Humanities and Social Sciences
Rationale
Humanities and Social Sciences is the study of human behaviour and interaction in social, cultural, environmental, economic and political contexts. Humanities and Social Sciences has a historical and contemporary focus, from personal to global contexts, and considers opportunities and challenges for the future.
In the Western Australian Curriculum, the Humanities and Social Sciences learning area comprises four subjects: Civics and Citizenship, Economics and Business, Geography and History.
By studying Humanities and Social Sciences, students will develop the ability to question; think critically; make decisions based on evidence; devise proposals for actions; and communicate effectively.
Thinking about, reflecting on, and responding to issues requires an understanding of the key historical, geographical, political, legal, economic, business and societal factors involved, and how these different factors interrelate.
The Humanities and Social Sciences subjects provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to develop a broad understanding of the world in which we live and how people can participate as active and informed citizens in the 21st century.
Aims
Develop in students:
- a deep knowledge and sense of wonder, curiosity and respect for places, people, cultures, events, ideas and environments throughout the world
- a lifelong sense of belonging to, and engagement with, civic life, with the capacity and willingness to be informed, responsible, ethical and active participants in society at a local, national and global scale
- a knowledge, understanding and an appreciation of the past and the forces that shape society
- the ability to think critically, solve problems, make informed decisions and propose actions in relation to real-world events and issues
- enterprising behaviours and capabilities that enable them to be active participants and decision-makers in matters affecting them, which can be transferred into life, work and business opportunities
- an understanding of, and commitment to, the concepts of sustainability to bring about equity and social justice
- a knowledge and understanding of the connections among the peoples of Asia, Australia and the rest of the world.
Organisation
Content structure
The Humanities and Social Sciences learning area comprises four subjects. Each subject is organised into two interrelated strands: Knowledge and understandings and Humanities and Social Sciences skills.
History and Geography commence in Pre-primary. Civics and Citizenship is introduced in Year 3 and Economics and Business in Year 5. All subjects continue through to Year 10.
Knowledge and understanding
Humanities and Social Sciences knowledge refers to the facts, principles, concepts, theories and models as developed in each of the subjects. This knowledge is dynamic and its interpretation can be contested, with opinions and conclusions supported by evidence and logical argument.
The key concepts are the high-level ideas involved in teaching students to think from a Humanities and Social Sciences perspective. Figure 1 identifies the key concepts for the learning area.
Humanities and Social Sciences understanding is the ability to see relationships between aspects of knowledge and construct explanatory frameworks to illustrate these relationships. It is also the ability to apply this knowledge to new situations or to solve new problems.
Humanities and Social Sciences skills
This strand includes a range of skills that are common to all four subjects. These skills can be taught discretely or as part of an inquiry approach. Inquiry is not necessarily implemented in a linear fashion and not all investigations will involve all skills. Moreover, there may be different entry points where the skills are employed as part of an inquiry process. Figure 2 illustrates the Humanities and Social Sciences skills.
Relationship between the strands
The two strands are to be integrated in the development of a teaching and learning program. The knowledge and understanding strand provides the content focus through which particular skills are to be developed. Following Pre-primary, the sequencing and description of the skills are in two-year bands (1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10). This may assist in multi-age programming by providing a common skill focus for the teaching and learning of the knowledge and understanding content.
Year level descriptions
Year level descriptions provide an overview of the key concepts addressed, along with core content being studied at that year level. They also emphasise the interrelated nature of the two strands and the expectation that planning will involve integration of content from across the strands.
Content descriptions
Content descriptions set out the knowledge, understanding and skills that teachers are expected to teach and students are expected to learn. They do not prescribe approaches to teaching. The core content has been written to ensure that learning is appropriately ordered and that unnecessary repetition is avoided. However, a concept or skill introduced at one year level may be revisited, strengthened and extended at later year levels as needed.
Additional content descriptions are available for teachers to incorporate in their teaching programs. Schools will determine the inclusion of additional content, taking into account learning area time allocation and school priorities.
