Civics and Citizenship Motion
Ms WEBB (Nelson) – Mr President, I start by stating my support and also thanking the member for Rosevears and his team for bringing forward a positive motion for us to discuss today.
The motion raises several significant points, but perhaps most importantly, it recognises the role the study of civics and citizenship plays in our society – a very positive role. Our curriculum should encompass a breadth of subjects that provide a really rich educational opportunity and accommodate a range of talents, interests and capabilities among children and young people in our schools.
While it is, of course, quite essentially important to focus on the three Rs, the curriculum should also include other areas that provide enrichment like arts, technology or indeed civics and citizenship. Placing civics and citizenship within the national curriculum is a real recognition of the benefits a full and rich education can provide, and it is capable of producing citizens who can participate fully in their community. As the motion states, providing civics education ‘helps to equip young people with necessary skills to have their say’.
Civics has much more of a role to play than merely educating students on the parliamentary system or the mechanics on how to vote. On a broader scale, it helps us maintain a strong democracy. On an individual level, civics can also be a real spark for students to become engaged and passionate about politics and advocacy. I support the comments made by the member for Murchison on the need or value of having people develop a real interest and passion in pursuing politics, having a whole range of people from our community coming to public service and politics and the contribution that would make to the outcomes for our state if this were to happen.
Also, people engage in the political area not necessarily directly as politicians or would-be politicians, but as advocates, whether on issues areas or from the perspective of certain cohorts of the community, particular industries or all sorts of things. Advocacy and engagement in the political area are also important contributions to progressing public policy and progressing political discussion. Civics and citizenship competency and knowledge are things that can also equip people to be very effective in the area of advocacy. I see this as a real plus.
A programme like Youth Parliament is a real testament to what civics education and engagement can mean for our young people. My eldest daughter participated in Youth Parliament when she went through high school and found it to be a very valuable and enjoyable experience.
Ms Forrest – One of my sons did the same year as the Leader’s son.
Ms WEBB – She was deputy premier, which I thought was quite impressive. I doubt she will go into politics but she did enjoy Youth Parliament. I was very happy, having already some exposure to Youth Parliament, to be involved this year as a newly minted member of this Chamber and to participate in Youth Parliament and observe the depth of engagement among the young people participating. There was real passion and verve when debating issues of importance, not issues of frivolity or issues relevant only to children. They participated in thoughtful debate about meaningful issues.
One aspect of Youth Parliament that impressed me was the range of students from a variety of schools. Many regions of the state were represented. Students came from a whole range of backgrounds. We should always to be improving our schools and the educational opportunities of our children. We have touched on this today. I am a passionate advocate for a strong public school system and I am grateful for the clause in this motion that recognises the role schools play in civics education. It was informative to read in the motion about the National Assessment Program and some of the results from that. They tell us that the majority of year 6 and year 10 students in Tasmania believe in the importance of discussing politics. With two students in my own household in year 5 and year 6, it is a compulsory subject in my household. They do not get to escape it so they will be contributing to that statistic.
Mr Willie – From memory at school they would be learning about Federation.
Ms WEBB – All kinds of things. One of my proudest moments was when my second daughter was in year 5 last year. We were heading off to vote in an election that occurred early last year. As we were heading towards the voting station she said to me, ‘Now we are going to see a Robson Rotation on these ballot papers’. I just about fainted with pride. It is brilliant that students at that age are engaged and learning about the mechanics of politics, learning about the history of Federation and our system of government. I have experienced discussions with friends and associates who were never given the opportunity to learn about our system of government or the basis of our voting system. I have had to give a voting 101 lesson to many adults in my life. I do not tell them how to vote; I just talk them through the structure of our parliamentary system and the mechanics of how our voting system works. You are behind the eight ball if you get to adulthood and you have not had a chance to learn that. I support the idea that we make sure all children coming through our schooling system have the chance to learn that.
I noted in the National Assessment Program that concerning statistic from the 2016 assessment. I think the member for Rosevears referenced in the motion that only 30 per cent of Tasmanian year 10 students appear to have proficient standards in civics. That is a shame. There is a lot of opportunity for us to be doing better in that area. I wonder whether there has been some improvements or investment since 2016 at a federal or state level that would help to shift that figure. I think the same survey is conducted at intervals. Perhaps a more updated statistic will give us better news.
In closing, I wish to express my support for the motion and thank the member for Rosevears for providing us with an opportunity to discuss it today.
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