History and civics

This section examines the relationship between history and civics education and explores the
teaching of history through the Discovering Democracy resources.

Overview
Introduction
What is civics and citizenship education?
Some definitions
History and civics and citizenship education
What history brings to CCE
Suggested professional development activity
Suggestions for classroom practice
Students' knowledge and beliefs: The IEA Civic Education Study
IEA findings
Civics and citizenship education whole-school approaches
A whole-school approach model
The history and civics classroom: Using an inquiry approach
An eight-step inquiry approach
Teaching history through the Discovering Democracy units
The Discovering Democracy School Materials Project
The scope of the Discovering Democracy resources
History contexts in the Discovering Democracy resources
Using Gardener and Bloom to plan civics and history teaching
Suggested professional development activity
 Introduction
School education has a critical role to play in fostering a democratic society whose citizens:
have a clear sense of identity and belonging;
feel empowered to participate positively in their communities;
understand their rights and responsibilities as citizens of local, national and global
communities.
This is essentially the business of civics and citizenship education (CCE) and in this business
the teaching of history plays a vital part.
History provides:
understandings of the origins and operations of Australia’s (and other nations’)
political and legal systems
the context for understanding the present and providing perspectives on the future
stories and models of citizenship
development of inquiry skills and abilities
the means of understanding and valuing principles of democracy.
In the 1990s, amidst growing concern about the state of student understanding and
engagement with Australia’s system of government, the Commonwealth initiated a revival in
civics and citizenship education. In 1997, the Commonwealth government launched the
Discovering Democracy program with the aim of improving the knowledge, conceptual
understanding, skills and attitudes of students across Australia about their system of
government and civic life.
Recent research has affirmed the need for educators to improve the content knowledge of
students. The Australian data from research into the civic knowledge and beliefs of 14-year-
old students in 28 countries, conducted by the IEA Civic Education Study, has important
implications for Australian teachers of history and civics. It points to the need for students to
have a deeper understanding of theoretical constructs and models of democracy, a focus on a
participative pedagogy and a school ethos that encourages experiential learning and student
participation.
While CCE is underpinned by history, the development of citizenship values and skills is the
domain of all key learning areas (KLAs) and all members of the school community. To
embed CCE in schools, support and opportunities for active participation or the practice of
democracy are needed in classrooms, schools and the way the schools link to the community.
This whole-school approach needs the cooperation of school leaders and policymakers as well
as classroom teachers in all KLAs.
Teachers of history in particular have a key role to play as the mediators of origins, concepts
and traditions that underpin civics and citizenship. They also have a range of specialist
resources and strategies to support students’ learning needs in CCE.
The following section provides advice arising from relevant research, practical strategies and
information for teachers of history to support their CCE work in classrooms and schools.
 What is civics and citizenship education?
Some definitions
Civics is concerned with knowing and understanding the formal structures and processes of
government and with knowing and understanding the rights and duties of people who live
together in a civil society.
Citizenship is the state of being a member of a particular country (thinking, acting, belonging
and believing) and having rights and responsibilities because of that membership.
Civics and citizenship education (CCE) is concerned with equipping students with the
decision-making skills, values, attitudes, information and understanding they need to
participate as informed and active citizens within Australian society.
CCE encompasses knowledge and skills underpinned by values and attitudes. At the core of
CCE is the belief that if the Australian community values a democratic society, the school
system should teach students about it and schools should practise it by offering ‘democratic’
experiences in the classroom and the whole school environment. It requires a student-centred,
active pedagogy.
Key aspects of civics and citizenship educationi
Knowledge/ • The origins, nature and processes of Australia’s democratic institutions – the
skills government, the judicial system and the nation’s place in the international community.
• The principles behind Australia’s political and legal institutions.
• An understanding of how our system of government works in practice and how it
affects citizens.
• The history of all Australians, including Indigenous, multicultural and gender
perspectives.
• Critical thinking, negotiation, collaboration and decision-making skills.
• Inquiry and research skills.
• Communication skills.
Values/ • Being committed to the rights and responsibilities of living in a democracy.
attitudes
• Developing pride in being Australian and sharing our rich and diverse heritage.
• Being committed to international understanding and cooperation.
• Developing belief in equality, liberty, fairness, trust, mutual respect and social
cooperation.
• Being committed to social justice and equal opportunity for all.
• Rejecting racism, sexism and other forms of prejudice.
• Accepting lawful and just authority.
• Respecting different viewpoints.
• Working cooperatively with others.
• Exercising the rights and responsibilities of citizens – in classrooms, schools and in the
way schools link to the wider community.
• Actively contributing to the life of the school and the broader community.
• Actively supporting the conservation of heritage and the natural environment.
• Being caring and supportive of others.
Pedagogy • Student-centred classrooms which encourage students to express opinions, engage in
active debate and consider a variety of viewpoints.
• Linking learning to student interests, student input and choice in curriculum.
• Focused inquiry approaches, including investigation, communication and participation.
• Supporting all students’ learning needs.
• Authentic learning for real purposes with real outcomes and audiences.
• Student input and choice in curriculum.
• Recognition of linguistic and cultural diversity.
• Promoting tolerance and respect for others.
• Supporting the development of identity – individual, school, local, national and global.

