Background

Civics and Citizenship Education (CCE) 2004–2007

Current Australian Government initiatives in civics and citizenship education include the development and maintenance of the Civics and Citizenship Education website, and the continuation of a programme of national activities, including Celebrating Democracy Week and the National Schools Constitutional Convention. These follow the highly successful Discovering Democracy programme of 1997–2004.

Discovering Democracy programme 1997–2004

The Australian Government initiated the Discovering Democracy programme in 1997. That programme was premised on the conviction that civics and citizenship education is central to Australian education and the maintenance of a strong and vital citizenship. To be able to participate as active citizens throughout their lives, students need a thorough knowledge and understanding of Australia’s political heritage, democratic processes and government, and judicial system. 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.

The Discovering Democracy programme included:

• development of curriculum materials and professional learning resources, which were distributed to all Australian schools. (The Discovering Democracy resources included a primary and a secondary kit of teaching and learning materials, readers, posters, a number of CD-ROMs and the development of a website to support professional learning and provide extra teaching and learning materials. Materials were distributed to all Australian schools between 1997 and 2004.);
• funding for professional development programmes in all States and Territories;
• a programme of national activities that included funding for principal, parent, academic and key learning area groups, as well as the initiation of Celebrating Democracy Week and the National Schools Constitutional Convention.

The National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty–first Century (Adelaide Declaration), 1999

The National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty–first Century, agreed to by all State and Territory education ministers, include an emphasis on educating students to understand their role in Australia’s democracy.

The National Goals state that students, when they leave school, should:

• be active and informed citizens with an understanding and appreciation of Australia’s system of government and civic life (Goal 1.4);
• have the capacity to exercise judgement and responsibility in matters of morality, ethics and social justice, and the capacity to make sense of their world, to think about how things got to be the way they are, to make rational and informed decisions about their own lives, and to accept responsibility for their own actions (Goal 1.3).

Since the Discovering Democracy initiative and the publication of the National Goals, 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.

National Assessment of Civics and Citizenship Education

The assessment of civics and citizenship education is part of a national plan that is progressively being put in place to monitor and report on student achievement against the National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty–firstCentury. The first national sample survey assessment took place in October 2004 and will continue at three-year intervals.

Further information

The National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty-first Century (Adelaide Declaration):

http://www.mceetya.edu.au/adeldec.htm

National Assessment

http://www.civicsandcitizenship.edu.au/cce/default.asp?id=9012