Ten years of the HSIE K-6 Syllabus Common HSIE syllabus questions and answers. Anne Southwell Senior Curriculum Adviser HSIE K-6 Curriculum Directorate NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Q.1 What do the letters HSIE stand for?

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Answer to Q.1 Human Society and Its Environment, which is commonly known as SOSE - Studies of Society and Environment or Humanities in other states and territories.

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Q.2 How many strands are there in HSIE K-6? List them.

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Answer to Q.2 Four: Change and Continuity, Cultures, Environments and Social Systems and Structures. Each strand is divided into two sub strands. It is worth noting the Resource system sub strand in Social Systems and Structures is often a standalone strand in some other states.

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Q.3 How many outcomes are there in each stage? 4, 6, 8, 9, 13 or 15?

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Answer to Q.3 Four HSIE outcomes in Early Stage 1 Eight outcomes in Stages 1, 2 and 3 i.e. the smallest number of outcomes for any Key Learning Area. This is why the outcomes are so complex. It could well have been easier for teachers to have more outcomes that were simpler and easier to understand. Note: SciTech has 9 outcomes, PDHPE has 13 and Creative Arts has 15.

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Q.4 Must the topics in the HSIE Units of Work, developed by NSW BOS be taught? True or false.

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Answer to Q.4 False – this is stated in the 1999 BOS Principals Package, in the Overview the 28 units are not mandatory and also in the units of work the units of work at not mandatory page 5.

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Q.5 What is mandatory? The syllabus, the outcomes, the indicators, the content?

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Answer to Q.5 The whole syllabus is mandatory including the outcomes and the syllabus subject matter that unpacks and supports the outcomes. The wording Students in stage X will learn about at the top of pages 43, 49, 55 and 61 identifies the intent of this subject matter. Skills and values and attitudes will be addressed if the syllabus subject matter is referenced Indicators included in the syllabus are described as examples only (p.19). Some teachers are incorrectly assuming that only the outcomes are mandatory and therefore they can choose to address content that is not described by the syllabus.

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Q.6 HSIE does not have any skills, because there are no skills outcomes? True or false?

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Answer to Q.6 False HSIE has 3 distinct skills – Acquiring Information, Using an Inquiry Process and Social and Civic Participation. These skills do not have outcomes. However it is impossible for students to learn about HSIE syllabus subject matter without engaging with these skills in a hierarchical manner through the stages. This is a good reason for referring to the syllabus subject matter when developing and undertaking teaching and learning programs.

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Q.7 Which HSIE strand is the smallest?

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Answer to Q.7 Environments – this strand is about 25% smaller than the other 3 strands according to the syllabus subject matter listed, because learning about the Environment is also included in Science and Technology and PDHPE. However this strand receives the most support in the units of work particularly Stage 2. (Refer to the table diagrams on pages 42, 76 and 114 of the BOS units of work.)

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Q.8 Which strand receives the smallest amount of teaching and learning in the BOS units of work? What are the implications of this for school planning?

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Answer to Q.8 The Cultures strand: If only the units of work are used in a school plan there is insufficient teaching of the Cultures strand in all stages. Schools will need to source other topics or resources to fill the gaps – DET Curriculum K-12 Directorate has developed considerable support for the Cultures strand available at au/primary/hsie/index.htm au/primary/hsie/index.htm

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Q.9 Should Stage 3 teachers teach about ancient civilisations?

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Answer to Q.9 No. No primary school should include ancient civilisations in their school plan for HSIE. There are no primary HSIE outcomes or syllabus subject matter that cover any aspect of an ancient civilisation such as Egypt, Greece, or Rome etc. Ancient civilisations is the first major topic students will engage with in Stage 4 History: Societies and civilisations of the past. Teaching about an ancient civilisation in primary schools has a negative effect on student engagement with HSIE in High School, in the same way that primary teachers deal with student disengagement when they encounter students in a class that have already been taught something they now need to cover.