Suggested professional development activity

In a relevant staff meeting on curriculum planning, use the table above and discuss:
Where in our school curriculum are students given the opportunity to learn CCE
knowledge?
Describe and share some classroom activities which promote CCE skills.
Which curriculum areas support the development of ‘democratic attitudes’? How do
they do this?
What areas of civics and citizenship knowledge are identified as areas where staff
need professional development support?
History and civics and citizenship education
We believe that a knowledge and understanding of the history of Australians
is an essential foundation for Australian citizenship. It should be the core
element of the curriculum for all students up to school leaving age.ii
In reporting the views of the Civics Expert Group, Dr Ken Boston (then Director General,
NSW Department of Education and Training) outlined the importance of history in providing
the ‘social cement’ which enables Australians from diverse backgrounds, cultures and
traditions to ‘live together in a degree of harmony’.
This ‘history of Australians’ is a broader field than the history of the island continent. It
includes not only Indigenous history and the growth of the nation since British colonisation in
1788 but an understanding of the history and culture of all groups, which now contributes to
contemporary Australia.
All areas of history teaching embraced within Australian schools, including ancient
civilisations, the study of revolutions, the Renaissance, and European, Asian and 20th century
histories, have valuable CCE interconnections. Although CCE is primarily Australian-
focused, the story of Australian civics history and the Discovering Democracy project
materials themselves are reflective of multiple influences and connections to an array other
countries, cultures and times.
While CCE is best taught and practised in all learning areas and developed through such
things as democratic classrooms, student participation in school decision-making and in civic
activity in the contemporary community, it is history teaching and learning that best provides
the foundation knowledge and deep understanding of the concepts, values, beliefs, origins,
traditions and practices that facilitate such participation.
It is history that provides students with that particular and empowering insight that the way
we are governed – and the political and legal systems on which the governance is based – are
living things that have been created, have changed and can be changed again. In this way,
history illuminates the institutions and practices of government. It would be difficult to
explain and more difficult to value the power of Parliament over the monarch without
recourse to the story of the struggle between Parliament and the Crown.
So too, it is history, through its narratives and its fascinating passing parade of personalities,
that can make civics an intriguing, interesting and very human story.

What history brings to CCE

History brings to CCE:
knowledge of the history of Australia, which is a basic right of citizens and
underpins effective citizenship
knowledge and understanding of the origins and operations of those political,
economic, legal and social institutions in which they will eventually participate as
active citizens
stories behind contemporary issues and the context through which students make
meaning of current events and develop perspectives on the future
narratives behind Australians’ civic past so that students gain a sense of change,
time, continuity, causation, motivation and heritage
insight into human experiences in other times and societies which provide a basis
for evaluating students’ own life experiences
individual stories and models of citizenship which enable students to understand
decision-making processes and the choices made by individuals when confronted
with challenges
 development of skills and abilities and a means of understanding and valuing
principles of democracy, social justice and ecological sustainability
skills in inquiry methodology which promote experiential and student-centred
teaching and learning – historical literacy enables students to both critically evaluate
the public use of history in contemporary political debate and to generate useful
knowledge for themselves and their communities.
Civics and citizenship education enriches history by:
providing a focal point for the investigation of history and themes for narrative and
chronology
providing the opportunities for connecting history to issues relevant to students’
present and opportunities for active participation in classrooms, schools and
communities.

Suggested professional development activity

As a group of SOSE or HSIE teachers, identify and discuss cross-connections. First, discuss
what possible civics and citizenship topics could be explored within current themes and topics
being used in history teaching. Then reverse the focus – what are the real and potential
historical themes, issues and topics that could be explored within a current theme in civics
education?
Once connections are identified, plan a set of activities that will develop several historical
literacy skills and connect students to contemporary civics and citizenship activity.

