and law’ topics were not particularly liked and are an area where we will need to make a concerted effort to try and make it a little more engaging. The course, as it stands, has achieved all our expectations and we are hoping that, with modifications, it will giveYear 8 DECV students continued exposure to Civics and Citizenship Education. Alan Mountain Curriculum Development Manager

CONTACT: Alan Mountain Distance Education Centre, Victoria 315 Clarendon Street Thornbury 3071 (03) 8480 0000


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Flightpath Cluster

Working as a Cluster on Discovering Democracy The Flightpath Discovering Democracy Project was built on the synergies of the Flightpath Innovation and Excellence Cluster, The Flightpath Cluster is a coalition which comprises five primary and one secondary school. The of five schools near Tullamarine cooperation across the Cluster has been a strong support for Airport, in the Northern Metropolitan the Discovering Democracy project team, and supplementing Region of the Victorian Department of Education and Training. They are the Discovering Democracy grant with teacher replacement Gladstone Park, Gladstone Views, funding has enabled the extension of the project beyond its Greenvale and Westmeadows initial intentions. Primary Schools and Gladstone Park Each school was at a different stage in its development and Secondary College. The schools implementation of Civics and Citizenship Education, and had also comprise an Innovation and varying degrees of awareness of the Discovering Democracy Excellence Cluster and range in size project and materials. Some schools had made use of the between 400 and 1600 students. Discovering Democracy materials, while others were unaware that they had received the materials. Most commonly, the Australian Readers had been used in SOSE and English. In addition, most schools had some form of student representative council, however variously conceived. Some student councils were embedded in the governance of the school, others served as a vehicle for charitable activities, while others were remnants of former initiatives and not clearly structured. It was possible to draw upon the varied experience and expertise of each school, fostering the sharing of knowledge and experience across the Cluster. With the grant, we aimed to develop Middle Years Civics and Citizenship Education curriculum across the Flightpath Innovation and Excellence Cluster of schools, increase teacher familiarity with the Discovering Democracy materials, and illustrate the range of uses of ICT in Discovering Democracy and Civics and Citizenship Education.

Joint Curriculum Day After several planning meetings, we organised a full-day joint curriculum session in June. With the support of the state Discovering Democracy project officer, the morning was an opportunity for the primary teachers to share ideas and classroom practices in using the Discovering Democracy materials. Several teachers have since developed and shared other Civics and Citizenship Education materials. Greenvale Primary School conducted a professional development activity on the use of ‘Webquests’ in Civics and Citizenship Education. Teachers from Years P–12 explored webbased approaches to learning, using relevant parts of the Civics and Citizenship Education Extended Professional Development Program. During the afternoon, we developed our understandings of the rich opportunities for future development of active citizenship across the cluster. The evaluations from the day were very positive, with teachers enjoying the opportunity to share and learn. The Discovering Democracy classroom materials were well received by primary and secondary teachers, and each school has used grant money to purchase class sets of the Australian Readers, and other Discovering Democracy materials.

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Responses

issues that will be relevant After the joint curriculum day, teachers were asked to record and important to the children their thoughts about the challenges of implementing Discovering Democracy across the cluster. Their ideas present possible directions as to how Civics and Citizenship Education in the cluster might proceed: • ‘We need to clarify possibilities for future exchange between Flightpath Cluster schools on Civics and Citizenship Education especially, and on curriculum generally.’ • ‘Do we need formal structures, web-based options, teacher exchanges?’ • ‘Develop network opportunities for students in Years 5 to 8 around active citizenship.’ • ‘We need to develop a cluster-based activity that will build the cluster as a unit, eg a newspaper, website, conference, etc.’ • ‘We could develop a communication forum, eg (online) discussion groups to enable discussion to continue about what is happening at each school (positive and negative) and how to overcome problems.’ • ‘If there are too many individualised programs, marry them into one greater focus to establish the presence of Civics and Citizenship Education as a literacy/intelligence…’ • ‘Encourage/support teachers to model the attitudes/values we want students to take on board and acknowledge this in the community.’ • ‘Some of the areas we end up doubling up on: some kids have done the topics, and some haven’t.’ • ‘Continual sharing of ideas: units of work that have been successful; sharing how others approach citizenship within the school.’ • ‘Bringing issues into curriculum, eg bullying across the cluster schools; opportunities for staff and student representatives to meet and discuss.’ • ‘Sharing resources, eg primary students utilising science labs, etc., available at GPSC; using peer tutoring.’ • ‘Meet regularly as cluster schools to discuss issues such as bullying, taking responsibility for organisation, etc., sharing experiences, developing an action plan and seeing these through to structural implementation.’ • ‘Interaction between secondary and primary schools through past pupil visitation on a regular basis, eg what happens in secondary school?’


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•

‘Primary schools could involve the students more in community issues that will be relevant and important to the children; could be taken or used as part of the leadership program we are running at present.’ • ‘As a whole cluster: keep sharing ideas!’ Several teachers have since begun to develop Webquests and other web-research approaches, and are sharing these with colleagues. As we reviewed curriculum in the individual schools, we began to find many more opportunities to incorporate Civics and Citizenship Education. In later meetings the team investigated which of these ideas were most sustainable and valuable to our students and our local community. We reached a consensus on the importance of developing student leadership and community action. There also exists a procedural aim of building cross-sectoral relationships between teachers with common interests, in order to improve student engagement. We have extended this to building student relationships between schools and between students and their communities. So we conducted a successful inaugural We had not intended to move joint meeting of Flightpath Cluster student councils and have into the area of student started a process of building civics-based community action participation, but the logic for students, supporting the improvement and development of of Civics and Citizenship student council members. These civic action programs are now Education brought us to discuss being contemplated by the individual schools. these issues. The need for We had not intended to move into the area of student students to have experience of participation, but the logic of Civics and Citizenship Education democracy in action seemed brought us to discuss these issues. The need for students to self-evident. have experience of democracy in action seemed self-evident. The work with the student councils seemed a practical place to begin.

Directions We are confirmed in our belief in the value of cross-sectoral work. The long-term task is dauntingly large.The need to embed these changes at an institutional level across all our schools will be an ongoing task involving many years of work. During 2004 we will continue the development of student leadership skills across the cluster. We will hold another joint meeting of student council representatives and hope to make this an annual event. The focus will be on students in Years 5–9, following the Middle Years of Schooling Project. Gordon Harvey SOSE Coordinator Gladstone Park Secondary College

CONTACT: Gordon Harvey Gladstone Park Secondary College Taylor Drive Tullamarine 3043 (03) 9338 7122

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Keysborough Park Primary School

A Web Site Calendar of Civics and Citizenship At Keysborough Park Primary School, Civics and Citizenship Education was not seen as a school priority prior to 2001. However, when the issue of Civics and Citizenship Education was raised, the school leadership, staff, School Council and many parents acknowledged its worth and potential value to our students. They also acknowledged a level of responsibility for ensuring its inclusion in the school curriculum. While there had been no planned school-wide approach to program development, implementation or evaluation, various aspects of the Discovering Democracy middle and upper primary units had been addressed, and some staff members had attended Civics and Citizenship professional development when the Discovering Democracy program documents were released. Flowing from this, an integrated unit of work had been developed for Years 5 and 6 students.

Identification of Issues

Keysborough Park Primary School is located in an established residential area south of Springvale. The school currently has 190 students allocated to eight teaching classes. The school provides four specialist teaching programs in Music, Art, Physical Education and Information Literacy. The curriculum areas of literacy and numeracy have been nominated as school charter priorities. Currently science is also a focus area. The school has a strong commitment to the use of ICT in its curriculum programs, and has allocated significant financial and human resources to support this. Forty-three per cent of the school’s students speak a language other than English at home.

At the commencement of 2001, Civics and Citizenship Education was formally raised as an area for whole school discussion by the school leadership. Staff identified a need to place an emphasis on Civics and Citizenship Education and become informed about it through professional reading, discussion, reviewing resources in the school and online, and looking at other schools’ programs. They identified and evaluated options that were feasible for implementation in a whole school context. A Civics and Citizenship Calendar web site was selected as a flexible option that would be easy to use to regularly incorporate Civics and Citizenship Education into existing school programs. It would assist staff in accessing a range of activities and ideas, and would allow students to engage in ICT-based learning. It would also provide structure to the implementation of a range of units of work on Civics and Citizenship Education. In doing so, it would support the school’s strong commitment to raising student achievement in literacy and numeracy, the implementation of new approaches to assessment and reporting practices, and commitment and emphasis on the use of ICT in teaching and learning. A calendar of Civics and Citizenship Education units of work and activities was to be established on our school web site. The Civics and Citizenship Education home page was to include a 12-month calendar, with each month hyperlinked to a Civics and Citizenship Education featured topic, and a bank of activities, resources and links suitable for the early and middle years of schooling. For instance, February: ‘Rules’; March: ‘Values’; and April: ‘Celebrations and Commemorations’. Possible topics for other months were identified as ‘Australian Symbols’, ‘Government’, ‘Parliament’, ‘Federation’, ‘Elections’, ‘The Law’, ‘Community Groups’, ‘Community Action’ and ‘Community Service’. It was intended that each monthly topic contain some generic activities that occur every month and some activities specific to the topic or month.


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My new day of commemoration for Australia is

AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL SINGING DAY

In this Celebrations and Commemorations activity students had to design a new Australian celebration.

Website Content The following monthly activities were identified: • A topic-generated scenario requiring children to email their ideas and responses. • An information section providing factual background and information about the topic. • A glossary of words relevant to the topic. • A games section with puzzles, games or quizzes appropriate to the topic. • A ‘This Month’s Activities’ section with major and minor learning tasks relating to the topic. This section would provide a range of challenging activities aimed at developing children’s information literacy skills and ICT skills. Activities were to be linked to the Australian Discovering Democracy kits, international civics and citizenship programs, and other resources online and on CD-ROM. • Specific Topic Activities could include: WebQuests, Global projects, computer design tasks, multimedia presentations, research projects, scavenger hunts, mysteries, online interviews, web page design, competitions, story writing, class discussions, oral presentations, etc. • Activities were to be flexible, aimed at different ability levels, varied in their approach and varied in the time required to complete them. • A range of ICT skills and applications were to be present in the activities, including the use of word processing, graphics programs, multimedia presentation programs, animation, interactivity, email, video conferencing, web page design, desktop publishing, and use of the internet, digital cameras and scanners. When developing the Civics and Citizenship Calendar of Activities web site, it was essential that the topics and activities Receiving a grant provided address the school’s commitment to incorporating Civics and incentive and motivation Citizenship Education into the existing curriculum.The web site activities had to be flexibly designed and varied so that staff and students could access them at a low or intensive level, depending on the integrated topics, themes and curriculum focus areas that the class was currently involved in. They also had to be designed to meet a range of additional CSF outcomes, especially for the Key Learning Areas (KLAs) of English, SOSE and Technology.

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Reflecting on Achievements

The project would have benefited from team involvement, rather than the project manager working independently.

Keysborough Park Primary School’s involvement in the Discovering Democracy Grants to Schools Program was extremely beneficial. Receiving a grant provided incentive and motivation to place an emphasis on Civics and Citizenship Education. It focused the staff and led to this area being more conscientiously incorporated into the school’s existing curriculum program. In addition, Civics and Citizenship Education was given a greater focus outside the existing curriculum and a pleasing consequence of this was the development of new units of work at some CSF levels of the school, new whole-school activity days with a Civics and Citizenship Education focus, and opportunities for raising school spirit and community involvement. In some ways the Calendar of Civics and Citizenship Activities web site did not meet all our original intentions; in others it exceeded them. In hindsight, it was too large a project, as the project manager found that the time required for researching topics, developing content and then creating the web pages was significantly greater than originally anticipated. The project in its original form did not warrant the amount of time it required when compared to the other projects, tasks and school roles for which the project manager was responsible. The project would have benefited from team involvement, rather than the project manager working independently. That the project was going to be very time consuming became obvious as the first topic was being developed. It involved 26 web pages, including five pages of information about Australian rules and laws, and 13 major activities and 30 minor activities for students about rules and laws.The activities were varied in approach, aimed at different levels, and sufficiently flexible to allow teachers and students to access them as a class, in groups or individually. The activities were designed so that they could form part of a major unit of work on Rules and Laws or be used as separate individual computer-based activities.

Review and Modify As a consequence of a review that was held when the first topic There is a greater awareness was available, it was agreed to modify the project from one Civics and preparedness of staff and Citizenship topic per month to one topic per term. It was to engage in Civics and decided that it was preferable to reduce the number of topics and Citizenship Education maintain the depth to which each topic was developed, rather than covering more topics at a superficial level. This would meet the intended outcome of using ICT to develop and provide teaching and learning activities for Civics and Citizenship Education that were flexible and varied, and suitable for whole class, small group and individual use. Each topic would need to continue to be extensively developed.

Outcomes The web address is accessible from . At this site click on ‘Projects’ then ‘Civics and Citizenship’. At the site you will be met by Kenny Koala. As a result of the project, new Civics and Citizenship integrated units of work were developed at some levels throughout the school. Some classroom programs were extensively developed and Civics and Citizenship Education became a term focus. There is a greater awareness and preparedness of staff to engage in Civics and Citizenship Education, regardless of the existence of the web site, and staff are more aware of and more extensively using the Discovering Democracy school resources. A whole school emphasis on Civics and


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Hi, I’m Kenny Koala. I’m here to help you find out about Civics and Citizenship.

Just click on the links below to find Civics and Citizenship topics with information and activities for you to do.

Other schools considering embarking on a similar project would benefit from establishing a team with responsibility for researching and developing the content for the web pages.

Citizenship Education led to number of excellent whole school and community days with a Civics and Citizenship Education focus, for example The Centenary of Federation and World Environment Day.

Next Steps

We will continue to develop a new topic for each term, but must increase the speed with which new topics are uploaded onto the web after they are developed. When topics are developed and placed on the web, their arrival needs greater advertising among staff, and members of staff need to be provided with time to explore the activities if they are to successfully incorporate them into their programs. Additional professional development on web page design for staff should be developed and more staff encouraged to become involved in the development of the web pages. A team approach to the development of the Civics and Citizenship Education website would ensure its future success, so the school will investigate creating a project team. Other schools considering embarking on a similar project would benefit from establishing a team with responsibility for researching and developing the content for the web pages. This is one of the most time consuming aspects of the project. Other schools would also benefit from having a number of people involved in designing the web pages and capable of the technical side of successfully uploading them onto the web. Margaret McKenzie Principal

CONTACT: Margaret McKenzie Keysborough Park Primary School Loxwood Avenue Keysborough 3173 (03) 9798 6811

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Newhaven College

Review of Years 8 and 9 Civics and Citizenship Courses The school has taught a ‘Government’ unit at Year 8, and a ‘Civics’ elective at Year 9, for the past six years. However, the Newhaven College is an Year 8 course lacked clear definition, the outcomes were vague independent school in Gippsland offering Years 3 to 12 education to and there was no documented course outline. The Year 9 course approximately 550 students. tended to repeat the basics of the Year 8 unit and students demonstrated a surprising lack of retention of the key knowledge from Year 8 to Year 9. Clearly there was a need to define theYear 8 course, to improve the delivery of the unit and to improve the learning overall. The Year 9 course could then be reviewed with the intention of allowing more citizenship-type activities to be incorporated, thus increasing the level of student engagement with the topic.

The Process of Course Development The project has been a collaborative effort. Staff associated with these subject areas were given time release to work together on defining outcomes, etc. Staff teams reviewed all resources and selected appropriate content. Once outcomes were defined for Year 8 and Year 9, the course writing began by planning learning activities to achieve these outcomes, and formally documenting the courses. Time release was provided for the initial resource audit, and a planning day held for the project team. Course writing was finalised for theYear 8 unit in June and this was implemented in September. A planning day for theYear 9 unit in November started the process of this course writing, while a further meeting of the project team was held to evaluate the Year 8 unit. The course written for Year 8 was delivered in Term Four. Time constraints meant that there were just three weeks for this unit. This proved to be inadequate and is to be taken into account in 2004. Considering the original objective of improving the teaching and learning in this subject, more time must be allocated. As project leader, I surveyed those staff teaching the course and found they were unanimous in feeling that being allowed time to work together to craft a course was invaluable. The grant being allowed time to work money allowed us to take time out to focus on this without together to craft a course interruptions.This was greatly appreciated.This process allowed was invaluable staff to evaluate what we have and reflect on how these resources may best be utilised. The time also allowed staff to bounce ideas off each other, sharing their experience and expertise. This process resulted in a better course than we had previously been teaching. In teaching the course, staff found that the time allowed was insufficient. There was not enough time to allow students to explore areas of individual interest and some concepts needed greater time for explanation and analysis. Time constraints also limited the amount of discussion on current affairs. Some concepts as shown in the course document are too advanced for Year 8. This needs to be simplified next year.


