Barely holding on: Politics not a priority for schools

By CHRISTIANE BARRO

Teachers are pushing for a compulsory unit into Australian politics, saying it will lead to a more accountable and informed population.

The Australian Electoral Commission found 254,000 people aged 18-24 will not have a say in the July 2 election because they have not enrolled to vote.

Monash lecturer in Australian politics Dr Narelle Miragliotta said there was probably a strong case for making politics compulsory.

“It is important for people to understand the principles that inform their system of government and how their political system works,” she said.

It is expected Civics and Citizenship will be taught in government and Catholic schools from 2017 for students in years 3 to 10.

Students will go through three strands of learning that include government and democracy, laws and citizenship, diversity, and identity.

Each state will decide if and when the curriculum is implemented.

Melbourne Grammar Australian politics teacher Heather Lacey said there were major concerns, even at a VCE level, that Australian politics was a “dying” subject.

She said there were vey few teachers who could or even wanted to teach it.

Politics was not a prioritised subject by schools because the curriculum was “very crowded” and “very political”, Ms Lacey said.

In 2015, there were no recorded enrolments for Units 1 & 2 of Australian Politics, according to the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

Of the 50,610 people in VCE, only 145 students were enrolled in Unit 3 of Australian politics and 139 students in Unit 4.

Ms Lacey is 62 and about to retire. She said the majority of politics teachers were in this age range and were unfortunately “dying off” with the subject.

“The schools aren’t replacing them. They just let the subject die off and another subject emerges and it (Australian politics) never gets taught again,” she said.

“The minute you introduce a new subject, teachers become very territorial. They worry their numbers are going to go down (and) they’re not going to have a teaching load the following year.”

In NSW, civics and citizenship is not taught as a separate curriculum but according to The University of Sydney, it is presumed as integrated into history and geography subjects.

Ms Lacey raised concerns about the appropriateness of teaching politics-related content to young children.

At a year 3 level, students are expected to begin exploring concepts of democracy, understand the reason behind rules, and how individuals can get involved in their community.

Ms Lacey said to even consider teaching politics at a year 7 level was “ridiculous”.

“It would be like teaching philosophy to year 7s, you just wouldn’t do it,” she said.

Rather, she suggests Australian politics should be a compulsory semester subject in year 10 so they could then decide whether to pursue the subject in VCE.

“It could be fantastic … in terms of having an educated population that understands the system,” she said.

The greatest benefit was that students would attain a lifelong interest in politics, she said.

“You (will) always read the paper, keep up with politics, (and) you become obsessive around election time.”

“I have boys coming into my year 11 politics class – never having studied politics, talked politics, noticed politics – and they just can't believe how much there is to know,” she said.

Dr Miragliotta said incorporating politics into a school curriculum would lead to a more informed citizenry.

“It will equip citizens with the some of the skills that they need to better hold governments and legislators to account,” she said.

Vanessa Peterson, 46, chose to bypass four federal elections by not enrolling to vote. She said the lack of politics subjects in school meant she felt ill-equipped to make a well-informed vote.

“It's not democracy, a mandatory vote under such uninformed conditions,” she said.