The additional content will not be reflected in the Achievement Standard.
Overviews
In History, the overview content in Years 7 to 10 identifies important features of the historical period. The overview is not intended to be taught in depth.
Achievement standards
From Pre-primary to Year 10, achievement standards indicate the quality of learning that students should typically demonstrate by a particular point in their schooling. An achievement standard describes the quality of learning (e.g. the depth of conceptual understanding and the sophistication of skills) that would indicate the student is well-placed to commence the learning required at the next level of achievement.
Glossary
A glossary is provided to support a common understanding of the key terms and concepts included in the core content.
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| Figure 1: Humanities and Social Sciences Key Concepts |
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| Figure 2: Humanities and Social Sciences Skills |
Key Concepts and Skills
The Humanities and Social Sciences key concepts are drawn from the knowledge and understanding in the syllabus for each year. Teachers are required to explicitly interrelate the knowledge and understanding with the key concepts and the skills when planning for teaching, learning and assessment.
In each year the focus of the key concepts can be identified using the Achievement Standard which either states the concept explicitly or it is implied by the knowledge and understanding. The Humanities and Social Sciences skills are common to all four subjects and need to be explicitly taught and assessed, and are identified in the Achievement Standard for each year.
- Humanities and Social Sciences key concept diagram
a visual representation of the key concepts for display - Exemplification of key concepts
a definition of each concept and how the concept develops in the curriculum - Key concepts in practice
ideas for activities teachers can use to interrelate the knowledge and understanding, and key concepts - Humanities and Social Sciences skills diagram
a visual representation of the skills for display - Exemplification of skills
the application of the Humanities and Social Sciences skills within each subject
Student Diversity
The School Curriculum and Standards Authority is committed to the development of a high-quality curriculum that promotes excellence and equity in education for all Western Australian students.
All students are entitled to rigorous, relevant and engaging learning programs drawn from the Western Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences. Teachers take account of the range of their students' current levels of learning, strengths, goals and interests and make adjustments where necessary. The three-dimensional design of the Western Australian Curriculum, comprising learning areas, general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities, provides teachers with flexibility to cater for the diverse needs of students across Western Australia and to personalise their learning.
Students with disability
The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005 require education and training service providers to support the rights of students with disability to access the curriculum on the same basis as students without disability.
Many students with disability are able to achieve educational standards commensurate with their peers, as long as the necessary adjustments are made to the way in which they are taught and to the means through which they demonstrate their learning.
In some cases, curriculum adjustments are necessary to provide equitable opportunities for students to access age-equivalent content in the Western Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences. Teachers can draw from content at different levels along the Pre-primary – Year 10 sequence. Teachers can also use the general capabilities learning continua in Literacy, Numeracy and Personal and social capability to adjust the focus of learning according to individual student need.
Teachers may also need to consider adjustments to assessment of students with disability to ensure student achievement and demonstration of learning is appropriately measured.
English as an additional language or dialect
Students for whom English is an additional language or dialect (EAL/D) enter Western Australian schools at different ages and at different stages of English language learning, and have various educational backgrounds in their first languages. While many EAL/D students bring already highly developed literacy (and numeracy) skills in their own language to their learning of Standard Australian English, there are a significant number of students who are not literate in their first language, and have had little or no formal schooling.
While the aims of the Western Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences are the same for all students, EAL/D students must achieve these aims while simultaneously learning a new language and learning content and skills through that new language. These students may require additional time and support, along with teaching that explicitly addresses their language needs. Students who have had no formal schooling will need additional time and support in order to acquire skills for effective learning in formal settings.
Gifted and talented students
Teachers can use the Western Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences flexibly to meet the individual learning needs of gifted and talented students.
Teachers can enrich students' learning by providing them with opportunities to work with learning area content in more depth or breadth (e.g. using the additional content descriptions); emphasising specific aspects of the general capabilities learning continua (e.g. the higher order cognitive skills of the critical and creative thinking capability); and/or focusing on cross-curriculum priorities. Teachers can also accelerate student learning by drawing on content from later year levels in the Western Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences and/or from local, state and territory teaching and learning materials.
