A great starting point for a discussion on Global democracy

 

People don't think their countries are very democratic - even in democracies

The map above shows how democratic they feel their government and country to be (the % that say that their country is currently democratic). What a great starting point to start teaching about Global democracy and democratic perceptions of people around the world. 

The data comes from the Democracy Perception Index, and is not an objective measure of democracy but a subjective measure of how democratic they perceive their country as being.

Only about half the world (58%) says their country is democratic. Greece is considered the least democratic by its people (43%) out of all countries labelled as “free” democracies by Freedom House.

Just a random interesting map re: dreams around the world ... or does it tell us more

 Mapping dream searches

The map above shows the most frequently searched dreams by country, categorized into themes like The Human Body, Animals & Nature, Love & Relationships, Money & Objects, Family, and Death. What does it tell us about what is happening in different countries. Yes, geography via random maps. To create this map, Google search data for every country was entered in a spatial data base.

For example, snakes are the most common dream in many countries worldwide. Teeth falling out is a significant dream theme in North America and parts of Europe.  Dreams related to Marriage and Pregnancy are also prevalent in various regions.

Each country is color-coded based on the theme of its most common dream.

For more information about this map go to https://brilliantmaps.com/the-most-common-dreams-by-country/ and watch the video.

Civics and Citizenship funding and program launched in South Australia

News report at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NPcz0h2ScA

On 19 August, the Premier announced the following via a media release.

Safeguarding our democracy through education

Boosting the education of young people about the important role civics and citizenship play in our society will be the focus of sweeping nation-leading curriculum reforms outlined by the Malinauskas Labor Government today.

 Civics will be overhauled in public schools with an $18.4m investment, ensuring every student graduates with the knowledge and skills needed in an increasingly polarized world.

The changes include:

·         All years 7 and 8 public school students will study civics and citizenship for an hour per week.

·         Every subject in years 9 and 10 will have civics and citizenship incorporated into it as part of the introduction of a Cross-Curriculum Priority.

·         Public schools will be supported to introduce new opportunities for students to participate in school-based democratic opportunities, such as SRCs.

·         All public school students will be able to participate in an annual Active Citizenship Convention, starting next year, putting their education into practice.

These reforms – designed to strengthen the future of democracy in South Australia – will see the state lead the nation in this area. We will also be the first state or territory to introduce a specialised civics teacher in every public high school and B-12 school.

Increasing an educational focus on the civics and citizenship was championed by the South Australian Governor Frances Adamson AC, along with the Premier, and the advocacy of the Commissioner for Children and Young People Helen Connolly, who has argued for more civics and citizenship education in South Australia.

Civics is currently delivered through Humanities and Social Sciences as a compulsory aspect of learning between the years of 3 and 8. However, the quality of this delivery is mixed due to a lack of specialist teachers.

There has been a 15 per cent decline in students studying year 12 Politics, Power and People between 2021 and 2023 – highlighting the need for urgent reform.

The introduction of a Cross-Curriculum Priority, which currently exists in the Australian Curriculum for Sustainability, Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures, will mean that teachers in all subject areas in years 9 and 10 will need to embed civics into existing content. This will support students to apply the knowledge they learn in years 7 and 8 to real topics and scenarios across areas including science, maths, arts and English.

The Department will also work with schools to increase the offering of politics in SACE so more students have the opportunity to study it in their senior school years.

Additionally, a three-day statewide Active Citizenship Convention will be hosted annually, starting in 2025, for students to engage in workshops about issues of importance to them; and to learn about the ways in which relevant laws and policies are made and how they are influenced.

A working group, chaired by Department for Education Chief Executive Professor Martin Westwell, will oversee the implementation of these reforms.

Related article

·         https://www.weare.sa.gov.au/news/democracy-manifest-civics-to-receive-overhaul-in-sa-schools#:~:text=All%20year%207%20and%208%20public%20school%20students,for%20students%20to%20participate%20in%20school-based%20democratic%20opportunities.

 

Some comments from the first session on the new South Australian Curriculum under development

 

Image above: Poster from Pearson Publications that can be downloaded at https://www.pearson.com/en-gb/schools/subject-resources/humanities/humanities-matter.html

Here are some thoughts from those attending the session.

