Learning continuum
Understanding ethical concepts and issues
Typically by the end of Foundation Year, students:
Recognise ethical concepts
- identify ethical concepts arising in familiar contexts, such as good and bad behaviours
Examples:
- identifying the behaviours of characters in familiar stories
Explore ethical concepts in context
- describe familiar situations that involve ethical concepts
Examples:
- discussing familiar situations that illustrate the concepts of kindness or caring
Reasoning in decision making and actions
Typically by the end of Foundation Year, students:
Reason and make ethical decisions
- identify examples from stories and experiences that show ways people make decisions about their actions
Examples:
- exploring the choices that different characters make in stories
Consider consequences
- identify links between emotions and behaviours
Examples:
- discussing the effects of selfish or uncaring behaviour on people's feelings
Reflect on ethical action
- identify and describe the influence of factors such as wants and needs on people's actions
Examples:
- identifying the difference between wants and needs at school
Exploring values, rights and responsibilities
Typically by the end of Foundation Year, students:
Examine values
- identify values that are important to them
Examples:
- discussing care for self and others
Explore rights and responsibilities
- share examples of rights and responsibilities in given situations
Examples:
- discussing reasons for and behaviours associated with school rules
Consider points of view
- express their own point of view and listen to the views of others
Examples:
- offering opinions in discussions that involve ethical considerations
Understanding ethical concepts and issues
Typically by the end of Year 2, students:
Recognise ethical concepts
- describe ethical concepts, such as right and wrong, honesty, fairness and tolerance
Explore ethical concepts in context
- discuss ethical concepts within a range of familiar contexts
Reasoning in decision making and actions
Typically by the end of Year 2, students:
Reason and make ethical decisions
- discuss how people make decisions about their actions and offer reasons why people's decisions differ
Examples:
- considering the differing interests of others in the classroom and family
Consider consequences
- describe the effects that personal feelings and dispositions have on how people behave
Examples:
- discussing the consequences of keeping or not keeping promises, or being truthful or untruthful
Reflect on ethical action
- give examples of how understanding situations can influence the way people act
Examples:
- assessing that a person is distressed and offering assistance
Exploring values, rights and responsibilities
Typically by the end of Year 2, students:
Examine values
- discuss some agreed values in familiar contexts
Examples:
- discussing the value of giving everyone a fair go
Explore rights and responsibilities
- identify their rights and associated responsibilities and those of their classmates
Examples:
- exploring rights and responsibilities, such as friendship and care for others at home and school
Consider points of view
Understanding ethical concepts and issues
Typically by the end of Year 4, students:
Recognise ethical concepts
Explore ethical concepts in context
- discuss actions taken in a range of contexts that include an ethical dimension
Reasoning in decision making and actions
Typically by the end of Year 4, students:
Reason and make ethical decisions
- explain reasons for acting in certain ways, including the conflict between self-respect and self-interest in reaching decisions
Examples:
- explaining ways to reach fair and respectful decisions
Consider consequences
- examine the links between emotions, dispositions and intended and unintended consequences of their actions on others
Examples:
- examining what it means to cause people to feel let down
Reflect on ethical action
- consider whether having a conscience leads to ways of acting ethically in different scenarios
Examples:
- considering responses to the questions 'What would I do?' and 'What should I do?' in a range of scenarios
Exploring values, rights and responsibilities
Typically by the end of Year 4, students:
Examine values
- identify and describe shared values in familiar and unfamiliar contexts
Examples:
- acknowledging the need for honesty, respect and equality when working with others
Explore rights and responsibilities
- investigate children's rights and responsibilities at school and in the local community
Examples:
- examining the relevance of rights, such as freedom and protection, in everyday situations
Consider points of view
- describe different points of view associated with an ethical dilemma and give possible reasons for these differences
Understanding ethical concepts and issues
Typically by the end of Year 6, students:
Recognise ethical concepts
- examine and explain ethical concepts such as truth and justice that contribute to the achievement of a particular outcome
Examples:
- exploring the difference between an honest mistake and intentional deception
Explore ethical concepts in context