Suggestions for classroom practice

Here is an activity which could assist middle secondary students to develop a democratic
classroom as part of a whole-school approach to CCE.
Have the class explore different voting processes, including the pros and cons of open voting
versus a secret ballot or compulsory versus non-compulsory voting. Students could then
compare their discussion and decision with the story of how voting was conducted in colonial
times and how the secret ballot became an Australian innovation, known in America as ‘the
Australian Ballot’.
See an account of how the secret ballot was developed in Australia’s Democracy: A Short
History, part of the Discovering Democracy resource.iii
Students knowledge and beliefs: The IEA Civic
Education Study
In 1999, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA)
conducted a civic education study of 90,000 14-year-olds in 28 democratic countries. In 2002
the Australian report, representing 3,331 students and 352 teachers, was released. Citizenship
and Democracy: Students’ Knowledge and Beliefs – Australian Fourteen Year Olds and the
IEA Civic Education Study interprets the Australian data collected during the IEA study.iv
The study provides hard data on Australian students’ civic knowledge, beliefs and attitudes as
well as identifying a range of factors that contribute to higher levels of civic knowledge.
The data and recommendations from this report have important implications for teachers of
history and civics and point to the need for deeper understanding of content, a focus on a
participative pedagogy and a school ethos that encourages experiential learning and student
participation.

IEA findings [4]

Civic knowledge
Only half of Australian students have a grasp of the essential pre conditions for a properly
working democracy (civil rights, the function of periodic elections, the content and purpose of
constitutions, the role of media in a democracy, differences between a dictatorship and a
democracy, and the role of criticism and protest in a democracy).
Australian students do not have a strong grasp of the impact of economic issues in the
functioning of a democratic system (the role of trade unions, the market economy,
multinationals and the global economy).
Civic engagement
Only a minority of students expect to participate in political activities in the future:
83% of Australian students think that it is unimportant to join a political party
55% of students believe it is important to know their country’s history
50% of students think it is important to follow political issues in the media
66% of students think it is unimportant to engage in political discussions.
Social movement activities
Of the students surveyed:
74% support protecting the environment
80% support activities to benefit people
68% support protecting human rights
57% thought that citizens should participate in a peaceful protest against a law they
believed to be unjust.
Expected participation in political activities
When asked about political participation:
11% of students expected to join a political party
24% would write a letter to a newspaper
12% would want to be a candidate for local political office.
Democratic processes in schools
Student attitudes towards school democracy were positive:
82% believed that electing representatives in schools would help bring about change
 85% thought that positive changes in schools could be brought about by students
working together to solve problems.
Civic attitudes
The police, the courts and local governments were the most trusted government-
related institutions, with political parties being afforded the least trust.
Australian students are patriotic, with 96% of them professing ‘a great love’ for
their country.
There is a strong support for the rights of immigrants and women in Australian
society.
Preferred source of civic knowledge
Television news is the preferred source of information for 80% of Australian students,
although two-thirds of them also read in the newspapers about what is happening in this and
other countries. Sixty-two per cent of them also listen to the news on the radio.
Open and student-focused classroom climate
A quarter of Australian students say that they are rarely or never encouraged to express their
opinions in class and the majority were not often encouraged to disagree openly with their
teachers on social and political issues. Only 50% felt they were often encouraged to make up
their minds.
Levels of civic knowledge
Factors associated with higher levels of civic knowledge were:
expected years of further education
open classroom climate
home literacy resources
participation in school councils
frequency of watching TV news.

Some conclusions and recommendations

A major task of educators is to improve the content knowledge of students. This content
should include learning of names, places, dates and events, but should also cover key areas
such as:
the major constructs underpinning democratic governance;
the shape and contours of Australian society both past and present;
the challenges confronting Australia in a globalised world.v
Some of the strategies which would assist the teaching and learning of civics include:
experiencing democracy, which appears to be a good way to build civic knowledge
and gain some commitment to civic processes like voting;
using students’ interest in television to develop an informed and critical attitude to
the medium and the message it presents;
encouraging lively debate in the classroom which recognises different views on
social and political issues, respects differences and provides the freedom to put a
case.vi

Suggested professional development activity

In a small group of colleagues, review the IEA results and explore the implications for the
teaching and learning of history through these questions:
 What are the implications of an ‘open student-focused classroom climate’ in the
teaching and learning of history and CCE? What teaching methods and learning
activities would you experience in such a classroom?
How could a critical approach to television (news, drama, film and documentaries)
be developed in the history classroom?
Should the statistics on expected participation in political activities be of some
concern? Why?
What linkages between history and CCE are suggested by the IEA study
conclusions?
The full report may be accessed as a PDF file (requires Adobe® Acrobat Reader®) from:
http://www.dest.gov.au/schools/Publications/2001/iea/AustCivicReport.pdf
Civics and citizenship education whole-school
approaches
Clearly there are opportunities for students to learn about and practise CCE both inside and
outside the formal classroom.
A recent evaluation of the first phase of the Discovering Democracy program reported that
‘leading-edge’ schools:
incorporated civics knowledge and approaches to active and informed
citizenship across their whole operation. They provide a wide range of
activities outside the formal curriculum, but often fully integrated with it,
whereby students of all backgrounds and abilities can participate in
democratic decision making processes.vii

A whole-school approach model

Roger Holdsworth provides an example of a model for a whole-school approach, which
includes four main ‘big ideas’:
school policies and programs;
classroom teaching and learning;
school ethos and environment;
community links and partnerships.viii
The whole-school approach emphasises that what we do in one area of the school has
enormous impact on student learning across the whole school.
The model provides a useful tool for teachers of history to look at what is happening currently
in their schools and provides a basis for looking at opportunities to integrate what is
happening in their classrooms with other activities in the school and community.

