Melissa Cairn

Hi, I'm Melissa. I'm from the Department of Education, and I'm joined here today by Sharna and Ananda from NESA. And we are going to talk about the new HSIE syllabus. The new HSIE syllabus contains specific outcomes and content for Aboriginal cultures and histories for the first time. This is in addition to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content that is priority content in all K–6 syllabuses. We know that this content has been developed in collaboration with Aboriginal knowledge holders. Why are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander priorities important?

Sharna Tosevic

So for the first time, the syllabus includes explicit outcomes that form a coherent sequence of learning about Aboriginal cultures and histories across each stage of learning in K–6. And the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander priorities are important because they provide opportunities for all students to develop cultural knowledge and understanding by engaging with, respecting and recognising the world's oldest continuous living cultures. They help students to understand that Aboriginal communities are diverse with around 70 language groups, and they develop knowledge and understanding in the cultural protocols, practices, and connections to country and place, whilst also appreciating the historical and ongoing contributions to Australia by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Melissa Cairn

Thank you. We all agree that this is important content. What advice do you have for teachers when engaging with essential Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander priorities content?

Sharna Tosevic

So, it's important to respect appropriate ways of interacting with Aboriginal communities and cultural material when planning for teaching and learning that focuses on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander priority content. NESA has advice in the course overviews of all syllabuses about following Indigenous, Cultural and Intellectual Property Protocols, otherwise known as ICIP. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's ICIP protocols include cultural knowledges, cultural expression, cultural property, and the documentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's lived experiences and identities. It's really important to recognise the diversity and complexity of Aboriginal communities across New South Wales and that these protocols may differ between communities. Establishing and maintaining respectful relationships with Aboriginal peoples. So our elders, our parents, our community members are your local, regional, or state Aboriginal education consultative group, your AECG, is really important to assist schools to implement Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander priorities content.

Melissa Cairn

That's great advice for schools. What else can assist schools to engage with their local communities?

Sharna Tosevic

So, the NESA website has links to the principles and protocols, and there's a working with Aboriginal communities guide that will also support schools to engage with community.

Melissa Cairn

Excellent. Ananda, there is new content in Stage 1 and Stage 2 where students have the opportunity to learn about ancient civilisations. Can you talk a bit more about that, what that content involves, and how that develops students' understanding of the world around them from an early age?

Ananda Horton

So, the introduction of the content also aligns to the vision for education around equity and excellence. It provides all students with an opportunity to learn. It starts to build background knowledge, and it's quite a rich source of vocabulary as well for students. It's a gentle introduction and a beginning to developing a schema that students can refer to when the ancient past is referenced in society today. There's also a number of elements of literacy that this content provides lovely opportunities for students to be developing their literacy skills. It not only provides a rich area of vocabulary, but it also gives students an opportunity to develop knowledge and understanding around stories, myths and legends. Story itself is a powerful tool, and it helps students to develop perspective, the, you know, sequencing of information and making connections to stories from other times and places.

The ancient past, China, Egypt, Greece, and Rome are referenced and re-referenced throughout a student's learning experience at school and in daily life in areas such as architecture, art, and sport. As you can see from this image, the idea is built into the stage one content and detailed support is provided for teachers through the teaching advice. Building this learning into the primary curriculum is a gentle way of beginning to build a schema about these ancient cultures and their influence and legacies on today's world. There is also a lovely alignment to the geography content within the syllabus. As students developing the ability to look at maps and understand where places are located, they can then apply this understanding when they're looking at where ancient civilisations were. It's important to recognise that the placement of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander priorities content has been really carefully and strategically sequenced and placed. And I'll just get Sharna to speak to that a little bit more.

Sharna Tosevic

Thanks, Ananda. So in particular, content in Stage 1 and Stage 2 that feature ancient civilisations do not feature Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander priorities content. As a reminder for teachers, the syllabus celebrates and recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures as the oldest continuous living cultures. And it is this continuity that is why we do not refer to Aboriginal cultures and histories as ancient.

Melissa Cairn

That makes sense. Thank you for that explanation. The new primary curriculum is a knowledge-rich curriculum that makes essential learning clear for students. In the geography focus areas, students learn to use geographical information, and in the history focus area, they use sources as evidence. Can you talk to us a little bit more about that, please?

Ananda Horton

NESA has taken a knowledge and skills explicit approach in the development of the syllabuses. And as with all of the primary syllabuses, content makes it very clear what students are to know and to understand and do. In HSIE, the skills and concepts have been embedded within content, and the content group headings are really helpful for teachers to see where the essential content has been grouped. The skills and concepts have been embedded with appropriate context. The understandings build very sequentially across each stage of learning. Within the geographical content, content has been carefully aligned to the mathematics syllabus, in particular the focus areas of data and geometric measure. So, this provides a fantastic opportunity for students to apply their learning in HSIE. As you can see in this example of Stage 1 history content from the syllabus, the use of sources including stories, images, objects, and sites provide students with evidence of the past. Examples and detailed teaching advice such as shown here, support teachers to engage students in detailed observations, discussions, and questioning to draw conclusions about what life may have been like in the past. The history focus area has strong links to the English syllabus, in particular in the creating written text content. Within this content, students have an opportunity to develop their ability to handle tense, as well as sentence level grammar and text features, and the examples provide further support.

Melissa Cairn

Thank you for clarifying the new approach. There are strengthened civics and citizenship opportunities in both the history and geography focus areas. Can you please elaborate on this content and explain why these are important in the HSIE syllabus?

Ananda Horton

So, in the civics and citizenship content, students have the opportunity to learn and to value the democratic roles and responsibilities that people have in Australia. They also have the opportunity to develop the knowledge, skills and dispositions to act as informed and active citizens into the future. Through the syllabus, there is a clear progression, in particular the content groups in the geography focus area. I'll speak to those first, what content is there. And then the progression moves into the history focus area in Stage 3. So, in Early Stage 1, this is our foundational knowledge that students are developing, and they look at the connections that they have to places, each other, and how people care for places. In Stage 1, students start to develop an understanding of active citizenship that we can work together with people to care for places and to care for each other. They research work that people do in the community, and they explain the benefits of participating in communities.

In Stage 2, students look at how people participate in Australian society, in particular around the act of citizenship. They investigate how and why people respond to community needs. There's a lovely opportunity to have a look at the importance of volunteering, and in their learning, they look at the origins and the work that a New South Wales organisation does in response to community needs. There is also opportunities for students to look at community needs and to design responses. In Stage 3, in the history focus area, students dive a little bit more into civic knowledge and understanding. And in particular, they have a look at the origins and the values underpinning Australia's bicameral or parliamentary system. Students have the opportunity to explore the principle that all people are equal before the law and must obey laws. And they also have the opportunity to learn about Australia's democracy, the foundations, federation, the Constitution of Australia, roles and responsibilities of government, and how bills pass through Parliament and become laws.

Melissa Cairn

And that explicit content makes it really clear what students should learn in schools. The study of Aboriginal languages content in Stage 3 is a new inclusion. What practical guidance and advice and resources can you suggest for teachers to help support the teaching of Aboriginal languages in schools?

Sharna Tosevic

So, schools should make contact with their local Aboriginal community to ascertain the availability of local language resources. The content group in this focus area explores the diversity of Aboriginal languages across New South Wales and the importance of revitalising Aboriginal languages for Aboriginal peoples.

Melissa Cairn

Thank you, Sharna, and thank you, Ananda, for your time today to talk about the new HSIE syllabus. If you haven't done so already, please head over to the NESA website to explore the new syllabus. And don't forget to watch the introductory video.

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