2003nationalDISCOVERINGDEMOCRACYFORUM

FinalreportJune 2003

The 2003 Discovering Democracy National Forum was held at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra on Thursday and Friday 22 and 23 May 2003. The Forum was organised by the Australian Curriculum Studies Association (ACSA) on behalf of the Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST). Peter Cole of PTR Consulting Pty Ltd prepared this report for the Forum organisers. © Commonwealth of Australia 2003 This work is copyright. Except as permitted under the copyright Act 1968 (Cth), no part of this publication may be reproduced by any process, electronic or otherwise, or stored in any form without the written permission of the Department of Education, Science and Training. This Project was supported by funding from the Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training under the Discovering Democracy Programme. The views expressed here do not necessarily represent the views of the Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training or Australian Curriculum Studies Association.

Contents

1. Programme for Day 1 Session 1: Introduction and Welcome 1 Session 2: Briefing – Talkback Classroom Process 2 Session 3: Talkback Classroom Student Interview 2 Session 4: Talkback Classroom Debrief 2 Session 5: Citizenship Education in Perspective - Panel Session 3 Session 6: International Dimensions: Implications for Australia 4 Session 7: Discovering Democracy and Civic Values 5 Session 8: Innovation in the Use of Discovering Democracy Resources: A series of workshops 7 Conference Dinner 9 2. Programme for Day 2 Session 9: New Frontiers for Human Rights 10 Session 10: The MCEETYA Civics and Citizenship Education Assessment Project 11 Session 11: Beyond Discovering Democracy: Emerging Issues: A series of workshops 12 Session 12: The Way Forward 16 Session 13: Wind Up: Perspectives on the Forum 18

Appendix - Programme

Background to the Forum This fifth Discovering Democracy Forum, conducted on 22-23 May 2003, was organised and hosted by the Australian Curriculum Studies Association (ACSA) for the Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST). The Forum, attended by a wide range of participants, involved various levels in the Discovering Democracy Programme. It focused on the continuing implementation of Discovering Democracy with an emphasis on what it means to be an Australian citizen in a global society. In particular, it was to provide a programme balanced between keynote presentations — exploring major developments, directions and issues — and workshops to share experience and ideas between practising professionals. Participants were introduced to the Talkback Classroom process and observed a session in which students interviewed the Hon Dr. Brendan Nelson, MP, Minister for Education, Science and Training. Key themes explored at the forum included: international concepts of citizenship education, civic values and human rights and the assessment of civics and citizenship education outcomes. Workshops explored the nature and use of citizenship resources, cross-curriculum citizenship learning opportunities, school-based projects, models of youth and community action, and conceptual frameworks for promoting civics and citizenship. Speakers from the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Hong Kong contributed international perspectives to the forum. The Purpose of this Report The purpose of this report is to provide Forum participants and other interested parties with a synthesis of the outcomes of the Forum, drawn from the keynote addresses and workshop sessions. The report follows the structure of the Forum Programme.

1. Programme for Day 1

Session 1: Introduction and Welcome

Dr John Hirst, Chair, Civics Education Group, was Master of Ceremonies of the opening session of the forum. Ms Dawn Casey, Director, National Museum of Australia welcomed participants to the National Museum of Australia. She stressed the importance of civics and citizenship education for young people and outlined the role played by the Museum in furthering understanding about Australia and its values, citizens and history. The Hon Dr Brendan Nelson, MP Minister for Education, Science and Training acknowledged the Ngunnawal people, the traditional custodians of the land, thanked the Australian Curriculum Studies Association (ACSA), the Forum organisers, welcomed the international guests and greeted the teacher participants. Dr. Nelson outlined the Government’s commitment to the Discovering Democracy Programme and stressed the fundamental importance of values education in the development of young citizens. He emphasised that education needs to be more than the development of knowledge and skills and that it also needs to promote community values that lead to responsible citizenship. In his address to open the forum, Dr. Nelson commented that it was important to transcend both perverted traditionalism and misguided progressivism in contemporary Australia. He stressed his commitment to the importance of values education in our schools and provided some background to the Commonwealth Government’s initiative in this area. He outlined the purposes of the forum - to showcase Discovering Democracy resources, to explore best practice and to discuss ways of using Discovering Democracy resources to fully engage and inform students – and launched the History curriculum materials1 that were developed as a classroom resource. The Farrer Primary School Grade 6 choir then entertained the participants by singing Australia Will Stand as One.