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Directions The Year 9 course is still not finalised, but the teachers involved are keen to build upon the basic knowledge gained in Year 8 and expand upon this. The following ideas have been suggested: • Involve students in local government through guest speakers, attendance at a Council meeting, and analysis of local press to determine key issues. • Investigate further how decisions are made in a democracy. • Introduce students to how the State Government operates by inviting in the local member and representatives of other parties, visiting Parliament, and analysing daily newspapers to determine key issues. • Involve students in community-based activities to demonstrate good citizenship by volunteering to help local community groups. Performing gardening or visits to elderly residents, or fundraising for local charities are possibilities. • Begin a school newspaper. • Hold a ‘Consciousness Raising Day’ to generate wider interest in current issues. This would involve guest speakers and the use of posters, news articles, etc. The planned Year 9 activities will require a wider school involvement and it is expected that our plans Our young people do care about their will be presented to the school at a general staff meeting world and value the opportunity before the end of the school year, or early next year. to become more active in their community. With professional We feel that further professional development of guidance, students can learn how teachers is paramount. Our young people do care about they may have some influence within their world and value the opportunity to become more their community and become active active in their community. With professional guidance, citizens as adults. students can learn how they may have some influence within their community and become active citizens as adults. With projects such as this, teachers are made more aware of how they may generate change within their schools and communities. The funding for professional development allows teachers time to follow up on the information they gain through inservice education, thus generating better teaching and learning in our classrooms. Patricia Dewberry Head of Humanities

CONTACT: Patricia Dewberry Newhaven College Boys Home Road Newhaven 3925 (03) 5956 7505

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St Michael’s Parish Primary School

Planning for Multiple Perspectives within an Integrated Curriculum While the majority of students at St Michael’s have been born in Australia, many do not acknowledge this and students often refer to the country where their parents were born as ‘my country’. A significant proportion of the parents have come to Australia as refugees. This has been the case throughout the history of the school. With the primary focus of families on their cultural heritage beyond Australia, and indeed due to some of the circumstances in which families have come to this country, the students have had very little exposure to democratic processes and little experience of Australian government. An analysis of our integrated curriculum development over the past six years revealed that little if any formal study of Civics and Citizenship perspectives had occurred. It was with these aspects in mind that the school sought funding for the development of Civics and Citizenship perspectives through a Discovering Democracy grant.

A Vision for Our Future In 2003, during a process of Catholic Education Office validation, the school sought to establish a known, shared and understood profile of who we are, and a vision for our future. Using a Multiple Perspectives Framework, a process of identifying and documenting our vision of the ‘Ideal Learning Community’ was undertaken. The understandings derived were significant in the context of the high proportion of families from Asian cultures in the school. It also enabled us to integrate funding obtained for Asian Studies, Multiple Perspectives and Civics and Citizenship. Introducing a Multiple Perspectives approach to integrated curriculum development enabled teachers to meld aspects of Civics and Citizenship Education and Asian Studies in meaningful ways to enhance student learning.

Starting the Process We wished to introduce students to Civics and Citizenship perspectives within an integrated curriculum unit, and to explore Civics and Citizenship concepts related to local government and democratic practices within this unit.

St Michael’s Parish Primary School is an inner city school in North Melbourne. Due to the needs of the families within our community, St Michael’s is classed as a ‘mission’ school. High proportions of refugee and immigrant families have been, and continue to be, represented in the school community. At various times over the history of St Michael’s there has been an influx of students from Italy, Chile, Argentina and Asia, particularly Vietnam. In 2003 the predominant cultural groups are Vietnamese and Chinese. The school community is highly multicultural, multi-faith and economically diverse. More than 23 cultural groups are represented within the community. A high number of students (82%) have been born in Australia, but come from a non-English speaking background. Vietnamese, Chinese (Cantonese) and English are the predominate languages spoken. For some children, exposure to English outside the school setting is limited and St Michael’s is many families’ first experience of school life in Australia. Among the faith backgrounds represented in St Michael’s are Catholic, Buddhist, Muslim, other Christian, Greek Orthodox and Hindi. While a large number of families live in Ministry of Housing estates in North Melbourne, a significant number also commute daily from homes in the outer suburbs. Parental occupations range from unemployed and welfare recipients to owners/ developers of information technology companies. By its nature St Michael’s school population has been transient and unpredictable for many years. While projected enrolments provided by the Catholic Education Office expect an increase in student population over the next decade, current school figures are lower than anticipated in these projections. Over the past two years, enrolments at St Michael’s have in fact declined. The school population as of August 2003 was 175 children. St Michael’s is based on a multi-age philosophy. Multi-age classes provide the opportunity for children to work with others of various ages and to benefit from the broad range of knowledge, skills and experiences in the class. In 2003 the classroom structure was: one group of Prep children; three groups of Years 1–2 children; two groups of Years 3–4 children; and two groups of Years 5–6 children.


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An integrated curriculum unit on ‘The People Make the Nation’ was implemented in Term 1 with Years 5–6 classes. Staff leaders attended Civics and Citizenship and Multiple Perspectives Professional Development. During this unit the students participated in an excursion to the Victorian Parliament. Meanwhile, the Integrated Curriculum Coordinator and the Literacy Coordinator met to audit current resources in Civics and Citizenship and Asian Studies education.

Whole Staff Development A whole staff professional development activity was held in preparation for developing a new vision for St Michael’s School. An after-hours staff meeting provided input on Multiple Perspectives, Civics and Citizenship and Asian Perspectives.This deepened staff awareness of the unique background and history of our predominantly Asian community. Staff reviewed the input provided and consolidated their understandings of Civics and Citizenship and Asian Perspectives through a Multiple Perspectives Framework. They audited and documented their current practice in these areas and identified future directions. Teachers were released in planning levels to consult on the development and planning of Term 4 integrated curriculum units. Civics and Citizenship and Asian Perspectives were used in the development of these units where they linked meaningfully to the intended outcomes. Regular evaluation of Term 4 integrated curriculum units was programmed into weekly staff meeting agendas and this allowed each teaching level to report back on the progress of their unit. Students were asked to reflect on such issues as conflict (political and social), survival, and the notions of freedom and Regular evaluation ... was independence through literature. They were asked to infer how programmed into weekly staff these themes found in literature have inspired many people to meeting agendas and this leave their homelands to become part of Australia’s developing allowed each teaching level to democracy. This led them to reflect on their rights and report back on the progress of responsibilities as citizens of Australia, and on many of the justice their unit. issues facing Australia and its citizens, such as issues involving refugees and the problems facing Aboriginal culture. As expected, students were able to articulate their understanding of the decision-making processes needed to develop rules and laws and transfer these understandings to the development of class rules. They were encouraged to use decision-making processes in the resolution of interpersonal conflicts and to pose solutions to classroom issues. For example, students were assigned roles and participated in a class enactment of Parliamentary processes in relation to the topical issue of the Coalition forces invading Iraq in search of weapons of mass destruction. They prepared argumentative reports and these were used as the basis of a class debate on the issue. This was video recorded. The students used the literature based on the text Boy Overboard as a basis to explore the notion of freedom and democracy. In many instances the students were able to discuss the major themes of the text with their families and reflect on the differences between the political system of Australia and their country of origin. In doing so they were able to form opinions on democratic processes of government in comparison to other systems of government (Afghanistan and Indonesia). The integrated curriculum unit ‘The People Make the Nation’ had a significant impact on the school community. The following interactions with parents of the students indicated two opposing views to the experiences and discussions initiated by the unit.

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In response to a student-developed questionnaire designed to identify differences between the Australian system of government and the system of government in the country of their parent’s birth, one very concerned parent came to the school to speak with teachers. He did not want to talk to his child regarding the situation in his country and found the topic distressing. He felt that it was better to focus on the Australian system of government since Australia is where they have chosen to live their lives. In another situation, a parent who attended the State Parliament excursion was thrilled to even be able to stand outside Parliament House, let alone be able to tour through the building, as people could be arrested for simply stopping outside the Parliament of her home country.

Directions and Challenges The students have not been formally exposed to issues of Civics and Citizenship Education in the school curriculum for a number of years. Access to teacher and student resources was an inhibiting factor in the development of the unit and teacher knowledge and interest in the area of Civics and Citizenship Education was limited. Some teachers were overwhelmed by the introduction of a Multiple Perspectives Framework for the development of Civics and Citizenship Education in integrated curriculum units. Opportunities to incorporate Civics and Citizenship across the whole school, through the introduction of the Multiple Perspectives Framework were difficult to find in subsequent units, particularly in the junior area. It is envisaged that the school will need to reflect on the use of the Multiple Perspectives Framework in planning future integrated curriculum units. An audit of the current cycle of units will enable teachers to identify those that may be suited to exploration through a Civics and Citizenship lens. As ‘The People Make the Nation’ is the only formal unit based on Civics and Citizenship, the creation of new units at all levels of the schools is perceived as an issue that needs particular attention. This may be considered in line with Validation recommendations to develop a two-year cycle for integrated curriculum units. Kylie Willis and Jane Banks Curriculum and Literacy Coordinators

CONTACT: Kylie Willis and Jane Banks St Michael’s Parish Primary School 8 Brougham Street North Melbourne 3051 (03) 9329 9206


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St Gregory The Great Primary School

Embedding Civics and Citizenship in the School Curriculum St Gregory The Great is a Catholic primary school in Doncaster, with a student population of about three hundred. The school is rated 13 on the socio-economic scale. St Gregory’s Primary School is inseparably linked with St Gregory’s Parish and the life of the Church. The major aim of the Parish Primary School is the Christian faith development of the children within the context of the Catholic tradition. To facilitate this we have a structured and sequential religious education program in place that is delivered as a major and integral component of the curriculum. It is here that many of the qualities and attributes of citizenship are developed in our students.

One of the tasks on our School Development Plan (SDP) was to improve the way in which we catered for Civics and Citizenship Education in our curriculum. Due to the success of our application to receive funding for this project, the priority of its status on the SDP changed from ‘low’ to ‘immediate and active’.

Assessing the Situation

The first objective was to analyse what was currently done at our school and then to develop a plan for documenting and improving its quality. Although we were aware that this area of the curriculum was being catered for in different ways, it had been agreed that more needed to be done to further embed Civics and Citizenship Education in our school programs. While the area of citizenship was already well catered for, albeit not formally documented, staff recognised that the area of civics needed to be reviewed and developed. We were able to allocate two staff members, the Deputy Principal and the Curriculum Coordinator, to coordinate and implement this project. The initial objectives developed after the core team met in Term 1 of 2002, were: • develop a list of all programs currently being delivered in school that support Civics and Citizenship; • audit all current resources; • audit the Integrated Studies program; • lay the foundations for the development of a unit of work to be taught at Level 3 and Level 4 of the school. As both the Principal and Deputy Principal were new to the school and there were three new classroom teachers, this was a particular challenge. Apart from the fact that this obviously brought about some degree of change, some of the links to what had previously existed in the school, including resources and programs, no longer existed. This was particularly evident when it came to locating resources that should have been available, but were difficult or impossible to find. Following a lengthy and indepth discussion early in Term 3, the core team agreed that it would be of more value to change the original objectives. It was acknowledged that we had already: • completed an audit of all the resources held by the school; • developed a list of resources we should have; • completed an audit of our whole school integrated curriculum to allow for a specific unit based on ‘Civics and Citizenship’ to be included at Level 3 and Level 4.

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We now needed to focus on: the development of a specific unit based on Civics and Citizenship to be documented and taught at Level 3 in Term 4 of 2002; • ensuring that some part of the Discovering Democracy resources as well as an element of ICT was incorporated into this unit; • evaluating and reviewing the unit developed with a view to creating a sequential unit of work for Level 4 that would be taught in 2003; • ensuring that some whole-staff professional development was catered for in the development and implementation of these units. This decision was reached in consultation with the whole school, for while it was acknowledged that the development of the unit would most affect staff at level 3, it would have implications for the entire school. Some alterations would need to be made to the content of staff meetings and a number of dates changed. •

Reflecting on What Helped Us We gained agreement from the staff that an audit of our integrated studies curriculum was a necessity in order to begin the process of embedding a sequential program of Civics and Citizenship in the curriculum at St Gregory the Great. We set aside a whole staff inservice day for the specific purpose of undertaking this audit. We also gained agreement from staff that a plethora of existing programs, in varying degrees, contributed to promoting Civics and Citizenship Education, and that an audit needed to be undertaken to determine which were of sufficient value to be given a mandatory status. This audit was undertaken of all resources that currently existed in the school, and we found that a number of the resources that should have been there were missing. Additional resources were purchased and all resources catalogued. We were surprised at the extent to which Religious Education in Catholic Schools promotes and encourages the We were surprised at the highest level of citizenship in our students.The exceptional high extent to which Religious quality of the resources supplied by the Federal Government Education in Catholic helped to support and deliver Civics and Citizenship, as did Schools promotes and the high level of enthusiasm and co-operation we received encourages the highest from guest speakers and the fact that they brought additional level of citizenship in people and/or resources, as well as spending a great deal of our students. time in preparation for their presentations. Parents and other relatives were also delighted to come and share their story of immigration/migration, what they valued about Australia and, more specifically, why they wanted their children to be brought up here. The state election provided perfect timing for doing the unit and took care of the Civics side of things. The coincidental timing made it ‘real’ for the children. Teachers thought the unit might be a bit dry, however they were greatly surprised by the level of enjoyment the children demonstrated throughout its delivery.


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Directions As a result of our work in this area, some trends have emerged and are continuing to do so. There is an expectation by the broader community that Civics and Citizenship values need to be taught as an integral element of the school curriculum. The area of citizenship is supported strongly by the Manningham Promoting Character Program (from Manningham City Council). Consequently, the teachers included two or three values each week, which were taught as the citizenship side of the unit. This initiative of the Manningham City Council has been taken up by 12 to 14 schools in the local area; however, the program is not just aimed at schools, as it is also being promoted through business, local government and the workplace. There appears to be an ever-increasing shift from contentbased to values-based programs with an emphasis on the ‘thinking curriculum’. There seems to be a developing interest in acknowledging the citizenship of the wider community today as can be seen, for example, in the presentation of awards to teachers of 20 years or more experience, and presentations during the ‘Year of Volunteers’ to many people who act as volunteers in our community.

Our Challenge Now Our challenge now is the continued improvement of what we do: by keeping the unit fresh for staff and students; by including new resources; by maintaining a high level of understanding among teachers that there is a need to deliver curriculum in a way that is linked to best practice (for example, the thinking curriculum); and by ensuring that areas of the curriculum that were omitted or inadequately covered are improved. We now need to undertake an audit of the array of our programs that develop the ideals of citizenship in our students. there is a need to deliver We should then undertake a process to determine what programs curriculum in a way that is are most valued by all staff and ensure that these are properly linked to best practice embedded in the curriculum. We need to ensure that there is a degree of flexibility built into planned activities that include people from the Indigenous communities as guest speakers. suitable people will be Given the benefit alluded to earlier of inviting members of our considered an important local community into our school, including parents, politicians resource and contacted well in and members of the Indigenous communities, all staff agreed advance to ensure that timing that they are an outstanding resource we often overlook or fail is less likely to be an issue to use as much as we should. Next time we undertake a unit such as this, suitable people will be considered an important resource and contacted well in advance to ensure that timing is less likely to be an issue. Staff and students recognise that these people have so much of value to contribute CONTACT: and their contributions bring the curriculum to life. All areas of Shane Tobin the curriculum will benefit from this. Shane Tobin Deputy Principal

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St Gregory the Great Primary School 396 Manningham Road Doncaster 3108 (03) 9848 4483

Section C Learning Activities in Active Citizenship

There are eight school narratives in section C. What links these narratives is a range of programs that fit within a loose definition of ‘active citizenship’. The members of staff in these schools have demonstrated a preference for students to engage in Civics and Citizenship Education through non-classroom activities, though some of the activities are supported by classroom-based learning. Goals associated with collegiality, student voice, inclusion of the community into the school-based learning, and the extension of cluster-based activities is a feature of some of these programs. Most of the grant activities built upon and sought to highlight the civic participation component of program activities that pre-existed the gaining of the grant. The grant program goals were clear and were achieved. Like their fellows in section B, their goals were less broad than those of the schools in section A. These core teams were not attempting to adopt whole school approaches, though some of the student participation goals might have had effects on students across the whole school. Philosophically these schools view participation as a worthy goal in itself and an effective teaching tool, especially when contextualised by knowledge (in this case civic knowledge). Such teaching and learning settings also generate high levels of interest and skill development. Most schools also have a Civics unit at one year level. The range of learning activities includes the following: • excursions to places and attention to programs that provide information relevant to particular areas of civic knowledge (houses of parliament, electoral centres, museums) • more complex engagement by students in school governance and a more complex range of settings and ways in which students can engage in a broader range of decision-making processes in the school • the adoption of a wide range of activities that expressly require service from students within the school community • programs designed to increase self-management by students and care of others • the construction of a ‘product’ using an overtly cooperative model of working together. One school guides students in identifying a problem within an ‘accepted historical narrative’, and creates a program where the students can choose how to investigate, research and analyse the problem, its causes and current ramifications. They also were challenged to present their findings in a range of creative ways and spaces. These students took charge of their learning, and teachers needed to model a radical pedagogy. Two of the schools’ programs revolve around presentation, giving back to the school community some of the learnings gained in the program.This was a key aspect of the program. This expectation obliges students to take responsibility for their learning in a new and powerful

Section C: Learning Activities in Active Citizenship

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way. It creates a different engagement in learning. The roles for the student learners are as interpreters of Civics and Citizenship Education, for themselves and for others. In this model, students cease to be simply recipients. One school linked its Civics and Citizenship Education program to the analysis and a new articulation of civic values, It creates a different with behaviours that teachers should seek to teach and reinforce, engagement in learning. and which students should seek to demonstrate in their lives. The roles for the student While not a Civics and Citizenship Education mission statement, learners are as interpreters it explicitly informs the way the living and learning programs of Civics and Citizenship are conducted in this school, and will lead to a new code of Education, for themselves student conduct. and for others. In this model, One of the real difficulties with active citizenship programs students cease to be simply is that it is hard if not impossible to know the degree to which recipients. all students achieve specific learning outcomes. Having students articulate, even verbalise, their reflections on key concepts and the learnings they have gained from involvement in activities, is an important way to establish some answers to these assessment and evaluation questions. Presentations and public speaking can also be ways in which the learning can be shared around, as well as indicating independent student learning. Such activities can have a demonstrable positive effect on the life of the school. Evidence of this effect can be readily collected, and some indicators of effectiveness are included in these reports. Students have become more active in classroom and school discussion, and have demonstrated increased skills in articulating their views and in following procedures. One of the challenges of evaluating active citizenship programs is to identify those aspects of the activities from The best way to sort out which the students have learned. One cannot even be sure of the who the potential leaders learning outcomes of the more active individual students; that is, are, is to give all the those who hold positions of responsibility. And, inevitably, these students opportunity to take are always in a minority. Leadership programs can focus on responsibility and to educate those students who already show ‘leadership potential’, and this student constituents to is inequitable. The best way to sort out who the potential leaders recognise effective leadership are, is to give all the students opportunity to take responsibility when it is delivered. That and to educate student constituents to recognise effective way everyone learns about leadership when it is delivered. That way everyone learns about leadership, even if they do not leadership, even if they do not all wish to practise it. And ‘the all wish to practise it. popular kids’ will not get elected next time! Schools report on a number of strategies that effectively challenge assumptions about a small leadership pool and widen the net to include more who can actively participate in decision making. These reports suggest the programs are ‘works in progress’, with intentions of extending the participation activities offerings in future years. The range of extensions is broad indeed, given the links between personal learning and the impact on peers and school life modelled and demonstrated by students in these programs.

