Media release re: From Classroom to Community

Media Release | February 25, 2025

Re: From Classroom to Community: Civics education and political participation in Australia

The Social and Citizenship Education Association of Australia (SCEAA) welcomes and supports recommendations for strengthening and renewing civics and citizenship education (CCE) for all Australian students. After limited national emphasis on CCE in Australia for more than two decades, the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters report From Classroom to Community: Civics education and political participation in Australia highlighted and recommended strengthening and renewing CCE for all Australian students.

SCEAA was invited to actively participate in the inquiry and urged the Committee to take action to rebuild CCE in schools and communities. We emphasised the importance of young people from the early years of schooling through to senior secondary years being actively engaged in participatory democracy and experience diverse opportunities to become critically informed citizens. The Joint Committee report recognised these times of ‘rising disengagement, distrust, and misinformation and disinformation in a complex online information environment’.  The report noted that professional associations including SCEAA play an important role in working with schools and communities in CCE, particularly in achieving these key recommendations:

• Advising on the development of nationally aligned and mandated civics and citizenship content in the Australian Curriculum and better support for pre-service and in-service teachers through high-quality professional development in the humanities and social sciences learning area.
• Creating meaningful opportunities for diverse young people to be empowered and have their say on formal policies and processes, as well as understanding their rights and responsibilities.
• Ensuring that young people have access to effective electoral education in diverse ways.
• Bringing contemporary issues into the classroom in engaging ways that are relevant to students’ lives.
• Prioritising media and digital literacy in the Australian Curriculum and its connections with CCE.

• Developing and disseminating practical, high-quality and nationally aligned teacher professional development resources for teaching civics and citizenship to all Australian students.
• Working more closely with culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) grassroots community organisations to develop and deliver civics education programs in community centres across Australia.

 
SCEAA advocates for whole-school approaches to CCE that include classroom-based learning, student democratic participation in school processes, and engagement with their local communities.
 
SCEAA looks forward to participating in the national action that will arise from this report.
 
Key contacts
 
Dr Jia Ying Neoh (President)
[email protected]

Adjunct Associate Professor Libby Tudball (Treasurer)
[email protected]

Download a copy of this media release below.

SCEAA Media Release From Classroom to Community
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