This resource will help teachers and schools identify strong links between Civics and Citizenship and the capabilities. It will also help teachers design learning activities.
The resource assumes familiarity with the Civics and Citizenship curriculum. It links aspects of this curriculum with Ethical Capability, Critical and Creative Thinking, Intercultural Capability and Personal and Social Capability.
Note: It is a school decision as to which capabilities are linked to which learning area(s). To help support these decisions, this resource provides general advice on teaching and assessment, as well as specific illustrative advice related to Civics and Citizenship.
The knowledge and skills learnt through the capabilities are highly transferable across learning areas and are applicable throughout schooling and in later life.
Identifying a strong link between a capability and Civics and Citizenship supports learning in both curriculum areas. There is strong justification to link a learning area and a capability in instances where:
Looking over each capabilities curriculum, we begin to see broad links between the strands in different capabilities and in aspects of various strands of the Civics and Citizenship curriculum.
Linking the Critical and Creative Thinking strands to Civics and Citizenship
Critical and Creative Thinking consists of three interrelated strands. The table below provides an overview of each strand and how it links to
learning in Civics and Citizenship.
Questions and Possibilities
Explore the nature of questioning and a range of processes and techniques to develop ideas
Civics and Citizenship and Critical and Creative Thinking mutually support students to …
develop their understanding of the complexity of contemporary issues and construct effective questions
Reasoning
Explore how to compose, analyse and evaluate arguments and reasoning
Civics and Citizenship and Critical and Creative Thinking mutually support students to …
analyse contemporary issues, make judgments and form conclusions that are well reasoned and supported by evidence
Meta-Cognition
Explore the use of strategies to understand, manage and reflect on thinking, problem-solving and learning processes
Civics and Citizenship and Critical and Creative Thinking mutually support students to …
manage their learning and thinking as they develop their knowledge and skills and apply them to investigating issues and making plans for action
Linking the Ethical Capability strands to Civics and Citizenship
Ethical Capability consists of two interrelated strands. The table below provides an overview of each strand and how it links to
learning in Civics and Citizenship.
Understanding Concepts
Understanding and applying key concepts and ideas concerned with ethical issues, outcomes, principles and values
Civics and Citizenship and Ethical Capability mutually support students to …
identify contemporary issues relevant to civic life and how they may sometimes have an ethical dimension; and analyse liberal democratic values and the broader values and ethical principles that underpin democratic communities and responsible participation in civic life
Decision Making and Actions
Understanding ways to respond to ethical problems and factors and challenges that influence ethical decision-making and action, and applying this understanding to different contexts
Civics and Citizenship and Ethical Capability mutually support students to …
develop knowledge and skills to analyse and evaluate different responses to contemporary civic issues involving ethical matters and develop and justify their own response; and to identify, analyse and evaluate ethical and legal obligations of different members and institutions of a liberal democratic society
Linking the Intercultural Capability strands to Civics and Citizenship
Intercultural Capability consists of two interrelated strands. The table below provides an overview of each strand and how it links to
learning in Civics and Citizenship.
Cultural Practices
Describing, observing and analysing characteristics of their own cultural identities and those of others; and using critical reflection to better understand the perspectives and actions of individuals and groups in specific situations and how these can be shaped by culture
Civics and Citizenship and Intercultural Capability mutually support students to …
understand cultural practices and expression, the influence of culture on identity and broader factors that contribute to a sense of belonging; and understand the ways intercultural relationships and experiences influence each other in the context of civic life
Cultural Diversity
Understanding the nature of cultural diversity and critically examining the concept of respect, challenges and opportunities created by cultural diversity and the way in which cultural diversity shapes and contributes to social cohesion
Civics and Citizenship and Intercultural Capability mutually support students to …
reflect on the role of the citizen in an interconnected global world; understand the challenges and opportunities created by cultural diversity and consider the role of institutions and citizens in responding to these; and understand the connections between cultural diversity, social cohesion and democratic values
Linking the Personal and Social Capability strands to Civics and Citizenship
Personal and Social Capability consists of two interrelated strands. The table below provides an overview of each strand and how it links to
learning in Civics and Citizenship.
Self-Awareness and Management
Develop the knowledge and skills to regulate, manage and monitor their emotions and interpret and assess their personal characteristics in the context of development of resilience
Civics and Citizenship and Personal and Social Capability mutually support students to …
develop self-awareness and foster the capacity to apply personal strengths to take action in response to a challenge; and develop knowledge and skills to work independently and show initiative
Social Awareness and Management
Learn to participate in positive, safe and respectful relationships; critique societal constructs and discrimination; and negotiate with others and work collaboratively
Civics and Citizenship and Personal and Social Capability mutually support students to …
develop sensitivity to others’ experiences; appreciation of diverse perspectives; a capacity to identify and critique stereotypes related to contemporary issues at a local, national, regional and/or global level; skills for collaborative investigation of contemporary issues; and an understanding of the significance of collaboration, conflict resolution, negotiation and respectful relationships in broader civic contexts and how it occurs
Asking the following questions can be a first step in identifying strong links:
- Which of the learning area content descriptions reflect concepts or other knowledge and skills in a capability?
- Would explicit teaching and learning related to the identified link support progress towards the achievement standards for the learning area and/or capability?
The example below identifies a link between a Levels 7 and 8 Civics and Citizenship content description and Levels 7 and 8 Ethical Capability content description. The identified link is the relationship between social cohesion, values and ethical obligation.
Once a strong link is identified, a learning activity can be designed that enables progression towards the appropriate Civics and Citizenship achievement standard as well as the appropriate capability achievement standard (again, see the example below). This may involve incorporating other relevant content descriptions to create a sequence of learning, for example, to build opportunities to apply this knowledge to active civic participation.