1 These new upper primary and middle secondary school materials are designed to assist students to understand our history. The primary school materials entitled Making History: Investigating Our Land and Legends consist of five units: Getting Connected – an introduction to the concepts of history and historical inquiry; History at Home – a local area study to guide students’ investigation into the history of their community; Caring for Uluru – focuses on the different ‘histories’ of Australians and heritage issues; Mutiny on the Batavia – illustrates how the history community can be made up of diverse people by taking students through an important investigation; and Ned Kelly: hero or villain?– analyses the Kelly saga. The secondary school materials entitled Making History: Investigating People and Issues in Australia After World War 2 consist of five units: What Happened to Stan Harrison? – demonstrates that history is about examining evidence; Red Menace? – examines Australia in the Cold War; Sunny Australia? – analyses immigration and immigration policy through the 1950s and 1960s; Dream Home? – examines urbanisation; and Friendly Games? compares the 1956 and 2000 Olympics held in Australia. An online Teaching Guide completes the resource package and can be found at www.hyperhistory.org .

Session 2: Briefing – Talkback Classroom Process David Arnold, National Museum of Australia, and Steve Cutting, Programme Producer briefed participants about Talkback Classroom, a television forum for students. They explained that Talkback Classroom gives senior secondary students the opportunity to interview Members of Parliament and community leaders on issues of importance to young people. This monthly television forum is recorded in the Museum of Australia’s Studio in front of a student audience and broadcast on ABC’s Fly TV. Each Talkback Classroom forum features a panel of three secondary students drawn from schools Australia-wide.

Session 3: Talkback Classroom Student Interview Participants observed the operation of a Talkback Classroom forum in which a panel of three Yr 11/12 students conducted an interview with The Hon Dr Brendan Nelson, MP, Minister for Education, Science and Training. The students Dan Fisher, Eltham High School (Melbourne), Josh Clark, Normanhurst Boys’ School (Sydney) and Prianka Puri, St Clare’s College (Canberra) opened by asking Dr. Nelson about his background and where he developed his interest in politics and then followed with questions about student empowerment, student protest and educational funding. This was a very lively session that demonstrated the potential of this medium for promoting thinking about civic values, government policies and citizenship.

Session 4: Talkback Classroom Debrief David Arnold, National Museum of Australia, and Steve Cutting and the three students who participated on the interview panel explained their preparation for the Talkback Classroom forum2. This debriefi ng session clarified the steps taken to ensure that the students were both well informed about issues and prepared with appropriate questions.

2 Further information about Talkback Classroom can be found by visiting: www.abc.net.au/flytv/ www.nma.gov.au/education/events_and_activities/talkback_classroom www.peo.gov.au

Session 5: Citizenship Education in Perspective - Panel Session This panel session, chaired by Professor Kerry Kennedy consisted of three panellists – Professor Carole Hahn from the United States of America, Professor David Kerr from the United Kingdom and Professor Lee Wing On from Hong Kong from Hong Kong. Each of the panellists provided a short address and engaged in discussion that broadly addressed the questions: What can we learn from International experience? In what ways do social and moral responsibilities frame civics and citizenship education and do we need to develop new concepts of citizenship for the 21st Century? The international perspectives offered by the three speakers illustrated the complexities of educational programmes designed to build awareness of and commitment to civic and democratic values. In particular, the experience of Hong Kong making the transition from 150 years of colonial rule to a ‘special administrative region’ governed by China and of the UK with the establishment of Scottish and Welsh parliaments provided good examples of the need to review how concepts of national identity and of political systems are understood and conveyed to students. The panellists also discussed how civics and citizenship education was being taught in schools and the difficulties that this aspect of learning has in finding a place on the timetable. Whilst each speaker indicated that attempts were being made to incorporate citizenship education into the curriculum, there often were big gaps between the intended, the planned and the received curriculum. Each panellist indicated that:

the status o f citizenship in the curriculum was problematic; teacher capacity to deliver appropriate learning was limited; often there were inconsistencies between school processes and citizenship

education values; and the development of civics knowledge and skills were generally given primacy over

the development of values. Professor Lee Wing On commented that in Hong Kong identity is a big issue because of the recent changes in the way the island is governed. He also indicated that promotion of civic ideals become swamped by teachers’ and students’ concerns to do well in the competitive academic curriculum. Professor Kerr concluded that civics education was in a state of flux in the UK. Whilst citizenship education is a new compulsory subject, conditions are not necessarily provided in schools for students to experience citizenship and take action on matters of concern.

Session 6: International Dimensions: Implications for Australia This was a session of Round Table discussions and interaction in which participants reflected on the experiences expressed by the panellists in Session 5 and related these to the Australian experience and to values education. Issues that emerged from the table groups included the perennial dilemmas that surround attempts to teach/learn civic values: • what and whose values are to be taught/learnt • in a pluralist society values cannot be imposed on people and if one attempts

to impose values then they are likely to be rejected • how can schools both teach values (eg. democracy, fairness, tolerance, trust)

that they consider important and operate in ways that are consistent with those values

• how can students be assisted to move from ‘knowing about’ to ‘doing or acting on’ values.

Participants made the observation that democracy is a process not a fixed state and that discussions about values should not be about a set of ‘givens’, but about how values can be implemented. Professor Lee Wing On commented that in Hong Kong it is expected that teachers will develop political thinking but that they will not be political. He also commented that in a society with very traditional values tied to the State, family and community, the introduction of libertarian values might be construed as an undermining of these more traditional values.

This session concluded that the teaching of values, whilst important, was problematic as many of the issues about how one might do so in a manner that was both ethically and educationally sound remained unresolved.

Session 7: Discovering Democracy and Civic Values This session was presented by Dr John Hirst, Chair Civics Education Group and Professor Alan Reid DEST Fellow 2003. Dr Hirst posed the questions: Can you teach values? and How are values taught? He presented a very personal account of how his teacher, Alfie George, imparted a strong sense of values to students both through his words and actions. Dr. Hirst referred to the Discovering Democracy Readers3 and illustrated how they could be used to assist students to reflect upon values. He stressed that values cannot be imposed on students. The values dilemmas outlined in the Readers enable students to engage emotionally with issues, moreover, facilitating the clarification and adoption of values. In Dr. Hirst’s view, civics should be concerned with the knowledge and understanding of the operations of government, whereas, citizenship should be about promoting the values that underpin a democratic society. He was concerned about the apparent reluctance of many teachers to teach about the political system and felt that knowledge about how we are governed is essential for all citizens to function fully in society’s political processes. Professor Alan Reid also took up the themes of citizenship and civic values but placed these within a global context. He described the various dimensions of citizenship (personal, community, spatial and temporal) and values (core values such as equality and fairness and procedural values such as tolerance and recognition of rights) and like Dr Hirst posed the question: How do we teach values? In advancing his ideas about this core issue, Professor Reid outlined a series of concepts that needed to be addressed including the need to embed values and citizenship education within a global context4. He suggested that more work was needed on defining key terms and concepts, the scope and sequence of curriculum, public and provisional values to be promoted through the curriculum, the pedagogy to be used and the context of the curriculum (ie. local, national and global). In order to accommodate a global perspective, Professor Reid suggested that curriculum development could be undertaken as a multinational activity by a multinational team. He suggested that a nine nation study could be established to research major global trends, identify the characteristics needed to cope in a global

3 Australian Readers have been developed as Discovering Democracy resource materials for lower, middle and upper primary and secondary students. The primary materials are accompanied by a Teacher Guide. 4 Sources for global activities ideas can be located at: www.abc.net.au/civics/oneworld www.dfat.gov.au www.unesco.org www.un.org

society and develop educational strategies designed to promote these desired characteristics. Using an ethical questions approach the global team could, for example, base the content of the curriculum around ethic questions such as: • What should be done in order to promote equity and fairness within and

among societies? • What should be the balance between the right to privacy and free and open

access to information in information-based societies? • What should be the balance between protecting the environment and meeting

human needs?