Aspects of the whole-school approach model

Classroom teaching and learning includes:
specific subjects and units of work and cross-KLA learning;
 pedagogy such as inquiry learning, student negotiation of the curriculum, learning
cooperatively, problem-solving, experiential learning and authentic assessment.
School ethos and environment includes:
opportunities for students to experience active citizenship within the school, such as
student councils, class meetings, responsibility for the physical environment of the
school, class and school newsletters, organisation of events and participation on
curriculum committees;
the nature of school rules, the structure of teams and student groupings and the
influence of the timetable.
Community links and partnerships includes:
home–school links, such as parent evenings and information nights;
identification of resources (people and places) that are important in supporting
classroom teaching and learning;
involvement in community service programs such as visiting the elderly, or
community environmental activities such as cleaning up a creek;
developing partnerships with local councils to jointly plan youth recreational
facilities;
bringing community groups into the school as part of learning.
School policies and programs includes:
school charter goals and priorities;
the building of CCE perspectives into school policy documents such as welfare and
curriculum policies;
the curriculum links between learning areas, and initiatives such as middle years,
literacy and numeracy, vocational and enterprise learning, and ICT;
debates about integrated or discipline-based studies;
school change and development;
professional development for staff.ix

Suggested professional development activity

In a small group:
map your school’s current approaches to CCE;
look at where you might link school and school–community activities to your work
as a classroom teacher of history;
consider other opportunities in your school for students to actively participate.
You may wish to use the downloadable Whole-school approaches form available in the html
version of this section or the PDF form in 'Downloads' to help with this activity.
The history and civics classroom: Using an
inquiry approach
The inquiry approach to teaching and learning allows teachers to meet objectives in terms of
student knowledge, skills, processes and values and attitudes. This approach:
promotes active experiential learning in a cooperative learning environment;
allows students to be historians and shape their own investigations;
generates knowledge for students and the society;
supports the development of a range of skills – formulating questions, posing
hypotheses, data collection, analysis, synthesis, critical thinking and decision
making;
develops a variety of communication and language skills;
encourages organisational skills;
gives students experience with a range of data and data collection methods;
provides opportunities to develop a range of presentation skills;
is appropriate at all year levels.
There are several ways of representing the process of planning for active social investigation.
The inquiry approach published in Discovering Democracy Through Research identifies eight
steps in the process.x

©Photograph courtesy of Ballarat City Council

Discovering Democracy through Research was distributed to all schools in 2000.

The eight steps described are as follows:

1 Choose a topic
2 Review existing information
3 Decide on research methods
4 Identify information sources
5 Collect data
6 Analyse data
7 Report findings
8 Evaluate and assess.
An eight-step inquiry approach

1 Choose the topic Question selection

Create a context by providing students with, or Brainstorming
asking them to collect information on, a range of Think, pair, share
issues via short newspaper reports, photographs, Class discussion
segments from current affairs programs, poems, Viewing videos
segments of plays. Reading stories
Make sure the topic is of interest to students. Newspaper articles
Current issues
Identify key questions which will guide the Historical issues
investigation.
Individual reflection
Personal experiences
Student interest

2 Review existing information

Establish background information to provide a context for the research.
Ensure students understand key terms, issues, arguments and current developments.
Refine the research questions if needed.

What’s a good key question?

A good key question will:
reflect current concerns and interests of students, but also provide links to wider
societal issues
illustrate a range of views
have potential for community–school reciprocity
present the possibility of further action by students
be ‘researchable’ by students
provide appropriate depth and challenge
lead to socially critical understandings of the world that reflect the values of
social justice, democratic processes and ecological sustainability.xi
Research methods 3 Decide on research methods
media searches Research methods will be determined by the purpose of the
internet searches research, the availability of resources and time and the
opinion polls knowledge gaps.
interviews Choose from a variety of methods.
guest speakers
4 Identify information sources
site visits and
excursions Sources will arise from the defined research methods and key
surveys questions. These may be located as a cooperative exercise and
shared with the class group.
questionnaires
study of specialist 5 Collect data
texts
As research is an active process, much of this will need to take
meetings with place outside the classroom. As such it will need to be managed
stakeholders and may involve arranging access to computer facilities,
film excursion forms, seeking permission for visits and/or accessing
literature public figures.
case studiesxii Attention will need to be given to setting up systems for storing
and recording data.