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Ballarat Secondary College East Campus

Confronting Issues of Indigenous Human Rights Our school’s long-term goal is to develop ongoing projects with community organisations where students become active participants in a range of community initiatives. Around the time of receipt of our Discovering Democracy grant, there had been meetings with a curriculum officer from Sovereign Hill. A number of issues were discussed, focusing on the absence of any sense of Aboriginal history in the representation of the story at Sovereign Hill. This connected with the idea of further investigating human rights and how these are protected within our community as a natural flow on from what had been studied in the ‘Democracy’ unit at Year 8.

Previous Links Links had been made with Janet Jackson in South Australia who had been using the technique of Dramatic Oralysis as a way of exploring historical and contemporary issues. She had noted that this technique was especially powerful in challenging perspectives and in enhancing the ability of students to see things through different eyes. A study published in Ethos Vol 9 No 3 (Term 3, 2001) explored the use of Art works in studying aspects of historical periods. This made reference to Selwyn (1995, p7):

Ballarat is one of the largest inland cities in Australia. With a population of almost 82 000, it is 110 kilometres north-west and about 90 minutes travel from Melbourne. Ballarat is rich in history and has an important place in the story of the settlement of Australia. Historical remnants include significant Indigenous sites, gold rush architecture, Sovereign Hill and the story of the Eureka rebellion. Ballarat Secondary College is a government multicampus school with 1500 students. There are two Years 7 to 10 campuses: East and Wendouree, which are neighbourhood schools providing students with educational settings tailored for junior students. The Barkly senior campus provides students with the opportunities to undertake a wide range of VCE studies and Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs. In 2002 Koorie students comprised 2.5 per cent of the school population.

Teaching is, among other things, the art of connecting students with course content in personal, relevant and exciting ways. Student learning is enhanced if they are given the opportunity of exploring and experiencing points of view of other cultures. One effective and useful method is for students to engage in personal and collaborative research. Based on sound principles of student action research, students begin with a contemporary or historic image and follow agreed research processes to systematically challenge initial perceptions and perspectives.

Such exciting possibilities needed some support in order to make them happen. An application for funding was made in order to provide the professional development support for staff involved, to ensure the opportunity to audit resources and identify those most relevant to the task, and to access additional external professional development. Before beginning research, an audit was conducted of materials related to Indigenous issues and this included materials in the Discovering Democracy kit, as well as a range of additional material within the school and in the wider community. In the process of rewriting theYear 9 curriculum, teachers looked at various components of the Discovering Democracy kits and began focusing on the unit ‘Aboriginal Peoples – Struggles for Full Citizenship Status’. Students were challenged to research and respond with their own dramatic presentation.


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Developing the Unit The unit was initially developed for delivery to twoYear 9 classes through their normal SOSE class. As the unit developed, the original focus changed, although underlying all development was the emphasis on active learning and involvement in real-life learning in the community. The program developed to also encompass a Years 9–10 drama elective. The initial planning involved working closely with the This program was developed school’s Koorie Educator. One exciting element of the project in response to the need for was the way in which it evolved to encompass a larger number a more engaging curriculum, of students as well as staff.

especially at the Year 9 level, while at the same time ensuring adequate coverage of the skills and knowledge outlined in the CSF. It was also seen as an excellent opportunity to establish ongoing community links and partnerships. • •

• • • • • •

Learning Needs

This program was developed in response to the need for a more engaging curriculum, especially at the Year 9 level, while at the same time ensuring adequate coverage of the skills and knowledge outlined in the CSF. It was also seen as an excellent opportunity to establish ongoing community links and partnerships through involvement in developing interpretative resources for use in the Watha Wurrung exhibit at the Gold Museum, Sovereign Hill. Learning outcomes included the following: An understanding of the impact of European occupation of Australia, in particular on the people living here at the time. Knowledge of the struggle and successes of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to gain political and social rights and full citizenship, and campaign for land rights and self-determination. Engagement in rich discussions of historical events. Development of an understanding of the perspectives of people involved in historical events. An understanding of democratic processes and a willingness to be involved in them. Respect for others and an acceptance of the importance of social justice in the community. An understanding of a range of primary, secondary, oral and visual sources of information and use of them in research. Application of the research method in investigations.

Program Outline: Main Stages As far as possible, the aim was to develop in students a sense of engagement, an understanding of history, and the ability to apply research skills in a project that would then focus on presentation to a real audience. The main stages of this program were designed as follows:

Engagement (full day) In order to develop a sense of engagement with the project, students were ‘briefed’ at Sovereign Hill. This involved giving them the role of a tourism consultant. Their brief was to identify the accuracy of the historical representation. They were also introduced to issues of evidence, the notion that history is fiction written by winners, and the importance that our written history has in developing a national identity. Following the above exercise, students met at the Gold Museum (across the road) to discuss their findings. One thing that was obvious with the Sovereign Hill display was that, while there is an element of multiculturalism (Chinese, Irish, English, etc.), there is no evidence of Koorie settlement.

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During the afternoon session, students wrote a secret letter to themselves outlining what they knew about Koorie settlement and history in this area, and their understanding of racism and the impact it has had. Students were also introduced to the methodology to be used in their research.

Transformation (5 weeks – 12 lessons)

students wrote a secret letter to themselves outlining what they knew about Koorie settlement and history in this area, and their understanding of racism and the impact it has had

A lesson-by-lesson guide was difficult to develop at this stage as students were encouraged to develop their own directions for research, based on the engagement activity that had taken place at Sovereign Hill. In class, they identified a number of areas for further research. These included myths and legends, especially those of the groups in the local area (the Wathaurong), the stolen generation, deaths in custody and the role of Koories in contemporary Ballarat life. Other areas were explored, but these remained the ones with the greatest possibilities. As a result of initial investigations, as well as student negotiation, three main strands of research developed:

(a) Drama Oralysis During this phase, students selected an image for research. The aim with any image was to develop an understanding of the people in the image in order to then ‘bring the people and the scene to life on the stage’. As with all good projects, there were a few hiccups that needed to be addressed. One of these included the fact that some of the SOSE students were not keen about the ‘drama’ element of their research. (b) Contemporary Images In response to the lack of interest in the drama element, while still focusing on the importance of community links, some SOSE students were given the option of researching contemporary images of the Koorie community in Ballarat. This was to be done by visits to the Ballarat and District Aboriginal Cooperative and interviews with a number of local Koorie people of various ages. This required students to develop interview questions, visit local community resources and prepare a PowerPoint presentation of their findings. A long-term aim was to collect a series of photos that might be used to enhance the collection currently on display at the Gold museum. (c) Indigenous Garden A Year 9 science class completed this element of the research. They investigated local indigenous plants then surveyed an area at the entrance to the Gold Museum and created a design that included a Bora Ring. The proposal for the garden renovation was presented to the Gold Museum Committee. Students worked with staff at Sovereign Hill to raise the plants that would form part of the garden. While this part of the project was not part of the original plan, it developed from the connections established between the school and Sovereign Hill.

Presentation A key aspect of the research was the creation of an audience outside school. In order to facilitate this, Sovereign Hill provide students with use of the Victoria Theatre as well as access to facilities for three days.


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Evaluation This was completed using a ‘PMI’ (Plus-Minus-Interesting) and discussed with students in the group. Students also opened the letters they had written earlier in the unit and discussed how their views had changed.

Outcomes One important thing we noted was that while we had planned for certain things to happen, in the end the program evolved in a number of different directions. This was exciting, but it meant that at times we needed to rewrite the script. From the drama point of view, the students did not initially find much empathy with the historical images – they could not relate to the photos … they could have come from another planet. What did have impact were the newspaper articles on deaths in custody and, in particular, the list while we had planned for of people who have died since the Royal Commission. The main certain things to happen, in impact was that there were 15 and 16 year old kids listed there. the end the program evolved At this point, it became relevant. The other impact lay in taking in a number of different some individual stories from the archive of the Commission and directions acting these through. This was a confronting process in class and led to some very emotional responses from students. In class, the students developed a presentation related to the stolen generation and deaths in custody based on this material. Additional scenes were developed, including two dances, one based on the bringing of fire to the Watha Wurrung. This was inspired by the audiovisual presentation at Sovereign Hill. The second was based on a local story about the emu woman of Burrumbeet. At the same time, the Year 9 SOSE group worked on timelines of the history of Koories in Ballarat. As a result of their initial investigations, they chose to focus on the work of the Ballarat and District Aboriginal Cooperative. In order to do this, there was some work completed in class on effective interview skills, processing this, photography and visual presentation of material. Students visited the Cooperative on a number of occasions and spent time observing the work there as well as interviewing a number of participants. The culmination of this research was a performance in the Victoria Theatre, Sovereign Hill one evening, with a number of official guests as well as members of the school community. As with all public performances, students needed to be aware of cultural sensitivities and make some modifications to their work. For example, the names of individuals could not be used in the deaths in custody scenes. The role of the Koorie Educator was critical in advising the students as well as in enabling close links to develop between the school and the Aboriginal Cooperative. During initial discussions on the development of the project, attention was focused on developing links between school and broadening the parameters community resources. As the discussions continued, our vision and styles of learning will be began to widen. All sorts of opportunities became apparent. more likely to engage students, This was one of the most exciting elements of the program. since the learning and context We were able to run with other ideas while still pursuing the becomes authentic, relevant, original proposal outlined in our submission. The generation of interesting and equates more additional opportunities that followed was not something that we to the students’ lives expected. In the process, we developed closer links with many outside organisations. With the confidence generated through our initial discussions, we focused on the key elements of community and participation in projects with a purpose and an audience outside the school. Ballarat Secondary College’s East Campus has this year been involved in an action research project facilitated by the University of Ballarat to interview past students, track them

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in relation to careers, and find what they saw as important in their education. It is hoped that this method of investigative Several students who had exploration of issues will become part of the accepted research spent more time in the procedure by campus students. corridor than the classroom, found themselves on Current findings and best practice indicates that broadening centre stage, challenged the parameters and styles of learning will be more likely to and engaged in a range of engage students, since the learning and context becomes activities that previously may authentic, relevant, interesting and equates more to the students’ have seemed out of reach. lives. Initiating and establishing broad links with a variety of community organisations and individuals also caters for different learning styles, entry points and rates of learning. This was especially relevant for ‘at risk ‘ students involved in the project. Several students who had spent more time in the corridor than the classroom, found themselves on centre stage, challenged and engaged in a range of activities that previously may have seemed out of reach. While we had a ‘script’, a submission and a great idea, it was not ever something that would hit the ground running smoothly. Our enthusiasm got the better of us as the project began developing. It took a lot longer to gather resources than we had anticipated. Having done this, we will find future work in this area easier. As the project began to expand, we realised the need for more planning time: we were also working in an area that was relatively new. One of the biggest issues was balancing the need to follow the outline we had originally submitted when applying for funding against the enthusiasm of following new ideas as they developed during the project. In the end, we kept adding, developing and looking for more. We all learned from this experience. One thing we often do not have the time to do as teachers is to reflect on what has happened during a unit, or even in a class. We have learned new ways of working through a myriad of obstacles, most of which we did not anticipate at the start. Next time, we would certainly have a better understanding of some organisational elements, though, in the end, it was the adventure into the unknown that added a dimension of excitement to the learning. Kerry Howard Teaching and Learning Leader

CONTACT: Kerry Howard Ballarat Secondary College (East Campus) PO Box 1877 Ballarat Mail Centre 3354 (03) 5336 7200


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Drouin West Primary School and Warragul Regional College

Students Teaching Students: Junior Council Representation on Local Council Drouin West Primary School is a school of some 150 students situated in West Gippsland. Its rural location is typical of many smaller primary schools in the region, and it has a highly motivated and committed staff. Warragul Regional College is the only state secondary college in Warragul. Situated in West Gippsland and with a student population of approximately 665 students, it too has a highly motivated staff and a broad palette of subject offerings.

Drouin West Primary School and Warragul Regional College applied for and received funding for a Civics and Citizenship Education program that involved Drouin West Year 6 students and Warragul College Year 9 students presenting a role-play about local government to Year 6 groups in local schools. The role-play was interspersed with tasks and games. Each student from Drouin West and Warragul had dual roles: one as a councillor in the role-play, and another as a tutor about citizenship issues. Drouin West had previously participated in Primary Parliament, so Colleen,Tim and their students already had some experience in debating the topic of junior council representation on local Council. We decided that this would be an authentic learning experience for all involved. Drouin West students already had the scaffolding for this topic and it provided an excellent opportunity to build on their knowledge base.

Studying Law-making Processes To start the project, Year 6 students studied a unit in which they learnt about how laws are made in Australia and how the law-making process provides for participation by citizens, as well as the important features of representative democracy and the role and function of local, state and federal government. This unit focused on the role played by local government, with a view to youth participation on the local Council. Students examined the Australian system of representative democracy and were encouraged to identify and illustrate examples of local government decision making. The process allowed students to see where local governance fits into the three-tier system of government. It was also the ideal opportunity for students to see how they may formally participate in local government and influence decisions related to younger people.

Developing a Role-play In order to do this, we conceived the idea of having a role-play of a local Council, where the issue to be debated was whether it would be desirable to have young people directly represented on the local Council. We believed that a role-play was an excellent way of engaging students as both tutors and learners. It became increasingly clear that the success of the role-play was based on the fun the students would have, both in the roles they had developed as councilors, and as tutors of civics and citizenship to other Year 6 students. Over a 15-week period, Drouin students made weekly trips to Warragul to develop skills, prepare materials and script the role-play. They wrote their roles, and prepared ‘tutor kits’ of materials to support the learning from the role-play. In the role-play each councillor made a speech in support of, or against, the idea of young people having direct representation on local Council. After four speeches, the role-play would stop and the two appointed facilitators would set the audience a task that the ‘councillors’ would then help them to complete through teaching and other assistance. This process would

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continue until the audience had done the four set tasks. One of the teachers involved also took the audience through the process of lobbying. The two-hour session was wound up with a small ‘giveaway bag’ containing material from the Australian Electoral Commission and a petition that gave students in the audience the opportunity to pursue the issue if they so desired. In 2003 the role-plays were presented to Years 5 and 6 students at Neerim District, Warragul, Yarragon, Buln Buln, Shady Creek, Labertouche and Jindivick primary schools. The audiences were engaged in the learning process through entertainment. It became clear with the success of each venue that audiences were not only entertained, but also educated and left with knowledge and a process for change in which they could be prime motivators.

It became clear with the success of each venue that audiences were not only entertained, but also educated and left with knowledge and a process for change in which they could be prime motivators.

Developing Knowledge and Skills The practice and role-play focused on developing students’ abilities to work cooperatively in discussion groups, both in the preparation and execution of the role-play. They were able to use speech to explore these challenging themes and issues in analytical ways. The ability of students to translate their own experience of working in a team allowed them to examine their own part in the role-play and work as tutors. Their previous experience as peer tutors gave them a perspective as to how to function in their tutor role. The students’ capacity to make issues of representation clear and practical for another group of peers was outstanding. Students were taught to identify the key ideas and take notes in order to develop and manage a longer script. When constructing their scripts, they were all too aware of their target audience and used creative, expressive and analytical responses that assisted them in the execution of their roles as councillor and tutor. We assisted the students in discussing the language use of others, as would be the case in the role of their character, and to identify the influence of the intended audience (their Year 6 peers) on script construction. Students, through shared and individual reading, explored texts that presented challenging themes and issues. We assisted in connecting ideas with their own social experience by providing classroom activities that encouraged critical analysis of their own and others’ written work. Their development of characters and speech within their table groups gave them a structure within which they could develop their work in the preparation and training phases.


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The students used narratives, reports, procedures, explanations and persuasive texts as examples to illustrate how they might write expressively and in detail about the issue. In developing their character and script, they experimented with symbols, images, and repetition. We encouraged them to reflect on their written responses in the development of their scripts.We showed them how to record information in summary point form to compile information for a meeting agenda. All participants were required to be aware of meeting procedure so that the role-play, while entertaining, was realistic in its presentation. Students were encouraged to develop the skills of refining and shaping drama, which incorporates dramatic elements and forms. They studied their collective scripts in practice sessions to learn better ways of organising their ideas. They were asked to use their imagination and perception to further develop their characters in the context of the whole role-play and balance of characters. This included the appropriateness of voices, gestures, movements and timing. They were advised how to be able to sustain these within their character as they interacted with other members of the cast and their audience.