Session 8: Innovation in the Use of Discovering Democracy Resources: A series of workshops Session 8 consisted of the following workshops: 1. Innovative and Online: Using the DD resources in local contexts – Pat Hincks 2. An Aboriginal Cross-cultural Awareness Programme...one school’s journey of

discovery – Nola Lenthall, Diane Cleary and Andrew Cuthbertson 3. Connecting Values Education with Civics and Citizenship – David Brown 4. Discovering the Australian Readers – Julie Mitchell 5. New Resources for Teachers: The National History Project – Tony Taylor and

Terry Hastings 6. Sustaining Civics and Citizenship Education in the Future: Making

connections with other issues on the education agenda – Anita Forsyth and Libby Tudball

7. Citizenship Education through Environmental Education – Jo Lang A brief description of the workshops follows. Innovative and Online: Using the DD resources in local contexts In 2002, the 18 Discovering Democracy learning units were reproduced online5 and enhanced with ESL activities. The Discovering Democracy Website also contains a wide range of other teaching and learning activities and a regular newsletter to keep readers up to date with current resources, issues and events. This session provided insights into both the online and hard copy resources developed through the Discovering Democracy Programme. Participants were presented with an overview of resources and examined how to apply these resources in the classroom and in professional development sessions. An Aboriginal Cross-cultural Awareness Programme The programme examined in the workshop addressed Indigenous perspectives across the curriculum, with a particular emphasis being on the use of the Discovering Democracy materials and the Unit titled People Power. This Tasmanian project6 involved students from Kindergarten to Grade 6 and involved the establishment of a stronger Aboriginal Student Support and Parent Awareness committee, closer links with the local high school and the local Aboriginal community. Components of the project included: • extensive whole-school staff professional development from a Discovering

Democracy Project Officer and Aboriginal educators • student visits to a local aboriginal centre • use of Kidpix and Powerpoint by students to retell experiences • use of the Gumnuts to Buttons and Patches games • a culminating assembly as part of Celebrating Democracy Week 5 The Discovering Democracy Website can be located at www.curriculum.edu.au/democracy/index.htm 6 For more information go to: www.education.tas.gov.au/equitystandards/aboriginal-ed/default.htm www.rosetta.primary.tased.edu.au/

• teaching of the DD People Power Unit to Grade 5-6 students • student viewing of the film Rabbit Proof Fence. The key issues discussed in the workshop were: • How to engage parents of aboriginal students in the school community • How to effectively engage teachers in professional learning in Aboriginal

education. Connecting Values Education with Civics and Citizenship This workshop explored the National Values Education Study and its 50 school-based projects located across all states and territories. Some schools focused on reviewing their processes related to values education, some on building student resilience, others on teaching specific values and yet others on some combination of these approaches.

Perspectives of teachers involved in the Study were shared with workshop participants. The following topics were discussed:

• How are values taught in schools? • What and whose values are taught? • Can there be a consensus about core values that Australian schools ought to

foster? • What Values Education is being taught in project schools? • What has emerged from the National Values Education Study schools/ Participants were invited to take the role of a parent, teacher or student and to complete an online values survey form. Opportunities were also provided for participants to share their experiences and ideas around Values Education and to discuss different categories of values (eg. behavioural, procedural and substantive). The workshop enhanced understandings of the methodology behind the National Values Education Study, of what the Study has achieved thus far and of the likely futures and approaches for Values Education in Australia. Discovering the Australian Readers This workshop focused on the Australian Readers that have been developed for use in the lower, middle and upper primary and secondary schools. These Readers contain a wealth of material for use in the SOSE, Arts, Music and English classroom. The contents of the books include texts on civics themes, and questions and activities designed to deepen students’ understanding of the selected texts and appreciation of the broader issues raised by them. Participants were provided with the opportunity to discuss and participate in several of the activities described in the Readers and developed a deeper understanding of how the texts could be used in the classroom.