6 Analyse data
This is the process of making sense of the data, constructing understandings, looking for
trends and answering the research questions.
The questions and themes will guide the organisation of data.
Graphic displays, such as timelines, pie charts, bar graphs, tables and spreadsheets, will make
information more accessible.
Student researchers should critically examine the quality of the data. Judging relevance,
distinguishing fact from opinion, testing validity of opinions and resolving contradictions are
examples of critical evaluation of data.

Evaluation of data
Judging relevance Distinguishing fact from opinion
Checking authenticity Testing validity of opinions
Testing factual accuracy Resolving contradictions
Judging sufficiency of information Identifying subjective points of viewxiii

7 Report the findings

Reporting the findings requires a clear sense of who the intended audience is and what means
of reporting is to be used to present major findings, viewpoints and conclusions.
Consideration should be given to real audiences – as well as the teacher and the class, there
are stakeholders, parents, local council, volunteer groups, local newspapers and other classes
and teachers.
 Types of reports
Preparing displays for local community centres.
Making a video for parents.
Producing a brochure for distribution within the community.
Writing books for younger children.
Writing reports for submission to local authorities.
Presenting findings orally.
Producing multimedia presentations.
Conveying findings through drama.
Building models.
Photographic essays.
Articles for local newspapers.

8 Evaluate and assess

Evaluation is an important part of the development of effective research skills and could
include:
audience feedback from the reporting process
identification of learning outcomes
self-assessment
strengths and weaknesses of the process
outcomes of the research.

Assessment
Teachers should develop their own specific indicators of student achievement in
accordance with:
the requirements of the research task
State and Territory curriculum frameworks.
Some generic outcomes might include:
contribution to the preparation and organisation of tasks;
ability to identify potential sources of information and use appropriate
information-gathering techniques;
ability to represent data in a variety of ways;
organisation, relevance and clarity in the presentation of findings;
understanding and accurate use of key terms encountered in the research work;
knowledge generated which is relevant to the research task.xiv

Discovering Democracy through Research provides useful forms for the investigation process
– interviews, questionnaires and surveys. In addition it provides ten research investigations
which can be adapted for local circumstances:
Taking issue
Good citizens
Our town
Becoming a citizen
 Who represents us?
Images of Australia
Citizens have a say
Police at work
Struggles about democracy
Who rules here?

Suggested professional development activity

Work through the process of turning a history topic you will teach in the near future into a
range of key questions that students in your class could investigate. How might you tune your
students into the topic?
Write down a list of community-based resources that could be used to generate data relating
to the topic.
Write down a list of other resources that could be used to investigate the topic.

Suggestions for classroom practice

Year 5/6 students from Orford Primary School in Tasmania used the ‘Our town’ topic in
Discovering Democracy through Research to explore an aspect of their town history.
After a few false starts the teacher and class decided to find out about what their town
experienced during a particular historical period. The result was a student-developed research
project titled ‘Orford – A study of our town from 1960–1970’ and a website designed and
written by the students to publish their findings.
The students produced original research, developed community cooperation and involvement,
worked offsite, used the resources of the State archives, discovered and used primary sources,
created narratives and generated a history that utilised multiple intelligences. Their history
was published in multiple formats – text, images, graphs and audio.
The project achieved a major connection between the students, their community and their
heritage. The students developed a wide range of historical literacies, including inquiry-
method skills and ICT competencies, as well as connectedness between the past and present
day.
The website of the project is at: http://orford.tased.edu.au/histmenu.html.
Teaching history through the Discovering
Democracy units
The Discovering Democracy School Materials Project
Under the Discovering Democracy School Materials Project, a rich range of historically based
resources have been developed and distributed to all schools in Australia. The materials are
designed with a strong focus on stimulating students’ interest and active engagement and
employ the pedagogical approaches of good history teaching. New materials have been
developed and distributed to schools every year from 1997 to 2002.
These resources are compatible with state and territory curriculum frameworks and can be
embedded into school history courses.
The foundations of the Discovering Democracy resources are the 18 units for middle primary
to middle secondary years. These were distributed to schools as kits in 1998 and are now all
available online at http://www.curriculum.edu.au/democracy/ddunits/.
The units use the discipline of history to explore CCE and the materials cover a number of
themes:
Who rules?
This theme deals with sovereignty – the exercise of power through government and
law; the issues underlying Australian democracy; the development of rights and
responsibilities of citizens; and the means by which citizens exercise their authority
in a democracy.
Law and rights
Within this theme the rule of law is examined – how law binds governments;
equality before the law; and the independence of the judiciary. Also examined are
the origins of Australia’s legal system and how laws are made in Australia,
including the roles of constitutions, parliaments and courts.
The Australian nation
Within this theme the materials deal with the establishment and nature of Australia’s
democratic institutions, changes in civic identity and the role of the nation state.
Citizens and public life
Within this theme the materials deal with the ways in which people participate in
Australia’s civic community, including the contribution of particular groups and
people within and outside formal political processes.
Some examples of the content of these units are:
The middle primary unit, ‘We remember’, is organised around the following focus questions:
Which symbols do Australians use to show who they are and what they value?
Which symbols represent our democratic nation?
How do we commemorate significant events and lives in Australia?
How have symbols and events changes over the years?
Which symbols and events are relevant to the Australian nation today?
The lower secondary unit, ‘Democratic struggles’, is based around the following focus
questions:
What is democracy and what was Australia like before we had it?
How did democracy develop in Britain?
 What influence did the Chartists have on the goldfields and did the struggle at
Eureka contribute to the establishment of democracy in Australia?
To what extent and when were the Chartists’ six points achieved in Australia?
Why didn’t all adults get the vote at Federation and how did those excluded work to
achieve it?
The teaching and learning activities in all of the units involve students in understanding
significant content, developing of skills, clarifying values and developing knowledge on
which to base action and future participation. They include:
building on students’ current interests and experiences
focused inquiry
use of historical narrative
presentation of a range of perspectives
critical thinking approaches to past and present issues
analysis and interpretation of a range of primary and secondary sources
ICT approaches to teaching and learning
use of evidence in support of perspectives
varied and active learning activities
values clarification.