Outcomes for Participants The Drouin West and Warragul students learnt much about civics and citizenship from the project. They gained an understanding of the features of direct and representative democracy, checks and balances, and rights and responsibilities as citizens.They then taught these features to their target audience through the medium of the role-play and used tasks to illustrate the information they wanted to teach. To do so required a clear understanding of the processes. This duality of function not only required our students to have a sound factual base upon which they could write a speech as a councillor, but also required them to be able to explain the detail of the task to their audience and answer any questions their audience might have. There were some ongoing and extra benefits, too. All secondary colleges, Warragul Regional College included, have attempted through their transition program to make their feeder primary schools part of the secondary program from the time prospective students are in Year 5. This program empowered the students provided Warragul Regional College and Drouin West Primary to take control of the process School with the opportunity for students to have exposure to and become calculated the secondary school environment over an extended period of risk takers time. It allowed Drouin West students to seem as though they became part of a secondary school and removed some of the apprehension involved in the transition between upper primary and lower secondary. Leadership skills were developed at two levels: First, Drouin West students spent a great deal of time writing letters, sending faxes, organising timetables, photocopying, laminating, organising activity bags, utilising computers – in other words, they executed the process to allow the unit to happen. Their degree of organisation and initiative was outstanding. Secondly, the process of developing the role-play empowered the students to take control of the process and become calculated risk takers. It meant they were prepared to take on new skills, and were not afraid to experiment. Drouin West Primary School and Warragul Regional College have continued this program in 2003 and hope that it will occur annually. The Year 6 students involved have gone on to a variety of secondary schools in the local area covering the Government, Independent and

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Catholic sectors. It is clear from both Drouin’s and Warragul’s perspectives that the program was a valuable one in terms of the It is testament to our knowledge, skills and experience mentioned above, especially preplanning, support from the cross KLA and CSF perspective. Both schools are very keen our respective principals and to run the program again now they have the administrative and staff, and especially the educational process reasonably settled. Because we intended preparedness of our students working through the ‘ripple’ of Year 6 exit students into Year to work hard, that we achieved 7 at local secondary schools, our expectations are that we so much with so little. have significantly raised the profile of Civics and Citizenship Education in students’ new schools. We have received a far more favourable response from other secondary colleges to be involved in the program than was originally the case, due to the familiarity some of their Year 7 students now have with it. While the amount of money we received was good, we have been very careful to construct a model that will allow us to continue the program with a (relatively) small budget. Most of the money was spent on providing opportunity for students to practise, and coverage for staff once a week for 1.5 hours. It is testament to our preplanning, support from our respective principals and staff, and especially the preparedness of our students to work hard, that we achieved so much with so little. Peter Deegan Colleen Crookston and Tim Murphy Year 7 SOSE teacher, Warragul Regional College Grade 5/6 teachers, Drouin West Primary School

CONTACT: Colleen Crookston and Tim Murphy Drouin West Primary School PO Box 176 Drouin 3818 (03) 5625 1971


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Haslem St, Kyabram Primary School

Who Represents Us? The democratic process necessitates the active involvement of all interested groups in a community.The purpose of our project Haslem Street Primary School was to ensure that students, as a major stake-holder in the school is situated in the Goulburn community, were aware that they can play a significant role in North-East Region of northern Victoria. The school population the decision-making processes in our school. comprises about 360 students By applying a whole school approach, teachers have been able from the town of Kyabram and to understand the importance of students as active participants surrounding dairy farms and in decision making and have developed integrated units of work orchards. relating to Civics and Citizenship Education to support that. But in order to empower the students as active decision makers, we needed to examine the ways in which we were already implementing Civics and Citizenship Education. Through a curriculum audit we were able to see the ways teaching teams were already successfully doing this. The audit also highlighted that, perhaps, teams were unaware of what constitutes Civics and Citizenship Education and were actually doing more than they realised. Through staff professional development sessions, we were able to expand an understanding of Civics and Citizenship Education as being more than just units of work. In particular, the audit enabled staff to reflect on how they involve the community in their daily programs, as well as in special events. We were then able to provide professional development students ... can play a activities so teachers would be able to deliver more meaningful significant role in the Civics and Citizenship Education. This would support students decision-making processes in investigating community decision-making processes and make in our school them aware of the active role they can play.

Integrated Unit of Study Throughout Term 1, the students in the upper school undertook a study of government through an integrated unit on ‘Who Represents Us?’ This provided them with the necessary skills and understandings of democratic processes and how these could be implemented in our school. This unit includes three parts: Part 1 identified the three levels of government and the responsibilities of each level. This involved categorising areas of responsibility and the development of a list of political figures. In part 2, Election, students formed political parties. Each party had to come up with a name, a slogan and a platform on which to run an election campaign. The election campaign was run over three weeks and involved the creation of a banner, party badges and party posters. Each party developed political advertising covering all forms of media. They each had to film a scripted television advertisement, record a brief radio advertisement and write a newspaper advertisement. Each party held a press conference where other party groups put questions to them. Throughout the campaign, the students were also examining the preferential style of voting. During the last week of the campaign, the party groups were given time to negotiate preferences on a ‘How to Vote’ card. At this time, each student was given the opportunity to officially register to vote. This ensured that students were aware of how they can contribute individually in the election process. On election day, a polling booth was set up where students were required to have their names crossed off the electoral roll and then vote. At the close of voting, the votes were counted and preferences distributed. This gave the students an understanding of the significance of preferences in determining

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an election outcome. The preference count went down to third preferences. Once the result was declared, the winning party was given the chance to implement their platform. Part 3, the decision-making process, involved an examination of the passage of a Bill through federal parliament before it becomes law. With the establishment of a ‘mock’ parliament, the students were able to see how Bills are debated and amended before becoming law. With the aid of the ‘Class Parliament’ kit and pre-prepared roles and speeches, the students could see the strict rules governing debate. Using the formal structure of parliament and DeBono’s thinking hats to clarify issues, the students debated the benefits of a 3:20 finish to the school day and a ten-minute shorter lunchtime. Each student had a role as a Government member or an Opposition counterpart. This included such roles as the Minister/Shadow Minister for Buses, the Minister/Shadow Minister for Parents and Teachers, and so on.

Outcomes As a result of this unit of work, the students were able to see how they can be significant contributors to the decision-making process at school. The establishment of class parliaments enables them to debate school issues according to some clear and defined rules. It ensures that each of the students is expected to make some contribution to the debate. The students really enjoy this and, because they know the rules and expectations, it is now very easy to prepare and set up. The students now have a very active voice on issues concerning the school through class meetings and the Junior School Council meetings. Junior School Councillors conduct these class meetings according to the rules and requirements examined in the unit of work. One of the significant outcomes of this whole school approach was the development of this Junior School Council. Although we already had a Council in place, we needed to clarify its purpose and to ensure that both students and teachers were aware of the importance of the contributions this forum can have. This has given our students a very real and active voice in decision making at school and ensures that they are aware that their contribution is taken seriously. They can see their suggestions being implemented physically within the school. Our Junior School Councillors were elected as representatives of their classes in the upper school, through the preferential voting system. All Councillors act not only on behalf of their own class, but also represent a class at another level of the school. They now conduct class meetings and report back to the Principal in regular Junior School Council meetings. The Principal then reports to the School Council and staff on Junior School Council initiatives.


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Future Directions Although we now have the necessary processes in place for children to have input into decision making, we need to refine the system by which their representatives are chosen. Currently they are popularly elected by their peers for the roles of House Captain and Junior School Council representative. Consequently, it is not necessarily the most effective leaders who take up these positions, but the most popular students. We are currently examining leadership programs that will put students into situations where their capacity for leadership can be displayed and prospective student leaders will emerge. As part of the process, the leadership programs will: • enable students to develop responsibility and confidence to speak to an audience – they will conduct weekly assemblies; • enable students to develop organisational skills – they will prepare and lead games in the yard during recess and lunchtime; • develop peer mentoring to enable these skills to be shared amongst a larger student population. The leaders will also become peer mediators and will be trained in conflict resolution. This will be applied in a sequential give the students real manner with the students learning a script and knowing what ownership of the school and to say and what questions to ask. The leaders will be expected decisions made to identify the good things happening in the yard and highlight these at weekly assemblies. The benefits of such a program not only engender a whole school approach, but also give the students real ownership of the school and decisions made. With such a program, they are not only being a part of the decision-making process, but are responsible for ensuring that their initiatives are implemented successfully. David Wells and Glenda Peterson SOSE and Middle Years Coordinators

CONTACT: David Wells and Glenda Peterson Haslem Street Primary School Haslem Street Kyabram 3620 (03) 5853 1003

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Little River Primary School

Everyone Can Make a Difference At Little River Primary School our motto ‘To Learn Is To Grow’ aptly describes our belief that learning is a lifelong pursuit. The total school community is dedicated to providing the best possible educational opportunities for our students in a safe, caring and challenging environment that supports students in reaching their full potential now and prepares them for the future. To this end, in 2003 we established Civics and Citizenship as a priority, and applied for and successfully gained a grant to assist us with this. The school climate and culture embraces community involvement and collaboration. In 2003 the focus was on highlighting the children’s awareness of Civics and Citizenship, including their active participation in citizenship across the school; and highlighting the civic duty that already is a large part of our school ethos. Discovering Democracy has been a unit of work in the Years 5–6 cycle of integrated studies for several years. This focus has been on the Australian Parliamentary system at local, state and federal government levels. School captains, house captains and class representatives from Prep to Year 6 have also been a key feature of student leadership throughout the school. Our Junior School Council has operated for some time, with representation from Prep to Year 6. The monthly meeting is conducted at the same time as the other School Council subcommittee meetings. All classroom representatives have an opportunity to voice concerns and issues, which are then discussed. This year we initiated reporting to our School Council at our evening meetings. Two children are chosen and parents bring them to the evening meeting. We have demonstrated a strong commitment to Civics and Citizenship Education through our integrated units of study throughout the year and by the emphasis we have now placed on providing and ensuring opportunities for student leadership from Prep to Year 6.

Little River Primary School was established in 1877. The school believes in providing students with a caring educational environment that promotes self-esteem, self-knowledge and a thoughtful attitude towards others. Within this environment, the school community works together to provide a true educational partnership. The school is located midway between Lara and Werribee (50 kilometres southwest of Melbourne) and is in close proximity to a major growth corridor. Little River is a small rural community with several community businesses. Employment ranges from farmers and self-owned businesses to Altona factory workers. An increasing percentage of families have both parents in full-time or part-time employment, making their involvement in daily programs difficult. The school is in the centre of the local township. Its current enrolment of 109 is a gradual increase from 99 students in 1999. The majority of our current population are from Australian and European backgrounds. The school has a low percentage (11 per cent) of parents receiving the Educational Maintenance Allowance. The school has five classes: a Prep–2, two Years 3–4, and a Years 5–6. This structure has been driven by low class sizes. There have been five full-time teaching staff and two part-time staff for the past few years.

Making a Difference The Discovering Democracy school grant enabled us to ensure that students at Little River know they can make a difference to school improvement and to the local community through their civic actions. We did this in several different ways.

Creating a School Oath Through classroom meetings, individual writing activities and a shared writing session in junior classes, students produced ideas for a school oath. Ideas were then collated and the Years 5–6 students sifted through the final entries and worked on an oath that embodied everyone’s ideas. This is now part of our Monday morning assembly:


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We the students at Little River Primary believe that: • we should treat each other with respect; • be friendly to one another; • help others when we can; and • be tolerant of children who are different. The School Captains run the Monday Morning Assembly. House Captains give a report on sport and the School Vice Captain then leads the oath. After input from the School Council, the children in the Years 5–6 area were asked to write roles and responsibilities for these leadership positions.

Buddy Program A buddy program has been established with a local kindergarten to encourage oral language development and social skills. The Prep–Year 1 teacher established regular dialogue with the kindergarten teacher, who then created a timetable for mutual visits. This will continue into 2004 when this year’s kindergarten children start at our school and the Year 1 students take on a leadership role in helping them settle in.

Student Action Teams Years 3–4 teachers decided to trial ‘student action teams’. Various groups were mobilised around their intelligences: a naturalist group decided on a beautification project, a kinaesthetic group organised sponsorship and ran lunchtime games, a mathematics logic group graphed people’s choices and bought ‘healthy food’ for a healthy week at school, and a linguistic group produced a magazine for the Years 3–4 area. The action teams are to continue in the Years 3–4 area in 2004, and a further boost to this idea is our inclusion in the Innovation and Excellence Middle Years Cluster, which is focused on community projects. We are currently providing programs, highlighting links, providing opportunities for developing leadership skills and opportunities for decision making. We are creating opportunities for promoting students’ understanding that they are able to make a difference to their school and local community and ultimately their state and Australia. Through Civics and Citizenship awareness and links in the curriculum, we hope to give children skills and strategies and the expectation that part of their role now and in the future is as a good citizen.

Reflections Little River Primary School has always had a school climate and culture that embraces parent involvement. In 2003 the children paid more attention to this partnership and became aware of civic duty. At the same time they became active participants in decision making across the school and teachers gained a heightened awareness of how this area linked into the curriculum and the resources available. Each week we ensured community communication through the school newsletter with opportunities for ongoing feedback in having a graduate as our surveys, anonymous feedback forms, etc. together with regular project leader was a bonus Monday morning coffee sessions open to all parents. A more and a key factor in the success transparent form of decision making with a policy of actively of our endeavours listening to all community members has developed a positive climate that welcomes input in the decision-making process. Personally, I feel that having a graduate as our project leader was a bonus and a key factor in the success of our endeavours in 2003. Her focus, energy and enthusiasm has motivated other staff and provided impetus. Being a small staff, the funding has been extremely useful in allowing groups of teachers time together to discuss issues. This has been the major

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The ability of Civics and Citizenship Education to assist in developing decisionmaking skills, attitudes and an understanding of civic duty is an important aspect that should be emphasised in all schools.

contribution to our success, because the teachers have not seen it as an add-on, but as something they already do (in a fashion) that needed to be more explicit and embedded in all their activities.

Directions Our priority in 2004 in Civics and Citizenship Education will be to continue to increase civic pride and the children’s participation in whole school decision making. We will continue to reinforce our participative school culture in the organisation, teaching and learning areas of the school.We hope the help of the Junior School Council will be enlisted in solving schoolyard problems. While the children will take charge of this, as teachers we envisage a ‘Stop Think Do’ approach and, where this does not work, recommend that children seek peer mediators (junior school captains). More work is to be done on the scope and sequence chart of topics that has Civics and Citizenship Education embedded in it. Professional development opportunities for individuals and teams of teachers have increased staff awareness of Civics and Citizenship Education and its relevance. Next year we hope to send another teacher to Discovering Democracy training sessions. The ability of Civics and Citizenship Education to assist in developing decision-making skills, attitudes and an understanding of civic duty is an important aspect that should be emphasised in all schools. Professional development of staff and appropriate funding need to be allocated to this area as a must for all schools. Our children are our future, and civic pride and duty are an important aspect of the Australian life. We must assist our students in understanding that everyone can make a difference to our community, our state and Australia. Next year we look forward to continuing our journey! Karen Chaston Principal

CONTACT: Karen Chaston Little River Primary School 21 Flinders Street Little River 3211 (03) 5283 1214


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Maryborough Specialist School

Developing a Sense of Democratic Process in the Post-Compulsory Years Discovering Democracy: Where do you start? How do you discover democracy? What is democracy? Who is a citizen? Maryborough Specialist School was Who makes the laws? These questions and more were posed part of a cluster of Special Schools to the senior group at Maryborough Specialist School. that received funding through the It was felt that those students who were approaching school Discovering Democracy Grant leaving age were ill prepared for life and expectations in the adult Program. The other schools involved were Echuca Specialist world. This senior group consisted of twelve students with an School, Swan Hill Specialist School, age range from 15 to 18 years, and with an extremely wide range Kalianna School and Bendigo of abilities. Programs for some students emphasise life skills, Special Developmental School. while others are enrolled in VCAL subjects and TAFE modules These schools range in size from as part of Certificate 1 in Transition Education. A Civics and 50 to more than 100 students. Citizenship focus sits comfortably in our program as part of Personal Development and Community Access. I was determined to provide students in the senior group with the opportunity to become more active participants in the democratic process, at school, in the local community and in the wider community. There was a real need for them to be aware of their rights and responsibilities as citizens.

Action Decision Making The group discussed its own classroom rules and was part of decision making for establishing school rules. Students were encouraged to nominate for positions of responsibility, such as School Captain and Class Representative. As part of literacy, they were encouraged to write a policy speech and then present it at School Assembly. Appointments to these positions of responsibility have been for one semester, and it was agreed that those who held a position of responsibility could not nominate the following semester. All students and staff were asked to vote. Votes were counted with the expectation that there would be one winner, but dual captains were appointed this semester. We decided to go back to the roster system for many activities in our room, such as answering the phone and turning on the computer. This gives everyone a turn, and also encourages students to read timetables and rosters.

Understanding Government Processes Much discussion and many excursions were made to local government facilities. We visited the local Shire Offices, the Town Hall where the local Council meets, the library and sporting facilities. Much discussion took place as to where the rates go, and local Council responsibilities. We then moved on to State Government, with discussion on state responsibilities and representatives in Parliament. We visited Parliament House during ‘Discovering Democracy Week’, and used the public transport system. We then moved on to look at the wider picture: the Government of Australia. Again, there was much discussion about responsibilities and representation. Many of our students had visited Parliament House in Canberra two years ago.

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a chance to support the wider community and show that we can also be responsible and caring people

Responsible Citizens Students have been encouraged to be responsible citizens by first being aware of their own actions and comments, and the effect these will have on themselves and other people. We have discussed different aspects of rules and laws in short intensive sessions: who makes these, why they are made, and who they apply to. As part of the ‘Personal and Community Health’ module, we discussed safety rules and issues, especially in relation to the swimming pool. Some of our students are working towards obtaining their Learners Permit, so road rules and signs were of special interest. We also discussed the consequences of breaching particular rules and laws: what happens if you step with the ball in netball compared to what your responsibility is as a driver if a child steps out in front of your car. We undertook a First Aid Awareness Course and found that the practical sessions were informative and fun! The Police in Schools Program was useful when discussing issues related to smoking, alcohol and drugs, as well as driving.

Active Citizenship

Our students have participated in many and varied experiences and have developed an understanding of other people and become more tolerant of other people’s abilities.