New Resources for Teachers: The National History Project Eight new teaching and learning units have been developed for teachers as part of the National History Project. Themes covered by the secondary units include Communism and the Cold War, post-war immigration, the search for the Australian dream and sport and politics. This workshop provided an overview of the National History Project, explored the concept of historical literacy and provided teachers with an opportunity to work through Project materials. Sustaining Civics and Citizenship Education in the Future This session explored ways of incorporating civics and citizenship education into the work that schools already do. The workshop presenters are authors of a multi-disciplinary approach to the teaching of civics and citizenship that provides a model for teachers in this area. They believe that civics and citizenship education should be regarded as core work for schools rather than something to add to the crowded curriculum and provided practical strategies to make this possible. Through this workshop participants were able to explore ways in which to identify key education issues (in classrooms, in schools, state-wide, nationally and internationally) and to link these issues (eg. literacy, vocational learning, ICT, middle years, national goals, etc.) to the teaching of civics and citizenship. Citizenship Education through Environmental Education This workshop assisted participants to explore how citizenship and sustainability can be explored within the classroom. It examined the concepts of civics and citizenship education and provided an overview of the Discovering Democracy approach to teaching about civics and citizenship. Participants were also provided with an introduction to the concepts of Environmental Education and explored how meaningful connections could be made between education for sustainability and the citizenship education agenda.

Conference Dinner Participants at the Conference Dinner were rewarded by a very witty presentation by Professor Michael Coper, Dean Faculty of Law, ANU on the topic The Naked Constitution. A distillation of the key themes explored by Professor Coper are that the Constitution: • doesn’t always mean what it says (as conventions also inform practice) • doesn’t say things clearly (and so needs to be interpreted by the High Court) • doesn’t say all that it means (and what is implied adds to its interpretation

complexity) • could be renovated and renewed (to address, for example, changes over time

and to make explicit what are now understood as current, but unwritten, conventions).

Joan Warhurst thanked Professor Coper for his amusing and stimulating address and introduced Shortis and Simpson, who performed a programme of musical satire and parodies on a variety of political and social themes.

2. Programme for Day 2

Session 9: New Frontiers for Human Rights Professor Hilary Charlesworth, Director, Centre for International and Public Law, ANU addressed the Forum on the citizenship topic of Human Rights. In opening her address, Professor Charlesworth briefly outlined the consultation process that produced a draft Bill of Rights for the Australian Capital Territory. She went on the discuss the definition of human rights starting with the traditional meanings as adopted by the United nations and in various treaties, conventions and agreements and covered by international law (although obligations are often not acted upon in terms of local law). The human rights embraced in traditional understandings of the term include conventions against torture, genocide and discrimination against women and minorities. Professor Charlesworth contended that the traditional human rights model tends to be based on a male individual needing his rights to be protected against the state. However other forms of protection are needed including the protection of indigenous peoples, of minority groups and of women and the identification of the obligations of corporations. Professor Charlesworth explained that human rights charters were drafted in times when assimilation was the policy and so rights to self-determination are not seen to cover the rights of indigenous people or collectives of people. Human rights charters also assume rights pertain to a male in public life (eg. the definition of torture is harm inflicted by a public official). Thus, in relation to women, harm that occurs in the private sphere (eg. violence in the home) is not recognised as a rights issue. And as the state is seen as the focus for human rights law, it is difficult to hold global corporations accountable for human rights abuse. Professor Charlesworth discussed recent violations of human rights in Australia and the United States of America and concluded that international law is too general and not sufficiently encompassing to sufficiently address many of the human rights violations occurring daily around the world.

Session 10: The MCEETYA Civics and Citizenship Education Assessment Project Suzanne Mellor, Research Fellow, ACER described progress in the development and trailing of assessment instruments in civics and citizenship education. The purpose of the MCEETYA Civics and Citizenship Education Assessment Project is to develop and trial a suite of assessment instruments in preparation for a national sample assessment of Australian primary (Year 6) and secondary (Year 10) school students’ achievement in civics and citizenship education. The trial is to be completed in 2003 in readiness for the first national assessment in 2004, with subsequent testing occurring in 2007 and thereafter every three years. Ms Mellor advised Forum participants that in the next six months a range of tasks will need to be completed in order to prepare the documentation for the 2004 national sample survey. She advised the Forum that a draft conceptualisation of civics and citizenship learning outcomes was close to completion and that writers had commenced the task of developing suitable assessment items. She also advised that a sample of approximately 180 (90 primary and 90 secondary) schools had been identified for the trailing of the assessment items and that teachers and other practitioners would be engaged in marking and setting benchmarks.