Suggested professional development activity

Look at the Discovering Democracy units on the Curriculum Corporation website:
http://www.curriculum.edu.au/democracy/ddunits/units/units.htm.
Explore the units that are relevant to the year levels you teach. (Look at the focus questions
and explore the way the units are structured and how activity sheets for students may be
downloaded.)
Write down the name of your unit theme and level.
Describe the main focus of the unit.
Select three different teaching and learning activities you could implement in your
classroom.
How might you change or adapt the resource to use in your classroom?
Use the search facility to find related material in other units. It is also useful to
access relevant information from A Guide to Government and Law in Australia,
which contains information about the history, structure and operations of Australian
democracy, and was written largely for teachers, although it is useful for older
students as well.
You may wish to use the downloadable Exploring the Discovering Democracy units form
available in the html version of this section or the PDF form in 'Downloads' to help with this
activity.

The scope of Discovering Democracy resources

Discovering Democracy resources have been developed and distributed free to Australian
schools since 1997. The materials include print resources, video, CD-ROMs, websites,
textbooks and databases for teachers and students. They are all designed for particular year
levels and nominated KLAs. Schools received the materials free of charge and additional
copies have been made available for purchase from Curriculum Corporation.

Year Discovering Democracy materials distributed

1998 The Discovering Democracy kits (one for primary and one for secondary levels) containing:
• the books of units;
• A Guide to Government and Law in Australia by John Hirst
• posters;
• video;
• Stories of Democracy and Parliament at Work CD-ROMs;
• the Discovering Democracy website at http://www.curriculum.edu.au/democracy/.
1999 Australian Readers Discovering Democracy collections for upper primary, middle primary, lower
secondary and middle secondary. Class sets distributed to all primary and secondary schools.
2000 Assessment Resources Primary Units and Assessment Resources Secondary Units for assessment
based on the learning activities within the Discovering Democracy units.
Discovering Democracy through Research for primary and secondary levels.
The Parliament@Work database on all Australian parliaments, parliamentarians, electorates and
political parties was launched on the Discovering Democracy website.
2001 Australians All! Discovering Democracy Australian Readers Lower Primary distributed to all
primary schools.
One Destiny! The Federation Story – Centenary Edition CD-ROM, a rich historical resource
developed for the Centenary of Federation. Distributed to all primary and secondary schools.
2002 Australian Reader Discovering Democracy Upper Secondary Collection was distributed as a full
class set to all secondary schools.
Australia’s Democracy – A Short History, by John Hirst, was distributed to all secondary schools.
The video Our National Flag … since 1901, by the National Flag Association, with teacher notes
by Curriculum Corporation. Distributed to all primary schools.