The DfE Strategic Plan for development of the SA Curriculum

• Data included community and state cultural snapshots for context specific to SA learner and young people's educational rights which was great to see.
• Student agency and critical inquiry where stand out points of discussion.
• The framework is built to support the learner, educator, parent/caregiver by meaningfully engaging in Culturally Responsive Pedagogy. Linking South Australian learners unique Funds of Knowledge’s to relevant learning opportunities and engaging contexts.
• Recognizes, addresses and measures ways of reducing organizational inequities for groups such as Aboriginal learners, learners with disabilities, learners who face economic disadvantage, learners living in regional and remote Australia, and children in care.  
• Promotes educator flexibility when teaching students about Local South Australian community contexts.
• The major note that I have for the roll out of the SA Curriculum; Under Development is access to iterations and feedback. Access is limited to DfE educators and Public Schools SA. As updates occur, vital feedback groups such as PST and independent/private/religious educational organization’s opinions will be missed. At this stage of the roll out, I believe that these prototype phases could be publicly released for feedback and focusing.

Throughout the hour-long session, both presenters warmly created opportunities for members to have discussions, provide feedback and answer questions in the chat.

Graphic from: https://4humanities.org/2013/06/humanities-matter-preview/

 

To the question, “Why is HaSS important for learners?”, some of the online comments were:

• Ensures students develop important life skills and understanding
• To understand the world they are in and how to contribute actively as a citizen
• To learn about and connect with our communities, nation and globally
• It provides students the opportunity to practice and model themselves to be active global citizens by exploring the past, present and future. Students in remote communities can be critical thinkers and actively engage with those in capital cities
• Learners can become informed on issues and become active and engaged citizens
• Makes connections with the world and informs students to be active participants in their world
• To gain deeper and more sophisticated understanding of the contemporary world and how it was developed and changed over time. Additionally, to promote interdisciplinary skills and dispositions that can be used in multiple forms and contexts
• It gives learners a well-rounded perspective on issues and what we can do as responsible citizens.

To the question to attendees about “What excites them about the new SA Curriculum HaSS R-10?

* I look forward to inputting the dispositions more explicitly

* Simplified concepts

* It gives flexibility for students in Cat 1 schools to explore how impactful Hass can be based on their community and give space to reflect on their identity.

* There appears to be quite a strong focus on dispositional and capability growth in our students. I think this will be great in focusing on interdisciplinary skills and how this can be applied to academic and non-academic contexts

* Feels more connected... would love to see some of the dispositions that are civics/citizenship focused back in F-2 as Early Childhood Teachers know that this is highly relevant for young children (its in EYLF...disappears in the early years of schooling...then reappears in Year 3).

In short, it was excellent to have such a good number of HaSS educators and HAA members online last night for our first HAA workshop on the new South Australian Curriculum under development. We hope those attending found the information session useful and that we will see such a good turn-up at other HAA events.

A list of upcoming events is posted for members on our website and social media pages. Spots are filling fast so register your interest today – see the registration details at https://hassaa.org.au/haa-conference/

HAA first professional Learning session on the new South Australian Curriculum under development

 

The Public Education strategy, with the purpose: Children and students learning and thriving.

Download at https://www.education.sa.gov.au/purpose-media/Learn-and-thrive-plan-on-a-page.pdf

Welcome HAA current and future members,

My name’s Kirby O'Connor and I am on the HAA Interim Council representing the pre-service teacher voice for HaSS Association Australia.

We welcome you to our first blog entry. As a reader, throughout HAA's blogging journey, you will read a variety of blogs from HAA council members and specialized contributors. Topics will be tailored around HaSS, events, workshops, mentorship and resources.

If you are a member/specialist and passionate about a HaSS related topic, contact HAA to share your own blog post at president@hassaa.org.au

The interim council is pleased to report on the success of our first member’s event: Introduction of the new SA Curriculum under development. The information session was held on the 21^st of August 2024. The HAA council was thrilled to see 46 members attend HAA's first professional development zoom workshop.

