Introduction
A wide range of topics relevant to social, civic, and citizenship education fall under the Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS). With the principal teaching document being referred to as HASS, the most recent version of the Australian curriculum incorporates history, geography, civics, and citizenship in addition to economics and business (Gilbert et al., 2019). The objectives and particular structure of the HASS curriculum are utilized to advance knowledge of how learning methods should be created and how the syllabus is being created and used. Thus, the paper aims to examine critically how the Year 7–10 Humanities and Social Sciences curriculum equips students for a career after graduation.
Inquiry-Based Learning Approach
The HASS curriculum for students in Years 7 through 10 is intended to promote inquiry-based learning, which motivates students to ask questions, think critically, and come up with solutions. With this method, students may explore meaningfully and use their personal experiences to gain a greater knowledge of concepts. Students may develop practical skills like problem-solving, investigation, and analysis through inquiry-based learning, which are all important for life after school. HASS instruction aims to provide students with the lifelong learning skills they will need to be engaged members of their communities, countries, and the global community (Porter & Fussell, 2019). It is envisaged that students would use and build upon the information and skills they acquire in educational settings throughout their lives. The inquiry method in HASS emphasizes students considering other viewpoints and beliefs and employing critical thinking abilities to assess and make choices (Porter & Fussell, 2019). This method has the effect of helping students establish ideas, beliefs, and abilities that will guide their behavior both now and in the future.
Cross-Curriculum Priorities
Additionally, the HASS curriculum emphasizes Asia and Australia’s involvement with Asia to foster in all Australian students an understanding of the region and the development of relevant skills, knowledge, and understanding. To develop students’ capacities to be prepared for future living in multicultural contexts, the curriculum should be effective while working with various pupils, especially First Nations peoples. The HASS curriculum also emphasizes cross-curricular topics, including sustainability, Asia and Australia’s interactions, and the histories and cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (Savage et al., 2017). These subjects are meant to help students comprehend their role in the world and grow in their understanding of other cultures, values, and beliefs. It is feasible to combine and integrate powerful, real-world history education with rich, diverse, and revolutionary citizenship education (Brett, 2018). Historical consciousness and relevance ideas might be useful to connect the two disciplinary fields.
The HASS curriculum equips students with an awareness of the world’s complexity and positions them to interact with many individuals and viewpoints in the future. The promotion of a feeling of curiosity, and respect concerning places, people, cultures, and systems all across the world, as well as an interest in the study, is the conceptual perspective of the HASS curriculum (Humanities and Social Sciences in the Australian Curriculum, n.d.). The incorporation of diversity in the curriculum must be encouraged since discussions on good practices may be facilitated by the viewpoints people from diverse backgrounds can provide.
General Capabilities
Students can also acquire various general skills through the HASS curriculum, including communication, reading, numeracy, communication and information technology, personal and social skills, creative and critical thinking, and ethical awareness. These qualities are crucial for life after school, and the HASS curriculum allows pupils to develop them via practical instruction. The values that affect students’ social, physical, intellectual, moral, and artistic growth are at the heart of the curriculum (Humanities and Social Sciences in the Australian Curriculum, n.d). The degree of devotion to the principles above depends on personal viewpoints and actions that are recognized at the degree of culture and community as essential notions regulating the interface of the social studies field. Teaching about and using social media is a necessary component of teaching citizenship (Krutka & Carpenter, 2017). It offers educators a framework for preparing pupils for individually responsible, participative, and justice-focused forms of digital citizenship. Individuals’ most profound ideas of what it means to live are those connected to communal values. As a result, developing social skills is a crucial component of the HASS curriculum, with consequences for the overall impact of values on interpersonal relationships.
Positive Impacts on Student Learning
The background pertaining taboutphical foundations of the HASS curriculum should consider the ethical issues of the humanities and social sciences. These values affect how the subject is taught and what subjects are addressed; therefore, understanding them is important. The HASS curriculum’s principles also serve as a conversation point throughout classroom instruction. The HASS curriculum was created to support student-centered learning, enabling learners to take charge of their education and better comprehend the subjects. Students are also encouraged to think independently and come up with their answers to challenges, which is important for life beyond school. It was discovered that the possibility of learning about active citizenship was significantly more frequently examined in the curricular papers than the potential to learn to be active citizens (Reynolds et al., 2020). Furthermore, the HASS curriculum allows students to delve into various subjects, which aids in developing critical thinking abilities and a larger perspective on the world.
Challenges of the HASS Curriculum
A problem for the HASS curriculum was keeping pupils interested in and motivated to study. To pursue crucial twenty-first-century material and skills for young people, teachers’ professional standing demands clear rules, which must start in preservice education (Ferguson-Patrick et al., 2018). The difficulty of covering so many subjects in a short period and ensuring that the curriculum applies to students’ lives are additional challenges. As the syllabus is only one component of preparation, there is also the difficulty of ensuring that pupils are ready for the challenges of life beyond school. Although this offered a difficult curriculum space for teachers to manage in reality, the Australian Curriculum did not expressly address how the given content description for each learning area might be achieved. To enable young people to interact with their present world and prepare them for a complex future world, geography-specific information and an understanding of current challenges, such as those emphasized by the Asia focus, are essential. Geography is particularly positioned to assist students in better understanding these problems and difficulties and enhance young people’s knowledge, understanding, and competencies regarding the Asia-Pacific area by holistically integrating the natural and social sciences.
Conclusion
Overall, HASS education aims to provide students with the lifelong learning abilities needed to be active citizens of their local communities, nations, and the world community. The HASS curriculum gives pupils an understanding of the world’s complexity and prepares them for future interactions with various people and ideas. Combining rich, diversified, and revolutionary civic education with compelling, real-world history teaching is possible. In order to encourage student-centered learning and provide students with more control over their education and topic understanding, the HASS curriculum was developed. Independent thought and problem-solving skills are emphasized to prepare them for life beyond school. The curriculum provides for in-depth study of various topics, promoting the growth of critical thinking skills. Some difficulties include quickly fitting into many courses and ensuring the curriculum is relevant to students’ daily lives. Geography is uniquely positioned to help students comprehend these issues and challenges.
References
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