Ms Mellor observed that students can experience many learning activities but that did not mean that the activities experienced would necessarily produce desired learning outcomes. The task is to ensure that pedagogy is connected to promoting civics and citizenship learning outcomes. The task thus is to identify and then assess outcomes in relation to the knowledge and understandings of civic institutions and processes and the dispositions and skills required for participation. In concluding Ms Mellor reminded participants that commitment to and the status of civics and citizenship education had come a long way as in 2004 it would be assessed nationally.

Session 11: Beyond Discovering Democracy: Emerging Issues: A series of workshops Session 11 consisted of the following workshops: 1. Discovering Democracy and Essential Learnings in Tasmania - Tony Poynter &

Naomi Buczek 2. Harmony Through Understanding: A Pilot Project for Schools – Dagmar

Turnidge 3. Taking Active Citizenship Seriously - Roger Holdsworth 4. The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be – Peter Kenyon 5. A Conceptual Framework for Exploring Civics and Citizenship Education –

Gerard Broadfoot and Bronwyn Knox 6. Future Directions. Incorporating Asian Studies – Deborah Henderson 7. Young People’s Civic Engagement through Enrolment – Larry Saha A brief description of the workshops follows.

Discovering Democracy and Essential Learnings in Tasmania This workshop provided an overview of the Essential Learnings in Tasmanian Schools framework. with a focus on linking Essential Learnings with the Discovering Democracy Programme and the teaching of civics and citizenship. Participants were provided with handouts describing the curriculum and the key element outcome for Social Responsibility – Acting Democratically. Key issues addressed were the nature of essential learnings, how essential learnings were identified, how the Essential Learning document is being used in schools and how we learn to think. Participants left the session understanding that civics and citizenship permeates all of the Essential Learnings framework, and especially the Social Responsibility component. Harmony Through Understanding: A Pilot Project for Schools In 2001 a project was developed around the belief that to develop deep appreciation about the lives of other cultural and ethnic groups one had to move beyond mere tolerance, to understanding and respect. Young people needed opportunities to work, play and create together. From this conception and project was implemented in 2002 in which students from Years 5-8 from 15 different schools, representing diverse backgrounds, religions and cultures came together for nine days to work, play and learn from and with reach other. This workshop explored the outcomes of this year-long pilot project and the implications it has for others wishing to undertake similar projects. Participants were explained the roles undertaken by teachers, how the project was managed/facilitated and the outcomes that it generated for the students, their schools and the broader community.

Taking Active Citizenship Seriously The presenter of this workshop believes that we talk enthusiastically about ‘active citizenship’ in schools, but often have limited and trivial examples to offer (eg. compliant student volunteering for community service). If we are serious about encouraging active citizenship we need to rethink how schools operate, how young people are treated and the purposes of learning. This workshop focused on the following three desired directions in schooling and provided some practical examples of movements towards them: • young people should be treated with respect, as competent constructors of

meaning and purpose and as partners in decision-making • learning should be cooperative, purposeful and productive, it should engage

students in real and challenging community outcomes and change • school governance should be democratic and build effective and inclusive

student councils that are taken seriously as part of whole-school decision-making.

Impediments to these outcomes were seen to be teacher and student workloads and the way that schools are structured and administered. Participants were provided with handouts outlining key concepts and describing practical ways of promoting student respect, purposeful learning and democratic school governance.7 The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be This workshop addressed the questions:

• How do we increase youth participation in community change and renewal? • How do we reverse the decline in rural communities? In doing so it examined the origins, content, processes and outcomes of the C.R.E.A.T.E. (Creating Rural Entrepreneurial Attitudes Through Education) project that involved young people in identifying projects that could be undertaken to reinvigorate their rural communities.