As part of Certificate 1 in Transition Education and VCAL, students can undertake work experience in a voluntary capacity. We deliver Meals on Wheels every Thursday and have volunteered to do some door knocking for Red Cross. We stood outside supermarkets for the Red Shield Appeal and had a follow-up visit from a Salvation Army Minister. He talked about the role of the Salvos and discussed why they need money for charity. As a whole school, we help to organise and have been involved in Red Nose Day, Jump Rope for Heart, National Board Shorts Day (Youth Suicide), Clean Up Australia Day, National Tree Planting Day, Daffodil Day, Save the Bilby Day and Harmony Day. These days give us a chance to support the wider community and show that we can also be responsible and caring people.

Voting: What Are Our Rights and Responsibilities? As part of our program, we revised our reasons for voting for school positions, discussed local committees and how people are chosen for executive positions. State and federal elections were discussed.


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During school camp we visited the Australian Electoral Education Centre in Melbourne and came away with knowledge of our voting rights and responsibilities, and the procedures to follow. Throughout the year, I have had a very flexible program where we discuss any news and current affairs. During this time we have been able to include discussion about different types of government in other countries, such as authorities and dictatorships. Different cultures and societies have also been discussed, and on our recent trip to Melbourne, different foods were noted in shops. The Immigration Museum was an interesting place to visit as a follow up. Earlier in the year, we had covered the subject of being an Australian, Australian emblems and flags.

... that special feeling that you have made a difference and done something significant in the community

Outcomes Our basic outline of being a responsible citizen has formed a large part of an integrated, experiential and flexible curriculum for our senior group. Our students have participated in many and varied experiences and have developed an understanding of other people and become more tolerant of other people’s abilities. Celebration of our experiences and successes has been acknowledged at School Assembly, in our newsletters, by receiving Special Certificates, and by that special feeling that you have made a difference and done something significant in the community. Helen Ritchie Senior Students classroom teacher

CONTACT: Marie Hardefeldt or Helen Ritchie Maryborough Specialist School 20 Christian Street Maryborough 3465 (03) 5461 3477

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Mooroopna Park Primary School

Valuing the Future Citizens of our Community Before receiving the Civics and Citizenship Education grant, there were already some Civics and Citizenship Education Mooroopna Park Primary School activities in place at Mooroopna Park, including active student in Shepparton has approximately leadership opportunities, such as Junior School Council, 320 students. The school has a Peer Mediation, Meeters and Greeters, Litter Angels, School high EMA (Education Maintenance Presentation Teams and Breakfast Program Volunteers. Allowance) and a Koorie and transient population. The school’s The Junior School Council was run by a Years 5–6 teacher program has a focus on student who took over the role and continued with the structure set responsibility for learning, and up by the previous teacher. The representatives were elected on providing opportunities for through a whole school campaign and preferential voting leadership for all stakeholders process. During the first meeting, the representatives voted within the school setting, namely amongst themselves for the President, Vice President and other students, teachers and parents. officers. The President and Vice President were responsible for creating the agendas and running each meeting, which was held about once a fortnight. The main items on the agenda included deciding about a dress-up day the Junior School Council would organise to raise money for various charities. Peer Mediators were trained by another Years 5–6 teacher during two full school days of working through various scenarios and discussing the best ways to handle conflict resolution. After being trained, the students were scheduled for duty at lunch and recess. They wore a red sash and were available to work through minor occurrences that took place between other students while playing. Meeters and Greeters were trained to show visitors around the school and give information about the programs running at any point in the school day. Litter Angels are senior unit students who volunteer to spend one day each term cleaning up around the school, including gardening. There were, and still are, three different Presentation Teams at Mooroopna Park. One team is made up of middle and senior unit students, one comprises junior unit students and the third comprises Koorie students.These teams worked together with a teacher to create presentations to be seen at various times by parents, visiting schools or district conferences. Each student was required to fill out a CCE Passport to include in his or her yearly portfolio. Most teachers would ask the students to tick the box next to any activities in which they had participated and then glue the passport into the portfolio, not referring back to it again. The activities were associated with various opportunities given to all students at the school, such as attending the school’s Remembrance Day Ceremony.

Setting the Focus Realising where Mooroopna Park Primary School was at before the Civics and Citizenship Education Grant Program, we, as the grant core team, set a focus to raise the profile and value of Civics and Citizenship Education in the curriculum across all year levels and with all staff. We felt as educators that it was our responsibility to inspire and encourage our students


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to become better citizens within the school and community. Our objectives included revising the CCE passports, attending appropriate professional development sessions, providing professional development opportunities for the whole staff, establishing community links, updating the school’s Three Year Planner, locating and organising current Civics and Citizenship Education resources, and restructuring the Junior School Council. Below we outline developments in some of these areas. After reviewing the use being made of CCE passports, we discussed how we could make them more effective in encouraging the students to become better citizens. Our objective was to create a passport that students would own and to which they would have continual access. The passports also needed to be more age appropriate and provide three different levels of achievement to maintain encouragement. It was felt there needed to be whole school recognition of those students who achieved each of the levels. Another objective was to incorporate into the passport the You Can Do It values that were being taught during Social Skills. After reflecting on the first year of coordinating the Junior School Council, we felt that improvement to the structure of the group was needed to increase the Council’s role within the community.

Making Changes While attending the initial Discovering Democracy professional development information session for grant schools, we participated in a variety of activities. One of the sessions was about Student Action Teams. This was an idea that we brought back to Mooroopna Park to change the structure of the Junior School Council. The new structure includes a School Focused Student Action Team (SAT) and a Community Focused SAT. The committees meet every other week and then come together between meetings to share progress or make full Junior School Council decisions. The Council trialled the Leadership Program during a few meetings. This emphasised how to make decisions as representatives of the student body. During a teacher release day, we reviewed and revised the Civics and Citizenship Education Passports. The new structure is based on a three-level system: Bronze, Silver and Gold. To earn a bronze medal, the students need to attend Civics and Citizenship Education activities within the school; the silver medal earners must volunteer to participate in activities available to them during school; to earn a gold medal, students need to initiate activities that can be completed within the school or community. After achieving each level sequentially, the students are presented with a Citizenship Certificate in front of their peers and family at a whole school assembly. Later, we attended unit-planning meetings to discuss the changes

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to the CCE passports. The majority of teachers were pleased with the changes, although one rejected it right away. After several meetings with this particular teacher, discussing concerns and encouraging input from her, she was able to gain ownership of the CCE Passport. We then had a whole school agreement and understanding of how the passport would be used.

Outcomes During the project, we discovered some unexpected outcomes that were particularly advantageous. We realised that Student Action Teams introduced at the professional development session would be a great addition to the Junior School Council currently running in the school. We were already determined to make structural changes to create a more effective working environment that would benefit the school and the community, but prior to the professional development session, we were unsure of how to accomplish this. Another unexpected change came about when it was noticed that there needed to be improvement to the structure of classroom meetings. To create this structure, a set of starter questions was provided to each representative to guide their meeting to focus on school and community issues. These were discussed with the teachers at a staff meeting to ensure their knowledge of the changes before holding their own class meetings.

Directions All members of staff need to Even though we are very pleased with the progress made in the feel that their input is valued course of spending our Discovering Democracy grant, there is one and that their concerns and thing we might have done differently. Since we became more beliefs will be met. enthusiastic about Civics and Citizenship Education/SOSE after attending each of the professional development sessions, it might have been beneficial to use the grant money to send other staff members to a professional development session. Throughout next year it will be vital to continually discuss and review the new programs with staff members. All members of staff need to feel that their input is valued and that their concerns and beliefs will be met. Classroom teachers are in the best position to critique any new class programs and offer constructive and innovative ideas. The CCE passports will be integrated into each classroom under the supervision and guidance of classroom teachers. Teachers will explain how the new passports work and inspire students to obtain a Gold Medal for their achievements. Further support will be provided through whole school assemblies where their peers will acknowledge them and be encouraged to achieve citizenship awards themselves. Junior School Council will continue with the structure formulated during the year, with two Student Action Teams. One will continue to focus on school-related issues, whereas the other will have a community focus. We will each coordinate one of the SAT committees. With the continual focus of improving the Junior School Council, there will be an emphasis on making connections with councils from other schools so we can share CONTACT: ideas and successes. Each of the achievements made by the two Stacie Hall and Samantha Segrave Student Action Teams will be written about in the newsletter Mooroopna Park Primary School to keep the families and community informed. Stacie Hall and Samantha Segrave Student Wellbeing and SOSE Coordinator; Senior Unit Leader and 5/6 Teacher

PO Box 609 Mooroopna Park 3629 (03) 5825 3856


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Orbost Cluster

Far East Citizenship Action This cluster consists of primary, P–12 schools and Orbost Secondary College. These are remote rural schools in the far east of Victoria, ranging in size from 14 to 370 students. Orbost Secondary College is the largest educational institution in far eastern Victoria. It has taken a leadership role in Middle Years Research and Development (MYRAD) and more recently in Innovation and Excellence programs in the district.

The aim of our Civics and Citizenship Education project was to build on and enhance our MYRAD experiences (utilising the structures already established under MYRAD to direct and run this program), to provide opportunities for our more talented students, to encourage our students in the use of learning technologies, and to provide opportunities for interaction between schools.

Existing Cluster Programs

In 2001 there were already a number of relevant programs running in the cluster. For example, as part of a Transition Project, Civics and Citizenship has been taught toYear 6 students at Orbost Secondary College. The cluster also trialled an online program (ECO: East Connected On-line) which involved students from Years 5 to 8 working in teams for a term on hypothetical problems of local, national and global significance. Students had to communicate with team members online and then prepare a presentation. This was very successful. The schools were also involved in a number of community-based projects, such as Meals on Wheels, Keep Australia Beautiful, WaterWatch, the Snowy River Rehabilitation Project, Sensory Gardens, Tree Planting, and the Junior Rotary Citizenship program. The Orbost Secondary College students are regularly involved in regional, state and national forums. In 2000 one student was aYouth Envoy for the Centenary of Federation.We also expanded some of our programs to include all Years 5–8 students in the Far East Constitutional Convention and the State Constitutional Conference. The college hosted a Regional Constitutional convention in 1999 and again in 2001.

Priority: Unify and Expand The priority for 2002 with the Discovering Democracy cluster grant was to unify and expand the current programs into a cluster program that had centralised leadership opportunities and resources for primary schools, the P–12 school and the secondary college. This was principally done through the creation of a cluster web site that detailed events, and through the hosting of those events. The unified and cohesive program raised awareness of civics and citizenship in all our students. From the outset, the planning team had a strong belief that ‘participation’ and ‘doing’ were more effective methods of teaching citizenship than theory in the classroom. Each school supported a number of community programs and our objective was to expand on these experiences to give students a broader understanding of citizenship.The focus of the program was on participation, heightened awareness of civics and citizenship and communication. Some examples are reported below.

a strong belief that ‘participation’ and ‘doing’ were more effective methods of teaching citizenship than theory in the classroom

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Web Site Two Orbost Secondary College students constructed the web site during the year.They are working closely with the district schools and will also maintain the site for the next twelve months. Their task included collecting data and information from the district schools on a regular basis so the site could be updated.


East Connected On-line The ECO Project started in third term. Teams of four students in a school are matched with another team of four in a different school, mostly combining the middle-years levels (Years 5–8). The teams are given a hypothetical problem of global and local significance and asked to research the problem and make some decisions for presentation. This year’s problems included the rural health crisis, environmental issues and non-performing football teams. The students have one brief meeting and the rest of the contact is completed online. Presentations were made at the end of term, with 65 students from across the cluster participating in a day that ranged from speeches and reports, to dramas, role-plays and model building. It was a frantic day, heavily orientated towards the ‘thinking curriculum’. Presentations were made to an audience of parents and students from the schools.

Junior Parliament and Constitutional Convention Our first Junior Parliament was held in June, with 75 students from Years 5 to 8 participating and another 60 students as spectators. Parents and supporters also attended. It was a great day with many excellent speeches and lively debate, which gave students an opportunity to explore issues in depth and to really think about what is happening in our society. Each primary school provided a team of four students and Orbost Secondary College matched these teams with students from Years 7 and 8. Students were given topics a week before the Parliament. One speaker presented for three minutes on the given topic. The four students then formed a panel and were questioned by a designated opposing team. If there was enough time, the topic was opened up for general questions from the floor. The program ran for about two hours. The audience was made up of parents and fellow students from the range of schools. The Parliament was run on Parliamentary Rules with a Speaker and formal language in the debates, so the education was in the participation. This was an accessible and stimulating activity for this age group. Orbost Secondary College hosted the Regional School Constitutional Convention in July with the State Minister for Youth Affairs and Education Services as guest speaker. Over 70 students attended.

Outcomes Through the initiatives taken under this program, participation in these events and ‘spin off ’ events, such as State Student Parliaments, was up more than 40 per cent on the previous year. Students became more interested and more conversant with what was happening in


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their community. They also became more aware of the decision-making processes in their communities. Many learnt to use ICT proficiently to communicate with other schools and gained confidence in public speaking, debating and presenting to audiences. The website was popular with community members, especially parents and grandparents. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the use of Discovering Democracy materials in all the schools in the cluster has increased significantly.

Directions Over the past two years the program has expanded to include more students, and schools have become more conscious of linking into their communities.The use of technology has been able to overcome the ‘tyranny of distance’ to some extent. The program has succeeded in melding all the schools in the Far East in a common purpose and has enabled positive professional interaction to occur. The grant enabled us to pay travelling and teacher replacement expenses for the remote schools, making it possible for them to participate. We would hope that their experiences this year will encourage them to continue. The ECO Project and the Youth Parliament will continue and the website will continue to be upgraded. Our cluster is a designated Innovation and Excellence cluster and part of that project will be to continue to run and possibly expand the civics program in the Far East Cluster. The ECO Project and the Junior Parliaments are excellent Middle Years and Transition Programs for thinking students, and they will definitely continue.We will run with an integrated curriculum across Years 5 to 8 and civics will form part of that. The Discovering Democracy materials will be the resource base, because we know they are present in every school and every school has some professional development on using those materials. The cluster planning team is working on a shared unit of work to cater for students in Years 3 and 4. Teacher professional development is always an issue in remote rural areas. The willingness of the Discovering Democracy team to come to us, rather than asking us go to them, was a significant factor in creating heightened awareness of civics education. We would never have achieved the spread into every school if the professional development had been conducted out of the district. Professional development must be relevant and linked to state and federal initiatives for schools to allocate valuable resources to it. Rural schools have to allocate double the resources of time and money to an event held in a metropolitan area. Student participation depends largely on allocation of resources and time. The Discovering Democracy grant enabled us to make it easy for school teams to participate and for school leaders to support the program. Without this allocation we would not be able to attract the participation of our more remote schools. Frances Haldane Far East Cluster Middle Years Coordinator Curriculum Leader Orbost Secondary College

CONTACT: Frances Haldane Bairnsdale Secondary College PO Box 325 Bairnsdale 3875 (03) 5150 4802

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Templestowe Heights Primary School

We Make It Happen! At Templestowe Heights Discovering Democracy was introduced as a unit of work in the Years 5–6 Integrated Program in 1998. Templestowe Heights Primary This unit focused on the Australian parliamentary system and School is located in the north the roles of Local, State and Federal governments. east of Melbourne. The school has worked hard to develop a A Student Representative Council has operated in the school school climate and culture that for some time with representation from children in Years 5 embraces community involvement and 6. A Junior School Council was introduced in 2003, with and collaboration. In the past year, representation from each year level. The weekly meeting is the focus has been on including conducted by the Junior School Council President, with minutes children as active participants in taken by the Secretary. All classroom representatives have an decision-making across the school opportunity to voice concerns and issues, which are then debated. from Prep to Year 6. Classroom representatives report back to their classrooms. Class meetings are a feature of the program in some classes, where children conduct meetings from an established agenda and then plan actions to address issues raised by classmates. Two members of the Junior School Council lead the Templestowe Heights Primary School Assembly each week. They also report to our School Council on a monthly basis. Healthy Relationships is a values education program that is in place throughout the school. It actively encourages the development and demonstration of positive community attitudes and values in us all. These values are highlighted in class lessons, school displays and assembly presentations. We make it happen at Templestowe Heights Primary School! We have demonstrated a strong commitment to Civics and Citizenship Education through our integrated units of study throughout the year and by the emphasis we place on providing and ensuring opportunities for student leadership from Years P–6. Students at Templestowe Heights know they can make a difference to school improvement and to the local community through: • involvement in a buddy program with a local kindergarten to encourage oral language development and social skills; • performances at kindergartens, child care centres and issues are raised, discussed retirement homes; and resolved by the group • a garden club called ‘Operation Green Thumb’, which is ensuring native plants are being planted to encourage native bird life into the schoolyard and local area; • our Junior School Council with representation from Years P–6, who take it in turns to host and lead our school assembly each Monday morning, discuss issues and concerns brought to their attention by their classmates (every Friday) and fundraise for worthwhile causes, including sponsoring an African child; • at a classroom level, weekly meetings in most classrooms where issues are raised, discussed and resolved by the group. Through our programs we ensure that our students have opportunities for developing their leadership skills, opportunities for decision making and opportunities for understanding that they are able to make a difference to their school and local community and ultimately their state and Australia. We want to ‘empower’ our students with skills, strategies and knowledge, and expect them to be good citizens now and in the future.


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In the past year, the focus has been to include children as active participants in decision making across the school from Prep toYear 6. It is fair to say that there had been a conservative approach to student, staff and community involvement in the decision-making process prior to a change of principal.

Identifying Values In 2003 we worked to identify and articulate the civic and citizenship ‘values’ of our school community – parents, staff and students. Community partnerships are instrumental in strengthening our students’ sense of connectedness to their local community and in preparing them to be capable, confident and informed citizens. Information has been collected and collated on values to show that parents, teachers and students are in tune with one another. These values were the ones considered to be the most important. Staff discussed these community values and noted the behaviours that demonstrated that value (see the table opposite). The classroom teachers then used brainstorming to help the students list the behaviours that demonstrated each school community value. These behaviours were collated at a whole school level and apply to students and teachers.