Note: The example activity idea below is adapted from the Citizenship worksheet (Topic: Citizenship, Take action – mapping values) and Student Resource Booklet (Topic 3: Citizenship, Take action – mapping values) in Levels 7 and 8 of the VCAA’s
Student-led Civics and Citizenship Classroom Resources.
Example: Linking a Levels 7 and 8 Civics and Citizenship content description and a Levels 7 and 8 Ethical Capability content description
This table includes a selected content description and achievement standard extract for both Civics and Citizenship, Levels 7 and 8, and Ethical Capability, Levels 7 and 8, plus linking notes and an activity idea.
| | Civics and Citizenship, Levels 7 and 8 | Linking notes and activity idea | Ethical Capability, Levels 7 and 8 |
|---|
Content description | Identify how values can promote cohesion within Australian society, including the values of freedom, respect, inclusion, civility, responsibility, compassion, equality and a ‘fair go’
(VCCCC025) | Can both Ethical Capability and Civics and Citizenship help us understand how values promote social cohesion? Yes. Civics and Citizenship can help us identify values strongly connected to social cohesion and Ethical Capability can help us understand the relationship between holding values and the extent of obligation we might feel to put these values into practice to take action to promote social cohesion and contribute to people’s sense of belonging. Students explore key Australian values and how these influence what it means to be an Australian citizen and put them into practice, including ideas about whether we have more obligation to some people than others and how our sense of obligation influences how we evaluate consequences of actions. | Explore the extent of ethical obligation and the implications for thinking about consequences and duties in decision-making and action
(VCECD017) |
Achievement
standard extract | By the end of Level 8 students … analyse issues about national identity in Australia and the factors that contribute to people’s sense of belonging. | By the end of Level 8, students … explain different views on the extent of ethical obligation and analyse their implications for the consequences of and duties involved in ethical decision-making and action. |
How do we assess the capabilities?
Student understanding of a capability’s knowledge and skills is assessed against its achievement standards. The key to formative and summative assessment is explicit teaching of the discrete knowledge and skills underpinning the capability’s content descriptions in such a way that students are supported to progress towards the targeted achievement standard. Explicit teaching builds shared understanding of knowledge and skills, which provides a foundation for setting transparent expectations of what should be shown in student work and for feedback.
For general advice on teaching and assessment and transfer of learning, see
General resources for the capabilities.
Examples of learning activities that link Civics and Citizenship and the capabilities
All examples are illustrative only and assume familiarity with the Civics and Citizenship curriculum.
Learning activity idea: As part of a sequence of lessons, students consider how and why decisions are made democratically in communities, including voting. As part of understanding reasons for using voting to make a decision, students explore why people sometimes disagree on what the right or better thing to do would be, even if they share some values, and the role of values in ethical decision-making, including the link between fairness and voting.
This activity would strengthen learning in both Civics and Citizenship and Ethical Capability through developing understanding of the relationship between values and decision-making and the need for ways to resolve disagreements (see
VCECU006 and
VCECD008).
Note: This example is adapted from the Voting worksheet (Topic: Voting, Take action – doing direct democracy) and Student Resource Booklet (Topic 1: Voting, Take action – doing direct democracy) in Levels 3 and 4 of the VCAA’s
Student-led Civics and Citizenship Classroom Resources.
Learning activity idea: As part of a sequence of lessons on how people can work together to achieve shared goals and policy change, students are introduced to various causes of conflict and evaluate possible strategies to address conflicts that might arise when working through a process for change.
This activity would strengthen learning in Civics and Citizenship and Personal and Social Capability through enabling students to understand that one of the reasons for having a decision-making process is to mitigate potential or real conflict and that once a process is underway, conflict might still arise and there are strategies to help manage conflict (see
VCPSCSO033).
Note: This example is adapted from the Active Civic Participation worksheet (Topic: Active Civic Participation, Take action – solving Issues) and Student Resource Booklet (Topic 1: Policy, Take action – shaping policy together) in Levels 5 and 6 of the VCAA’s
Student-led Civics and Citizenship Classroom Resources.
Learning activity idea: As part of a sequence of lessons that includes understanding and discussing a policy of their local or state government, students consider how cultural groups are represented within the policy and the extent to which the policy demonstrates a valuing of cultural diversity.
This activity would strengthen learning in both Civics and Citizenship and Intercultural Capability through developing understanding of government policy as one way that valuing cultural diversity is demonstrated and understanding that being an informed citizen can involve identifying and engaging with how groups are represented (see
VCICCB014 and
VCICCD016).
Note: This example is adapted from the Policy worksheet (Topic: Policy, Take action – shaping policy together) and Student Resource Booklet (Topic 1: Policy, Take action – shaping policy together) in Levels 7 and 8 of the VCAA’s
Student-led Civics and Citizenship Classroom Resources.
Learning activity idea: As part of a sequence of lessons on influences on people’s electoral choices and how citizens’ electoral choices are shaped, students are introduced to a range of rhetorical devices and cognitive biases used in texts aimed at influencing electoral choices, such as a political party’s social media video posts. Students explore how these can influence thinking and identify ways to mitigate these biases.
This activity would strengthen learning in both Civics and Citizenship and Critical and Creative Thinking through developing awareness of why an understanding of cognitive bias and rhetorical devices is important; developing an understanding of the connection between rhetorical devices and reasoning, and between cognitive biases and thinking more generally; and introducing strategies that foster less biased thinking (see
VCCCTR046 and
VCCCTM051).
Note: This example is adapted from the Student Resource Booklet (Topic 3: Media, Take action – real vs fake) in Levels 9 and 10 of the VCAA’s
Student-led Civics and Citizenship Classroom Resources.
For more resources to support the teaching of all four capabilities, see the individual capability resources webpages and
General resources for the capabilities