Ways of Teaching
The 'ways of teaching' aims to support teachers with planning for curriculum delivery across the years of school, with the teaching in each year extending learning in previous years.
The 'ways of teaching' complement the principles of teaching and learning in the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline (http://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au/). The principles focus on the provision of a school and class environment that is intellectually, socially and physically supportive of learning. The principles assist whole-school planning and individual classroom practice.
Civics and Citizenship, Economics and Business, Geography and History can be taught separately or through programs created to link to more than one subject or to link to the content in other learning areas.
History and Geography commence in Pre-primary. Civics and Citizenship is introduced in Year 3 and Economics and Business in Year 5. All subjects continue through to Year 10.
In Humanities and Social Sciences, the key concepts, knowledge and understanding and skills within each subject are interrelated to inform and support each other. When developing teaching and learning programs, teachers combine these three aspects to create learning experiences.
The Humanities and Social Sciences knowledge and understanding identifies key concepts that are the high-level ideas involved in teaching students to think from a humanities and social sciences perspective.
Key concepts (Figure 1) for developing a Humanities and Social Sciences understanding are:
- Civics and Citizenship – democracy, democratic values, the Westminster system, justice, participation, rights and responsibilities
- Economics and Business – scarcity, making choices, specialisation and trade, interdependence, allocation and markets, economic performance and living standards
- Geography – place, space, environment, interconnection, sustainability, scale, change
- History – evidence, sources, continuity and change, cause and effect, significance, perspectives, empathy, contestability.
The Humanities and Social Sciences skills (Figure 2) are divided into: questioning and researching; analysing; evaluating; and communicating and reflecting. They are common to all four subjects. These skills can be taught discretely and/or in conjunction with the key concepts, knowledge and understanding, or as part of an inquiry approach.
To engage students in Humanities and Social Sciences, teachers typically create learning experiences which:
- draw on students' personal experiences and interests
- build, extend and challenge existing understandings and perceptions
- explore a range of viewpoints and different perspectives
- involve the past, present and future
- develop active and informed citizens
- use meaningful, real-world contexts, current events and issues to exemplify the content
- use a range of scales, from local area to regional, national and global areas
- engage students in problem-solving tasks and inquiry to develop evidence-based arguments, or proposals for actions or solutions to real-world challenges and/or opportunities
- involve students in learning outside the classroom through exposure to authentic experiences and making connections with local and wider communities
- develop skills, many of which are transferable to other learning areas and are valuable for students' future learning
- contribute to all the general capabilities and the cross-curriculum priorities.
Figure 3 is a visual representation of ways of teaching Humanities and Social Sciences.
For information on how to collect evidence to inform planning for ongoing learning experiences in Humanities and Social Sciences, refer to 'Ways of Assessing'.
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| Figure 3: Ways of teaching in the Humanities and Social Sciences |
Ways of Assessing
The 'ways of assessing' complement 'ways of teaching' and aim to support teachers in developing effective assessment practices in the Humanities and Social Sciences.
The 'ways of assessing' also complement the principles of assessment contained in the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline. The assessment principles, reflective questions and assessment snapshots support teachers in reflecting on their own assessment practice in relation to each of the assessment principles. Here teachers will find:
- background information for each principle
- reflective questions
- guidance for addressing the principle within their own assessment practice.
Refer to the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline (http://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au) for further guidance on assessment principles, practices and phases of schooling.
The key to selecting the most appropriate assessment is in the answers to several reflective questions. For example:
- How do you use assessment as the starting point of your lesson planning?
- Do your assessments have a clear purpose?
- Do you design assessment tasks in a way that meets the dual purposes of formative and summative assessment?
- How do you use your observations of students (during the course of classroom activities, in assignments and in tests) to determine how learning can be improved?
- How do you identify students' misconceptions or gaps in their learning?
