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About Civics and Citizenship Education
Civics and citizenship education promotes students' participation in Australia's democracy by equipping them with the knowledge, skills, values and dispositions of active and informed citizenship. It entails knowledge and understanding of Australia's democratic heritage and traditions, its political and legal institutions and the shared values of freedom, tolerance, respect, responsibility and inclusion.
Civics and citizenship education is underpinned by Australian history, and the history of other societies which have influenced that historical tradition. Civics and citizenship education also supports the development of skills, values and attitudes that are necessary for effective, informed and reflective participation in Australia's democracy.
Australian Curriculum
The Civics and Citizenship curriculum will be developed in Phase 3 of the development of the Australian Curriculum. This curriculum 'will support students to relate well to others and foster an understanding of Australian society, citizenship and national values including through the study of civics and citizenship'.
Further information
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA)
The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians
The 2008 Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians promotes quality education in Australian schools and is the guiding document for the development of the Australian Curriculum. Goal 2 of the Declaration is: All young Australians become successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens.
All States and Territories have recognised that civics and citizenship education is central to effective schooling and have incorporated civics and citizenship education into their curriculum documents and school practices.
Read the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. [PDF]
Statements of Learning for Civics and Citizenship
The Statements of Learning for Civics and Citizenship Education are designed for curriculum developers and highlight the learning opportunities in the curriculum for civics and citizenship education.
Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 curriculums provide opportunities to develop civics and citizenship knowledge, skills, understanding and capacities. The Statements describe opportunities to learn at these levels of schooling and are followed by the professional elaborations, which explain how those opportunities may be achieved in the curriculum.
The Statements of Learning for Civics and Citizenship Education and their elaborations are grouped by 'aspects' – namely Government and Law, Citizenship in a Democracy, and Historical Perspectives – which are common to curriculums across the jurisdictions.
Read the Statements of Learning and Professional Elaborations for Civics and Citizenship. [PDF]