Workshop participants were explained the process that the presenter uses to assist rural communities to identify areas for action that will produce meaningful and interesting jobs and recreational activities designed to retain young people in the area. The presenter also described many examples of successful projects that rural communities devised in which young people can participate and take a lead role.8

7 Resources for active citizenship can be found at: www.rumad.org.au www.sofweb.vic.edu.ua/ys/pdf/SATmanual.pdf hsc.csu.edu.au/pta/pasta yarn.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/yrc/home.html 8 For further information go to:

The themes explored through the workshop were:

• understanding change in rural Australia • knowing oneself • being enterprising • exploring our community as a place of opportunity • experimenting with social and economic enterprise ideas.

The take-away message for teachers and others working with young people is that they need to:

• create an atmosphere of energy, enthusiasm, excitement and optimism • demystify concepts, processes and strategies • optimise the knowledge and expertise of participating groups/individuals.

A Conceptual Framework for Exploring Civics and Citizenship Education A conceptual framework for exploring civics and citizenship education through multiple curriculum perspectives is being developed by the Catholic Education Office in Melbourne. Central to this model is the ‘ideal community’, one that acknowledges the past, engages critically with the present and creates inclusive and preferred futures. Workshop participants examined a selection of civics and citizenship projects being implemented as a trial of the framework and considered how an approach that acknowledges multiple perspectives and diverse views within a pluralist society can further enhance civics and citizenship education. They also explored the relevance of the conceptual model for their own teaching of civics and citizenship. Future Directions. Incorporating Asian Studies Australia’s political, economic and historical links with the Asian region, together with the current reshaping of global spheres of influence, indicate the study of Asia is significant. This workshop focused on the following two issues: 1. the ways in which Studies of Asia can be linked to the Discovering Democracy

materials, and particularly the resources that enhance the study of civics and citizenship

2. a proposal for future directions based on the assumption that students need to develop a capacity to function as regional and global citizens.

www.bankofideas.com.au www.educationfoundation.org.au

Workshop participants discussed how Asian Studies fits with civics and citizenship Education and the importance of including such studies within this learning context.

Young People’s Civic Engagement through Enrolment This workshop was based on a research project funded for four years by the Australian Research Council and supported by the Australian Electoral Commission. There are approximately 300,000 young Australians, 18-24 years of age who do not vote in elections because they have not registered to vote. The principal purpose of the research project is to determine why many young people do not register on the Australian electoral role and what can be done to rectify this.

The workshop covered the nature of the research project ad its current status. The research team will administer a national survey in 2003/4 and 2005/6 to between 150 and 200 schools (covering approximately 8,000 Year 11 students) and conduct national workshops in 2003 and 2006. It is anticipated that the research will provide the researchers with a better understanding of youth attitudes and give them insights into strategies for improving youth enrolment to vote, including strategies related to the curriculum undertaken in schools.

Workshop participants gained a sound understanding of the background, methodology and scope of the research project.

Session 12: The Way Forward This Round Table session, chaired by Professor Kerry Kennedy, focused on the following questions:

1. What is the relationship between values education and the civic values that underpin civics and citizenship education?

2. What have the various conversations at this forum, and your own prior knowledge, told you about:

the issues that need to be addressed in the teaching of values, and civic values in particular?

imparting civics and citizenship values through Discovering Democracy? the strategies that schools might adopt to strengthen implementation and

outcomes in values education? the ways schools might be best supported in this task by the systems and

government initiatives?

David Brown addressed the group and commented that the civics and citizenship education focus had shifted over time from knowledge and understandings to become more concerned with values education and posed the following questions to the forum:

• How do teachers teach about values? Is this best done through explicit teaching about values or are values best transmitted implicitly through providing processes and actions that reflect desired values positions?

• How do you educate a good person?

To focus discussion, Mr Brown outlined the Values Education Study case studies being conducted in sixty-nine schools and the range of ways in which these schools were going about teaching values. He observed that some schools in the study were teaching values explicitly, whilst others were teaching values implicitly through activities, some were engaged in values mapping exercises to identify key values and some were conducting values audits to identify gaps between the intended and received curriculum. The issue of values congruence was also highlighted and David indicated that some schools in the study were reviewing their processes and policies to make them consistent with their expressed values.