- explain what constitutes an ethically better or worse outcome and how it might be accomplished
Examples:
- exploring the consequences for individuals of others' actions, in a range of scenarios
Reasoning in decision making and actions
Typically by the end of Year 6, students:
Reason and make ethical decisions
- explore the reasons behind there being a variety of ethical positions on a social issue
Consider consequences
- evaluate the consequences of actions in familiar and hypothetical scenarios
Examples:
- assessing possible consequences of including or excluding a person or group
Reflect on ethical action
- articulate a range of ethical responses to situations in various social contexts
Exploring values, rights and responsibilities
Typically by the end of Year 6, students:
Examine values
- examine values accepted and enacted within various communities
Examples:
- exploring instances where equality, fairness, dignity and non-discrimination are required
Explore rights and responsibilities
- monitor consistency between rights and responsibilities when interacting face-to-face or through social media
Examples:
- establishing differences between freedom of speech and destructive criticism in debates or through social media
Consider points of view
- explain a range of possible interpretations and points of view when thinking about ethical dilemmas
Understanding ethical concepts and issues
Typically by the end of Year 8, students:
Recognise ethical concepts
- analyse behaviours that exemplify the dimensions and challenges of ethical concepts
Examples:
- examining the challenges involved in demonstrating loyalty or honour, or avoiding harm to others
Explore ethical concepts in context
- analyse the ethical dimensions of beliefs and the need for action in a range of settings
Examples:
- identifying sustainable practices, or ways of confronting cyber bullying
Reasoning in decision making and actions
Typically by the end of Year 8, students:
Reason and make ethical decisions
- analyse inconsistencies in personal reasoning and societal ethical decision making
Examples:
- examining decisions that lead to unequal outcomes
Consider consequences
- investigate scenarios that highlight ways that personal dispositions and actions can affect consequences
Examples:
- examining the effects of tolerance on relationships or of misrepresentations in social media or reporting
Reflect on ethical action
- analyse perceptions of occurrences and possible ethical response in challenging scenarios
Examples:
- discussing whether or not witnesses should come forward in response to an event
Exploring values, rights and responsibilities
Typically by the end of Year 8, students:
Examine values
- assess the relevance of beliefs and the role and application of values in social practices
Examples:
- exploring different beliefs and values when seeking to solve social and workplace problems and dilemmas
Explore rights and responsibilities
- analyse rights and responsibilities in relation to the duties of a responsible citizen
Examples:
- analysing actions when seeking to solve disagreements in a range of social and work-based situations
Consider points of view
- draw conclusions from a range of points of view associated with challenging ethical dilemmas
Examples:
- recognising the consequences of the non-disclosure of relevant facts for the outcomes of societal conflicts
Understanding ethical concepts and issues
Typically by the end of Year 10, students:
Recognise ethical concepts
- critique generalised statements about ethical concepts
Examples:
- balancing freedom of speech with the defamation of others
Explore ethical concepts in context
- distinguish between the ethical and non-ethical dimensions of complex issues
Examples:
- considering whether animal experimentation is an ethical matter, and, if so, how
Reasoning in decision making and actions
Typically by the end of Year 10, students:
Reason and make ethical decisions
- investigate reasons for clashes of beliefs in issues of personal, social and global importance
Examples:
- examining the treatment of people in the context of disparity or distribution of resources
Consider consequences
- analyse the objectivity or subjectivity behind decision making where there are many possible consequences
Examples:
- exploring the complexities associated with sharing or violating resources
Reflect on ethical action
- evaluate diverse perceptions and ethical bases of action in complex contexts
Examples:
- considering times when limiting liberty or free speech may be the best option
Exploring values, rights and responsibilities
Typically by the end of Year 10, students:
Examine values
Examples:
- explaining the complexity of factors leading to policies such as mandatory detention
Explore rights and responsibilities
- evaluate the merits of conflicting rights and responsibilities in global contexts
Examples:
- investigating the role of law in maintaining peace in public and private domains
Consider points of view
- use reasoning skills to prioritise the relative merits of points of view about complex ethical dilemmas
Examples:
- examining attitudes towards environments, diversity and socioeconomic disparity between groups of people