The HAA Interim Council, July 2024

At an online session, attended by 38 HAA members on 21 August, the new SA Curriculum was presented by Susie Jones and Tara Baron from the Department of Education. The breakdown of the new SA curriculum structure was insightful and clearly highlighted the purpose and importance of successful young SA learners.

The DfE team highlighted how its current 2024 school roll out is going and the changes that have been made in the learning standards in accordance with feedback. The current phase of the SA curriculum is in Term 3 2024 and is called “Focus and Explore.” Its aim is to introduce the four new learning areas of HaSS, HPE, Science and Technologies. The development team in this phase will discuss and define the focus, engage with consumers, approach and pace alongside professionals and sites. The final phase will roll out in Term 4 2024 and will look further into and refocus engagement again to set up for a 2025-2027 full adoption.

The collaborative presentation by Susie (Primary Sector) and Tara (Secondary Sector) aligned the current Australian Curriculum v9 to the new SA Curriculum for both sectors. Both presenters broke down the first iteration of the HaSS learning standards with examples of a reception and year nine year-levels shown. The purpose, wording, sequence, structure, content, achievements, and outcomes were clearly defined for members.

The Essential Learning Standards of conceptual understanding, dispositions and capabilities.  

·         Capabilities - Do

·         Dispositions - Be

·         Knowledge - Understand

o    Conceptual Understanding

o    Supporting Content Descriptors

 

The first iteration of HaSS in the SA Curriculum was deconstructed from ACARA v9 and consulted upon by SA education professionals, academic institutes, SA community and cultural groups, as well as SA learners. The overall messaging was “its simplified.” The presenters showed the 31 current ACARA v9 concepts, general capabilities and cross curriculum priorities. It was iterated that DfE wants professionals to engage in the content and participate in open discussions to provide feedback to implement a final product effectively. 

Susie Jones and Tara Baron, DfE Curriculum Managers for HaSS

Both presenters spoke passionately of the importance of SA learners needing access to meaningful HaSS education. On review of the Public Education Strategic Plan, I was pleased to see the extensive list of data, surveys, community context reports, and consultations. This was done with SA community and cultural groups, diverse minority group panels, corporations, professional associations, individual specialists, academic institutes, and lastly and most importantly, children! Which is the part I personally liked.

First Nations Australian voices are represented directly in the curriculum writing. SA Aboriginal communities were consulted upon, and Aboriginal learners’ voices are present. Such as this quote from a Year 9 Aboriginal student "I hope that the future students will be excited to go to school every single day. I also hope especially Indigenous students feel as though they’ve finally found where they belong”.

SA Curriculum has simplified content with locally relevant HaSS concepts, alongside learner capabilities and dispositions.

These six concepts fall under the Knowledge /Conceptual understanding of HaSS.

• Identity and society
• Significance and scale
• Place, space, and environment
• Change, decisions and actions
• Perspectives and interpretations
• Relationships and interactions

 HaSS Dispositions

• Disconcerting
• Empathetic
• Responsible
• Curious
• Conscious (socially, politically etc.)

HaSS Capabilities linked to ACARA v9 Content descriptors.

• Critical inquiry
• Personal and social
• Ethical understanding
• Intercultural understanding

The power of maps to make sense of the world - or just question why!

 

The map above shows where Twitter (aka X) is blocked or restricted. 

As well as providing information and alerts about the work of HaSS Association Australia (HAA) this blog has also been designed to provide regular updates on HaSS in general and provide resources and links to resources useful to teach HaSS. 

With the discussion on the role of social media in our society, I thought this map showing where Twitter (X) is blocked is a great starting point to discuss freedom of information and the role of governments in the HaSS classroom.

Posts such as this one will be brief and provide just one or two examples of resources. A great site to get such maps is Brilliant map at https://brilliantmaps.com/ There are maps of everything on this site, some you really scratch your head about why they have made them, i.e. the one below on preferred sauce on chips in the UK is such an example of a crazy map! I am sure the creative HaSS teacher can find a purpose for such a map - even if just to say "it is just interesting and why is there such a range of sauce use across space?"