David observed that whilst values are contestable and provisional, consultative processes were leading to broad consensus within schools about the kinds of values that students should learn and reflect in their daily life.

Issues raised by the fifteen table groups included: • the difficulty of defining values • the difficulty of assessing values

• how to provide students with the skills to identify their values • how to implement an enriched understanding of civic engagement. This thought-provoking session enabled forum participants to grapple with the uncertainties surrounding the implementation of values education and to explore practical ways in which values education can be incorporated into the classroom.

Session 13: Wind Up: Perspectives on the Forum This final session chaired by Professor Kerry Kennedy consisted of brief comments on the outcomes of the Forum from a panel of six participants. Three of the panellists were the overseas invitees Professor David Kerr from the United Kingdom, Professor Carol Hahn from the United States of America and Professor Wing On Lee from Hong Kong. The other three were Susan Boucher of the Australian Principals’ Associations’ Professional Development Council, Greg Hunt of the Australian Federation of Societies for Studies of Society and Environment and Molly Nicholson a teacher education student.

Professor David Kerr commented that many of the issues that the Forum addressed were also issues that are vexing teachers in the UK. He particularly referred to the difficulties surrounding values education and stressed that to be successfully implemented a clear rationale, appropriate terminology and practical models for schools need to be developed. He also raised the difficulty of assessing values education but stressed that it was important to ‘assess what you value rather than value what you assess’.

Greg Hunt provided the Forum with his observations on the connection between civics and citizenship education and education for the environment. He suggested that education for citizenship should promote involvement in active citizenship and posed the question ‘What citizenship participation should students be engaged in?’.

Professor Carol Hahn commented that her interest in comparative education reminded her she is part of a global profession. The issues and concerns canvassed in the Forum were similar to ones canvassed in the United States. She had enjoyed participating in discussions about the use of information and communication technologies for engaging students and stressed that the social action agenda considered at the Forum was critical but in danger. Professor Hahn contended that the ‘political’ needs to be kept in citizenship education and that it is vital that students engage with controversy and with human rights issues globally. However for this to be successful, teachers need to know how to engage students with controversial issues in a way that avoids blinkered and biased thinking.

Professor Wing On Lee passed on his personal insights and his appreciation of the Australian sense of humour, open-mindedness and willingness to engage in self-criticism. He commented on education in Hong Kong and stressed the importance of developing experimental approaches in which students are actively engaged in projects of importance to their communities. He was also very

impressed with the way the young people in the Talkback Classroom session conducted their interview with the Minister for Education, Science and Training.

Molly Nicholson was very enthusiastic about the Forum and indicated that she had learnt a great deal from her participation in workshops and the presentations. She commented that she was inspired by the projects she had learnt about and looked forward to commencing teaching. Ms Nicholson also hoped she would be able to participate in future in the Discovering Democracy forums.

Susan Boucher commented that the Discovering Democracy Forum had come a long way as in the early years it was simply concerned with promoting teaching materials whereas now it was concerned with refining projects and embedding new approaches to teaching civics and citizenship. Ms Boucher commented that school principals need to show leadership in this area of the curriculum and suggested that awareness of the Discovering Democracy agenda was growing within the principal group.

Concluding Comments Noel Simpson, Director, Languages and Civics Education Section, DEST alerted Forum participants to new History resources9 which could be used in the civics and citizenship classroom, to the Commonwealth Government’s statement of multicultural policy Multicultural Australia: United in Diversity 10 and to the forthcoming evaluation of the Discovering Democracy Programme. Mr. Simpson thanked workshop presenters and speakers, Joan Warhurst and the ACSA team for the Forum organisation, Dawn Casey and the National Museum for hosting the Forum, and Joy Duffield and her team from DEST. He expressed his hope that participants had found the programme worthwhile and suggested civics and citizenship education was a ‘work in progress’.

9 For more information go to: www.hyperhistory.org.au 10 The full text is available on the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs website: www.immi.gov.au