History contexts in the Discovering Democracy resources

Materials History contexts
Discovering Democracy kits
Middle primary units Ancient Egypt
Ancient Athens
Indigenous law
Contemporary Australia
Historical Australia
Upper primary units Magna Carta
King Charles I
Contemporary and colonial Australia
Myall Creek massacre
Pre-Federation Australia
The Australian freedom rides
The eight-hour day movement
The campaign for equal pay and equal opportunities for women
Materials History contexts
Lower secondary units Ancient Athens and Sparta
Contemporary Australia
Ancient law, Saxon law, Aboriginal customary law
Club and national constitutions
Court operations
Chartism in the mid-19th century Britain
Eureka rebellion
1938 Day of Mourning and the 1967 referendum
Lives of Chifley, Menzies, Goldstein, Cowan, Spence, Street, Gibbs, Nicholls
Middle secondary units Political parties in Australia
1949 –1972 Australian federal campaigns
Nazi Germany
Contemporary Australia
Declaration of Independence (USA)
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (France)
Bill of Rights (USA)
UN Declaration of Human Rights
Australian constitution
Civil rights
Indigenous people human rights in the 20th century
American War of Independence
Federation
American and Australian constitutions
American Civil War
Secession movement in Western Australia
The republic debate
Images of Australia
Population
Changes in the nature of employment and working conditions
Globalisation/trade policies
Systems of welfare and their limits
Franklin River Dam dispute
A Guide to Government and A general history of the origins and development of the principles, structures
Law in Australia, by John and institutions that constitute the Australian system of liberal parliamentary
Hirst democracy.
Materials History contexts
Australian Readers collections
Middle primary collection Good rulers, bad rulers
Living with rules and laws
We are Australian
Lest we forget
Good neighbours
Upper primary collection Liberty, equality, fraternity
This is my country
True patriots
From little things big things grow
Justice
Lower secondary collection Who should rule?
Monarchs
The people
When the law breaks down
The stories we tell about ourselves
Rebellious spirits
Bush heroes
A land of opportunity
The Anzac legend
Unity and diversity
British Australia
The migrant experience
Middle secondary collection Political people
Law and justice
Equality and difference
Judged by the colour of their skins
Being different and accepting change
Unequal in status
Political and economic equality
Equality and survival
Future equality
Australians All! Lower Commemoration in the community
Primary
Civic activities
Nationhood
Identity
A history of Federation
Materials History contexts
Upper secondary collection Naming the land
Although designed for senior The power of language
English this collection
Persuading others
contains numerous texts from
many historical contexts. Being human
In the hot seat
Fighting for a cause
Other relevant resources
Discovering Democracy On conducting research – Teachers' notes
through Research
Taking issue
Good citizens
Our town
Becoming a citizen
Who represents us?
Images of Australia
Citizens have a say
Police at work
Struggles about democracy
Who rules here?
One Destiny! The Federation Teachers' notes – On using historical sources
Story Centenary Edition CD-
A flag for a new nation
ROM
An Australian nation
Views from the colonies
The women’s story
The first Australians 1901
An Australian constitution
The road to Federation
The people choose
Discovering Democracy Discovering Democracy units (all the original units online)
website
Parliament@Work database
http://www.curriculum.edu.
au/democracy/ Biographies
Teaching and learning activities
Case studies
Australia’s Democracy: A A comprehensive narrative history of the development of Australia’s
Short History, by John Hirst democracy to the present day. The text includes a series of short interpretative
essays
Cover designed by Sonia Harkovtzev from Australia's Democracy– A Short History by John Hirst. Published by Allen &
Unwin

Australia’s Democracy – A Short History, by John Hirst, is the first comprehensive

historical account of how Australia developed its own particular form of democracy.
The book was distributed to all secondary schools in 2002.
Using Gardner and Bloom to plan civics and
history teaching
Gardner’s multiple intelligences theory and Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectivesxv
provide useful tools for the development of curriculum, which caters to a variety of learning
styles, provides access for a range of abilities and enables students to demonstrate a range of
outcomes.
Further information about Bloom’s taxonomy and Gardner’s multiple intelligences may be
obtained from:
http://www.tedi.uq.edu.au/Assess/Assessment/bloomtax.html
http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/teachereduc/indexTE.html (go to the ‘Theory’ menu at the top
of the page and select ‘Multiple intelligences’).

Suggested professional development activity

The following example taken from the Victorian teacher support materials,
curriculum@work, developed by the Department of Education and Training, illustrates the
usefulness of these tools in developing learning activities in the history and civics classroom.
These learning activities are taken from the unit ‘Government – What’s it got to do with me?’
designed for Year 7 and 8 students.
Create a chart like the illustrative one below and use it to plan a range of student activities on
your next teaching topic.