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Answer to Q.9 (cont) Secondary teachers are not able to substitute a different topic, they have to teach about ancient civilisations. Secondary teachers are rightly complaining about the impact of ancient civilisations being taught in primary schools on their school planning and programming. It is also impossible for primary teachers to assess and report upon something that is not in the syllabus because there is no syllabus standard by which to judge student achievement. It also begs the questions Is this an unnecessary topic that is contributing to teacher workload? or What is being left out of the Stage 3 HSIE to make time for ancient civilisations?

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Q.10 In which stage would you teach a topic on colonial exploration / inland explorers?

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Answer to Q.10 There is no stage in which a topic on Colonial Exploration or Inland Explorers should be taught. In Stage 3 there is a brief mention of colonial exploration, but there is not sufficient syllabus subject matter to justify a standalone topic.

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Q.11 Does HSIE need to be taught in Early Stage 1?

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Answer to Q.11 Yes, because the Education Act (reflected in DET policy) states that all Key Learning Areas must be addressed in each year of schooling. But, if all the Early Stage 1 aspects of HSIE are not covered then no lasting harm will ensure, especially when Early Stage 1 teachers (wonderful people ) focus on developing student literacy, numeracy and socialisation skills, which often closely align to the HSIE syllabus subject matter.

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Q.12 Is it a good idea to alternate the teaching of HSIE with SciTech?

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Answer to Q.12 It is best practice to teach the HSIE K-6 syllabus in each term. While the time allocated to HSIE teaching will be different in each school, about 90 minutes or about 10% of classroom time a week should be available to this Key Learning Area. This time is identified in the HSIE Principals Package and reflected in DET policy. This may overlap with literacy and numeracy at times.

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Q.13 Is HSIE best taught in an integrated way with SciTech?

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Answer to Q.13 There are only 3 HSIE outcomes where some Science and Technology logically integrates – these are the two Environments outcomes and the Resource Systems outcome in Social Systems and Structures. In these 2 areas there is some overlap with Science and Technology; however there is still specific HSIE syllabus subject matter that will need to be taught in these 2 areas that does not integrate. Refer to the syllabus subject matter in these 2 strands for clarification.

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Q.14 How is it best to teach about Aboriginal history and culture; within other topics or stand alone?

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Answer to Q.14 Teaching Aboriginal history and culture is not optional. All schools need to consider where they are teaching about Aboriginal history and culture. Ideally Aboriginal history and culture is best taught interwoven through all topics and strands (where it logically fits of course) e.g. a Stage 3 topic on China for example would not include any specific Aboriginal culture. But some teaching and learning is better than nothing at all – if there are some teachers who feel that they can cope with this best in a standalone unit then so be it. Refer to the Shared History web site for detailed teaching and learning support:

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Q.15 How long should teaching of the discovery of Australia and British colonisation take in Stage 2?

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Answer to Q.15 British colonisation needs to be scheduled for one term to allow the rest of the Stage 2 syllabus to be taught, but this will be a big term of HSIE and its location needs to be managed. The discovery of Australia has only a brief mention in Stage 2 and does not justify an additional terms worth of work, a couple of lessons would be considered sufficient. It is worth noting that learning about Aboriginal and Indigenous Peoples, Colonisation and Contact History is also a mandatory part of Stage 4 History usually covered in Year 8. This may be one term where no Science and Technology is taught balanced against a term where Science and Technology has a major focus.

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Q.16 Are local, State and Federal Governments taught in Stage 3?

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Answer to Q.16 Local government is actually taught in Stage 2 – Social systems and structures SSS2.8, because Local government deals with the environment in the local area it is also possible to look at some aspects of the Environments strand when learning about local government. State and Federal Government are part of Stage 3, and should be addressed together. It is not appropriate to spend a term in one year on State government and then another term in the next year on Federal government.