- How do you identify the next skill or understanding a student, or group of students, needs to learn?
- What information do you collect to evaluate your own teaching?
- How do you work with colleagues to evaluate student achievement data and how does this work inform your teaching?
- What range of evidence do you draw on when you report student performance and evaluate your teaching?
Refer to the Judging Standards tool in the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline (https://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au/home/assessment/judgingstandards) when reporting against the Achievement Standards; giving assessment feedback; or explaining the differences between one student's achievement and another's.
The following table provides examples of assessment strategies which can enable teachers to understand where students are in their learning. Assessments should also be based on the integration of a range of types and sources of evidence.
| Examples of assessment strategies | Examples of sources of evidence |
|---|---|
Observation | Ongoing and first-hand observations of student learning, documented by the teacher (can be conducted both informally and formally). |
Group activities | Cooperative activities that provide opportunities for individual and peer-learning. During group work, teachers should stop at key points to check individual student understanding. |
Videos or audio recordings | The recording of student achievement in physical and verbal activities such as role-plays, performances, speeches, play-based learning or debates. |
Field-work and practical (authentic) tasks | The demonstration of learning through activities, such as virtual and actual fieldwork; community service programs, such as fundraising; creating models; and product design and development. |
Tests or quizzes | These may include verbal questioning, multiple choice, short-answer responses or open-ended questions that require longer, sustained written responses. |
Written work | This includes short and extended written tasks. These may take the form of short responses, such as worksheets and sentence or paragraph answers. Longer responses may include essays, information reports or imaginative texts, such as narratives and journal entries. Students may also conduct inquiry tasks in which they must develop questions; gather, analyse and evaluate information; communicate on findings and reflect upon conclusions. |
Graphic organisers | The demonstration of learning through making connections, showing relationships and concept mapping of student knowledge. |
Visual representations | The demonstration of learning through maps, tables, graphs, diagrams, posters, brochures, photographs and other digital media (e.g. slides, animations, blogs). |
Performances or oral presentations | The demonstration of learning in practical performance, role-play, speeches, simulations, debates and structured discussions. |
Conferences | Discussions or interviews with students that are conducted either face-to-face or via audio and video recordings. |
Portfolios and work samples | Collections of student work that provide long-term documentation of student progress and achievement. Portfolios may be subject-area-specific or contain a range of work undertaken by students. |
Self-assessments and evaluations, and student journals | The self-reflection of achievement and progression towards goals. It allows for metacognitive thinking about their learning and personal reflection upon their strengths and weaknesses. Journals provide personal accounts of student responses to learning activities, experiences and understandings. |
Peer assessments | Individuals, peers or a group of peers provide evaluative feedback on performance or activity. |
General Capabilities
The general capabilities encompass the knowledge, skills, behaviours and dispositions that will assist students to live and work successfully in the 21st century. Teachers may find opportunities to incorporate the capabilities into the teaching and learning program for the Humanities and Social Sciences. The general capabilities are not assessed unless they are identified within the core content.
Literacy
Across the Western Australian Curriculum, students become literate as they develop the knowledge, skills and dispositions to interpret and use language confidently for learning and communicating in and out of school and for participating effectively in society. Literacy involves students in listening to, reading, viewing, speaking, writing and creating oral, print, visual and digital texts, and using and modifying language for different purposes in a range of contexts.
Numeracy
Across the Western Australian Curriculum, students become numerate as they develop the knowledge and skills to use mathematics confidently across all learning areas at school, and in their lives more broadly. Numeracy involves students recognising and understanding the role of mathematics in the world and having the dispositions and capacities to use mathematical knowledge and skills purposefully.
Information and communication technology (ICT) capability
Across the Western Australian Curriculum, students develop ICT capability as they learn to use ICT effectively and appropriately to access, create and communicate information and ideas; solve problems; and work collaboratively in all learning areas at school, and in their lives beyond school. ICT capability involves students in learning to make the most of the technologies available to them; adapting to new ways of doing things as technologies evolve; and limiting the risks to themselves and others in a digital environment.
