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Report on civics and citizenship learning outcomes in Australian schools A recently released report, produced for the Australian government by ACER, provides interesting insights into young people’s understanding and perceptions of civics and citizenship. The report presents the findings of the National Assessment Program – Civics and Citizenship (NAP-CC), conducted by ACER on behalf of the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA) in October 2010. This was the third administration of the national assessment, following the 2004 and 2007 assessment cycles. A nationally representative sample of more than 7200 Year 6 students and around 6400 Year 10 students completed the triennial test of students’ skills, knowledge and understandings of Australia’s system of government. The results reveal that: Around half (52 per cent for Year 6 and 49 per cent for Year 10) of the participating students met or exceeded the relevant Proficient Standard, a ‘challenging but reasonable’ expectation of student achievement at that year level. There was a slight improvement in Year 10 achievement between 2007 (42 per cent at or above the Proficient Standard) and 2010 (49 per cent), while achievement at Year 6 remained at about the same level (53 per cent in 2007 vs. 52 per cent in 2010). On average, girls performed better than boys, both at Year 6 and Year 10. At both year levels students from metropolitan schools performed better than those from provincial schools, who in turn outperformed students from remote schools. In 2010, NAP-CC also included a questionnaire designed to measure students’ perceptions of citizenship and their attitudes towards a number of civic-related issues, as well as report on their civic engagement. Discussing the findings, report co-author ACER Research Director Dr Wolfram Schulz said, “While large majorities of students expressed interest in environmental issues, what is happening in other countries and global issues, only about one third of students at both year levels were found to be interested in Australian politics.” “These results suggest that aspects of political debate in Australia do not reach the attention of young people and also that “politics” may have negative connotations for young people in general,” Dr Schulz said. The questionnaire also revealed the police and law courts were the civic institutions most trusted by students, ahead of federal and state or territory parliament, political parties and the media. The level of trust in each civic institution decreased noticeably between Year 6 and Year 10. The National Assessment Program – Civics and Citizenship Years 6 & 10 Report 2010, published by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) in late 2011, is available to download from http://www.nap.edu.au/ « Back to eNews
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A recently released report, produced for the Australian government by ACER, provides interesting insights into young people’s understanding and perceptions of civics and citizenship.

The report presents the findings of the National Assessment Program – Civics and Citizenship (NAP-CC), conducted by ACER on behalf of the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA) in October 2010. This was the third administration of the national assessment, following the 2004 and 2007 assessment cycles.

A nationally representative sample of more than 7200 Year 6 students and around 6400 Year 10 students completed the triennial test of students’ skills, knowledge and understandings of Australia’s system of government. The results reveal that:

Around half (52 per cent for Year 6 and 49 per cent for Year 10) of the participating students met or exceeded the relevant Proficient Standard, a ‘challenging but reasonable’ expectation of student achievement at that year level.
There was a slight improvement in Year 10 achievement between 2007 (42 per cent at or above the Proficient Standard) and 2010 (49 per cent), while achievement at Year 6 remained at about the same level (53 per cent in 2007 vs. 52 per cent in 2010).
On average, girls performed better than boys, both at Year 6 and Year 10.
At both year levels students from metropolitan schools performed better than those from provincial schools, who in turn outperformed students from remote schools.

In 2010, NAP-CC also included a questionnaire designed to measure students’ perceptions of citizenship and their attitudes towards a number of civic-related issues, as well as report on their civic engagement.

Discussing the findings, report co-author ACER Research Director Dr Wolfram Schulz said, “While large majorities of students expressed interest in environmental issues, what is happening in other countries and global issues, only about one third of students at both year levels were found to be interested in Australian politics.”

“These results suggest that aspects of political debate in Australia do not reach the attention of young people and also that “politics” may have negative connotations for young people in general,” Dr Schulz said.

The questionnaire also revealed the police and law courts were the civic institutions most trusted by students, ahead of federal and state or territory parliament, political parties and the media. The level of trust in each civic institution decreased noticeably between Year 6 and Year 10.

The National Assessment Program – Civics and Citizenship Years 6 & 10 Report 2010, published by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) in late 2011, is available to download from http://www.nap.edu.au/

Report on civics and citizenship learning outcomes in Australian schools