Outcomes We have reviewed our current code of conduct to reflect a united philosophy of shared values in our school and have undertaken a project to identify and articulate the particular values of our school community. Opportunities created by the classroom teachers for students to be part of the decisionmaking process within classroom programs and with respect to whole school matters, has shaped a greater rapport and respect between teachers and students. Students on Junior School Council have become more assertive and demonstrative, taking their position seriously, seeing it as a vehicle for making a difference in their school and local community. For example, the Junior School Council is currently devising a process flow chart that will assist children to solve problems and resolve any playground disputes or issues. These flow charts will be displayed in each classroom and in the schoolyard. More formally, a clear scope and sequence of Civics and Citizenship Education has been established within our integrated curriculum documentation. This scope and sequence chart has been drawn largely from the CSF and the Discovering Democracy materials. There is now a large amount of excellent classroom practice in place across the school.

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School Values (Teachers and Students) We value:

This means:

So we:

Integrity

Honesty, sincerity, truth and trustworthiness. Acting in a way that shows the values and principles of the school in everything you do.

Are honest at all times and support those who tell the truth. Accept other people’s point of view, decisions, differences and opinions. Gain permission to use other people’s property before using it. Return property that does not belong to us. Follow set rules and guidelines.

Lifelong Learning

A strong commitment to continuous learning, improvement and self-development.

Try our best. Ask questions if we do not understand. Build on what we know. Learn from our mistakes. Have a go – accept a challenge. Approach new situations with an open mind.

Teamwork

Sharing knowledge and working together effectively.

Share ideas and resources. Listen to others. Are supportive of team members and recognise individual contributions Work towards the shared team goals. Give constructive advice. Pull our weight – make an effective contribution.

Community

Serving and supporting a purpose that supersedes personal desires. To ‘make a difference’.

Have a say in decision making. Keep the school environment clean and attractive. Think of others before ourselves. Try to make our school a better place. Support worthy causes.

Friendship and Happiness

Developing personal relationships with others that provide satisfaction, joy and pleasure.

Invite others to join our games and activities. Play fairly. Are helpful and friendly, with a positive attitude. Acknowledge achievements and are proud of them. Develop our special gifts and talents. Participate in recreational pursuits.

Respect

Care and concern for yourself and others. Order and structure.

Listen to and acknowledge others. Demonstrate courtesy and good manners. Speak positively about others and ourselves. Give encouragement and praise to the effort rather than the achievement. Give due consideration to our actions.


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Directions I am very excited that Templestowe Heights Primary School is well on the way to achieving our intended outcomes. The commitment by teachers to this project has been commendable, with six staff representing the junior, middle and senior school, SOSE curriculum leader and the integrated curriculum leader attending Civics and Citizenship Education professional development. A Curriculum Day in August enlightened the rest of the staff and provided the opportunity for teams to continue the curriculum review and embed Civics and Citizenship Education into our integrated curriculum document. Class meetings are another feature of most classes now. Children conduct the meetings where issues they raise are Children are intelligent and addressed. Of significance is the inclusion of our school’s values often imaginative thinkers. and community values and how that is verified in our new We need to believe in their Charter. The wider school community involvement of parents, intelligence and in their ideas, students, teachers, Junior School Council and School Council and actively listen to them is noteworthy. and support them as best we can. Children from Prep to Year Children are intelligent and often imaginative thinkers. We 6 have a very strong sense need to believe in their intelligence and in their ideas, and actively of justice that should not be listen to them and support them as best we can. Children from underestimated. Prep to Year 6 have a very strong sense of justice that should not be underestimated. Civics and Citizenship Education develops decision-making skills, values, attitudes, information and understanding so as to allow all people to actively participate in Australian society. As such, it underpins the Australian culture and way of life, so I would suggest that it warrants rigorous professional development of staff.We want our students to be active citizens and to know that we can all make a difference to our community, our state and Australia. Bente Stock Assistant Principal

CONTACT: Bente Stock Templestowe Heights Primary School High Street Lower Templestowe 3107 (03) 9850 1796

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Section D Community Links and Partnerships

Many of the eight schools in this part could have been placed in section A, but the particular work they undertook with their students in the grant program focused on establishing specific links with the community outside the school walls. They all thought the school did have a wall, one that separated it and the school community from the broader community, and they were seeking to bring down that wall. It is worth noting that, unlike the other sections, here three of the eight narratives are the contributions of secondary schools. The activities and programs they implemented are very broad. The ways in which they were implemented are innovative and strongly goal-based.These ideas have broad application, but each of them, for full effectiveness, would need student and community input. The programs all were underpinned by a specific unit of work that students did before, or as an ongoing accompaniment to, the community action. The definitions of community included the following: • The world, as experienced by the cargo ship whose world route the students map. • Local community organisations (environment groups, Lions, Indigenous community, RSL). • Local institutions (School Council, hospitals). • Local environments/places (actual physical spaces). • Local people (some through their work, some through family or other connections). • Local government (full range of shire and council officers and program volunteers). • State government officers and politicians. The actions taken by students included the following: • Students joined the ‘Adopt a Ship’ program and became more globally aware. • Students contributed to local environmental action planning. • Students visited, talked with and performed for hospital residents. • Students planned and hosted the opening of a town’s new WW1 Honour Roll. • Students investigated and planned restoration of fragile environmental and physical habitats. • Students undertook specific initiatives to integrate particular individuals and groups into the school. • Students compiled and produced the local newspaper. • Students evaluated local community programs.

Section D: Community Links and Partnerships

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•

Students made submissions to local bodies, supplying data, reports, and recommendations for changes to policy outcomes and processes. • Students became actual workers in a range of community programs, in and outside their school grounds. • Students constructed works of practical art that will continue to exist in the school or wider community. • Students corresponded and communicated with individuals and groups, and their voices were heard. • Students listened to guest speakers who had power and/or life stories they could relate to and who had been asked into the school community. • Students formed ongoing alliances with the community. In other words, the students engaged in authentic action and authentic learning. This was the goal of these programs. Of course much more was required to make these actions happen. The students needed to undertake a whole range of other learning and skilling before they could undertake these actions, but these are the peak practices and behaviours that the programs were designed to achieve. Most of the report-writers are clear about the reason they believe this is the important goal: it is to experience the link between what you learn and how it can make a difference in the real world. For students to really know about decision-making and its effect, they actually have to be involved in both. They have to make decisions, and put them into effect. Then, as one report reflects, you hope that a visible or observable effect will result from the student action. Another school makes the point that school is more than preparation for the real world: for life. ‘School is real life and not a preparation for real life… So our parliament is not a mock parliament. Our newspaper is not an imitation. Our work in the community is real work.’ Stirring words. And an object lesson in the way we can approach learning. Some of these schools feel the need to address this issue of authentic learning because their students are disengaged from the learning the school is currently offering. Adopting an integrated Civics and Citizenship Education approach, often within a ‘middle years’ paradigm, has enabled the schools to ‘solve’ some of these learning and program problems. Acknowledgment of the problem is the first step in such a process of resolution. Student success in programs such as these can be measured, and some of the reports reflect on this. The most frequently mentioned assessment criteria and indicators of student success are the enthusiasm of students, often from those who have not for some time shown this emotion when learning, and the high quality of student contributions (which include work, not just paper presentation in class). At a school program level, these types of programs make evident the ways in which Civics and Citizenship Education crosses all KLAs, and this realisation can be crucial in gaining support from peer practitioners. With the pedagogic and goal challenges represented by such programs, it is not surprising that many teachers in these schools appear to have been less than enthused by them! And the woolliness of assessment would not have helped. But there was always a core of support, and the comment in one report that teachers learnt to concentrate on the enthusiasm of the committed and not be frustrated by the uncommitted factions is good advice for us all … including students. In many of the schools, the community outreach component of the school program was seen as a key aspect of an important whole implementation of school policy, and support by the school leadership was explicit and considerable. How much easier innovation is in such circumstances.

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Most of the reports indicate the classroom and whole school background against which these specific activities occurred. They also indicate that there is a general awareness in these schools of the importance of all students having an authentic experience, if learning is to occur for all. To achieve this well requires a flexibility of planning and a range of pedagogies that constitute a serious challenge to individual teachers and to school administrations. These schools advocate that school should develop partnerships with organisations outside their boundaries because students encounter and gain greater expertises than if they remain inside the boundaries. The students can achieve different goals and experience different learning styles and gain different skills.


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Altona West Primary School

Democracy at Work in our Community and Around the World Altona West Primary School is committed to providing its students with a high quality education. Its main purpose is to Altona West Primary School has provide an educational environment that develops students’ selfan enrolment of 208 students. esteem and challenges them to reach their individual potential. It is in the western suburbs of Our curriculum programs offer seven year-long developmental Melbourne, located centrally in an courses in all areas of the CSF, although the emphasis is on older, established residential area. literacy and numeracy. At present student numbers are declining. A lot of emphasis is being We have an experienced staff, which often makes it difficult placed on improving the school’s to adopt change. New Department of Education and Training enrolment numbers by increasing resources are often shelved and not fully accessed, with time communication with the local being a major concern of all staff. Staff were unaware of community about our school. the Discovering Democracy resources available to them and The school has an experienced the resources had not been used by anyone. Teachers were senior staff with only one new not planning units of work that would incorporate these graduate. We have introduced a materials. values education program over the past two years and work hard to Through the Discovering Democracy grant, the focus of our improve the effectiveness of this work in 2003 was to make teachers aware of these materials, program. Students are involved increase their use of them and, therefore, increase the amount in some democratic processes. of time students were involved with Civics and Citizenship These include electing house Education. captains, electing Junior School Teachers were provided with details of the Discovering Council representatives and electing Democracy resources at a number of staff meetings, and these representatives for our local Council’s junior council. resources were then stored where teachers would have easy access to them. Regular updates and reminders about the resources were given and teachers were given the opportunity to attend professional development activities outside the school. But more was needed, and we decided to develop specific teaching linked to community global studies. A unit of work on Who Rules became the focus and this was undertaken with all students through the library program. In association with this, we became a part of the Adopt a Ship program sponsored by the Port of Melbourne Corporation. Our school has adopted the Columbus New Zealand, a cargo ship that travels around the world. Students are in touch with the Captain by e-mail and discuss the countries the ship visits. They also visit the ship when it is in the Port of Melbourne. The children have linked these visits with the Who Rules unit by looking at the rules that govern imports and exports, etc., as well as the nature of the governments in the countries visited. We linked this global community study to our Healthy Relationships program. Each class was given the task of presenting a ‘value’ to the school at assembly. This presentation could take any form, for example students performed songs and plays and presented art works.

Our Approach One objective of the project team was to introduce the resources and ideas to staff in a nonthreatening manner. We wanted enthusiasm for the project, and ownership of it. We wanted teachers to understand that the Discovering Democracy materials were not to be used in addition to current classroom units of work, but to be integrated into current units. Teachers are understandably concerned about the crowded curriculum and do not need pressure

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placed upon them to include extra units; rather they need to be able to integrate them into current work requirements. Therefore, professional development for the core team and staff was our first priority, so that we were well informed about current practices and resources. All professional development information relating to Discovering Democracy was shared at staff meetings. We were trying to increase enthusiasm for the project and to give ownership of the project to staff and students. The values education program has been followed in all classrooms with children having an improved knowledge of the values that are important in our community, and the responsibility they have as part of our school community. Our Year 6 children, in particular, have many new roles and responsibilities.

Outcomes I expected staff to find change a challenge. We have been involved in the Science in Schools project, which meant a great deal of change for most staff, and they seemed to just want to work with that. It was very hard to get them motivated and committed. I thought I would be able to run units of work during library sessions, but this did not work well as classes were only with me for one hour and the program became very disjointed. Children did not have enough time to follow up the concepts that were introduced, and there was not enough time for discussion. We did purchase a number of resources to add to the Discovering Democracy resources and regularly shared these with staff. Some staff made good use of the resources and we will continue to make sure staff know these resources are available. Some classes worked well with me to trial materials and use them in the classroom. They embraced the Adopt a Ship program and this will continue in 2004. Their enthusiasm is beginning to rub off on others, especially as their children visit our ship when it is in port. I realise this project will take much longer than the few months we have had and look forward to carrying it through next year so that it becomes embedded in our curriculum. Sue Peterson Teacher and School Librarian

CONTACT: Sue Peterson Altona West Primary School Belmar Avenue Altona 3018 (03) 9398 1147


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Chiltern Primary School

Active Citizenship in the Chiltern Community We started our work on Civics and Citizenship Education with the intention of formalising our role as an integral part of the Chiltern Primary School is a rural community of Chiltern. We wanted our students to understand school of about 110 students in that, as citizens of our town, they could make a worthwhile north-east Victoria. Staff consists commitment to the town and its many community groups and of teachers of five multi-age associations. We were also aware that small towns face a decline classrooms together with a in support services and that it was important for our school to Principal, part-time library and art teachers, and a music specialist know its role within the town. one day a week. At the same time, we were looking at developing our curriculum around Inquiry Learning principles. This was a good opportunity to raise the profile of Civics and Citizenship Education with our teachers, students and parents. It also gave us an avenue to inform the community about what we felt was important for our students as citizens of their town. As part of our transition to Inquiry Learning, the promotion of active citizenship was important. We decided to commence 2002 with a whole school theme of ‘The Best We Can Be’. We released teachers to plan units of work for this theme and each unit came up with a subheading for their inquiry. These were ‘Look At Me’ (Years P–2), ‘What Makes Me Special’ (Years 2–3) and ‘It’s Up To You’ (Years 4–6). Each of these units was planned with the thought of developing positive citizenship ethics within our students. The units were formally documented and will be kept in resource folders for future use. • ‘Look At Me’ (Years P–2): each child and family is unique.The unit consists of an exploration of our rights and responsibilities as we try to share finite resources with other people, with other living things, of communities and relationships within and between them. • ‘What Makes Me Special’ (Years 2–3): we are all the same but different. Again it focuses on an exploration of our rights and responsibilities as we try to share finite resources with other people, with other living things, of communities and relationships within and between them. • ‘It’s Up To You’ (Years 4 –6): the decisions of individuals and groups influence behaviour, health and wellbeing. The unit’s focus is an exploration of the nature of the self: our beliefs and values, our physical, mental, social and spiritual health. By choosing this theme we tuned children into how they saw themselves as successful individuals, as part of a group, and as students could make a part of the community. worthwhile commitment to the Our initial task as a staff was to use brainstorming to list ways town and its many community we could meaningfully interact within the community. We listed groups and associations community groups, contacts and events, as well as significant celebrations that draw communities together. It was apparent that the school was already involved within the community, and that students were active participants in groups and community they saw themselves as events. successful individuals, as part We targeted local groups with whom we did not have formal of a group, and as part of the ties. Our initial target group was the Adult Day Activity Support community Service (ADASS), which operates from the Chiltern Hospital once a week. It was our intention to assist, where possible, with

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their programs by allowing groups of students to visit their site or have their clients visit our school. During the year, we used other local groups and events to support our intended purpose of participating in and sharing projects with the local community. We discovered that the school had to be very active in canvassing community projects and links, and that community groups were not always aware of what our school could offer them. At various stages during the year, our students took part in many school- and communitybased initiatives that showed their active citizenship: • Classroom discipline plans were negotiated and developed. • Students gathered and tested water samples for the local Waterwatch program. • A World War 1 Honour Roll was unveiled at the school in a ceremony incorporating the Anzac Day Service. This Honour Roll was funded through the local Historical Society, Returned and Services League and the Department of Education and Training. The students planned the program, invited guests, performed choral items and served distinguished guests with afternoon tea. This was a big event in the local community and was attended by more than 100 guests. • Senior Unit students participated in the Street to Stream program, stencilling signs on local stormwater drain covers. • We continued our involvement in the WasteWise program, leading up to creation of a brochure for stall-holders at the Chiltern Ironbark Festival held on October.

Embedding Civics and Citizenship Education As with all small schools, we felt it was important to provide We now feel we have a good our staff with access to adequate professional support and basis for meeting our aim of materials to implement these ideas and values. The grant was developing active citizenship used to support staff and so ensure effective implementation within the community of of our aims. Two staff members attended the initial Discovering Chiltern Primary School. Democracy professional development session in March, and two more in May. Our Professional Learning Team meets and discusses educational issues and philosophies. The four staff who had attended these sessions used one of these meetings to share their experiences with everyone else. We used another of the meetings to show staff members the materials from the Discovering Democracy kit and discussed how we could use the resources within the classrooms. Other suitable teacher resource material was shared at the same time. Joint planning of work units provided greater ownership.


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We were already addressing many aspects of civics and citizenship informally within our school but, by focusing on it through the grant, we were able to formalise many of our commitments and curriculum objectives. We now feel we have a good basis for meeting our aim of developing active citizenship within the community of Chiltern Primary School. We also see we need an ongoing commitment to this cause and must annually address our role in the community. This role will vary each year according to what is planned for the town, the overall focus of the school and the perceived needs of the wider community of Chiltern. Our planned links with some community groups were not as successful as we had hoped they would be. We think this was because each group approached the concept from a different point of view. We believe we will need to review this next year and be more active in our pursuit of it. However, the school – students and staff – is now more aware of actively pursuing opportunities to link with the community. Students have also become more aware of how they can influence good citizenship within the school. This provides a growing opportunity for all students to practise their civic skills. Heather Payne and Colleen McQuillen Years 2/3 and Years 4/5/6 Classroom Teachers

CONTACT: Heather Payne and Colleen McQuillen Chiltern Primary School Albert Road Chiltern 3683 (03) 5726 1421

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Dromana Secondary College

Bunurong Environmental Wildlife Corridor – ‘Baggamah Jarrawun’ Corridor A Whole-school Approach The college has an excellent reputation for ‘student action’ and student involvement. Our motto: ‘Empowering young people to make a difference’, encompasses the many different facets of student engagement and involvement that our school strives to offer over all year levels. The Civics and Citizenship Education Extended Professional Development Program that three staff members undertook in November 2002 sparked ideas that could be tried in programs already happening in the College and how these can be incorporated into the Discovering Democracy Grant program. An audit of the school was undertaken, in reference to exactly how the College encourages student action and citizenship, and the use of the resources within the school already.