Critical and creative thinking
Across the Western Australian Curriculum, students develop capability in critical and creative thinking as they learn to generate and evaluate knowledge, clarify concepts and ideas, seek possibilities, consider alternatives and solve problems. Critical and creative thinking are integral to activities that require students to reflect broadly and deeply using skills, behaviours and dispositions such as reason, logic, resourcefulness, imagination and innovation in all learning areas at school and in their lives beyond school.
Personal and social capability
Across the Western Australian Curriculum, students develop personal and social capability as they learn to understand themselves and others, manage their relationships, lives, work and learning more effectively. The personal and social capability involves students in a range of practices including recognising and regulating emotions; developing empathy for, and understanding of others; establishing positive relationships; making responsible decisions; working effectively in teams; and handling challenging situations constructively.
Ethical understanding
Across the Western Australian Curriculum, students develop ethical understanding as they identify and investigate ethical concepts, values, character traits and principles, and understand how reasoning can assist ethical judgement. Ethical understanding involves students in building a strong personal and socially oriented ethical outlook that helps them to manage context, conflict and uncertainty, and to develop an awareness of the influence that their values and behaviour have on others.
Intercultural understanding
Across the Western Australian Curriculum, students develop intercultural understanding as they learn to value their own cultures, languages and beliefs, and those of others. They come to understand how personal, group and national identities are shaped, and the variable and changing nature of culture. The capability involves students in learning about and engaging with diverse cultures in ways that recognise commonalities and differences, create connections with others and cultivate mutual respect.
Cross-Curriculum Priorities
The cross-curriculum priorities address the contemporary issues that students face in a globalised world. Teachers may find opportunities to incorporate the priorities into the teaching and learning program for the Humanities and Social Sciences. The cross-curriculum priorities are not assessed unless they are identified within the core content.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures
Across the Western Australian Curriculum, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures priority provides opportunities for students to deepen their knowledge of Australia by engaging with the world's oldest continuous living cultures. Students will understand that contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are strong, resilient, rich and diverse. The knowledge and understanding gained through this priority will enhance the ability of young people to participate positively in the ongoing development of Australia.
The Humanities and Social Sciences provides opportunities for students to learn about the traditional and contemporary experiences of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in a social, economic, political and legal context, and examine historical perspectives from their viewpoint. The priority also provides an opportunity to explore the relationships people have with place and their interconnection, and interactions, with the environment in which they live.
Asia and Australia's engagement with Asia
Across the Western Australian Curriculum, this priority will ensure that students learn about and recognise diversity within and between the countries of the Asia region. Students develop knowledge and understanding of Asian societies, cultures, beliefs, and environments, and the connections between the peoples of Asia, Australia, and the rest of the world. Asia literacy provides students with the skills to communicate and engage with the peoples of Asia so they can effectively live, work and learn in the region.
The Humanities and Social Sciences provides opportunities for students to learn about the past, present and future interconnections, and interdependence, between Australia and the Asia region, forged through political, economic, cultural and social ties. This priority also provides rich contexts for investigating interrelationships between places, environments and peoples.
Sustainability
Across the Western Australian Curriculum, the sustainability priority allows students to develop the knowledge, skills, values and worldviews necessary for them to act in ways that contribute to more sustainable patterns of living. Education for sustainability enables individuals and communities to reflect on ways of interpreting and engaging with the world. The sustainability priority is futures-oriented, focusing on protecting environments and creating a more ecologically and socially just world through informed action. Actions that support more sustainable patterns of living require consideration of environmental, social, cultural and economic systems and their interdependence.
The Humanities and Social Sciences provides opportunities for students to explore the human dependence on the environment and develops students' worldviews in relation to judgments about access to, and sustainable use of, the Earth's resources, as well as local and global equity and fairness across generations for the long-term wellbeing of our world. This priority also provides a rich context for understanding that sustaining a resilient democracy depends on the informed participation of its citizens in discussing and acting on local, national and global issues.