Learning activities using Bloom’s taxonomy and Gardner’s multiple

intelligences model
Cognitive Knowledge Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation
processes/ and/or
multiple comprehension
intelligences
Linguistic Define: Create a Draw up a table Write a Research the life
intelligence crossword of the main constitution for and ideas of one
• democracy puzzle based similarities and your class of Australia’s
• representati on aspects of differences parliament or past prime
ve government in between your your student ministers. Write a
your local local area representative speech that he
• parliament area. government and council. might have given
• electorate. the Federal if he had visited
government. your school.
 Cognitive Knowledge Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation
processes/ and/or
multiple comprehension
intelligences
Logical/ Design a Make a Create and label a As a citizen, list Construct a table
mathematical timeline, from mobile to Venn diagram to the different to illustrate the
intelligence 1851 to the illustrate the show the methods you effectiveness and
present day, sizes of the similarities and could use to practicality of
showing the various House differences make your different
main events in of between the views on issues strategies of
the government Representativ House of known to your pressuring
of Victoria es electorates. Representatives representatives. governments on
during this and the Senate. Group these various issues.
period. under different
headings, for
example,
direct/indirect;
peaceful/
disruptive.
Visual/ Draw a map of Create a Represent in Design a tourist Create a poster of
spatial your state and cartoon strip pictorial form the brochure for a job
intelligence mark and label to show a ideal visitors to your advertisement for
all the state typical day in characteristics local town hall a member of
electorates. the life of a required of a or state house of parliament.
Also mark in member of good councillor parliament. Include skills
the local parliament. or member of Explain the required,
government parliament. main features desirable
area and the and functions of qualities, where
federal the building. he or she will
electorate in work, hours and
which you live. pay.
Kinaesthetic Play a game of Write and Construct a Collect items to Write and
intelligence charades using perform a diorama showing make a perform a role-
names and ideas short play a meeting of the ‘showbag’ to play of a
from local, state showing a Victorian demonstrate discussion
and federal member of Legislative what an ideal, between voters
politics. parliament at Assembly with active, informed and a candidate,
work in his or members of citizen does in where the
her electorate. parliament, his or her candidate tries to
support staff, the community. convince the
media and the voters that he or
public gallery. she deserves their
votes.
Musical Devise a rap Tape a Choose different Write an Compose a song
intelligence that contains presentation, pieces of music to advertising to show the
some with represent your jingle to perspectives of
information appropriate local community promote different types of
about the ways musical and explain your Victoria to Victorians about
the three levels accompani- choices. interstate ‘democracy’ in
of government ment, on an visitors. Victoria.
work. issue of
concern to
you.
 Cognitive Knowledge Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation
processes/ and/or
multiple comprehension
intelligences
Interpersonal In a pair, or as a Design and Design a Imagine you Working in a
intelligence group, use organise a questionnaire have been asked group, devise a
brainstorming game show in and/or survey the to write the set of criteria for
to list words to which the class to determine script for a new judging a member
describe contestants whether they are television show of parliament.
democracy in must answer ‘good citizens’. set in Use it to rate the
Victoria. questions Parliament performances of
about House, your state or
government in Canberra. What federal
Australia. would happen representatives.
in the first
episode? Who
would you
choose to play
the main roles
and why?
Intrapersonal Ask yourself Create a What aspects of Compile a list Describe the type
intelligence ‘What is the cartoon strip life in your local of the skills and of person you
thing I most to show how area do you qualities that would see as the
want to know you would try admire? Which would help you ideal
about life as a to influence do you not like? be a successful representative for
federal member state What can you do member of you in parliament.
of parliament?’ parliament on about this? parliament. How would you
Write down a matter Explain how communicate
your question which each would be your concerns to
and then concerns you. of help to you. him or her?
research the
answer.

i
Adapted from The Values We Teach, 1991, Department of School Education, NSW, cited in R Gilbert
(ed) 1997, Studying Society and the Environment: A Handbook for Teachers, Macmillan Education,
Melbourne.
ii
K Boston 1996, ‘Citizenship: A first and public language’, EQ Australia, issue 3, pp 5–7.
iii
J Hirst 2002, Australia’s Democracy: A Short History, Curriculum Corporation and Allen and
Unwin, Carlton South, Vic, pp 50–2 and 66–9.
iv
S Mellor, K Kennedy & L Greenwood 2001, Citizenship and Democracy: Students’ Knowledge and
Beliefs – Australian Fourteen Year Olds and the IEA Civic Education Study, Department and
Education, Training and Youth Affairs, Canberra.
v
S Mellor, K Kennedy & L Greenwood 2001, p 133.
vi
S Mellor, K Kennedy & L Greenwood 2001, pp 134–8.
vii
Erebus Consulting Group 1999, Evaluation of the Discovering Democracy Program: A Report to the
Commonwealth Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, p ix.
viii
R Holdsworth 2000, ‘What is this about a ‘whole-school approach’?’, Discovering Democracy in
Action: Learning from School Practice, Australian Youth Research Centre, University of Melbourne,
pp 9–11.
ix
R Holdsworth 2000.
x
Discovering Democracy Through Research 2000, Commonwealth of Australia (distributed to all
schools in 2000).
xi
H McDonald 1997, ‘Planning for practice’, in Studying Society and Environment: A Handbook for
Teachers, ed R Gilbert, MacMillan, Melbourne, pp 23–5.
xii
Discovering Democracy Through Research 2000, p 6.
xiii
Discovering Democracy Through Research 2000, p 7.
xiv
Discovering Democracy Through Research 2000, p 20.
xv
H Gardner 1983, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Basic Books, New York; BS
Bloom (ed) 1956, Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals:
Handbook I, Cognitive Domain, Longmans, New York.

History education and information

communication technologies (ICT)