Existing Community Programs

Located on 12 hectares of attractive land in a rural setting overlooking Port Phillip Bay, Dromana Secondary College has a current student population of 1050 students and a teaching and non teaching staff of 100. The college has experienced rapid growth over past years and expects this to continue. The majority of students are bussed into the school from all over the local community and, increasingly, students are coming from our northern primary schools in the Mt Martha and Mornington areas.

We were all surprised at how many diverse programs we already offered to ensure all students have the opportunity to become ‘active’ within our community. Programs such as the Student Leaders and SRC are common in many schools, but we have many other programs on offer, too, such as: • a Personal Development and Leadership subject, offered as an elective in Year 9 and run by a trained psychologist; • a Peace Action Group initiated by students at the height of the war in Iraq; • the Thunderbirds program, which is similar to the Peer Support Program; • student prefects in sport, drama and art areas; • a Farm Group, with students actively participating in the care, nurturing and showing of cattle that the college has purchased; • the ruMaD program, incorporated into the Year 9 curriculum through SOSE; • a Family Snapshots unit offered as a SOSE elective atYear 10, where each student becomes ‘active’ in the life of an elderly citizen. We decided that there would also be a perfect opportunity to encourage an environmental link within the school. This is where we discovered that the beginnings of our ‘Wildlife Corridor’ could be a tool for encouraging a ‘whole school’ approach to Civics and Citizenship Education.

Background Initially the school recognised that only about 6 per cent of Mornington Peninsula remained as remnant indigenous vegetation. Several fauna species are now locally extinct. Remaining native animal populations are threatened by habitat fragmentation and loss of shelter and food sources. The college made a commitment to become actively involved in reversing this trend.


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Since 1967 the college has used names of the Bunurong (the local Koories) as names for form groups. There is a strong desire to integrate and incorporate Bunurong culture into the school community. The college decided to create a four-hectare wildlife corridor in the grounds to connect two islands of isolated remnant habitat land, consistent with the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council’s vegetation policies. The Extended Professional Development session undertaken by three college staff in 2002, made it clear that there was a potential to ‘dovetail’ the work on the corridor with this program to provide exciting learning opportunities for our students. The purpose of this link is to make a formal connection between the works undertaken on the indigenous corridor with the mainstream curriculum program, ensuring a ‘whole school approach’ to Civics and Citizenship Education.

The purpose of this link is to make a formal connection between the works undertaken on the indigenous corridor with the mainstream curriculum program, ensuring a ‘whole school approach’ to Civics and Citizenship Education.

Our Project The project, therefore, had two main streams of objectives and foci. In the immediate term, an objective was to audit the use of Discovering Democracy resources and see where these could be placed in our corridor work. This was relatively easy, as the SOSE department was currently auditing its curriculum and we were able to incorporate increased use of the Discovering Democracy kit and readers for the 2003–2004 curriculum – both from a hard copy use and also incorporating these into our laptop programs. This had already begun: one goal achieved! We also found wonderful information through examining the resources in detail, as the readers have excellent sections on ‘Law and Justice’, in particular in relation to Indigenous communities, in the Middle School Reader, which we used with Year 8 SOSE classes. The other stream of our project included the following objectives and goals: • Develop stronger links with the local Indigenous community, the Bunurong. The program would develop within the students a sense of community, an understanding of their cultural heritage and an empathy with Indigenous communities. • Establish a wildlife corridor linking two isolated remnant tracts of land for the benefit of ensuring the sustainability of indigenous flora and fauna. There was a need to ensure an environmental awareness within the student and college community, particularly in light of the Mornington Peninsula’s successful application to become the first UNESCO Urban Biosphere. This involves environmental sustainability and the existence of agriculture and development with areas of indigenous vegetation. The program aims to allow students the opportunity to develop important understandings of Indigenous culture and local history within the context of a hands-on project. Students are physically involved in planting trees, establishing indigenous plants and removing non-indigenous vegetation. The program allows for the integration of ideas and cross-curricular initiatives. • Empower our students to be actively involved in the local and wider community in line with the college motto. Students would also develop awareness of the civic and political process and an understanding of how they can effectively participate in our society. The school asked for permission to use Bunurong names for our form groups and applied for official endorsement from the Bunurong Land Council.The Bunurong were overwhelmed by the ‘act of reconciliation’ and offered to conduct an archaeological site assessment of Dromana Secondary College. The college, in an act of appreciation, offered to establish a

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tract of land for revegetation and protection of indigenous flora and fauna. The Bunurong named the indigenous corridor ‘Baggamah Jarrawun’ after they found several Aboriginal artefacts on the site and evidence of Aboriginal occupation. The College Charter was developed throughout 2003 with the wildlife corridor becoming an important charter priority. An Interest Group was set up for this task. A working party was set up, including the SOSE Coordinator, Curriculum Coordinator and the Outdoor Education Coordinator – who is also in charge of the Baggamah Jarawun program – and other interested staff across KLAs. Throughout 2002 and 2003 there has been ongoing feedback to the staff and other college stakeholders about the project and our progress towards the set goals. A whole staff professional development session on Civics and Citizenship Education was held, and discussion began at KLA heads meeting and with the Education Committee on linking the project across other curriculum areas. Students have been very active within this project, propagating plants, establishing greenhouses, participating in National Tree Planting Day and learning about Aboriginal heritage and reconciliation issues within class time. There have also been many other student action projects within the school, some of which have been directly related to the ‘whole school approach’ of our project, such as students becoming active in environmental issues relating to their very specific local areas through the ruMaD program and student-leader initiatives. Links were established with feeder primary schools via the clusters for Innovation and Excellence so this project would remain an ongoing focus of the college. Recent developments have been to document results and the developmental progress of the Corridor project onto the college website, with students writing a summary of the work done.

We Have Learnt… Students do want to become active in the school community: we just have to let go sometimes! Some staff find this very hard to do! Civics and Citizenship Education involves everyone: all KLAs, all staff, all students. There has been heightened awareness of the local Indigenous culture and heritage through this project. For example, from lessons during class, one student located a ‘scarred tree’ in his backyard, which will now be preserved in the foyer at the college, instead of potentially being destroyed. There has been a ‘cascading effect’ throughout the school culture, via the college’s emphasis on the environment; students are undertaking their own ‘action’ through the ruMaD program, and are investigating environmental issues that directly affect them. A video of a local creek and possible pollutants in the creek is to be produced for an audience. The implications are: an increased environmental awareness throughout the whole school – both staff and students – celebrating and reinforcing our ‘whole school approach’; the Students do want to establishment of strong partnerships and links with key members become active in the school of the local community, which can be used in the future, not just community: we just have to for our project at this time; a heightened awareness of the local let go sometimes! Indigenous culture and, therefore, asking students to become critical thinkers of histories; and also an encouragement of success stories to be celebrated within the wider community. Discovering Democracy resources are extremely student friendly. There has been an increased use of the resources, in particular the Secondary Kit, the Middle School readers and an increased awareness of the ICT resources available for Civics and Citizenship Education. There is also a heightened awareness among all members of staff of the importance of Civics and Citizenship Education across the school, crossing the different KLAs – not just the SOSE KLA.


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Directions We need to strengthen our relationship with the Bunurong in developing specific curriculum, dealing with specific issues of their Indigenous history, ancestry and related artefacts found on site. This will ensure the continuation of students’ understanding of the natural environment and the effect of cultural influences, both historical and contemporary, on the environment. Ongoing encouragement of the staff and students of the school will be integral in seeing this project develop to its Civics and Citizenship full potential. To keep staff motivated throughout the project Education involves everyone: will be a tough issue, as through passionate staff involvement all KLAs, all staff, all students. comes passionate student involvement. The school will need to maintain its priority on the Wildlife Corridor and on Civics and Citizenship Education, as well as its current support to the program, to ensure a cascading effect on staff and students – thereby ‘Empowering young people to make a difference’. There will also need to be a commitment for further professional development in Civics and Citizenship Education, not only for the SOSE department, but as a whole school approach, as this is not a program that is isolated to one distinct KLA, as staff have come to realise. Our Civics and Citizenship Education objectives have been met as far as ensuring its place in the college curriculum. To ensure that this is kept at an important level, constant review and audits of the curriculum will need to occur. The project has also raised the profile of the SOSE department within the school. Staff were taking an active interest in what students were doing in classes, not necessarily involving our project as such, but other ‘active’ programs that the college offered. It shed some light for some staff members on the scope of these programs. This has been a very positive outcome for us and we hope that it will continue in the future. It can be done! Give it a go! You will have hiccups: we had major ones! You need a fantastic team with dedication and perseverance, to overcome large obstacles that you will face. Kylie Pritchard, Andrew Wynne and Eric Klopp Acting SOSE, Curriculum and Outdoor Education Coordinators

CONTACT: Kylie Pritchard Dromana Secondary College 110 Harrisons Road Dromana 3936 (03) 5987 2805

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Korumburra Secondary College

Community Experts Our internal research has revealed something that we probably all knew to be anecdotally true: that there is a drop off in Korumburra is a Years 7–12 motivation of students (particularly boys) at the Year 9 level. secondary college in Gippsland and Many of the traditional teaching strategies (involving reading, has approximately 500 students. writing, etc.) are not embraced by some students’ preferred learning styles – they want to be more involved and ‘hands on’. To them, much of the work done in school is theoretical and lacking in immediate relevance. The college decided to use the results of this research to create awareness amongst staff, and investigate methods by which we could engage students more at this level. The aim of the Experts program was to provide a vehicle through which some of the curriculum could be delivered in a more practical and relevant way. Basically the program involved adapting general and/or specific curriculum to engage with local community ‘experts’ on local community projects, for example Art students working with a local artist to create a mural in the town.

Our Approach Early in 2003 we held a staff meeting to outline the proposal and to toss around possible application strategies. There was a positive response to this from staff. A meeting of KLA coordinators followed up the issues raised at a whole staff meeting. It was decided to adopt a flexible approach, with different year levels, classes, groups or individuals able to be involved in projects. Professional development time was made available for KLAs to consider the implementation. Three projects got off the ground: WaterWatch Year 9 Science integrated a WaterWatch section into their curriculum. They developed close liaison with local government, the EPA, and a Landcare Project. The project involved study of the problem of stormwater runoff into Foster Creek and was part of an evaluation being carried out by the Foster Creek Improvement Project. Community Newsletter Year 9 IT students worked with the Shire Community Development Officer and a local retired printer in compiling and producing a Community Newsletter of upcoming events within the shire. Coal Creek Maintenance and Restoration A Year 9 CFA group worked with Coal Creek staff in providing maintenance and restoration of the Historical Village. In each of the project areas, students have provided reports. The WaterWatch reports are a shared resource within the school. Each of the projects has been adopted as an ongoing curriculum initiative in its particular area.


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Students have a genuine interest in being involved in community issues.

After the initial Discovering Democracy professional development, we held a meeting where all staff did a stocktake of current Civics and Citizenship initiatives in place at the college and explored means of expanding in these areas.

Outcomes Students have a genuine interest in being involved in community issues. While staff shared considerable enthusiasm in discussion, it was more difficult to get concrete results. We are confident, however, that, slowly but surely, as each project area develops, more and more will come on board. The students maintained their enthusiasm and produced excellent, professional results. In general, it was found that students respond very positively to doing ‘real’ work and that interest levels were increased across the board. This outcome was particularly pleasing as it was the cornerstone of undertaking the project in the first place.

Directions The projects that we have undertaken have been permanently included in the curriculum. There are basically two courses of action from here: expand the scope of existing projects (get other KLAs involved in WaterWatch, such as Art with posters around town, Maths in graphing results, English through letters to the editor and so on); and continue to encourage and provide assistance for the development of new projects through professional development, funding and staffing. Creating and increasing community networks within the curriculum will probably be a slow process. We will need to be patient and build on little steps that we take. We do not expect to change ingrained curriculum philosophies overnight. We have learnt to concentrate on the enthusiasm of the committed and not to be frustrated by uncommitted factions. Chris Clements Middle School Discovering Democracy Coordinator

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CONTACT: Chris Clements Korumburra Secondary College Private Bag 2 Korumburra 3950 (03) 5655 1566

Mount Pleasant Primary School

Peady Street: A School’s Environmental Action Peady Street is an environmental area that is very close to the Mount Pleasant Primary School is situated centrally in the city school. In the past, a small group of parents and teachers had of Ballarat and has a present worked to have it developed in conjunction with the school. enrolment of 227 children. There However, in recent years, interest had declined. It was within are 10 classes from Years P– 6. this context that the School Council expressed a wish that Peady Art, Music and LOTE (Japanese) are Street remain an important part of the school culture in that it specialist area of the curriculum. provided a place where children could have an ongoing place The children are from diverse to learn about the local environment. background and individual needs are catered for through a broadThe application for the grant was seen as a catalyst that would based curriculum. The school renew the interest of teachers, parents and children. We wanted encourages the participation of the to forge stronger links with the local Council and environmental school community and has forged groups to further develop the reserve as an area that could be a strong reputation as a school of used by children in their environmental education studies, and excellence over recent years. we wanted curriculum initiatives based around the theme of the reserve at all year levels. This would form part of the curriculum audit to be completed by the school project team. Through this work, students would learn the basic principles of democracy and how the political system in Australia operates, as well as working on a practical ongoing program (Peady Street) to help develop an understanding of how individuals can work cooperatively with community organisations. They would also develop empathy for, and an understanding of, environmental issues that affect society.

The Situation A small group of teachers recognised the importance of Civics and Citizenship Education in the school. These teachers had been to some Civics and Citizenship inservice programs provided by Regional staff and trialled some of the Discovering Democracy materials in their classes. This approach was somewhat ad hoc, although it provided a basis for further planning in the area. The Curriculum Coordinator had had little success in having all members of staff include Civics and Citizenship Education in their teaching and was searching for a vehicle that would provide the basis for change within the school. At about the same time, the school’s SOSE Coordinator was interested in documenting a whole school approach to school planning to ensure continuity of planning across all year levels. It was within this context that the staff approved of applying for the Discovering Democracy grant. They could see that the resources and funding that were on offer would allow appropriate planning to take place. The main challenge for those who were attempting to implement change was to ensure all staff were enthusiastic and willing to implement the planning that was to be put in place. The key was a whole staff professional development day that introduced teachers to the Civics and Citizenship Education issues and materials. Over several planning days, a SOSE team documented programs for the whole staff, and also linked with a steering committee for the Peady Street project – consisting of a member of the School Council, three teachers, a City of Ballarat member and a local community representative. Another whole staff professional development activity reported back to staff and enabled development of a kit of materials.


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Outcomes It is very pleasing that the main outcomes were realised. As a consequence of the planning process, a comprehensive set of resources has been developed for each unit of work. These resources are to be built up as teachers plan children’s activities from year to year. Resources are located in the school’s library and, therefore, will be a valuable asset to the school. The documentation that has been designed for SOSE programs is very detailed. Teachers are very pleased now that it is complete, as it provides a framework on which they can base their term plans. The aim is not to expect all teachers to teach the same way, but for them to use the documentation to supplement their planning. It is pleasing that teachers have embraced the program that has been developed and are committed to its implementation across all year levels. The challenge of the Peady Street project was to ensure the support of outside organisations and to ensure children will be actively involved at the Reserve as they move through the school. It became apparent that as we involved the local Council and other organisations, they were very supportive and that they were pleased to become involved. This means that we will have support for the ongoing development of the Reserve, which is a very positive outcome for everyone involved.

Directions It is important that links with the community and organisations outside the school are maintained. We are presently working with WaterWatch Australia to monitor the wetlands area on a regular basis. Equipment for this has been purchased and WaterWatch Australia personnel have committed themselves to help the children with this activity. It is important that the Peady Street Management Committee be maintained and active. It is expected that a master plan for the area will be developed. This will provide a coordinated approach for the overall management of the park. CONTACT: Perhaps the most important message is for schools to develop Phil Gladman and Bronwyn Rhodes partnerships with organisations outside the school. This provides Mt Pleasant Primary School a larger pool of expertise and enables the school and children to 401 Cobden Street understand that the achievement of goals with others helps to Ballarat 3350 provide a healthy learning environment. Les Bilney Leading Teacher

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(03) 5332 3646

Thomastown West Primary School

Time, Tiles and Thomastown Thomastown West has been keen to develop a stronger focus in the area of Civics and Citizenship Education. The following strategies have been instigated in recent times: • The annual election and effective functioning of the Junior School Council. Student representatives are elected by their peers and take issues of concern and initiatives to this body. • All classes are involved in the formation of negotiated sets of rules and responsibilities at the commencement of each school year. This is done as part of a unit of work entitled ‘Rules, Rights and Responsibilities’. Teachers have recently used sections of the Discovering Democracy materials in the development of these units. • Teachers from theYears 3–4 andYears 5–6 departments have developed and implemented ‘Civics and Citizenship’ units. • Successful implementation of a Buddy Program, whereYears 3–4 children are linked with local kindergarten children. We have also further developed our RAP (Reading Achievement Program), where older students assist younger children with their reading development. • Our school band recently headlined the Northern Metropolitan Region’s ‘Spotlight on Youth’ Concert and has performed at several local venues, including the Senior Citizens’ Club, local childcare centres and shopping centres.

Thomastown West Primary School, established in 1971, is located in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. The school shares playing field facilities and a large car park with the neighbouring Thomastown Secondary College. The current enrolment of more than 400 students is from diverse cultural, linguistic and socio-economic backgrounds. The multicultural nature of the school population provides a rich and varied base for the school curriculum. Over 80 per cent of the students come from a nonEnglish speaking background. The enrolment trend is steady and the school is planning on an enrolment figure of around 390 students for the three years of the current Charter period.