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Q.17 Is teaching about Gold in Stage 3 the best way cover aspects of Change and continuity ? What other units of work are in the school plan to teach this strand?

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Answer to Q.17 No – Gold is a very small component of Stage 3 Change and Continuity. The topic Gold becomes the focus rather than the covering the syllabus subject matter in the strand Only teaching about Gold usually leaves out a large component of early Australia history, particularly about other significant events and people related to colonial Australia prior to Federation in Refer to the subject matter / content on page 61. Australian Democracy is often another unit of work.

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Q.18 Is General Religious education (GRE) an optional part of the syllabus?

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Answer to Q.18 GRE is not optional to teach Some parents (rarely) can ask that their child(ren) do not participate in these lessons. This does not mean that all students in the class are then denied this learning. GRE is part of the Cultures strand in particular, although some aspects may be part of other strands in a small way. Teachers may need support to develop teaching and learning about the 5 main world religions in Stage 2. Resources for all stages may need to be borrowed or purchased to support this teaching in all stages. Schools may borrow suitable resources from the DET Henry Parkes Equity Resource Centre (mail out available). Resources to support this teaching and learning are available at:

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Q.19 If a school decides not to use COGs then the only other support for HSIE is the BOS units of work? True or false?

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Answer to Q.19 False In the last 10 years a great deal of syllabus support has been developed for HSIE by NSW DET, however this has often been overlooked by teachers because the names of the support material does not have the same topic name as those in the units of work. Resources include published materials that have been distributed to schools over the years and also units of work that can only be downloaded e.g. units for multistage classes.

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Q.20 What secondary subject(s) does HSIE lead into? Mandatory and elective?

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Answer to Q.20 History and Geography are both mandatory in Stages 4 and 5 in High School. All students in Year 10 sit a School Certificate exam in Australian History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship. There are 3 Stage 5 HSIE electives: Aboriginal Studies, Work Education (both small number of students) and Commerce (more than 25% of all students).

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Answer to Q.20 (cont) This means that there is limited flow through of the primary Cultures strand into Stages 4 and 5. Specific study of different cultures is limited to HSIE International Studies, a School developed Board Endorsed Course undertaken by a handful of classes in NSW. Stage 6 HSIE has a wide range of electives such as Modern and Ancient History, Geography, Society and Culture, Legal Studies and Business Studies, the most widely taken course after English (the only HSC compulsory subject) and Mathematics.

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way HSIE 10 years on: The HSIE K-6 syllabus is standing the test of time very well. There are some minor adjustments that can be identified to ensure currency at this point in time.

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Considerations include: Updating HSIE teaching and learning programs to: Annotate the syllabus subject matter for each stage, this will identify where teaching about a topic has moved into another stage (higher or lower) or to another KLA completely – all factors that contribute to teacher workload Engage with the range of specific HSIE support material that has been developed over the last 10 years to support classroom teachers Include teaching about Cultures where both Australian identities and cultural diversity area addressed for all students, where cultural diversity is considered in the context of unity with diversity Consideration is given to reducing the depth and breadth of content on British colonisation in Stage 2 knowing it is taught again in Stage 4.

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Considerations (cont.) Reduce or even eliminate the use of global contexts in Stage 3 when global contexts are covered in Stage 4 Geography e.g. using a case study of an Australian rainforest instead of looking at global examples of rainforests; global responsibilities; Antarctica. Remove the global focus from the Resource Systems outcome in Stage 3 (SSS3.7) while retaining learning about Australian resources and wider community responsibilities Include practical hands on activities for students in all stages with historical artefacts and engagement with historical situations so that students understand change over time and the impact different technology had on the way people lived that is now so different to the way people live now e.g. using excursions, visits to historical sites, museums, role plays to make the teaching of history easier for teachers and students.

NSW Department of Education & Training NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way Thank you For additional support or information contact Anne Southwell, Senior Curriculum Adviser HSIE K-12 at Curriculum K-12 Directorate (02)