Extending Community Links We wished to build on these initiatives and extend our community links in 2001. To do so, the school has undertaken a project that highlights the history of our country, our community and our school. All children from the school have been involved in designing and etching terracotta clay tiles that fit together to form a permanent tiled walkway entrance to our school. This has proven to be a great feature of our school and provides a wonderful focus for the students, their families and visitors to the school. The tiled walkway includes sections on a gallery of eminent Australians, a depiction that recognises the achievements of Australian inventors, sports people, artists and women, significant Australian landmarks, and a timeline showing our history since Federation. These tiled walkway sections were aligned with units of study completed across the school during Civics and Citizenship lessons linked to the Federation of Australia celebrations. The prime objectives of this project were as follows: • To develop community understandings related to the unique historical/cultural context and background of Thomastown. • To enable students and local community members to have an outlet for their creative and artistic talents through the creation of the tiled walkway. • To facilitate an understanding amongst school community members of historical perspectives relating to the formation of the Commonwealth of Australia as a free and democratic country.


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•

To encourage positive interrelations among and between the different community groups in Thomastown. • To promote the view of Thomastown West Primary School as a ‘community school’ where success is achieved and celebrated through a proactive and cooperative approach. Community groups have been involved in our ‘Time, Tiles and Thomastown’ project. They assisted the children in the research, design and etching of tiles for the walkway. The completion of the project facilitated research and learning regarding the history of Thomastown,Victoria and Australia across all year levels.The formal involvement of personnel and politicians from Local, State and Federal governments provided our students with reallife experiences of positive civic involvement in a successful community project. The success of our ‘Time, Tiles and Thomastown’ project depended on drafting a detailed Action Plan with input from all involved community groups, but also on having access to persons with appropriate skills and expertise. Our school’s Visual Arts teacher had the knowledge and expertise to organise etching, painting, firing, laying and sealing of the terracotta tiles. We are now planning for further community projects, such as the creation of a tiled Prep ‘Australiana’ mural with funding from the City of Whittlesea. We will continue with the school’s involvement in community service projects and activities, such as performing for elderly citizens and preschool groups, as well as inviting community leaders and groups to work with our children. Terry Condon Principal

CONTACT: Terry Condon Thomastown West Primary School Main Street Thomastown 3074 (03) 9465 4317

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Torquay Primary School

Australian Studies, People Power: ‘We Dream, We Do’ Torquay Primary School has a recent history of activity in the area of Civics and Citizenship Education. For example, several Torquay Primary School has staff undertook the Extended Professional Development in a population of 650 students. 2001, with a focus on ‘People Power.’ As a result, these staff Torquay is on the near western members were involved in writing a unit of work for Studies of ‘Surfcoast’. In 2001 the school Federation. The Discovering Democracy unit on ‘People Power’ moved to its existing site. It was successfully incorporated into the school’s integrated unit has strong community links, particularly through activities with on ‘Australian Studies’, in which units of work are undertaken a strong environmental, arts and on a rotating basis for one term every two years. Students sports focus. There is a diverse performed for the opening of our new school and at Wakakirri curriculum within the school. A as the culmination of this unit of work in 2001. We also have very small number of students established an active Junior School Council. have parents born overseas, and At the end of 2002, we applied for the Discovering Democracy the socioeconomic status of the school grant, seeing this as an opportunity to assist in the majority of parents tends to be in mid to high range. development of Civics and Citizenship Education within our curriculum to another level. With so many competing interest areas within our school curriculum, work done in the past could not be relied upon to ensure the continuing growth of Civics and Citizenship Education. Further, with a turnover of staff, there was a need to develop the skills and knowledge of staff who had no recent training in this curriculum area. Our specific focus was on community-based citizenship activities across the school. We wanted to: • provide students with an opportunity to explore the values and attributes that enable citizens to participate in political processes and contribute to civic life; • raise awareness of the benefits, privileges and responsibilities of community life; • explore major principles underpinning our democratic society; • involve students in active citizenship; • empower students to practise active citizenship; • further develop a school ethos and culture that values, understands and promotes civics and citizenship; • build community links through civics and citizenship education. School is real life and not a ‘preparation’ for real life. With this idea in mind, we set about developing a culture School is real life and not a within our school where students could learn about Civics and ‘preparation’ for real life. Citizenship. So, our parliament is not a mock parliament. Our newspaper is not an imitation. Our work in the community has a real purpose. Specifically, we have implemented the following in our school: Parliament We have developed classroom parliaments that closely follow parliamentary procedures.There is election of representatives, open debates and question time, decision making about real issues within the school, lobbying of students, teachers and the community, the development of joint working parties, and the construction of laws.


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Students investigate the separation of powers of the executive, legislature and judiciary, and the major principles underpinning our democratic society through our Integrated Units. These are based on Discovering Democracy units such as ‘People Power’ and ‘Parliament versus Monarch’. They explore issues pertaining to events such as the Batavia Mutiny, the Gallipoli campaign and the Eureka Rebellion, and suffrage: women’s and Indigenous rights. Students established a Junior School Council to represent them. Classroom Newspapers Publication of these newspapers involves students in active citizenship: exploring, investigating, discussing and publishing material about important local issues. This develops critical thinking skills: students are encouraged to question, make up their own minds, think through issues, explore different sides of an argument, present a persuasive case and defend a point of view. Students are encouraged to grapple with ‘big picture issues’, such as notions of freedom of choice, equality, human rights, Citizenship involves nationhood, globalisation, a citizen’s rights and responsibilities participation in community (the idea that with rights come responsibilities), that strong life and an awareness of the communities benefit from active citizens and that all members attendant benefits, privileges can make a difference.

and responsibilities. It also develops decision-making skills, values, attitudes, information and understanding to allow all people to actively participate in Australian society.

Community Action Our students were invited to join other community leaders in participating in the Geelong Region Strategic Alliance, to consider the process of enhancing the liveability of the Geelong Region and to actively plan for a sustainable future. They were also invited to participate in a Surfcoast Shire Community Planning working party. Their mission was to explore what younger generations thought about their community and determine what changes could be made to improve it. Like the Geelong Region Strategic Alliance, this is an ongoing process. An Environmental Action Group has been developed involving students working with Shire and Department of Sustainability and Environment staff in restoring highly fragile and endangered local habitats. Students are involved in the ‘Sustainable Schools Program’. To support this involvement, guest speakers have come to the school. These are real people sharing their experiences, We have developed citizenship knowledge and values, such as Michael Crutchfield MP, John through informal and formal Pandazopoulos MP, and local members of community service leadership opportunities across organisations (Rotary, CFA). Students used brainstorming to the school list questions and issues relevant to the community in which they lived in preparation for these interactions. Issues of road safety and traffic lights were canvassed. Students have also been encouraged to correspond with a wide variety of people and organisations. They were particularly delighted to receive emails from the Prime Minister’s office responding to their questions about the anticipated removal of ‘Behind the News’ from ABC Television. Citizenship involves participation in community life and an awareness of the attendant benefits, privileges and responsibilities. It also develops decision-making skills, values, attitudes, information and understanding to allow all people to actively participate in Australian society. We have developed citizenship through informal and formal leadership opportunities across the school: School Captains, House Captains, Junior School Councilors, planning and presenting a local community radio program, Prep Buddies, various arts groups

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school ethos that encourages student participation and authentic learning

(Circus Troupe, Rock Band, Pop Group, Choir – all performing in community events and for community groups), debating club, Mini Activities Day where senior students plan and coordinate a whole day mini fete for the junior members of our school. We Dream, We Do has been a curriculum initiative that has inspired, challenged and educated students at Torquay Primary School. The students have learned about our democracy, focusing on pivotal historical moments. They are also applying their knowledge in authentic and engaging learning experiences, chiefly through the classroom newspapers, classroom parliaments and community activities described above. The mutual benefits derived from strong community links ensure that programs we have set up will continue to operate and develop as our school expands. An example of this is our relationship with the Torquay Times, a community newspaper. The editor works closely and enthusiastically with our classroom editors and sub-editors as a mentor and role model. Our students are more than leaders of the future. They already play a role as leaders within our school and local community. We firmly believe that the knowledge, skills and values they learn through our program will provide them with a foundation that will stand them in good stead in their lives beyond school. Our students already have confidence in their place and role in society and an expectation of possibilities the future may have for them as community members. Students are developing a knowledge and understanding of the historical underpinnings of our democracy and the way it works; they practise active citizenship and are empowered to positively influence the world in which they live. The work undertaken thus far further develops a school ethos that encourages student participation and authentic learning. It further develops student understanding of the foundations of our democracy such as periodic elections, the content and purpose of constitutions, the role of media, differences between a dictatorship and a democracy, the role of criticism and protest, understanding of social movements and the role of political parties.

Directions Our next steps include ensuring that progress made in Civics and Citizenship Education does not fall by the wayside next year. It is one thing to implement a program, and another to ensure its continuation. We will focus on updating our school policy in light of next year’s triennial review and charter development process. We want to continue to foster close links with representatives of our local and State governments and expand the range of citizenship programs in which our students are already involved.


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It is our belief that the Civics and Citizenship Education unit should be taught every two years in the senior area of the school. Given the push for Civics and Citizenship Education at national level and the success of the unit’s inception at our school, there are strong grounds for confidence that this will occur. Ultimately, the continuation of the unit on a regular basis requires the advocacy of committed teachers. Offering professional development to the junior and middle areas of our school becomes an urgent priority. The longer-term vision for Civics and Citizenship Education at Torquay Primary involves the whole school. Adrian Bassett and Michael Linde Curriculum Coordinator and Middle Years Literacy, Civics and Citizenship Coordinator

CONTACT: Adrian Bassett and Michael Linde Torquay Primary School Grossmans Road Torquay 3228 (03) 5261 9094

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Wantirna College

W G Morris Reserve Environment Action Project The W G Morris Reserve is the only remaining example of native bushland in the Knox area. It has never been cleared and some rare native plants have managed to survive there. The Harold Street entrance to the Reserve is only about 400 metres from Wantirna College. Though the Reserve is only four hectares in area, it is classified as a regionally significant conservation area.

Wantirna College is a Year 7–12 government secondary school in Melbourne’s outer eastern suburbs. It has 1500 to 1600 full-time students.

Curriculum Review Following a major review of our Middle School curriculum, Wantirna College implemented a new core and elective structure in 2001. The guiding principles established by this review included the introduction of Civics and Citizenship Education for all students in Year 10. In 2002 the Civics and Citizenship core unit was further developed by a number of staff incorporating topics such as ‘National Identity’, ‘Notable Australians’, ‘Political Awareness’, ‘The Migration Experience’ and ‘Work and Careers’ using resources from the Discovering Democracy Kit and Discovering Democracy Readers. The offer of the Discovering Democracy grant spurred some thinking about developing closer links between school and community.

Project Objectives Our primary objective in this project was to develop active citizenship in our students. To us this meant that students should be able to see how individuals and groups of people can make a difference to their community, and our students should actually do something that produces a result with an observable students should be able to see impact on the community. Our concern was that the course we how individuals and groups of had already developed in Civics and Citizenship, and associated people can make a difference whole school activities such as assemblies and special evenings, to their community put students in a fairly passive position with regard to the community in which they are citizens. The principles that were developed in our Middle School Review called for an emphasis on authentic learning and assessment in ourYears 9 and 10 courses. The objectives of making links with our local community and getting students to do some of their work outside the school, on excursions, camps or in community activities, were also relevant to our planning of this project. We felt that our school did not have close links with the community or local government, or at least no links that were visible to students and in which they could participate. An environmental action project could be an ongoing project that would not be finished in a certain length of time. Assessing the health of the environment in the Reserve and managing the problems and threats to the Reserve could continue indefinitely and become part of the school’s connection with its community and a project that many, if not all, students could say they had participated in during their middle years of secondary schooling.

Our Approach The initial planning of the project occurred at the Discovering Democracy Professional Development Day in April. One teacher had done a unit of work based on the W G Morris


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Students are interested in participating in active tasks outside the school (but) they have little awareness of local government decisions and lack of confidence in participating.

Reserve with a Year 7 group a couple of years ago, and this was aimed at Geography (Local Area) outcomes in the CSF. He had some Council survey documents, maps and a draft management plan outlining the state of the Reserve and some of the problems that Council had to deal with there. Over the next couple of weeks, we developed the student handouts for a unit of work that aimed to have students investigating the threats and problems facing the Reserve and producing PowerPoint presentations to communicate their findings. It was planned that teaching this unit would occur in Semester 2 when it would be introduced to a Year 10 Civics and Citizenship core class. Teaching of the unit of work commenced with some discussion in class of environment and conservation issues and an explanation of the handout material. In the second week of work, the Knox Council Conservation Officer took the class on a guided tour of the Reserve. Students used a digital camera to take photos to use in their presentations. After this tour, students were able to define the types of threats facing the Reserve and the problems that needed to be managed by the Council. They formed groups to investigate and report on these problems in PowerPoint presentations. They made decisions about the interpretation of data and the action to be taken. At the end of the unit of work, students gave their PowerPoint presentations in the college theatre with the Conservation Officer and the College Principal present. In November, a group of fiveYear 10 Civics and Citizenship teachers met with representatives of the Council, including the Mayor, to show them the students’ work and discuss ways in which the Council could support the project and Civics and Citizenship Education in general. This was an important starting point for development of the project for next year.

Reflection on Outcomes We have received a considerable amount of interest and assistance from the Councilors and Council staff we contacted. They have given their time to discuss ways in which our project could be put into practice and made ongoing over an extended period of time. They have made it clear that they are concerned about the lack of civic knowledge of residents in their municipality. We were told residents complain to Councilors about the imposition of GST on petrol! There is also confusion among residents over the operation of Council elections. A particularly worrying comment was that Councilors do not hear the voice of younger residents in any of the consultative processes they set up.

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Between their participation in Junior Council (in small numbers) in Years 10 and 11, and their participation as property and/or business owners in their thirties and older, there is little heard from younger residents and voters. The Councilors and staff we spoke to would like to know what kinds of processes could be set up to gain participation of 17 to 30 year olds as active citizens. The participation of our students in a practical local project, the results of which will be in evidence long after they have left school, may give students a sense that they can contribute to their community. If the project can be linked to some significant contact with the decision makers in the Council, students will have gained experience in decision making at a grass roots level. Students are interested in participating in active tasks outside the school. However, they have little awareness of local government decisions and lack confidence in participating. Our main concern is the time it takes to create and coordinate a project such as this. Teachers have commitments to their classes, the positions of responsibility they hold, their faculties and numerous other duties. Even with the grant money available this year to pay for time release, it was very difficult to find times when people were available to meet. Nevertheless with a core group of teachers committed to this project, it has reached a point where it will continue to develop, although not as quickly as originally expected.

Directions Our next step is to work with the Council Conservation Officer to create a set of activities that will have education value for students and will also provide the Council with useful information or services. We have discussed making survey sheets that students would fill out on a visit to the Reserve and compile on return to class. The surveys could be on weed numbers and types, litter, vandalism, visitor numbers or attitudes, and so on. We would like to be able to provide this data to Council so that they can devise appropriate strategies, possibly in consultation with students, and students could then help carry out some of the work. We would like to work with other schools engaged in similar projects and assist schools thinking about starting a project. Our advice would be to take time to get to know all the stakeholders and their objectives in such a project, and be flexible in looking for areas of mutual benefit. It is also important to consider how students will be introduced to the project and how they will be motivated to participate. Having an enthusiastic group of students who have worked on the project and who hand the project over to the next group is our aim and we have attempted to do this with the presentation of the students’ work in the college theatre, but more needs to be done to develop and promote the project at this stage. Leigh McNolty Head of SOSE

CONTACT: Leigh McNolty Wantirna Secondary College Harold Street Wantirna 3152 (03) 9801 9700


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Summary And Finally: What Do We Learn? These reports remind readers of the importance of ‘strong leadership’, practitioner ownership of programs and approaches, the power of modelling certain behaviours, and the need to professionally develop staffs (and provide time out of class for teachers to work on and through innovations and the practice implications). The most consistently repeated comment in these reports refers to the usefulness of time allocated to staff to work together on developing programs. Such a funding allocation encourages collaborative work, the outcomes of which are more likely to be understood by practitioners and embedded in school policy and practice. It also renders the investment in the resultant innovation more secure, for if school ownership is greater, then the innovation is more likely to be sustained. It is so very important that innovations worked on in programs like these do not evaporate and that the hard work not be wasted. In reading these reports one experiences a sense of teaching communities learning about working in a different way. Civics and Citizenship Education has a habit of doing this to professionals and schools. This is because to address Civics and Citizenship Education requires a redefining of ‘subjects’ and the purposes of education. It, therefore, challenges teachers’ roles and expertise. It is not possible to deliver the programs described in these reports and retain a conventional teaching–learning relationship. The ultimate professional challenge that CCE proffers is that of making changes to pedagogic practice. It appears from these reports, and sometimes it is explicitly referenced, that this challenge has been identified, acknowledged and met in many of the schools. These narratives are significant because, to a greater or lesser extent, each of the teachers in each of these schools has been involved in grappling with these issues on an institutional and personal level. It has been no mean feat. By modelling the changes required, the narratives should inspire other educators to ask the ‘purpose’ questions and assemble a suite of strategies, such as are outlined here, to make a difference to their students. Evaluation of program outcomes needs to be a major topic of professional discussion. Evaluative exercises of themselves will make a major contribution to professional clarity and program ownership.Writing reports like these and gaining agreement on them can be a useful part of program evaluation. It’s no good working hard and not having a clear sense of what has been achieved. This sense of achievement then needs to be shared with the students. They also need to know how to recognise success for, after all, it was their hard work, too. We are all stakeholders in this work. Suzanne Mellor ACER Senior Research Fellow Evaluator of the DE&T Grants to Schools Program, 2002–04

Summary

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